Northern Lights in Tromso Norway - Day 3 & 4

Date of Travel: 28-31 Jan 2014

Day 3
Today was our second last day of our 16 day holiday. It is coincidentally Chinese New Year eve, where we would normally be having a reunion dinner with family. But 3 of us are so far north in the Arctic Circle, so far away from any family members. So we shall make the best of tonight's celebration.

Northern Lights in Tromso, Norway - Day 2

Date of Travel: 28-31 Jan 2014

Tromso, Norway

Day 2
Apart from the Northern Lights, Tromso is also famous for the Fjords, which are narrow waterways through steep cliffs. There are many tours offering cruises to see the fjords, some lasting a week long even. I get seasick easily, so I am not one who would willingly sleep on a cruise. And being in such an expensive country, we found the cheapest possible solution to see the fjords. Take the 7:10am Fjordprinsessen from Tromso - Vikran - Tennskjer – Lysnes. Don't get off the ferry, and ride it all the way back to Tromso to arrive back by 9:05am. Cost was 177Kr (RM88) per person for a return journey. The ferry DOES NOT run on Tuesdays & Thursdays, so do check the schedule to plan your itinerary. http://ruteinfo.thn.no/filer/519_en.pdf

Northern Lights in Tromso, Norway - Day 1

Date of Travel: 28-31 Jan 2014

Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. Northern Lights, taken from Tromso, Norway

Call it luck. Call it fate. Call it anything you want, but being able to catch this natural phenomenon was breathtaking and once-in-a-lifetime for me. The picture above, was the goal of our trip to Europe this year. I feel blessed! And what a present for HH on her birthday today. Here's what happened.

Day 1
Berlin - Oslo, 11:35am - 1:15pm
Oslo - Tromso, 5:40pm - 7:35pm

It was really unlucky (or lucky) that there were snow storms everywhere that day, causing many flight delays. We were supposed to have a short trip to Oslo city to have a look, but due to the delay, we decided that it wasn't feasible. In the end, our flight leaving Oslo, was also delayed, and we eventually arrived Tromso at about 8:45pm.

All snowed in at Oslo airport

The airport has a very nice wood-y feel

Oslo Airport has very few restaurants for the amount of people here

Guess how much was a burger? NOK189 = RM95!

4 Days in Berlin - Day 2, 3, & 4

Date of Travel: 25-28 Jan 2014

Cycling in the snow, at the iconic Brandenburg Gate

Day 2
We kinda wasted today doing nothing much. After a superb hotel breakfast, we headed to the Trondl Market but found nothing much selling. Only later did we find out that today was a special festival day, where malls are only open from 1pm - 7pm today. Since our friend was really cold, we headed to our favourite outdoors-gear shop called Globetrotter to buy gloves. There was a sign at the door, but we could not read German! So we shopped at a mall nearby and hung around there till after 1pm, hoping that it would open. But luck wasn't on our side today. After heading back, we were just too cold and tired to go anywhere, and basically had dinner next door at an Italian restaurant called Marinelli.

My yummy hotel breakfast

4 Days In Berlin - Day 1

Date of Travel: 25-28 Jan 2014

Day 1

Continuing from my previous post in Barcelona, we decided to visit Berlin because it was a convenient stop on our journey towards Tromso, Norway. Also in my previous post, I had acquired a knee injury on my left knee. HH was really worried that I could no longer walk for the rest of the trip, and she had searched and emailed a contact to rent a wheelchair for me in Berlin. I have always been impressed by the efficiency and precision of Germans. True enough, when we landed, there were several missed calls from that company, and they had emailed a reply saying that they can promptly deliver a wheelchair to our hotel, for our 4 days here, and collect it back from the hotel before we depart. The cost was €50.00 nett for the entire duration. Not bad at all.

4 Days In Berlin - Intended Itinerary

Date of Travel: 25-28 January 2014

This was a very detailed itinerary planned by HH. However, she did not predict the weather to be -15°C and snowing most of the time. Perhaps it can still be usable on warmer days.

