Switzerland Towns/Cities

Bismillah..

It's been a while since I last post about our travel.. Hutang post semakin banyak~ 

So as promised, this time I am going to post about some of the towns/cities that we passed by in Switzerland. Well, I'm not that into cities before I went to Europe. Living in Asia, I used to have the impression that all cities are crowded and always on the rush. But then, European towns offered an absolutely different atmosphere than that of Asian's.

On the first day, we drove all the way from Geneva to Interlaken and had a quick stop at Oberhofen and passed the most medieval-looking town that I've ever seen, Fribourg. And on the second day we drove from Interlaken to Lucerne in which we had stopped in Lauterbrunnen, Trumelbach  and Grindelwald.

I think, if we had more time, I would've spent more days in Lucerne. It is such a beautiful town with lots of things to do. You can either go up on one of the mountains or take the cruise along Lake Luzern or just simply stroll at the old town vicinity which I find very interesting as well. 

We were on a budget trip and with at least three countries to go, we have to opt on the budget things to do which as you've probably guessed, strolling! (^^)

We spent a night at the Lucerne Youth Hostel which is located in walking distance to the lake. We shared our room with a middle age lady from South Africa. Didn't chat much that night because we were hushed to sleep by our dorm mate because she needed to catch an early train the next morning (^^") 

But I think she was a nice lady, anyway...

The Chapel Bridge is one of the free attraction around. We spent some time strolling there; walking pass cafes and a street market. I got quite carried away watching the white swans swimming on the lake and they would occasionally dive to the bottom.. I still don't know why they do that, though. There was no fish inside their beaks when they surfaced

Then we set off to the Nine Towers, which in reality, only four of them are opened to public. This was where we met a lady who works with the tourist center who had spent much time explaining to us every detail about Lucerne. She was really patient answering all of our questions.. Eyh aku bha pulak yang paling banyak tanya (^^"). She then gave us some pamphlets and some chocolates. There are quite a number of them around; it's easy to tell from their uniform and red bags. We got some more chocolates from another lady as we enter into the clock tower.

The towers gave beautiful view of Lucerne and as we walked further, the towers get even taller and at the last tower, we could see the whole town without any tree branches blocking our view like this one on top..

This is actually the innards of the clock tower which is made to chime a minute earlier than other clocks in the city. They also displayed the many types of mechanism used in clocks in this tower. Ranging from those that uses mechanical pendulum to laser beams. I'm actually easily impressed by these kind of stuffs.

Hebatnya otak manusia!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the view from the last tower.

We were heading towards Laussane on the same day so why not stop at the capital, Bern. 

To our surprise, the town is rather too quite for a Capital.. Talking about Malaysia's capital.. Pheeeeeewwwww....

Melting pot... Dreadful traffic... Everybody always in a hurry...

But Bern is one extremely peaceful capital

We visited one of the Church and the sound of the organ was echoing as we walk around surveying the statues and carvings on the walls. I've never seen an organ in real life before; always in those Vampire or Dracula movies. I was pretty impressed by the size. It was colossal. I mean those silvery rod thingy above the main entrance. I even took a video of the guy playing the organ. Teruja sunggoh!

And then voilla! The astronomical clock. Ok this is my 2nd encounter. It's actually simpler than the one in Prague.. BUT! I only knew an interesting fact about this clock a few months ago..

This is the very clock that Einstein stared at as he was sitting on a tram on his way home from work. And he'd thought about traveling at the speed of light which eventually led to his theory of relativity.

Haaa... aku tengok History channel ok baru aku tau! *NERD!*

And to end this post... If you're craving for something spicy after all the long journey and self-cooked meal in the hostel, there's an Indian Restaurant in Bern who serves the world's best fish Briyani eva! 

Ka kami terlampau lapar??? But really, it was quite costly but since it was like the best eva, we ordered another one and paid hurm.. 50 euros (mind you, we always share to cut cost)

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Mantanani Island Day Trip

Assalamualaikum...

I thought of continuing my Eurotrip post just now but I think I am mentally exhausted for today so let me just share a little bit about my day trip to Mantanani Island last Saturday; 26 April 2014.

