Destination: Salzburg (Austria)

31/12/07

Left Lucerne and took a train to Zurich to change to another train to go to Salzburg. Passed by this small country called Liechenstein. It was snowing on the way to Salzburg and we're the only people on the first class carriage and also, it was really quiet as it's New Year's Eve. After a day of train rides, we finally arrived at Salzburg. Celebrate New Year's Eve at an Austrian restaurant.

01/01/08

Happy New Year! Walked to the city which was quite far away from our hotel as our hotel is near the train station. We're looking for Mozart's birthplace but we couldn't seem to find it so, we ended up on the hilltop overlooking the city of Salzburg and it's also slippery as there's snow everywhere. We got down from the hill and we managed to find Mozart's birthplace. Spent like nearly an hour there as there are so many things to see and read about and also Mozart's birthplace is typical of an Austrian house. Oh yeah, Mozart's birthplace seems to be located at a shopping area. Next, we cross the bridge to go to Mozart's Residence. Exhibits like Mozart's harpsichord and clavichord were at his residence and his books and everything. We also learn about Mozart's sister who was also a good pianist. Only Mozart and his sister survived childhood out of their other brothers and sisters who were born.  What I must say about Salzburg is that it is a place for all musicians or music enthusiasts (like me!).

02/01/08

Woke up early today to go for the Sound of Music Tour. I didn't know that Sound of Music was actually a real story according to the Tour Guide. Visited a lot of places where they filmed Sound of Music such as the lake behind the Von Trapp's residence, the Von Trapp's residence, the gazebo, the abbey, Lake Wolfgang and the church in Mondsee. I don't know if any of you guys watched Sound of Music and remembered that the Von Trapps and Maria went over the mountain to go to Switzerland well, for that one it's false. The tour guide said over the mountain is actually to Germany, not Switzerland. The mountain acts as a border between Austria and Germany. So yeah, Salzburg is quite near to Germany. Nevertheless, the tour was really interesting and there were songs to listen to while on the bus and also there's much photo snapping. Lake Wolfgang was just majestic, I mean it's really beautiful with the moutains, the lake and the villages. Lake Wolfgang is also Mozart's mother's birthplace. We dropped by at Mondsee to have a look at the church where Maria got married. Had Apple Strudel at a restaurant there and it's like the best Apple Strudel I've ever tasted so far. After that, we head back to Salzburg. We went to the Mirabell Gardens where they filmed the part for "Do-Re-Mi" for the Sound of Music.

03/01/08

Was supposed to go to Eagle's nest today but they said it is closed in winter. Didn't do anything much today. Only went to the city for shopping and souvenir shopping and yes, I managed to get myself something. I bought a long-sleeve T-shirt from MNG and Roxy and I also bought two pairs of earrings from claire's. Shopping in Salzburg was awesome. There was actually a sale there, so yeah.

04/01/08

Depart Salzburg for Rome. Travelled nearly the whole day by train which is a little bit boring but yeah, luckily I have my iPod to entertain myself and the countryside sceneries.

05/01/08

End of holiday and back to Malaysia. Arrived in KLIA on the 6th of January.

Will put my pictures in a slideshow since there're heaps of them. If you really want to see my pictures go to my myspace to check em' out! Till then, Cheers!

Oh ya, if any of you guys wondering when I'll be going back to Australia, yeap, it's the 31st of this month.

Destination: Luzern (Lucerne), Switzerland

26/12/07

Went to Roma Termini to take a train down to Switzerland. We need to change a train from Milan to go to our destination which is Lucerne. Well, the train is quite comfortable and also it is divided by first and second class. We chose to sit the Eurail train as it is much cheaper than going by flight and also you get to see the countryside and the beautiful scenery. It is also really convenient. It was snowing in some parts of Switzerland but it didn't snow in Lucerne. Finally, we reached Lucerne at night and had Thai food for dinner.

