Rush Hours

Dot, Jason & I stayed over at Hotel Europa for a day in frankfurt. It was one of the cheapest hotel we had. 17.5 Eur! Of course we couldnt expect much.. The hotel was cramped with 3 beds and the toilet was small. I hit myself against the wall several times. I guess Jason did too! heh.. The buffet breakfast was satisfising although Jason complained that he was sicked of bread.. Hard hard bread. Nevertheless, Dot & I enjoyed the breakfast. Bread is my favourite! The Germans usually have cold meat, yoghurt and cheese, together with bread for breakfast. And I made mine into a sandwich! The yoghurt looked spoilt & thus I didnt touch it at all! Milk is equally good with sandwich. ;) P/s: can you see us on the kettle jar?

Oh, there's nutella in those small packaging which prompted me to take some packs for the next few days. :p Hey wait a minute! Dont call me an "AUNTIE" yet!!! I didt take in the end.. Decided I should save my face for something more worthy. That's my 2nd helping of Nutella bread after sandwiches. (My explanation for that is.. I think I havent eaten a good meal since I reach Germany.) Dot and I were probably too engrossed with the food that we missed our train to Rudesheim. We were supposed to take a train to catch the cruise but we missed it by a minute. We were running across the crowded railway station to catch the train but we still miss it. Can you imagine? 3 bulldozers with big backpacks? Anyway, it was me & Dot's fault. I thought the train would leave at 08:10 when in fact it was 07:58? This was the first rush hour! We were at a loss at that time. Jason and I thought that we should take a city train to catch the train that we missed. Dot got worried that we might need to pay for the city train since it was not included in the Eurail pass that we had. Jason & Dot had a little argument regarding checking the price at the first floor or at the platform. But I guess they resolved the issue when both of them ended it with a laugh. Fortunately, we managed to come up with a solution. I was really impressed with the 2 of them when they suggested catching a later train to Bingen (a further stop from Rudesheim). SOOoo flexible! At last, we reached Bingen, on time for the cruise. But the problem is: how to get to the boarding harbour? By hook & by crook, we managed to find the boarding area. And this was the 2nd rush hour! We hurried along the way as the boarding area was quite a long distance away from the train station. When we finally see the a cruise parked by the long stretch of harbour, we were so relieved! It was only through asking the passer-by that we realised the boarding area is numbered in sequence, and we were 5 numbers away! There were some construction work taking place at the area and we had to take a slight detour before we reach the main walkway. We ran upon reaching the walkway. When we reached the area, the cruise was still a distance away. *Relief* Unfortunately, the lady at the information counter told us that the cruise is fully booked and we have to wait approximately 1 + hour for the next one. You could have seen the way our expression changed!

As we had nothing to do, we decided to explore the near-by shops in Bingen. Ultimately, we were lured into a dessert cafe selling ice-cream. Ended up sharing a huge ice-cream sundae with Dot. We couldnt finish and the next best person (or rubbish bin) we can find is.. JASON! Hahahahah.. *evil laughs*

That's Dot feeding Jason with the left-overs (hmm I should say the unwanted fresh cream, initially on top of the ice-cream, for decorative purpose! haha..) Okay, I'm getting evil.. That's the photo we took before we officially board the cruise:

The views from the cruise was beautiful. The green mountains, the huge rocks, the river.. Even the houses looked so pleasing to the eye. It was a great day to spend, sitting on the cruise, enjoying the breeze and the views. We shared a table with a middle-age American couple and started a conversation.. So sweet of them, my mind started to wonder.. If ever my parents could be like them.. Our final destination of the cruise was supposed to be Koblenz. However, as we had missed the earlier cruise, the one that we boarded ended at Boppard. The next cruise leave Boppard for Koblenz at 4pm. Therefore, we had 4 hours to roam around.. These were some of the things we did..

There was a really nice cafe that reminded me of King along the way. This is the one.. The moment I see it, I had the sudden urge to have candle-light dinner with King inside this sweet little house..

