I haven’t blogged in awhile and I think I went a little overbroad this time. This is going to be a rather lengthy but highly interesting post. I hope you’ll enjoy both the writing and the pics!

Though you’ve probably heard this a thousand times, I’m going to say it again. Prague is truly a romantic city.

Imagine walking along streets paved with cobblestones as if you were transported to ancient times, the cool spring breeze like a feather gently caressing your face, and the rustic looking buildings which seem to line every street you turn into. Prague is truly the place to be to fall in love. I honestly cannot wait to return again!

Went to Wenceslas Square on the first day after checking in. We stayed at the ‘Old Prague Hostel’ which was located at Namesti Republiky. It didn’t look too impressive when we first arrived because it was located in a small alley. However, I think it had to be the safest hostel in Prague because it was located directly opposite a police station! (No fear of getting robbed or kidnapped! Heh!)

At the end of Wenceslas Square is the National Musuem. Didn’t enter because I felt that I might not be able to appreciate their works of art. However, for those of you museum lovers, why not hop inside and check it out? I reckon that it’s going to be worth your dollar because even the exterior of the building was so grand it almost blew me away!

By the time we finished admiring the sights and window shopping, we started looking for a restaurant in hopes of a truly authentic Czech meal. ‘Cesky restaurant’. The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived which left us feeling really worried. (Imagine how you’d feel if you walked into a restaurant during dinner time only to find it almost empty?) After much debate, we decided that we were too lazy to look for another restaurant and agreed to ‘leave it to fate’(for lack of a better phrase).

Astonishingly, dinner was great! It was, we concluded, the best dinner we had in Czech! Despite it being almost empty, it was relatively affordable and the food and service was great! Truly what some might term as a gem found! (Unfortunately we did not manage to take note of the address. I think it might be located either along Vodickova Street or Stepanska Street, off Vaclavske Namesti - along Wenceslas Square)

Next, we made our way to the Charles Bridge. Along the way there, we passed this region filled with shops and restaurants(They were closed). I think that must have been the most romantic part of Prague. I loved the way the intricate lamp-posts illuminated the streets, the way how the streets here looked so ‘undestroyed’ by modernisation and I loved the view of the Charles bridge from here. Here’s a picture to spell out the thousands of words on my mind!

At night

In the day

The Charles bridge

At 11am, we headed back to Wencenlas Square because the lady we were travelling with that morning had not seen it before. (We met Jenny the night before at our hostel. She’s a Taiwanese who stays/studies in Australia.) Had lunch/tea, which consisted of a raspberry cake and coffee, at Ebel Cafe.

In the afternoon, we went on a tour around Prague. Although it was a tad pricey, we agreed that it would be the best and fastest way to cover Prague and gain a little knowledge of the place at the same time!

Visited the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Black Tower, the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Quarters, passed Franz Kafka’s birthplace and ended up at Wenceslas Square again.(Yes… again…)

Just like how behind every door there lies a new world to be discovered, many of the Prague statues and monuments had legends and stories attached to them. Found (and read in the shop) a book on them but I couldn’t remember all of them. (Here’s a couple of stories I remember.)

Legend No. 1 - Story of the Astronomical clock

Legend has it that long ago, in the city of Prague, lived a brilliant mathtematician. He loved his city so much that he decided to make the clock, which could tell not only the time but also astronomical data and even knowledge of the horoscope! After spending many hours researching and crafting, the clock was complete. Everyone was impressed! Even the govenrment officials.

However, rumor then started that he was working on another structure, but only more magnificient for a private mercenary. The officials were disgusted at the idea of someone having another similar if not more magnificent clock and set it upon themselves to stop his work!

One cold and rainy night, 4 men knocked on his door pretending to seek help. The creator, being a man of not only high intellect but also a huge heart, opened up only to be met with a huge bag over his head. What happened next no one knew but his assistant found him drenched in blood, blind, sitting beside his bed the next morning.

The news took the city by storm. No one could think of a culprit who would sink to such a level to destroy the life of a man who gave them such beautiful art. After recovering, this creator tried to resume work on his ‘Improvements for the Astronomical Clock’ only to be met with more depression and a greater sense of failure.

Then one night, in a tavern, he overheard a few men speaking of the ‘good’ deed they had done - saving the Astronomical Clock and preventing Prague from being outshined by another clock. Upon hearing this, the creator went to the Astronomical clock.

With his hands, he admired his work. The product of his blood, sweat and tears. Then as feelings of betrayal and hate flowed through, he felt a huge pain pierce his heart and then his heart stopped beating. It is said that the clock also ceased to work at that very moment, telling the time of his death for everyone to see.
I’ll spare you the torture already. will let you know about the other places I’ve been to in my next post!

