part 1 of summer
so here i am, in front of the computer, reminescing about all the things i have done in july. and of course, too many things happened, and i would like to write everything down...however, i am afraid that people will get bored of my constant rambling and of course, i will tire myself if i write too much. so here it is...
hamburg
the cheapest ticket to germany was from toronto to hamburg with air transat the official airline for travel. and my god, it absolutely no leg room. therefore, my knees were always pushing against the back of the person in front of me. and by tilting my head a mere 30 degrees, i could touch the back of the seat in front of me. other than that...and my neck pain from trying to watch the movie, all was fine. after 8...or was it 9 hours, we finally arrived in hamburg. got picked up by this shanghainese guy and he drove us to our hotel. jetlag was setting in, by i enjoyed myself on the drive looking at all the german structures. it truly brought back memories, and i couldn't wait until i got back to stuttgart. at 15:00, my mom and i left the hotel and started walking around hamburg. like normal tourists, we visited all the mandatory places: city hall, train station, shopping street, shops, souvenir shops, churches...and hamburg's famous red light district. here is what i don't get about my mom...first, ever since we've been planning the trip in canada, she whined about seeing the red light district, and how it is a must see once we get there. but then, when we got to the red light district, she tells me not to look around too much. but hey...i need to see where i'm going, so of course i had my eyes open, and i must say...german people do take their sex serious...and goodness, LIDL is cheap: smoked salmon 2,39 EU, ritter sport 0,89 EU...ARGH! FOOD IS SO CHEAP IN GERMANY
bremen
jetlag started setting in and boy was i grumpy. not even a train ride could brighten up my mood as i snored loudly on the train. got to bremen where the weather reflected my mood as it rained. went for a stadtrundfahrt without the bus and with legs. but damn, i love german architecture. everything seems so classic and out of a fairy tale. while walking down this little alley, i just expected people dressed in 1800s style to pop open their windows and wave and smile...but of course...i would be hallucinating. for those who don't read their fairy tales: BREMEN IS FAMOUS FOR THE 4 STADTMUSIKANTEN. you know, the donkey dog cat and cock that walked out on their owners, scared the living crap out of some robbers, and lived happily ever after.
hannover
o yes, hannover...the city of hochdeutsch. what can i say...people spoke better german? but damn, the streets were so damn innovative. as in, there was a "tourist trail" that people called tourists can follow. and all along this little trail, there were art/science devices that allowed civilians to play with them. no, they are not called whores. but yea...there was a mini twister maker, a wind fountain, and a giant ball swing. and, my mom and i were fortunate enough to visit the biweekly hannover flohmarket. now these type of things are what i call real fleamarkets...and not the weezly fleamarkets that are held indoors by professionals in canada.
leipzig
LEIPZIG...east germany's former capital. well, for those who know their history...east berlin was the capital. but my mom didn't know that...and i didn't have the heart to tell her as she enthusiastically passed on tourist information to me. leipzig is one of the culture hot spots of germany and churned out many artists, writers, and musicians. so all around the city, there were musicians who are trying to make a name for themselves, statues of famous locals, and grande buildings. i've got to say, leipzig did hell of a job during the communist rule and has maintained it's artistic culture.
berlin
berlin should be self-explanatory. but damn, it has developed so much and so beautifully since the last time i went there. it is so green and modern. the buildings are just inspirational...never ever have i seen a city able to fuse development and environment so well as berlin. and development in berlin is just breathtaking. too bad, we only had two hours to visit all the places...and boy...was it tiring.
...and i've finally managed to put up a new layout. of course...not too different from my old one, but, i am very proud of it because it's 100% done by me. yesh...i had to whore myself for an hour on photoshop just to get the main picture. so...enjoy.
hamburg
the cheapest ticket to germany was from toronto to hamburg with air transat the official airline for travel. and my god, it absolutely no leg room. therefore, my knees were always pushing against the back of the person in front of me. and by tilting my head a mere 30 degrees, i could touch the back of the seat in front of me. other than that...and my neck pain from trying to watch the movie, all was fine. after 8...or was it 9 hours, we finally arrived in hamburg. got picked up by this shanghainese guy and he drove us to our hotel. jetlag was setting in, by i enjoyed myself on the drive looking at all the german structures. it truly brought back memories, and i couldn't wait until i got back to stuttgart. at 15:00, my mom and i left the hotel and started walking around hamburg. like normal tourists, we visited all the mandatory places: city hall, train station, shopping street, shops, souvenir shops, churches...and hamburg's famous red light district. here is what i don't get about my mom...first, ever since we've been planning the trip in canada, she whined about seeing the red light district, and how it is a must see once we get there. but then, when we got to the red light district, she tells me not to look around too much. but hey...i need to see where i'm going, so of course i had my eyes open, and i must say...german people do take their sex serious...and goodness, LIDL is cheap: smoked salmon 2,39 EU, ritter sport 0,89 EU...ARGH! FOOD IS SO CHEAP IN GERMANY
bremen
jetlag started setting in and boy was i grumpy. not even a train ride could brighten up my mood as i snored loudly on the train. got to bremen where the weather reflected my mood as it rained. went for a stadtrundfahrt without the bus and with legs. but damn, i love german architecture. everything seems so classic and out of a fairy tale. while walking down this little alley, i just expected people dressed in 1800s style to pop open their windows and wave and smile...but of course...i would be hallucinating. for those who don't read their fairy tales: BREMEN IS FAMOUS FOR THE 4 STADTMUSIKANTEN. you know, the donkey dog cat and cock that walked out on their owners, scared the living crap out of some robbers, and lived happily ever after.
hannover
o yes, hannover...the city of hochdeutsch. what can i say...people spoke better german? but damn, the streets were so damn innovative. as in, there was a "tourist trail" that people called tourists can follow. and all along this little trail, there were art/science devices that allowed civilians to play with them. no, they are not called whores. but yea...there was a mini twister maker, a wind fountain, and a giant ball swing. and, my mom and i were fortunate enough to visit the biweekly hannover flohmarket. now these type of things are what i call real fleamarkets...and not the weezly fleamarkets that are held indoors by professionals in canada.
leipzig
LEIPZIG...east germany's former capital. well, for those who know their history...east berlin was the capital. but my mom didn't know that...and i didn't have the heart to tell her as she enthusiastically passed on tourist information to me. leipzig is one of the culture hot spots of germany and churned out many artists, writers, and musicians. so all around the city, there were musicians who are trying to make a name for themselves, statues of famous locals, and grande buildings. i've got to say, leipzig did hell of a job during the communist rule and has maintained it's artistic culture.
berlin
berlin should be self-explanatory. but damn, it has developed so much and so beautifully since the last time i went there. it is so green and modern. the buildings are just inspirational...never ever have i seen a city able to fuse development and environment so well as berlin. and development in berlin is just breathtaking. too bad, we only had two hours to visit all the places...and boy...was it tiring.
...and i've finally managed to put up a new layout. of course...not too different from my old one, but, i am very proud of it because it's 100% done by me. yesh...i had to whore myself for an hour on photoshop just to get the main picture. so...enjoy.