Ghent, Belgium

Since the "Tag der deutschen Einheit" (Day of German Unity = National Day of Germany) fell on a Friday, I seized the long weekend to travel to Ghent in Belgium.

Ghent train station

I took a tram at Ghent train station to Backstay Hostel Ghent. As I did not know which tram to take, I asked the tram conductor and bought the tram ticket on the tram itself, which cost more than if I were to buy it at the ticketing machines at the tram stop.

Some of the food that you shouldn't miss when you come to Belgium are definitely belgium chocolates and traditional belgium waffles. I emphasize on the word traditional as I encountered many stores selling tourist waffles in Brussels, Belgium in 2012. In my personal opinion, those touristy waffles were too sweet and crazily piled up with strawberries, chocolate etc. 

Freshly made Belgium chocolates. I absolutely love the dark chocolates!

Traditional Belgium waffles at Brasserie Agrea

I was so hungry that I had chicken soup from another restaurant as well. Yummy!

Cuberdons or neuzekes (little noses) are candies. 

After eating the delicious food, it was time to explore the city. Some of the places of interests are Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in St Bavo's Cathedral, the Belfry, the Gavensteen (a castle) and the many churches. My favourite of all was simply to stroll along the river bank and to spend a lazy day basking in the sun. The view was simply breathtaking!

St Bavo's Cathedral 

The Belfry

 

The Gavensteen

Don't forget to catch the parade!

The daytime view of the river banks was awesome! The night view of the river banks was even more magnificent!

Some tips on finding the way to the destination if you do not have internet connection. 

1) Ask the staff at tourist information center

2) Ask the reception at any hotel / hostel

3) Tap on the free WiFi provided by any hotel / hostel and try to locate yourself and find your way!

Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is a city of the Alsace region in France, located near the France-Germany border. It is easily reached from west Germany by train.

Despite its vicinity to Germany, I noticed a distinct difference between the two immediately. At the traffic junctions, while the people in Germany are generally law abiding, the people in Strasbourg love to jay-walk!

Strasbourg train station

Notre Dame Cathedral

Astronomical clock in Notre Dame Cathedral

Aux P'tits Crocs. 

The food was affordable, the service was good and I met a Singaporean at the restaurant!

Duck breast and fries at the restaurant. The red wine sauce was so delicious!

The scenery was awesome and the houses were all so colourful and beautiful!

You can bring home a house as a souvenir!

Legends have it that storks bring babies to the households via the chimmeys. Bring home a stork too if you want to have a baby.

Bremen, Germany

Bremen is located at northwest of Germany. Ever since I got to know of the fairytale "The Bremer Stadtmusikanten" (The Bremen Town Musicans), I wanted to visit Bremen. The Bremer Stadtmusikanten is one of the fairytales written by Brüder Grimms (Grimm Brothers). Other well-known fairytales by the Grimm Brothers include Aschenputtel (Cinderella), Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty), Schneewittchen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) The Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince and so on. Bet you didn't know that these famous fairytales have a German origin!

Statue of The Bremer Stadmusikanten. If you haven't read this book by the Grimm Brothers,
 I'd recommend you to read it!

It was a short walk from Bremen Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to Marktplatz (marketplace). I visited Bremen during the period when there was the Bremer Freimarkt (a mini Oktoberfest carnival) at Bremen Hauptbahnhof and Marktplatz. 

Bremen Hauptbahnhof

Freimarkt

Old Town Hall

Marktplatz

Knight Roland. I spent a long time looking for Roland because it was partially blocked by all the decorations!

 St Petri Dom (St. Peter's Cathedral)

Dinner was currywurst and Glühwein

Deutsche Bahn (the German railway network) went on strike the week I decided to visit Bremen. This had several implications. My train was cancelled and I had to take another train at a different timing. As I had only purchased the departure train ticket before the strike was announced, I had to purchase the return train ticket at standard price. No more discount ticket :( Luckily, I purchased the ticket even though there was a strike going on. On those trains that were still running, everything was running as per normal and there were train conductors who checked our tickets on the train. 

