Spring Holidays

Sorry for the late updates. I was back from my spring vacation last three days and I was too busy with my job. Today, I spent some time to recall back those memories with my lovely wife during our spring vacation to Belgium and Germany. Seriously, it was really enjoyable, full of fun and it should be one of the sweetest moments we had spent together. Three days seem too short but the trip was well organized and packed with many stopovers. Nice and friendly people that I got to know during the trip and most importantly, we shared a common feeling – love growth.

The day began early in the morning when we were waiting for my friend and his girlfriend at the hotel’s lobby. We sat down at the sofa and waited for them and 5 minutes later they approached us. It was 6.45 am. Met up and introduced my wife to them, we slowly walked down to the Metro Station. 15 minutes walking filled with stillness as the environment was too calm with everyone trying to save the internal energy by keeping silence down the way and the climate at the time was around 19 degC as stated at the electronic board upon reaching the station. Reached the station around 7.00 am. Checked out the tickets in my pocket and they were sufficient at the moment.

From La Defense, it took about 45 minutes to reach Place D’Italie – Meeting point for the tour group. Reached there, we decided to have a breakfast at the McD nearby. It was 7.45 am. I could see few people stood around the area and they looked waiting for the tour group with their big luggage. Get inside the McD, there was no people around. Placed my bags and leaved it to my wife, I went up to the counter and ordered the breakfast. I ordered two chocolate muffins with two hot black coffees. I have no choices. Finally at 8.20 am the bus came and we loaded our luggage at the bottom compartment and went inside the bus. We sat at the 2 rows from the back and seriously my expectation was wrong as the bus was so comfortable and spacious. I would be able to relax and stretch out my long leg with ease. The bus was partially seated and I would say all of them aged between 40 – 60 years old. While adjusting the seat for my comfort, the tour guide makes a final count before the journey began. Around 8.45 am, the bus departs.

The journey took about 2 hours with 1 stop at the petrol station before we reached Reims. It is 145 km east - northeast of Paris and Reims is often considered as the capital of Champagne, an old province of France, world-famous for its sparkling wine (Champagne) because it is by far the largest city in the region. Upon reaching Reims, the announcement called for getting ready and leaves all the unnecessary in the bus. Our first stop was at the Notre Dame de Reims which is the cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. Slowly walked around the town and snapped some pictures, we decided to have our lunch at the McD nearby. It was 12 pm and there were many people queuing to place their orders. While looking for the seat, I heard someone said “Hello kawan” with Chinese dialect. Turn my head around, I saw a group of Chinese was having their meals. They were offering us two seats next to their big family and they were Malaysian. I replied the offered with smile and thankful since all the seats were fully seated during the peak hours. Start a small chat and introduced a bit about myself, it was a big surprise as they were also joined the tour group and of course we have the lunch with long chat with them. Finished with the lunch, separated from them and we walked around the town again. There was still 45 minutes before we gathered at the bus. At 1 pm, we get in the bus and the journey continues.

Our next visit is Luxembourg, Belgium - a small country located in the Low Countries, part of North-West Europe. Winding roads along lush dense forests, we were so amazed on the yellowish landscape with the windmills scattered on the land. The terrain is mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; highlands slightly mountainous in the north.

We had been chatting for a while after we stopped at the petrol station, where I and my wife went to the toilet and spent some time in the shop. We really had to stop and walk for awhile. I had snickers and my wife bought a 1L mineral water. 15 minutes later, the journey resumes. The roads are windy, curvy, lined with lush green pastures filled with cows and bordered with giant old trees. It was so beautiful. The capitol city is 5 km from the French border. Suddenly, an announcement called for our attention as we were passing a defunct border control building and follow the freeway into Luxembourg City, under in a sharply declining tunnel and up to the old Bock, a castle built in the 900s with catacombs underneath that now serve as a nice bomb shelter.

Around 4.30 pm, we reached the destination. Luxembourg City straddles several valleys and outcrops, making the city's layout more complicated. Our first visit was The Monument of Remembrance and usually known by the nickname of the Gëlle Fra. It is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers that volunteered for service in the armed forces in the Allied Powers in the First World War.

After brief explanation from the tour guide, we have been informed that we have only 2 hours to spend in the Luxembourg City and we supposed to have the dinner here as the hotel is a bit far from the town and there would be no shops opened during night time. Later, we were freely separated from the tour group and leisurely explore the vicinity area. We took the remaining 90 minutes to visit the Adolphe Bridge (Pont Adolphe) which is an arch bridge in Luxembourg City. The bridge has become an unofficial national symbol of sorts, representing Luxembourg's independence, and has become one of Luxembourg City's main tourist attractions and was built in 1900. Snapped some pictures, finally we decided to have pre-dinner at McD nearby.

