白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - Loving Paris Again

We revisited Paris again. This time around, we stayed at Jules Joffrin area - a totally different feel from our previous stay near Gard Du Nord. It is very near Montmartre - the area that I wanted to bring my wife to see. At hill top, the view was fantastic, I think it is nicer than the view at Eiffel? The whole area gives us a feel of "latin" - very very different and we liked it a lot.

This leg of journey was in a way inspired by the TVB show we watched and the previous official trip I went. I wanted to do a few things this round with my wife but I dun want it to be mission-based, no longer the excel spreadsheet itinerary and the SOP-type journey though. Of cos, coming to Paris needs us to be street smart and it is important to cover each other carefully.

There was also christmas market at the Montmartre area but my dear said it was "different" - but they still sold german beer and also similar snacks leh. As I was a bit hungry after passing through the food stalls, I managed to persuade my wife to try an onion soup to replenish our energy a bit - though I felt she was a bit reluctant to do so. We walked around the area and spotted the Eiffel at one corner and it was something different from the usual backdrop we saw on the postcards. I could see that my wife loved the area though it was very crowded. Actually, we were trying "hard" to enjoy Paris after our previous bad experience in Paris. 
They have fenced up the field which travellers could sit and enjoy the view. Not sure why. Something that I wanted to do with my wife though. But overall, the Montmartre trip was still nice and cozy.  We went to another place that was inspired by the TVB show. We heard of it before but didn't really go there during the previous trip. It was a walk along the river to Pont Des Arts.  "Pont" means bridge. There are many bridges in Paris and it is not hard to find this "Pont" cos it will be packed with locks. I did some research to make sure I got the right "Pont". According to guide, there are two bridges - one is Pont Des Arts - the lock is for committed love and the other is Pont De I'Archeveche which is for lover =).  Very interesting and the "Free Europe Tour" guide said that the local authority has to cut away the locks as they are adding load onto the bridge. We have prepared our lock and marker so we need not buy from the stalls or people there. 

Hee Hee. There were so many locks and it was difficult to find a slot. My wife managed to spot one and we hooked our lock on it. Got another couple to take picture for us, and we helped other couples too. As a fun tradition or thing-to-do, we grabbed and held our key together and threw it into the river. Our committed love together.  I can't help but think that the Parisians were so romantic in things they do... It is not hard to understand why Paris is the most visited country. 

Next time we come to Paris, I will ask my wife to visit the bridge and see the lock again. 

在巴黎这个浪漫的都市，我们学习浪漫，锁住爱情，不知不觉也变得比较浪漫吧？

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 － Le Mont St Michel

I never knew there is such a place. Thanks to the reading by my wife and planning to visit this island during our 2nd leg of the white christmas trip in Paris. Booking of accommodation was challenging as many of the hotels were booked Full. My wife wanted to stay very close to the Abbey - and we really got a room high up near the Abbey. This meant we needed to take our heavy luggage up to the top on our way up?

It was raining when we were on our way there. Kind of irony as we wanted to have rain in cold weather and rain would equate to snow? My first impression of the Le Mont St Michel was "impressive" - on our small little shuttle bus across the swamp and sea - there lies the "fortress"-kind of building. Like fairy-tales. Initially, I was still trying to search on how we could walk over from main town - they really have this causeway for vehicles to move and for people to walk over. I think it would take about 15 mins? It is even amazing or scary when at high tides, this causeway may be submerged and cars being drifted away?

A closer look at the building shows how weather has also created an impact on it. A big massive "brown" building. Dear mentioned that there were only less than 300 people living at LMSM. And the tourists were actually more than the natives =). We went to our hotel to check-in and off to try our crepes and omelettes! The omelettes were supposed to be very special. We got our crepes but no eggs yet. There were warning signs/posters reminding us not to venture out into the swamps. This would be the time for extra caution really, and I actually felt good to stay "higher" despite the walk.

The "mud" or "swamp" created different nice patterns as the day went on. It was beautiful. At times, we did see people walking on the "mud" and I told my dear they were on guided tour. No way we would to try though - the always cautious and careful me. No doubt, the feeling of touching the mud on feet ought to be nice (something like our first Germany trip on mud play?). 

Just like it was Christmas seasons, we found out that many shops closed early and we decided to try the "touristy-looking" restaurant near the entrance of the LMSM. There were groups of japanese. I glanced at some europeans drinking some drinks on a big cups so I signaled to the waiters to have the same beverage - guess what? It was cider - dear said I liked to follow local customs. As LMSM was an island, we ordered mussels too and we have our omelettes. My first taste of the eggs - like they pumped air into the eggs and my verdict was OK. Haha. The mussels were however very fresh and yummy. With the cider, they made a good meal. 

