*moan and groan and whine about time passing too quickly and growing old*

Anyway, here the much awaited entry about Switzerland (and while typing this, I'm eating expired brownies haha)

This was the first time I travelled somewhere with friends and the experience is very different from travelling with family.

Day 1 18/12 Tuesday Zurich
The buildings and structures here are really different from London and Singapore. Some parts look rather rustic mostly because of the cobblestones

Zurich

Day 2 19/12 Wednesday Uetliberg
This was the first time I experienced proper snow. (I've only seen ice-snow in Mt Fuji) but here the snow is soft enough to build snowman and have snowball fights. And it was snowing! I had a video which I accidentally deleted when I went through my photos at the hotel room -_-" Now I know why Singaporeans are so obsessed about snow. Glittery white powder falling gently onto the ground.

Day 3 20/12 Thursday Zurich
We went to all the little museums in Zurich. First stop was the Central library which was really just a library, 2nd stop was a pewter figure museum that only opened on Sundays. 3rd stop was a toy museum that had a lot of pretty little dolls and a special christmas exhibit. 4th stop was a watch museum run by a family of watchmakers.

Day 4 21/12 Friday Winterthur
There were a lot of museums in this area but we only went to Technorama which is like the Science centre of Switzerland. They have lot of amazing exhibits and most of it are hands-on so you get to play with the exhibits. We didn't really have enough time to explore the entire place. I didn't get to go to the 2nd floor/3rd level but I thought it was fun. There were a lot of IQ games in the 1st floor/2nd level including this game that you can play with a friend where you have to relax your mind in order to win.

Day 5 22/12 Saturday Bern

M~{(9~}nster of Berne
I think it's the most beautiful cathedral I've seen. The carvings on the entrance are just beautiful. Unfortunately there was a mini Christmas market outside so I couldn't take a good photo of the entire entrance.

The city of Bern, capital of Switzerland

Day 6 23/12 Sunday Interlaken

3571m above sea level, Jungfraujoch is the tallest peak in Europe. The temperature was -11 degrees and the air was thin enough to make walking up a few flights of steps very exhausting. But all that walking (and money spent on transport (80 pounds odd)) was worth it. The view was spectacular at the top!

Grindelwald. I call it Christmas town because it looks like one of those snow-covered towns you see on Christmas cards. Anyway, doesn't the name Grindelwald remind you of Harry Potter?

Lake Thun? I have no idea. Some water body near Interlaken Ost train station. The moon appeared really really big. I think that place was lovely... the moon reminded me of Remus Lupin and all the ice and frost and snow reminded me of all the little stories I invented.

Day 7 24/12 Geneva

The only French-speaking region we visited in Switzerland. It was quite strange to see the word Cornavin instead of Bahnhof at the train station. There were a lot more Asians in Geneva than in the other 2 cities but not as many as in London.

Day 8 25/12 Geneva
Merry Christmas! None of the shops were opened save McDonalds and some shops in the main train station. We spent the whole day slacking in the hotel room, stealing someone's wireless and feasting on bread and chips and chocolates. It was rather boring but really comfortable to do nothing.

Day 9 26/12 Geneva
We went to Cern, United Nations headquarters and The Red Cross Museum. Cern and the UN hq was unfortunately closed. The Red Cross Museum was open though.

The name really made me think it was a place about croissants =( but the trip to the museum was enriching and strangely nostalgic. I guess it reminded me of all those little educational outings we used to have in our secondary/primary schools.

Day 10 27/12 Geneva

We finally got to see Jet D'eau which shoots water 150m above the lake. We did all our last minute shopping on this day. I bought a Swiss Army knife and a Swatch watch and lots of chocolates. After all, these are the products that Switzerland is famous for. =D

When you are travelling with your family, you feel comfortable because you know that your family is familiar with your lifestyle (after all, most of the little everyday activities that you do is influenced by your family). However with friends, because we are not as familiar with each other, you have to be patient and more understanding, something which I think I've failed to do. I really should learn to be more flexible. I was more reticent throughout the entire trip and less enthusiastic than I would like myself to be. Oh well... hopefully I will learn to be a better travel companion.

Anyway, I realised how much I miss reading! The last time I touched a Song of Ice and Fire book was a year ago. No wonder I've been trying to 'act cute' these days. I miss the artful court intrigues and politics in the series. Jaime Lannister!! *hearts* The most sincere of all the characters with is not that difficult since everyone in the book is somewhat involved in political backstabbing. Not that Jaime had no part in all those but somehow he's the only one who follows his heart.

And Ryver! Nevermind if he has grown up to be one of those ridiculous male species that are only interested in beautiful women, I wouldn't mind reading a rubbishy Xanth novel.

I should buy some books here. One day I will go to a bookstore and get some books. One day.

