Budapest: 27th-29th December 2006
Berlin: 29th-31st December 2006
Dresden: 31st December 2006
Marcus outside the Tropfsteinhöhle. The name is too long for me to remember..but Barlang is the Hungarian word for cave...it was the ONLY word I understood during the entire tour of the cave!
Waiting for the bus outside the cave. The weather was super cold..but pretty!
The Central Market from the inside. You can see lots of whole pigs and pigs' heads in here. Ugh. Touristy souvenirs aren't too expensive here...well, cheaper than in some of the other places. But we didn't find anything really worth buying
The Central Market from outside...looks nicer and smells nicer from the outside
Bubble Tea Hungarian style! Hot with slightly hard mini-sago balls...but not so bad...the cafe is really nice on the inside, a place I could imagine people coming to with a book in the hand
Hoppy in Marcus' hat and the well-dressed hot water bottle Marcus' grandma gave me for Christmas
Marcus pouting in his hat 'cos he thinks he looks silly in it
A Plattenbau area in Hungary...looks almost as if we were in Germany!
Huge supermarket, a bit like Giant...the food there was really cheap...and we had lunch there too...cheap and delicious food!
Roman ruins near our hotel..too bad the museum is closed in winter :(
Our room...did not look like the one in the photos..but clean and comfortable enough
View from the room
Hoppy trying to sneak a peek..dunno at what
Marcus, Lee Ting and Benedikt at Ali Baba's in Berlin...the food was in huge portions..and cheap!
Hoppy and his new sister Hoppilina! :)
I was extremely looking forward to the Christmas hols this year because I was going to spend it with Marcus and also because the semester has been a stressful, hectic one...and I wasn't disappointed!
20th December was the last day of school...the last seminar of the day was cancelled, which was excellent for me...Steffi was waiting for me downstairs. I chatted with her a bit, then we went to the Altmarkt Galerie to have lunch and then I popped by her place for a short while. She has very good tea! I was very happy with the present she gave me: Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod - Teil 3...and she liked the slippers I gave her! Then she walked me to the train station, where I took a train to Leipzig.
Ok...I honestly cannot remember what we did in Leipzig...but I am sure we went grocery shopping and also tried to finish all the food we could before we went on holiday. Ah, we also went to buy me a pair of boots because I'd forgotten to bring mine in the haste to leave for Leipzig. We went to Paunsdorf Center and after going to all the different shoe shops, we finally settled on a pair from C&A...it cost 35 euros and turned out to be very comfortable..and looked more expensive than they cost (I hope). I always have problems buying boots 'cos I have really fat calves and also, I can't walk much in heels. On Friday morning, Marcus went to get a haircut...and his boss suddenly called and said he had to work on the 28th...like what crap is that? First he tells him he should clear his leave...and then suddenly at the last minute, changes his mind...and he had to go back to work on 3rd Jan..although he actually had enough leave to go back to work on the 2nd January week. Ugh...but he managed to settle it, which is good.
On Friday, we drove to Nauendorf, where his grandma, grandaunt, uncle, aunt and cousin live. We had lunch, then had a walk around the village before watching his uncle and cousin prepare a birdhouse for the garden. That evening, we exchanged presents...and everyone was happy with their presents...which meant everyone was happy. We put out the candle holder we got for Marcus' grandma and grandaunt...it really looked pretty in the darkened stairwell. Marcus' grandma gave me a hot water bottle, which was really pretty and came in super handy during our Budapest trip, when I fell sick. We got lots of chocolate! Marcus' grandaunt gave me a set of pretty red and black cosmetic cases. We watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and then went to bed soon after...the room was cold! But the blankets were really good...nice and thick! Marcus took the poster of the pretty blonde off the wall because I teased him about it the last time...he kept saying, "I really needed a calendar...and you know I don't like blondes"...hahaha...I know he's not a porn addict and a really decent guy...which kinda makes it fun to tease him.