Exploring the LMSM is challenging as it is not that small either. We decided to go for Abbey tour the next day early morning and have a good rest in our hotel. Night was starry and well, we stayed quite near the cemetery too. We have a big squarish balcony and the church "bell" was also quite nearby. Cold wind, stars and occasional vehicular lights from far on the causeway - that was the backdrop of our night. We however were woken up by the church bells at 0600hrs - there supposed to be a mass at the Abbey. Not sure and not adventurous to venture out at 0600hrs to walk up the Abbey - still as mysterious to us. 

The Abbey tour was hosted by a "half-nomandy and half-britanny" guide. She was very responsible and friendly - a perception that we always have when it comes to parisans not living in paris. Something that I rem from the tour was that the monks were supposed to eat at a dining place and they were not allowed to talk while eating. Of cos, there was this "小orange鸟" which was not afraid of us and kept following us, and my dear losing her gloves at the waiting area.  The overall tour of the Abbey was interesting. I saw a guy sitting at the small church near the coastline and I have wanted to go there take a look. However, we did not have enough time to venture as I wanted to have sufficient planning time to take bus and then in time for train to move back to Paris. One point to note was my dear was smart to remind me to put bulky luggage at our hotel in Paris so we dun need to carry them to LMSM. 

Afternote: There was a brand of cookies originated from LMSM - the cover of the butter cookies box shows the LMSM. Didn't know about it until my friend told me that he bought a tin in NTUC. This is one of the funny learning that I like during traveling.  

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - Childhood Christmas

This got to earn a page in the blog. 


It is really amazing to pop by and stand in front of the windows display at Marienplatz. The display outsides what is known as the Galeria Kaufhof (Food and grocery chain, we think) is really cute and fun. About a few nights, we chanced by the display and the cute teddy bears, rabbits, monkeys - some opening doors, some doing farming, some teasing one another and some just playing with snow. Coupled with the nice German christmas songs, the series of display really made us transform into kids again.

It really touches us how meticulous the designers and even the locals are to decorate the windows display. Compared back home, we have seen some "recycled" display. 

We are trying hard to trace the title of the songs that we heard so far. It fitted so well to the movement of the soft toys in the display. Almost every night since we discovered the place, we would walk past and listen to the music and watch each display. One particular one that caught our attention was two cute rabbits - Big and small one playing with their noses in left to right movement. Cute! The other one was a monkey or bear that could open and close the door of a house. Cute! 

Actually, we first spotted such display was at the Residence Christmas Market.  Those display however were "traditional" and each with a story. I didn't however imagine that there could be more such display in Marienplatz.  Not sure about my wife but I have the magical feel and a childlike Christmas.  It has been a long time since I feel like a kid already. Like a kid, we watched with eagerness at every display, waiting eagerly for the start of the music. Like a child, we sang with the tune and my wife clapping with rhythm. We so loved the Munich Christmas.

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - Munich Walking Tour

This is the third time that we joined "Free Walking Tour" - We liked to participate in the tour as it gave us a flavor of the sites and history in the eyes of a "local tour". Initially, we have difficulties logging in and registering our names to join the tour and luckily there was an iMac in the B&B which solved the problem. We chose on Christmas Eve and it was a huge group. As we have registered, we were allowed to have a group photo taken by the guide. 

Different guides have different personalties and stories to share and our Munich guide was one who liked to "beer" and share "beer stories". I rem him saying that he was a musician in Jazz and decided to quit to be a guide. Not a bad choice considering that he is fulfilling his dreams? The walking tour was about 3 hours and we should have taken some notes to jot down interesting things else could not rem all the interesting stuff.


We assembled very near to our B&B at Marienplatz and the guide told us to standby at 1100hrs to listen to the famous Glockenspiel.  Every day at a few designated time slots, people will stand still and listen to the 15 minutes music ~ the guide said we could go youtube to see the close-up. Not sure why but I liked it a lot and found it to be a cute historical toy. So, I also "video" it just like any other tourists. After the "show", we went down to the toy museum and passed by "juliet" statue. The guide jokingly said that many singles would buy flowers from the florist shop nearby and present them to "juliet" for improvement in their relationship. He said that many people would also touch the statue for blessing and he asked us to guess where most people would touch. 

