8 Things To Do In Stockholm
POSTED ON: Friday, May 23, 2014 @ 11:30 PM | 0 comments
As things get busy and schoolwork/readings pile up on my table day after day, blogging may get pushed back in queue a bit while I clear more important things off my list first. But I've always tried to post at least once a week to keep my page alive and my readers entertained, eagerly hoping that my efforts will pay off one day. So YES YES this day has finally arrived when a stranger contacted me on Facebook to ask me more about Stockholm! Words can't describe how happy I was when he told me my posts on Sweden for the past few months were extremely helpful to him! Paying the kindness I received from an NTU friend forward (this NTU friend provided much help and tips before I came to Stockholm), I was more than happy to provide this new stranger/friend with more info (:Kindness really does create a rippling effect! And it so happens that the last Friday of May every year is Singapore's Kindness Day by Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM)~ ^^
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
- The Lion and the Mouse, Aesop
A while ago, a friend who was visiting Stockholm for a couple of days asked me for some recommendations of what to do during her stay here. Of course there are always websites like TripAdvisor and so on to help people out with their planning. But here's a short list of 8 things to do in Stockholm while you're here on a short getaway, from what I personally enjoyed an Asian exchange student! (:
#1 Vasa Museum
The one museum that is most worth visiting when you're in Stockholm. Ranked on TripAdvisor as the top museum too. This wooden warship sank within minutes of her maiden voyage in 1628. Salvaged in 1961, the Vasa is the only preserved ship from the 17th century in the world. The main attraction in the museum is of course this huge wooden ship (remember to take a selfie with it!) but there are many other things to discover around the place too. Check out how the ship was built, how it sank, how it was salvaged and reconstructed, the hundreds of sculptures on the ship and thus we have this amazing exhibit to view today (so maybe it was a good thing it sank?). Pretty interesting and informative I would say, worth a visit.
#2 Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan is the old town of Stockholm. It consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled stone streets (brings back memories of travel buddy and I trudging that damn luggage along these uneven roads), archaic architecture and a beautiful view of the river by the metro station. Visit the quaint little shops or settle down somewhere for a fika (I'd recommend you sit by the river if the weather is good!). You can also find the Royal Palace, the Stockholm Cathedral and the Nobel Museum here at Gamla Stan.
#3 Picnic at Djurgarden
Kungliga Djurgarden or "The Royal Game Park" is an island in central Stockholm. Home to numerous museums like the Tekniska museum (which I've visited and blogged about here), Nordic museum, Vasa museum, Skansen open air museum (which I will introduce to you later in this post), Biological museum and so on. There are also many green areas and little parks, covered with pretty flowers and lush green grass. A romantic canal too! Perfect for picnics in spring and summer. Having a picnic here was always on my to-do list with my exchange buddies since we arrived in January but we never got around to doing it ): Fulfil my wish for me if you're here won't you?
Ohmygosh it's a theme park! Need I say more??
We're going to Grona Lund tomorrow so I'll be blogging more about it in the next post!
#5 Skansen Open Air Museum
This is very much unlike the usual indoor museums you've ever visited. Just as the name suggests, the Skansen Open Air Musuem is OUTDOORS! So do pray for good weather the night before your mini excursion. We joined the tour conducted by Stockholm University's Student Union so we had a cute little lady dressed in her traditional Swedish costume as our tour guide for the day. She brought us around the old houses on the island, role playing with the other 'characters' in each house and educating us about the history of Stockholm. There was also a farm and an open air zoo where we managed to catch the seal's feeding time at 2pm!
Mr Shoemaker
Bakery nommnommz
A traditional mama shop? I found the old cash register super fascinating~
Hello Mr Seal!
#6 Vaxholm
I've never been here myself, but my exchange buddy has and my Swedish neighbour recommended this place too. The photos of this little island taken by my exchange buddy and those from Google look gorgeous so I'd think this would be a good place to visit. It's also a really popular place for day trips out from the city area among students.
