Fantasy in Winter Wonderland

Perfect for a white Christmas, too bad it doesn't snow much at all in Zurich.

Neuschwanstein Schloss literally meaning New Swan Stone palace is a 19th century Bavarian palace located in near Hohenschwangau in southweat Bavaria. The palace was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse.

The view from Marien 's bridge provides the most fascinating view of the castle.

Munich

Many people are surprised that Munich was bombed extensively, because it certainly doesn't seem so in this beautiful city. The city center is rather small, but there is this special feel to it. Maybe it's the way the streets lead to one another, and how each sights interconnect with each other. The photo in the middle is pork knuckle and 2 potato dumplings.



The famous clock tower in Marienplatz



The most identifiable structure in a typical Munich postcard is this church with 2 round fresh fig like looking dominating the skyline.





The christmas night market in Munich was really nice too. It was so cold in Munich we had to drink lots of Gluhwein, a kind of hot wine with herbs to warm ourselves up.

Polyball - Mit Sabel und Sextant @ ETHZ

Polyball - The biggest Ball in Europe. True to its word, it was a fantastic experience as the whole university was transformed into a ball room magically within a night.



Everyone in the group did not know how to ballroom dance except for M, who obnoxiously compelled G to dance with him. It was slightly amusing in a photo where one can spot G using only 3 fingers to touch M's shoulders! I didn't know there was such a thing as "Ball Opening" where the best dancers and only them waltz for about a minute before the rest are allowed to dance. It was a pity as I didn't know how to ballroom dance. Those who knew swept their feet across the dance floor the whole night. I'm slightly envious!



All genres of ballroom dancing was located at different rooms. It was quite amazing to leave one and enter the adjacent one pulsing in another rhythm.





Certainly a good evening to remember for a long time

Luzern, Mount Titlis

Happy Holidays

Yesterday marked the end of the semester, signalling the end of 13 weeks of semester and in any case, if anyone thinks the semester was about weekend road trips, skipping classes, it's a half truth half lie. On the contrary, the picture wasn't too rosy with weekly lab reports (oh the horror with a Turkish nitwit) and also bi-weekly assignments that was close to re-defining the n-u-s experience. Still, the amount of work is far less without tutorials, but it's somewhat destabilizing as I wonder how in the world am i suppose to prepare myself for the impending oral exam doom in 2 weeks time. One was over in half an hour on Thursday and thankfully I passed though it never felt so claustrophobic with 2 other people in a room 15 x15 feet. And to think it was only a Business Module. I totally can't imagine the modules where I have to hold a piece of chalk in hand, talk like I know it, and think faster than I can speak.

so now let's start with the long over-due photos:

The scenery was simply awe-inspiring and the pastoral symphony kept playing in loops at the back of my head.

At the "Top of Europe" - too bad there was nothing much to do there, we went at a season where there was neither summer nor winter activities, so everything was closed.

PARIS

The weather was gloomy, grey albeit warmer than Zurich for 3 out of the 4 days, and I had the right mind to turn all my photos into black & white, in order to give it an old world charm. Needless to say it was a food and shopping paradise, and I like the way the city is structured with so much open space. The walk from the Lourve to Champs Elysees was exceptionally beautifully, and so was the walk along the Seine River as well. It was a good stay except for 2 nasty incidents which marred the trip. St. Paul's station, I don't know whether to call it a cursed point or a blessed point for I had to use that station 3 times as a S.O.S point. The 2nd incident was when I missed the train back to Zurich and had the honour of sleeping in the Les Marais district. haha

1,2 - In the TGV.. it was plushy, comfortable and super high-speed. J spent the last of his francs on Sprungli .. haha so expected.
3- I think it was some palace, but that day was meant to be cover all the uncovered shops on the shopping list.
4- Italian gelato which is so so so GOOD, J said I was totally dazed on my first bite.
5- For the first meal, I had some canard (duck fried in its own oil) in a really authentic french restaurant that served in exceptionally big portions.

The exhibits in Lourve are extensive, spanning several eras, several civilizations and several artistic styles. Though I can't decide whether it is moral for any lootings to take place, nevertheless it convenient to house everything in one big museum.

