Lost in the wilderness and the ''gotham city'' of Belgium

Drove up to a rural area in Belgium in search of the best known beer of Belgium, made by monks. got there after a 1hr drive. no cars, no people, only the big wide endless field and us. have been drinking n drinking n drinking for the entire trip! trying different types of beer from different country. well just another excuse for drinking.

The Trappist beer made by Trappist monks. Limited supply of this beer makes the taste even better. we tried to buy some off the counter of the bar and they dont sell them. and at the gift shop, they dont sell them either, reservations must be made.

after beer-tasting, we headed for Brussels the capital city of Belgium. At least this place is better than Brugges, at least to me. haha afterall i grew up in a city=P daljoon once again, left us for his museum escapades while we walked around the city, looking for authentic Belgium waffles and Belfry.
Unlike waffles we have in singapore that are really thin n tasteless, Belgium waffles are very thick, and taste like Roti Prata! haha yeapps maybe i missed prata too much. topped with just icing sugar and tastes heavenly.

and then comes the Belfry! daljoon told me fried originated from Belgium, so of course we've got to try them even though i think it taste the same from the ones we usually get from Mosburger, thick fries with sauce on them

after all these eating, we went to the central square of Brussels, similar to those in other towns and city, a wide open space where carnivals and markets can be held. somehow i like this more than that in Brugge =x nice architecture huh?

touring around the city without any time limitations is the best, go whereever we want, do whatever, eat whatever! haha did i mention, there's so many chocolatiers everywhere! haa got attracted to the choc fondue and decided to try, banana choc yum yum

and then passed this national statue, Manneken Pis Fountain, a cheerful little boy taking a leek in the pool near the grand place. haha and everyone was trying to take a photo of his small ****. haha poor boy.

while hee yeun n i didnt, because we were more interested in the choc shops nearby, Godiva chocs and the choc tart we had for 1.50euros was truely one of a kind. with berries on top and white choc as the filling, dark choc as that tart.

okay enough of food for now, continue walking straight and we come to a garden, i dont know what isit called but it's beautiful! it's on top of a little hill so you can actually glance out into the city. which is soo beautiful! hehe i love Brussels already =) and it's even prettier when it's all light up at night.

my Brussels advanture seem to invovle lots of food, not before long, it's dinner time already and we went to Daljoon's recommanded restaurants for our dinner before heading back to Germany =( Mussels(kelly your favourite!) haha i think of Mussels i think of Kelly. the national dish of Belgium is a must try! the entire street of restaurant only has that in their menus and are really aggressive in their promotion, it's like newton circus.

Liyin n i ordered a meal to share 31.50 Euros for a cup of beer, 800g of White wine Mussels, prawn salad, fries and unlimited no. of bread! and the shells that are empty after the meal. yum yum

BelgiumNeLux

raaaaaar! RAINING again! somebody told me, it wouldnt rain as much in Autumn, guess u're so wrong!

all of us woke up real late today, set off from the korean hostel at 10am or so to another country! haha and along the way mr dj ha couldnt stop letting his gas out in the car -.-"

it took us quite awhile to get to Belgium, so almost half the time was spent in the car. only arrived in Brugge, Belgium at around 2pm. it was raining in Belgium too, sooo i only took that many pictures. sigh. but yeah we walked around town after checking into our rooms.

the town looks somewhat like Delft. nothing spectacular, it's pretty of course. haha i think my marginal utility level for towns in europe is declining in a really fast rate. plus it was raining, sooo nah not a good day. along the way to the grand platz, we came across so many chocolate shops! they are everywhere! it's either giftshops or choc shops. u can tell how touristy this place is. got to the main square and there were christmas markets, but it isnt that happening, looking at the number of people there. and a skating ring! which is filled with water instead of solid ice.

the lights and decor in the grand platz is really beautiful, very christmassy! haha i cant wait to spend xmas! hehe but anyhow, it started to rain again la, what a gloomy day. guess what! my umbrella broke! booo my branded H&M umbrella which cost a bomb in spore $$ flipped n broke! WTH

we walked around in the rain until it was dinner time n went to a small cafe ard the corner for 3 euros recommanded pasta which taste awful....i've nothing else to blog about this place,  booooo what a "great" day.

