impressionist dreamer

No kidding. I'm speaking in literal terms. The train ride from Mannheim to Mainz today was one of the most scenic rides I've taken in Europe so far.

I was in doe-eyed wonder, alternating my head between left and right, trying hard to take in as much as I could. The fields were in a plethora of green, yellow and brown. There were so many different shades of green and it felt like you were looking at a Pantone swatchbook of green. Even so, those colours would not rightfully depict the actual colours of nature. I could go on and on about the colours but know one thing- not one's the same.

That's just the beauty of God's creation. And He has painted the fields of Germany's countryside so creatively and artistically.

I spent three days in Munich and in one of those days I went to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen, south of Munich.

It was quite foggy and cold (about 7 degree Celsius) that day but I think it adds to the whole mystery and elusiveness of the castle and King Ludwig II's life.

King Ludwig II was well ahead of his time. The first stop was the Linderhof palace in the morning and its interior was decorated beautifully in a rococo style. Ludwig got his inspirations from Louis XIVand the Versailles in France. He lived a rather quiet and secluded life. At 18 and 1/2 years of age, he ascended to the throne after his father King Maximilian died. As a child he lived in Hohenschwangau Castle but dreamed of his own castles.

Hohenschwangau Castle (in yellow) from above

He built as least 2 castles in his lifetime. The most famous of them is the Neuschwanstein Castle which he never got the chance to see or live because of his early death. In fact the name Neuschwanstein was not named by him. Neu means new, schwan means swan and stein means stone. Together it means New Swanstone.

Linderhof Castle

We learnt of his obsession with building castles. Even as an adult he led a very introverted life. In the dining hall of the Linderhof castle was a table that had a mechanism whereby he could lower it to the kitchen in the basement, hence doing away with the need of having servants bring him food and disturb him. Ludwig never married but had been engaged once. He was betrothed to Princess Sophie and postponed the wedding day twice. Finally, he called off the engagement and never got married at all.

These two days in the Bernese Oberland have been nothing short of fantastic. Just yesterday I've been on air, land and sea. I'm now in Interlaken, which is in the middle of two lakes - Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, hence the name. Interlaken on its own isn't very exciting. There's not much one can do here besides adventure sports and activities. Nevertheless, people stay in Interlaken because they use it as a springboard to the Bernese Oberland.




If there was one place I wish I was born and lived in, it'll probably be somewhere in the Bernese Oberland. The Swiss take pride in their work. The people I've met here are the kindest and most friendly. I took a trip to the Schilthorn this morning and it was full of people who would come here to ski. I met this Swiss couple from Bern and we chatted for a while. He asked about my nationality and told me that he would be coming to visit my country. It will be his first time there and he wanted a hotel recommendation from me. How was I to know? I've never really checked in to stay at a hotel in Singers ever! Now as I think back I should have told him to stay at the MBS. I wonder if a Swiss like him would actually enjoy the modern city living of Singapore. Afterall, Bern is quite different from Singers and I doubt we have any good B&Bs with great hospitality as the Swiss.


Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau

That aside, I continued my journey and took a hike from Murren to Gimmelwald. It was a short hike and I managed to convince two Korean girls whom I met at Schilthorn to join me to walk to Gimmelwald. During our conversation I learnt that we had many things in common- we stayed in the same backpackers hostel, were going to check out on the same day and we would be heading off to the same city next as well.


The hike from Murren to Gimmelwald was exceptional. I couldn't think of a better way to see Gimmelwald than from above. The village is small, and it's traffic free. People greet each other everywhere they go. Gimmelwald is pretty even in Spring and I can't imagine how it'll be in Summer.

One of the interesting thing I saw in Gimmelwald was "The Honesty Shop" which claims to be Europe's first unattended self service village shop. True to its word there was no one in the shop. You walk in, see what you like, buy and put your money in an envelope and pop it into a box! Trust the Swiss to do something like that. Things operate on a system of trust here. In Bern, you buy a ticket from the machine before boarding and you don't need to validate it anywhere.



After Gimmelwald, I took a cable car to Lauterbrunnen, a village in a valley. Lauterbrunnen s truly scenic. I couldn't resist its beauty and missed my train because I lingered on in a café to eat. I wished I stayed there instead of Interlaken. It's peaceful, scenic and staying there makes you feel like you're really on a holiday. It's a valley and when there are valleys there are waterfalls. When there are waterfalls there's a lake. When there's a lake there's usually a mountain. This is why I love mountains so much - it's such a bonus sight! Bernese Oberland is everything that is. Majestic mountains, beautiful Swiss chalet houses and Swiss hospitality- what more can you ask for?

I'm now taking a boat from Interlaken to Thun. It's slow and it takes 1 hour by boat, what train can do in 15 minutes.



There are mainly elderly people on board the boat. Pensioners I believe. They are elderly couples and I think it's really sweet that they're seeing beautiful Switzerland together.



I arrived at Interlaken West station at 9am this morning. The train ride from Bern was scenic. We passed Lake Thun which was beautiful. It's slow and scenic.


Almost every stop was a picturesque postcard moment. There was a point where the train stopped, almost to let tourists whip out their camera and capture the moment.