P.S Click here for more pics!

Supposed to be blogging and writing about my trips and adventures I’ve had over the past week but so much is on my mind that I’ve decided to leave it for another time. I might end up spoiling your read if I did blog about it now so I’m asking all readers of my blog to forgive me!

Recently I asked a friend this. “How do you know that you’re truly in love?” This might sound odd at first but if you think about it carefully, it kind of makes sense doesn’t it? Should love be regulated by the amount of time you think of another person? Or should it be reflected by the number of things you do for each other?

A more thought provoking question would be this. “What is love?” “What constitutes love?” Biologically speaking, love is caused by the release of hormones in ones body.(or at least that’s what I’ve been taught to think.) This causes the brain to react in a certain way and in turn resulting in electrical impulses sent to the rest of the body which control human physiology.

Since this group of hormones isn’t highly specific, isn’t it expected that the same kind of feelings can be invoked by more than one person? In fact, I think this feeling can be invoked by non-living things as well! Think about it. When you listen to a love song, watch a romantic movie or (for some) go about your daily lives, aren’t you inclined, at times, to think about your loved one? How then can one know for sure that he/she is truly in love?

Maybe it’s a matter of satisfying a number of criteria, i.e. the more ‘functions’ the relationship satisfies, the more one feels in love. If your loved one is able to make you feel loved, if he/she is able to fit into your criteria(whatever it may be) and if you can actually picture this person in your future, then perhaps you will ‘fall in love’!

I’m really confused about this thing called love now.(Who isn’t?)

Sometimes I wished I had a crystal ball to give me a glimpse into the future! Yes! Maybe that’s what we need. Some hope/knowledge that the future will be well and everything will be alright.

(For those of you who think I’m sprouting nonsense, I humbly apologise… maybe it’s because you haven’t been in love yet? =) Kidding… till next time then. Have a good day world!)

I don’t usually do this but im going to do it anyway.

I don’t usually post twice a day and I don’t usually recommend sites for you to visit. The fact that I’m doing this only shows how much I’d like you to read this!

If you want to find out how you can take part in something fun, exciting and possibly save you tonnes of cash, go read this now! (No… I’m not selling anything. I promise.)

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Recently, I managed to stumble across an audio file in my computer that I’ve had for awhile. Never really sat down to listen to it till recently. After listening to the tape, I had a strong urge to share the contents with you! It’s really a pretty simple yet powerful concept! By reading this and applying it, I am very sure that it will benefit anyone who wants to excel and achieve success in life!

The tape stressed the importance of leading a balanced and planned life. Think about this for a moment. If you were in a foreign country and wanted to get from point A to point B, you’d definitely make use of a map or some form of directions right? Well, shouldn’t we do the same for our lives? If we want to reach a certain point (perhaps being rich, powerful or having the biggest house in the neighbourhood) wouldn’t it make sense for us to plan our route? Wouldn’t you agree that the journey would definitely be easier if we had some sort of map to aid us?

International sports stars have routines and plans (Eg. Tiger woods hits a couple of thousand balls a day. Micheal Jordan used to shoot couple of hundred hoops a day.), top CEOs have plans, big successful companies have plans so why shouldn’t you?

The tape recommended a daily routine consisting of reading, listening, affirmation, positive relationships and exercise is essential for success. Before you think this is going to be easy, let me explain what I mean exactly.

The books you read should focus on topics that you are passionate about or it should be similar to your job. Why? Reading many books on a certain field you are passionate about or are engaged in will not only increase your knowledge, it will also serve to keep you abreast of the latest developments and it might even propel you to be the best/most knowledgeable in your field! Doesn’t this get you excited? Imagine what it would feel like to be the most knowledgeable in your field!

The next thing you should do daily is listen. Listen to motivational people speaking, motivational music, listen to people who have already achieved that level of success you thirst for! This keeps you positively programmed and it kind of gives you the drive you need to get through life! (Remember that life isn’t always smooth sailing and it’s always good to have motivational music to get you back on your feet!)

Affirmation is something like having faith in yourself. Constantly tell yourself that you deserve success and are always willing to do what it takes! Studies have shown that people who speak postively to themselves and keep affirming themselves often find it easier to succeed because of the amount of faith they have in themselves! Believe it or not, our brain is a powerful organ capable of many wonders. Once we program ourselves (by telling ourselves daily) with the need to succeed, our brain will automatically ’see’ many more oppotunities and this in turn helps us succeed!