27/12/07

Compared to Rome, Lucerne is much colder. Didn't do much today. Went exploring and walking around the town. Visited the old bridge which nearly got burned down in 1992(i think). The air is much fresher in Switzerland compared to Rome which is quite er...polluted. My parents been to Switzerland before but I haven't been there because I wasn't born yet. Walked along the lakeside and visited a church. We also went to the famous Lion Monument built for the soldiers who were fighting during a war. After that, we went to the Gletschergarten (Glacier Garden) which is next to the Lion Monument. The Glacier Garden was quite educational and there's this exhibit which shows how a typical interiors of a Swiss house looks like (the kitchen, bedroom, living room etc). Went to Bucherer which is a watch shop selling Swiss Made watches. There's also a Rolex shop inside as well. I managed to get myself a Swatch watch which is really cool. Had dinner at this hip and stylish restaurant which has a mix of French and Asian cuisine. Too good.

28/12/07

Took a train from Lucerne to Engelberg which is also in Switzerland. After 2 hours of the train ride, we arrived in Engelberg which is snowing. From Engelberg, we took a cable car up to Mt.Titlis which is 10 000 feet above sea level. One of the cable cars we took was a rotating one which is so cool that you get to see diffrent sceneries. Reached Mt. Titlis and we walked up to the peak which was really slippery as my parents kept falling down as they don't have the right shoes. Had sausages and fries at Mt. Titlis for lunch. We went for a swiss made ice-cream called MOVENPICK which is really good. I was thinking of going of skiing or snowboarding because it looked fun and I really wanted to try it out but I didn't as my parents said that I had to go for lessons and I had to rent the gear and my mum, as usual, overprotective said that "Better not lah. It's too dangerous after you fall down this and that blablabla" But my dad was good, he actually encouraged me.

29/12/07

Went to Mt. Pilatus by bus as it's quite near to Lucerne. Took a cable car up. It was really cold at Mt. Pilatus and the air is quite thin as I couldn't really breathe when I reached the peak. Had lunch and we bought a few souvenirs at the shop there. It seems that there's actually a story behind this mountain which says that there were dragons living there long time ago and it is the place where the unrested soul of Pontius Pilate lingers. The mountain actually got it's name "Mt. Pilatus" from Pontius Pilate. On our way down, we dropped by at a station to go for a sled ride. It was so fun. There were pathways created for people to go all the way down the slope by riding the sled and you go up by taking a gondola. I went all the way down and I tried to use my legs to break but it kept going fast and I nearly hit a playground but luckily there was this big pile of snow there. Went back up to the top with a gondola. When I came up, guess what? My mum who was so reluctant and overprotective on letting me go on the sled said that she wanted to try it. So yeah, she tried it. The next person to try it was my dad. He was scared to walk on snow as he fell down 5 times but he manage to try it anyway. We really had a fun time at Mt. Pilatus.

30/12/07

Woke up early to go for a local tour to Interlaken so that we could go up to another mountain called Jungfraujoch which is the Top of Europe. The bus driver bought us train tickets to go up. The train went into a tunnel which is inside the mountain and it went to the top. It took us like two hours to take a train to the top. Once we reached the top, I had difficulty breathing as it was really cold and the air is thin but the scenery is worth it and it was also snowing at the top. After much photo snapping, we went to the Ice Cave which exhibits ice sculptures inside and the whole cave is icy. Didn't spend much time there as we had to get down about 2 p.m. Arrived at Grindelwald at 4.30 p.m where we told we're supposed to be. Waited for the bus to come but it didn't. Luckily, the two other people travelling with us contacted the bus driver and we're told that we are waiting at the wrong place and we're suppose to come down at the stop before Grindelwald but luckily, that wasn't far away. So, the bus driver manage to find us. Before heading back to Lucerne, we went to Interlaken for a short break.

Happy New Year everyone and finally, I have finished clearing requests in Facebook and I have all the time to blog now since I have no transport to go anywhere which is sad. Where shall we start off first? Well, let's start off with my trip to europe.