I checked into Backpackers Villa and I loved it instantly. I asked the receptionist Rafael about the paragliding trip and he booked one for me at 10.45am.

The bus picked me up at 10.40am and the driver greets me "Annyeonghaseyo" to which I laughed. Yes, in the eyes of Caucasians, all Asians are alike. 2 other Indian girls boarded the bus and we headed off to Beatenberg. Dave is my assigned pilot and we take a 5 minute walk to the cliff where we'll take the leap of faith. The song "Jump" was playing in the bus at that time. Time has a sense of humour.

Going to Basel this morning was a spontaneous decision when flipping through the guidebook at the store 10 mins before I boarded the train. The best part of my trip was that I had no preconceived ideas of Basel and it was a delightful surprise to my advantage.

Basel's tagline is "Culture Unlimited" and it's hard not to see why. There are about 40 museums and there is beautiful architecture all around. One of them is the Vitra Design Museum which I passed because there was insufficient time.

"How do I get to the Vitra Design Museum?" I asked the lady at he information counter.

"Oh you have to go to Germany!" She replied.

Wait, Germany? She sounded like Germany was just a bus stop away (and in fact it kinda was!) I then looked at the map and understood why. Basel is at the junction of three countries and France and Germany are literally neighbours.



With such a unique location, its no wonder that Basel is a cultural charm. The old town is historic with quaint houses and narrow streets. Every turn and corner will surprise the visitor. It has modern buildings and traditional houses and cathedrals to boast. It's truly an architect's heaven.

Everyone knows Switzerland is an expensive place to visit, and Bern is no exception. However, the best and priceless sights in Bern are all free. I climbed up the hill (about 7-9 stories high with no steps) to Rosengarten and was treated to a spectacular view of the city. It's a Saturday and families, couples and tourists are basking in the sun.

Maybe it's because it's a Saturday, but Bern feels slow, peaceful and relaxed. Streets are relatively busy with pedestrians and cafes are almost full. People seem to take their time to eat. There's no rush at all. No one's shoving anyone and the cars stop for almost all pedestrians.

Even the bears at Barenpark are out to greet us. A sign at the ticket booth says it'll resume services at 2:30. At 2:36, the staff's probably still on their long coffee break. There is a sticker at the window of the booth that says "Quality service".

At the hotel where I'm staying, I notice the same person who came into the bar of the hotel for a drink last night. I have a feeling he'll return tomorrow.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was my aimless stroll near the Aare River and catching a glimpse of the Alps near sunset. Priceless.

- Got lost instantly when I came out of the train station in Bern.
- It was 7.30pm and 9 degrees celsius.
- Imagine a girl (probably the only Asian one around too) carrying a 9kg backpack trying to get to her hostel.
- People were speaking German. I thought French was hard but try German.
- No change for bus and I didn't know how get to my hostel.
- Followed, or rather chased the bus from behind.
- Reached at 8.15pm at last. I thought my experience at Gare Du Lyon was hard enough but try this.

Perhaps this sentence sums up the life of Vincent Van Gogh.

We visited the mental institution in St Remy de Provence where he was admitted. Today it is part asylum, part museum, where funding comes from. In the museum, Van Gogh's cell is recreated and visitors get to see and imagine what it possibly looked like.

During Van Gogh's time, patients would be treated by having continuous baths to prevent them from having "new ideas". There are probably more humane ways today but one wonders if Van Gogh's paintings would look differently if he were treated in a different manner.

It costs €4.50 to enter the museum, which is quite pricy for a replica cell (bet the asylum didn't know they would be having such a prestigious guest!) Patients at St Paul undergo art therapy today and some of their art work can be seen and are available for purchase in the museum. Of course, they pale in comparison to Van Gogh's artwork which brings us back to the point where you have to be mad to be a genius.

And I wonder which category I belong to for going on this adventure...

Is it French? Is it Roman? This is Arles, once conquered by the Romans (and as my French hostel mate says, Romans conquer everything) and is a 30 minute train ride from Avignon, my base city.

Nestled in Provence the south of France, Arles is a rugged beauty. Much of it was destroyed and what remains are its ruins. One of them is the classical theater. It was once able to hold 10,000 people but it now looks like its been halved. Piece the image of the theater together as you look around you and notice the broken statues and arcs.

Walking down the street, one feels as though they were in Rome. Roman inspired buildings and.architecture surround Arles. One of the main attractions in Arles is the Roman Amphitheater (and also my substitute to the Colosseum). Beautiful and magnificent, the amphitheater used to house 20,000 spectators who would watch gladiators fight wild animals. Today is it an arena for bullgames.

Roman Amphitheatre


Also hometown to Van Gogh, one can see the buildings and landmarks that inspired him to paint. There is the Van Gogh cafe, the view of Starry night over the Rhone river and Van Gogh's square.

Arles is a very attractive city and one of the most enjoyable things to do is to put down your map, walk around and get lost. It's small and after a while you'll see familiar tourist faces. Beautiful houses with falling paint and cobblestone streets await to be explored. Stop for some gelato, admire the views, listen to local buskers and people watch.

This is my idea of getting lost in a place.