31st March 2006 – Day 165

What a joke. A few days into Daylight Saving Time, I still set the wrong time on my alarm clock.

I wasted no time at all doing all the last minute packing and cleaning up the room. The fact that I'm leaving this place struck me when I finally packed everything into the suitcase. The room looks so empty. Just like the first day when I reached here.

I finished cleaning up all the furniture at around 1040. After which, I placed my luggage in the common room and the trash was taken out.

The Hausmeister was a few minutes late. Understandable, since today is the last day of the month. Many other people would be moving out too.

He did a quick check on the room and soon, I was on my way to collect back my Kaution. I didn't thought it would be so reibungslos.

I went down to the Krankenkasse to return them the insurance card. It was there that they revealed to me that they had not booked my account for the fees this month even though they said they would do so earlier.

Thoughts of not paying flashed past my mind. But it's better to settle all bills here rather than having them chase me when I'm back. The transaction cost would be even higher.

At the bank, I was informed that I would have to pay 6€ more for the Überweisung. Unnecessary cost incurred due to not checking properly before closing my bank account.

And the man at the counter still joked about the Interpol coming after me if I don't pay up.

That aside, all the administrative work were done quite painlessly.

I met Nan for lunch at the Mensa. I met Felix there too while having lunch. Felix is still doing his Studienarbeit. He's a pleasant guy to hang out with. Especially during IBWL tutorials when he explained the jokes to me.

After lunch, Nan and I went to have some cappucino. Then we started talking as if we were some old men, like what he said. Maybe we'll meet up again some time in 2008 in China, and continue talking like old men.

I followed him to the library as I had to write something for the "H5 Hall of Fame".

If you guys are interested to know whether my German has improved over my stay here in Karlsruhe, here's the proof. I wrote the following paragraphs in about 25 minutes without any help.

Liebe Leute von H5,

Hah! Ich bin der erste in diesem Buch zu schreiben! Es war ganz toll hier mit euch am H5 zu wohnen und euch kennen zu lernen. Ihr habt mein Aufenthalt in Karlsruhe unvergesslich gemacht.

Das Fluressen, die Feuerzangebowle, die Flurversammlungen und die "Ausländerfeindlichkeit" machten viel Spaß (Ja. Fährt nicht nach Singapur. Es gibt dort keine Kartoffeln und Strom! =P).

Weil ich zeitlicheweise schlecht geplant habe, hätte ich keine Zeit für ein Abscheidsparty. Das ist doch keine Ausreden. Trotzdem möchte ich mich für die wunderbare Zeit hier bedanken.

Seid nicht enttauscht! Hier findet ihr Schokoladen, die ich von Österreich und der Schweiz mitgebraucht habe. Das ist aber eine kleine Danke von mir.

Viel Erfolg noch in der Zukunft. Bis wenn wir uns wiedertreffen!

As you can see, anyone with 2 semesters of German at CLS could have written this. I'm sure a lot of mistakes can be found. Have fun finding them! But do tell me too where I've gone wrong.

As I still had 0,23€ left, I tried to spend it on something. No use bringing coins back. I passed by a breadshop and bought a Brötchen for 0,20€. Good enough.

I went back to hostel and started reading the magazines while waiting for time to pass by. Out of nowhere, a Chinese appeared.

It seems that he would be the next in my old room. But he's not allowed to move in as the Hausmeister claims that the ex-tenant (which is me) has not returned the room.

As he could only speak Chinese and English, he asked me to help him talk to the Hausmeister.

Well, just give it a try. It's not my problem too if negotiation fails.

I tried to ask the Hausmeister if he could move in today. But the Hausmeister now claims that there are some renovation to be done in the room.

"Könnten Sie bitte vielleicht eine Ausnahme machen?"

Probably because the Hausmeister was surprised to see me still here, he agreed to let the China man move in today and do the actual hand over on Monday at 0800.

"Das ist aber sehr nett von Ihnen!", I said to the Hausmeister, who is now extremely pleased with the compliment.

Oh well, everyone is happy now.

The time has finally arrived and I made my way down to the bus stop and subsequently the Straßenbahnhaltestelle. What a coincidence! I actually met Leo there. Leo has just finished his exams and decided to help me with my luggage to the Hauptbahnhof. I was more than grateful for his help.

Here comes the final test of the German administrative hurdle: Cancellation of my Bahncard 50. The lady at the counter said that the cancellation has to be done schriftlich. She handed me a piece of blank paper and I just started writing. Corrections from readers are welcomed.

Kündigen

Ich möchte meine Bahncard 50 kündigen, weil ich nach Hause fliege und nicht wiederkommen werde. Meine Daten läuft wie folgt:

Name: **** ***, ***
Bahncard Nr.: **** **** **** ****

Karlsruhe, den 31.03.06

Even if the letter doesn't get to them, they will find that the bank account does not exist anymore too.

I saved a grand total of 22€ with the Bahncard 50! Simply amazing!

At the airport, there were some problems too. My check-in luggage weighs 36 kilograms. The lady asked me to weight my backpack as well. 15 kilograms! And I 'm still holding on to another 2 kg on a paper bag.

She told me to repack my stuffs as they cannot allow such heavy stuffs in the cabin. Fair enough. I took out my laptop and some other electrical appliances and threw them into a plastic bag which I had prepared earlier.

She consulted another lady regarding my excess baggage. I was supposed to have only 20 kilograms. The other lady was much nicer. I told her my situation and she just smiled and told the lady, "Kein Problem!".

Lady number one then tried to explain that she had nothing against me.

"Sie brauchen nicht erklären," I replied. She didn't look very happy after that.

Which is true. Why do you need to explain yourself if you do not feel that way in the first place?

Even on the plane, there were some problems. My seat was allocated to another person. But that was easily solved.

So, farewell to Deutschland!

30th March 2006 – Day 164

Although I set my alarm clock at 0800, I only woke up at 1000. I immediately took a shower, changed my clothes and headed for the secretaries' office. they will be closed by 1130.

