Euro trip: Zurich - Luzern - Locarno - Lugano - Gruyere - Bern - Rheinfall - Uetliberg (Switzerland)

One of my foremost time in the course of this exploration i would say Switzerland!!! In Switzerland, i spectated the Swiss-German, Swiss-Italian and the Swiss-French parts of Switzerland. Besides that, the people in Zurich which i had only met once or twice before were superb as they had treated and exposed me around Switzerland with full of hospitality. Special thanks to Allahyarham Michael Isaac Sarajuddin and my good friend Khalid (Michael's cousin) who had introduced me to these people in Malaysia.

Day 19
Due to the cancellation of the night train, our alternate route was to Zurich. By this time, i didnt had much rest because the alternate train was with standard sitting not the night train where they had bunk beds. Our train reached Bern at around 6am and therefore we had to transit to another train to Zurich which was an hour away. Andreas Caduff (Andy) picked me & Azfar at the Zurich airport that morning and brought us to his place in Lufingen which was ten minutes away from the airport. Had coffee at Andy's place and slept for a few hours. It was a cloudy day in Zurich but what I am seeing was simply tremendous as Andy sneak peek us of the largest city in Switzerland. Andy brought us nearby the lake of Zurich where we scattered around for pictures.

Day 20
After settling down and having a long sleep, Andy had brought us to Lucerne which was about a hour drive but it took us longer as the main roads were shut. The appeal here had been the 204 metres Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) which was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge was a series of paintings from the 17th century, depicting events from Lucerne's history. It was constructed in 1333 crossing the Reuss river that connects the Lake of Lucerne. We walked across the bridge, beside the lake, into the town where I am surrounded by aged and modern buildings.



Day 21
The cheerfully sun had waken me up for my Swiss-Italian exploration. Azfar decided to go his way that morning, as he wanted to spend more time in Italy. He had a friend in Milan and was planning to head for Rome. Andy and I had parted with Azfar at the train station as he went to Bern before heading Italy. Auntie Ruth (Michael's mom) had joined us for the tour for the southern Italian part of Switzerland. So we took the train to Locarno, a three and half hour journey. To my astonishment, the alterations of the German buildings to Italian buildings which occurred after going through the mountains of the Swiss alps which separated the two sides. First, we had some drinks at Piazza Grande, Locarno which was the place for important film festival commemorated every year, the Locarno International Film Festival.
Then we went to Swiss minitour at Mirende, nearby Lugano. Swiss minitour was the emplacement where i saw the various great buildings in Switzerland in miniature form. Before heading back to Zurich, we expended some time in Lugano where the atmospheres were totally contrast from Zurich, i signified more Italianate. Lugano lies at the edge of Lake Lugano, which is situated between the lakes Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como, south of the Alps. Besides the lake, Lugano is surrounded by mountains. The mountains provide several opportunities for sports or sightseeing.






Day 22
Another sunny day for us to explore the Swiss-French side of Switzerland. Andy drove me and Aunt. Ruth to Gruyeres which was a hour and a half away and we went to the Castle of Gruyères located in the medieval town of Gruyères, Fribourg, was one of the most famous in Switzerland. The building was built between 1270 and 1282, following the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. The castle itself was on one of high peaks in Gruyeres and the place surrounding the castle was like an old village which was maintained for tourism. We had tour inside the castle and was mesmerized by the architecture and lifestyle they had during the medieval days. Gruyères also known for their cheesy cheese.



At 5pm we arrived at Bern which lies in the Swiss plateau within the Canton of Bern, somewhat west of the center of Switzerland and 20 km north of the Bernese Alps. The landscape around Bern was formed by glaciers in the last Ice Age. The city was originally built on a hilly peninsular surrounded by the river Aar but outgrew these natural boundaries in the 19th century. Several bridges were built to allow the city to grow beyond the Aar. The buildings were outrageously splendid as we went pass the Zytglogge clock tower and the city's medieval covered shopping promenades.





We planned for Basel but couldn't find the time to do so, instead we met Simone back in Zurich about 9pm. Simone & Andy took the same course with Michael and went to the same school during their college years. We had some drinks and Andy uncovered me a bit of the nightlife in Zurich. I drove for the first time in Europe (on the left hand side) sending Aunt. Ruth to her house and went back to Andy's to sleep.

Day 23
The weather wasn't on our side as it was a rainy day. We had something to eat at Andy's parent house where I met his parents and his youngest sister. By 3.30pm we met Simone as we planned for the Rhine Falls, the largest plain waterfalls in Europe. The falls are located on the High Rhine between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich. After Andy parked his car, we had to walked with our umbrellas and drenched shoes to capture the perfect view for me. The weather played a role on the moods of the Swiss. Simone said that it would be much beautiful on a sunny day but for me it was beautiful enough on a rainy day. After having some drinks, we head back home to Andy's and minutes later we sent Simone to the airport as she head back her house by train.



