UK Mon 4/4/11: Brighton, Southdowns Way, Eastbourne

It was a glorious day in spring. I left the hospital after finishing my night shift to catch a train to Brighton. To my dismay, I found out that my old bike was stolen! Sigh, I was looking forward to catch up with biking in spring since I did not bike at all during winter but now...have to do jogging instead.

Walking to the train station took longer time than biking and I missed the train when I was collecting my tickets at the counter. I had to wait for another 20minutes for the next train. Once arrived in Brighton, it is easy to see why everyone loves Brighton. The train station has view of the cliff and once exited the station, I was greeted by the lively atmosphere in the town. Everyone just look so gay and happy. Using plusbus ticket (purchased online when I bought my train tickets), I hopped into bus 6 to go to Churchill Square and from there crossed the road to bus stop E to board bus 12 to Exceat centre in Seven Sisters National Park. Brighton is a great place to do shopping I was told but it is either hiking or shopping so I chose the former. The bus weaved its way through small towns of Rottingdean, Saltdean, Peacehaven, Newhaven and Seaford before stopping at the Exceat Park Centre. I should have stopped at the Golden Galleon Pub really because it is much nearer to hike from there. One can choose to take hiking trails from the national park or walk towards the Golden Galleon pub and turn left to the footpath along the river to reach Cuckmere Haven and be rewarded with the view of the Seven Sisters. Since it was low tide, I was able to walk on the pebbled beach to take a better snapshot of the Seven Sisters.  Then, I climbed the small cliff opposite and the view is even better from here. Met a nice lady walking her dogs and she offered me a lift to Chyngton Estate. I am glad I had a lift because I could easily get lost while walking through the housing estate to reach A259 road to catch the bus 12 to East Dean. Waited for half hour for the bus as in the evening there is only 2 buses every hour at that area. Reached East Dean shortly. It is a very scenic village dotted with beautiful English cottages and it was a pleasant walk to Birling Gap. At the Birling Gap, I learnt about the history of the Gap and East Dean. In the past, it was not a safe town because it was the nest for the smugglers due to high tax on cotton. The smugglers were using Birling Gap and Cuckmere Haven to unload their contraband at night. Villagers stayed home after dark to avoid problems as there was death penalty for smugglers or anyone who harbours them. These places were involved in World War II action as well. Birling Gap was a magnet for shipwrecks in the past and even submarine was not spared…There are Neolithic and World War II findings at display just outside the café.

From the Birling Gap, I walked to the Bella Tout lighthouse which has been converted to a handsome guesthouse with café. Then, another few more miles walk before reaching Beachy Head. The weather was excellent and there were quite a number of visitors walking as well, doing the “Southdown Way”. Beachy Head is an amazing white chalk beauty with sharp precipitous cliffs plunging to the sea.  With the red and white lighthouse nearby, the duo are Southdown's icons. The bus 13X does this scenic route but only after 17^th April and on weekends. Since there is no bus, I had to walk to Eastbourne to board bus 12 again to go back to Brighton. An Englishman advised me not to take the footpath to Eastbourne because it will not be easy to cross to the city and so I stick to the road. It was taking me quite long and since there was no signboard in sight, I was getting worried. A cyclist passed by but I was told to piss off when I asked for direction. Undeterred, I walked on till I reach a junction with road sign and turned right toward the city. But I reached another junction soon and I was not sure which turn to take as one leads to the city and another to the seafront. I tried to stop a car to ask for direction. A nice lady stopped and very kindly offered me a lift to the pier. Thank you God!!!

She dropped me off near the pier with advise about which fish and chips shop to go to. Eastbourne is a lovely town. The blue and white pier is a catchy sight and the esplanade is decorated with flowers in full bloom.  In the pier, there is café with English high tea, sweets and souvenirs shops and a game arcade. I was very hungry after miles of walking and soon, I was searching for fish and chips. Dined at Qualisea. Huge portion of haddock and chips at GBP5.80. Ate to my heart content and left to board bus 12 back to Brighton. Sadly, all shops are closed by 5pm and I could not do any shopping at all.

Back in Brighton, I stopped at Brighton Dome and Royal Pavillion. The History and Art museum was already closed unfortunately. The Royal Pavillion is indeed an interesting sight as it is a palace with eastern flavour…unusual for an English palace. It was built by the flamboyant Prince Regent (later King George IV) and rumors had it that Queen Elizabeth does not fancy this palace and sold it to Brighton municipal. Since all shopping centre was closed, I shopped for groceries instead before boarding a train back.