The most famous must-see exhibits that took me some time to find, but you know you're close when the density of people in the room starts increasing.

Other impressions of Paris. The photo of Eiffel is my favourite.

1. Raw beef. The first 10 mouthfuls tasted really good, after that the taste became so overwhelming.
2. Escargots. Nice.
3. House at Les Marais
4. Street at St. Germaine - St. Germaine, if I remember correctly, J said it is the Bohemian quarters and I said it was like the Geylang part of Sg.

There's about summing theenjoyable mid-term holidays!

Macarons from Ladurée

I can't find the time to blog - on Paris, Luzern, Mt Titlis, and probably Polyball this coming weekend. School work took a toll after I skipped it for one week which was well worth it. I had o redo an assignment and it totally destroyed my week. I hope the posts will keep coming in..haha

Vallobre

Visit to the Vallobre Caves with the Temasek Club Switzerland.


I wish it was summer, would be so great to dip my feet in the waters, but it's too cold now.


1000 metres above sea level, the winds were cold and chilly. Though, the autumn leaves were really beautiful.


Photos of the Cave



Broadly speaking, the participants belonged to the following categories
1) Singaporean females with their swiss husbands; relocation to Switzerland
2) Singapore males posted to Switzerland for work; brought their family along
3) Young single working adults, consisting of mostly Investment bankers (kaching!)
4) Young children aged 0-9 belonging to (1) and (2).

Stranded between 2 extremes, the Survive Switzerland Duo belonged to none of the above mentioned categories. Nevertheless, I had fun playing with the kids. It's so weird for them i feel, especially those who are going to here for good, like the girl in the middle who has a rather Singaporean accent but counts herself Swiss. I hope her self-proposed identity will be accepted by the Swiss, or else she would just be out of place. The rest of the kids there are already sounding and looking like ABCs or in this case SBCs.



It was also interesting to engage in the conversations of the adults and eavesdropping as well. And at the same time strange watching and listening to them talk about their children, rent, car, work, healthcare, insurance, expat contract, because in a few years time I 'd have to step into the job industry.



Later in the evening, we paid a visit to the JuraParc





Then half-expectedly, the Survive Switzerland Duo followed their cars back to Geneva and took a "Spot the Mistake" Photo at Lake Geneva. Can you tell what it is?

Around the House

In my apartment lives 4 tenants. Let's call them T1, T2, T3, T4.

NAMES





Mis-spelling of my name has happened not once, twice but thrice! Wenig means "Few". I can't imagine the twisted look on their amused face when someone has the first name "Few".

ROOMS

Take a peek into their room.

T1 is so loud literally. Even with my door close, I can hear his voice and his music across the walls, I can feel the vibration of his footsteps that threaten to shake the foundation of the house.

T2 is your truly, whose room is spanking clean and neat. With bare feet you can step into T2's room without feeling any slime.

T3 is secretive. I have to wait outside his room before he switches off his Hentai porn.

T4 snatched most of the household accessories from the storeroom and has the most comfortable room. Thus, his motto is "The earliest bird catches the worm".

KITCHEN

Facilities good enough to whip up a feast

T4's on a tighter budget and this is his attempt to bake bread the last week Bread is so freaking expensive. S$3-4 for one loaf that can last for 2 days before it hardens into a concrete like material.

while T2 is enjoying bread with caviar. haha

Click! Guess the area of storage belonging to T2.


I'm so freaked out by cheese. This one smelled so bad like fart.. gross.

DINING ROOM



Where we have meals



and make Gnocchi

TOILET



Click! Guess the toilet belonging to T2!



Shall end it with a high note and I hope you are not eating in front of your computer at the moment. Who left a trail of skid marks on my toilet bowl? Analysis of the biomaterial revealed constituents to be 50% potatoes and 50% meat balls. Obviously it's T1 and half a roll of toilet paper disappeared in the process. T2 had the dirty job of scrubbing the dirt out!

Telling me? Tell me not.