Source: http://instagram.com/p/kjumE8t3Q_/ (from my exchange buddy)
#7 Ostermalm Saluhall
Not exactly a tourist attraction but something interesting if you would like to visit a Swedish food market and try out some authentic Swedish cuisine. Actually just standing in front of the building and taking a photo with it is cool and that is a good enough reason to visit the Saluhall teehee ^^
#8 Ice Skating at Kungstragarden
An outdoor skating ring which is only open in winter, from around October/November and all the way till March. This got me very excited since I have never seen an outdoor skating rink (would never be possible in sunny Singapore). Highly recommended if you're in Stockholm during winter. It's really pretty at night too, with all the street lamps and colourful lights illuminating the rink. Love the atmosphere, love skating outdoors, love the company~
Speaking of ice and ice skating, I kinda miss the cold snowy winter. Especially all the light fluffy white snow in Finland. My favourite trip in Europe so far definitely has to be Finland. Oh the glass igloos, husky rides, snowmobile safaris, reindeer meat... I'll be back for you on day! Yeap that was our little glass igloo and the sledge we used to pull our luggage to the igloo (:
Alright, so now I hope you have something to do while you're in Stockholm. May you enjoy Stockholm as much as we did. Stay tuned for the next post on Grona Lund! Happy weekends and take care everyone! (:
Love,
Lorraine
8 Singaporean Dishes I Dream Of Every Night
POSTED ON: Saturday, May 17, 2014 @ 4:30 PM | 0 comments
7 more weeks till I'm back in Singapore, not sure if I'm looking forward to be back or not. I really love the stress free lifestyle here in Stockholm, and the freedom I have from living away from home. But at the same time, there are many things that I miss about Singapore. Top of the list is definitely food, friends and my family.So here are the 8 Singaporean dishes I dream of every night when I go to bed. Of course there are so many others that I can't possibly fit into the list. I've also included my favourite place(s) for some of these dishes. Obviously debatable and might not be the best in Singapore but I like it just the way it is. If you're a Singaporean, please appreciate all these good food we have on our tiny little island. If you aren't Singaporean, please please please do make it a point to try all these mouth watering dishes when you're in Singapore!
1. Roti Prata
My all-time favourite breakfast and late night supper food! And having the Roti Prata House at Upper Thomson (which is just a few bus stops away from where I live) makes life almost perfect. Roti means bread and prata means flat. Roti prata is an Indian dish, a fried flour pancake cooked over a flat grill, and usually dipped in vegetable or meat based curry. Young children like to eat it with sugar if they can't take spicy food yet (yes I did that when I was young too ^^). So far my favourites are the above mentioned outlet and Casuarina Curry Restaurant at Casuarina Road.
2. Nasi Briyani
Seems like I miss Indian food quite a bit. I don't have a favourite nasi briyani place but I love those with the meat that is tender enough to pull off easily with a fork, and with a nice huge serving of spicy curry. The fragrant long grain basmati rice is important too of course. For chicken briyani, I usually prefer the fried chicken over the curry chicken. But for mutton briyani, I prefer the curry one since it is usually more tender. Oh my gosh craving some right now!!
3. Prawn Noodles
I love the thick prawn soup that has been boiled for hours with prawn shells and pork bones. So fragrant and so tasty! I personally prefer having the soup version as compared to the dry version (with soup in a separate bowl), and with the thick yellow noodles instead of bee noon or kuay teow. I think the thick yellow noodles compliments the prawn soup better than the other types of noodles. My favourites are the one along Beach Road and the one at the Old Airport Road food centre (Albert Street Prawn Noodle). Not too spicy, not too oily, with a sprinkle of fried shallots on top!
4. Fried Carrot Cake
Very unhealthy with all the oil and stuff but nonetheless yummy and extremely satisfying. In dialect it's called Chai Tau Kuey. I prefer the "black" one with dark soya sauce. Lots of eggs, garlic, a little bit of chilli and full of flavour. The white one is just as good anyway. In case you're thinking about the Western Carrot Cake which is eaten as a sweet dessert, they're entirely different. This one is salty and does not have any of the orange carrots in it.