Seven Sisters

Germany Day 6 : Sun 10/4/11: Hamburg

After the sumptuous breakfast buffet in the youth hostel, I walked along the St Pauli Harbour heading towards Fischmarkt, a market that existed since 1703. It is a very exciting market selling all kind of food, fresh seafood, trinkets, clothes and even has rock band singing on the stage! Had my stomach not bloated from the full breakfast, I would have spent big euros eating to my heart content. The calamari rings and fish nuggets were screaming for my attention...but I was just too full.
I had jolly good fun but had to leave after an hour to visit the most anticipated place of the day...

It may sound childish but the main reason I visited Hamburg is for its Miniatur Wunderland...not Reeperbahn of course :p. The child in me could not resist not seeing the world biggest model railway exhibition. I bought the earliest admission ticket online and got 10% discount ! It is advisable to go early because by 9am, throng of visitors came pouring in. By noon the crowd was so immense that I had to squeeze my way through just to have a peep at the exhibits. But since all are miniatures it is impossible to appreciate without having a closer look. Another problem is there were simply too many children and some parents parked their children at the railing for good 15 minutes without budging...so at the end the whole experience was tainted with stress. Despite all these, it is definitely a MUST visit in Hamburg. The exhibits are lovingly built with intricate details and cover countries like Austria, Switzerland, USA and Scandinavia. At Knuffingen section, there is a fun display of occasional fire outbreak by arsonist and the fire engine with its loud siren moving around looking for the source. At Harz section, there is open air theatre with Romea and Juliet play. And if one looks closely, frequently there are many miniatures that are based on every day life and funny scenes like alien invasion.

After the Wunderland, I explored Hafencity on foot. The Elbphilharmonie is still under construction but its impressive figure alreading dominating the waterfront. I walked for few kilometres under the hot sun searching for the U-boot submarine museum before a passerby told me that it has been relocated to near Fish Market! Bummer! I retraced my steps and headed for the city centre towards the Rathaus instead. With time to spare, I visited the beautiful Planten Blomen (botanical garden). It is really worth going in spring..the plum blossoms made me feel like I was in Japan..what an eye treat! Finally, I strolled along the harbour again and walked towards the Fischmarkt where the submarine is before going back to the hostel to get my bag and go to the airport.

Planten Blomen in spring

Germany Day 5: Sat 9/4/11 Berlin

Took my time to wake up and check out. Nearby is the longest remaining stretch of Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery. I reached there before 8am and it was nice to stroll along the wall and admire the wall art without interference. However the private moment was shortlasted as tourists were swarming all over the gallery by 830am and it became difficult to snap a decent photo...Opposite the end of the wall is the Ostbahnhof where I was going to board a bus to Hamburg in the evening.

One of the famous painting on East Side Gallery

As there was still time to kill, I explored the east Berlin on foot. Walked through shops and neighbourhood to reach Judisches Museum. This great museum is everything about Jewish and I was so enthralled with it that time passed by swiftly. The exhibition about Holocaust and Jewish families during the Third Reich left my eyes wet. The cultural and religious aspect of Judaism is also interesting but there is too much to cover. Before I knew it, I spent like 3 hours here and I was late to go back to my hostel. I half ran-half walked to nearest metro station to return to the hostel to pick up my rucksack. To make things worse, I was distracted and alighted at the wrong station and the next train terminated half way due to construction work. I had to get off and run back to my hostel, grabbed my bag and run to the bus station. I was so out of breath and sweaty by the timeI reached OSTbahnhof (coach station). Despite my earnest effort, I missed my bus by 5 minutes. *Sob*  The Berlinienbus ticket I bought online was discounted ticket hence there was no refund, and I was required to pay for another new ticket at triple the price and worse, I had to go to another station to board the next bus (different departure point). What I did not know was it took me nearly an hour to reach the second departure point. By the time I reached there, the bus was starting to move. With a hot dog in my hand and another hand trying to fumble through my purse for money...I must have looked pathetic because the man at the counter waved we away and let me board the bus without extra payment. Phew...

The bus is very comfortable and very punctual. Chatted with a gynaecologist along the way and despite her limited English, I was able to understand her. Arrived at Hamburg before darkness. Got into a metro to Landungsbrucken station. From the station, there is a staircase that lead up to the DJH Jugendherberge Hamburg Hostel at the top of the hill. The hostel is classy but there is no free wifi. The marvelous breakfast buffet made up for it though...