The Teilnahmeschein was not ready yet. I kind of expected it with the irresponsible professor in charge. I have up till August to recieve my transcript and get the modules accredited. That should be more than enough time.

I headed back to hostel to find the Hausmeister in order to confirm with him my Auszugstermin. I must be really lucky today. He was right there sitting in his office. Normally, he's quite an elusive character. Sometimes, he can't even be found during his Sprechstunden!

It was confirmed. He will come at 1100 tomorrow morning to take over the room from me. I just have to pack up everything and wait for him to come. One thing I like about him is that once he says he'll do something, it will be done.

I decided to have lunch at one of the Kebap shop a friend recommended. It was really good. I got to drink a free flow of turkish tea while eating my Yufka.

I strolled down Kaiserstraße and bought an Eis for 1,40€. The serving was surprisingly big. I had Whisky cream and Melone. Not bad. But I've yet to see another ice cream parlour selling champagne flavoured ice cream besides the one in München.

I went further down to Mühlberger Tor to visit the Bürgerburo in order to announce my leaving of Karlsruhe tomorrow. I took a number with 16 people before me and went off to the toilet thinking it would take some time. When I returned, the number has already been called. I took another number.

There were now 54 people before me.

As soon as I was done with the informing, I went down to Postbank to close my account. Relatively painless. In a moment, I was receiving whatever pennies and cents I had left.

I walked around town and found myself attracted to C&A's spring sale. 20% auf alles. It might have been cheaper during the Winterschlussverkauf, but I still bought a belt to replace the old one I have. I'm leaving tomorrow anyway.

Some books would have been purchased, if not for the fact that I already have lots to drag back.

I started my packing shortly after 2100. Although I only had to stuff everything in the room into the suitcase, it was still not easy trying to do so. I was about 85% complete at 0315 when I finally decided to take a rest.

So, have to wake up early tomorrow to throw in the rest of the stuffs.

29th March 2006 – Day 163

I woke up late and had to ask Qicong to leave first since he has to attend his lessons. He handed me his keys and left for the train station.

I took the time to think about where to go this morning. I decided that the Lindt chocolate factory would be worth a visit. But to visit the place, it would mean that I have to buy a ticket for 3 zones.

The problem was easy to get around.

The factory would only open at 1000, so I had some time to pack up all my stuffs into my backpack.

Lindt chocolate factory is no property of Willy Wonka, but the production lines were closed to the public as well. There was nothing interesting except for the strong whiff of chocolate in the air. In fact, there was nothing else I could do there except for buying chocolates.

Buy chocolate I did. Lots. Since they were for personal consumption, I did not mind buying the leicht beschädigt chocolate which were cheaper.

I was late for lunch since I went back to the hostel to put all the chocolate down. Qicong was worried that I disappeared with his keys.

The Landesmuseum here was also quite interesting. I could spend the whole afternoon in the museum looking at all the exhibit. On each display, there is a corresponding explanation with 4 languages, namely German, French, Italian and English. Understanding the exhibit is not a problem.

I couldn’t finish the museum on time. I made another arrangement to meet Qicong again outside 15 to 20 minutes later.

I rushed through the rest of the exhibits and when I was outside 20 minutes later. Mr Tan wasn’t there.

I waited until 1700 before I decided that he will not be there. I told him earlier that my train leaves at 1907 and should leave Dietikon by 1815. I presume he might have gone back first, and I made my way back too.

It turns out that he had to settle some billing problem before the post office closes, or else he would have to pay a fine. He was relieved that he did not have to pay the fine. I was too because my 40 CHF train ticket need not be wasted.

I took the 1830 train back to Zürich Hauptbahnhof and bidded him farewell from Dietikon.

It was not until 5.5 hours later that I reached Karlsruhe since I was taking the slower train from Pforzheim.

Back in the hostel, Stefan asked me again if there would be a Abschiedsparty since I would still be here for Thursday night. Well, I would be in Karlsruhe, but that doesn’t mean that my remaining time here would be spent partying away!

So, I have to start packing up the mess here.

28th March 2006 - Day 162

Both of us were operating only on a few hours of sleep as too much nonsense was sprouted yesterday night.

Plans have been made to crash Qicong’s German lesson in the morning. But it’ll depend on whether the teacher in charge would agree to it or not.

We left the place at around 0835 and caught the 0845 train back to Zürich city. The Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) is located right smack in the center of the city. It’s recognized as the top notch technical university in Switzerland.

We took the Polybahn up the slopes of ETH. The Polybahn is a fully automated cog wheel train that ferries people up every 3 minutes. Not unlike shuttle bus services.

On the Polybahn, we met the teacher in charge of the class. Since the opportunity presents itself, I asked her if I could join her class as a Gasthörer after the usual Q&A session.

Not surprisingly, she agreed. The next 1.5 hours was spent revising some foundation and deciphering some newspaper.

During the break, we went to a museum in the ETH which was similar to the
Raffles Biodiversity Museum, only that it was much more diverse in the amount of specimen on display.

Commonly seen: little children on ETH campus

Qicong had to go back to classes. I wandered for another half an hour inside the museum before going to the Hauptbahnhof for some tourist information. After which, I roamed the city streets in search of some cheap Swiss pastries.

Well, not exactly cheap. But reasonably priced. 2 strawberry tarts for 3,90 CHF at the local supermarket chain store Coop.

Soon, it was lunch time. Being a miser and wanting to save some CHF, the registered student at ETH had to go round the Mensa queue twice so that I could get a proper meal at student price. If not, it’ll cost twice as much. It seems like they are very strict about this regulation according to Qicong who had an unpleasant experience with them.

After lunch, I went around to some of the more prominent churches in town. The weather these days doesn’t seem very good. It was raining as I walk through the city. Taking a proper photo in this weather is not easy. But I have no such problem since I was using a single use camera. No review of the photos taken and hence saving myself the trouble of taking the same shot again.

If it works, good. If not, too bad.