It was 5.15 pm and there were many people hanging around with family and friends. One of the attractions along the way to the McD was the flea market which really alive and it offered many kind of old goods and varieties of paintings. As far as I could remember, there were also a group of youngsters having a great time at the open air café while the environment was filled with an orchestra music played by small kids. It was really happening. Done with the dinner, we took sometime exploring the souvenir shops around the area. Bought some souvenirs, we decided to visit another hotspot in the city. Along the way, we stopped at the façade of the Grand Ducal Palace. It is the official residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Took some pictures, finally at 7.15 pm we get in the bus and heading to the hotel which is close to the Luxembourg Airport. Day 1 trip was over.

Day 2. 6.30 am. I woke up and get prepared for the trip. 7.00 am, I and my wife went down to the hotel cafeteria and have our breakfast. I took 2 breads, a milky cereal, and mixed fruits. Done with breakfast, we went back to the room upstairs and packed all of our stuffs before check out. While waiting for others to check out, we wait at the bus and looked around the hotel area. Suddenly, I have been approached by the co-tour guide cum bus driver, he greets me “Assalamualaikum” and spontaneously I replied back to him “Wa’alaikummussalam” and shake hand with him. Then, we have a nice conversation and he looked very happy to meet me and my wife when he knows that I am a Muslim and came from Malaysia. He said Malaysia is a good country and actually he got a lot of friends and relatives working in Malaysia. Few minutes chat with him, nearly 8.00 am we depart from the hotel heading to Germany. Our first visit for the day was at the Karl Marx’s House at Trier, Germany. I am so sure you all know about him. He was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. Often called the father of communism. Then, we paid a visit to The Black Gate. It is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany and also known as Porta Nigra. It is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has been designated a World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened color of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

After spending almost 1.5 hours in Trier, we then take a move to Koblenz which took us about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Trier. Koblenz is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its monument (Emperor William I on horseback) are situated. I would say Koblenz is one of the best place to be visited in Germany and it is a nice place to share sweet memories and lovely feeling with your spouse and witnessed by a clear Rhine River flowing downstream and strong forts crowning the hills encircling the town on the west, and the citadel of Ehrenbreitstein on the opposite bank of the River. We took the opportunity for 1 hour boat ride along the Rhine River which is one of the most important waterways in Germany and is linked by canals to other major rivers in Western Europe. There are a lot of beautiful castles along the Rhine River. Most of them are rather small, and a lot of them are in ruins, but there is a great variation of them. They are usually placed on a hill or small mountain along the river because their owners usually lived off the taxes they collected from merchants wanting to travel through their area. Some of the castles have recently been restored and are now accessible again. You can get a great view of them by taking a train that travels along the side of the river, and definitely by the boat ride! It was pretty amazing!

After the boat ride, we went up to a hill along the Rhine valley whereby there was a war memorial monument has been placed there. Snapped some pictures and walked around, finally we get in the bus and around 4.30 pm the bus departs. Our last stop for the day was at Frankfurt. It is one of the two largest financial centers in continental Europe and it is the place of residence of the European Central Bank. The main sight in the city is Römer, the city hall which means “Roman”. The Römer was partially destroyed in World War II and later rebuilt. We then walked around the city hall and stopped at some souvenir shops. Finally, around 6 pm we gathered at the bus and 40 minutes later we reached the hotel. Day 2 trip was over.

Day 3. I woke up around 6.30 am. After having a breakfast at the cafeteria and check out, we depart to Bonn, a birthplace of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. I couldn’t remember so much the details about the places we have been visited in Bonn. After took some pictures at the Beethoven’s house, we walked around the town and visited Historic Town Hall of Bonn and Hofgarten (Court Garden) with Kurfürstliches Schloss (Electoral Prince's Castle), which serves as the main building of the University of Bonn. The vacation was towards to the end. Our last stop was at Köln (Cologne). It is one of the oldest cities in Germany and the most famous landmark is The Cologne Cathedral which is a World Heritage Site, being one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany and one of the world's largest churches, being the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. Nearly 3 pm, we waited for the train at platform 8 and the journey took 4 hours back to Paris. Around 8 pm, we reached the room.

Looking back, 3 days seem too short but it was filled with full of excitement, valuable memories, endless enjoyment and new experience through our love diaries. OK. 11 pm already. There will be a new vacation tomorrow. Keep updated.