Day 24
Today I spent my time in Zurich contrastingly. Andy had to work.I met Simone at the train main station. She arrived with her bike which was her common transport for her and other citizens of Zurich (and most of the European towns). So she recommended me to ride along with her around with a bicycle around the town of Zurich. The bicycle that i had used was for free as we only need to pay the deposit. Another great experience, cycling inside the town of Zurich. Simone brought me to her friends house Simon for some coffee. It was a cloudy day but sometimes the sun would show up. Simone, Simon and I decided to cycle to the lake of Zurich and go on the Pedallo (Pedal boat). So we did just that, rent a Pedallo and went cycling (water cycling) to the center of Lake Zurich and simply just chill whiles enjoying the sightseeing of Zurich. Later that evening we went to Simone's house for her homemade Pizza whiles waiting for Andy to pick me up.






Day 25
After having lunch at a famed vegetarian restaurant, Hiltl, i went to Üetliberg which is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to 873 meters high. The Uetliberg offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich and the Lake of Zürich. The tram ride from Zurich was about 20 minutes away. Later that evening Andy cooked for me and Aunt. Ruth dinner which was delicious as it was my last night in Zurich. I am gratefully happy for my stay in Switzerland as these people had really brought me into the life of Zurich and Switzerland. Thank you Andy, Simone and Aunt. Ruth for the lovely time.

Euro trip: Bergen (Norway) - London again - Amsterdam (Netherlands) - Düsseldorf (Germany)

I didn't owned that proper personal time with the Internet, but now i can do it slowly but had to recall my lovely time in Europe. My trip had became interesting as more towns that I had step in. From Norway to England by flight and my farther Euro trip was by train.Day 13

As it stated on the last post that I was departing to Bergen town which was about 40 minutes away by train from Dale. There was a Bruce Springsteen concert going on in Bergen as Bruce had been very well-known amongst Moiselle & her working mates. There were about 20 of them which had plans to crash the concert, so me & Doya fancied to tagged along but only to go to Bergen as the tickets for the concert would acquire a huge sum of our money. Our day started late, as we had to wait until Moiselle was done with her job. Nills took us and pick Moiselle & Meline at Dale and head of to Arna train station which was about 20 minutes away. Once we reached Bergen, Moiselle and her working mates all gather up at the Jacobs & all to have a dinner before the big concert.

At 8 PM we walked 20 minutes to the concert arena and Doya & I parted with them and intended to meet them again around midnight. So we had been walking mostly around Bergen gazing the eye-filling town. Bergen was not that big as you can cover one side to another for about 45 minutes. Norway's second largest city might be its most beautiful. Set on a peninsula surrounded by mountains and the sea, the compact center offers a tangle of crooked streets, picturesque wooden neighbourhoods and hilltop views. Late night the city were full with people as most of them just came back from the concert and we were there to enjoy the rest of the night or should i say morning.

Day 14
Again, today we did our resting and eating again. Moiselle cooked us meatballs for lunch as it was one of their common cuisine in Norway. Following that day, Moiselle had to sent her car for some compulsory servicing or she will get fined. Helped out Nills to move around some tables and foods as Aunt. Nor continued preparing for Dale Dagna which was like a yearly mini festival.

Day 15
Our day started early as we were heading to Voss with Aunt. Nora and Aunt. Fazilah which we met a couple of days earlier. Voss, about 60 KM away from Dale was the town where they had winter Olympics yearly. They even conducted skydiving ( how i wish i can do that one day). Aunt. Nora presented us around the pretty sight of the town as she did her shopping. We left Voss about 2.30pm after having lunch. Voss was also known for their smoked sheep's head which they present half of the sheep's head on a big plate but we didn't have that hence it wasn't the season. Helped out Nills again for the preparation of Dale Dagna. Since our last night in Norway, Doya and I had spent our night with the family

Day 16
Waking up today was blue as we knew that we were going to leave town after embracing a magnificent time with the Tosse family. At 10.30pm we went to Dale Dagna and hung out at Aunt. Nora's section. She did her selling of Malaysian food every time this event was up. She had done a lot of Satey, Karipap, Popia and Mee Goreng. She was the pioneer of these Malaysian food in the town of Dale and had a splendid respond from the residents through out the years. the foods were fantastic except it was not spicy as it must be suitable wit the Norweigian tongues to get good bazaars.