Once classes was over, we went to Altstetten where the Chemical Engineering Department of ETH is. The buildings look quite cool. There were display cases showing various instruments and apparatus. It’s always quite interesting to try to figure out how they work.

We went to a farm nearby where a horse was. We walked all the way in the rain to see a horse! What’s wrong with us? We don’t see a horse in a farm often in the vast land we come from. That’s why.

The horse in question

We fell prey to false advertising in a supermarket after the farm visit. No excuse for me. I could have read more carefully.

Qicong’s floormates are an international bunch coming from all of Europe. I think it is can be quite fun, learning about other culture. Possibly one of the disadvantages is that it’ll be difficult to practise German since English is used more often instead.

So, have to sleep earlier tonight after the sleep deprivation yesterday.

27th March 2006 - Day 161

The weather today was wonderfully sunny.

Refusing to leave Salzburg with only shots taken in the lousy weather yesterday, I climbed up the Kapuzinerberg again in order to take a better photo of the Festung. After all, it’ll be some time before I come back here again, if that ever happens.

Salzburg looks better when it's sunny

On my way down, I met the Korean guy Young with all his photographic equipment. He was also on the night tour yesterday. I guess he wanted to take a good picture too.

This house used to sell horse-shoes

I decided to take the train at 0953 to Innsbruck, 1 hour later than planned. This will give me enough time to get some groceries from the supermarket after being deprived of cheap food and drinks for the weekend.

I went to Konditorei Fürst to try their Mozartkugel. Although it costs 0,90€ per piece, it’s really good compared even to the 0,70€ Mozartkugel from Holzermayr.

After which, I went back to the youth hostel and bidded farewell to Yoshio who was having his breakfast.

The train from Salzburg to Innsbruck took about 2 hours. There were no stops in between these 2 stations. The scenery along the way was quite enjoyable, especially so because the weather was really good.

Once I reached Innsbruck, I went to buy a train ticket for Zürich in the evening. Since the last train leaves at 1638, I had effectively about 4 hours to explore Innsbruck. I deposited my backpack at one of the lockers at the train station. A heavy bag will only impede my movement.

Snow-capped mountains surrounding Innsbruck

Innsbruck appears to be more of a ski resort town that’s surrounded by snow capped mountains. Even so, there were other things to do. I wanted to visit one of the museums under the goldenes Dach, but it’s closed on Mondays.

The goldenes Dach in the background

Next stop – Cathedral St. Jakob somewhere behind the goldenes Dach. But as it was too big to fit inside the camera aperture, I only took the upper half of the church.

I almost paid more tribute to a long gone dynasty by visiting the Hofburg. But I changed my mind at the last moment just as I was about to pay. I had seen too many examples of how lavish the chambers of the Hapsburg were.

It’s time to take a look at how the common people lived at the Tirol Landesmuseum. I thought the place was quite interesting. It showed the various building styles through the times, furniture from different periods, and tools which the people used for various purposes.

Particularly of interest was that I realized that the firelighters look like pistols. Probably the pistols followed the design of firelighters.

I took a walk in the imperial garden nearby the museum. Not that imperial anymore these days as it’s free entry to everyone.

I noticed that the people here are all sitting on benches facing the sun. From where I come from, finding a shade is a second instinct to many. But it’s understandable. It’s nice to see the sun again after bad weather.

Reading in the garden

A sunny day means that an ice cream is in order (though it’s better to eat ice cream in cold weather. It keeps you warm.). But I don’t like the flavors offered.

Lunch was a sandwich and peach tea from an Austrian supermarket. I was making my way back to the Hauptbahnhof even though there was more than an hour left. I was quite convinced that nothing else would interest me here, assuming that the guidebook is correct.

The train came late and there was a 25 minutes delay due to some damaged parts. I was quite sure I would miss the connecting train and started to plan what could be done instead.

But that did not happen. The connecting train waited 25 minutes for us. Many passengers heaved a sigh of relief on hearing the Durchsagen.

In total, this stretch of journey took about 4 hours. I did some re-reading on the city with the highest standard of living in the World. I was quite glad that a classmate on SEP agreed to let me bunk with him. That definitely helps to cut travel costs.

Zürich Hauptbahnhof is a surprising simple place to navigate and figure out even though there are at least 54 platforms for both long and short distance trains. I managed to get my tickets to Dietikon quite effortlessly.

I really should not be so confident of myself when I’m at a foreign place and when it’s raining. I got lost the first time and walked a train station back!

The second try was better as I read the invaluable item called map. The place is actually quite easy to find if one follows a map properly.

So, some Singaporean nonsense to be sprouted.

26th March 2006 - Day 160

What terrible weather. It was raining for the whole day. I got out after wasting time waiting for the rain to stop, but got quite irritated by the bad weather that I went to have breakfast at Macdonalds instead.

The rain showed no signs of stopping. I went to the Altstadt to try one of the handmade Mozartkugel from Holzermayr before going up the Festung. It is 0,70€ for one. The shop owner kept telling me that this is the real thing. Of course, which sane shop owner would say otherwise?

The fortress has never been attacked before. It's easy to see why taking the footpath in the rain. But getting past the fortress walls is a matter of 8,60€ nowadays. It is the largest medieval fortress in Europe.

I visited the second part of the fortress hoping that the rain will stop by the time I finished. There is a museum about a particular Rainer Regiment. There were World War II pictures of Austrians in German uniforms portrayed in a positive light. The first time I saw photos of such kind.

Then there were the Fürstenzimmer which contain Gothic style chambers. I took my time to read through the entire history of Salzburg.

It was still raining when I finished, so I went ahead with the first part of the fortress and saw a torture chamber where tortures were never administered, the Bull of Salzburg (which is actually an organ) and the watch tower where the view was supposed to be superb in better weather condition.

The rain was not as heavy by the time I came down from the Festung. For lunch, I settled for a large Käse und Schinken Brezel.

Taken from the Mirabell gardens with the Festung in the background

It was an unimaginably boring afternoon. I was so bored that I tried to convince myself to visit Mozarts Geburtshaus. But I refuse to contribute more to this 5 billion euro industry which accounts for 90% of Salzburg's revenue.