We left the next morning after breakfast. I was surprised by the huge variety of food that was sitting on the breakfast table. We managed to arrive in Berlin earlier than expected, despite a few unplanned stops. We got there just in time for lunch..which was Frikassee...which was tasty, but not pretty food. After lunch, we went to the nearby shopping centre to buy a couple of things. His parents bought my presents there: a Dr Oetker cookbook and a set of pyjamas...both of which I picked out myself..hahaha...but they are really nice presents :) then we went to Kaufland to buy some groceries before Christmas...there were TONS of people doing last-minute shopping. We spent quite a long time there...and then Marcus wanted to eat his favourite Quarkkeulchen...they sold the best he'd ever tasted there, he said...and they really were good..they tasted light and airy...and were sweet, but not too much so.
We went home and left soon again to pick his sister up. Then we had Abendbrot and exchanged presents. Marcus made his sister a scissors stand at work, for all her craft scissors. She's good at art and craft...she makes gorgeous cards and things. We also gave her a Teddy Bear (soft), which we "rescued" from a box. She gave me pretty earrings, chocolate and a magnetic reindeer, which is now stuck to my fridge. We got his parents a wooden tree ornament, a set of Teddy Bears (hard) and Marcus gave his dad a photo holder which said "Club der alten Säcke" and put a photo of his dad there. Haha. We packed it into a lasagne box...and after wrapping it up, I wrote on the box: "Für Daddy...von Marcus...und wenn es dir gefällt, dann auch von Sam...aber ich glaube nicht :)" Haha...it was a funny joke present. Then Marcus and I exchanged presents. I already knew all the stuff he got for me, because I picked them out...but still, I was very happy with all of them...a pretty ring, 2 Höschen im Döschen, The Little Mermaid DVD, a belt and an IKEA shower gel. He really spent a lot of money on me..and I feel kinda bad about it. The first thing he saw when he opened the present was a blue t-shirt...it was a joke present. It says "You're a naughty girl. Go to my room!" I made it with this iron-on thing. Then there was the World of Warcraft Game Card...cos I was thinking it was better to buy it before the MWST-Erhöhung...he said it really wasn't necessary...but he was happy to get it...and he said it was too expensive...but actually, he spent more money than I did. Then came the brown t-shirt I bought from Bugis Village...it has a seahorse on it...and is really pretty. Ying Han and I liked it a lot the moment we saw it...and I just had to buy it for Marcus. The last present he opened was the photo book I made for him...I called it "Prinz Marcus und seine Sam" and wrote a story to go along with the photos we had taken over the past couple of months, mostly during our little excursions. His parents, sister and grandma all took turns to look at it and said it was a good idea. Marcus seemed really touched because it was a personal present (he generally gets plenty of shower gels and aftershaves, and this Christmas...I'm glad he likes it... :) and it means my 7 hours of work were not in vain. Then we went to sleep quite early because we had to wake up early the next day to get to the airport early enough. But we did pack first...and his mum gave us a mini-electric kettle to bring along...and that really saved us a lot of money on the trip.
It wasn't worth waking up early though, because the flight was delayed. It annoyed me like hell because they didn't announce the delay on the board, nor at the check-in counter. But still, I was looking forward to the holiday with Marcus...it was his first holiday in 4 years...and my first with a boyfriend..was kinda worried we'd hate each other after so many days of seeing each other 24/7...but, my worries were unfounded. We didn't argue a single time and Marcus took really good care of me when I got sick and was moody.
Anyway, Marcus was excited on the flight because he didn't get to fly so often...the flight was smooth and we got there without turbulence, despite the foggy weather. We decided to take the airport mini-bus, which turned out to be a great idea because our hostel was kinda far out. It's really convenient..and I do recommend it to people who fly to Budapest, because you won't have to crack your head to figure out how to get to the city...and it's cheaper than taxis...and they bring you to the hotel's doorstep...costs about 10 Euros for one way and 18 Euros for 2 ways.
The bus ride was quite an adventure. We drove past a sign that said "60" and I asked Marcus "He's driving way faster than 60km/h, isn't he?" Marcus nodded. It was fast and bumpy..but quite exciting. We drove past many Saturn billboards...and the one that really struck me was one for a laptop that cost "144990"...it was funny to see a Saturn poster with such long numbers on it. The ride got even more "exciting" when the bus driver drove very fast through the extremely narrow streets with cars parked on both sides...Marcus and I were worried for the cars. But nothing happened. After the few days we were in Budapest, we realised that at least one-third of the cars were dented in one place or another...or more ;) and a lot of the cars were kinda old...and Marcus was annoyed that they could tint their front car windows, while it's not permitted in Germany (so they can see if you've got your safety belt on)...because he would've liked to do it to his windows.