Anyway, talking about buying things, I missed the Christmas sale in London!! I still manage to get some things on New Year's Eve though. Things were going for like 1 pound or 3 pounds. I actually got a pair of trousers from H&M for 3 pounds (S$9!!) but it's a little small for me. =( At least now I have motivation to lose weight. My goal is to fit in that pair of trousers comfortably before I return to Singapore (because in Singapore I'm going to feast like I'm going to die in any moment on all the yummy Singaporean food).

Anyway, since I spent 2 hours typing this entry, I might as well spend a longer time. Anyway, it's stopping me from running to get another expired brownie. =)

There are some topics I find hard to broach (actually a lot of topics since I tend to be very shy and guarded). I remember that a teacher had asked why my class never ask questions. Either because we are too proud or shy or we don't care. I am all three which is why I'm always so quiet during class.

Religion. I have put this aside for many years and felt that the fence was a very comfortable position. It still is though. I don't know.
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~{!.~}Atheism Is Also A Religious Position,~{!/~} Dorfl rumbled.
~{!.~}No it~{!/~}s not!~{!/~} said Constable Visit. ~{!.~}Atheism is the denial of a god.~{!/~}
~{!.~}Therefore It Is A Religious Position,~{!/~} said Dorfl. ~{!.~}Indeed, A True Atheist Thinks Of The Gods Constantly, Albeit In Terms of Denial. Therefore Atheism Is A Form Of Belief. If The Atheist Truly Did Not Believe, He Or She Would Not Bother To Deny.~{!/~}
- Terry Prachett's Feet of Clay
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I used to think I'm better than atheists just because I believe in the existence of God. But at least they have a proper stand and they know what they believe in. I'm just sitting on a fence, pretending that my position is much better than theirs because I think I see more than they do. But the truth is I see nothing and they are probably much better than I am because they have some kind of theory to believe in. Everything is still foggy to me now. I would say I'm either on a fence or I have chosen a little corner and built a little wall all around the corner. I have no idea myself (seeing that I'm terrible at figurative speech and metaphors). I don't know. Because of my education in IJ, it just came naturally to me to believe in the existence of God and Jesus and Virgin Mary and to say prayers to them. But I never really sought to find out more about that and any interest I had was just purely curiosity. Even after attending so many church services, I cannot be sure if it's because I really came to worship or because I wanted to relive the IJ life I had. The last time I have a attended a Catholic mass was probably 3 years ago and I know very well that I miss the experience. I can only remember bits and pieces of it (the entrance procession? penitential rite? the readings? offertory hymn? communion? thanksgiving and closing hymn?) And the last time I attended Rosary or Stations of the Cross was probably 7 years ago. I really have no idea. And HTB is really lovely. They play Hillsongs and because there are little children in the church service they always have cute hymns with actions and the people in HTB are very spontaneous and they completely let themselves go. I think that's one of the reason I feel most at peace in church, because you forget all your troubles and all you think about is worshipping God and with the fantastic band at HTB and hip Christian Rock, you really enjoy the process. And the preachers are usually quite good. Everytime I go, there is renewed strength to face my problems and to try to solve them, there is guilt that leaves your soul and motivation to right the wrongs you have done to the people around you. But I still do not know anything. I'm too proud to ask, too shy to share. I really really hope it is 100% because I want to worship God that I go to church and the wonderful feeling I get is just a little benefit/gift from God whenever I go but I doubt so. And as long as there's doubt in me, it really means that it's the way I hope it is. Oh well... I don't think I dare to try and find out my stand. Hence the awkwardness.

I find it uncomfortable to talk about relationships, particularly those that involved couples. I guess it's mostly because I have no experience at all so I cannot offer any good advice. Having never fallen in love before, I usually have no idea what to say. I suppose that's why people never approach me for advice in such matters. But sometimes when people share those issues with me, I wish I can do more to help. I don't know... *sighs* Sometimes I think it doesn't matter if I had no experience, even people with experience have no idea what it means. It's really more of how much you can feel, how much you can empathise. Everyone's situation is different after all and you can't always use your own experiences to compare with someone else's and draw conclusions like that.

That's why it's time to wake up and leave my comfort zone.
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I realised I missed out on a random statement for the last entry. At the rate I blog and how I keep forgetting to come up with random statements, I will never have more Solitaire Mystery.

Random statement 33:
"There is something more red than a rose, the blood that flows in my veins."
Either Cersarya's or Mikhail's or Delthaddeus' words. Khyrella will never say such a thing since she's not interested in the human throne. Completely random but I love Mikhail's red hair because it is an impossible colour unless you use hair dye. I miss drawing but I can't draw anymore... *sighs* No idea what I'm talking about? That's alright, only I know what I'm saying. It's been a year since I came up with that silly story that became so complicated, I just stopped thinking about it. It's interesting how really simple things become complicated after a while.

Random statement 34:
"Sometimes you~{!/~}ve got to sacrifice the things you like"
Delta Goodrem's Born to Try.

Random statement 35:
"Dream all you like but we must all wake up in the end."
... I'm still in denial about this very issue but nevermind. This is just a random statement anyway.