After a short stop outsides the Toy Museum, first thing that I rem was the "canon ball" that was stuck in a church all. My wife didn't notice it or I have to take a photo to show it to her. I couldn't rem if it was deposited there due to WWII? As usual, my concentration span was limited and I wondered around to see if I could take interesting photos.   Next was a walk down to the Virtual Market that was selling a lot of grocery and it has a beer garden.  Guide said he would pop by the beer garden later and encouraged us to do so too. We went down to Hofbrauhaus - a very famous beer hall. According to the guide, you won't be able to catch the attention of the waiters or waitresses there as they would be too bz to entertain you. Got to try let?  The guide stopped here to share the history of how the toilets was designed and created in the beer hall. Spare the details but I was very curious about what the guide said that there was a special area in the toilet where it allowed people to vomit. So we did go back to check but I couldn't really find it. 

Along the way we were introduced to a very famous local beer and I asked my wife why wasn't it exported? She smartly told me that it was without preservatives just like the Abashiri beer so it couldn't be exported. Make sense.  And well, I found my HRC ~ a tee in each new city I visited and this time would not be an exception unless all shops closed during Christmas?  From here, we ventured into the street that housed lot of branded boutiques and the guide asked us to see the rich and famous around the streets.   

Then there was some history lessons about the Nazi regime and I could not remember the details as usual.  I only remembered that the locals were still buying christmas trees and rushing back to celebrate the Christmas and we were then wondering if all the shops were closed on the eve. Luckily, we already made reservation for Christmas eve dinner. We rushed back trying to catch our lunch but many shops were closed or closing. There was a Jap restaurant but my wife wasn't interested so we decided to try our luck at Virtual Market - Oops closed except the beer garden.  We ended up queuing at Starbucks near our B&B and have cake and coffee for lunch at our "balcony".  Very different in lifestyle ~ Back home, many shops would be opened for business during Christmas but in Munich, it is really a holiday season for all.  

圣诞前夕，本来想晚上去教堂，但没去，也没有倒数。我们静静地逛街，看看橱窗地摆设。街道比较少人，大家应该是在团圆吃火鸡吧？ 想想，平静地度过圣诞，也是很开心的事。难得能自由自在。

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 Munich Christmas Market Part III - Marienplatz

Perhaps the most interesting and colorful Christmas Market in Munich is still the Marienplatz market? It is  in the town hall and there is a very tall REAL Christmas Tree which was lighted up by many bulbs. For me, this market was the first one that we encountered when we took the Bahn and landed at early morning hours. It was also the one when we said "bye bye". 

We read and understand that each year a town could have to contribute a christmas tree to the town hall. I decided to stand underneath the hugh tree to enjoy the lights and view of branches of the tree. It was beautiful and my wife joked that many people followed us in enjoying the view after we moved off from the spot. I like the tree a lot and in fact I have been watching live webcam of Marienplatz and the tree before we travelled to Munich. I even wanted to ask my family to catch a glimpse of my wife and me walking at Marienplatz if possible though time difference was a real challenge ~ while we were playing at Marienplatz, they were probably sleeping at night. 
The morning Marienplatz market was filled with nice spicy smell of the red wine and also sausages and cookies. While my wife was busy looking for boots, I took some time out to watch what  people were buying at the stalls. I was a bit hesitant to buy any cookies as we had our hearty cheese and ham breakfast and too full to "chew". Also my wife said she loved my homemade cookies most so I have second thoughts buying other cookies nowadays =). 


The night time markets are equally interesting as the crowd built up. Against the backdrop of lights and toy angels hanging up at the stalls, we were easily immersed into the beautiful atmosphere of Christmas. Very tempted to buy some cute decoration from the stalls but they were not cheap.  Another reason was we usually dun like to "anyhow" buy things as we would have difficulty finding place to put them or store them. I rem buying the "russian girl" keychains and ended up forcing my wife's friends to take - compulsory haha. 

很喜欢圣诞市场，觉得它很特别，很有节日气氛，和看过的其他市场很不一样，我很佩服老婆的好介绍。以前的我，只以为外国的圣诞就只是白色的圣诞，只有下雪，玩雪人。圣诞市场其实已有多年的历史，也是当地不可少的圣诞文化。

圣诞快乐。


http://www.christmasmarketsgermany.com/munich.php

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - Munich Christmas Market Part II Tollwood

Tollwood Christmas Market - My Dear wanted to visit this market and it was one of her planned itinerary. Not sure how it looked like until we visited it. Tents, white tents - this was my very first impression of the Tollwood Christmas Market. What made Tollwood so famous was actually the Octoberfest - the very spot that held the event yearly! 

