The Pearl of the Atlantic - Madeira

Madeira is a Portugese Island located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It is located about 1000 km southwest of its capital, Lisbon. In fact, Madeira is closer to Morocco than Portugal itself.

Madeira was discovered between 1418 to 1420.

This is a view from our hotel balcony. Below are all photos from Fuchal which is the capital of the island.

Madeira is pretty unique due to its geographical location. They do have both Tropical weather and winter as well.

Just a quick post as I don't intend to write much, but I am sure most of you would rather look at photos than reading.

Anyway, just got back to UK yesterday, still rather exhausted so will try to enjoy a little bit more before Monday comes.

Read more...

Marienplatz, Munich

After checking into our hotel, we headed straight to the central of Munich, Marienplatz. The metro (underground train) is a little different from London's Tube.

The platforms are bigger and the trains are slightly wider. However, the train coaches do look quite old.

Hopping of at the Marienplatz station gets you to the heart of Munich city.

This is the Fish Fountain (Fischbrunnen) designed by Konrad Knoll in 1864 which is located next to the Town Hall.

Some gargoyle in the New Town Hall.

Everything looks medieval here, even the door as well.

Georg Joseph Hauberrisser is the guy who built the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) between 1867 and 1909.

Deployed my tripod. One... two... three... smile....!

Standing tall is the Frauenkirche which means "Church of Our Lady".

This church was built in 1468 by Duke Sigismund. However, the green domes at the top of the tower were added in 1525.

Some buildings around the Frauenkirche. Very green indeed.

Read more...

Deutsche Land Revisit

Hello Munich! This was my second visit to Germany. My previous Germany trip was to Berlin during World Cup 2006.

Turn right you'll get to the Hofbräuhaus which is a famous beer hall in Munich.

Munich by moonlight.

Taxis anyone?

If you love the environment, avoid using vehicles.

The night view of Rathaus-Glockenspiel which is one of the tourist attractions.

Read more...

The World's Largest Flower Garden

I know it has been quite awhile since my last post. That's because I was busy with work and preparing for my trip back to Malaysia again! Yes I am back in Malaysia now. With family and so many friends here, it makes it even impossible to update my blog.

Will try to plan a couple of trips to places like Hong Kong and Singapore before I am back to London.

Anyway, here are the photos of the world's largest flower garden, Keukenhof Park, Holland.

All photos were taken with Nikon D70s, in case some of you might want to know :)



The flowers in Keukenhof Park are mainly tulips.



The best time to visit this park would be around mid of March til mid April. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see the tulips.



Keukenhof Park actually exports tulips to all over the world. You will see it shortly below.



The entirely park is just so beautiful, just imagine the park near you but its covered with tulips.



That is definitely one beautiful tree. Rarely see that colour elsewhere.



Purple, Red, yellow, green.... you name it....



This is one of the main canals that is used to water the flowers.



There is a Japanese garden too.



Flowers, trees, water and sunshine, what more you can ask for?



This is where they plant all the tulips. However, it is not accessible to tourist so we can only see from the other side of the canal.

Hope you guys enjoy :)

Read more...

Barges in Amsterdam

When I was in Amsterdam about a year ago, I stayed in one of the barges in one of the canals near the city centre of Amsterdam. It was quite an unique experience for me.

Here are some photos taken from the barge i stayed in.



This was taken at the 'golden hour' of the day, you have to just wait for the right time and you'll get very colourful clouds and skies.



Got up pretty early on the next day as I was very excited and eager to visit the city. Waiting for the rest to get ready was rather boring so I took this shot from a very low angle.



Then, I got even more bored so I decided to align the chairs and took another few shots.
A tips: always shoot away from the sun, the sky will always be more blue than shooting against the sun.



This is the barge I lived in during my stay in Amsterdam. Pretty cool eh? The rooms are ridiculously small and there are like 8-10 rooms on a single barge. Of course, there are toilets and bathrooms too.



Calm water gives the best reflection. Never forget to look for reflections during your trip.



Nothing great here, its just one of the busy Amsterdam street.



Unlike some European countries, shops and restaurants in Amsterdam do operates until mid night.



Teasers! This is where you get your 'magic mushrooms' and 'space cakes'. For your information, those are drugs. It isn't really legal in Amsterdam but its tolerated! So enjoy.

Read more...

Venice of the North

One of the most beautiful cities in Europe which is divided by canals into nine small islands. No doubt, its Amsterdam. We were there last year during spring season and it is really amazing to see the tulips farm, Keukenhof Park.



If you are in Amsterdam, never leave without visiting a windmill. Its one of famous landmarks.



However, these windmills are never in the city centre, you need to get yourself to the countryside.



We took a glass-topped boat that tours around the city via the canals. Pretty much like Venice in Italy.



The houses here are very different from other European countries. Its thin and long not sure if you have noticed that.



Amsterdam was once a fishing village and it is now the largest city in Netherlands.



I just love the canals. Don't you wish you have these near your house? Or perhaps a big monsoon drain? :)

Read more...

Oslo, Norway

Finally, I have got a bit of time to post some Oslo photos. We landed in Torp airport which is about 2 hours from Oslo by train. Took a free shuttle from the airport to the train station. The shuttle bus normally comes about 10 minutes before the train departs.

A single journey train ticket from Torp to Oslo city centre is 199 NOK (Norwegian Krone) which is about £20.



The weather was great when we were there, blue skies and dramatic clouds were everywhere.



This is a good thing about being far away from the city. You'll get to see more green than buildings.



A field of wheat? This place is just next to the train station. Didn't get to spend much time there as the train arrived very shortly when we got to the train station.

More photos coming up tonight.

Read more...