Our hotel was really a tad far out...but it meant it was quiet...it was definitely more to my liking than the noisy 14-bed dorm Raymond and I slept in in Copenhagen...where they only had 2 toilets for like 100-over beds. Sleep-in Heaven my ass...in any case, this hotel was much more comfortable...the beds were big and we had our own toilet. It didn't look exactly like the photos we saw, but it wasn't bad for the price. We just hung around in the room and planned what we wanted to visit over the next few days because most of the places were closed on the 25th and 26th...and when it would be best to use the Budapest Card...so that we could at least earn back the money we spent. We also discovered they have ZDF, RTL and Sat.1...it was almost like being in Germany.
The next morning was Christmas Day...but I guess you don't really feel it when you're not with family and don't have presents to open. We wanted to go to the Tropicarium, so we asked the guy at the reception if he knew how to get there. He said, "Oh dear, it is complicated." Then, he told us how to get to the Südbahnhof, and ask the people there how to get to the Tropicarium, which he said was in a shopping centre. We got out at the interchange to take a look at the city...and posed Hoppy in front of the Parliament, which is Marcus' and my favourite building in Budapest. When we got to Deli palyudvar, we looked around and managed to find "Information". The lady couldn't speak English, but we showed her the brochure and she flipped through a thick book and wrote down some words and numbers...then she said "Budapest" *points to a time*..."Tropicarium" *points to the second time* She also wrote down the name of the stop we were supposed to get off at, as well at the platform number. So we didn't have many problems. Marcus said the train was really ugly...and it smelled kinda funny too. But it got us to where we wanted to go.
The Tropicarium was really in a big shopping centre with Tesco and stuff...but it was really empty...even McDonalds was closed. Since we had brought Hoppy along, we decided to pose him in front of the Christmas decorations. Marcus likes Hoppy a lot, which is important to me. :) We were a bit worried that the Tropicarium would be closed, since everything else was...but it was open! So we excitedly went in...and it was pretty nice...though naturally fishy-smelling. They had 7 huge sharks and several stingrays, among tons of other fish...Marcus loves animals, so I go to zoos and aquariums with him. It seems like when you really love someone, you are more willing to do things you usually wouldn't be extremely excited about...but yeah, apart from the smell and that I don't really like to be too near to animals, it is kinda cool to see different animals. But I refused to go into this place where birds and monkeys were flying and swimming overhead..so Marcus went in on his own. It was worth the money, I guess.
Marcus and I decided to go back into the city to get lunch. So we went to the opposite platform. There wasn't anyone standing there...so we thought maybe the train had just left. We ended up waiting for more than 1 hours...with 4 trains going by without stopping...one was a goods train...but STILL...they all went by without stopping..and there was no sign anywhere to tell us when trains would stop there. Ugh. We kept feeling hopeful, then being disappointed. And it was cold! Several degrees colder than in Germany. Thankfully we packed some chocolate buns and chocolate..just in case. Then we decided to take the bus back...cos it didn't look like a train was going to come. But we didn't know which bus...and walked all over trying to figure out which bus to take back into the city...cos none of the names of the places were familiar to us. We decided to ask this old man...who turned out to be super helpful...he told us to take bus 3 to a certain "Platz" and from there, we could walk into the city....we would finally be on the map...and near to the main sights. But he didn't know where we could take the 3 from...so he helped us to ask the bus driver in front of us...and even walked us to the other bus stop, where the 3 would stop. He was very kind and gave us his well-used map of Budapest, where he had wrote down many notes...he said it was good..better than the tourist map..and he was right, as we were to discover over the next few days. He said the information in Budapest was the worst...and that's why he gave up his car...because it was too complicated to get around. He waited with us for the bus and we thanked him before we got on the bus...it's amazing how nice people can be to strangers...like a mini-Christmas miracle...
We got to the "Platz" which the guy told us about..and decided to grab a bite at the Pizza Hut there..which was a good idea, because everything else was closed. I am not really a fan of pizza..but I was hungry...so we ate there (Marcus loves pizza)...and when we wanted to pay, there was this piece of paper which told us it was normal to give 15% in tips...but lunch cost slightly under 1900 Forint...and I decided 15% was way too much tips for Pizza Hut...so we just paid 2000 and left.