Hamburg is famous for night life in Reeperbahn, a legal red light district. All my hostel roommates went out to party the night away here but since I was travelling alone, I gave it a miss and slept early...

Germany Day 4: Fri 8/4/11: Potsdam and Berlin

 It was on the spot decision to go to Potsdam hence I was not prepared at all. The train ride from Warschauer Strasse station to Postdam took me nearly an hour. Once arrived at the station, I went to the tourist office to ask for a map but it was not open till 10minutes later. Unfortunately, there is no free map! (is even more expensive if buy from machine near the Sanssouci Palace). The day ticket that I purchased in Berlin covers the public transport in Potsdam too (need to buy Zon A+B). Took a bus to Sanssouci Palace but mistakenly got down one stop later in front of Orangery Palace. So I walked with another tourist who missed the stop like me towards the Palace. We cut through the Frederician garden and passed by the New Chambers before reaching the main ground of the palace.

Sanssouci Palace built in 1744 (means carefree in french) was the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favourite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dysnasty in 1918. Sanssouci Palace is a small lovely palace decorated with Rococo style.  My favourite room is the last room with bird motif designs on the wall. The park is massive and it encompasses Sicilian Garden, Frederician Garden and the main avenue (Hauptallee) that leads to the New Palace and Temple of Friendship. It took nearly an hour to explore the Chinese House, Roman baths, Charlottenhof palace (Queen's palace), Church of Peace, Neptune's grotto and the rest of the park.

Sansoucci Palace Park

Left Potsdam past noon time to return to Berlin. Reached Hackescher Markt and walked along River Spree towards the famous Museumsinsel, a museum island of 5 museums: Neues Museum, Bode Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum. Due to time limitation, I only visited Pergamon Museum. It is a world class archaeological museum with reconstruction of Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, Ishtar Gate and Procession Way of Babylon, Mschatta facade, Aleppo Room , Islamic Art Museum, etc. I really love this museum, it is probably the best museum I have ever visited.

Pergamon Altar

After the museum, I walked along Unter den Linden road and crossed the Bebel Platz to reach Charlie Checkpoint, previously a checkpoint for diplomats, military personnels and tourists that want to enter East Berlin. Next, I walked along River Spree towards Reichstag (parliament) before visiting Bradenburg Tor and the nearby Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered European Jews). Lastly, a brief stop at Postdamer Platz and Charlottenburg Gate before heading back to my hostel.

Germany Day 3: Thu 7/4/11: Munich

On this day, I did a mini city tour. Walked to Marienplatz passing by Karlsplatz and Neuhauser street.  At the Marienplatz is the iconic Fischbrunnen (Fish fountain) and the Neues Rathaus with Glockenspiel. Legend has it that if one dip his wallet into the fountain on Ash Wednesday, his wallet would always be full...

Straight ahead is Altes Rathaus which has been converted to be a Spielzeugmuseum (toy museum). I entered St Peterskirche but there was service ongoing so I went to Viktualienmarkt instead. Heiliggeistkirche (or Asamkirche) with famous Asam frescoes (by Asam brothers) is just next to the market. From there, I walked along Sparkassen street towards Residenz, a palace and museum which was seat of Wittelsbach rules for over four centuries in the past. Opposite Residenz is the Hofgarten (Palace Garden). A lot of people jog and cycle around the park. There is an underground pedestrian tunnel that connects the Hofgarten to Englischer Garten. Englisher garten is very lovely with sparkling river, dainty Japanisches Teehaus and Chineischer Turm. The park is really massive and I got a bit lost. Once back to Marienplatz, I visited St Peterskirche again. I waited for the Glockenspiel (carillon) show at 12noon before walking back to the hostel. The upper two levels of the Glockenspiel display Schafflertanz(a ritualistic dance) and the lowest most shows Ritterturnier, a knight's tournament during royal wedding.

Englischer Garten

By noon, I boarded train to Berlin. It was not a direct fast train hence had to change 3 stations. The train got delayed and I had to take a later train at night and arrived in Berlin near 11pm :(
I had craving for noodles on this day and ate dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant. In Berlin, I stayed in Plus Berlin Hostel which is almost like a 5 star hostel ...really good place to stay in Berlin, being very near the Warscauer St U-bahn station.