5. Chicken Rice
I haven't came across any Singaporean who doesn't like chicken rice. Be it roast chicken or white chicken, they are all super delicious and many popular stalls garner snaking queues every day. I personally prefer the roast chicken since I think the skin is tastier and less oily. Every little part of the chicken rice set plays a very important role in bringing all the flavours together. Be it the roast/white chicken, the rice cooked in chicken stock, the soup, and even the chilli + black sauce + garlic. Here are a few of my favourite stalls from around Singapore: Leong Yeow Famous Waterloo Street Hainanese Chicken Rice, Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice (which moved into United Square last year) and Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice (along Balestier Road).
6. Tau Huey (Soya Beancurd)
This soya bean curd is traditionally served with a clear sweet syrup, and my favourite one is the Rochor Original Beancurd. A few years ago, Lao Ban Soya Beancurd was introduced and took Singapore by storm. This version of the bean curd did not come with the sweet syrup, nor was there the strong soy bean taste. This one had a creme texture with a milkier taste and was a lot smoother than the traditional one. Either way I love both! Best consumed on a hot sunny day (I can imagine slurping this chilled dessert right now...)!!
7. Kway Chap
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper. Perfect for all meals of the day. The "kway" here refers to the rectangular/squarish broad rice noodles, and I assume the "chap" refers to the innards or pig's intestines (large intestines and small intestines), the other parts of the pig (the fatty meat and liver) and other ingredients like fish cake, peanuts, braised egg, tau gua and tau pok. Some stalls even serve this dish with duck meat, which will obviously cost more than those who don't. Both of my favourite stalls are near where I live, the one at the Kopitiam at Bishan Street 22 (and it's open till 3 or 4am every night!) and the other one at Kim San Leng Kopitiam at Bishan Street 13 (this one has the option of duck meat).
8. Hotpot/BBQ Buffets
Alright so the last one isn't exactly Singaporean. Probably from China I suppose, since "huo guo"/hotpot originates from Chong Qing. My favourite type of hot pot has to be the "yuan yang ma la huo guo", where you have two soup bases in one pot and one of it is the super spicy"ma la" soup base while the other one is a non-spicy soup base (usually chicken or pork base). BBQ buffets are great too because I love meat! And probably originated from Korea but I'm really not sure about it, just a guess. The best hotpot I've ever had was when I was in Taipei in the Xi Men Ding district. Cheap, good and an excellent variety of fresh ingredients. Always had to go there whenever I am in Taiwan. In Singapore, I haven't really found a hot pot place or BBQ place that I really like but I think the steamboat + Xiao Long Bao buffet at Crystal Jade is not bad.
Other than cheap yummy food, of course there are other things that I miss about Singapore. Like having good restaurants (e.g. cheap and good Japanese restaurants) and shops open till late at night so I have something to do when I hang out with with my friends. And also the huge variety of really cheap clothes/shoes/bags/accessories from many many online blogshops to choose from where everything gets delivered to your doorstep within 5 days.
Alright, now back to enjoying myself in Stockholm before I leave. Trying to make full use of my time here now and enjoy the freedom while I still have it!! Till next time~
Love,
Lorraine
Germany
POSTED ON: Sunday, May 11, 2014 @ 7:08 PM | 0 comments
Apologies for the different fonts in the previous post. Some formatting went wrong somewhere I suppose. And please pardon the lack of nail posts. Will definitely get back to them once I get back to Singapore in July. Keeping long nails and having them painted while travelling is rather troublesome if you know what I mean.This post will be about my Germany trip from about two or three weeks ago. The weather in Germany was great while we were there. Sunny enough for me to not wear my fluffy woolly jacket anymore but still cold enough for me to wear leggings and cardigans (:
First stop: Hamburg.
We travelled by train from Denmark to Hamburg since it was cheaper as compared to flying although that took a little more time. The view along most train routes I took were pretty good if you'd ask me so the time spent travelling and the money saved from flights was worth it.