I stayed at a single room at Bremen Zollhaus. Even though it is not located in the city central, it is easily reached by the trams within 3 stops. It is located along a brightly lit and quiet street and the room was very clean. I felt very safe and peaceful staying there and I'd recommend it to you.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

One of the places I'd highly recommend you to visit is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is accessible by train and is within walking distance from the train station. The old town is accessible by foot.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a magical, medieval town in Germany that is along the romantic road. Fairytales come alive here! There are shops that sell many christmas decorations the whole year around! It is like a christmas village. I'm sure children would enjoy themselves there and it is ideal for the entire family to visit. 

Castle gate at sunset

Take a walk along the town walls

Visit the medieval crime museum to see the items used in torture during the middle ages

The Night Watchman's tour is not to be missed! He was a fantastic story teller. I feel that I could learn so much from him! He projected his voice well, had appropriate pauses, spoke at comfortable pace, injected humor and most importantly, he was passionate about the tour! He collected his fee at the end of the tour because his group grew along the way! 

All the architecture are beautifully preserved

The Christmas store at Rothenburg ob der Taube

Nutcracker

Based on my personal experience, I would not recommend staying at the youth hostel at Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I reserved for a bed in a 4 beds female dorm but in the middle of the night, a couple came into the room. The reception was closed so I had no choice. I couldn't sleep at all that night because 2 of the occupants in the room were snoring thunderously! After that incident, I decided to book a single room in a youth hostel even though it cost more. 

If you have some time to spare, do visit Nürnberg which is a 1h train ride from Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 

Blackforest, Germany

Schwarzwald (Blackforest) is located at the south of Germany. It is the origin of cuckoo clocks which are all hand-made and handcrafted. Blackforest covers quite a big area and I visited Titisee.

The scenery was so breathtaking! Once I arrived at Titisee, I felt so relax and all the stress simply disappeared. I took a boat ride at Titisee. I'd recommend you to spend the entire day at the Blackforest to explore and relax. Don't forget to taste well-known German cuisine such as pork knuckles and blackforest cake while you are at the Blackforest. 

There are two types of cuckoo clocks, the mechanical clocks which require winding and the battery operated clocks.

Above is an example of a battery operated clock. The two weights at the bottom are very light and are used for decoration only.

Above are examples of mechanical clocks. There are three light weights, one is for the time, one is for the cuckoo bird, and one is for the music. These weights are light and require winding daily.

The above mechanical clock has two heavy weights, one is for the time and another is for the cuckoo bird. These weights are heavy and require winding once a week.

I bought the last mechanical clock with two heavy weights. As you can see, it is expensive. If you want to get one with music, it would be even more expensive. But it is for the craft and skill taken to make the clock. It comes with two years warranty and they have a service center in Singapore. As the packaging is huge, I shipped the clock back to Singapore.

The cuckoo sings once at the half hour mark and completely at the full hour. Don't worry if it gets too noisy. There is a on-off switch at the side so it's very convenient to get the bird to shut up. I have always wanted to own a cuckoo clock and now I finally got one. Now then I realize how high maintenance it is. 

Well, for now, let's enjoy hearing it sing cuckoo cuckoo...

Attractions in Bonn

Besides Beethoven Haus, Haribo shop / factory outlet and Deutsche Welle, there are a couple of places of attractions in Bonn city. 

Bonn Hauptbahnhof (main train station). At the left is SWB where you can purchase the monthly transport ticket. Note that you would need a passport size photo to apply for the monthly transport ticket. It costs 6 Euros to print 4 passport size photo at the photobooth machine. I'd advise you to bring along your own passport size photo to save money. 

Das Münster (cathedral)

Der Marktplatz (marketplace) where you can buy fresh grocceries

Bonn university. Being a student at GI Bonn entitled me to student price at the university Mensa (canteen). However, as with most canteen food, don't expect much in terms of the quality and taste.

Lying on grasspatch on a sunny day

Altes Rathaus (old town hall) where couples register their marriage

Haus der Geschichte. Museum on the history of Germany, focusing on Germany after the second world war to the present. And entry is free!

A microbrewery in Bonn. Yes, beer is indeed cheaper than water in most breweries. Typically, a glass of beer costs around 1.70 Euro while a glass of water costs around 2 Euros.