Yang merah itu Mantanani Island yah (^^)

Well, my last dive was in October last year so it's been 6 months. I thought it's best that I gear up and dive again. Luckily my October buddy was in town for the weekend so I sort of coaxed him to join me and of course he'd brought along another friend. I did a very quick survey on price offered by various companies and the best price was given by a friend of mine at the climbing centre (^^)

The itinerary is very simple..

Pick up at 7.15 am. 1 hour and 45 minutes bus ride to jetty. 45-50 minutes boat ride to the island which depends very much on the weather and then 2 dives and a buffet lunch.

Yup! That's our Mountain! (^^)

Trip to Mantanani is very very weather dependent. It can be suddenly cancelled because of rough sea but money will be refundable in such case. Even when the sky is all clear and deep blue in colour, the ride was still very bumpy. My friend got thrown out of his seat on our way back when he fell asleep. It was such a funny scene. I heard a loud thud, and when I turn, there he was lying on the floor; swarmed by the Chinese tourists assisting him to get up.

I think one thing that I won't forget about the trip was that I was hoping to meet some Europeans but it turned out that we were with more than a dozen tourists from China and even the tour guide spoke chinese! So I went to the kiosk at the jetty to ask whether we are already at the jetty or is this place some kind of R&R thingy because we didn't understand a word the guide was saying when we arrived at this place :p

Kamera aku kawan aku pegang so0o0o0o0 gambar2 yang diambilnya ni... 

Haih~ bole2 laaaaa~ (^^")

I definitely think Mantanani has it's own qualities like the the water is exceptionally stunning, the beach is bigger so it is more suitable for family outing. The dive centre has a beach volleyball court. I was very tempted to play, you know. But only the half naked dive masters were in the court so... I'd refrained myself from doing so hahaha Mantanani is famous for the sightings of Dugong but we didn't see any.

I saw a sting ray, a turtle which perhaps an adolescent (sukati aku jak kan) and lots of coral fish. I actually prefer the coral fish because they don't look intimidating. I get excited when I see a big school of fish but I can feel slightly intimidated by their huge number (^^") During the first dive, we were at a site with lots of corals but not that colourful. But the second site was even beautiful. Tapi aku pelik betul air nya sekejap extremely sejuk and sekejap panas~ I dunno why.. Aku memang diver yang noob heeee

Feeling gtew~ Well.. I needed the short getaway... New responsibilities are coming in and I foresee a lot of effort will be put ahead to fulfill all these things that I've to shoulder... You know when I stand atop of a mountain, I realize I'm just an insignificant speck in this vast universe. A speck that could just be an ordinary object or with the power to bring good and make the world a better place to live. When I go underwater, I see the hidden treasures; the micro and macro things that make me realize how limited my knowledge is. There must be more to this world to be discovered....

Otak aku sangat occupied sampai aku jadi nada perasaan tentang hati masa trip ni.. Allah knows best.. Allah lagi tahu kalau sesuatu yang kita suka itu bukan yang terbaik untuk jadi milik kita. Tapi Allah akan letak yang kita suka itu di tempat yang sepatutnya dalam hidup kita...

"You who is still out there... I secure my heart for only you.." Ececececeh! Yah! itu lah maksud posing ini :p

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The transition... And changes

Bismillah...

My friends and I have talked a lot about how we have changed over the years in the past few days... I happened to be in many places within this week that I met friends from school and university and we coincidentally talked about the same topic altogether; CHANGE...

I listened to what one of my BFF had to go through this year. Entirely different from what I faced last year but slightly similar in its on way. Last year, I was dealing with lost and some career shifts. Battled my way through to gain stability, get control of my life and become positive again. It's something that I prefer to call as my 'transition period' because when it's all finally over, I am (Alhamdulillah) totally fine today.

During the transition period, I realize, not all that are close to you will be there with you. That's when you can finally realize who love you solely for being that witty and carefree woman who is fun to be with and those who love you fully as an individual and stick around when you are at the lowest point in your life. It is absolutely normal to suddenly change into a grumpy person who has mood swings and pour all the burden in her life to the people she trust. That's what women do. They have to let it out~

One thing that I noticed was I did have all the solutions to my problems hovering in my temple but my mind was actually too shrouded by all the negative thoughts and tiredness that I can't direct the physical me to execute anything properly. And the hurdles that I have to deal with especially when it comes to people's attitude, response and expectations were making it even worst for me.. So I did confided my problems to the people I trust... And that's when you can see, who among the people you trust is there to raise you back to where you were or even higher or just want to run away from you because you've become this prick who keeps on complaining about the universe conspiring to pull her down...

