Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Project WWWT Day 43 of 72 - Vienna, Austria

29th June 2017

It is a rather mixed weather today with occassional showers in between hours, but we are determined to not let the weather spoil out day/plan. I have promised the boys, especially Naaman that we will be going to the Zoo and he is super excited about it. In fact, he kept reminding me (borderline nagging) on when we will be heading to the zoo. A promise's a promise and I don't intend to break my promise, not to my son where possible.


Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Project WWWT Day 41 & 42 of 72 - Vienna, Austria

27th ~ 28th June 2017

We took the morning train ride from Prague to Vienna and it all went uneventful. The ride is smooth and reached on time. I had the pleasure of meeting with Simeen and her husband whom are both from New Delhi, India. We shared plenty of stories and information through out the train journey which makes the long journey bearable. The train station in Vienna was one of the best that we have seen although St. Pacras International Station has been good too, especially the provision of luggage trolley which no other train station in my entire trip has. Vienna main train station is wonderful due to the passenger friendly design and also the vailability of a food court in the station (fancy that!). We had some Thai food as they have fried noodles for the kids. The food although cooked by Thai was quite bad. The first day was spent looking for accommodation as our intended accomodation was not what we have expected. If you have been following Project WWWT, you may have read about it in my separate posting under the title Project WWWT - Misadventure Journal, otherwise, you can read it up here under the heading of Austria - Vienna


Sunday, July 9, 2017

Project WWWT Day 40 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

26th June 2017

This is considered the last day for us here in Prague as we will be taking an early morning train from Prague to Vienna the next day, hence we will need to make today count! I started my day early by sneaking out early in the morning while the missus and kids were still soundly asleep for a morning photo-walk (Did I mentioned that morning is one of the best time to take photos when the natural light is soft and there are no one around to photo bomb your photos?). Prague is beautiful as it is but Prague in the morning is magical as most tourist attractions are relatively empty, exactly the way I liked it. I started the photo-walk by taking an Uber to the famous Dancing House for a quick shot and walked up north thereon towards the Charles Bridge. While walking and taking photos, I also take this advantage to find good spots for evening shot later in the day like the one shown below.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Project WWWT Day 39 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

25th June 2017

Its a sunday! What do I do on Sundays? Attend a church service. Yes, even when we are travelling. I have searched online for a Baptist church to attend and I found out that there is an International Baptist Church in Prague and they have English service, yay! The church building is just like any typical building. The irony is that church building are no longer being attended by worshippers while worshippers worship in building that doesn't look anything like a church. Anyway, the sermon was about the Parable of the Wicked Servant. Very apt for Prague. The difference between the Prague out there and the Prague in the church is very stark. Outside, it seems dead spiritually with old empty church building and statues of dead saints and martyrs. Inside the church building, it is just the gathering of people who loved God. 


Monday, July 3, 2017

Project WWWT Day 38 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

24th June 2017

Have you been to Prague? If you had, then you must have visited Charles Bridge or Karluv Most. If you haven't visited Prague, then you must visit this beautiful bridge. If you have been to Prague but have not visited Charles Bridge, then you have not been to Prague. It is that symbolic! It is like when you gone to Rome and you did not visit the Colloseum or Vatican City but did not visited the St. Peter's Church! More history and details of this bridge from Wikipedia here. If I have to name 5 of the most beautiful bridges I have visited, this would take a spot there. Do note that this bridge is always packed with tourists even to the wee hours of the night. Tips: The secret is to go there early in the morning and you will get most of the bridge to yourself. When it is packed, it is reasonably safe too unless for petty pickpockets, so be vigilant.


Sunday, July 2, 2017

Project WWWT Day 37 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

23rd June 2017

When you are in Prague, you need to explore the old town hust like you need to eat chicken rice when you are in Singapore. The day starts at noon when you have children travelling with you... well perhaps most of the children... perhaps mine.  Although I woke up early for groceries, prepping breakfast (not all of the time) and venturing out for morning photography, the kids sleeps in until they are awakened from their deep slumber. Its both pro and cons. You gotta make the best out of your situation or the cliche said "When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade". Probably its early in the morning while I am typing this post, so my mind is still starting up.


Project WWWT Day 35~36 of 72 - Prague, Czech Republic

21st~22nd June 2017

Dobry Den, precrasna Praha! That's "Hello, beautiful Prague" (Hopefully I got this right. Vendula, if you are reading this, let me know if this is correct). We are arriving here with huge expectation and excitement as we are meeting with my ex-colleague who is a local Czechian from Prague. We took a flight from Dublin Airport to Prague Airport with RyanAir and reached around 11PM although we are expected to reach an hour earlier, no thanks to the flight delay. We took a Taxi Van to our accomodation in Praha 5 and that costs us Kc700 or approximately €28.00.


Saturday, July 1, 2017

Project WWWT Day 28 ~ 34 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

15th ~ 21st June 2017

Finally, we are travelling to Belfast, Northern Ireland. This country has hold something dear to our hearts, our relatives and friends. My wife has two aunts here, 5 cousins from the two aunts, two cousins whom has also started their own family and from them, we had 2 nieces and 1 nephew. This destination was more like visiting family as well as to take a mid-project rest where we could relax a little more before we embark on the other half of our project's duration. As such, the post on Northern Ireland will not be as the previous postings which was on a day by day basis but rather, based on a single post of the POI that we have visited in this country.