Social Escort Pass - I'm only allowed in Zone 10 and the renewal takes place every month. Gawd... doesn't anyone get it that Chinks are so in demand here?

(R)ED

Feeds from the Maison:

I smell Mexican food brewing in the kitchen

I detect Nether-Gas.

I spot a new friend from unknown origins.

He introduces, I do the same.
He smiles, I smile.
He looks Asian. I dare not say.

Someone says Ciao.
Someone seems weird today.

I ask someone about school.

I hear - the conversation is insipid - over the table

SOWIESO?

No one pays close attention to S politics, perhaps because of the crazy number of referendums churned out every month, with "No cars on Sundays" the most ludicrous I've heard to date.

In the run-up to elections next month, the S Political Party has plastered appalling posters across the country, depicting stark messages via cartoons. Evinced, as one is drawn immediately to a black cartoon sheep being evicted out of the field by a white sheep. The movement refers to a campaign pledge to expel foreign criminals. The slogan translates to something like "Create safety." Amusingly, the logo accompanied on the lower right is derived from the guarantee logo on food products.

My L-permit. From what I heard at a gathering with sg-people, it's a notch higher than an asylum seeker! maybe it's because I'm staying here for a few months only, but then again I had to pay 85 CHF (close to $100) for this dumb piece of paper that can be shredded into pieces within seconds. what the heck? and worse still, it's the cumbersome size of my wallet which means I can't slot it into the wallet like my IC.

The slogan of S. Com, the largest phone service provider, translates to "We have massively sunken prices in Europe."

Don't you think there's seriously something wrong with this poster? A theory reads somewhere that neutrality - practised since 1815 after the Congress of Vienna - is the source of xenophobia or even a sense of Über alles (above all). From personal experience, I've noticed that in supermarkets, bookstores etc that 90% stocks are "Product of S". And more recently, a conversation with an Administrative Personnel from the Student Exchange Office left me slightly in disgust. While explaining why I chose to study here, she launched into a paroxysm of "Put down ALL Universities" campaign with strong concealment of Überalles, though in vain.

That said, I'm still happy. :) I'm not complaining, just relating my thoughts, interpretation and understanding. I may be downright wrong. Who knows? It takes a complete bouleversement in beliefs, a lengthy process of inoculation to be in a position to quantify. Bottomline: One need to go through it to understand it. And that's what an exchange is about.

Fotographie! PICTURE! Bild! FOTOS!

Trip to Lake Constance

Groans... not another church.

View from atop.

Over the waters to Meersburg

1. Greenery at the port
2. On board
3. Sea Goddess
4. On board
5. Ferry off - leaving the jetty
   
6. View of Konstanz
7. Lakeview
8. Bird
   
9. We are in Germany!

1. House at Merrsburg - love the prety red leaves of the climber
   
2. House at Merrsburg
3. Mill of the oldest castle in Germany
4. Oldest castle in Germany
5. View from the bridge
6. View from the concourse of the castle

Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen - Mürren - Jungfraujoch - Grindelwald - Geneva NEXT!

Environmental protection pledge.

No animals shall be skinned for the Alpine trip.

The Plastiks prefer fo/x faux fur.

Recapitulation II

Am finally back from the ruins of Italy (aptly, a state of ruins, shall explain later why) and Austria. Time to blog after the pervasion of a malodorous blog stench, some accrued from the bad breath of the tag boards/comments. yea i know ardent fans and voyeurs alike can't wait for photos, especially with requests of me in fur and whatnots. haha. I shan't bore you with my words anymore and just let the pictures do the talking, but first I have to comment on the death of a great singer - Pavarotti. I am so absolutely baffled not by his death but the sudden emergence of mourners, who display their dolorous state online through the mutability of their nicks to "MOURN! The great singer has passed on..." I mean I don't mean to be disrespectful, but what's the point of promulgating some news, lamenting about a great passing on as though it perturbs one so deeply when one doesn't even listen to Pavarotti at all? Actually this ramble was long gone but surfaced again when I was blog-surfing just now and read the blog of a foolish youth who blogged about P. and put youtube videos of "Time to Say Goodbye" but, uh a version by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.

haha I think I've kicked up a big fuss almost the intensity of the mourners. So now ...