From my point of view as the one who was being tested, I just wanted to pour it out. I just wanted a trustworthy person's shoulder to cry on. It is already very much helpful and soothing just to hear the person you trust respond with "You can get through this" or "I pray for you to be granted patience" or "If you need anything just tell me" or "I understand". I didn't expect bombastic ideas that works magic. The least that I needed was a pair of ears that listen. That's all. And it was ludicrous when some responded with "Kahwin la GG," which simply can be translated into "You should have a spouse to share this with instead of sharing this with me", right?


What I'm trying to say, it's the 'transition period' that is the toughest. It's that period when multiple things in your life start to change simultaneously and you have to figure out how to incorporate all these changes into what already exist in your life, your routine. It's the time when you have to constantly do 'trial and error' until you figure out what works. Best of all, this is when we actually GROW exponentially without we realizing it..

I'm truly blessed with family and best friends who understood what I went through although there were some who drifted away from my life with their own reasons. My family was very supportive and we changed for the better after the great lost of one of our beloved. We appreciate each others' presence more than before realizing that any of us could 'leave' at any time without warning.

My best of friends were very mature in handling my breakdowns. There are moments when we entirely give time to listen to each others' problems and then rejoice our hearts by filling each other with pleasant updates and activities.

It was hard but I could feel how it changed me... Hopefully for the better lah!

The next time when a good friend come to you, complaining about the hardships she is going through, she is not trying to drag you into her problem.. It is because you have proved to her as a trustworthy person among all the people she knew. Don't ever break that trust... Ever~

"Ujian itu indah jika ia membawa kita hampir kepada Sang Pencipta.."

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The Heart....

Bismillah...

The heart is created being a delicate and a dynamic structure of the body. In school, I was taught that it was made of strains of muscles that has four compartments and whose function is to pump blood into the lungs and then back to the entire body when the blood is already fed with oxygen....

The heart shape symbolizes the feeling of love and affection although some argue that all of the feelings actually originate from the mind.

Although I am somewhat more of a 'science person' in regards of what I do for a living, I am very much inclined to accept that all sort of feelings is felt by the heart rather than being a state of mind....

For the past few months, I've been trying to deliberately prompt it to have a change to what it is fond to, to what it is drawn to but to no avail. Sometimes it is very confusing of how it is constantly reminded of someone who is so distant, someone whom I had very little pleasant moments together but nonetheless still very significant to the heart.. "What is wrong with you heart?" I asked sometimes

There are many things I wish I had an answer to but I guess this is the beauty of our story; the mysteries I failed to unfold. But I know the right thing to do is to avoid from making things become complicated. That is to keep my distance... To know my boundaries... To steadfastly hold to my values and beliefs. And in my attempt to do so, I found that this is not an easy path. This journey needs me to be strong because the heart sometimes don't listen to what you're asking it to do~

"When circumstances contradict to our wants,
And our values and beliefs are the only things that we can cling to,
The only way to endure and thrive is to jive with uncertainty,
And patiently wait for the unexpected to happen..."


Sometimes.. I do have the "If only I..." moments but I know those were only the whispers of man's greatest adversary. Admittedly, there are times I wished I'd been bolder or more approachable or sweeter or more flirtatious.. But... No... Not for this one... Not this time... Not anymore...

I'd made a promise years ago, that I will never associate myself into something that will compromise my love towards my Creator and His messenger...

"Do not even come close to zina.."

I've been in one relationship before and no, it doesn't bring me closer to Allah... It drifted me away further and further although gradually, I was not getting closer... I observed those who are in love around me who has yet to establish marriage... As they stare into each others' eyes pensively, fingers interlocking... I thought, "No, this is not what I want..."

And when I saw messages coming in.. Asking out for dinner.. Hanging out.. Or just checking me out.. No, this is not what I want either.. Because, although these men might not have bad intentions, but I think it is best to avoid. Adultery and fornication don't just happen in this society I'm living in. Things like one night stand is out of the norm. It happens when one falls for the lies of the greatest adversary who have been patiently persuading the heart..

