Why does the forbidden fruit always taste so good?

Maybe it's because you can't have it, and whatever you can't have always is more enticing than what you already have.

Having missed 2 Desperate Housewives episodes, I desperately wanted to be in the know. I think the show is getting scarier, and it's sad how their lives have turned out to be nearing the end of the season.

I surfed to get a gist of the previous episodes I missed...and went on to surf to the final episode's summary. So now I know what will happen to Gabrielle...it's sad & it's so heartwrenching... I mean, OK maybe I was getting a bit emotional there & imagining I was her (attractiveness bit included) but ouch, that'd hurt any woman , alright.

Before I went on to find out if Zack really killed his grandfather, I stopped myself from scrolling downwards. I'll make this a fair game. Mak & my brother, who watch DH every week, don't know the ending, so I shall wait patiently till we watch it together. Though of course, it'll be fun to find out the 'secrets' before the they do. Exactly how a forbidden fruit would taste like.

....

Congrats to Ainynn, alhamdulillah you're wedded now! New beginnings are always wonderful.

Even new beginnings after a long leave can be wonderful. Though you start a bit slow mo in the morning :p

Very blue indeed, to the point of being cloudless!

But I enjoyed every minute of the 17 days (except erm, the initial blisters I got from walking too much in Salzburg, the sweltering heat in Paris & walking around looking like a mountain tortoise with the huge haversack on our backs) and the surprises we got along the way. And of course, being with AH almost all the time. AH gets a pat on his back for being the most tolerant husband in Europe for the month of July 06. Kudos!

Salzburg, Austria (6 days till 18th Jul)

Lovely city which is also the birthplace for WA Mozart, and where the film Sound of Music was shot. Everywhere you turn, you see something touristy to do with those 2. Austria's lakes & mountains are really lovely & I was fascinated by the fortresses & character buildings. Churches were everywhere and till now I can't fathom why the church bells near our hotel kept ringing at odd times (2.57 am, 3.16 am, 4.38 pm etc) I entered several churches, went into Mozart's house & marvelled at their intricate architecture.


View of Salzburg city from Hohensalzburg fortress


One of many scenic views in our cheesy Sound of Music tour


Frankfurt & Rothenburg, Germany (19th till 21st Jul)

Vibrant Frankfurt where we found the best tasting kebab! 1 cool thing about our Muslim brothers in these countries is that, when asked if the food was halal, or if he/she was Muslim, the reply would be Alhamdulillah, in contrast to typical us who would respond with a 'Yup'!

I didn't buy much in the Zeil (equivalent of our Orchard Road) except for a pair of simple pink birkies at 25 euros (only $50!). We bought 3 more pairs of birkies too (not for me...sighs) for my MIL & SIL. Contrary to expectations though, there was limited variety & only big sizes were left at the sales. We ploughed thru the boxes to find a nice design & right fit.

The next day, we set off bright and early to Rothenburg, situated along the Romantic Road. This is a long stretch of scenic road, leading to Munich. The buildings there are medieval & pride themselves with rich history which I am obviously ignorant about.


Rothenburg, Germany

For lunch, we had lots of icecream & instant bekal of those little adabi lontongs & instant rendang/curry from Yeo's. When one is hungry, anything tastes heavenly. I especially liked the part we could save the $$$ too, which would be better off spent on shopping :p

We left our hotel early at 2 am to catch the superspeed ICE train to Switzerland. And the impossible happened! Our train was delayed til 3.45 am so we just sat waiting at the train station. I read a book while AH killed time by talking to some Germans who were also bothered by the train delay.

And to our horror too, we discovered that we had reserved the train on the wrong date; for the previous day! Thank goodness no one was crazy enough to travel during such ongodly hours, so we didn't have to compete for seats at all. Phew~

Zurich, Lucern & Bernese Oberland, Switzerland (21st to 23rd Jul)
The most unforgettable part of our trip. Gorgeous landscapes, totally breathtaking.

Zurich is a beautiful city but we didn't get to tour (read: shop) much as we focused more on touring the more picturesque outskirts. Feast on Switzerland shots on my multiply site.


Lovely Zurich


At Heidiland. We visited Heidi's house, right next to where we snapped this!


Top of Europe, Jungfrojoch (pronounced Yung-fghro-yorkh)

Paris, France (24th Jul)
Crazy couple us decided to spend a whirlwhind day in Paris. The queue at the entrance of Eiffel tower was snaking, and we had gotten there at 9.30 am! Tourists! We didn't have to wait long in the sweltering heat though. The view from the top at 320 metres was good. We marvelled at the sturdiness of the structure. Coincidentally, we caught a documentary on the making of the Eiffel Tower while we were in Amsterdam. It felt good being able to understand a bit more about that Paris icon.


