Prague: Astronomical Clock

Finally, school reopened and you can see how busy I am, judging from the “deadless-ness” of this blog. I shall try my best to keep it alive… and I have to lols.

Back to the topic…

It was a long and drowsy trip on the bus before we arrived safely in Prague. Not forgetting, on the way there, Ms Govind was awake and was educating us about the Geography- such as the type of vegetation, forest, climate and etc.

In Prague, one of the most unforgettable experience was enjoying the astronomical clock at work!

The astronomical clock was built long ago in 1840, which is about 168 years ago, and it is still standing and working there till today! Although the clock look fine and running, however, it had stop several time in the past. It had also suffered heavy damage during Prague Uprising in 1945 and was only repaired and started working again on 1948 after significant effort had been put on the repairing.

The clock is “alive” hourly with animated figures. The animation actually shows a puppet show, which was used to be very famous in the past.

It was indeed a pleasant experience seeing the an antique a.k.a “gu dong” clock “live” infront of us and it definitely worth the worth to see the clock in action!

Pictures taken near the clock…

Konnichiwa!

Update: Reichstag

On the second day during the city tour, we visited the Reichstag in Berlin. The Reichstag was built in 1894 is the first parliament building of the German Empire.

The “Reichstag fire” happen in 1933, purposely set off by the Nazi to frame the communist so as to create false evidences to get rid of the communist which Hitler fear would threaten his position as a Fuhrer. However, a Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe was beheaded as a scapegoat for the Nazi crime. On the top of the Reichstag, you can see the word ” DEM DEUTSCHEN VOLKE ” on the architrave, which means “For the German people”.

Several candid shot with the Reichstag building

You actually realize the word “Volk” or “Volke” appearing almost everywhere in Germany, it means people. The car brand ” Volkswagen” means “The people’s car”, which was actually introduced by Adolf Hitler during the 1930s during the “Save five Marks a week, if you want to drive your own car ” campaign. This help to promote “luxury” among the Germans and the number of car owner increase by 336, 000.

Let’s learn some German words…

For this entry, we shall aim at learning basic German. After which, then I shall continue updating the blog!

This is a conversation between the Tour Guide and the Bus Driver when we just arrived at the Airport

*In German*

Bus Driver : Sind Sie aus Singapur?

Tour Guide : Ja, Freut mich

Bus Driver : Freut mich auch. Willkommem in Berlin

Tour Guide : Danke.

Tour Guide: Kidz, let go!

*In English*

Bus Driver : Are you from Singapore?

Tour Guide : Ya. Nice to meet you.

Bus Driver : Nice to meet you too. Welcome to Berlin

Tour Guide : Thank you.

Tour Guide: Kidz, let go!

Really, very basic.

Tschüss!

Update: Field of Stelae

We visited the Field of Stelae on Day 2, during the city tour.

The Field of Stelae consist of 2,711 slabs or “stelae”, covering 19,000 square meter. The stelae are 2.38m (7.8′) long, 0.95m (3′ 1.5″) wide and vary in height from 0.2m to 4.8m (8″ to 15′9″). The purpose of such architecture is to create an uneasy and confusing atmosphere that the Jews had experienced and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. This memorial construction cost about 25 million EURO.

Several candid shots with the stelae..

Siti showing her affections to the stelae

No one can stop us from taking pictures! No even the rock!

The think the architect must be sad to see this picture as he failed to create an uneasy atmosphere..

More photos at here!

Daily Journal on the trip

Hi! Chee How is back into posting. ( I shall not write this again. If it is Janice, it will be stated at the end. If there is no name, then it me again!)

I have received several comments that the blog did not update every place that was shown in the itinerary (http://ichliebees.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/hello-world/). The reason being that our blogging and resampling speed of the thousands of photos could not match the pace of our journey. In addition, we were not able to get wireless access at all location. However, we still need to complete the updating now. And hohoho… this blog need some re-organizing haha. Hence, the entire journey is covered below…

*Those with no hyperlink are not updated yet

Day 1

Before Departure

Flight to Berlin- Tegel, Transit at Doha for 2 hours

Field of Stelae (Photos) , Village walking tour (Photos)

Day 2

School Immersion at German Language School (GLS) (Photos) , City Tour (Photos)

