Missing Chinese New Year

Counting down to Chinese New Year .....7 more days..

I am here...half a globe away from home..

My first new year overseas...

Missing home...Missing reunion dinner..Missing gathering...Missing house-to-house visiting...Missing friends....Missing the food...Missing the mood...

Ostrava

Ostrava , the third largest city in the Czech Republic. Known as "the Steel Heart of Czech Republic" , this place is once renowned for its coal mining. But since the fall of communism , the city has undergone rapid changes to become a commercial and cultural town.

It was a last minute plan to pay a visit to this town. Few more days left before class starts , so better make full use of this precious holiday. Grabbed my bag , bought the ticket 5 minutes before the train departed , and here i came...

Miniuni - where everything is shrunk. I felt like a giant , overlooking all the important monuments and buildings in Europe and also the 7 wonders of the world.

Antonin Dvorak theatre..
The Cathedral of the Divine Saviour
To commemorate communism in this country
Tortured..
Gone were the days of communism where coal mining predominate this town.. What is left is the plant as a testimony of the history

21st Birthday!

21st Birthday!!

Many thanks to all my beloved friends and family for making it a memorable one. Thank you! Dekuju! Terima Kasih!

Wow! It's awesome.Firstly , i spent my 1st day of 21 in Vienna , up on top of the hill at the Gloriette overlooking the whole Vienna...

Secondly , i have the most famous chocolate cake in the world- Sacher Torte , as birthday cake. A check in the wikipedia just revealed how astounding the origin of this cake is. It was invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 and the trademark was registered by Hotel Sacher. What is great about it is its recipe which is well kept a secret until now. So one can only taste the original Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher , the one and only in Vienna. And because of this cake , Hotel Sacher was involved in a long legal battle with another pastry shop , Demel over its recipe.. And a taste of the cake , feel as heavenly as an orgasm...Hahahaa.And of course such big name come with great price , the whole cake that they brought for me would cost around 30 euros!

Thirdly , i am touched by the birthday cards i received over the weeks from you all. The cards that flew all the way from Malaysia and also one from Ireland (from Anju). Thanks a lot! It really means a lot.

And of course , there are also presents from you all...Bear from Tammy

Watch from Vin Docker's sling bag from Hamsath and MalShirt from Daddy and Mummy and scarf from "S.H.E." And guess who send the rose?

Finally , a big hug to Hamsath for the treat at Hanacka. The meal started off with a glass of Martini , followed by cold starter ,and main meal comprising of steak and the sumptuous prawns , then finally culminated with tiramisu ,banana split and a glass of vodka.

Thank you!!!

Vienna III

Day 3

My last day in Vienna.

Natural History MuseumI guess if i say museum , every museums will more or less have similar exhibits. But a museum with dinosaur skeletons? Hmm.. i might be the privilege few to have seen it with my own eyes. Much stories of dinosaurs are known through the movie Jurassic Park , and walking pass the skeletons one by one now is just like living up the inner child in me. It is most of the kids dream to see dinosaurs , so i guess my dream have been fulfilled , a little bit later , at 21 years old. Haha. Ya , maybe my birthday wish 10 years ago is finally answered NOW.

Sloths , extinct about 8000 years ago. What is left now is only the bones.

Human body found buried under the bog. Still rather intact after more than 2000 years.

A trip to Vienna would not be complete without a visit to any of the world renowned musicians museums. Since there are so many to choose from , and due to time constraint , i have opted to visit the child musical prodigy , Mozart, house. As no photo taking is allowed within the house , no photos are available.

Vienna II

My second day in Vienna started off with a typical Austrian breakfast served with Austrian Coffee at Anker. After that we headed straight away towards St Stephen Cathedral..

St. Stephen Cathedral , one of Austria's most eminent gothic edifice , is a standing testimony of the rich cultural heritage of Austria. It has witnessed the ebb and flow of political fates ,underwent the rise and fall of empires and inspired musicians like Mozart in their masterpieces. Its architecture shows a fusion of different style , spanning from Gothic , Romanesque , Renaissance up till Baroque. Every era , every part of history has left its mark on this cathedral.

Schonbrunn Palace

Apart from the Imperial Palace , another palace that adorn the map of Austria is the Schonbrunn Palace , the magnificent summer residence of the Habsburg. Moreover , apart from visiting the private apartments of the imperial family , we also get the chance to visit the Maze , the Privy Garden and the Gloriette , truly indulging in the life of a royal family.

Privy Garden Gloriette

Belvedere Palace

Belvedere Palace, one of the world's finest examples of Baroque architecture, is now an Art Gallery housing artworks of Klimt , Schiele , Monet , Van Gogh etc.

Hundertwasser Village

Hundertwasser Village - one of its kind in the world!The most peculiar and unorthodox village i have ever seen. Hundertwasser , an artist who translated his artwork into real life buildinsg which now serve as a communal housing area. Each house is unique and distinct from the others ,painted in different colours , and even every pillar is carefully designed to be one of its kind.

When we say Vienna is full of arts and music , even the toilet is shrouded in this artistic atmosphere. The toilet of fine art! But i must say , my pee does cost quite a lot . Every entrance is 0.60 euro. So apart from just doing normal business , i had better take in the arts ( and the smell too) to make my money worthwhile.

Shopping in Vienna...

Vienna I

30 January 2007

6.30 am , departed from Olomouc.
9.30 am , arrived at Wien Sudbahnhof Vienna

Taking in every sight and sound of Vienna....

Entrance to Imperial Palace

Vienna , the city of music. Not only does it boast of the most number of world renowned musicians any country can ever offer- Mozart , Brahms , Strauss , Schubert to name but a few ,but also offer a whole wide range of other entertainments. Vienna alone has more than 50 museums with exhibits from the Austrian empires all the way to masterpieces from artists like Van Gogh and Klimt , there is too much to do in too short a time. My 72 hours trip to Vienna started straight away...

Museum Quartiers
Volkstheatre

The first two buildings that came into sight were the Volkstheatre and the Musuem Quartiers. Museum Quartier houses modern and contemporary art , with the world biggest Egon Schiele collection ,and masterpieces of many other 20th century artists. As i am not a big fan of art pieces , there is no point entering it. So with a few snapshots , we headed towards the Imperial Palace.

Imperial Palace , the house to the ruling Habsburg Dynasty for over 6 centuries , i can only said that it is awesome. By paying only 7 euros , we got the chance to visit the Imperial Silver Collection where the splendour of Imperial dining wares are put on display, the Sisi Museum where the chronicles of life of the most celebrated Empress Elizabeth are told , and finally the Imperial Apartment where one by one , the magnificence of the daily life of the noblest family of the Habsburg monarchy is revealed.

Theseus Temple in Volksgarten

The Parliament House beside the Imperial Palace is equally enchanting and impending ,too. It exudes an air of righteousness and fairness that deserves every respect and honour. The statue that stood in front of the house just add on to the magnificence of the whole scene.

I also got the chance to take a nostalgic ride in the century-old Giant Ferris Wheel , both the symbol of the Viennese Prater and a Viennese landmark. As the wheel slowly rotated at a speed of 0.75m/sec , different angle of the panaromic sights of Vienna is brought into view.

Danube Tower, at a height of 252 metres , is undoubtedly one of Vienna's most prominent landmarks. Ya , landmark , so near yet so far. We walked and walked , thinking that we were approaching yet the more we walked the more we realised that it was so far away. There were times when we wanted to just call it a day , but another part of us refused it as we have come so far to just give up. Luckily , after more than 2 km of walk , we finally reached Danube Tower. The spectacular view of Vienna from on top of the tower far compensated all the rigours.