Last stop - Berlin, Garmisch, Füssen, Koln

After 5 hours of train ride, finally arrived at Berlin at 5pm.. The sky already turned dark and nothing else I can do..just check in and spend the night eating and drinking.

The next day, went to east side gallery to understand the history of east and west Germany. Berlin was most affected as it is the capital and the city was divided..it was quite interesting to understand the history of the communism vs capitalism ideology..Also, went up to the TV tower and have a 360 degree view.."again" lol (shard in uk too)

The next day, went to Charlie checkpoint as well as an old spy/ intel building..it's a shame that most of the explanations were in German and I can only looked at the pictures and imagine what happen at that time..

On the fourth day, signed up the underground tour..it was about the train tunnel and how East German plan to escape to west Germany..interesting tour and really worth 2 hrs of your time! 

On the fifth day, took a train to Portdams..I think it a must visit places if u r in Berlin even though is an hour train ride.. The palace was amazing and the old town there is a fairy tale scene..

The last day in Berlin, I went to Sachsenhausen concentration camp..it's really a deeply sadden place after knowing what happen over there during the nazi's times...we can easily spend a whole day there with the English guided tour! 

                     The Berlin Wall 

                          TV tower

                Charlie checkpoint 

                       Portdams 

               Concentration camp 

To continue my journey in Germany, took an hour plane ride from Berlin to Munich..it's a shame that we missed the snow..it was snowing the day before we arrived!! How rude.. Nevertheless, still get to see snow there..first sight of snow in Europe..lol.. Went to Füssen first and visit the high palace..cold and chilly up there..

The following day, drove to Garmisch and visited the well known Zugspitze, top of Germany by the train ride..It was minus 6-9 degree.. Was freezing like hell..lips were dry, fingers frozen..and with the wind, it's just blown you away..the view was breathtaking and magnificent..hopping between Austria and Germany border is interesting too..haha..especially you don't need to show your passport..lol

Spent a night there and drove to Bavaria old town to snap some pictures before heading to Innsbruck, Austria..it was never a plan in the trip and it's really thankfully that we managed to drive up there..it's just a day trip there and I'm already loving the city..visited the old town and can spend 2-3 hours exploring the town..then took the sky ride up to the mountain and went to the zoo..yes..zoo up in the mountain was awesome..lol...

Finally, it the last weekend in Europe.. Drove to Lindau..the island..it was a quiet town with nothing much to do there..spent a night there before driving 6 hours to Cologne..it was a day driving and by the time we gotten there, it's 6pm after checking in..just look for dinner and sleep.

Last day in Europe, I managed to find time for myself and do the shopping ..visited the Cologne cathedral first before I start my ahopong spree..there was so much shopping in Cologne and can jolly well spend a day there window shopping..as the night fall, drove to airport and ready to go home..it was an amazing yet tiring 23 days of traveling..I have a lot of fun there and really enjoyed myself a lot..time to work and earn more money for future trips :)

                         Lindau  

                Cologne cathedral 

Prague- Czech Republic

It's my first time traveling to Eastern Europe.. Before I made plans there, a lot of friends or colleagues whom been there had been highlighting to me that beware of my belongings and lookout for scams..

But luckily, nothing of that happen to me.

Well, it's not a great start when I'm in Prague.. I left my passport in the plane and had to seek help from the airport staff...after waiting panicky for 40mins at the counter, I finally gotten my passport back..and depart from the custom legally.. Hehe..

Compared to uk, Prague was so much colder and cooler..temperature is between 0-9degree..pretty nice :) There's too much things to explore in Prague and 3 days were definitely too short for this beautiful city..

First stop, went to Charles bridge since my hotel is around the corner.. Then head to old town square and surprisingly, the Xmas market is still around and it's the last day..I have heard so much about Xmas market and it's my first time witnessing the event..it was awesome with real Xmas tree there, having hot red wine and sausages in winter is just amazing..lol..climb up to the tower too to have a panorama view of the old town was cool! 

                Charles bridge

As the night falls, we shop around the old town and went to the ice bar which is minus 9 degree..I was frozen inside basically..lol..

Woke up early early on the second day and took the cruise tour at 10am..the one hour water tour is really worth it as it sails along the best part of Prague.. Afterwhich, we signed up for underground tour of the old town..which means we have a tour underneath the road/path..it was quite educational but trying to understand what our tour guide trying to explain is abit of challenge..We continue to shop around by the vicinity till the night fall

Day 3, we went to the museum and cathedral in Prague (I forgotten much) what I can recall was visiting the old town ..hehe...

Day 4, woke up at 11am and took the train to the next stop, Berlin, Germany.

 

To me, Eastern Europe is still very "back dated" compared to Western Europe...which I love it a lot..very authentic feel..the food was relatively cheap (cheaper than uk/Germany) and drinks were cheap too (than Singapore!) I would definitely come back to Prague again and explore more in the east Europe..