Cafe Prinzess - Regensburg

One of the simple pleasures of life is to enjoy a cup of afternoon tea/coffee with a nice cake in a quiet café, looking out of the window (preferably from the second level) and with some nice life music in the background. The only place I could experience all these is in Café Prinzess in Regensburg. One of my favourite cafés. I have always enjoyed sitting in a café enjoying a cup of hot tea or coffee on a lazy afternoon, be it in any country, any season or in any weather… Even when I am alone, on business trips, I always look forward to the time for afternoon tea during weekends or while I am waiting for the train or plane. It is so simple yet a luxury. It is not something I can afford to do everyday (for sure you need both money and time ;p), just sitting there dazing or reading, with some relaxing background music .

At Café Prinzess, I also like a lot the apple strudel, because they can warm it up for you and I would usually also like to have it with vanilla. You can select your cake of choice when you enter the bakery, it looks like a cake shop from the first level. It is opposite the old town hall and is the oldest confectionary in Regensburg. The café is on the second level where you can order your drinks. In summer, they also have alfresco seats outside the confectionary, and you can sometimes get some nice accompanying music.

Kyushu - Takachiho 1

I was twice in Kyushu for vacation - once in Summer and once in Autumn. On both occasions, I spent at least a night in Takachiho. I have always wanted to see the Sea of clouds in Takachiho but never got the chance so far. I remembered how we saw the postcard picture of the waterfall on the tourist map and that's how we decided to make a trip the first time.

However we didn't expect the journey to be so long and time consuming. By the time we arrived, it was late evening at around 4pm and we have not had a hotel reservation. We struggled to have a decent conversation with the tourist information, and eventually they seeked help by calling someone on the phone. Several minutes later, a man appeared and he helped us with the translation. To our surprise, he actually owned a japanese inn and there was actually available rooms. As it was already late, we didnt even bother to find out how the inn looked like. It was sufficient to have a roof for the night. Anyway, the idea of staying in a traditional inn sound nice and even if it would be bad, it would be just for the experience.

The name of the inn is call Kaminoya. When we first entered, it looked very small and I wondered if the rooms would be decent. However it has a very traditional decor and I was amazed by the different decorations they have. I like especially the traditional fireplace that they used for cooking food. It is more of a decor today but we are still allowed to sit on the bench for a drink. We were then treated to some welcome drink before we were shown to the rooms.

Hotel "Lobby"


The room was also of the traditional kind but with attached shower and toilet. We were soon enjoying our evening tea before dinner time.

Our room

Dinner was included in the accomodation price. But dinner was really beyond our expectation. We were shown to a big common room where separate dinner sets were prepared. It was the traditional Japanese dinner. There was a big spread for each of us, but this was not all. Dinner seemed to be never ending. Dishes were always served as we began eating. For a while, we did not know where to begin. The owner then described to us each type of food that was on the table. During the chit chat, we found out that this was a family owned japanese inn. Dinner was really delicious but it was simply too much.



After dinner, we needed to use the Internet (well, we are just typical Singaporeans). We asked the owner if he could help us and he showed us the reception. We learnt that there was only one terminal that has the internet connection and it was there at the reception. The funny incident happened. The owner informed us that he will be out for a drink with friends and we are welcomed to use the Internet for as long as we want. And then he left us on our own. As we hang around behind the reception, trying to search on the terminal for the necesary information for sightseeing the next day, the hotel guests come and go. Some said hi to us and some even passed us their key for safekeeping! This was really funny and soon we were posing pictures as the hotel receptionist. A couple of hours passed and the owner was back -- and a little drunk ;p He said hi to us who were still hanging behind the reception and he was telling us of the story about him and his drinking friends. We did not manage to find out how we can do some sightseeing the next day and we decided to try our luck with him though we were not sure if we could really trust his words now in this situation. However according to him, we could get a sightseeing taxi for the next day and he would help us with it. We didn't really have much of a choice and we decided that we will do it as he recommended.

We were told to meet at around 7 for breakfast and then the sightseeing will start at around 8am. Breakfast was again amazing.

Breakfast

True enough, after breakfast, we were told that the sightseeing taxi was already waiting for us. We had again a nice experience with the sightseeing taxi. With him, we learnt different ways of communication. He brought us to the highland area to see the Sea of Clouds but weather was no good and there was no visibility. He then brought us to a tea house for a cup of mushroom tea. There we manage to made some simple communication through writing in Kanji.

Next, he showed us the postcard waterfall. And he told us that we could also do a short boat ride if we wanted. This sounds interesting to us. Anyway, I didn't have to row the boat. So I am fine with it :)

It was really much cooler when you are in the valley. We said hi to the other boat tourists. It was not so easy to row a boat I realize. We keep bumping into rocks and the boat does not go in the direction we wanted to. But eventually we manage to move at least 50 meters and then back the same way.

After the boat ride, we were shown around Takachiho. This is a place full of myths and legends. And our guide, tried to tell us the story by acting them out! Though most of the time we were guessing what he is trying to tell us, we still appreciate the gesture and it is through such interactions that make the trip more interesting.