After our goodbye, Moiselle had sent us to Arna train station as we went on our day travelling back to London. Arna to Bergen by train 20 minutes. Bergen to Haugesand by bus 3 hours and 15 minutes. Haugesand to the airport by another bus 15 minutes. Haugesand to Stansted London about a hour plus. We reached London at around 10 PM. We missed the first bus to central London, so we had to go on the next one. From there I had to pick my Uni-mate Azfar which would join me for the second half of my explorations. rested at Paddington at Jeff's place.

Day 17
Didn't had much sleep as our day started early to Oxford road early in the morning with Azfar. I didn't plan to do much shopping through out the trip but to my overwhelm everything was cheap as it was the summer sale. So I did bought some shirts and new shoes, as the old one was warned out. I had to pick up two begs at Mel's place (my cousin) but along the way I had lost my direction and we missed our train to Brussels because of lack of direction and tube difficulty due to it was under construction in preparation for the Olympics 2011. Luckily we went to the train station and told them our dilemmas and they asked us to come back once we are prepared. Doya went her own route back to Bristol. Again Azfar & I missed the next train after getting our traveling bag from Paddington. Had lunch nearby King cross station and we embarked for Brussels at 5 PM. We charted to head Barcelona after reaching Brussels but because of the trains we missed, there wasn't any train possible that night. So our alternate plan was to crash Amsterdam and we got there just after midnight. It was Saturday night, and Amsterdam was completely in a different perspective that i had ever seen. Everyone was alive and kicking. We checked in a room with 10 people. Had our walked around the night life of Amsterdam before we head for our beds.

Day 18
Again I did not had much sleep as we shared the place with 8 others, so the room was always active till the next morning. As we checked out at 10 AM, we went to the train station to book our next destination. We had our night train to Munich but we have to be in Koln(Germany) by 12 PM. We left Amsterdam at 2.30pm to Düsseldorf as it was nearby Koln but we had to transit three trains. Amsterdam - Eidhohoven (Netherlands) - Munchenglabach (Germany) and finally in Düsseldorf for about 3 hours journey. We had about 5 hours plus to explore the D town. Düsseldorf is Germany's fashion capital. This elegant and wealthy town could feel stiflingly bourgeois if it weren't for its lively old town pubs, it's position on the Rhine and the postmodern architecture of its Mediahafen. After having something to eat we went to the Rhine where the people hung out and we left for Koln at about 10 pm for our train to Munich. While waiting at the night the train, to our disappointment the train had problems so we had to take an alternate route which was to Zurich. Yes!!! next stop Switzerland!!!!

Euro Trip: Warwick - London(England) - Stamnes (Norway)

The rest of my days in England were more relaxing... but my trip to Norway was a whole different perspective of witnessing the enchanting nature in the Scandinavia earth.
Day 5
I had lunch with Rob, Jayne and Caroline at Pizza Hut where Lewis had been the manager. Lewis was one of my high school mates and had known him for about a year but that was 13 years previous. These Pizzas were a bit contrary contrast to Malaysia's Pizza Hut as Malaysia's Pizza had been modified according to the Malaysians taste but the dessert that Lewis had recommended was luscious and certainly we do not have it in Malaysia. After my goodbye's with Caroline and Jayne, me and Rob head of to University of Warwick where my cousin Haikal was doing his masters in civil engineering . We met Haikal at around 5pm and Rob went back to Leicester as he had to sent Arnie to the vet again. My time in Warwick were mostly loitering around the University with Haikal. He introduced me to some of his brainy buddies. Most of them just love being a student as they were not pressure on working compare to us in Malaysia. adorning all that, me and Haikal did some catching up while playing the Pro evolution Soccer 2009 on the PS3 all night long.
Day 6

Haikal did a mini tour at his University before we left for London at 2.30pm. It was a two and half hour journey with the Megabus as the sun spreads the summer through my seat window. We met Haikal's eldest sister, Melissa and her husband Jason at around 6pm and had settled down at her house. She brought us to a Muslim Pakistani restaurant and we had the tandoori's of London. Haikal brought me to 'Hartamas of London' later that night which was known as the Covent Garden where we had our ice cream and supper at Burger King.

Day 7
I played football with the London lads that Jeff had introduced me. I undergo the verve i had here was a bit unalike because the air was unspoiled for football. In Malaysia, you would get knackered to easily because of the 40C average temperature which made you sweat like a pig, but not here.... you can keep on going to the next level as sweating or dehydration weren't much of a problem. Haikal, Jeff, Raudah (Jeff's girlfriend) and I had a dinner at the MHL Malaysian Hall London. Haikal was happy as he never been here before for the past six years his time in England. The food certainly brought out the flavor of Malaysian dishes. Later that night, I had to pick my younger sister, Doya as we planned to go to Norway together. Met her at Victoria station and brought her to Mel's, we packed our bags and we fled off to bed....