Out of boredom, I climbed up the Kapuzinerberg to entertain myself. The weather really spoilt the view from high up.

Probably the only nice photo taken on a rainy day

Disappointed at the lack of attractions to visit (because of the rain and it was late), I went back to hostel to take a break. Does this town has nothing more to offer besides Mozart, the Sound of Music, and the Festung? I probably would have been happier watching re-runs of the Sound of Music in black and white, while marvelling at how beautiful Salzburg is.

It was a coincidence. I met one of my floormates here. In the same city, the same hostel and the same room! He's going on a tour with his Spanish friend. I was very surprised to see him here.

I decided to give Salzburg one last chance by joining a night tour conducted by the hostel. Maybe my reading up of Salzburg was not extensive enough to uncover other places of interest here.

The tour guide Phillip was great. He filled us up with interesting information about his town. Like how they refuse to be recognised as Austrians, but as Salzburger instead.

Did you know that the energy drink Red Bull came originally from Salzburg? This has something to do with the history of the town.

The town of Salzburg was once under siege. The enemies had blocked off all paths leading up to the fortress, preventing the Salzburger from getting essential supplies.

The town was getting worried when there was only one bull left. The commander came up with an idea of painting the bull in different colours and parading it on the platforms of the fortress. This created the illusion of being well supplied for the enemies.

Of course the enemies fell for the trick and withdrew. Henceforth, the people of Salzburg became known as Stierwascher or Bull Washers.

Red Bull was but the name of choice for a drink which would supposedly give you an extra burst of energy.

I thought Jägermeister is from Germany, but I was informed otherwise. The same goes for the beer which Augustine monks brewed. Both beverages came from Austria.

I asked Phillip about the Mozartkugeln and the 2 confectioneries. It seems only logical that Fürst is the original since the person who came up with this treat is called Josef Fürst.

We had some Jägertee while looking at the nightview of the Festung. After we went back, I went to the bar with Yoshio for a drink. Seems like I can now take 500 millilitre of beer quite well now.

So, I'm quite glad to have joined the tour and left Salzburg with a good impression.

25th March 2006 - Day 159

The trams in Wien

I wasn't sure which train to board at the train station. I simply boarded the only train that leaves at 0909 as someone told me that was the train to Melk.

On board the train, I asked a young lady whether this was the correct train. She didn't know as she wasn't travelling so far, but she offered to help me ask the train conductor. I declined and found the conductor later.

The conductor was nice enough to come and inform me just before the train reaches Melk. I would have continued sleeping if not for him.

Melk is a quaint little town with a distinctive yellow abbey designed in high Baroque style. I cannot remember the last time when a church made me go "wah", but this one certainly did. Unfortunately, some parts of the abbey were closed, while some other required a tour guide to accompany. I missed the tour at 1100 and the next would be at 1400, which is already too late.

Entrance to the Abbey

I reached Salzburg at 1500 and followed the directions in the guidebook to the youth hostel. After which, I went out to see what the town has to offer.

Salzburg is considered one of the most beautiful towns by many. I think it would look much better in summer though. A fellow traveller at the hostel commented that this is a very small town and he wouldn't spend more than 2 nights here. Indeed, the small town is choked full with tourists. I finished exploring the Altstadt in 2 hours.

Went to see some of the free attractions like the Dom, St. Peters Friedhof and the Festung. The Festung would have to wait till tomorrow since it's closing soon. Lots of tourists were crowding at Mozarts Geburtshaus. For a music illiterate like me, he's just another dead person. I doubt visiting the place where he was born for 5€ would make me appreciate music any better.

Morzarts Geburtshaus

I walked to the Nonnberg abbey where Maria von Trapp studied there for 2 years. It's a private monastery and it was dark inside. Nothing much to see.

The Glockenspiel is supposed to play at 1800. I waited, but nothing happened. Instead, I got entertained by a bunch of noisy youths. It was back to hostel after a simple dinner.

A statue of Mozart on Mozartsplatz

So, 1 hour less of sleep tonight.

24th March 2006 - Day 158

I woke up slightly later in the morning and instead of going some places, I was on the phone trying to make a reservation for a bed in Salzburg. Since Schloss Schönbrunn will only open at 0900, I went online to do some usual internet stuffs.

I found a photo developing shop selling single use cameras. It's 2 for 9,99€. I bought it without hesitation.

After buying a Schokotörtchen for breakfast, I was on the tram to Schloss Schönbrunn. If people visits Versailles when they are in Paris, they should not miss Schönbrunn when they are in Wien.

A view of Schönbrunn from the Garden

Schönbrunn was the summer residence of the Hapsburgs family. The layout of the chambers are somewhat similar to the Kaiserapartment I visited yesterday. The garden behind was quite huge as it used to be a hunting ground.

I was given an option of either having an audio guide or a brochure with all the information of the chambers. Since the information in both are the same, I took the brochure instead of having to press an audio guide onto my ear all the time.

The rule of keine Fotos was strictly enforced in all museums and palaces. But there were always people who persistenly tries to take photos. When an italian tour group saw a man takign photos, the tour guide told the man to stop . That was not enough. She and her tour group found a curator and pow toh the man.

Seriously, are they just jealous that the man got away with it? They could have too, but they didn't dare to.

It's a pity that some parts of the garden was closed. Nevertheless, I went up the garden and had a great view of the Schloss.

The Neptune Fountain which was still frozen

The Roman Ruin in the Garden showing the Hapsburg as the successor of the powerful Holy Roman Emipre

A cafeteria at the top of the Garden

I have the impression that the cashiers at the supermarkets aren't friendly and generally distrust customers. A cashier told me to hurry up while I was searching for coins while at another supermarket, another cashier asked to look into my shopping bag, probably because I had a crooked smile.

I've heard stories from Martina K. (whose husband is an Austrian), that Austrians generally do not tolerate Ausländer as much as Germans. Good luck if you don't speak German.