Dinners in Hiroshima

Dinners were usually a simple affair for me when I stayed alone. Unless I am out with friends, I don't usually go for fancy dinner when I am alone. In Japan, I found that there are also many options for dinner. There are definitely the fancy restaurants around, but also I could find dinner easily in supermarkets where there are bento sets or sushi sets which goes on a highly discounted rate after 8 pm.

Another option I had was to do my own cooking. Even so, there could be different choices.

When I am lazy, I cook the packet noodles (which is easily found in Japan and is one of my favourite dishes too) adding an egg and some vegetables.

When I am in the cooking mood, I also tried different recipes from Mum and Grandma. In Japan, I experimented cooking rice using the traditional method without the rice cooker. It was not so easy. Rice became porridge in the first few attempts. Finally I could succeed with the right amount of water and time.

My favourite dishes were fried rice and fried noodles. Sometimes it was a simple chinese meal.

Staying alone always makes me miss home cooked food. No matter how many experiments I tried, the food will never taste the same as Mum's or Grandma's cooking. However with every try, I can relive the memories of looking at Mum and Grandma cooking.

Hiroshima apartment

Being the first time in Japan, I did not know what to expect. What makes me even more panicky is that I had to handle taking the train from Narita Airport to Hiroshima where I will be stationed for the next 2 months. Luckily, Boss was already there was the past few months and he knew the place and system pretty well. He gave me a detailed description of where to go and how to get to Saijo, the town where I will be staying, simple drawings of maps to assist me in finding my way.

I took the night flight to arrive in the morning in Narita so that I will have enough time in the day to get to Saijo. I didn't want to risk having to find my way around in the dark. However, it was not as difficult as I imagined and the systematic train system and the friendly people helped me to arrive at my destination even way before my expected arrival time.

My apartment-hotel



The friendly receptionist brought me to my apartment. To my surprise, I saw a little kitchen and a very small room at first glance, with simple furniture.





But after settling in, I found it to be a very clean and cosy place. Everything that was necessary was also available. In fact, after staying for the next few days, I start to like the decor of the room and the little flight of steps that led to the bed. It became my reading corner of the room.

I also liked it that there was a separation between the cooking and toilet area from the sleeping area. The toilet was an interesting discovery of the creativity of the Jap.



I took the little map Boss has drawn for me and found the supermarkets nearby. I started to fill up the kitchen with daily necessities. The only difficulty I had was getting the wrong type of "oil" for cooking as I could not understand what was written on the bottle. But luckily, it was sesame oil that I got instead of usual cooking oil! I was looking forward to my next days in Japan.



Switzerland - Interlaken

It was spring and weather is getting nice. We decided to do a weekend car trip to Switzerland. We started off early, packed some bread to eat along the way. Usually when we drive to Switzerland, we will stop by a rest stop for a cup of coffee after passing by the border. It is always nice to have a cup of hot coffee in the chilly morning. I always like it when the mountains came into view, especially when they are capped with snow. Our goal is Interlaken for this weekend.

We were on the road for a couple of hours when we saw a restaurant and decided that it was time for a second stop. In this place, we had the most delicious and most expensive croissants in our lives. We were so hungry that we ate up every single piece of croissant that was placed on the table in front of us. And all of us agreed that it was simply delicious, even though we soon realize that it would be the most expensive croissant that we had ever eaten.

We explored around the area since the view was captivating and everything was quiet and serene.

We passed by Lake Thun and Brienz. We were so excited when we saw the first signs of spring, our driver drove into the green out of this excitement and before we knew it, our car got stuck in the mud.

This was the first time in my life and hopefully the only time in my life that I have to push a car. We tried many different theories trying to get the car out of the mud, which now looking back, I am not sure who suggested them. In anycase, we were relieve to get the car of out the mud but it was quite funny now that we think about it.

We found a place to stay somewhere in the town area. And we were lucky to find a room for 5. It was a cosy attic room and we liked it a lot.

We drove around a little bit more to Lake Brienz

That night dinner was cheese fondue with fish and chips. And it was yummy!!

It snowed again the next morning. What a beautiful sight. I didnt know what woke me up but I was there, looking at the snow from the attic window and it was so beautiful.

We took a little walk before breakfast. Everywhere was covered with snow once again. But it is always cosy to look at snow when you are on the inside.





We continued again with our journey to Grindewald. Along the way we had pitstops again and played with snow. We had our share of snowball fight and we found our buddy snowman :)

Time passed quickly when you are having fun. Before we knew it, it was time to start on our drive back to Milan. It was a very simple trip with no real itinery. Just sightseeing and company of friends and it was enough to leave me wonderful memories.



Dinners in Italy

Dinners in Italy were a rather "rowdy" event on most days during my stay in Italy. At least this was the case for the first few months. That's the fun when you have a group of colleagues staying together.