Then we needed to change money...and there were no nearby Metro stations, so we had to walk...and we walked quite far...but the view of Budapest by night, along the Danube is gorgeous...and it was romantic with all the lights. Marcus and I had fun walking along the river and across the bridge...though we really did walk A LOT! We managed to find a money changer...the guy asked us where we came from. When Marcus said "from Germany", he asked where and when we said "Leipzig and Dresden", he didn't know where they were...so he told us where he had been to in Germany: Stuttgart, Berlin, Munich and some other places...
Then we went home and had instant mashed potatoes and sausages for dinner...it was really great to have the electric kettle with us. We watched "Love Actually" and then went to sleep...it was one of the very few movies we actually managed to finish watching!
The next day, we went to the zoo...we took the Metro and it turns out it stops right in front of a thermal bath...but we didn't go in 'cos we didn't bring our swimming stuff along. We did plan to go the next day..but I was to fall ill...so that settled that. There was a pond outside the zoo and it was steaming...ducks were swimming around inside. Marcus put his hand it and said it was warm...so I decided to put my hand in too...and it was warm...just like the thermal baths nearby, I guess? :)
We needed to find the entrance and followed this couple who had a little ...or was it two? little kids....we walked through this narrow path thing...and obviously I had my misgivings...and it turned out to be some playhouse for kids in the zoo...haha. So we walked back out again and headed to the REAL entrance, where we took a few photos before going in...it's really hard to take photos for yourself man! In any case, entrance was free with the Budapest Card...which was quite cool...once inside, we took more photos, including the one with Hoppy and the Nesquik bunny. Marcus loves animals and so he was obviously excited. Plus, the zoo is quite big. Bigger than the one in Dresden. We decided to take our own sweet time, since nothing was open anyway. We saw a pond and upon closer inspection, realised there was a solitary dead fish in it...to which I went "eeeee!!" and Marcus laughed because my next reaction was to take a photo of it. We saw many many other animals...including racoons and pooping polar bears, which Marcus was bent on taking photos of (no chance of them suffering from heat-related symptoms here)..and Hippos...boy do they smell awful in an enclosed area. Some kids were trying to feed it chips or something...dunno what exactly.
After that, we were hungry and decided to eat..but there wasn't much...and only expensive restaurants were nearby...so we ended up eating hotdogs...which had really really yummy hotdog buns. We also bought and shared a giant pretzel, which tasted not bad. After that, we decided to go to Castle Hill and take a look. The railway up to the castle cost 700Ft for one way, which is like half the amount we would've had to pay for the zoo...ridiculous...so we decided to walk...even though Marcus had to pee...but we were sure there would be a toilet up there anyway. So we walked...and it wasn't so bad a climb up. Being lazy old me, we did take some breaks to admire the scenery along the way. It was gorgeous, really...and we sat down and talked for a bit halfway up as well. When we got to the top, we took more photos with Hoppy and of us...then we went into the museum so that Marcus could go to the toilet. Marcus said maybe we should go in...then I asked him, "Are you sure you are interested in an art museum?" I mean I am not against it, but I know I'd get bored after the 10th painting of Madonna and Child or of Venus...it was free entry, but I wanted to see the rest of Castle Hill before it got dark, so we continued walking outside. We popped by this "National Crafts" alcove...but it was a real tourist trap...this lady showed us a "secret box" which was kinda interesting...but when she said "3000 Ft", I was completely certain of its "touristiness"...we continued walking past all the tourist shops in search of postcards...but all of the shops were selling them more expensive than the zoo, if you can believe it. I bought 2 Budapest Zoo postcards from the zoo...of racoons and of hippos...but I didn't buy any of the normal ones because I thought they'd be cheaper elsewhere...but I was wrong. They cost 70 Ft in the zoo, but over 100 Ft in these touristy shops. So we didn't buy any.
Then we got to the Fischerbastei, which is a famous lookout point (is that the right word?) over Budapest. There were quite a lot of people there, even if it doesn't seem like it in the photo. We didn't climb up either, cos our legs were really tired from walking the whole day. But it's really a very nice structure, so I recommend going there to take a look. Next to it is the St Matthias Kirche, which kinda looks like St Stephan (if I remember the name correctly) in Vienna, if you ask me...same kind of roof..but maybe smaller.