Day 3

Sanssouci (Photos) , Cecilienhof (Photos), Siegessaule (did not cover),

Reichstag (Photos), Berlin Wall (Photos), Checkpoint Charlie (Photos),

Unter den Linden (Photos), Berlin Hard Rock Cafe (Photos), Museum of Technology (Photos)

Day 4

Depart for Dresden (Photos)

School Immersion at ????? (to be updated) (Photos)

Opera House Dresden’s (Photos), Saxon Wall (Photos),

Porcelain Museum (Photos), Porzellansammlung in Zwinger Palace (Photos)

Depart for Prague (Photos)

Day 5

Old Town Square (Photos), Charles Bridge (Photos), Astronomical Clock (Photos),

Wenceslas Square (Photos), Prague Castle (Photos), 6 hours self- tour (Photos)

Day 6

Nuremberg Documentation Centre (Photos), Nuremberg City Tour (Photos)

Day 7

Bavarian region south eastern of Germany, Berchtesdaden National Park, (Did not cover due to time contrain)

Berchtesgaden Salt Mines, Schellenberger Ice Cave (Did not cover due to time contrain).

But instead, we visited the:

BMW Manufacturing Plant (Photos)

Olympic Park (Photos)

Triumphal Arch (Photos)

Day 8

Dachau Concentration Camp (Photos), Farm Visit (Photos),

Marienplatz (Photos), Triumphal Arch (rescheduled to Day 7),

Olympic Park (rescheduled to Day 7), Munich Hard Rock Cafe (Photos),

Hofbrauhaus (Video) (Photos), Folklore show (Photos)

Day 9

Flight to Doha. Transit for 6 hours (Photos)

Day 10

Flight to Singapore (Photos)

As promised…

In the enjoyable night at Hofbrauhaus, Mr Philip was invited up on stage to do the Bavarian Slapping Dance ( Not face – to – face slapping but, that what they call it ).

Hint: Listen carefully to the background to see how “high” we were…

Another thing, as you guys might already know about the absence of photograph and information on our place of visit.

However, some thoughts here… would you guys little – by – little updates on the place of visit or just give a one MAJOR time update on the entire trip?

Share you thoughts using the comment system!

Hope to hear you out…

Cost of living in Germany…

Okay, pictures and videos are not with me yet… Will be getting them on monday, so more pictures and videos will be up by then.

So while waiting, let me some up about the cost of living in Germany…

Let’s start from exchange rate…

As EURO is stronger than Singapore and stronger then US, 1 EURO = $0.46 SG

The following write-up will all be in EURO…

An average meal ( main dish + drink ) in Germany will cost about 8 EURO. A bottle of Coke will cost you 2 EURO + 0.15 EURO of PET Fee ( Germany is environmentally friendly and they charge 0.15 EURO for plastic ). A normal McDonald meal ( burger + drink + fries ) will cost about 6 EURO. The number might look small in EURO but once it is converted to S$, it is S$18 dollars for a lunch!

However, we are not exactly sure about their pay there. The only pay we knew was the salary of the associates ( or worker… associates just sound nicer) is 25, 000 EURO / Year. Not sure whether that should be considered as the average salary of the Germans, but I don’t think so. The associates sounded overpaid haha.

Now, lets talk about souvenir… In Hard Rock Berlin and Munich, an average shirt will cost you about 24.95 EURO. A shotglass at Hard Rock cost about 7.95 EURO. Rather expensive right? If we talk about shirts at other souvenir shop, a shirt will cost about 14- 20 EURO ? About there.. REMEMBER to convert to SG to see the price haha…

Oh ya! Chocolate! I got a chocolate at about 2 – 10 EURO..  A normal Hershey sized  chocolate that I bought  cost me about 1.99 EURO…

Anyway, it might be just an one and only time to be in Germany, let just not fret about the spending there…

Hope to see more pictures up the coming monday!

Video updates!

Several video taken during the trip…

This video is taken at Zwinger Palace, Dresden, with the guide explaning…

Next, is the continuation of the previous MTV…

Finally, Gudong Spark on the trial of Busking… but…

Everything ended with a ‘boom’ !

Due to the inaccessibility to wireless access at Munich, we regret to tell you that we are unable to post about the visit. Now, me (Chee How) is blogging at Doha Terminal during the transit.