Day 8
Our day begun early in the morning as we had a day journey to reach Stamnes, Norway. We left Mel's at 630 in the morning with Haikal guiding us to DLR station. A change to Circle Line at the tube and we managed to catch the 7.15am Bus to Stansted airport from Victoria station. After breakfast, my sister thought we were late for the flight, hence we dashed our way through with our aggravating hand luggage and just manage to reach on time at the 1055am closing gate. The flight was about a hour and a half and the time difference were a hour ahead. 130pm Norweigian time we reached Haugensaund which was located at the south west of Norway. We took the bus which transported us to the town itself. Norway is comprehended for its seven fjord. Fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity. The sea was blue as you can get. It was a bright sunny day but the wind was strong which gave me the chills. Our bus to Bergen was at 4pm. The scenery was indescribable, as we look through the windows of the bus. The best part of the bus journey was the ferry. Everything was a new experience for me and my sister. We reached Bergen about 7.15pm and again we rushed our way for the 730pm train to Dale. 40 minutes later we reached to our destination that is Dale where we met Moiselle. She brought us to their homes in Stamnes where we met the rest of the family, Aunt Nora, Nills, Midora and Maurit. Aunt Nora was my second cousin but was close to my pakcu and makcu. She married Nills, a Norwegian local and she had the three daughters, Moiselle, Midora and Maurit. Moiselle, Doya and I later that evening went to Moiselle uncles place where it would be our sleeping accommodation for the next eight nights as her uncle had a month labor at the ship
Day 9
We woke up late as Nills wanted to send aunt Nora to work at 2pm. We had the aunt Nora's curry for lunch and went on for sight seeing at Kattehol. Neil showed us where the river and lakes where they usually hung out during the summers as the kids like to swim and during the winter where they can skate. Stamnes is a village area within the mountains. The community ranges about 200 -300 people and everybody knows everybody. Moiselle's and Nills driving gave me the creeps as they were masterfully with the small roads edging the mountain sides. Later that evening after Moiselle was done with her kindergarten work, she brought us around Dale, a nearby mini town next to Stamnes. We also visited Nills parents grave. Day 10
I experienced my 1st Christian wedding in Norway. We went for Sigrunn & Kenneths wedding in Bergsdalen. The bride was attractive, the ceremony was fabulous. Kenneth's sister was Moiselles friend which was the strongest lady in Norway. Moiselle also showed us the hydrodam that the citizens of Dale and Stamnes used for electricity. Later that evening we had a BBQ at our cabin and Moissele brought us to the Pub to get a pizza at 12 midnight. The night ranged from 1130pm - 230am which was only three hours and it was not comprehensively dark. Day 11
Neil had brought us for a trip at the peak of the mountains where we had seen one of the greatest sightseeing in Modalen. Nills showed us the longest hand made tunnel which was done about 80 years ago. We visited a close friend of Nills at retirement house for a while before we set off to the mountains. According to Nills, the people around there are millionaires as they produced the electricity from hydrodams and the sands that they have import to Bergen. All in all it was beautiful. I can only express it through my pictures.....Day 12

Today were mostly sleeping and eating. Thank you Aunt Nora for the lovely asam pedas. Thank you Moiselle for the BBQ, the home made cinnamon bun, breakfast, snacks and everything that had kept us warm througout our stay. The food really made us feel homely because of the Malaysian touch that kept us hot especially the sambal belacan.. Thank you again.... Tomorrow Bergen town!!!!!

Euro Trip: London - Leicester, England

Finally, I have my own personal time with the computer. A lot had been done and I'm having a great time so far. Had a few difficulties with sleeping on the 1st few days, but now I'm fine after feeling homely in Leicester.

Day 1
after transiting in Dubai, I arrived at Heathrow airport around 1230pm London time on the 28th June. I went pass the immigration with flying colours (well that’s what I thought), as my dad told me to prepare on what to answer for my trip. The weather was great (still is) and the timing was perfect for me to be here. It's been a while since I had this excitement of travelling. My first mission was to meet my friend at Paddington London. I walked all around in the airport trying to find my way plus the eccentric of wanting to see everything with my 16kg back pack on my back and took the London Connect train which cost me about £7 for my next destination. I met Jeff around 315pm. Jeff was a good old friend of mine in TTDI and he was studying at Imperial College London for the past 4 years. I settled down at his house and soon after, Jeff brought me to the Hyde Park which was a wonderful calming park and he showed me Royal Albert Hall

where Siti Nurhaliza had performed numerous of times. Later that night Jeff introduced me to some of his friends and we had dinner together. We ate at Sukaramai which was a Malay restaurant but to my surprise the cost was expensive (well to me it was since I was in Malaysia a day before). Nasi Ayam £5.70 times 5.6 = about rm30+. I had grilled beef and ice lemon tea which cost me about £8. After dinner I met more of Jeff's friend and we hung out till midnight. I was really knackered since I roughly had about 3hours of sleep for the past 54hours. Went back to Jeff's and had my beauty sleep.