"Reply his message.."
"He is a good man.. Going out with him is no harm.."
"He didn't touch your hands intentionally.."
"No one will know if you become intimate with him.. Nobody sees the two of you.."

That is why the message is such that we are not to come close to anything that could lead us to zina... And I'm still struggling...

I'm off to where I'd spent my time for the first time and the last with him tomorrow.. In hope that I can collect my heart where I left it off last October. I have to move on.... I have to let him go... And I have to give way to another who is capable of giving his heart in return... Who can't live seeing me with someone else except him... I guess you can live with that, he-who-doesn't-know...

I pray for the best for both of us...

********When I started writing this, I was actually missing him so much. To an extend I asked Allah "What is this, ya Allah? If he is not who You destined for me, please let this go away..."

And guess what, the next day, I found him in a place where I don't expect him to be. I don't see it as a sign or anything. I just think that is to heal what I felt the night before (^^) I'm happy to see him, anyway. Walaupon perasaan itu bercampur malu. Sometimes, you just look at the one you want, and when it is not meant for you, then you start thinking, Allah has better plans for both of us....******

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Praying for MH370

Bismillah...

Currently, the whole nation and perhaps the whole world is fogged with sadness by the lost of MH370.. I've been an ardent follower to latest updates of the missing aircraft for the past two weeks although I've not been too eager  to manifest that on facebook. I was driving towards a diner when I heard that the Prime Minister was going to make an important announcement at 10 pm on the 23rd March. I rushed home after I gobbled up all the food that I ordered in much haste; I didn't want to miss it! And there he was, our respected Prime Minister, announcing in his solemn voice that investigators have confirmed that the aircraft ended at the southern part of the Indian Sea...

Upon hearing that, I just can't contain myself. Tears start to well on  the brim of my eyes, I walked into my room and start to weep. O I know how it feels to lose someone all of a sudden and it is still fresh although it's going to be a year in two months or so. It must have been harder for the affected families of the crews and passengers with the mystery of the whereabouts of the aircraft, with the various speculations going around and accusations of irresponsible people that relates this  incidence to political interest and whatnot.. It is just so disappointing that some parties are just insensitive to the feelings of the affected people... Nda faham aku~


So in this post, I would like to deliver my deepest condolence to the affected families. I hope they are given strength to accept the reality. The whole world is praying for those who perished; may they be in peace in the other world and be in Allah's mercy at all times. We Muslims believe and Qada and Qadr. And for everything that happens, Allah is so merciful that no matter how hard it is to face His test, there will always be something good to it one day, inshaAllah. And I would like to share this quote that I always use to console myself; it is okay to cry when we can't bear the sadness for every tears that falls in patience will bring about rewards in the Hearafter, inshaAllah.


Looking at people's various response to the two tragic incidents in two consecutive years is, honestly, can be distressing. There is much noise especially in social media; of rants, of hatred, of conjectures... Some theories are so absurd that I have no idea just how people are inclined to even believe them. Then I found this from one of the blog that I recently followed, which in a way explains how absurd lies can turn into something presumed truthful..

"Noise drowns the voice of truth. As more and more noise fills the internet, it gets harder for anyone to sort out the good from the bad.
Secondly, noise gives credibility to falsehood. When a lie gets circulated enough, it ceases to be a lie and  instead gets upgrade to the status of truth."

And then I had a conversation with a best friend and she asked, "Do you think this is what is meant by the signs of qiyammah? You know.. Fitnaa everywhere.. The media being the source of Fitnaa and it spread so widely..."
"Yup, this might be it. Who knows~"

Ya... There are times when we forget to consider the impact of our behaviour. We slide our index finger on the glossy touch-screen, saw an interesting post, read through it and feel the rush of adrenaline in our veins to have read such a sensational thing. "Ah! This is share-worthy," And 'thump!', index finger on the share tab. How harmful could that be? It could be destructive especially to the minds and emotions...

We have seen so many lies spread over the internet. What I can't understand,  after being lied so many times, why are the same people in my friend list still do the same thing again and again...??? Nda faham~

Anyway...