No prizes for guessing where we are!

We walked like character Waiyaki in the Walkabout till our feet blistered & we couldn't take it anymore. Paris is small, but not that small. The Louvre museum was good too but we were stunned that it was such a noisy place - macam pasar malam! Blame it on the summer hols, which made everywhere in Europe packed with tourists. We saw some exhibits at the Islamic wing museum, then off we went to conquer the rest of the sights. Paris was hard work but thank goodness the hotel was airconditioned. We could have gotten heat stroke at 38 degrees!

Amsterdam, Holland/ the Netherlands (25th Jul to 26th Jul)

AH booked a bed & breakfast accomodation at a typical Dutch house in Amsterdam. The stairs leading up the rooms, were really a test of endurance. There were at least 30 steep steps up!

Another fun fact: Due to high taxes long ago, houses in Amsterdam are really narrow, such that furniture can't even fit thru the doors & spaces! So the Dutch actually hoisted the furniture up through windows using hooks!


Amsterdam - Just arrived


At Dam Square

Amsterdam was beautiful too, though the roads are not as squeaky clean as the previous cities we went to. The windmills were pretty, but the photos are not quite ready yet.

We left Amsterdam for Germany, to catch our flight out to Singapore on Thursday afternoon. We reached here safely this morning, alhamdulillah.

So there you have it, 17 days of summer vacation, all in 1 post. Now, it's time for us to check our piggy banks. This is the part we erm...not so adore! But alhamdulillah for the break. It was most wonderful :)

Click here for photos but you have to sign in first though.

We are about to say goodbye to the beautiful city of Zurich. Train for Paris departs at 2306 hrs tonight.

The past 3 days in Switzerland have been really amazing. Never have I seen such picturesque scenery that never fails to make us appreciate the greatness of Allah.

We left Frankfurt, Germany, on early Thursday morning, around 4 am. With minimal sleep, we headed straight for the Heidiland..where the heartwarming Heidi film was shot many years ago. We thought that was fascinating...but never did we imagine the more vivid and wonderful views that awaited us for the next 2 days.

Day 2 was spent at Mt Titlis. Fantastic view, and the cool weather up in the mountains was definitely a great welcome from the hot summer in the city!

Right now, it has been about an hour since our return from the exceptionally beautiful Bernese Oberland, where (part of?) the Swiss Alps reside. The journey to Interlaken, a beautiful small town, was a 2-hr bus ride. We then took 2 train rides, one of which was on a cog-wheel train, of an hour each, up to the mountains. This place is also known as The Top of Europe. The view that met us was really mesmerising.... words cant describe it. I am sure tea would agree with me ya? ;) Insya-Allah, hope to share what we saw when we get back home..which is pretty soon actually.

Before bride-to-be Mahd throws a fit due to my lack of mention on her favourite country Germany, the reason is because we only spent 2 days there. Frankfurt city fascinated me a lot, I think it is really a melting pot where people from all over the places come and add a piece to the city's vibrant feel.

And of course Frankfurt did not come without any adventure. Amidst the really hot summer (Goodness, the heat in Frankfurt was almost unbearable!), we found ourselves checked into an unair-conditioned room! It was almost unbelievable that non-airconed rooms still existed in this world. We depended on 2 fans which emitted warm air & opened the windows wide open to let a whiff of fresh air in. With all the excitement we have gone through in Austria (losing our luggage), alhamdulillah we just added this non-aircon incident to our adventure list :p

Rothenburg was really pretty too but I believe we would have enjoyed it better if the weather was not as warm. The little concert in the park we stayed for provided lots of shade though, so we were glad for that. The next early morning, at about 4 am, we set off on Eurail to Switzerland.

Next on the list? The Eiffel tower insya-Allah. AH has been most patient & superb at navigating through the great, foreign cities we have been to. Cant thank him enough for that.

Till we meet again.

Auf Wiedersen (think this means Goodbye in German).
No more German speaking cities after this!

Warm salams from Zurich, Switzerland.

Allo!

AH can start his holiday right NOW! Because alhamdulillah he has done well in presenting 2 of his studies. Good on ya, mate! Now, how does one say that in German?

We are going for a farewell dinner tonight. Groans...this is one reason why I can never be an academic. I hate to socialise & make small talk. And since we are checking out at 5.30 am tomorrow, I really wish we can stay in to sleep instead. Oh well I guess I shouldnt be complaining, coz this conference is the very reason why I am here right now.