I went back to the hostel and had an afternoon nap before heading out to the river. I was quite disappointed that there was nothing there.

Next, I went to the Gasometer. This place used to be a gas supply/storage plant consisting of 4 chimneys which was later converted to a shopping mall and student hostel by 4 architects. Ouite clever, I thought.

The Gasometer

The Marketplace

After that, I went back to St. Stephans' Dom and went to the shopping district to do some window shopping. then it was to the train station to buy my ticket to Salzburg tomorrow.

Someone looking down at the Marketplace

So, reading up on what to do in Salzburg.

23rd March 2006 - Day 157

From the information I've gathered from the Internet and the guidebooks which I borrowed from the hostel, I went about my itinerary for the day.

I left the hostel at 0805 and went to buy a tram ticket at the Westbahnhof. Since I predict that I would not stay out later than 2000, I bought the cheaper Einkaufskarte.

The first stop is St. Stephans Dom. I made a quick tour of the cathedral and wanted to climb up the south tower. However, it was only 0840 and the tower will only open at 0900.

Entrance fee for the tower was 3€. I was rather disappointed when I climbed the 343 steps up (I counted. There were only 334 steps), only to be surrounded by walls. I could only see a pathetic view of the Wien through the window. I highly recommend everyone to skip this tower. But of course, climb up anyway so that you can agree with my recommendation.

Horse Carriages can be found everywhere, but this one has no horsemen.

Next stop, the Hofburg consisting of the Silberkammer, Kaiserapartment and Sisi Museum. The ticket was 7€. I gave the man 20€ and he returned me only 3€. When I told him that the mistake, he said he didn't notice but "ich vertraue Ihnen". What nonsense.

The main entrance to the Hofburg

The Silberkammer displayed the silver and porcelain wares used by the Hapsburgs. All the gold and silver did not interest thelonetraveller. He was more interested to find out how the napkin was folded. According to the audio guide, only 2 people at any one time knew about this closely guarded secret.

The Sisi Museum was a small museum of a few rooms dedicated to Kaiserin Elisabeth, who was affectionately called Sisi by the people. Depressed, obsessed with maintaining her 51cm waist, liked to travel a lot to get away from the constraints of court life, and assasinated by an Italian arnachist who actually had another target. That was her life.

The Kaiserappartment basically showed how the living chambers of the Hapsburgs were like. How they lived and where they did what.

After lunch, I continued my tour with the Schatzkammer for a fee of 6€. Nothing impressive inside except for an gigantic unicorn horm (actually, it's from a Narwhale). No big green diamonds to gwak at. I expected something better for the 6euro entrance price.

The Swiss Guards Entrance to the Schatzkammer

I wanted to visit another church, but it'll cost me another 4€. From the picture in the guidebook, I decided that I shall not pay any more tribute to churches today.

Art musuems were out of my itinerary. I believe a visit would bestow upon me the power of falling asleep immediately though.

I went in search of the Hundertwasser Haus at Löwegasse instead. But it's a bit difficult to find, I had to ask the concierge in Hilton Vienna for help.

Hunderwasser Haus...

This Hundertwasser Haus was pretty run down. It looks very dirty compared to the one in Darmstadt. There were actually quite a number of tourists there, even though the place is quite out of reach.

...in its' run-down state

I've heard about cheap tickets at the Staatsoper and decided to give it a try. The rest of my evening was then spent in the opera house watching Aida with German and English subtitles. Since the audience were clapping wildly after the end of the performance, I conclude that such cultural activity is beyond my current level of comprehension - I hardly felt stirred by the performance, though I remember calling the characters stupid at some point.

So, Wien would be a great place to visit if one has some background in music or arts.

22nd March 2006 - Day 156

I woke up at 0400 and started all the last minute preparations like packing in my toileteries. Things went on as planned and I was out by 0443, 2 minutes earlier than stipulated time.

I reached the tram station at 0502, 5 minutes earlier than the tram. There were only 3 people on the tram. Nobody seems to board the tram at the other Haltestelle.

When I reached the Hauptbahnhof and went to the platform, I realised I could have saved a Kebap over the train fare. And nobody checked my ticket for the entire trip from Karlsuruhe to Nürnberg. I slept for most part of the journey, only to wake up when the train stops.

Despite initial worries of missing a train connection, it did not happen as the connecting train came late.

There was enough time for me to walk around Nürnberg. I have quite a good impression of the plce. It's a pity that I did not visit this place last year during the Christmas period.

Late March. But it was still snowing.

As I did not want to eat biscuits for lunch, I bought a Kebap before heading back to the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof. There was a good 10 minutes before the train arrives, so I started eating.

Then came the announcement that the train would be slightly late. An English couple couldn't figure out what it said, so I told them what it meant.

"I thought German trains were never late", said the lady.

Which makes me wonder where did German trains get that reputation from? Once, I waited 20 minutes for a train from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe.

The lady told me that she and her husband were supposed to cruise down from Köln to Vienna. But there was some ice and the captain told everyone onboard to take alternative forms of transport.

I am quite glad I did not stinge on the 1.50€ to make a seat reservation. The train was quite packed. For a 5 hour train ride, it only seem logical.

The old lady sitting opposite me asked me if I was going to Vienna. She needs help with a suitcase 3/4 the size of her.

The hostel was near the Wien Westbahnhof and was fairly easy to find. After I left all my stuffs there, I started walking towards the city centre.

Since I had no proper map of the area, I got quite lost as there were many lanes in the city centre. Maybe I am in Karlsruhe for too long, but seeing all the shopping streets made me excited.

No pictures taken as the sky was quite dark and cloudy. I did a brief overview of what's in town and took note of what places would interest me.

Just before heading back to the hostel, I went to some supermarket and found that things are more expensive here. For example, the single use camera costs 12,99€ here.

So, buy all the things you'll need before you visit Wien.

21st March 2006 - Day 155

Today is the last day of my lab module. I also received my lab report done on Friday. No corrections needed!