Germany Day 2: Wed 6/4/11 Munich: Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Linderhof

Today is one of the most anticipated day. Rose early to catch a train to Fussen, a lovely town near Schwangau. I bought a Bayern day ticket (include all bus/train/tram travel) but can only use it after 9am on weekdays. To start travelling before 9am, I had to buy an extra one way ticket. It definitely cost more and retrospectively I felt I should just go after 9am as there is enough time to cover both castles in a day. The view of Bavarian Alps along the way is breathtaking. At the station, I waited for the bus to Schwangau.  There are two castles here. The nearest castle near the ticketing counter is Hohenschwangau castle where King Ludwig spent his childhood. The higher castle is the world famous Schloss Neuschwanstein which was first built in 1869 by King Ludwig II(The Mad King or The Fairytale King as the Germans call him). It was partially completed as construction stopped after the death of the King in 1886. The Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland is modelled after this elegant castle. The lavish design of the castle drove the King into heavy debts. One would wonder whether it is all worth it since King Ludwig only spent 11 nights here. But his legacy is no doubt the most beautiful castle in the world.
I walked up the hill for about 20minutes before arriving at the entrance to the castle (there is bus from Schloss hotel to the Castle with small fee). Visitors have to enter the castle by guided tour at designated time. The tour was very short and lasted only half hour. Photography is strictly prohibited inside the castle. The completed buildings are Gateway Building, Palace and Knight's building. Main rooms in the palace like Throne Hall and Singer's Hall are decorated with murals of scenes from Germanic and Nordic sagas on which Richard Wagner had based his works. King Ludwig was very passionate about medieval culture and was a great fan of Richard Wagner's music dramas like Lohengrin, Tannhauser, Tristan and Isolde, Der Ring des Nibelungen and  Parsifal. The intricate wood carving at the top of the Kings's bed are mini replicas of the spires of  famous cathedrals worldwide. There is also a cabinet that was turned into a small artificial grotto based on the Venus grotto in Tannhauser. The last room to visit is the palace kitchen. After exiting the castle, I walked to Marienbrucke which has the best view of the castle. Took a hotel bus down to the Schloss Hotel (one way is euro1).  While waiting for the bus to Oberammergau, I had grilled pork for lunch. From Oberammergau, I took another bus to Linderhof castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Linderhof Castle is completed in 1878 and is a much smaller castle inspired by French “Sun-King” Louis XIV. Being King Ludwig's favorite castle, he spent 7 years here. The Royal Villa is the King's private residence with Baroque facade and French Rococo style decoration. Inside, the magnificent rooms are Hall of Mirrors, the Tapestry Room, Audience Chamber (though the King never invite any guest), King's bedchamber with 108 candle crystal chandelier and Dining Room with the magic table (table disappears downstairs into kitchen before appear up again loaded with food). The Linderhof Palace park combines elements of French Baroque garden and English landscape garden. In the park, there is pavillion, Venus temple, fountains, Moroccan House, Moorish Kiosk, Hunding's Hut and Venus Grotto. Inside Moorish Kiosk is an impressive Peacock Throne. Venus grotto again is based on Tannhauser play. Inside this man made cave, there is lighting of various colour (red for illusion of Venus Grotto, blue to represent Blue Grotto in Capri), waterfall  and a small boat.

Linderhof Castle

While waiting for bus to go back to Oberammergau, I bought Bavarian beer to drink. Yummy! The trip back to Munich is more complicated than I imagined. I had to take another bus from Oberammergau to Murnau then another bus to Uffing to board a train to Munich.

Germany Day 1: Tue 5/4/11 Munich: Dachau, Olympiacentrum, Nymphenburg

I was really tired on this day. I did three consecutive night shifts with little  sleep. And I did not sleep on the night before because I was worried I might oversleep and miss the early morning flight. Arrived in Munich at 9am.  Bought a day ticket at euro10.80 (cover train/tube/tram and bus). Munich has excellent public transport system and I took a while to understand how the fare system works. Airport is located 4 zones away hence single ticket alone to the city cost more than euro 8. If one is going to do more sightseeing after going to the city from the airport, it is more worth to buy the day ticket. The ticketing machine has option for English language which is so user friendly.