Not sure when I'll get a chance to update again coz I am not sure if I'll be crazy enuff to paz 10 Euros for a 24-hr internet connection. I've bought a travel journal (as in, a real touch-able journal) so I can update when I feel like it along the way. That will hopefully let me jot down notes so I wont forget this experience too soon.

Gotta go now, ciao! Till we meet again!

Salams

So today is the day!

AH will be presenting his study at the uni, and I'll be starting my slow 20 minute hike there at 11 am. That'll hopefully give me sufficient time to find my way to the right theatre.

I am looking forward to Frankfurt tomorrow, especially the shopping bit. Not so much for me, actually, but more for Mama & Kakak. Hope stuff there are more reasonably priced.

But believe it or not, I have forgotten the name of the hotel we will be staying at! AH has the details and I have no idea where he has stashed them away.

So I rely on the net for some simple shopping facts in Germany.

And this is another place I am so looking forward to go to.

OK, time to set off for my journey to the uni to give moral support to AH! I pray all goes well for him & for nervous jitters to go away!

6 weird stuff about irris :

I get sleepy when I wear contact lens for too long (which means more than 5 hours)
I have several handwritings. Most of the time now, I stick to my untidy ones
I can live amidst mess
I don't put in much effort in cooking and always gets a scolding from Mak for that
I seldom buy things upon seeing them for the first time; most of the time it takes several trips before I actually but 'it' or 'them'

I probably have more...but am not about to reveal them here :P
Tagging stops here since almost everyone has been tagged, and most people won't respond to this either.

We just escaped a social function at the university. They had some Austrian.night thingy and there were lots and lots of booze, yummy smelling roasted chicken & free flow of soft drinks. But AH and I, being antisocial, stuck around with the Malaysians coz we found common ground in not drinking. An hr later, we decided, that's it. We prefer kebab to sitting around booze-drinkers, while our tummies remained empty.

So we trotted along the road leading out of the uni, enquired on Bus 25 and a few sign languages, words like 'city' & 2.70 euros each later, we were on our way back to the city where the hotel was! Alhamdulillah, thank goodness we didnt end up in Germany or the Bavarian mountains or anything.

I then slipped out of the room for a quick internet surf. Waiting for maghrib which is around 9.20 pm! And Isyak is at 11 plus pm, while subuh lasts from about 2.40 am till 5.20 am.

The Salt mine tour was great! We were at least 250 meters below tons of rocks (mountains) and we got there through 2 really fast slides of about 40 metres of length each. We went weeeeeee... as AH held me tight! They made the tour really interesting thru a boat ride on the salt lake in the mountain itself, rather than go 'blah blah blah, this is the mountain, blah blah...'. I wish I could post pics but this PC doesnt even look like it has bluetooth, so pics gotta wait till we get home, insya-Allah.

1 sad news though. Received an sms from mak telling me about the tsunami in Java. More casualties. May Allah be with them. The thing that makes me sad, is imagining the chaos there. AH's friend, whose family lived in Jogjakarta during the recent earthquake, told him that it was not just the earthquake. At the same time, there was a loss in electricity, and there was rain too...so it's all geographical happenings going on at the same time. Imagine the fear.

Earlier, I smsed Mak telling her I was getting a lil bored in Salzburg. Then Mak replied, telling me that this was a good time for reflection, and making efforts towards getting close to Allah. How right can she be?

OK think AH should be out of the loo by now. Time for a shower, then it's kebab for dinner again.

I cant believe we have been here for 5 days!

Right now in the cozy hotel's internet room, i am surrounded with old furniture & paintings - not sure if they are fully austrian though. I can hear the hustle and bustle of tourists outside, and the occasional horse hoofs hitting the ground. You can hop on a horse carriage for a tour around the city for 33 euros. But naah, we'd rather walk. 33 euros is too expensive, plus, i cant really imagine the horse stopping for a little poo along the way. Not our favourite type of scent.

We're going for a Salt Mine tour later, as part of hubby's conference programme. Today will be our 2nd last day here, then insya-Allah off to Germany to stay for 2 more days. I look forward to Germany. Things in Salzburg are becoming really touristy, which also means they are reallz expensive too!

Yesterday hubby, his 2 conference mates & myself hopped on a bus on The Sound of Music tour. I've forgotten most of the movie so hubster told me that we'll watch the show again when we get back to sg. So they played the songs as we went visiting the locations at which the film was shot. Very lovely mountains... or more affectionately referred to the Do Re Mi mountain. And the lakes...they are so pretty..! Feast for the eyes! Subhanallah!