Here's a photo of Hamburg's central station (Hamburg Hauptbahnhof).
The lady at the Information counter was not a single bit helpful. Most of her answers to my questions were a simple "I don't know" or she would direct me to the tourist information centre which was already closed when we reached the central station. We only wanted to know where we could get a SIM card with a 3G data plan for our phones (since we didn't know how convenience stores looked liked in Germany and since the stores were starting to close at around 7ish?), and how we could get to our accommodation by public transport. In the end, I approached two punk girls with cool hair and multiple piercings and they totally made my day! Both of them were so kind and helpful they told me exactly the name of the shop and directed me to it where I could get my SIM card, and even pointed out the location of my accommodation on the train map and told me how I should get there etc. They even wished us luck and hope that we will enjoy our holiday in Germany. Thank goodness for these people (never judge a book by its cover), my faith in humanity is restored.
So anyway, in case you were a lost sheep like we were when we first arrived in Germany, here's Rossmann for you. It's on the second floor of the central station. A drugstore (similar to what we find in Singapore's Watsons) where I got my SIM card and some basic daily necessities. Registering and activating the SIM card took some trouble too, which an old lady in a tobacco shop helped me with (albeit a little reluctantly).
The other way is to head out to the shopping streets and search for a mobile phone shop. But they were all closing when we reached there in the evening so Rossmann was our best bet. And to help you out a little more, here's the train map of Hamburg:
(click to view a larger version)
Most of the attractions were along the yellow line if you're only there for a day or two.
Breakfast the next morning was a Cafe Paris. It was quite well reviewed online so we decided to give it a try. A great decision it was! A typical French cafe with beautiful Art Nouveau ceilings in the main hall, warmly illuminated by little lights all around. A great variety on the menu too and very value for money. I tried The Hamburg Breakfast set which came with shrimp salad, smoked salmon, white herring, scrambled eggs, wholemeal nut bread, toast, and a choice of hot drink.
They also have a selection of desserts and macarons at the counter yumyumms. Loved this place and I would definitely recommend it! Here's the website if you'd like to find out more about them: http://www.cafeparis.net/home.html. The address and menu can be found on the website. (:
We roamed around the city a little and visited Hamburg Rathaus and the Miniature Museum (Miniatur Wunderland).
Hamburg Rathaus is the town hall of Hamburg, Germany. It is located in the Altstadt quarter in the city centre, near the lake and the central station. You'll spot it for sure once you exit the train station. A beautiful neo renaissance building with green roofs. According to Wikipedia, the tower is 112metres high with 436 steps. The city hall has 647 rooms, that's 6 rooms more than the Buckingham Palace. Pretty cool huh.
The miniature museum was really interesting. We spent the whole afternoon there observing little trains and cars move around the miniature cities and watching the cities turn from day to night.
http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de
The other attraction next to Miniatur Wunderland was the Hamburg Dungeon. With 11 shows, 2 rides and over 900 years of Hamburg history, we were rather interested in it but the whole tour was in German (which we couldn't understand) so we left disappointed.
Visited a few gardens and a little amusement park the next day. Yay we got our first bratwurst!
Berlin was the last stop with my first travel buddy and boy do I like Berlin. There are so many things to see and so much history to soak up. Well-equipped with a train map, it's time to explore!
(click to view a larger version)
[A little secret: nobody checked our train ticket while we were there for 2-3 days so we saved a bit on those... shhhhh...]
I generally like the architecture in Germany so yay! I'll let pictures do the talking here.
Inside the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom).
Outside the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom), the largest church in the city.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
Selfie in the memorial.
The Brandenburg Gate.
Horse carriages at Pariser Platz, a square in the centre of Berlin, right in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
A bear statue in front of the Berlin Wall.
Finally some currywursts!
Oh and if it's your first time in Berlin just like us, I'd recommend a little guided tour around the city. The tour itself is free, but the tour guide will ask for a little tip at the end of the tour since that's how he earns his money (as he claims). The tour was good anyway and our tour guide made history lessons extremely interesting and interactive. The free tour covers iconic places like The Brandenburg Gate, The Memorial to the murdered Jews, The Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, TV Tower, Gendarmenmarkt, some museums (just the outside of course) and a few others.