Day 2

I had my lunch at Malaysian Hall, as there were a lot of Malaysians since it’s the cheapest Malay food around. We did our Friday prayers there, as it was one of the only places to do that around here. Jeff had some work to do at his college, so he dropped me off at The National Museum. This place was fantastic, way better than what we have in Malaysia. I was amazed with the Dinosaurs exhibition, with massive gigantic dinosaur bones which were structured to the original size. Imperial College was nearby, so I met Jeff after he had completed his work and he showed me around his intelligent college as I was surrounded with geniuses. Imperial College was ranked no.5 in the World after Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and MIT.
Jeff brought me to a few interesting places around London by using the underground tube which was £5.6 daily. We stopped at Victoria Station (not the one we have in Malaysia, this was the real station) to go to Buckingham Palace which was a few blocks nearby. Then we went back to Victoria Station to meet up with Jeff's girlfriend which he was very proud off. haha.... she was going to Birmingham to meet her family. Later that evening we took a bus heading to Fulham Broadway and I went to Stamford Bridge just to show my butt at the Chelsea stadium.To my astonishment, as we were heading back to Jeff's place for dinner, I saw two of my TTDI schoolmates Fazly and Muhsin, opposite from where we were standing at the Paddington underground station. So we met up and had Duck rice for dinner at Basewater (It was the only halal one in town). We went to see Big Ben and the London Eye as it was simply beautiful during the night time. Muhsin had invited me to spend a night at his house in Hatfield, Hertfordshire next to London and about 40minutes away by train. We could not sleep early that night as we did a lot of catching up and laughing our head off till the next morning.

Day 3

I only had about an hour or two of sleeping since I still had my jet lag sleeping problem as my body had not yet immune to the night time of England. Initially I was supposed to meet Rob early in the morning but my friends here kept asking me to stay as they wanted to have lunch and watch the FA Cup final together. About 7pm plus we left Hatfield heading back to Jeff's place to pick up my stuff so I can head off to my next destination. We had some problems at the train station as we were trying our cheap way out of everything. I separated from the others at Kings Cross Station as I was in a rush to meet up with Rob because he was picking me up to bring me to Leicester. After running here and there, lost a couple of times, went to Paddington for my stuff and went back to the tube underground and head of to Stanmore station. I was knackered as I didn’t have much sleep. At 10pm I met Robert Mitchell after 13 years.

Day 4
I had the best sleep in England so far as it was homely like in South Wigston, Leicester. I was a temporary resident for 4 years as my mom did her PhD 13 years back. Rob was one of my first friends in Leicester, and since that our family were close, as they had visit Malaysia too. My younger sister in Bristol, Doya kept coming down to Leicester as it was a second home to her.
I woke up, met Jayne (mom), Caroline (sister) and Arnie (Dog) and had my breakfast while chatted with them. Rob drove me around Leicester to show my Parkland Primary school (had about 2 years there), South Wigston (a year there) and University of Leicester (where my mom took her PhD). Then we head down to town to see the changes since I left. There was a new shopping complex connecting to the high cross shopping complex in Leicester town. Besides the new complex, not much has changed except everything was a lot bigger (most probably because I was small back then). We walked around the town, searched for a Leicester city jersey and had sushi. Later that day we went for a BBQ for Mitch (dad) as he entered a bicycle riding from Leicester to Skegness within 12 hours about 100miles all together. It was done for Leukaemia charity. It was a lovely Sunday evening. Jayne had bought me halal meat so I can enjoy the BBQ as well. Met a lot of new people which some of them had met Eidura (my sister). Met Rachel (Rob's girlfriend) and we went to their house nearby and it was still under construction. They estimated of 3 weeks after they can move in. Rob is currently a police in Leicester and he is doing undercover. Rachel works at the Tigers stadium (rugby). They met while working together there 5 years ago. They are lovely together and it kind of sets me off to look for a job, a girlfriend and a house. =>

I’m heading of to Warwick later this evening to meet up with my close cousin, Haikal. I'll try to keep an update whenever I can. Cheers.... =>