Btw, I can be on the net for longer now. Found out that it costs 10 euros (about $20) for 24 hours usage, in contrast to their initial charge of 3 euros per 30 minutes! Oh well better late than never!

And also, much as i'd like to leave a comment or 2 at some of you wordpress blog buddies, i cant do so...coz ...i *still* cant find the 'at' button necessary in all email addresses.

I think mz bodz is still in singapore mode. I slept at 12 midnight zesterdaz (we are 6 hsr behind singapore!), hoping to get up later than 6 am, but I woke up at 4 am instead! And Iäm feeling so fresh now..

AH has gone for his conference, so itäs just me roaming around on mz own this morning. In the afternoon, thereäs a tour for people accompanzing conference participants (read: wives) so Iäm going along. Weäre meeting at the Mozart statue.

Zestedaz we went to the old fortress HohenSalzburg. Got a nice view of the citz from up there. but the stairs leading up...gosh.. i reallz need to exercise more!

Our luggage finallz arrived zesterdaz..syukur. Right after I did some shopping at a store. The sales here are REAL... 70 % off! But in Euro..it hurts when we convert..ehhe oh well..hope the airline keeps to their word of pazing 50 % for our clothes!

I wonder if we get to go to Vienna...now thatäll be lovelz wouldnät it?

Day 1 - Salzburg, Austria

And so, yes, alhamdulillah we made it in Salzburg, Austria after a very long journey....! 12 hr flight to Frankfurt...followed by...OK this is where the adventure starts...

AH and I are officially without luggages now. This is how it all started -

Gosh EVEN this keyboard I am typing on now is in German mode!! So the normal Y key has been replaced with a Z key!!

Anywaz, our flight from Frankfurt to Salzburg was cancelled coz one of the plane tyres burst. So we were re-routed to Munich where we hopped on a 2 hr bus ride to Salzburg. And surprise surprise..that was when the baggages went missing. The airport staff promised to get them delivered to our hotel, so we went Phew!

But of course, they HAD to get the luggages mixed up. So now, We are without our stuff, and somewhere in Salzburg, 4 other people are without their belongings.

Which means, we are without fresh changes of clothes & ...other essentials! Ishk...so our photos for the first 2 days have us wearing the same clothes...(pegs nose)... but thank God its summer so its nice and dry so we dont stink so much (or so we hope to believe)!

Anyhow the place has been reallz lovelz. Salzburg is a small town & its so quaint and prettz. Stuff are expensive (EURO! Nuff said) and thanks to the luggage mix up, the airline is gonna compensate 50 % of our clothing expenses, so..zeah, off we go shopping soon!

We can see mountains along the waz..nice castles... verz verz nice shops... verz prettz. But everzone here seem to be carrzing dogs... dogs everzwhere..even in stores like MANGO & Esprit!

OK, internet connection is prettz expensive, handing over to AH now.

Tschuss!

Knocked off from work close to 11 pm today. Hopefully this will not happen again tomorrow, coz I *really* want to get home by 7 pm. Gotta do some last minute packing, bonding before we catch our flight at midnight tomorrow.

Several errands have yet to be completed. I don't know when I'm going to find time to slot them all tomorrow. All I know is, my day is superpacked with emergency meetings that spring up faster than I can say "Holiday!".

Mind's tired, hair's not freshly washed...body's waiting to hit the bed. Glad AH's fever & mild cold has gone, if not, it's going to be quite a challenge getting & staying on the plane for a good 14 hours...or will it be more?

All I pray for is a safe trip to & fro, and of course, for whatever happenings in between the trips too.

Till we meet again,

Tshcuss~! :)

10 Favs..

Favourite Colour : White
Favourite Food : Ice cream
Favourite Song : Right now? This Malay song entitled "Bila April"
Favourite Movie : That Thing You Do!
Favourite Sport : Erm..
Favourite Day of the Week : Friday, without a doubt
Favourite Ice Cream Flavour : Chocolate Fudge
Favourite Car Model : ???
Favourite Subject in School : English
Favourite Snacks : Chocolates


9 Current..

Current Mood : Relieved it's Friday
Current Taste : As in ..in my mouth? The watermelon I ate just now
Current Clothes : Stuff purchased at Bkk!
Current Desktop : Sunset in Maldives
Current Toenail Colour : Natural
Current Time : 2208pm
Current Surroundings : In our bedroom... Tok & Nana watching TV downstairs...
Current Annoyance(s) : My endless zits...& AH who's teasing me about chinchin...
Current Thoughts : How to get through next week in 1 piece