We bought our very first nuts in Tollwood. I still remember the taste till now and it was like an ever-filling kacang puteh! We kept eating and eating from Munich to Paris and still eating haha! The nuts were very nutty-licious - As I told my dear I was a "nut-cracker" and the nuts were really yummy! 

Tollwood Market was made up of many huge circus circus white tents - all carried a different theme and we would likely go into more than 6 or 7 tents. Some tents were quite stuffy due to the cooking and heat. 

There was a huge steel structure like a cube. Very interesting as you could climb up and take a seat - I rem there were at least three floors and each floor could house many tables. As we could see the view from underneath our feet - not for the faint hearts. We came with our instinct and were wary of fire hazards. 

We took many shots from the cube. I didn't know dear wanted to have "tollwood" wording in her photo. Took a helicopter view of her extending her arms wide and she "picky" that it didn't have the "feel" of tollwood.  So, I also decided to be "picky" and told her that my portrait photo very "big" with me filling up most of the photos she took.  :P.

The wine cup at Tollwood was very cute! I ordered "kinder" wine to try it out. Gosh, are we sure it was "kinder" wine? The taste was equally German wine leh?! I started to wonder if the kids drink at young age? My wife was very creative and asked us to pose a picture of the cute wine cup with our shoes. 

Actually, I didn't notice the German "Kinder" much until I came to Munich Markets. For me, I only knew the kinder bueno chocolate biscuits. To play safe in our merrying Christmas markets, I decided to go "Kinder" and of cos, people would think that it was my wife who was asking for "kinder" wine. 

It was interesting too that locals could manage to pronounce my name well. Maybe of the "mun"? Not surprising since the word "Munich" has "Mun" in it too. So, when we made reservations, the waiters/waitresses could easily bring us to our table. I was joking to my wife that they would think that my name was "local" too.  A familiar name. 

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - Munich Christmas Market Part 1

慕尼黑的圣诞市场据说是有很久的历史了，这次我们也是慕名而来的。There are so many Christmas Markets to choose to go and fortunately we stayed at Marienplatz - a very convenient walk to most of the markets. Too many to choose and my plan was to go to those which would be closing. Christmas markets in Munich closed typically on the eve or even on 23 Dec, so ought to plan carefully.

We decided to go to the Market at The Munich Residence. It closed on 23 Dec, and just right on the day when we visited. It was about one Bahn stop from Marienplatz, and we actually chanced upon it when there was an "entrance" to the market just besides the cobblestone  path. First thing that caught my attention was the Windmill. Quite cute and then the smell of mulled hot red wine. We decided to roam around to see what to eat or buy first after a mini squabble haha.

There were quite a crowd, and many Germans would stand around the round table and drink. I also want to copycat but the smell of the wine was really strong. Not sure if I would tahan it - yup, not a good drinker. It was interesting to see the animated animals and figures in the booths - I didn't know they were so popular among the locals. 

 There were some narrations but I couldn't decipher the stories.  Of cos, there was the one story about the birth of our Saviour and that one I could tell. =). The inclusion of such display really made me like a "kinder" haha - this term would be important to use in subsequent Christmas markets.

There were hotdogs, chocolates, jams for purchase but the popular ones were of cos the German red wine.  We started to queue to buy the chocolate stick as it seemed to be quite popular as well. We didn't know that the storekeeper also had the habit of selling cheaper near closing hours - should have waited to buy more at a lower price! 


Then came the challenge - the German wine. We followed the locals to start to q to buy the wine. We took one cup and you have to pay a deposit of 2 EURO for the cup.  The cup was very cute, representative of the local christmas spirit. My dear carried the cup and walked like the locals merrying haha. The taste was strong and warm - very nice cozy feel. Yup, drink and drunk like the local haha. I already found that the cup was very cute and decided NOT to return liao. So, we slowly walked out of the Market carrying our wine and on our walk back to Marienplatz. On our way back, we noticed that the Christmas Market at "The Residence" was really closing - stalls closing and dismantling. How lucky we were to experience the Christmas Market in the courtyard of the Palace? By the time, we reached our B&B, our cup was emptied and what a nice souvenir we got - something very unique of Munich Christmas Market. This would not be the only one as I didn't share with my wife that I was going to keep all the cups whenever we "German Wine". Hee Hee. 

收集酒杯，不知不觉，成了逛慕尼黑圣诞市场的新嗜好。