Say you miss me when I'm in Holland.

Berlin city cycling tour - marking the end of this student exchange!

Then we went for what was really popular then - cycling tour! We saw good amount of Berlin in a few hours thanks to this :)

All ready to start!

At a beer garden when arms were aching after 2 hours of riding - the food taste even better!

Post lunch, let's get going ;)

Our guide drew on the ground with a chalk to show us the history of east and west Berlin, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Amazing as I've never imagined doing the chalk drawing thing in Asia, in public space, and not as a from of graffiti!

Completed the bike tour! Though I was so afraid at the start as my biking skill is barely adequate to ride in the traffic alongside trucks. Stayed alive! :)

Reichstag building: a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany.

The Reichstag is now the second most visited attraction in Germany, not least because of the huge glass dome that was erected on the roof as a gesture to the original 1894 cupola, giving an impressive view over the city, especially at night. A pity we haven't seen it at night - maybe another trip!

A beautiful day at Baltic Sea

The next day we were excited to meet yet another IPSF friend Henrik! He's this 2m tall German guy who came to Singapore in 2006 for his student exchange ;) He was placed in National University Hospital (NUH)!

He came to pick us up in a German car (I don't remember to brand), and we went on this roadtrip, which was amazing to me! Reason being, all cars were going at 170km/h, and that was the normal speed. The car felt normal and steady. Imagine what that would have meant in Singapore?! 120km/h is already above the speed limit I believe.

The peaceful Baltic Sea

Little covered sofa seats for rental, to enjoy a beer, sea breeze and the sun

There was some festival on the day - there were many ships and yachts!

German sausage? :) Delicious anyhow!

Awesome barbequed hotdog on a windy chilly day at the shore

Let's get a feel of the water... oh so cold!!

Henrik is just so tall. Missing you!

Yums!

Windy :)

Hey Nicole!

If only we can stay here another day or more :)

Thanks for arranging, Nicole and Henrik.

So Nicole and I met again in London in March 2013 - maybe I'll make a post here later :)

And we hope that Henrik and his family will visit us soon!

Berlin and our old friend :)

The sense of relief we gained from being on the ICE train out of Prague to Berlin cannot be described with words. No offence, but we do miss the first world experience though we were just students! Prague is amazing and cultural, but we just miss something slightly more familar as well. Can't blame us after the Harry Potter train and terrible hostel experience?

Nicole oh Nicole, how we miss you!

Nicole is friend of ours from being in Singapore during her student exchange in 2006. When I responded to her request for placement in Asia, she thought that Singapore was part of China! And she looked up the map immediately. Anyway, she took the leap of faith and came! She was placed in KKH in Singapore.

As Nicole had exams during the period we were in Berlin, we roamed around on our own most days, and Nicole had kindly spent a day with us, also allowing us to sleep on her couch for free, with lovely weekend breakfast! :)