Italy - Venice, Florence, Rome, Pompeii

Venice



The motorways might be way too overcrowded along the Grande Canal. As I chugged along on a vaporetto at dusk to watch the sunset, the putrid waters, sounds of the ferries' horns, noisy tourists and exclamations of "pronto!" and "Si.. Si si si" could not reconcile my mental construction of the romanticized Venice. I am so sorry haha but perhaps a gondola would have made a difference in 2 ways. Romanticism and a big gapping hole in my pocket. Nevetheless, few cities can claim to be unique and venice is one of them with its thousand and one bridges, waterways and the ever-confusing maze of roads and canals.


Buildings are badly lighted. I reckon that had the lighting been more glowy, the effects would have set me on fire.


Venice in early dawn



Regrets: Forgetting to eat the squid ink pasta is being stupid! urgh!

Florence



Firenze - Birth of Renaissance.

Statue of the fake David by Michelangelo. The real one is apparently housed in some museum. Feeling a little regretful for not visiting the Uffizi Museum where the marvels of Renaissance works by Michelangelo and Botticeli are sanctified. Could have posed in front of"The Birth of Venus" haha

Facade of the Duomo





Up the Duomo!



The Florentine Steak, a highlight of Tuscany cuisine. I like the way where I could order according to the weight of the steak. and the wine tastes great too, costing only 2 Euros.



At Piazza Michaelangelo, the city view is stunning. speechless.



View from Piazza M. at night

Chianti



Bike Tour at Chianti - visit to a winery, olive oil cold compressor, downhill slopes and a bitch of a uphill slope (which I died)


Rows and rows of olive trees. The olive oil is fantastic beyond words.

Rome

City of Machiavellism (way too apt with regards to scene & setting) and abysmal transport. Nearly got cheated twice once at the Tabak Store where I had to buy a 3 day concession card for unlimited transport and another famous trick at the Spanish Steps. To think all Rome has are 2 pathetic railway lines running through the heart of the city and thousands of badly labeled bus stops and worse, no ticketing machines at all. Imagine buying it from a tobacco store, how primitive is that? The woman at the back of the counter passed me a concession ticket of 4 Euros when I paid 11 Euros. Thankfully I was already quite prepared for this trick to occur and true enough it did (read from wikitravel that the Tabak stores love to cheat tourists, not to mention the pickpockets). So I stood rooted for some time, trying to figure out what the other foreign words mean before asking her if she handed me the wrong ticket. Bitch of a woman stammered in English then switched to Italian, asking through hand signals if she had given the ticket to me. I answered "Si" firmly while she ransacked her paraphernalia of rat droppings, concession tickets and whatnots before finally handed me the correct price but with the wrong starting date! I questioned her by pointing at the day, "giorno? giorno?". Whore mumbled sometime like the ticket is validated at the time you start your first trip peppered with tons of Escusi. Somehow I trusted her since it would have been a futile attempt to further clarify with her anyway.

Funnily, the only number other than uno I can remember is cinque that sounds like "chi kuey" precisely because of its similitude to some nonya- sounding kuey.

The famous string scam occurred at the Spanish Steps. As I walk down, I heard scurring steps behind me and it's where this crazy Indian said : "Ni hao! Are you from China?" I spunned around and said "No!", while simultaneously noticing that on his right hand were coloured strings. I quickly ran off while he took chase, shouting at the back "from Tokyo? from Japan?" Crazy! Anyway the scam is that the con man will ask if you would like to play a string game or maybe some friendship band sort of thing with them. Unbeknownst to the victim, they craftily tie the string band around your wrist and in order to release it, you would have to pay them a hefty price of 20 Euros which is utter madness for some silly friendship band.

Tried artichokes for the first time in Rome and it really made me CHOKED.

Notwithstanding ... the Vatican City is fantastic.



as well as the Colosseum, which are all must-views in Rome.



and the Trevi fountains ...





Pompeii



Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on one early morning, 79 AD.



The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire.

