Europe (Luxembourg) April/June 2010 D4-D6

After staying for two nights in London, Luxembourg was the 2nd city I visited. However, to get to Luxembourg, I used my Eurolines pass and took a Eurolines bus from London to Brussels and then by train (2nd class - Euro$41.60 return) to Luxembourg as the Eurolines pass unfortunately did not cover this route.

I stayed for one night at Luxembourg City Hostel (Euro$19.80 dorm). I also had the opportunity to re-visit Brussels

While waiting for my evening bus departure from Brussels to Berlin. Lady luck was not with me on 1st of May ! My day pack was mysteriously stolen at the Brussels South railway station. I made a police report on this incident so as to file an insurance claim upon my return to Malaysia.
Luxembourg is a small city, so this made life easier for me to visit the major tourist sites which are within walking distance from my hostel. 

I enjoyed my stay at Luxembourg City hostel, one of the best International Youth Hostel in Europe. The room was spacious and the hostel served very generous breakfast.

Luxembourg City Hostel - a 5 star hostel !

Grilled mixed beef/pork patties and sausages - for Euro$2.50-3.00 each, you could enjoy these tasty meat burgers at the main tourist centre in Luxembourg

Expenses incurred in Luxembourg (2 days):

Hostel - Euro$19.80 dorm
Train tickets (Brussels/Luxembourg return) - Euro$41.60
Bus - Euro$4
Food - Euro$10
Total expenses: Euro$75.40

Travel Highlights:

1) Brussels, Belgium - my 2nd visit to this city, a visit to the Grand Place is a must

2) Rows of cherry trees in full bloom in the main city center of Luxembourg - perhaps I am the only alien who admire

3) Major tourist sites in Luxembourg - a city of fort

" Luxembourg, bordering Belgium, Germany & France, is one of the smallest countries in Europe. This city of fort has its beauty and a chequered past, very much under the influence of Netherlands, Germany & France - For me, visiting Luxembourg was in my travel plan so I just showed up and get to know more of this country as I travel along in Europe.

" The Secrets of Life - 10% of life is made up of what happen to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react "

Europe (Berlin, Germany) April/June 2010 D6-D8

My Berlin story starts from here .....

After Luxembourg, my next destination is Berlin, Germany. I took an Euroline evening bus from Brussels and arrived Berlin in the early morning. After checking into the Helter Skelter Hostel (Euro$11 dorm) , I bought a Metro train ticket (S & U-bahn-Euro$6.50) and armed with a Metro & city map, I started to explore the major tourist sites of Berlin for the next two days.

Berlin has an efficient public transport system so it was quite easy for me to move around the city. However, due to a wet weather, this made my visits to most places a bit difficult. The two days were gloomy while I was in Berlin.

On the 2nd day, I visited the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam - a UNESCO site, about 1/2 hour by train from Berlin. Upon arrival at the Potsdam train station , I had to take a tram to the Palace, a 10 minutes ride.

At the hostel, I met a young Malaysian Chinese (Mr Dien) who had migrated to Canada at a tender age of five. We chat with each other using simple Hokkien to hone our communication skill in this dialect at the hostel lounge - what a great evening as it was very rare for me to bump into a fellow Malaysian in Berlin ! Dien had dropped me an email since his return to Canada. Thank you for your friendship, Dien, I hope I could pay a visit to you in the near future ! Do take care and if you are on vocation in Malaysia, please drop by and we can have a meal over a jar of cool Carlsberg beer - Malaysian style !!!

Expenses incurred in Berlin, Germany (3 days):
Hostel ( 2 x Euro$11) - Euro$22
Potsdam Palace entrance fee - Euro$6
Metro tickets - Euro$19
Food & groceries - Euro$8
Total expenses - Euro$55

Travel Highlights:

1) Berlin street market

2) Brandenburg Gate - completed in 1791, the gate became an east-west crossing after the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. Ronald Reagan appeared in the Gate in 1987 and appealed to the Russian Leader by saying "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall"

3) Berlin Wall - remains of the Berlin Wall, 40 multi-lingual information stations about the daily life of the divided city before the Wall was torn down in 1989. A mad rush of more than 100,000 Germans ensued when the wall fell. What a historic moment !

4) East Side Gallery - panels of graffiti and art dotted a 1.3km stretch of Berlin Wall in Friedrichschain. Is there a West Side Gallery ?

5) Checkpoint Charlie - a famous sign, this reconstructed US guardhouse is just a tourist attraction now

6) Reichstag - the Parliament, the power house of Germany. You have to bear with a long queue to enter.

7) Other tourist sites in Berlin - I lost my Berlin city map while walking but bumped into some interesting tourist sites in Central Berlin

8) Berlin by night - TV tower & Alexanderplaz

9) The Palaces and Parks of Potsdam, Berlin - a UNESCO World Heritage site (entrance fee Euro$6)

" The horrible Second World War, The Nazi power, The Berlin's divided past, The Cold War and in 1989, the world witnessed a historical event when the Berlin Wall fell into pieces. Germany was re-united again after a long suffering ! What a happy ending ! Berliners, I salute you !

The Secrets of Life : In life, there are many things that we have to learn to let go. We have to let go of situations, things, memories, attachments to people and even ourselves . It can be very painful when it's time to let go "