Windmills, smelly cheese and delicious Netherland caramel wafers

Rainy sunday morning. We had awesome breakfast in korean hostel =) bimbimbap yumyum. and they gave us free bread, cheese, jam n nutella for our car trip today! what nice people they are. unlike the ones in London.

like i said, it was pouring. we've got lots of place to cover today. will be travelling within The Netherlands today.

Our first stop: Zaanse Schans. 

A small little village town about 30mins away from where we stayed the night. A very touristy place. When we got there, it was raining so heavily, and the wind was sooo strong my umbrella flipped everytime there's a strong gust of wind. I shared an umbrella with Ella and we were literally fighting the wind with my tiny umbrella. So strong, we sought shelter at the nearby gift shop.

they had many many dutch products in the shop, mainly the cheese. different types of cheese were up for tasting and the goat cheese taste horrible! haha just like the ones i had in Aussie a yr ago. =X and i saw the Wafer that marc bought for me!!!! it's like in a corner, waiting for my attention! immediately grabbed 2. hehehe

okay too long in the shop, getting a boring, so we braced the wind and went out for the main attraction. Windmills! they had only 7 remaining windmills which stood at the Zaanse river edge. Magnificant.  if only the weather was better. open green fields with small streams running across it. many small cute little houses clustered together to form a small village.

this time we're better at navigating with the GPS. travelling from one place to another became a lot easier. our second stop: Den Haag. only 1 thing i can say about this place. another boring city. -.- we didnt even bother getting out of the car to do sightseeing, because there's absolutely nothing interesting! but thanks to lonely planet, we found this Scheveningen. a long beach that attracts 9 mil visitors per year. winter at the beach? hmmmm interesting!

the wind is really really strong at the beach. and we tot there wouldnt be anybody at the beach in winter. we're so wrong! it's crowded with people. and forget about bikini babes and hunks in they surf pants. haha it's too cold! winter jackets and boots at the beach for today. there were people surfing though, only comment was " not cold ah?" 

took lots of photos at the beach, it's a really beautiful beach, anytime better than sentosa. haha what am i talking about. =P lots of jumping. haha and 3 loves for Singapore. <3 collected 2 pretty shells too when i was on the way back to our van. =))

after spending quite awhile there, time to go! to the next city. 3rd pit stop of today: Delft. So much better than Den Haag. it's a really small, quaint little town. because we arrived there late, it was as though we were the only ones there. no one in the streets and it was getting dark and rainy again. nothing much to see again, just enjoy the little town feel, with 2 storey homes and cobbled streets. a river running in the middle of town and lots of tourist souvenir gift shops around. look at those huge shoes! haha 

last place to go before heading for dinner, Rotterdam. Architecturally 'beautiful' city. according to the guidebook we're to see the Cube House, really in the shape of a cube standing on one of the tips. and there are actually people living in them! weird. 

but anyhow, it's just another city again, nothing interesting and it's already dark at 5pm. and we were too tired and hungry to see other things. looking forward to dinner. Went to one of the picks from the guidebook, not a touristy place and the food wasnt as good as expected. no menus, only serve what is on the board. Beef or something else. 

dinner was a quick one, i guess we were all hungry! haha only 8pm and we're left with nothing to do! and suddenly heeyeun n i had an idea, one place we've not visited in Amsterdam. and before we know it, we're back in the Red Light District of Amsterdam. walked about 10 minutes to the SEX MUSEUM! *peeeweeeet. 

it's really sex through the ages, with pictures, real pictures of people taken in the photo studio. haha every way, position blah blah blah in pictures from the 17th century all the way till 1900s. eye opener. there's also a copy of the karma sutra in the museum too. got kinda bored after awhile because everything seem to look alike after some time. haha and yeah there's a telephone sex booth in the museum too which plays a pre recorded phone call. haha =P

I Amsterdam

came back to Oestrich Winkel for a day or 2, and headed out of the country again! this time, gonna explore the Benelux region which consist of 3 countries, BElgiumNEtherlandsLUXembourg. Im not taking the train nor the bus or the plane, we're going on a ROAD TRIP! =)

took off early in the morning again, at 6am, Jin Moo is the driver, we rented a 9 seater car for 5 days. Full house people: Jinmoo, Heeyeun, Ella, Liyin, Daljoon, Sungho, Symon, Jason n Me. a totally different experience, more of fun n bonding actually. the trip started off with us getting lost in Cologne. we went around in circle trying to find an alternative route due to road closure.