In the times of turbulence (even though we are not directly affected), in respect to those who are affected, we should be more mindful with our words and the things that we spread over the internet. Lets be those who shares positivity and be the kind who give the affected families strength instead of more sorrow...

And it is sad to see how this tragedy is used as a substance to bash the country's governance and Islam. Bad things happen everywhere and it is inevitable. When it happens, it happens~ I just think it's unfair to highlight this tragedy as a prove of 'incompetency' of the current government because it is clear that a lot of effort are being put to resolve it just as it was for last year's Sulu invasion... Some people are just weird and thought they know better and have better ideas than anyone else on earth... Well, as far as I see it, the ones at work are those who are being bashed. While the ones who are so eager criticizing sleep soundly in the comforts of their homes after leaving much harsh words online....


We can't do much as a normal citizen, can we? But mind you, our prayers are powerful, inshaAllah :)

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Switzerland: Grindelwald~

Bismillah...

So lets continue to our next part of the journey.. 

I don't know how others decide where to go when they travel. Well, for us, we will not try to aim everything but will get the best of two or three things that we want most. That's why you see we will only get to do one or two things in a day but we will spend at least 3 hours to half-day at one attraction. So, since Switzerland is very famous with their train network and mountain cable cars, so we decided to experience the cable car.

Why we didn't choose to take the train pass and drive instead... Because the train pass is not cheap!! We saved a lot from driving. I remember we only filled the fuel tank once throughout the journey. And I don't want to carry my backpack from one train to another although everything are well connected and well scheduled... hehe ku tidak setegap itu...

I was the one driving. We set the GPS for Grindelwald and was first led by the GPS to a dead end.. We stopped at a junction that leads to a secluded-looking gravel road when the GPS reported we have reached our destination. We went out of the car in confusion and looked around for a cable car station. There was nothing.

"Rasanya Grindelwald GPS ni dok kat atas cliff depan ni...."

So we continue to drive further and finally saw the cable car station signboard.. \(^^)/ yeay!

This is the station's visitor parking lot. The place was incredibly stunning. This valley is entirely enclosed by these snow-capped mountains. They are not higher than mount. Kinabalu. But, I guess, being at the northern hemisphere makes it snow on top

The return ticket was suppose to be around CHF 56~ But we only paid CHF 31.. 

And I don't remember why hahaha (^^") 

But.. No worries people.. If you are entitle for price reduction, the staff will tell you like they did to us. 

They have free wi-fi at the station so you can post pics terusssssssss ke social media like what I did.. 

Teruja ok! 

On top and below are the pictures taken from the cable car as it ascend to the top.

I think it is the contrast between the green valley and the white peaks that makes it so breathtaking. And then you have some cows mooing below you and you can hear the clanking sound of the bells worn on their necks.

So that's how the station looks like. If we have enough time, we would've gone until the Jungfrau region. You can go with this cable car and then change to train in another station to go to the highest train station in the world (if not in Europe). Definitely will repeat this!!!!!!!!!!

So this is the view from where we are standing in the picture below.

Another activity you can do here is hike to the peak. It's actually not that far but since the path is covered by snow, it is extremely slippery so make sure you have with you a suitable pair of shoes.

It was not very cold when we were there. I took off my winter  jacket and wore my Nike jacket. Although it was ice all around, the sun was shining so bright above us. I got a bad sun burn after that haha So this hike to the top took about 30 minutes and when we went down, the ice already started to melt and the snow was no longer as thick as when we climb up. I slipped once and got buried in the snow. My friends panicked for awhile and started calling my name because I was no where to be seen. Aku hanya mampu angkat tangan dan menjawab "Gg kat sini!!!" haha

Ini abang Ricola haha Sebab dia bagi Ricola dekat RA who was trying to catch her breath when she reached the top.. So sweet kannnnn???? Sebab tu la aku suka mereka c mata biru, c hidung mancung~ :p

We spent almost an hour on top; taking pictures of every corner of the 360 panorama. It is undeniably one of the best landscape that I've ever seen in my life.. Allahuakbar..

Just how vast the knowledge of our Creator, Allah s.w.t...

Dan bila suda penat.. Bole la dudok begini dan jadikan gambar ini profile picture untuk setengah tahun (^^)

And after this it's gonna be Switzerland's cities (^^)

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