The journey began with 3 acquaintances. We knew each other by name; we knew where each sat in lectures; we knew who we hung out with, but never have we hung out as a group before. I, at the very least, embarked on a memorable YEP trip with her, and sat by him on a couple of lectures (not to mention being forced fed sour skittles!). The three of us (Gabriel, Azza, and I), one could safely say, make up the strangest travelling group ever.
It was awkward like how strangers would feel at their first meeting. Few words were spoken throughout the plane ride; only with the occasional complain of the disastrous and most horribly designed seats of the plane. Seriously, it was the most awful seat ever. It inclines at an angle, but does not provide a foot rest, leaving one’s feet dangling off the chair. Can you imagine sitting on that for 7 hours straight?! Geez!
Upon arrival, we quickly made our way to the subway station. Surprise, surprise! There were no barriers of any sort! We were amazed. The Germans were apparently thought to be of the highest integrity, and would therefore, never ever NOT buy a ticket. I can already imagine what would happen if this were done in China. NO ONE WOULD BUY A TICKET.
It did not take us long to find our hostel, and before you know it, we were all settled in. We unpacked, did a quick wash up and changed into more comfy clothes suited for sight-seeing under the sun. The weather was fanta-bulous!! It was dry, and not humid like Singapore. Most importantly, despite the blazing sun above, the cool wind more than compensated for the heat!! In fact, the weather was so pleasant that people were riding bikes in office wear!! YES! Awesome, isn’t it?
Our first stop: the rathaus-glockenspiel, a clock tower situated at the Marienplatz. On the way there, we stopped by St. Michael’s Church and took a snap shot of pictures. Being the first church we went to, we were awed. My mouth was literally left hanging and I could not stop saying, wow. However, we did not realise that, the subsequent churches would be more than an eye-opener.
As we left the church, we realised that we had much time left before the chiming of the glockenspiel, and so we made our way into frauenkirche – cathedral of our Dear Lady. Interior wise, it was relatively simply, with no drawings on its ceiling. It’s alter is as amazing as ever, and the centre of attraction was a devil’s footprint at the entrance of the church. The story goes that the devil made a deal with the architect of the church not to place any windows in the church, and in return, he would aid in the building of the church. The architect, being the innovative person that he is, designed the cathedral in a way that, at the position of the devil’s footstep, not a single window could be seen. However, taking a step forward would then permit the view of the windows. The devil knew that he was tricked, stamped real hard, and left, leaving his footprint behind!
After a few quick snap shots, we quickly made our way to the rathaus-glockenspiel to catch the chiming of the clock. There we were, standing under the hot sun together with hundreds of tourists, trying to catch a glimpse of the clock as it made its rounds. We were sorely disappointed as the clock literally made its rounds. All it did was merry-go-round and it was amusing to hear everyone Ooh-ed and Aaah-ed collectively. It was even more amusing to hear it every subsequent day we walked pass the Marienplatz at 11am, 12pm, and 5pm.
We then made our way around the residenz, to the Hofgarten! The hofgarten is BEAUTIFUL! It’s where we truly got a taste of literally basking under the sun with a book in hand. The atmosphere was so serene and peaceful that it’s hard not smile, and the sun! The lovely sun. It beats down hard, but yet not intense. Accompanied by the breeze, it was perfect.
It was awkward like how strangers would feel at their first meeting. Few words were spoken throughout the plane ride; only with the occasional complain of the disastrous and most horribly designed seats of the plane. Seriously, it was the most awful seat ever. It inclines at an angle, but does not provide a foot rest, leaving one’s feet dangling off the chair. Can you imagine sitting on that for 7 hours straight?! Geez!
Upon arrival, we quickly made our way to the subway station. Surprise, surprise! There were no barriers of any sort! We were amazed. The Germans were apparently thought to be of the highest integrity, and would therefore, never ever NOT buy a ticket. I can already imagine what would happen if this were done in China. NO ONE WOULD BUY A TICKET.
It did not take us long to find our hostel, and before you know it, we were all settled in. We unpacked, did a quick wash up and changed into more comfy clothes suited for sight-seeing under the sun. The weather was fanta-bulous!! It was dry, and not humid like Singapore. Most importantly, despite the blazing sun above, the cool wind more than compensated for the heat!! In fact, the weather was so pleasant that people were riding bikes in office wear!! YES! Awesome, isn’t it?
Our first stop: the rathaus-glockenspiel, a clock tower situated at the Marienplatz. On the way there, we stopped by St. Michael’s Church and took a snap shot of pictures. Being the first church we went to, we were awed. My mouth was literally left hanging and I could not stop saying, wow. However, we did not realise that, the subsequent churches would be more than an eye-opener.
As we left the church, we realised that we had much time left before the chiming of the glockenspiel, and so we made our way into frauenkirche – cathedral of our Dear Lady. Interior wise, it was relatively simply, with no drawings on its ceiling. It’s alter is as amazing as ever, and the centre of attraction was a devil’s footprint at the entrance of the church. The story goes that the devil made a deal with the architect of the church not to place any windows in the church, and in return, he would aid in the building of the church. The architect, being the innovative person that he is, designed the cathedral in a way that, at the position of the devil’s footstep, not a single window could be seen. However, taking a step forward would then permit the view of the windows. The devil knew that he was tricked, stamped real hard, and left, leaving his footprint behind!
After a few quick snap shots, we quickly made our way to the rathaus-glockenspiel to catch the chiming of the clock. There we were, standing under the hot sun together with hundreds of tourists, trying to catch a glimpse of the clock as it made its rounds. We were sorely disappointed as the clock literally made its rounds. All it did was merry-go-round and it was amusing to hear everyone Ooh-ed and Aaah-ed collectively. It was even more amusing to hear it every subsequent day we walked pass the Marienplatz at 11am, 12pm, and 5pm.
We then made our way around the residenz, to the Hofgarten! The hofgarten is BEAUTIFUL! It’s where we truly got a taste of literally basking under the sun with a book in hand. The atmosphere was so serene and peaceful that it’s hard not smile, and the sun! The lovely sun. It beats down hard, but yet not intense. Accompanied by the breeze, it was perfect.
The stars twinkled on Faith @ 1:30 AM::
--------------------oOo--------------------
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