Here's the link to find out more: http://www.newberlintours.com/daily-tours/free-tour.html
Fluffed up our feathers on one of the nights to explore Görlitzer Park. Rather interesting experience but scary at the same time. Will not do it a second time haha.
Would recommend this restaurant to try their wiener schnitzel. We found it tucked in a corner street near our accommodation and decided to give it a try. Didn't get our hopes high with dinner so this was a pleasant surprise for us. Loved the atmosphere, loved the mains and desserts. Villa Rixdorf is what you should be looking for.
I guess that pretty much sums up my time in Germany. Great place for photos I would say (maybe wedding photos in future?). Good food at reasonable prices too, hence the sudden weight gain and chubby face. Till next time~! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Denmark
POSTED ON: Monday, May 5, 2014 @ 11:58 PM | 0 comments
Hello hello I am finally back from my very long trip. 5 countries, 11 cities, 20 days. Truckloads of love and thanks to my two travel buddies Robin and Grace. Very long, very tiring, but nothing short of amazing. So here's a post on my first stop in Denmark. Picture heavy, may you enjoy reading it nevertheless (:Took a long 4hr+ train ride from Stockholm central station to Copenhagen on the first day and arrived in the evening. Being two lost souls without a SIM card/access to 3G and the Internet, we approached a friendly passerby to ask for directions to our hotel. And this was the first of many direction-asking incidences that led me to conclude that people in Europe don't know their way around their own city very well. We purchased the 10-punch card, valid for both trains and buses from Zone 1 to Zone 4 for the two days we were there. Honestly, we skipped punching for some of our trips to save money and we didn't meet anyone checking our tickets or anything. Here's a map of train stations in Copenhagen and may you not get lost like we did...
Headed out for dinner and found that just like in Stockholm, almost everything was closed as night falls. Unlike Asians, Europeans prioritise their leisure time and time with their friends/family over earning money.
Second day was the best out of the whole Denmark trip. TIVOLI! House capt Terence recommended it as a MUST to visit when in Copenhagen and so we did. Spent the whole day here screaming on exhilarating rides, admiring the park and its architecture, and relieving the happy and carefree moments from our childhood. Hands down the best theme park I've been to so far!
Ventured to a really dark ghetto area at night in search of some goodies for Robin and we found what we were looking for. The people there were surprisingly friendly and helpful, I rather interesting and eye-opening experience I must say.
Headed to Odense the next day to find that everything was closed due to some public holiday. Was rather disappointed by the lack of things to see and do, the bad rainy weather and the inability to control my bike with strong winds blowing. Hans Christian Andersen's village was pretty with all the colourful houses but I would definitely have preferred them to be open and bustling with activity. The museum too was closed. Had a good meat buffet dinner to make up for it anyway. Here's a photo of the little pastel houses, and a quote for my dear travel buddy.
Took a bus to Egeskov Castle in Southern Funen, the best preserved moat castle in Europe. Really magnificent and many things to see there. The whole park was gorgeous and a few mini museums to spend our day too. Proud of travel buddy for conquering his fears along the tree top walk and ashamed of us little Asians for getting lost in the maze.
This made me a lil happier after missing the Mermaid statue and colourful houses at Copenhagen...
One of the 12 most spectacular gardens in the world (CNN).
The next day, we took a 1hr ferry ride to Aero. Lovely little island with lovely people. Our hotel in Aero was probably my favourite throughout the trip. Dinner and breakfast was great too. Discovered that dear travel buddy really can't drink teehee. Woke up early for a walk by the sea and I'm glad we did! Loved all the little colourful houses along the beach. It was Easter weekend then and I heard these houses and the beach will be crowded with people cooking eggs and celebrating Easter. Pity we didn't get to join in the fun.
There's my travel buddy! Too cool for you??