Look! How romantic! ;)

Along the streets of Boppard, we also came across pretty houses and I especially like this one very much. There was an old couple sitting on chairs placed in a cosy corner, facing the Rhine River. Another lady ( I guess their daughter) was eating strawberries while enjoying the beautiful afternoon. I also spotted a nice beer garden along the way. It wasnt' open for business at that time, so the place was empty. The architecture of the houses are really nice. I couldnt help it but the thought of migrating did pop up in my mind! I am so gonna come here for retirement!

We indulged in a chair lift up the mountains to catch the breath-taking view of part of the Rhine River. It was quite a unique experience as it seemed rather unstable, especially when the strong wind started to blow. Even our caps almost flew off with the wind. Luckily we caught hold of it in time! We had a bag of pototo chips while on the way up, a 20 mins ride. haha.. Dot & I never leave without food. What a way to enjoy the views! ;p

We reached the end of the chair lift and explored the area. We were told that the cafe at the other corner of the top had a very good view of the River Rhine. We selected the best seats and sat for a while. It was after a while when a waitress walked over to ask for our orders. Being pressurised, we had no choice but to order an apple pie with ice-cream. Much to our disappointment, the apple pie tasted like it had been left in the cold for a long time and then heated up in the microwave oven again. It was the worst apple pie I had ever eaten. Even Ling can make a much better one, I'm sure!

The view down was even nicer.. We could see Boppard extending along the Rhine River, with the houses cluttered near the river bank.

Hmm not the photo above, of course, but the one below..

Alright, this was our 3rd rush hour! This was the worst. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, we only had a few minutes to get to the boarding area. We definitely took more than that when we were walking to the chair lift counter. Gosh! Somehow, our track & field lady came out with the idea that we have to run.. with our heavy backpacks. Jason sent Dot to run and stop the cruise. Jason & I tried hard to catch up. It was really funny because Jason was hugging a large yellow shopping bag with apples, some biscuits and 3 books in it. And he hung it with a carrabina infront of his chest. THe sight of him was really comical. We ran along on the walkway along the banks of the river as we could see the cruise parked at the harbour already. There were old couples sitted on the benches, admiring the beautiful scenery and suddenly 3 of us ran across, intruding their peace and serenity. I could see some of them smiling to themselves when they saw us. Embarassing!

Halfway through, Dot turned around screaming: "That is not the cruise!" I guessed she realised we saw the wrong one. So we had ran for nothing. But this is not the issue. The strangest thing was that she continued to run although she realized that the cruise was not there yet..

Al last, we were on our journey to Koblenz. It was a long and tiring day and we couldnt wait to rest at our hotel.

Like Freiburg, Koblenz is a very nice town nicely decorated with bright flowers. I would never see pretty flowers on the streets of Singapore. (Probably only during the IMF World Bank meeting.. But the flowers were not as bright and pleasing to the eye.)

We walked towards our hotel, eager and excited. Perhaps it was me who got them so excited because I read on the web that there was a jacuzzi in Hotel Continental Plazfer Hof, the hotel that we stayed in. Sound so classy, right? But nope! There wasnt any jacuzzi and the hotel looked rather old. There were no towels and floor rug provided in the toilet and we had to go down to the reception to request for it. There was no internet connection too. Totally different from what was stated on the booking site. Disappointing! We were really tired after a long day and probably bacause I raised their expectation to a high level, it made us even more disheartened.. We decided to leave our room in search for dinner. Our stomachs were growling badly by that time!