Austria

Was quite a relief the moment I arrived since communication would no longer(I was somehow hesitant on typing no longer..haha) pose a problem.

Vienna



Things to do:
- Watch an opera. Buy the standing seats at 3.50 Euros!
- Visit Schloss Schönbrunn, a palace of the Habsburg Empire
- Eat the authentic Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher
- Visit Stephansdom







Salzburg



Visit to Mozart's Birthplace


And take the "Sound of Music" tour ... before the painful realisation befalls upon you that the amount of tours is gonna rip your pockets badly


The cute shop signs!

Hallstatt

Things to do:
1. Visit the saltmines
2. Stay there for one night (biggest regret, and I mean for not doing so)
3. Relax

Hallstatt is so BEAUTIFUL.

Visit the Saltmines!



Fantastic view once the train reaches the top



That's the Italy-Austria 10 Days Tour in a nutshell.

And the total damage *drum rolls* Nervous or expenditure breakdown you decide. NERVOUS for me. goodness I spent so much! Numbers are in Euros. =( As usual, transport is the killer, another is the dilapidated conditions of hostels in Italy, it is abysmal!



Planning, and orienteering business is fun and definitely looking forward to more upcoming trips still in the nascent stage.

Meanwhile school starts and I'm loving it for now, so till then!

Recapitulation I

Lausanne



The Old Town Center at Lausanne

Basel

Zürichsee, Grossmünster Kirche and Fraumünster Kirche

Experience Zürich at Lake Zürich!

As though a European custom to close shops on Sundays was set to annoy tourists, who like me, are unfamaliar to the culture of a "Schöne Wochenende" where people simply sit at their balconies chatting and nothing that could be deemed as excitable, a lazy Sunday was spent walking around the city center fawning over swans in the lake, climbing up the church's tower which did promise a good bird's eye view of the city and the lake beyond to the Alps, soaking in the summer sun that is fast turning its back away to Fall has never been that relaxing. Ahh... really wish the weather would remain like that, but from Sunday onwards, it has been cloudy, misty, foggy - weather far from being describable as fine.

Scenes by the Lake. Background: Two towers - Grossmünster Kirche a romanesque-styled church

Alongside the banks, the sun, cooling winds, are perfect compounds for a nice stroll

Still, musty air in dark, narrow passages winding helically upwards, compounded by the lack of proper directional flows, could possibly be a stampede nightmare, and a suffocating one to add. Scaling upwards spirally for half a minute was quite enervating, until the passage forked out into a larger compound with more airflow was it less claustrophobic.

View at Grossmünster Church

A round of scaling exercise at upscaled extents did not dilute the wanderlust for churches and the next destination was Fraumünster Church.

Fraumünster Kirche

The Fraumünster Church - the stained glass windows are by Marc Chagall. - the song in the background is probably by Bach.



The Fraumünster Church - the song in the background is Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg.

2 churches for the day and it was decided that it is enough, despite there's another famous one awaiting our glorious arrival, that we may leave it for another day, or perhaps never!

View of Lake Zürich and beyond

The intensive language course started today, where we all had our mini-test to stream us into the correct niveau... i'm dead, for Comprehension, I think I only got one 1 out of 6 right!

Grüezi!

Thanks to all who took off time from your busy schedules for farewell teas, gatherings and send-off. Your effort and gifts are very much appreciated!

wow, so here I am in my room, blogging away in after some far-away time in a far-away place, yet feeling quite at home having made contact with the students at my residence. Have to apologise for very late updates! I had always made a conviction to blog in the night after cooking dinner but sadly to say it's often that my eyelids fail me. For the past few days I've been sleeping 10pm, and waking up at 7am, and hence I believe I'm still living in the Singapore time-zone, but I'm already slowly extending my bedtime hours to 12midnight.

In Zürich
Surroundings wise, at lower grounds, it looks very much like a simple city with an excellent transport system where the trains, trams and buses are amazingly clean and the fact that it is always on time really fascinates me.

They are pretty generous when it comes to room space. My room is big and it could possibly even be occupied by 2 more beds. Anyone coming to visit me? I'm sharing a flat with 3 other mates, and up till now, only 1 has arrived, another will be arriving today.