I had lunch one last time with my group members. They were fun people to work with, even though we might have some comunication problems due to the language. But hey, things still got done, and while it was done, we enjoyed ourselves.

Martina K. passed her organic chemistry exams. Her friend did not. That is a problem because her friend is already in his 9th semester, and this exam is a Vordiplom exam. The Vordiplom should not take more than 7 semesters. That could possibly mean that the friend will be ex-matriculated.

That aside, I finally went down to Baden-baden in the afternoon to take a look at its' Friedrichsbad. This bathhouse is first opened in 1877 and combines the ultimate in Roman bathing culture with Irish hot air baths, so says the brochure I took.

This is the first time I visited a bathhouse. As such, I cannot make any comparisions with other places. But I certainly did enjoy the session.

There are 16 stages altogether as listed below.

1. 5 minutes shower
2. 15 minutes warm air bath, 54 degrees Celcius
3. 5 mintues hot air bath, 68 degrees Celcius
4. 1 minute shower
5. Soap and brush massage
6. 1 minute shower
7. 15 minutes thermal steam bath, 45 degrees Celcius
8. 5 minutes thermal steam bath, 48 degrees Celcius
9. 10 minutes thermal full bath, 36 degrees Celcius
10. 15 minutes thermal whirlpool bath, 34 degrees Celcius
11. 5 minutes thermal kinotherapeutic bath, 28 degrees Celcius
12. 8 minutes shower
13. A few seconds cold water bath, 18 degrees Celcius
14. 4 minutes drying off
15. Application of moisturising cream
16. Resting area for the remaining time

All these procedures took about 3 hours (take in walking time from point to point). At stage 2, I striked up a conversation with an old gentleman, who brought me around and explained to me what each step was for. He has been coming here once a week for the past 15 years.

Stage 2 and 3 were just warm air, so all I did was to lie down and start sweating. At the soap and brush massage, the man massaged with quite a lot of force, so it wasn't as ticklish as I imagined.

The thermal steam baths were really hot with all the water vapour in the air. I had difficulty breathing as my nose hurts while I breathed in. My spectacles fogged and I couldn't see anything. I didn't know if I was sweating or was it water that condensed off me, I was just dripping wet (of course, this is a bath).

The rest of the pools were quite relaxing. Except for the cold water pools where I was shivering. Now I know how cold water is at 28 and at 18 degrees Celcius.

After showering and applying moisturising cream, I followed the old gentleman to the Ruheraum where I was wrapped up in blanket and just fell asleep.

It's really quite convenient to come here for a bath. I don't even need to bring anything since no clothings is allowed. The lady at the reception had to remind me that in case I didn't know. Except for Mondays and Thursdays, men and women use stages 7 to 11 together.

It does feel a bit awkward at first going in naked. But after a while, it feels quite normal. After all, I don't think anyone wears clothes when they shower.

If you are thinking I might have saw something interesting, rest assured. At this funny time I chose, only retired old men and old ladies will come. I must be the youngest customer for this time slot.

I made my way back to the Rechenzentrum in the evening to buy my train ticket from Karlsruhe to Nürnberg. It's funny, but I can only find this particular train connection online. It's not listed in the Automat. After which, I went to buy some biscuits for the long train trip tomorrow.

Please do not bother to check this website for at least a week from tomorrow onwards. thelonetraveller will not update anything during this period.

So, till next week!

20th March 2006 - Day 154

We have a new member for the lab grouping. His former group was disbanded because one of the guys only needed to do 1 experiment, while the other had ex-matriculated, leaving only 2 of them.

Talks a lot. Is a great actor (a.k.a wayang). The experiment with him took a little longer than usual with his apparent concern that things are not done correctly and asking the Betreuer questions every 5 minutes or so, even though it was quite clear what should be done.

His performance was much appreciated. He defused the stern Betreuer. Earlier on, the Betreuer was asking Martina S. a lot of questions when she was not able to answer some questions. That took up about 40 mintutes.

I think it's common. They find so much excitment in exposing your weakness and will attack relentlessly until one is so panicky that he is unable to think properly.

But it's good training grounds for the students here. They have to know every single detail of what they are learning. In fact, things taught to me during the first 4 semester became clearer after being grilled by their questioning.

After the lab, I went to the cafeteria with Alex and Martina S. to do the lab reports. I hope I did not give the wrong explanation, or leave them with a wrong impression.

Temperatures hit 16 degrees Celcius in the afternoon. It has been a long time since the sun felt so warm.

There was a grill party here on the floor to welcome Spring. Supposedly, Spring starts tomorrow. I think there will be more grill parties after I leave.

I've been informed that there's actually nothing much in Innsbruck. As such, I intend to make it a day trip and go somewhere else instead of spending the night there.

I haven't really made concrete plans of what to do or where to go. I might forgo the bath at Baden-baden tomorrow in order to get all the information down on paper, especially the address of the hostels.

I'm no fan of bathhouses. 29€ for a 3.5 hours of bath time doesn't sound cheap to me anyway. The idea gets stale after shelving it for so many times. Still, it could be quite an experience. Guess the experience component is what makes it expensive.

So, going or not would depend on what time I finish lab tomorrow too.

19th March 2006 - Day 153

I woke up early for a Sunday in order to catch the train to visit my host family somewhere near Darmstadt. For those who are wondering, this is the family which I stayed with for my language immersion course in 2004.

Cornelia and Kayleigh were already at the Bahnhof when I arrived. The rest of the family were at home. It feels good to see them again before I leave Germany.

It's always great spending time at their place. It makes me remember about the time when I was doing the language immersion course. So much so that I forget that I have to go back to Karlsruhe.

Seems like there were some problems with their internet connection. The problem was fixed when Liam and I took out the old network card and installed it in the new computer.

I was pulled in by Kayleigh to do some rope skipping. It helped confirm the fact that there are indeed reserves of fats which I do not know of.

The afternoon program was going to some hall to see Kimberly take part in some dance competition. I think I'm the only Chinese looking guy who infiltrated into this event. I didn't even pay the entrance fee!