25/1    BCN-BER    1055-1345
28/1    BER-TOS    1135-1935

Sat 25 Jan (Group ticket ABC: Euro16.70 )
- Arrive Berlin Schonefeld 1:45pm
- Walk to S station Berlin Schonefeld Flughafen
- Take S45 11 stops to Berlin Sudkreuz Bhf
- Walk to S Sudkreuz Bhf station
- Take 2 stops to S Anhalter Bahnhof
- Checkin to hotel
- Take bus M41 3 stops to Sony Centre
- Take U2 towards S+U Pankow 2 stops to U Stadtmitte
- Walk to Augustiner Restaurant
  Address: Charlottenstraße 55, 10117 Berlin, Germany
  Phone: +49 30 20454020
  Hours: 10:00 am – 1:00 am
  Recommended: Weiner Schnitzel, pork knuckle, veal sausage (kalbsbratwurst), potato soup (kartoffelsuppe), big pretzel (brez'n) and beer (Edelstoff), potato dumplings(klopse), fried potatoes (bratkartoffeln), roasted pigs legs (hinterhaxe), beef goulash
- Walk to Unter den Linden, take bus 100/TXL towards S+U Zoologischer, 1 stop reach S+U Brandenburg Tor
- Take S25/S1/S2 towards south, 2 stops to S Anhalter Bahnhof. Reach hotel

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 3 & 4

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Day 3

"Oh no! My shoes!" It pays to wear waterproof/Goretex shoes in winter

Having seen lots of buildings around Barcelona, we started the day with something not in my original itinerary at all: To see the beach! Yes it's in the middle of winter and we must be crazy going there in our heavy jackets. After eating at our hotel room again, we took the train to Drassenes station and walked to the Christopher Columbus monument. This area is known as Barceloneta, which seems to be the older part of Barcelona. It was a beautiful, beautiful morning by the water, eventhough the water was cold!

Bicycles for hire, but it was not available for tourists

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 2

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Sagrada Familia - Under construction since year 1882!

Day 2
Today we had a booking to enter the Sagrada Familia's Nativity Tower at 3:00pm. It is highly recommended to make a booking prior to your trip, as the queue to enter the Sagrada alone will snake around the block! Do your bookings here http://visit.sagradafamilia.cat/?lang=en

We started the day with a healthy breakfast in our hotel room, previously bought from the Supermarket the day before, follower by a walk in the park at Parc Guell. To get there, walk to Girona station, catch the 9:06am metro for 2 stops to Trinitat Nova station. Use the same T10 ticket to take bus #116 at 9:20am for 6 stops. There is an entrance fee to enter the building, but we chose to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and view from the top instead. The park itself looks huge, but surprisingly it's again a false illusion, as you can easily walk the park rather quickly. Again, compliments to Gaudi! Have a look at the photos.

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 1

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Barcelona is now my favourite tourist destination city. It has the perfect balance of sights, shopping, food and a great transport network linking all of them together. The whole city embraces the work of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi and his modernisme ways. And which other city can you find a church under construction since year 1882?

Day 1
We woke up in Rome at 4am to catch the flight to Barcelona, and landed at 10am. From here, grab the RENFE train from the airport to Passeig de Gracia and walk 200m to Hotel Europark. Though it was in the middle of winter, the weather was very pleasant, approximately 15°C, making the walk very pleasant. Hotel Europark was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the 3 of us at only €61.60 per night (excluding the €0.72 city tax per person per night).

Triple Room for €61.60/night without breakfast (Off-peak in Winter). Extra bed slightly too soft

4 Days in Barcelona - Intended Itinerary

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

This is my original itinerary for Barcelona. I still think it's a good itinerary, if not for the fact that my knee gave way halfway and we couldn't venture that far anymore. My actual itinerary will come next.

