The metro took us to the Lotto stop pretty quick and we arrived approx 1635h. However, what I failed to factor in was how we were going to get to the stadium which resulted in a terribly long walk which I felt very bad for the girls. I had imagined the stadium to be pretty near or a comfortable walk which obviously wasn't the case. We could have taken the tram or the bus but wasn't too sure and hence embarked on the walk for we were running late. A failed attempt at getting a cab - the driver actually thought we were asking for directions! And we were left with no choice. It was then left to me to run to the entrance to make it on time, which I did, barely. After finding out the prices, I went to grab the girls from outside and just as we neared, the gates shut!! I was livid, although some persuation later -I bluffed that I already bought the ticket and should be let in when I obviously have not made the purchase. But who cares?! So long as I get my way. Thank God.
Cimento monumente and Mervin, Justin, Mag!
And so the wait for the baggage drop was absolutely horrendous thanks to some serious inefficiency. It was 55 mins after I joined the queue and right about an hour to departure before I dropped off my baggage. It was funny how everyone in the queue was terribly frustrated and increasingly irritated at the awfully long wait. So much for Quick Check In as it was supposed to be. I would have been done much quicker going to the normal queue! Nevertheless, an hour later and I feel much better. The service on board is really good thanks to the excellent attitude of Kars van Althius. Smiling, polite and absolutely friendly, it was a pleasant flight thanks to her. I also ate my fill: 2 sandwiches, apple juice, coffee, water and 2 biscuits. How nice. I guessed that was what I deserved for the terrible wait I was put through. Haha.So I saw this pretty hot lady sitting behind me while on board and foolishly tried ways and means to take a photograph of her. I even wanted to stand up for her when I thought she was a victim of gross injustice. The story goes somewhat like this. Seated in the middle seat, she was flanked by two obnoxious Italian aunties.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Berlin
And so I arrived at the Meninger Hostel in Berlin without much trouble thanks to the very efficient transport system. 109 took me to Zoologischer Garten where I took the M46 to Rathaus Schoeneberg and the rest is history!
It was fabulous to see Pin-Ji for many reasons, amongst the many, the fact that we share the same passion for travelling, the fact that we've wanted to travel together and this is the first time we actually did and of course the fact that it has finally materialised after many late night discussions over MSN and at McDonalds. It was also very nice to meet new friends, Perrine, Marius and Andreas, who provided wonderful company throughout the few days. so I dropped my bags and we waited for Marius to awake before we headed of to a cosy Frence restaurant, La Cocotte down the street for dinner.
It was fabulous to see Pin-Ji for many reasons, amongst the many, the fact that we share the same passion for travelling, the fact that we've wanted to travel together and this is the first time we actually did and of course the fact that it has finally materialised after many late night discussions over MSN and at McDonalds. It was also very nice to meet new friends, Perrine, Marius and Andreas, who provided wonderful company throughout the few days. so I dropped my bags and we waited for Marius to awake before we headed of to a cosy Frence restaurant, La Cocotte down the street for dinner.
I had a great time in plovdiv most definitely. The walk at the old town, the drink at the roman theater and of course the walk by the man made lake. Assen fortress, bachkovo monastery and the wonderful bridges make for a perfect 2nd day. Then the third day was spent doing very local things. A walk at the mall, a movie, pool and of course a very nice visit to Ani's house for coffee and cookies before going out. Dinner at a restaurant was followed by some pool at Excalibur!! Now it's off to Sofia.
So we woke up on time, left house at 10, caught a cab to the bus station, and boarded the bus. Thankfully, we were pretty early since people started filling in and soon enought the bus for FULL. Totally different from my journey from Sofia to Plovdiv when we had 2 seats to ourselves. So as expected, the bus took a different route as I had read on the Internet which meant that I could stop at hotel Pliska. I decided that I should be staying in Sofia rather than travel back and forth and at 46 leva a night, it was pretty reasonable. I checked into a terribly basic room which Sonya thought was horrible! Haha but I thought it was ok since it was just for one night. It looked real old but the toilet was working fine and sheets clean. Perhaps the only complain was the terrible weather! The room was without aircon so it was burning hot. Nevertheless, I left my luggage, Sonya used the bathroom and we were off to see Sofia.
From the hotel, bus 5 and 8 took us to the city centre where we were supposed to spend our day. The main street looked pretty old although the presence of well known brands gave it some credibility. I even found a fred perry store there!! And the stuff were actually cheaper than Singapore. Too bad that there was nothing special and nothing caught my eye. So we walked for a bit before having lunch at a pizza place as Sonya wanted pizza and was hungry. It was a pretty decent meal and reasonably priced. If there's something about Bulgaria, I think most things were very reasonably priced. The leva is just about equal to the SGD and things were mostly slightly cheaper than Singapore. As Sonya and Ani said, Bulgaria is known to be the cheapest and poorest if the countries belonging to the EU. Maybe that's why. I for one am not complaining. So we walked around the city centre and saw the national palace of culture (that was before lunch actually), the archaeological museum (we paid 2leva or the student price since we could pass off as students thankfully; it was 10leva otherwise which would have made it too expensive), a couple of churches including a couple of really old ones like Rotunda?? And course no visit would be complete without a visit to the magnificent Alexander Nevsky cathedral. Absolutely lovely and rightly one of the shortlisted candidates for wonders of the world. The lovely frescos and paintings on the high walls and ceiling left me in awe. It was strangely very cool inside which was a welcome relief to the Sofia heat.