Destination: Roma (Rome)

23/12/07

Arrived at Fiumicino Airport, Rome at 5.30 a.m. Checked in the hotel and we put our bags down and have a rest. At around 10 a.m, we walked out to St. Peter's, Vatican City as usual for our every after 3 year pilgrimage. Once you are at St.Peter's, you are guaranteed to always say a "WOW" because St.Peter's is huge and you are wondering how did they construct it with all that workmanship and everything. It was quite a long queue to get in but nevertheless, the queue moved on quickly as it's just the security guards checking bags and belongings. Went to the Vatican Grottoes which contains tombs of popes, queens and kings after the 10th century. We manage to see Pope John Paul's tomb (the late pope who died in 2005) and there were security guards guarding it.Went inside St. Peter's to make a special prayer and also to attend the mass in Latin (didn't understand a single word but yeah it's the same order as a normal Mass). After visiting the Vatican, we head off for an Italian lunch in which we ordered pizza and pasta. Went souvenir shopping and as usual, had a difficult time choosing what we want and who to give it to and stuff. Spent nearly an hour there. Walked back to the hotel as we still feel tired after a long journey by flight. 

24/12/07

Woke up early to go to the Vatican Museum. By the time we reached there,the queue was extremely long, so, we just walked around the Vatican and snap some photos and by the queue wasn't that bad by the time we finished taking photos but we still have to queue up anyway. Finally, after an hour's queue we reached the Museum. There were heaps of people as it's Christmas Eve. What's famous of the Museum is the Sistine Chapel which is also the place where they elect the pope and also for special prayers. Not only that, it is also special for ancient runes, special exhibits and Michaelangelo's paintings. Spent nearly 2-3 hours at the Museum as there are so many things to see. After visiting the Museum, dad called a taxi and we went to the hotel? No. We went to the famous Spanish Steps which is near the shopping area and it's really crowded as a lot of people were doing their last minute Christmas shopping. Went into the Louis Vuitton shop and we have to queue to get in. Didn't buy anything though but it was really awesome as you get free chocolate and drinks in the shop. It was getting late, so we walked back to the hotel.

25/12/07 

Christmas Day!! The streets are empty and it's not very busy as usual as it's a  public holiday. Once again, woke up early and reached the Vatican at 10 a.m for the pope's blessing.There weren't many people at the time but yeah we assembled there first as we are quite in front. So, it was really crowded. About 11 a.m the Vatican was packed with people from the courtyard to the streets. As it was nearly time for the pope to come, swiss guards and bands walked in to the courtyard and assembled themselves. Finally after an hour's wait, the pope came out from his balcony and gave a speech and he gave a blessing to everyone. After the blessing, everyone made their way out of the Vatican. Went back to the hotel to charged my camera battery as the battery is running out. Called a taxi to go to the Colosseum where the Romans held competitions and also where they torture the Catholics. It was really big. Next to Colosseum was ancient runes where it used to be one of the places where the Romans lived. After much photo snapping, we walked back to the hotel which is actually quite far away but oh well, at least I manage to do some exercise.

Hi! I'm blogging in school now during Marketing haha 1 hour and 30 minutes more till school ends...and counting. Bye!

Hi Everyone!! I'm back!! I have not been blogging for a month because of exams and other things. So, I was pretty busy lately. Finally the exams are over and it's a few weeks to upper school. Year 11! Gonna be a very very very busy year. Everyone wanna hear the good news? I'm coming back to Malaysia for the holidays and I will be going to Rome to celebrate Christmas for 10 days and will be back in Malaysia for another 2 weeks. Hopefully I can meet up with you guys. It's gonna be awesome coz I'm bringing sexyback, yeah! xD Err..ok that was a little lame. Let's see what's coming up soon.....

River Cruise - 12th of December

Theme: Future Occupation

For your info, I'm not going to dress up as my future occupation. I will be going there casual to avoid overdressing (if there's such a word!) It's gonna be....FUN!

Anyway, can't wait for our outing to lagoon!! x] Hmm so, I will see you people in 2 more weeks to be exact. Cheerio!

This year's birthday was quite awesome. I had Matt and his family and some close friends over to our place for steamboat dinner. I've been getting heaps of chocolates this birthday; 1 chocolate cake, 2 chocolate boxes and a box of snickers. Gonna put on some weight man. I also celebrated my birthday in school. Brought the cake and also some foodstuff which I bought from the oriental shops over the weekend. So life's good if you ask me. Exams are coming soon and more assignments to hand in. I won't be blogging for a while. Cheers everyone and have a great day!!