22/1    CIA-BCN    0810-0955
25/1    BCN-BER    1055-1345

Wed 22 Jan (1 x T10)
- 0955 Arrive BCN Airport
- Buy 2 sets of T10 tickets from the entrance of RENFE station
- Take RENFE train to Passeig de Gracia, walk to Hotel Europark to drop bags
- Walk to Casa Mila for photos
- Walk to lunch at La Flauta for fabulous Tapas. Order cabreados eggs, assortment of tapas platter and pam amb tomaquet, and a glass of house wine. Finish off with crema catalana. Total €33 for 2 pax - Walk to Casa Batllo for photos
- Walk to Placa de Catalunya for shopping at El Corte Ingles'
- Dinner at Cafe Alfonso
- Back to hotel for rest

6 Days Itinerary In Italy - Day 5 & 6 Florence

Date of Travel: 17-22 Jan 2014

Day 5 - Day trip to Florence

Many people love Florence. They say that I should have spent a night or 2 there. Yes I liked it, but I still think a day trip is good enough. Most of the sights can be covered quite easily by walking. We caught the 8:35am - 10:07am train from Roma Termini to Firenze S.M. Novella station. What's the first thing we did when we got to Florence? We went straight to the Factory Outlets!!

My aim was to get a Bottega Veneta wallet, and The Mall factory outlet near Florence is the only place in Italy that has this brand's outlet. From the S.M. Novella station, you have to locate The Mall's bus stand that will take you directly there for €5 per person. Finding this bus stand was no easy task at all. We ended up walking around the entire block before we found the entrance to the bus station. Here's a map for you:

6 Days Itinerary In Italy - Day 4 Napoli & Pompeii

Date of Travel: 17-22 Jan 2014

Day 4: Monday 20 Jan (My birthday outing)

The Ruins of Pompeii City

We had mostly covered what we had planned for Rome, so we were searching for another place to visit nearby Rome. Many friends suggested Venice, but to me, that was just too far. HH was very surprised to find out that Pompeii was so near to Rome, and was excited to visit. She told us about the stories of the volcano and how people died there. It sounded interesting. To get there, we had to go to Naples first, and then take another train to Pompeii. Naples rang a bell in my head. I had often watched movies about Naples, being a beach town, with many resorts and palm trees. On hindsight, I think I mixed it up with Naples, Florida and not Naples (Napoli), Italy.

So Pompeii + Napoli it was!

Pompeii, from what I gathered, was an ancient Roman resort town for the rich. Researchers believe it was founded between 600-700 BC, and captured by the Romans in 70BC. Disaster stuck when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, and buried the population of 20,000 people under 4-6metres of ash. Over 1500 years later, it was discovered once, and rediscovered again in 1748. The objects beneath the ash have been well preserved due to the lack of air and moisture. Rumors say that the rich people had already fled when the volcano erupted, leaving behind the poorer workers who died there. The most ghastly part of this story is that the bodies disintegrated, leaving behind a cavity under the ash. During the excavation, they filled up the gap with plaster, in order to re-create the bodies lying underneath. So you can even see the expressions on their faces when they died. Ghastly!

6 Days Itinerary In Italy - Day 3 Visiting The Pope!

Date of Travel: 17-22 Jan 2014

Day 3 - Sunday 19 Jan 2014: Visiting the Pope!

This is Vatican City

We started the day shopping at Termini Station. Why? To locate underwear! It was becoming increasingly urgent to locate where to buy underwear, so we found very expensive ones indeed. From memory, 2 pairs for €25 of Calvin Klein. Bought it reluctantly. We did not expect our next stop to buy underwear. Who buys underwear at a flea market?? Apparently, Italians do. 6 pairs for €10

6 Days Itinerary in Italy - Day 1 & 2

Date of Travel: 17-22 January 2014

Give him time, it's only Day 2 and he hasn't gotten used to our style of photography yet!

My first trip to Italy! And I loved it.

After I had booked my air ticket to Barcelona explained here, I suddenly realised that 17 Jan 2014 was a public holiday in Malaysia. With just 2 days leave, I can extend my trip by 6 days, so why not? I contacted Qatar Airways, and ended up paying RM320 per person for the extension, great!