Munich is a capivating city. Modern, vibrant with state of the art buildings and perfect landscape garden it is easy to forget it is also very rich in history. It is after all a city Hitler named as the Capital of Movement (Die Hauptstadt der Bewegung)…shiver…I planned this tour from Munich to Berlin and then to Hamburg…mainly because the airplane ticket is cheaper this way. But I would suggest travel in opposite the direction because Munich is very close to Salzburg in Austria.  It is also better to travel to the Bavaria at the end of April instead of March. The famous Romantic Road tour by Europa bus that covers medieval and lovely towns of Bavaria only start after 18^th April. One can purchase the tour ticket and opt to hop on hop off any town along the Romantic route on any days. The Bayern ticket (Bavarian – day ticket) also allows one to go anywhere within Bavaria and Salzburg at the price of only euro21 for single.  Family travel can be inexpensive  because there is group card that allow group travel up to 5 people at the price of one ticket. Other option is to rent a car and drive around Bavaria because the scenery is so breath taking that you might just want to park your car aside and take in the beauty of the Bavarian Alps. If travel by train, one can still experience the spectacular scenery but cannot stop to snap a photo. Luckily, my Sony Nex 3 still able to take some photos along the way using the antimotion mode. I would advise  not to  travel  from Munich to Berlin via trains unless it is an express train. The cheap option via three changes lasting more than 8 hours sent my head spinning and nauseous…never again! Worst, my train from Hof to Dresden was delayed by 10minutes and I missed my connecting train to Berlin…I had to wait for another train and arrived at near midnight instead of 9pm original schedule. One can either get an ICE train (Intercity Express, more expensive) or just fly.

The Euro Youth Hostel is conveniently located very near the hauptbahnhof (central train station). After putting down my luggage, I rushed to the main station to board a train to Dachau which is just about 20min away. Outside Dachau train station, switched to a bus to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. The bus stop is very well signposted as KZ-Gedenkstatte Dachau. Dachau itself is quite a lovely town but I had no time to explore. The memorial itself took me more than 3 hours to finish and by the end of it, I was wasted. At arrival at the memorial, I was surprised by how peaceful it looks. I bought an audio guide but on the hind sight, it was not really necessary because a lot of information on every significant building and the museum in the centre has extensive information about the history and happenings in concentration camp, evolution and rising of the Nazis under Adolf Hitler and the liberation of the prisoners. The Dachau concentration camp was first established in March 1933 mainly for political prisoners and it became the model for other concentration camp. It was initially built for the capacity of 6000 prisoners but by 1945, about 30000 prisoners were found in barracks during liberation by US army on April 29, 1945. During the period from March 1933-1945 (Third Reich) , more than 200000 prisoners from 30 nations were imprisoned and more than 43000 died. Besides political enemies, the Jews, homosexuals, Polish, Russian and some religious figures were targeted.  When one first enter the Jourhaus, the first thing to notice is the gate's inscription  “Arbeut macht frei”  which means “Work will set you free”. Once prisoner enters the camp, he is stripped of  possessions, dignity and human right. It is horribly disturbing to visit the bunker (place to torture or execute prisoners), the gas chamber, crematorium and the reconstructed barrack. Worst of all is probably to watch the documentary that is shown at certain time in the museum. Piles of dead bodies were being carted away and faces of men who were suffering. It was also very moving to listen to the accounts of the survivors of the camp via audio guide. The dead victims were disposed via crematorium but when there were coal shortage in 1945, the bodies were buried in mass graves in Leitenberg and Waldfriedhof cemetery.

After Dachau, I took train to Olympiacentrum. BMW Welt is the first building I saw as I exited the station. It is an impressive futuristic building that functions as a show room, marketing and sales center. Seductive sport cars, convertibles and super bikes  are in display here. It is indeed a car haven! There is a walkway that connects Welt and the BMW Museum. I did not go for the museum exhibition as there is only 1 hour left before closing hence not worth paying the full fees. Instead, I took photos of old BMW models (the sort of cars your father would drive in the 70s...he he he). I walked around the Olympiapark passing by Olymmpiaturm (Olympic Tower) and Olympia Halle.

Before sunset, I hopped into tram 16 to visit the park in Nymphenburg Palace. By the time I reached, the palace is already closed. The palace has a massive and well designed park with  Pagodenburg (Chinese teahouse), Badenburg, Amalienburg (hunting lodge) . There is a large Neptune fountain too. It was a very refreshing walk and I really enjoyed it. A great venue to end a perfect day…

Back in central train station, bought curry wurst for dinner before retiring to the hostel.

BMW Welt