An asian cafeteria named DING DONG caught our sight and soon we found ourselves inside. We were totally smittened by the word "BUFFET" stated at the main entrance. The buffet style was a little different from the ones in Singapore. You can choose between a small plate (4+ Euros) or a big plate (5+ Euros) and then fill it up with the variety of food offered. The selection were great! They had fried rice, mee goreng, fried noodles as the main dish. There was a fried food section, curry and vegetables. We decided to choose the smallest plate. Being Singaporeans, we didnt hesitate to fill our plates till we see a mountain! Dot, of course, has the tallest mountain. Jason & I fight for the second place. Dinner was really satisfising. ;)

After a stroll, we went back to our hotel for a rest. We decided to go shopping the next day as the streets looked like a great shopping area! (poor Jason... haha) Dot jumped into bed immediately when she reached the hotel. I had to remove her waist pouch and cap while she was semi-concious. We termed this phenomenon "hang-over"! I discussed the itinerary with Jason before turing in that night..

***

Breakfast was the same as the one we had in the previous hotel - bread, hard-boiled egg, cheese & ham, yoghurt, milk and juices. Nevertheless, we still eat to our heart's content since it's buffet! haha.. But Jason, who was quite sick of bread didnt eat much. It was weird that the girls were eating more than the guy. Feel so piggy!

After breakfast, we went shopping in the streets. Probably if I were with my parents or King, I would have shop like crazy! Being with Dot and Jason made me think twice before I buy. It was great! I got some good deals. Bought a top and a belt at only 2.5 Euros each! That would be only S$ 5 each. haha..

Left our bags in the lockers of the train station before moving on to Festang Ehrenbreitstein. It is a castle located on the opposite side of River Rhine. So we had to take a bus over. The castle looked rather eerie actually. Along the way through the tunnel, I though a frankenstein will jump out at me any time. I kept rather quiet, tailing Dot and Jason closely. Heh!

In the tunnel

Going up to the castle

Professional Photographer with his assistant?

That's us on top of the castle!

On the way down the castle, we saw a monkey that resembles Jason! He stole my banana!!

Finally, we were on the train again moving on to our next destination: Cologne! It was getting late and the train ride was 3 hours long. By the time we reach Cologne, it would be almost midnight. We started searching on the map for the directions to STAR AM Dom hotel. That is when we realised that the check in time is only from 8am to 8pm. We started to panick! What if we have no shelter for the night? What if they auotmatically deduct money from Jason's credit card even though we didnt stay? Many what ifs... Jason couldnt get through the line of the hotel, and that made us even more worried. The receptionist must have gone home! Fortunately, my line went through and someone answered my call. The other party sounded very polite and friendly. She said they are open 24hrs! *Relief*

The streets of Cologne was rather dirty probably due to the construction beside the train station. It was late at night and there were still someone working at the construction. Strange.. I guess this was the first time I see Germans end work that late. Shops usually close at 6pm!

We were greeted by the a young & pretty receptionist. Friendly & polite, the exact same voice as the one on the phone earlier! But we were happier when we notice how nice the hotel was. Much much much.. better that the ones earlier. We could wait to see our room! The room was simple and nice. My favourite colour orange, too! I was the first to bathe. And guess what?? The toilet has a huge see-through window with no curtains. The same as the one behind Dot in the picture! Directly opposite us is another hotel with big windows too! I started to wonder if Germans are that "open"! I had to call the receptionist to bring us some cloth to cover the window. And guess what she brought us? A pillow case!! Sound a little funny, but the pillow case can only cover half the window. Jason had to help me stuff the sides of the pillow case into the hinges of the window. The uncovered portion was done by The Creative Me! Jason took out some facial towels while I took some plasters to attach the towels to the window! ( I was stingy with my plasters and since Jason said he brought plasters, I used his instead! But I was nice enough to use only 1! I helped him saved afew! Ops!)

Well, 5 days had passed and our Germany Part 1 of the trip is approaching an end. Very soon, we would be in Norway for our Summer exchange! I was half excited and half nervous. Wonder how things will be in Norway.. Havent seen King for almost a week. Cant wait to share all the memories with him. After bathing, I called King using Jason's skype. It was rather embarassing, had to chat in front of them. So I tried to keep my words as little as possible. Guilty for the daily dose of ice-creams and chocolates, I did my yoga and went to bed.. Zzzz