Usually we do our "marketing" at the nearby supermarket after work. Not every ingredient could be found easily in the European environment, but luckily we had some "stock" that we brought from Singapore. Initially we would do the cooking in our own apartments then bring the food to one "selected" apartment for a common dinner. But after a while, we got complaints about bringing dishes from one apartment to another and hence we decided to do all the cooking in one apartment. This could be rather disastrous as we are fighting to use the stove, the oven the basin all at the same time. The kitchen was a warplace during dinner making ;p

Occasionally we get also invites from our Italian counterparts and we also invited them over for dinner.

Dinner at Nino's

When we are lazy to cook and miss Chinese food, we sometimes go to the nearby Chinese restaurant Yu Yuan for dinner. We even had our Chinese New Year reunion dinner there since we were away for CNY that year. The style of Chinese food is not really the same as what we have in Singapore, but we could still find food like fried rice, noodles, so at least it could still satisfy partially our cravings.

As times goes by, we also learnt to venture further, sometimes to nearby towns like Monza and Bergamo for dinner. My favourite pizzeria is Il Cinghei, first introduced to me by a good friend of mine, Andrea. I rememberd the first visit at this place, I wanted to have the tiramisu for dessert. But it was also out of stock. The owner invited me to another dessert, the Panna cotta instead. Over time, we frequent this place and for each visit, it was like visiting a friend.  

When I look back at the photos, I realize how these dinners brought us closer together, of course also with much disputes, but we usually manage to patch up afterwards. Sometimes it can be over silly stuff, but well, this is how things are like living together and perhaps through this, we all grew up in one way or another.

My first apartment away from home

I was telling KW that I wanted to write down the different stories in my life. So that if some day I am diagnosed with dementia, alzheimer, amnesia and what ever it may be, I can look at my own stories to look for some memories.

I thought that I would probably want to know my first experience away from home. Strictly speaking this was more of the first experience to have a long trip away from home. I was scheduled to be attached to our HQ site in Italy for 3 months for basic training. There were a group of us. Mostly fresh grads with a few seniors. So we were all pretty excited. We started to fly in small groups begininng of the year in 2005. I was also excited till the moment we had to leave for the airport. That was when panic start to overcome me after it suddenly dawned on me that I had to settle my own dinner, clothes, dishes, make my own plans and decisions. Even though it was already planned that two of us will be sharing one apartment, the thought of staying with a new friend also frightened me a little.

Mum was also getting quite panicky and kept reminding me how I should be careful when I am outside, and try to stay in groups, not to wander around. I seldom confide in Dad, but that very day, I told Dad that I was thinking to change my mind. Instead, the next thing I knew, Dad took the suitcase out of the room and told me to get ready. I remembered the words he then said "It's a good chance to go and see the world. See the world out there and learn from life experiences" I don't know if he ever regret saying those words to me, but it was those words that made me brave the first step towards my next phase of life.

We bade each other goodbye at the airport. I left thinking that I would be back in 3 months time. I didn't realize at that time that I would  be staying there for the next 8 months of my life.

It was my first time taking the long flight. I felt really uncomfortable since I didn't really sleep in the plane. But what I remembered from the flight was the nice view when we flew over the alps. The first time in my life I saw what we had read in books, watched on tv, seen in magazines. But it was a really unforgettable experience to see the alps covered with snow just beneath us.

We took a cab from the Milano Malpensa airport to our town Vimercate where we then checked into our apartment. It was already 3 pm in the afternoon when we checked in. I remembered going to bed after showering and I didnt wake up until the next day. I don't think I had even explored our apartment. I vaguely remembered my housemate trying to wake me up for dinner. But I think I shooed her away. What a friendly "hello". (We had known each other already in the company and she had arrive a week earlier.)

So while everybody was still soundly asleep, I was awake at 4 am in the morning. I went to the toilet to brush my teeth. I found a glass and filled it up with water. I decided to switch on the lights. This was when I made a big fuss and started waking up my housemate -- What's wrong with the water?? I almost screamed into her face??? It's all milky!!!! I could remember she was still half asleep but she was still in the right mind to answer "just let it settle, it's normal" With that she went back to bed. I waited for a while and true enough the water become clear after a while. I realize afterwards that it was due to the minerals that were in the water that made it milky. Ever since, I became the pampered kid of Singapore.

We started off for work when everyone is awake. We finally had the chance to say hi and had breakfast. She had already stocked up some mineral water in the house. In the meantime, I started to explore apartment. It was a rather nice apartment with parquet flooring. We were on the twelfth level with our other colleagues occupying the neighbouring apartments and also apartments on the other levels. We had a big kitchen with a nice balcony.


Our living room



Our kitchen





What I liked the most was the view we had from the apartment and how convenient it was to have a shopping mall with a supermarket just next to our apartment building.

That very night when we got back, the first snow came! Yah all of us were excited. For most of us, it was the first time we see snow. We didn't really care about what others were thinking. We were just amazed at how soft snow feels and how fun it is actually to be playing in the snow -- but not for long ;p

It just took a few hours, and the whole place was covered in snow. It was cold but a beautiful sight.

Our balcony covered in snow

The view outside from our balcony