Heidelberg

The last time I was in Heidelberg was 3 years ago when I was on vacation here. This time round cos my Aunty from Singapore had a stopover in Frankfurt for 2 days and wanted to meet up with myself and my dear cousin Dawn (who is in Bonn), we decided to go to this beautiful town to visit.

Driving time from Stuttgart to Heidelberg takes approximately around 1 and a half hours. We arrived a little earlier than the arranged timing and waited patiently at the train station.. First comes Dawn then Aunty Lena with her friend Aunty Yoke.

At first we were a little lost with the directions to the Altstadt but thankfully for Mikka, the only one that speaks proper German in the group was there to solve these direction issues.. LOL.. And so, we started our walking journey towards the Altstadt. It was a long but interesting walk with much to see along the way.
The Altstadt (as like many other German cities) has very nice architecture. We passed by a shop selling Schneeballträume, a kind of cookie that is round and solid. It is a specialty in the regions of Heidelberg and Rothenburg. Interesting but we did not dare to attempt it as it was really huge and we all know we will not be able to finish it.. Schade!! Afterwards, we stopped by at a cafe at the Marktplatz and enjoyed the sun (while we can). The weather was a surprising 26+ degrees and its quite unusual to have such temperatures like this in Spring.
After the short break, we decided to head towards the Heidelberg Castle which is on the hill behind the Altstadt. When we reached the foot of the stairs leading up to the castle, all of us (except Mikka) was contemplating whether to climb or not... In the end, we only managed half of the 351 steps (I think it was...) and gave up.. LOL.. My aunty and her friend just could not climb anymore. Think I need more exercise, my legs were wobbling when I got down to the bottom again.. keke... Pity that we did not make it up to the castle but well at least we have some pictures and we went to the other 'must see' site.. the Old Stone Bridge which was erected 1786-1788.
Unfortunately we did not have much time as all had a train to catch (except me n Mikka) so we settled for a quick dinner at a small restaurant by the river. They serve excellent Gulash.. My favourite.. keke.. although the serving time was a little too long (baaad esp when u are in a rush). After that, we literally had to race to the Hauptbahnhof. Talk about getting indigestion.. LOL..
It was a great day with good weather and family. After sending them to the train station, we started our drive back to Stuttgart.

After 1 month in Deutschland.....

Okay.. I know I've been too lazy to update my blog but still trying to fit in to the new environment... =P
Have been here for one month and ten days and still trying to get used to the cold.. lol.. Chinese New Year just passed by as a breeze as there is no big celebration here like Singapore. Was soooooooo homesick during those first few days and I would just die for some of the dishes on the reunion table.. You know what I mean.... Maybe next year I will go home for CNY... Still need some of these familiar traditions once in awhile.. *winks*
Mikka's parents are really nice.. For the fact that my Deutsch still sux, we had to trouble them when the building maintainence guy came along to fix the taps when we had our washing machine installed.. Gosh.. Was really surprised at how the parts were corroding.. Should have had these changed long ago... Thankfully they are staying really close by..
Had the chance to meet up with Dawn & Kel when they came down to Stuttgart for a visit. Picked them up from Stuttgart HBF and hung around in town for the day.. Even brought them to Lola's (Towers is actually the name of the place but I call it Lola's.. a joke from last time) in Ludwisburg, my favourite Irish pub so far.. =D Hopefully will be able to meet up with Dawn again, maybe in Bonn before she finishes her work contract.
Also met up with my friend Cindy from the Deutsch class @ Goethe in Singapore. Her husband works in Nürnberg and they go back to Manheim where her in laws are staying once in awhile. So, Mikka & myself took a day trip to Manheim for a visit... =D  All I can say about Manheim is.... its a city of cars & traffic lights.. LOL.. Mikka was going crazy at the amount of times he had to stop on one stretch of the road cos the traffic light intervals was like every 30 - 50 meters.. Maybe its really better to go around that town on bicycles.. keke...
So, what have I been doing for the last month... Hmm... playing maid, cook and carpenter... LOL.. Have been trying out different kinds of recipe and poor Mikka has to eat... can't complain.. heh heh.. I also built up a chest of drawers from scratch... First time in my life.. but it was quite fun.. At first it drove me crazy and I wanted to kick myself for even attempting.. Should have waited for Mikka to finish work and build that up together.. But after awhile, I got it.. LOL..
Will be starting school next Tuesday @ the Henke Schulungen in Stuttgart downtown.. Compulsory Integration course that I have to take... Course will stretch all the way to July.. Hopefully I can catch up cos I'm actually joining another class that has already started....
Ohh.. and my ex company (the head office) offered me a 3 day translation job.. and I have to go to the city of Bielefeld which is (accordong to Mikka) around 300Km away from Stuttgart. After that, I will go to Hannover with them and join Mikka to come home... =D But that means I have to miss school for 2 days.. Think should be no problem.. plus I have to make some money for my monthly train ticket.. keke...

Will update again soon... =D

New Addition to the Family - Jovie Tang

My little niece is finally came out to see the world on 17th October 2010 @ 11.18am.. She's such a sweetie!! Small but her voice is really loud.. LOL.. We made a joke she's like daddy.. Lately she's been screaming for her milk when she gets hungry.. Impatient lah.. want means want, cannot wait.. Mom and dad will be looking after this small princess. Hope she will not bully the old folks.. keke.. Just to share a few pictures...