8 First(s)..

First Best Friend : Nadia
First Crush : Someone who could pass off as my sibling in pri sch
First Movie : An American Tail with Mak & Bapak
First Piercing : At some Chinese goldsmith
First Lie : I have never told a lie, serious! Hehe...kidding!
First Music : A pink casette which has the song Que Sera Sera...
First Car : A Ford Falcon I co-owned with AH
First Real Date Venue : Perth city ? My other dates with ex-bfs were rather weird...hehehe...such as, loitering around Bedok interchange :p

7 Last(s)

Last Drink : Plain water
Last Car Ride : Taxi ride to a home visit this evening
Last Movie : White Noise, watched 2 weeks ago on Star Movies
Last Phone Call : AH
Last Song Played : A song by Amy Search this morning
Last Food Ate : Mak's cooking
Last Thing I do before I go to sleep : Answer AH's salam


6 Have You Ever(s)

Have you ever dated one of your best friends : No way..
Have you ever broken the law : Jaywalking? Yup!
Have you ever been arrested : Nope!
Have you ever skinned dipped : I've fat dipped :p
Have you ever been on TV : Yup, for a street interview on then TV12
Have you ever kissed someone you didn't know : Urgh, no.


5 Things You Are Wearing.

I can't find 5 things. Wearing only my au naturale scent? Haha!

4 Things You've Done Today...

Attended a training session
Cracked a lame joke
Laugh
Held the door open for someone

3 Things You Can Hear Right Now ...

AH whining at his PSP
Neighbour unlocking his door
TV sounds...


2 Things You Can't Live Without ...

Clean water
Faith

1 Thing You Do When You Are Bored ...

Turn on the computer...bloghop like crazy!


5 Beautiful Peeps to Carry On The Game :-

This is the first time I'm going to tag anyone! Yeah!
OK here goes...

Fiz
Kak Yati
Mahd
Aini
AH (in case he's got a blog stashed somewhere...)

Our Tok has some really interesting rules when it comes to parking the car. So much so that I share those rules with AH too when he is parking his car. Rules like:

1. Never park the car under a flowering tree.
Reason: When the tree sheds the flowers, they'll land conveniently atop yr car, making it look like a chinesefuneralvan.

2. Never park the car near a motorcycle.
Reason: If the wind blows too hard, the motorcycle may land on the car, causing irreversible scratches.

3. Never park the car near any sand, or area without grass.
Reason: If it rains, splashes of mud & dirt will land right on the car, causing you to have to clean it.

4. Never park the car beside a van, or any vehicle 'taller' than the car.
Reason: If the van's car door swings open, it might bang too hard onto our car door. We wouldn't want a dent on our car door, would we?

I'll add more if I can remember any others.

So where in the carpark do we park our car then?

AH's criteria is not as stringent. His fave lot contains none of the above, but when desperation sets in, bawah pokok pon bawah pokok lah....

It feels rather surreal that we've finally gotten our heavy buns to Travelex & emerged out of there with the train tickets & much poorer than we were minutes earlier. "Damage" is the word aptly used by the travel advisor.

AH has done enough in planning for the trip. But me? What have I done? Nothing much; just mindless blogging about our inch-by-inch progress on the trip :p

I've yet to start on the 1-day itinery I was supposed to come up with for 1 city we'll be visiting. Now when can I find time to do that? Maybe later tonight, after I've changed the bedsheets, plonked them into the washing machine & after I've showered & folded the laundry I hung out to dry before I went to work this morning (hehehh... sounds busy enough to excuse myself from planning a day trip? :p).

I'm very excited about the trip, going places, seeing places.... VERRrrry...! I'm also excited thinking of the last minute packing (oh yes, last minute kings & queens that we are) we'll be doing since I'll be at work the day we'll be flying off, and thinking about the currency exchange we've yet to make. Of course, I am also "excited" anticipating the damage that awaits us when we return from this almost impromptu trip!

But actually I'm rather concerned about 1 other thing.

No, not work. That's the last thing I'll worry about. Though I did briefly (for 2 seconds) joke about bringing some paperwork to do overthere before I realised it was such a horrible, unfunny joke. (God Forbid!)

My concern is a very silly thing, so I shan't reveal it here :p

OK, time's up. Time to go now.

of cycling in the gym is all it takes to burn 60 calories. But that also left me with body aches here & there, and tiredness that resulted in immediate knock out at 11 pm.

After months of not exercising, save for walks to buy newspaper when I sleep over at BB, I felt like dying on the cycling machine yesterday. But I perservered, and didn't give up before the 15 mins were over.

It may seem insignificant - 15 mins. But that broke the spell - I've finally stepped into a gym! Now I shall muster enough courage to make full use of the free passes I've been thinking about using.