Moo: Cologne Cathedral!

1hr later....

Everyone: Cologne Cathedral..AGAIN! ahaha

but the GPS system eventually found us a way to Netherlands. our first stop of our trip. I Amsterdam.

after a 5hrs long drive, we finally arrived in Amsterdam. We tried to find our way within the city by typing "Sex...street" and we ended up in an industrial area. haha and eventually decided to consult the guidebook for places of interest.

Amsterdam is real pretty. with the river crossing the city, must be 10 times prettier in summer. It's almost winter now, leaves are all on the ground, no flowers.

While Daljoon headed for his museum, we lingered ard the open space outside the museum for some photos of the famous I Amsterdam sign. There were soo many people around this and we had to wait for our turn to snap a grp photo. it's so huge that i cant get the whole thing in my camera. angle isnt wide enough for my camera.

The Heinkein experience which was not too far away from where we were, was goood! far better than the Guinness one! Guinness was such a waste of money. at least the Heinkein experience had interesting stuff to see & do.

they've got short demos on how the beer is made, showing us real ingredients and methods. the original brew room was kept in it's original state. the horse stables had the horses which carries the beer from factory to factory. and a heinkein "ride" more of a stimulator, showing us how the beer is produced, bottled, and delivered to different countries. 

what's more, they've got many interactive games and kiosk for young n old to enjoy. no one gets bored! and lastly we come to beer tasting! yipppeee haha 3 glasses each actually but we were too pressed for time we could only have 1=( alcoholics. hehe cheers!

After a Mac dinner, we headed to the most famous red light district in the world. at first we were wondering where are the people at, no one on the streets even in the city centre in the day. Now we know, everyone is gathered at the RLD. haha tonnes of tourist flocking there, mostly men. with bikini-cladded girls in "fish tanks" showing off their assets while men oggled over them out on the street. no photos are allowed. this is the best i could take.see the red light? yeah u're at the right place.

narrow alleys filled with people again, looking into those small rooms where the girls are in. some are really pretty while some look really really bad, fat ones, short ones, old ones. you name it, they have it! there are actually men making their transaction there. ahya not surprising la. men..... and they actually receive their service within that small room itself with the curtain drawn of course =P.  Generally the whole street is lit in red. down by the river, are swans, actual live white swans which serve as a stark contrast with what's going on on the river sides. i tot swans symbolises purity. haha

and on one end of the district lies a row of Coffee shops with blue neon signboards. 3 or 4 of the very same coffee shop in a row. The Bulldog, first coffeeshop. Amsterdam may well be the only country which accepts drugs in their culture. Weed, space cakes etc are sold in these so called coffeeshops, and they're again crowded with people. price of 2 sticks cost about 12euros, they wrap it for u, the ready to smoke sticks.  The name with a heart. HA!

Doing it alone.

London day 3. Basically my last day in London. Again, there wasnt any rain! Fine weather throughout the morning. Went to the Theatre again because we wanna watch another Musical, Billy Elliot! hehe greedy bunch arent we?

i've decided last night, im gonna take the city on my own. Im not a museum-buff. and today is museum day for all 3 of them. so instead of wasting time on things i dislike, why not explore the city by my own! hehe

but first we went on a river cruise first which brought us to many sights along the river bank. we've seen almost everything already, but this time, in the day. the boat ride is around 5pounds, a 40mins ride from the London eye to the Tower Bridge.