I have always loved Italian food, and wanted to know the authenticity of Italian food in Malaysia, so I picked Rome for my extra 6 days. I did not want to shift hotel in the middle of the 6 days, because my flight arrived late, and departed very very early on the 6th day. Splitting the time in Rome, would be quite hectic.

How I Ended Up In Norway In Jan 2014

This is Tromsø, a little town at the very far North of Norway

Whenever people see me, the first thing they ask is, "Where are you going next?". I'm not one who ALWAYS travels, but sometimes opportunity just comes along and it's fated for me to be there. Time is very precious to me, and especially for HH. With a slipped disc, she knows what it's like when she couldn't even walk one block on her own a few years ago and had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair. This time, it was her dream to see the Northern Lights. So why wait?

Europe 2011 - Day 14 & 15 Going Home

Date of travel: 20-21 April 2011

After having stayed 2 weeks in Europe, it would seem like we have overstayed our welcome. This morning, it was as if we woke up to a different season. Everywhere was packed with people and made visiting tourist attractions difficult. Today involved buying all the things we missed out on and left for the last. They involved:

• Fridge magnet souvenirs from Notre Dame
• Macarons from Montparnasse
• Possibly some ham/cheese from Bastille Market

Flea market at Bastille

Best of Travel 2011 with CrazyDigest

A summary of the best of 2011 with Crazy Digest

1. Best city to go for sightseeing:
Nominees: Munich, Chiangmai, Paris

Winner of Best city to go for sightseeing: Paris

Paris offers an all-rounded experience of having many sites to visit in a small area, with an easy-to-access transportation network. Rental bicycles are the best!

2. Best single sightseeing spot:

Winner of Best single sightseeing spot: Deutsches Science Museum, Munich

We had 4 hours of great fun in this place. Models are life sizes and split in half for you to see inside.

Europe 2011 - Day 13 Munich to Paris

Date of travel: 19 April 2011

ICE trains from Munich to Paris, €39 per person

Comfy seats with tray tables for everyone

Having survived the 11-minute train change from Prague to Munich, we decided not to risk it again. Prebook your tickets from www.bahn.de and you will have several options for trains from Munich to Paris. ICE trains takes approximately 5hr45mins whereas TGV took 6hr15mins without needing to transfer. We opted for the latter and had a much more enjoyable ride compared to ICE. Good choice seeing how much luggage we had. The doors to the train only opens 20mins before departure. It had tray tables on each seat, and luggage compartment in every coach. Only problem was, the toilets were airplane sized, and it ran out of water!

Europe 2011 - Day 9 Guten Tag Munchen

Date of Travel: 15 April 2011

Munich Marienplatz Cathedral

It's time to head to Munich for some beer and pork knuckle! No more crowded, stinky, kiasu airports for us. It's time to take the lovely trains.

Prague to Nuremberg = Bus ride, exactly 3 hours 47 minutes
Change to Trains = 11 minutes time given
Nuremberg to Munich = Train ride, exactly 1 hour 11 minutes

You gotta love the Germans' precision on time. You are given exactly 11 minutes to get off the bus with all your luggage, and lugging them onto the right platform and right train on time.

Buses from Prague to Nuremberg, Germany

Europe 2011 - Day 8: Top 5 things to bring home from Prague

Date of travel: 14 April 2011

We dedicated a full day of some serious shopping in Prague. For some serious stuff, head to the suburbs where the locals go to. Our choice was Zilcin which has a huge shopping mall called Metropole, and another building housing Ikea.

Number 5: Bohemian Crystals

Bohemian Crystals are very well-known in Prague. It ranges from all kinds of drinking glasses to decorative pieces for your table or room. Shops selling them are all over the place, and you can even join a tour to see how they are made.

Photo courtesy of http://www.prague-stay.com

Number 4: Eggs from Blue Praha shop

This was something I look forward to visiting everyday. They look so pretty and dainty. I unfortunately had to give it a miss in bringing it home, as I didn't have a proper place to display this. One of the nicest things I've seen in Prague.

6cm Paperweight from 495 Kr. Photo credit to http://www.bluepraha.cz