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Monday, July 09, 2007 

Belgium and Berlin













I had a great time in Belgium. Hands down, the best part was simply seeing A and T again. It had been about 2.5 yrs since I last saw them. After spending quite a few days in Florence and Rome on my own, it was wonderful to see friends you haven't seen in a long time. First stop was Brugges (Venice of the North) and it was a very charming. Of course we made a stop at a chocolate shop and sampled some of the goods (indeed excellent). Next day, we visited Leuven. Although not known as one of the usual tourist stops but it was a very cozy, charming city. The architecture of the buildings was very distinctive (wish I had pics to post now). We also stopped by a botanical garden where there were many fruit-laden trees of pears and apples (I was very tempted to go fruit-picking). I was very impressed with Leuven and it's a very livable city. I'm glad my friends live there so I have an excuse to revisit in the future.

Berlin





We drove to Berlin on Saturday morning (7 hrs drive!). Part of my Europe experience was being on the autobahn in a car going about 105 mph. Thankfully for most of the drive, I dozed off. After we arrived, we met up with D and J and had a great dinner. On the agenda for the next day was a walking tour of Berlin which was very good. The guide was very enthusiastic and filled us in on the history of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Reichstag, etc. There is a lot of history here in the city - you're constantly confronted with it, especially when walking around in East Berlin. East Berlin seems more hip, trendy and interesting compared to the areas of West Berlin I visited. We also explored a couple museums on Museum Island and then climbed the dome of the Reichstag. It's too bad I didn't have enough time to visit Charlottenburg of the Berlin Zoo (home of the famous baby polar bear named Knut).

I also got a chance to try some German cuisine as well - tried some currywurst and weinerschnitzel and sauerkraut. Can't say that I'm a fan though. The best food I had here was probably a Turkish dinner and a samosa appetizer. And sadly, the coffee was disappointing. You know, after Italy the standards are high. Yes, I'll admit to being a coffee snob.

Luckily, the Berlin hostel I stayed at was excellent. St. Christopher's Inn was recently renovated and everything was clean, modern and comfy. They were very conveniently located as well. I would definitely recommend it. Berlin was good. I had a good time visiting the city and it was a great chance to catch up with friends as well as getting to them better.

This afternoon I hopped on my Prague bound train from the Berlin main train station. Once the train passed into the Czech Republic, the view was very pretty. The train route more or less went along the length of a river - it was peaceful pastoral scenery for quite a few horus. Upon arrival, the Holesevic train station seemed a bit sketchy though. I'm very glad that at least the hostel is very modern and clean (they're also a hotel as well as a hostel). It's called Czech Inn. Get it? ;-)

Funny Sue, very funny =)

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