The recycling system is very elaborate. Residents are expected to sort out garbage into metals, glass, paper, carton, and plastic. The rest like organic waste goes into a Zuri-Sacke that is priced at 2 CHF to discourage residents from simply disposing waste without the proper sort-out.

There's free flow of Evian water from my tap. Unlike the tapwater in Singapore, which is portable yet funny tasting, the tap water in Zürich taste like Evian. Little wonder why Zürich scores as the city with the highest quality of life.

ETH - Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zürich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

ETH Main Zentrum

Exterior of ETH Main Zentrum



Interior of ETH Main Zentrum



City View from ETH Main Zentrum

There are 2 sites of the University. The Main Zentrum is located at the centre of city. The 2nd day in Zürich was spent roaming around the city myself, and coincidentally met the other Singaporean who arrived on the same day. Heard about his "tragic" story when he arrived. In fact it also happened to me but luckily mine didn't process till the 'panic' stage. What happened was that both our taxi drivers have never heard of Bulachhof (my residence). However, my taxi-driver, with 22 years of driving experience in Zürich or so he claims, wisely drove to Bulachstrasse (Bulach Street), eventually finding Bulachhof without a hitch. Phew! As it was lunch time, I was hungry like anything from the mopping on all fours like a maid, a hasty decision was made in a Thai Sun Restaurant to bomb 19CHF on Thai Red Curry and Mineral water. As all good things do come in the end, I spoke to the restaurant owner to inquire about the amenities (like the supermarket, banks, ATMs, asian shop) in the vicinity. Without this, I would not have settled nicely during the 1st night in Zürich.

ETH Hönggerberg

My lessons are conducted at ETH Hönggerberg - a new site for science and technology.





This is the outdoor pavilion of the Mensa (student's canteen)

Food and Meals

Dinner is prepared in our humble kitchen to save us from the killer prices of eating out.

Dinner on the second day - Pork chops. Broccoli with champignons. Strawberries.
Thomas is from NUS Architecture - Made in Austria. Founded in Singapore. T is really really good at cooking. I'm saved! haha



Dinner on the third day - Chicken Rice! Potato Carrot Soup. It was prepared with T, and 2 other Japanese guys (Nori + Susumu).

I'm also very very very pleased to know that ETH Zürich is offering a Stipendium of 1500 CHF monthly to a NUS student on exchange, and hence I am receiving 725 CHF monthly (NUS decided to split it between Thomas and I) to finance my exchange! woots! Intensive german lessons start next Tuesday, so till then and tschüß!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Word Origins from dictionary.com

Christmas is from the Old English words Cristes moesse, 'the mass or festival of Christ'. The first celebration took place in Rome about the middle of the fourth century. The exact date of the Nativity is not known, but even in pre-Christian times the period from December 25 to January 6 — now known as "The Twelve Days of Christmas" — was considered a special time of year. The abbreviation Xmas, thought as sacrilegious by some, is entirely appropriate. The letter X (chi) is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.

Reindeer is actually redundant. The root rein is Scandinavian for 'reindeer', so reindeer translates to 'reindeer deer'. It came to English from Old Norse hreindyri.

Mistletoe is thought to be based on a German word for bird excrement (mix) from the fact that the plant is propagated in it, though there is also a theory that the term derived from another German word (mash) which refers to the stickiness of the berries. It is combined with an Old English word (toe) meaning 'twig'. This shrub usually grows on broad-leaved trees like apple, lime, and poplar.

Christmas carol is a term which originally referred to a non-religious ring dance accompanied by singing. Eventually it came to mean a merry song with a tune that could be danced to. The Italian friars who lived with St. Francis of Assisi were the first to compose these songs, c. 1410. Since the nineteenth century, carols have been sung in place of hymns in most churches on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

St. Nicholas was not only wealthy but modest, and he liked to help people in need without drawing attention to himself. Poor families would often find a gold piece or well-filled purse without knowing where it had come from. His American successor, Santa Claus, carried on the tradition.

