Monday, December 22, 2008
Baden-Baden (Part 1)
22-DEC-2008:
I finally have time and is well enough to blog about our trip to Germany. It was one of the most unforgettable trip because as you will see, the trip had very adverse effects on our health!
Day 1 - We flew from London Stansted airport to a smal little town in Germany called Baden-Baden. It took us about 2 hours by cab from our home to the airport - not because it was that far but because the cab driver was driving at a snail's pace. The flight itself took 1 hour and 20 mins and it was surprisingly full. When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was a poster of two men with the word "Terrorismus" labelled on top.
Before we collected our rented car from the airport we saw a man (most probably British) coming back to the Hertz counter complaining that his rented car was "tiny". Forunately, ours was a good size Peugeot being able to fit the 3 of us, the car seat, Dominic's buggy and our luggage. Daddy spent some time setting up the sat nav while I figured out how to install the car seat. During all these, Dominic was waiting patiently and never complained once. He had been extremely good throughout the whole journey.
With the help of the sat nav, daddy drove us to the hotel easily. It looked easy to me but it must have been challenging for him, having to drive in the darkness where half the streets had no street lamps, and not to mention having to drive on the wrong side of the road. He later told me that it was a bit challenging having to shift gears using the right hand instead of the left. Without the sat nav, we would never manage to find the place. Over the next 3 days, we were to thank the sat nav for saving our lives again and again.
Express by Holiday Inn - The hotel room was spacious, nicely decorated and the cheapest daddy could find.
Day 2 - The next morning, after breakfast we drove into town where we spent most of the morning at the Christmas market sampling food (and looking for parking). It was next to impossible to find a place to park and it reminded me of KL - Mid Valley ... 1 Utama ... you get the idea.
These are grapes covered in sugar. The layer of sugar was so sweet that even Dom didn't like it - he only wanted the grapes.
We thought this was like the Chinese steamed pau and was really surprised when the man poured custard sauce on it. I don't remember what it's called anymore.
In the afternoon, we attended a friend's church wedding - which was the sole reason we made this trip. The wedding reception and dinner was on the same night but in France, so after the church wedding we drove off immediately hoping we could make it on time and not lose our way. As it turned out, the sat nav was amazing again.
To be continued ....
This is the groom and the couple's son who is the same age as Dominic. Over here, many of them like to have kids first (and call each other boyfriend and girlfriend) before getting married.