Ever heard of the phrase ‘birds of a feather flock together’? Well, it has been proven that that your future income is highly dependant on the kind of people you mix with. Also interestingly, it has also been shown that you will probably earn an annual income that will be within 5k of your peers! What this means is if you want to be successful, you’d better make sure you are mixing with successful people or else you’d better do something about it quick! Another reason for mixing with more successful people is to allow us a target to work and stretch towards! (Sounds familiar doesn’t it? =) )

The last element of your daily program should be to exercise. Take a look at many of the top CEOs of fortune 500 companies and you will find that many of them engage in at least 30min of exercise daily. Some have claimed that exercise has helped them clear their thoughts while others have claimed that exercise gives them that additional energy they need to get through tougher times!

I hope that you will benefit from following this and coming up with a daily plan of your own! Everybody deserves success. However not everyone can get it. It’s really going to be up to you to sit down, plan, and work towards it!

Watched ‘Wicked’ in London. It was fantastic! The lady who played the role as the wicked witch of Oz had such a powerful voice! Even thou I was sitted upstairs in the circle seats, I can tell that she gave it her all and sang her heart out! Even blogging about it brings back that feeling of excitement with a tinge of magic!

I’m not going to spoil it by telling you the story so you HAVE to either go to London and watch it or read the book! I think it’s going to be a great read! Will get the book when I get back to Singapore!

In addition to ‘Wicked’, there were many other plays/musicals at the numerous theatres in London! There was ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Lion King’, ‘Billy Eliot’, ‘Stomp’, etc… I can’t remember the rest off-hand so you might want to check it out before heading down to London! I think they had a handful of ‘Comedy night’ shows but I didn’t have the time ( and money ) to check out any of them… But I doubt that you will ever find a dull moment in London!

Other great places that are really worth checking out include the borough market (they sell tons of stuff from food to little trinklets) and Greenwich (pronounced as Gre-nich I think).

Here’s a handful of pics I have of the 2 places! Didnt really get to take many photos of the borough market because it was going to close when we got there… (too hard to wake up so early in the mornings… tsk.)

The people of London… hmm… I managed (to my fortune/misfortune??) to bump into a handful of weird people. I couldn’t comprehend why they had to act the way they did! There was a guy, rather well built, who was singing ‘Toxic - Britney Spears’ and dancing to it on the train. It was abit too much to swallow. Thank goodness I had my back facing him and didn’t have to go through the whole ordeal. =)

Then there was this old man who raised his voice really loudly insisting that he had to sit next to the train door. He looked almost ready to get into a fight for the seat!

Then was this guy called Seth. On our way back to Eindhoven, he joined us on our ‘trip’(I’ll go into this later) and acted really freaky. I can’t explain why but something inside me just told me that he was weird. ( Even the 2 Z.Y.’s agreed with me!)

Anyways, heres more pics of London!

Spent the week travelling Germany and London. The 7 of us (that’s right, 7!!) Zhenyuan, Zhiyi, Fulin, Wing, Shoonghong, Kumar and yours truly) went to Colonge ( now known as Koln ) to meet Dave and Cailin. They were celebrating Karneval, an event which takes place before Ash Wednesday.

From the pics, I’m sure you can tell that it was a really crazy party! Hordes of people from all around Germany came to Colonge for the Karneval. Troops of people took part in the march past with the grandest people being the Prince, the Princess and the Farmer/Peasant (or at least that’s what I think).. Apparently you need to be worth something like 25K in order to qualify for either roles! (My goodness! That’s like telling the whole world that you’re loaded!)

There were many people dressed in quirky clothes! Some crossed dressed while others dressed as bumblebees! There was even a group of big burly men dressed as pirates! Can you imagine the excitement I was facing? Sweet!

Drank loads of beer and had my fair share of bratwursts! Note to all fellow Singaporeans, please DO NOT buy their ‘Currywurst’ unless you’re just getting it for fun! I expected something close to the prata-type curry but all I recieved was tomato ketchup and curry powder! It didn’t taste too good - bleh.

The day passed rather quickly when we were getting the free sweets from the passing ‘trucks’! Yes! Free sweets! The people distribute free sweets, chocolates, perfumes, soft toys etc during the karneval! And this goes on for 3-5 hours! All you have to do is wait along the roads for the trucks to come by and make sure you manage to catch the sweets they throw in the air! (Being a lil’ kiasu, I ended up using my pink willy-wonka lookalike cap to get the sweets! I still have a bagful even as I type this!)

Had dinner at a restaurant in Leverkeusen ( i think that’s how it’s spelt) with Dave, Cailin and their friends. Dinner was a tad bit expensive but Zhenyuan and I shared this huge meat platter.(Alas, I was so hungry I forgot to snap pictures of the food =(.. )

That’s about all for the Karneval in Koln. Overall a great experience but I doubt I’d want to go through it again. Too crowded. Bah.