Many of these pretty houses along the streets of Aero. Most of them were closed too, probably taking a long Easter break I suppose? Note to self: find out if the places I'll travelling to are having public holidays before planning and booking the trip...
That's all for Denmark! Next stop Germany~!
***
Came across this on KY's page. I am very bored and dreading lecture tomorrow morning so here's my take on it. Not much details in here but you're welcomed to drop me a message if you're really really really curious!
THOU SHALL NOT LIE
Answer Yes or No
Q: Kissed someone on your friends list?
Yes
Q: Been arrested?
No
Q: Do you like someone?
Yes
Q: Held a snake?
Yes
Q: Been suspended from school?
No
Q: Sang karaoke?
Yes
Q: Done something you told yourself you wouldn't do?
Yes
Q: Laughed until you started crying?
Yes
Q: Caught a snowflake on your tongue?
No. But I caught many in my hair and on my hands!
Q: Kissed in the rain?
No
Q: Sang in the shower?
Yes
Q: Sat on a roof top?
No
Q: Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on?
Yes
Q: Broken a bone?
Yes
Q: Shaved your head?
No (and I probably never will)
Q: Played a prank on someone?
Yes
Q: Shot a gun?
Yes
Q: Donated Blood?
No
LAST PERSON THAT...
1. You hung out with?
Robin Tai, this morning after his routine haircut at the Lappis barber
2. You texted?
Blanche "WEDNESDAY NO THMM LECTURE WHOOHOO"
3. You were in a car with?
Grace (I hope buses/trains count)
4. Went to the movies with?
Wen Jun. Was forced to watch The Hobbit before I left for exchange...
5. Person you went to shop with?
Grace
6. You talked on the phone?
The baggage delivery guy from Stockholm Arlanda Airport
7. Made you laugh?
Roki my lovely Swedish neighbour
8. You hugged?
Robin my dear travel buddy at the end of our Denmark/Germany trip
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY...
1. Sun or moon?
Sun
2. Winter or Fall?
Fall
3. Left or Right?
Righty
4. Sunny or rainy?
Sunny
5. Where do you live?
Stockholm till June, then back to sunny Singapore!
6. Club or pub?
Pub
7. Are there 1 or 2 people who you can always trust and rely on?
Yes of course (:
8. Do you want to get married?
Maybe
9. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Twirl
10. What time is it?
10.40pm in Stockholm, 4.40am in Singapore
11. Are you afraid of commitment?
Maybe, I think so...
12. What is your greatest hope/wish?
Hmmm so many things I wish for I don't even know what is the greatest one. Maybe to become fitter and get back into shape for now?
13. Do you cook?
Yes, everyday.
14. Current mood?
Dreading school tomorrow morning
IN THE LAST 48 HOURS HAVE YOU...
1. Kissed someone?
No
2. Sang?
No
3. Listened to music?
Yes
4. Danced?
No
5. Cried?
No
6. Liked someone you can't?
Yes
FIRSTS
1.Who was your first prom date?
Our prom didn't require dates
2. Who was your first roommate?
I don't have a permanent roomie, do travelling buddies count as temp roomies?
3. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk the first time?
I can't remember
5. What was your first car?
My first car will be a Honda Airwave (keyword 'will be', not 'was')
6. When did you go to your first funeral and viewing?
My great grandma's funeral, that was 10 years ago
8. Who was your first grade teacher?
First grade? Is that primary 1? Mrs Nara
9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Perth, Australia
10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time?
I don't need to sneak out
11. Who was your first Best Friend?
Jolene
12. Who is your best friend?
How about best friends? Hello my two girlies you know who you are!! (:
13. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
My best friends duh
14. Who's wedding were you in the first time you were a Bridesmaid or groomsmaid?
Never been a bridesmaid
15. What's the first thing you did when you got up this morning?
Open my eyes
16. First tattoo or piercing?
In primary school
17. First celebrity crush?
I can't remember
18. First crush?
Do crushes in primary school count? Teehee...
Next post will be on Germany so stay tuned!
Love,
Lorraine