Yesterday was a pretty wonderful day. Sight-seeing in the morning and folklore show and folklore dinner at Hofbrahaus in Munich. Just usual sight-seeing and will update more photos in this blog when we arrive in Singapore. However, the most interesting event for yesterday, or I should say the entire trip- is the folklore show and dinner. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was ‘high’ and  we are like on steroid. More videos will be updated when we arrived at Singapore. I can guarantee it worth the wait.

Let’s start from the food. It was quite a feast- with Vienna sausages, chicken, ham, mashed potato, potato salad and etc… So much that I can even finish half of it.

The most exciting part is the folklore show. Everything started with the folklore band that pushed the atmosphere to the highest! Our table was the most ‘active’ group- singing, screaming, whistling, band, etc.. Everyone else gave us that wierd stare. First, was the singing by the ‘folklore’ lady. With the ‘o-leh-hee-o-leh-hee-o-leh-hee-hoo’. Then our table was joining in with the song. Solehin and Hisham was shaking all the way to the tempo. I had no idea by we was so ‘high’, perhaps the Coke that we drank was ‘drugged’. Then, haldway during the dinner,  Mr Philip was ’sabo-ed’ to go up on stage to do a dance. It looked silly anyway. Joining those professional dancer with that dance step. Then, half during the song, the people, including us, was forming the ‘chu-chu-train’ and enjoying ourself in the entire hall. After that, we formed the london bridge and continued with the chu-chu-train. We are so ‘high’! Then, I was too tired and when to sit down when majority of us was doing the ‘chicky’ dance at the hall. It was definitely an enjoyable experience. 

During the finale, national flags of the customers was brought out, followed by famous music of the country. We was wondering whether Singapore flag would be out- it really was! We was the loudest cheering group. Again, we received that wierd stare haha. I think this folklore show really marked an end to our Europe Trip with a ‘BOOOOM!’.

Not forgetting, yesterday was the last day with our coach driver- Milan. Everyone can’t wait to take pictures with him and also, he received a gift from us to show our appreciation.

Many other interesting things happened during the trip. We had great laughter almost everyday! Not forgetting to mention that we coincide with the Sec 3 group several times, at the School Visit, Dachau concentration camp and etc…

More photos and video of the trip, including the folklore show will be updated at a later date. 

That’s it for this entry. See ya in Singapore! 

Berlin Wall

For more than 28 years, from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989, it was a symbol for the division of the world following World War II in central Europe. The wall became firmly fixed in the minds of many people so that, years after its disappearance, overcoming it mentally has been much more difficult than many had thought. It was the trauma of the Germans expressed in the phrase “the German question” and it was the seemingly unalterable fate of the City of Berlin which it divided.

The wall was almost 160 km long, encircling the three west sectors of Berlin with population of more that 2 million people. And, according to the latest findings, it was the doom of at least 239 people (see Hildebrant).

 

In Belfast, Nicosia as well as on latitude 50 between the north and South Korea.

The Berlin wall had a unique symbolical significance and set standards in modern history, not least because it because penetrable. 

 

Because of Mikhail Gorbachev’s contemplations in respect to Glasnost and Perestroika in the USSR beginning in 1985, an irrevocable change began to take place in the member states of the Warsaw Pact. This finally reached the GDR in the autumn of 1989 and, in November 1989, swept away the Wall which, in everyday consciousness, had been held for impenetrable.

 

While, In the East, the wall was cordoned off some distance away, or it could only be reached through the special zone along access roads if had a special identification card. In the west, whether spurred on by rage or equanimity, many began to deal with it more directly, spontaneously and increasingly more colourful. Later a phenomenon called the Berlin wall painting movement arose. This phenomenon f graffiti painting particularly along the centrally located surfaces on the approx. 160m length of the fortification wall, dominated – at least optically- the west’s way of dealing with the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Berlin Wall – 1961 to 1989

A unique view of he Berlin Wall.

Below are examples of the artistic graffiti found on the Berlin Wall. 

Janice being cute again below…

Guess who joins her to be cute?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The three musketeers visiting the Berlin Wall…  Wati, Rafizah and Candy…  Who is Who?

Reenactment of how Berliners may have tried to climb over the Berlin Wall in the past?

A hole in the Berlin Wall.  This hole was probably inflicted on the wall when it was brought down piece by piece by the jubilant Berliners.

The double row of stones are all that remains of the foundations of the Berlin Wall in certain parts of the city.  This serves as a reminder to the location of the Berlin Wall before it was brought down.

Reenactment of how Berliners probably celebrated when East and West Berlin was reunited again.