 

After the river cruise, got down at the dock and walked across the river via the Tower Bridge. Lunch over the other side of the river! Fish & Chips the national dish of London. yummy yummy cod fish that i ordered. it wasnt that expensive considering the fact that it's a restaurant by the river. and it looked kinda posh " The Horniman at Hay's" what a name.

with lunch over, the rest of them headed for the national gallery while i just took my time, and went where ever i want to go. ended up at oxford street, haha heaven to every shopaholic. walked from Primark all the way to the other end of the street. Not rushing for anything, just a slow stroll along the busy walkway and stopped by one of the cafes in the shopping centre for afternoon tea. went to fred perry, wanted to get him a shirt but the designs are boring! just a plain collar tee for 40pounds =|

last stop was TOPSHOP! hehez it's really really hugeeeeee, 3 stories of ladies wear *eeeks* and i spent almost 2hrs on just 1 floor! the basement was filled with clothes u can find in bugis street! but they are like 10times the price! exactly the same fabric and all. haha cheat money.

didnt get away with nothing. hehez i bought 5 pairs of girl boxers from La Senza for only 12pounds. and a huggie warmer for 8 pounds in topshop! happy =)

 

 met the rest of them at Subway for dinner, and ended up with no dinner because they dont have the wrap. and the indian guy commented when he saw us, "you guys from asia look the same" i was like what?! how rude! racist statement. and he said wraps are only served for breakfast, what nonsense is that?! i had it for so many years for subway lunch n dinner. bad service

without dinner, i went to the Billy Elliot musical. i've watched the movie before a long time ago, about a boy who dreams to be a Ballerina while his family struggles to survive. vulgarities are everywhere in this musical and the accent was really strong. couldnt exactly catch some of the stuff they were saying and their british humor. prefer Mama Mia to this one.

dancing queen

Day 2 in London ( a little lag, i know. i was too busy last week with class and packing for the next trip =P)

Weather in London was awesome. I actually expected 3 days of rain, but day 2 was really sunny & comfy. There are so many things to see in London, and we only managed to cover the major ones today. But before going for sightseeing, we went to grab Musical tickets for Mama Mia! what's visiting London without watching at least one musical. woke up really early in the morning and rushed to the theatre to avoid the queue. Tickets are halved the price if u get it on the day itself. and we've got student price! 2nd row from the stage =) hehez

first place of interest: The Buckingham Palace

house of the Royal Family, too bad i didnt get to see the Prince haha *dreaming...* but the flag is up! indicating, the queen is in the Palace. and too bad we didnt get to catch the change of guard today. boooo! of all days, we had to visit today =| New friend we made in the Korean Hostel. i think she's really cool, she took a year off to just to travel. she's in her early 30s, quit her job, left her family and came to europe, visited every single city in Spain, worked in a farm in Iceland and now she's in London for a week tour and off she go to New york. *envy

Mr policeman guarding the palace, just stood there the whole day for tourist like us to snap a photo of him. he must be really famous, appearing in everyone's photos, more famous than the queen. i had to wait for my turn to snap a photo with him. haha tourist...

those guards in the red-blue coat, cant talk when they are at work. Liyin n i asked him, "can we take a photo with you?" and he replied by blinking his eyes! haha how clever =) poor dudes, they cant speak for hours! while tourist exploit them.

stroll through St James park to our next destination. never knew a park could be so pretty. good place for dating! really really love the park, no wonder angmohs love picnic so much. i wouldnt mind spending my day lazing there if parks in singapore are so beautiful.

2nd place of interest: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey n London Eye

No entry to the Big Ben, only could take photos outside the area. i stood outside the gate and finally got a photo taken because there were so many inconsiderate people, walking pass everytime i want to have a picture, and there were so many cars too, annoying. Westminister Abbey is just next to the Big Ben, didnt enter the church because admission fee is 11 pounds! eeeeks! and then we walked across to the bridge where we could see the London Eye. the big Ferris wheel, similar to ours in Singapore. 

3rd place of interest: Harolds Department store & Oxford street

the infamously huge emporium in London which has a million things! from raw meat to designer clothes and designer doggie accessories.

haha i was more interested in the food section, hehe as usual =P

Last Destination: Mama Mia Musical!

Awesome musical! strongly recommend all of u to watch it! real funny, easy to understand(no strong British accent) although it's the same as the movie, it's still worth it =)