I noticed some time ago, that on almost every large sheet of glass windows, there is a black shadow of a bird pasted onto it. At first, I thought it was for decoration purposes, though I do not think that the black shadow looks exceptionally artistic. Then I concluded that it could be used to warn people that there is a glass there, so that the Putzfrau has no excuse not to clean the window properly.

Cornelia told me that it was to prevent birds from flying into the glass. She looked quite surprised that I didn't know.

Seriously, I do find the explanation quite unusual.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the living room talking to Geoff and Cornelia. Next week, there will be an election for their area. Pretty much the same as back home, except that we all could make an educated guess at what the outcome would be like.

Then it was some more board games with Kayleigh. After dinner, it was Kniffel. The last time I played it was when I was still staying with them. Almost 1 year and 9 months ago.

I was quite entertained by Kimberly and Kia with their "dance to the music" segment while playing the game.

Soon, it was time to leave. I felt sad that it would be some time before I would see them again. In der Zukunft, so sagen wir. No doubts about it. I am really lucky to have been housed under them during the immersion course.

I heard from Cornelia that they might be taking in another immersion student this year. I hope I did not raise their expectation of the next student.

So, back from a dream and preparing for a lab tomorrow.

18th March 2006 - Day 152

As the end draws near, I am beginning to re-appreciate Karlsruhe. When I first reached here, I had the impression that I still had lots of time to explore this town. Apparently, this was not the case as the time was spent dealing with some other matters on hand.

With my single use camera, I went out to the Schloss to take some pictures. While approaching the Schloss, there's always a funny feeling.

The Garden and the Schloss in the background

Sometimes, I feel like a peasant seeking an audience with some king. Other times, it was like a foot soldier doing prowling duty. But most of the time, I imagine that there's a horse carriage pass by me and a page asking, "Sir, would you like to return to the Schloss?"

Crazy.

I realise today that there is a trail consisting of 1645 blue ceramic tiles leading to some pottery production place. Not that I counted. There was a sign which said so.

The New Path

Continuing with my stroll, I came upon a small field. Some flowers are already blooming. Buds are also appearing on the ends of trees.

Spring is coming. Birds chirping in the morning for the past few weeks to remind everyone of it. The days are getting longer. First light at about 0630 and the Sun only sets at around 1815. I think I can feel it. Like there is something joyous that is about to occur.

But why am I still in my winter coat?

After the short stroll, I went to Karstadt to buy some chocolates for my host family. I'm going to visit them tomorrow. It'll probably be my last visit. Of course there would be opportunities to visit them in the future, but it won't be easy.

I decided to buy some strawberries for a change in fruit intake. Surprisingly, I got them for free. The fruit shop owner even offered me the whole basket. Probably because the owner was closing for the day and he thinks that the strawberries won't last till Monday. He figured it's more practical to give it to someone than to throw it away, I guess.

So, back to doing my trip planning.

17th March 2006 - Day 151

In today's lab, we learnt to determine some Stoffdaten of Benzin and Diesel. Not in the right state of mind today. I keep thinking cars run on motor oil.

The idea of octane number has been drilled into me finally. I had read up on the topic several times in the past, only to forget it in a few day's time. Seems like it's more effective to learn somethings under some pressure.

After a very through questioning session lasting more than 1.5 hours, we finally began with the experiment. It went on largely without any hiccups. Except that I had some problems with switching on the gas pipe. Not that difficult, I just had to push it down and turn.

The session was finished at about 1245. I went to lunch with Alex in the Mensa. Alex is a very quiet person. A few days ago, Martina K. asked him, "Bist du 100% deutsch?". Her argument was that Alex was too nice to be a... ahem... German.

He told me that because he was too light, he need not do the Wehrdienst. How convenient. Seriously, he's small sized compared to the other Germans I see here. I am quite confident I'll be able to fireman lift him for quite a distance, even in my current state of unfitness.

We went to the cafeteria after lunch to continue with writing the lab report. You know someone hasn't been making much progress with the language when you see all the corrections Alex made. Articles remain curiously hard to get a feel of. Which is why I tend to skip the problem by using plural if possible. Then again, with the plural form, the noun changes too. But that's another problem.

Another 2 Ausländer and a very patient German. The perfect combination to a lot of Quatsch.

I went to the Rechenzentrum to print out a train ticket for my trip from Nürnberg to Wien. Why not directly from Karlsruhe to Wien? I figured I'll save 18€ by breaking down the trip this way due to some online offers.

But I haven't brought the ticket from Karlsruhe to Nürnberg yet. That will come on Monday.

Although there's not much time left, I'm still haven't found a hostel in Wien. I don't even know what is interesting there! If I don't like it there, I can simply ride on to the next destination. As long as I reach Karlsruhe again by 29th night, there should not be any problems.

So, finding places to visit is on tomorrow's to-do-list.

16th March 2006 - Day 150

Lab today was in the afternoon as Martina K. has a Klausur in the morning. I woke up early hoping to catch the Hausmeister for the Zettel he was supposed to give me.

There was no need to. I was delighted to see the Zettel in my mailbox. On the Zettel were some standard instructions to return the room - all posters taken down, the room cleaned, the lamps mounted, all nails removed.

I didn't even nail anything on. But there are 2 nails sticking out. I'm not so confident about removing them without damaging the wall and paint.

Martina S. sent me a SMS that the experiment tomorrow needs to be shifted back in the morning as Martina K.'s exam will be in the afternoon. The professor has just informed her about it.

The lab today was quite interesting. We were supposed to make mayonnaise from plant oil, egg yolks, vinegar and salt. It doesn't taste good.

That aside, the shear stress versus shear rate graph makes more sense to me now.

The Betreuer was humourous. He asked whether the language we use back home was Singalish. Almost correct, I told him.

After the lab, I went to wander around and went tombstone window shopping as the institute was supposedly quite near the cemetary and there was a shop displaying the various designs available.

So, I need to start booking hostels in Austria.

