It is near to the 20th Anniversary since the historic wall came down and I decide to do a tribute post.

I visited Berlin ages ago during my days working in the UK for H&M but never visited the East Side Gallery where the longest part of the wall still remains. Here are some of the camera whoring I manage to do throughout my slow walk with my sister, Adeline.

East Side Gallery

1989: The year the wall came tumbling down.

A common stunt in trying to get accross to the other side.

Trying to bring the wall down by myself. No where near moving an inch.

Another set of iconic murals.

There were segments of the wall which is being restored during my visit which I believe is part of an upcoming celebration maybe? Regardless, the wall is a must see when you are in Berlin.

The City Of Emperors: Postdam is the city of German Kaisers which housed their infamous army and also home to their most stunning and elegant palaces. It has always been hidden behind the Iron Curtain on the communist side of the Berlin Wall. It has only been accessible in the past 20 years.

Despite being under the communist ruling, the city is well kept in shape with its buildings properly maintained. It is easy to get here if you are in Berlin with the S7 train using an ABC card which covers all the transportation you need. When you arrive at Postdam Central Station, just hop onto bus 695 which will take you to all the tourist spots.

We passed through all the main attractions but spent more time at the Sanssouci Park where I would highly recommend you to do so. Here are the fruits of our camera trigger happy efforts:

Close Up Of Sanssouci Palace With My Mom

View Of Sanssouci Palace From The Park

The New Palace Within Sanssouci Park

As a summary, the Sanssouci Palace and Park reminded me of the Grand Palace in Austria. Maybe this was because there is a massive garden in front of the palace. It also worth mentioning that it is a UNESCO Heritage site.

I did not spend much time walking around the city other than to see it from the bus ride. It a must see if you ever drop by in Berlin. Their tourism board maintains a very good website that offers an amazing map that you can print. Click here to visit their page.

This is a holiday resort which we sneakily squeeze in. The name of the place can be broken down as Tit I See which only someone as cheeky as Gajana can realise. The place is full of snow which is first for me to see at this time of the year. The temperature did not feel as cold as Hamburg though although the presence of snow can indicate otherwise.

There were many stores selling their antique Cuckoo Clocks but most of them came from the same factory. Although it is hand made and mechanical, the similar designs made it looked like it came out of a manufacturing line with no uniqueness. I came with the mindset of getting one but after viewing how common and alike they were, I decided not to get them. A mechanical clock can cost from Euro 99 up to 400 depending on the size and the supporting mechanisms.

Here are some further snapshots I manage to harvest courtesy of Joe’s camera:

Feeding A Duck Near The Lake At Titisee

Group Picture In Front Of A Background Of Snow

The trip to the land of the Cuckoo clocks and also the famous Black Forest cake.

It is not called the Black Forest for no reason. Somehow the forest does seem to have a darker shade which I only realised after being pointed out by a local which was sharing the same cabin on the ICE train as us.

We took an early train from the city of Hamburg with a journey lasting roughly six hours to the central station. Thankfully, we were staying in InterCity Hotel which building was attached to the station. Nearly no effort at all in locating the hotel when we arrived. Apparently all InterCity Hotel are located within walking distance of the main stations. Your stay also includes a complimentary all day local transportation pass.

We wasted no time and went into the City Center to see the sights and sounds on offer. It was indeed no disappointment when we arrive at the main square and even decided to join the queue for the famous sausages. It was recommended to us by our felow friend we met in the cabin.

Another place worth mentioning is Micros which is located centrally. It sells Swiss Chocolate at an affordable price. As Switzerland happens to only be about an hour away by train, a lot of the Swiss made products are available here.

Here are some of the pics of Freiburg courtesy of Joe

Me In The Queue For Sausages

Walking In Front Of The City Hall (Notice The Open Drain, It Flows Constantly Throughout The City Center)

Meant To Take The Cable Car Here To The Highest Peak But Walked All The Way Up Instead Because The Cable Car Was Under Maintenance

Making Our Descent On The Highest Peak In Freiburg

Sorry for a short blog but I decided to clear my back log of posts fairly quickly.

Kiel is the capital of Schlegswig-Holstein which is a sailing town on the Northern part of Germany. The city center harbour is the starting position for huge ferries to Norway and Sweden. It might be my next plan to try and take a ferry from here to Norway and Sweden.

If you are travelling from Hamburg like I did, the journey will take you a little above 1 hour by train to the Kiel central station. There is a tourist center in the station where you get a free map to guide yourself. Alternatively, there is a larger tourist center in the new city hall which is reachable 10 mins by foot.

If you like shopping, there is a long stretch of pedestrian street with a great variety of stores. We made our journey pass through the street to visit the old Rathaus (City Hall) which is near the Opera House. Just a stone throw away, you will come across Hiroshima Park and also a large lake, Kleine Kiel which gives you a magnificent view of the city.

View of Rathaus from Kleine Kiel

The lake is almost fully frozen and I took the opportunity to feed some of the birds with bread in a small water opening.

Feeding Birds at Kleiner Kiel

We continued on to visit the St Nikolai Church before settling down for a meal at Subways. We then cross the Horn Bridge to the view the city from the other side of the harbour.

View of the city from the other side of Kiel Hafen

We managed to spend half a day here before we decided that we have seen enough. Kiel is a very small Sailing City which have a few historical sites and building. It is suitable for a visit to escape the crowds of bigger cities. I would most probably give this place a skip if I have limited time visiting Germany.

That’s all for now, till my next post, take care!

Yeah, the first weekend day trip of 2009! We decided to head to the nearby city of Lübeck. It was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1987 and being there makes you realized why.

The city is only 40 minutes by train from Hamburg Central Station and as its old city is fairly small, everything is reachable on foot. There is a group ticket for up to 5 on offer for weekend trip which made our journey costs 28 Euros. Less than 6 Euros each! What a bargain!

As you arrived at the city. There is a tourist information center just adjacent the train station and another one near the grand Holstentor Gate which welcomes you to the city.

Holstentor Gate

As the city is pretty compact, it is hard to find space to capture the picture of the whole building. Maybe it is more doable using a much better camera.

City Hall

In the city center, there is a large open space where the city hall is along with what I believe is the Market Square. The journey here will take you through a huge variety of modern retailers which surprisingly blends in well with the city.

Dom and A Frozen Lake

It snowed when we walking in the city and it was a nice sight to see a lake which is half frozen. Not convinced on whether it is rock solid, I decided to matters to hand by borrowing Song Yia’s crutches (The news is out, she sprained her ankle) to break the surface.

Breaking The Ice

The city also boasts having the most Nobel Prize winners with 3 to its name. We visited Buddenbrook’s house. I believed he won a prize for literature and his life is now a major local movie.

The Hospital Of The Holy Spirit

Lübeck’s wealthy citizens raised funds to build the “Hospital of the Holy Spirit”. It is the first social welfare facility in Germany. Sick, Poor and Homeless people were accepted here. 170 beds were simply laid out on the floor then in the 19th Century dividing walls were built. Each room was equipped with the basics for everyday life. The hospital was built by the citizens for the citizens.

Inside The Hospital

We ended the day at the famous Niederegger cafe for everything made out of Marzipan. I had a Marzipan shake while pinching a variety of Marzipan flavoured cakes.

That’s all for now and I might try and squeeze in another day trip before I head home for Chinese New Year 2009! Can’t wait!