So we woke up on time, left house at 10, caught a cab to the bus station, and boarded the bus. Thankfully, we were pretty early since people started filling in and soon enought the bus for FULL. Totally different from my journey from Sofia to Plovdiv when we had 2 seats to ourselves. So as expected, the bus took a different route as I had read on the Internet which meant that I could stop at hotel Pliska. I decided that I should be staying in Sofia rather than travel back and forth and at 46 leva a night, it was pretty reasonable. I checked into a terribly basic room which Sonya thought was horrible! Haha but I thought it was ok since it was just for one night. It looked real old but the toilet was working fine and sheets clean. Perhaps the only complain was the terrible weather! The room was without aircon so it was burning hot. Nevertheless, I left my luggage, Sonya used the bathroom and we were off to see Sofia.
From the hotel, bus 5 and 8 took us to the city centre where we were supposed to spend our day. The main street looked pretty old although the presence of well known brands gave it some credibility. I even found a fred perry store there!! And the stuff were actually cheaper than Singapore. Too bad that there was nothing special and nothing caught my eye. So we walked for a bit before having lunch at a pizza place as Sonya wanted pizza and was hungry. It was a pretty decent meal and reasonably priced. If there's something about Bulgaria, I think most things were very reasonably priced. The leva is just about equal to the SGD and things were mostly slightly cheaper than Singapore. As Sonya and Ani said, Bulgaria is known to be the cheapest and poorest if the countries belonging to the EU. Maybe that's why. I for one am not complaining. So we walked around the city centre and saw the national palace of culture (that was before lunch actually), the archaeological museum (we paid 2leva or the student price since we could pass off as students thankfully; it was 10leva otherwise which would have made it too expensive), a couple of churches including a couple of really old ones like Rotunda?? And course no visit would be complete without a visit to the magnificent Alexander Nevsky cathedral. Absolutely lovely and rightly one of the shortlisted candidates for wonders of the world. The lovely frescos and paintings on the high walls and ceiling left me in awe. It was strangely very cool inside which was a welcome relief to the Sofia heat.
Helsinki-Tallinn
We got up pretty much on time and caught the tram to the bus station where we caught the bus to the ferry terminal and arrived 45 mins before the departure thanks to us catching the bus before the one originally planned. By no means our fault, the throngs of people mean that we had a terribly difficult time checking in! We were done only at about 0815 which also meant 15 mins before departure! It was then a really long walk which turned into kinda mad rush as we attempted to board the ship. We made it on time, 5 mins before departure to be exact.
On board, most people have settled down at a variety of restaurants and cafes for what would be breakfast. We checked out the buffet which we intended to try but it looked disappointing, at least Ida was, so we headed to some cafe after we took a walk on the deck. It was COLD. Way cold! Thanks largely to the bellowing wind! So we decided that the wind was too strong and it was too cold so we headed to a cafe and had breakfast. Breakfast for me was porridge! Yes and jam and juice while ida had a sandwich. 2 hours went by pretty quick so after a tour of the store, specifically Ida's favourite, the alcohol section, haha. We disembarked.
Ida's been in Tallinn before so she acted as tour guide with me close behind, luggage in tow! We weren't particular sure where we were headed (although the old town was actually pretty near the ferry terminal, south-west to be exact) so we followed the crowd and 15 mins later, found ourselves at the old town. It was pretty cool I have to admit and the experience would have been perfect without the terrible hassle of the luggage. It didn't help that the streets were of cobblestone, just like it was in Helsinki's city center. Horrible noises and huge efforts pulling it meant that many a times, I ended up carrying it.
On board, most people have settled down at a variety of restaurants and cafes for what would be breakfast. We checked out the buffet which we intended to try but it looked disappointing, at least Ida was, so we headed to some cafe after we took a walk on the deck. It was COLD. Way cold! Thanks largely to the bellowing wind! So we decided that the wind was too strong and it was too cold so we headed to a cafe and had breakfast. Breakfast for me was porridge! Yes and jam and juice while ida had a sandwich. 2 hours went by pretty quick so after a tour of the store, specifically Ida's favourite, the alcohol section, haha. We disembarked.
Ida's been in Tallinn before so she acted as tour guide with me close behind, luggage in tow! We weren't particular sure where we were headed (although the old town was actually pretty near the ferry terminal, south-west to be exact) so we followed the crowd and 15 mins later, found ourselves at the old town. It was pretty cool I have to admit and the experience would have been perfect without the terrible hassle of the luggage. It didn't help that the streets were of cobblestone, just like it was in Helsinki's city center. Horrible noises and huge efforts pulling it meant that many a times, I ended up carrying it.
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