15th March 2006 - Day 149

As expected, the experiment today took much longer than yesterday. Although I brought my grammar book along, I didn't have the chance to read it. I was busy fiddling with the lab equipment and reading off graphs.

4 more experiments to go, and I'll be done with this module. Meanwhile, I'm planning for a trip to Austria while I'm not doing any lab related stuffs.

Initially wanted to get a 4 Day EURO Domino pass (that's the minimum available here) for the trains in Austria, but changed my mind after doing some calculations.

The itinerary should look something like this:

Karlsruhe --> Nürnberg --> Wien --> Melk --> Salzburg --> Innsbruck --> Zürich? --> Karlsruhe

Duration of trip: 8 days (22nd - 29th March)
Estimated total cost: 520€

I am still considering East Europe, even though there is a lack of trustworthy travelling companions who are willing to take a break from the exam preparation.

I must be the least travelled exchange student ever. What a waste.

So, more information mining on the internet.

14th March 2006 - Day 148

Lab today was a horror. We started at 0830 and only ended at 1430. The experiment was not difficult, just that it involved a lot of waiting.

Plans of going to Baden-Baden got shelved.

We were extremely bored while waiting. The Betreuer must be the slackest I've seen. She only came over twice the whole day at the lab - once when we were starting and another time when we were packing up. Not that it is not good.

I managed to get hold of the Hausmeister to set an appointment with him. But he said I could only do that if I fill up a particular form, which I have no idea what it is.

I shall wait until he deposits it in my mailbox. Like he said he will do once he gets the list of people moving out at the end of the month.

I should make a trip down to the Akademisches Auslandsamt if the moving out problem is still not solved by this week.

There was another Flurversammlung in the evening. I didn't even know there was a new Mitbewohnerin on the floor.

The usual stuffs about toilets, showers and kitchen. Nothing of much interest since I would be leaving soon. It was slightly faster compared to the previous few times. Drifting away from the discussion topic is a common problem here.

As I was cooking dinner, Eves came around. We had an enjoyable chat. Things which a Auslander can only say to another Auslander. I was quite surprised when he realised that I'm an exchange student. I thought he already knew that. He's only in his first semester. Still a long way to go.

Tomorrow's experiment would take even longer.

So, maybe I should bring my grammar book along.

13th March 2006 - Day 147

Today is another day where my brain is not functioning on the German frequency. Recieving and transmitting signals were especially tedious, not to mention inefficient.

Luckily the Betreuer today was a nice lady. She did not ask us too many questions regarding the experiment. Even when she did, she guided us through the equations.

Lab was over by 1200. I went for lunch at the Mensa as usual.

I have reasons to believe that the cause of my dizziness the past few days is the result of a slight ear infection. My ear feels wet sometimes. But the symptoms are somewhat different to my previous experiences with ear infections.

The first time, I was feeling so dizzy, that I did not want to get up at all. Some pus like substance kept flowing from the infected ear.

The second time, there was no dizziness. Only a very wet ear. I went to the hosiptal and had a tube stuck deep inside my ear to suck up all the pus still trapped inside. Disgusting.

This time round, I'm feeling a little dizzy every now and then. And my ears still feels relatively normal. A little beer helps alleviate the dizziness though.

I went to the Apotheke hoping to get some anti-inflammation solution. But the pharmacist said I'll need a prescription from a doctor.

I read that the ear is capable of handling small infections. A few more days and the infection will clear up by itself. Now I wonder if the source is reliable. But having no pus is already a good sign.

If it doesn't get worse, it can only get better. I presume I'm on my way to recovery since I don't feel as giddy as last Wednesday. I shall continue to monitor the situation.

So, I have to pay more attention to that ear.

12th March 2006 - Day 146

No plans to go anyway today. The bed seems much more comfortable anyway.

I couldn't finish my lunch of instant noodles as I felt quite full from some snacking earlier on. There are still a number of packets left, but they will be finished before I leave this place.

The afternoon was spent in hostel trying to read up the lab for tomorrow. I have a feeling I would forget what I've read when the Betreuer asks. I should read up on it again later.

I met Nan for dinner. We went to the Uni-Grill for Kebap. I seem to have a craving for Kebap these days. After dinner, we went to the Kippe for a drink.

The atmosphere in the Kippe is always good. It's cosy inside and the metal signboards on the walls are quite interesting to read.

Previously, while we were walking to the Kippe, we had unwittingly made a wrong turn. That brought us to the red light district. I mentioned that there was a Erotikmesse in Karlsruhe.

In the Kippe, we were discussing whether we should go visit this cultural event or not. I had read that it's opened till 2300 today. Since both of us haven't been to such exhibition before, we decided that it might make an interesting excursion for tonight.

When we got there, we learnt that the price for the entry ticket was 15€. This was a bit unexpected. We had decided that the maximum price we would pay is 10€. We tried to haggle a bit with the lady selling the ticket, but she refused to give in, saying that the original price was 25€.

Since we were already there, and that it is the last day of the exhibition here, we decided to go ahead with it.

We kind of felt cheated when we saw nothing especially raunchy inside. It was not unlike other exhibition where there are stalls selling various items. The only difference is that the items sold here were more...erm... novel.

DVDs, piercings, massage service, lubricant, vibrators, pumps from Sweden (do you recall Austin Powers?), and some other kinky toys were only part of the display. There was a stall selling chocolates in exotic shapes, with various sizes available.

There was a stall for Swingers. It looked like they were recruiting members. There were also photos from their past gatherings. Looks like they enjoyed themselves. We saw people signing up.

We expected that at such exhibition, the majority of the visitors would be understandably, male. But we were wrong, we saw quite a lot of females too. Some of them were intently staring at some of the above mentioned items. They really looked very serious.

We were in time to catch the last show of the day - a striptease act. Nothing much of interest really. It was a very detached experience since we were standing quite far away. There were people taking photographs and making movie clips though.

We left shortly afterwards, still feeling that 15€ was a bit too much to pay. But we would have regretted it if we didn't know how it looked like.

So, meine liebe Austauschstudenten, was habt ihr heute gelernt?