A Day in the Office

Had wanted to blog yesterday but the connection was too unstable. Tried to load blogger right after lunch but was still loading even AFTER I CAME BACK FROM DINNER!!!!!! The people have started their training and loud thundering noises can be heard every day.

Was at the cookhouse yesterday when the first drops of snow fell. I was told that there was already some in the morning by the airport party which i had missed. It was so surreal yet beautiful. Ran back to my bunk to get the camera to film all of it down.

Snow continued to come in spurts throughout the whole of yesterday. Its a bit like rain but yet so different. Everyone was indulging in that bit of snow, irregardless of rank, especially when we saw WR and MB joining in the fun also.

Today was even more beautiful as I finally get to see what is real snow. There was totally no warning except that I was wondering to myself that it was quite dark and gloomy when I woke up. By the time I finished washing up and changed into my uniform, voila, snowflakes were floating gently to the ground outside my window. The snow was picking up in intensity and soon the trees and ground were covered with snow. Had real fun taking photos, esp at the back of my office where the snow-covered tree blend seamlessly with the red-bricked buildings. There was even enough snow to have a mini snowball fight! ^_^ Imagine training in the snow. Its such a cool new experience...

Lazy Day, Good Day

Woke up late today (on purpose) I must say because it was a Sunday and Germans don't work on Sundays. Decided to be super slack today and went for breakfast in my T-shirt and shorts. Of course, it shocked everyone as the temperature outside was still sub 10 but I was simply too lazy to change out and so just walked across the blocks in sleeping gear, Singapore style =p

Couldn't line up any programme in the nearby cities too as we were supposed to receive HN who was to arrive around midday. Pity though as I was planning to make the trip to Bremen to see them take on the mighty Bayern but oh well, their qualification meant that at least I should still be able to see them in action against St Etienne 2 weeks later ^_^

Had my first German meal today as we went to have Schnitzel. Wasn't at all impressed as it was just fried stuffed pork . Make for a filling meal but boring compared to what I had previously in Europe -- Spanish paella, Italian tagatellia, Greek souvlaki and even the duck rice in Prague. Haiz, reinforced my impression of Germany being an efficient industrious nation.

Nevertheless it was a relaxing day spent in town. No shops were opened so could only spend the day lazing around in the hotel room, reading and playing my DS. Quite a good way to chill, seeing the haze built up outside the window peppered with the ocassional rain. And so passed one uneventful day in Germany...

Memories, Memories

Returned to Hamburg today to pick up stuff and what followed was basically an OTOT tour of Hamburg City Centre. Well, as I had mentioned previously, releasing me into Hamburg was like releasing a little child back to his playground and from the word "GO", I was like the tour guide. We parked our car near the Bus Terminal and started absorbing every little moment of the place. I went to take a photo at the McDonalds which was absolutely emotional because this was the place where i had my first ever bite in Europe. Gosh! I still remember the day when I was lugging my heavy backpack around and was more than relieved to be able to rest at the McDonalds.

The train station was next and I must say it had been renovated pretty well. The exterior facade remained but the interior was totally revamped. Gone was the temporary ticket office outside the station and it was replaced by a beautiful counter with an attached tourist office. The shopping arcade was also up with more than twice the number of shops and food outlets. Anyway, just for the record, my first proper meal in Europe was in theKFC at the trainstation or more commonly known as Hautahnhof.

Went to take a stroll around the old Rathaus and the 2 churches that formed part of the Altstadt. We finished pretty late and so it was again another missed opportunity to climb the steps of St Petri and conquered my first German cathedral, Hopefully, I will come back again on another day to ascend the clock tower. The Rathaus, was as usual, majestic and magnificent with the platz in front of it. Had a busy time converting all my previous film photos into digital format this time round.

Went shopping once the lights went off around 630 pm. Went to the shops that i had not gone previously, hoping to be able to get what I had failed to do 3 years ago. Yep, i am talking about getting the Germany tracksuit for my leisure purpose. Some things never changed though and once again, a sense of deja vu returned as I pondered over the 100+ Euro price tag. Nevertheless, the financial situation is definitely much healthy than previously and the moral dilemma was overcome in 5 minutes, compared to 15 minutes 3 years ago :p But like what I say, some things never change and alas, once again I couldn't find a smaller size for the tracksuit and I had to call off the operation. (I was a bit caught in 2 minds also actually because the current design with gold trims doesnt look as good as the previous ones...)

Bought a couple of tops from H&M to at least partially satisfied my cravings but I had remembered the closing times wrongly and was shut out of the electronics store Saturn. A bit disappointed as I had planned to check it out in my itenanry.

Just had a 1 euro chicken sandwich from McDonalds and I must say that its pretty filling. Feeling a bit drunk as i took it with some Konig beer. Pardon me if spelling mistakes are aplenty for I am actually blogging in a semi drunk state but still doing it cos I scared I may not get access again or I became too lazy or too busy. Signing off right now and hope to explore more come the following week. Hmmm... If only I will be able to explore the Reeperbahn again...