Native to Central America, the red and green poinsettia has been a symbol of Christmas in the United States since the 1820s when it was first shipped to North America by Joel Poinsett, the American minister to Mexico.

Wassail comes from the Middle English waes haeil (c. 1205), which means 'be in good health' or 'be fortunate'. Wassailing was the Old English custom of toasting the holiday and each other's health. Wassail is also the name of the spiced apple beverage used in such toasting; it has been drunk since around 1300.

Schwarzwälderkirschtorte

Remember Brotzeit? Apparently the menu that Will had in hand was the outdated version. And by outdated version, it means that the price has been changed. i.e the price in the new version is about $2 higher than the price in the old version. In fact, one review on a website stated the old price. Guess business must have been booming, for them to increase prices in such a short time.

and some brouhaha ensued...due to the 'price wars'

Had ambivalent feeling of returning, but I reviewed the website again and decided that there are some interesting stuff to try out (hint: novej) . Like the mixed beer!

On the day we were there, Kel asked the waiter if the blackforest cake contained alcohol. Answer was NO, much to Kel's dismay. Scchwarzwahtever is a mouthful. Click to hear the robotic pronunciation.



This is the blackforest cake they serve at Brotzeit. If you ask me, it looks rather unsavoredly stiff as compared to the Original one. It looks like the Sachertorte at Wiener Kaffeehaus. Remember it tasted bad, and the worse thing is that it's supposedly one of the chef's recommendations.



Conclusion: Give it a miss for blackforest cakes in Singapore while the hunt for the best tiramisu continues...

Thinspiration

PICTURE THIS!

Guaranteed to reduce tummy fat, flabby arms, crows feet and whatever u name it u lose it, blend these gorgeous greenies into a megadetox vege drink.

Oh I forgot to add BEETROOT and GINGER.

There was a conversation during Brotzeit and it was theorized that as people grow older, people's taste change because there's an acquisition of a NEW TASTE.

Think... Did you like your first sip of alcohol? When was the last time you ate fast food? Did you like the first piece of raw salmon? Did you fall head over heels with kimchi? mustard? wasabi?

Macs makes me nauseous now!

Minds Cafe

Happy Hours at Minds Cafe. $5 from 2-6pm with free flow of drinks!

We played tons of crazy fun-filled games like Blockus, Guillotine, Saboteur and the nerve wrecking, brain squeezing, balls tightening HALLI DALLI (haha not sure if I got the name of the game right)

2 b****es ganged up against me during the 2nd round of Blockus. It was the truth that I only played it a 2nd time!

A hyperventilating b**** was caught drawing in deep breaths and spinning his head wildly during a game of Halli D. It really tested how quick our reflexes were. Haha guess it was also obvious who was the arts student?

Guillotine. The previously mentioned hyperventilating b**** welded his backstabbing prowess during a game of Guillotine. Full of trashy , massive backstabbing involved. Not for the sensitive, weak hearted, losers-who-take-every-single-thing-grudgingly !

We even decided to extend the hour to 7pm, because it was TOO addictive.

Oh during dinner, a simple affair at *where shall not be named* turned into a real life "talk back" sessions of various dubious characters! Don't ask!

What's an outing without some XMAS Festive PhotoShoot Experience?

Brotzeit Brotsprechen

@Vivocity

A simple saturday at Vivocity was spent with Kel (who returned from KL empty handed) and Will who wanted to buy some bday prezzies and some christmas cards. I went out with no intention of buying anything... but like how all shopping trips would turn out, I ended up buying *secret fabric stash* due to the "midnight shopping sales" darn! I did it again!

Well while making our rounds, we bumped into SHAZ, out of places at PUMA! I mean one would have reckoned that Shaz would be decking out at ZARA, GUESS or Hilfiger. He was conveniently milking his 2 cash cows on the pretext of being broke, after having being severed from Mendaki for the holidays! (psst... news has it that Shaz is once again employed to teach Maths Sec 1N at Mendaki!)



Dinner was spent at Brotzeit! The inspiration behind the restaurant’s name is actually derived from a popular Bavarian expression that translates to “bread-time” (“brot” means bread, and “zeit” means time) - a simple phrase that is to be inferred to having a small meal to complement a wholesome beer, which fits the culture of Brotzeit German Bier Bar and Restaurant.

Brotzeit has a cool, casual and contemporary interior, characterized by a long bar counter running down the length of the restaurant space, canteen-style tables with bench seats and modern lighting. There is also an al fresco area with views to Sentosa.

Unintentional move again. The day was full of unintentional decisions. There was a strong force from Kel that it was a must to *dine* (note not eat) Remember the last week it was french fare, so was it a coincidence that it's german fare this week?

And so after much deliberation and numerous visits, recommendations from an attentive waiter, we settled on a sausage platter for 2.


and Will, who could not resist the temptation.... decided to order a plate of Weisswurst.

Prost!

Later we headed for St. James Powerhouse... woo! With the club expert Kel! Combed the area, watched the crowd, and of course ... what's a fantastic day without camwhoring!

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

And like a bolt out of the blue ...

Bournemore Blingbling!

Anyone lourves my new diamante encrusted BourneMore Blingbling?

Hiroshima bombs my wallet

Guilty Pleasures Strikes Again!

I bombed my wallet again by making a guilty trip to KO to savour their December Kaiseiki Set. The set was much more expensive than the last time I went in May, so that means the set price changes according to the food they serve each time.

It was $39+++, but comes with 15% discount if you have any UOB card! haha Say thanks to UOB!

Thank you for making me spend money.

The first dish was the usual appetizer. Beautifully crafted again though more bearable to eat than the last time.

Second dish was the soup, which had a whiff of charcoal smell in a distasteful way. It tasted similar to the previous one, so that makes me not too impressed with the soup.

Third dish was good. In fact all the sashimi dishes were Heavens. The 3 miniature pieces of yellowtail was totally unlike what I've tasted before. The texture was different and taste was even more exceptional. I usually totally hate yellowtail, but this was amazing. 1 pathetic ebi, which was bigger than ordinary, tasted realllly sweet.

Fourth dish was exceptional too. It was the chef's seasoning on the fish and also the marination that made the cod fish taste Heavens! The black circular sweetie beside the cod fish was aubergine, done in Japanese style. Interesting.

A stuffed soft shell crab was the 5th dish. Nothing exceptional about it.

Last course was tuna sushi and some egg rolls. I've never liked tuna, but those 3 pieces made me like tuna!

For dessert, quite normal mango sorbet was served.

Who wanna go the next time? By the way did I mention that it was a birthday treat from me?

Paganini's 24th Caprice

It is the most popular tune, and has the most variations that are distinct from each other. You've heard the disgusting arrangement by Andrew.L Webber, but actually there are many more. I find all of these pieces great fun to listen to. They're rhythmic and more importantly with 20th Century harmony (I like!)

Liszt - The 24th caprice variation is found in his book of Paganini Etudes. It also contains La Campenella which is more oftenly played strangely. Perhaps it's because the Liszt's variation of the 24th Caprice is very much easier compared to the Brahms one.

Brahms' Paganini Variations Book1 and 2. Apparently the first one was so difficult, a 2nd easier one was conceived. I remember the V.J.C Piano Ensemble teacher saying that he will never attempt to perform that in public.



At 0:35, it sounds easy? but actually very difficult.
At 9:00, it is the last variation. GASP!

Rachmanioff on a Theme of Paganini - It's an interesting piece shaped like a piano concerto. i.e. Piano + orchestra. It also has the Dies Iraes(Judgement Day) motif.



This is only one part, which has been used in movies, of the Rachmanioff version.

Lutoslawski - Piano duet. Modern Harmony. I totally Dig this!



Andrew. L Webber - for cello and rock band. eww?

Vanessa Mae - Electric violin + techno acoustic. Though her version should be called an arrangement more than a completely new variation. That's because she played the original manuscript by Paganini.

Fazil Say - With a touch of jazz. Very Humourous.



Maksim - Failed attempt at variation.

The history of amazing variations by Masters have made the re-variation of this tune untouchable! don't try unless you're a genius.

Certainly, the most amazingly tune!