Then we wanted to walk down to the Metro station, but Marcus suggested talking the bus, which turned out to be a good idea because it was further than it looked on the map. Then we took the Metro to the Westbahnhof...because as we discovered the previous evening, when we went to buy water, the Ostbahnhof was very pathetic...and the water was also very expensive...and the lady almost wanted to cheat us of 1000Ft...humph...how very dishonest...but at least she gave us back the money and didn't pretend we didn't give her a 2000 Ft note. Anyway, attached to the Westbahnhof is a huge shopping centre called Westend Center...it is really big and even has Marks and Spencer! But everything was closed, except for some food stalls in the food court. We desperately wanted to buy bread to have with our instant soup that evening...but there weren't any bakeries open...so we decided to try our luck at Submarine (which basically looks exactly like Subway, including the menu, so I can't for the life of me figure out why it's called Submarine instead of Subway)...anyway, the first guy couldn't understand English..so we had to wait for his colleague...who said, well actually you can't..but if it's only one or two, then it's ok...oh, I have to add that Marcus does not like bread a lot...he much prefers Brötchen, which were missing from our breakfast table...so he was happy to have those from Subway/Submarine...
Then we had a drink and went home...and later had dinner and did our accounts and stuff. We started watching some show but I fell asleep, so Marcus turned off the TV.
The next morning, I was full-blown sick and was blowing my nose the whole time. We decided NOT to go to the baths...and went to the Tropfsteinhöhle instead (Stalactite and Stalagmite caves)...it was on a hill and once again we were happy to have taken a bus instead of trying to walk because it really was very far. And we actually missed the stop...and this lady said something to us in Hungarian, which we obviously did not understand...but when we saw the bus drive past us, we realised she meant to just continue sitting on the bus because it's a loop service. Ah well. We got there at around 10.20 or 10.30...and had to wait till 11.15 for the next guided tour. How suay is that? But we survived somehow...and it was free with the Budapest Card anyway. But the tour was in Hungarian..and we only got brochures to read. It was pretty but kinda boring because we didn't understand a word. There was one part which was extremely narrow and Marcus was saying fat people and claustrophobic people would have problems here...and sure enough, some guy and his family had to take an alternative route because he wouldn't have fit through the narrowest parts of the cave. It was kinda tough to climb the narrow 7m high ladder as well. Ugh..but we survived. Marcus commented that we'd need quite a vivid imagination to see some of the things they claimed we'd see.
The tour ended late and we missed the bus...so had to wait around 20 minutes again for the bus. Some people appeared to be making a music video of some sort...where they were all dancing. But we didn't hear any music. Then this woman with extremely red hair and a long black jacket and mini-skirt started dancing with them too...Marcus dubbed her the dancing prostitute. Then the bus finally came...but I must say that the weather was really good on that day.
Then we decided to go see the Central Market...which looked really impressive from the outside. On the inside, it smelled kinda funny. The vegetables didn't look so pretty and the pigs and pigs' heads staring at us were kinda scary. We went to the second floor and saw lots of table cloths and other textiles and souvenirs...the "secret boxes" only cost 1900 Ft here! Man...anyway, we also needed to find something to eat. Marcus said maybe we could go to Burger King..but I was determined to eat something Hungarian..at least once...but the normal stalls were really full...and there was no place to sit...so we ended up at this expensive "restaurant" (which was more like a self-service place) with over-priced food. I mean the food tasted ok, but the prices were comparable to Germany restaurant food..which is too ex! I feel bad for asking Marcus if we could eat there...but it's too late. The food was nice...but too expensive.
We snuck into the Burger King toilets..and then we walked down what appeared to be a pretty promising street. Saw postcards for 50 Ft...first time while in Budapest...but didn't buy any, in case the prices dropped as we went along the street...turned out to be the reverse...the prices rose instead! So we walked back to the newspaper shop that sold the 50 Ft postcards...oh yeah...along that street (called vaci u), there were people touting their restaurants...Marcus was surprised that people did that...I should bring him to Boat Quay and let him experience touting on a larger scale ;)
Then we took some photos of the Central Market and were planning to walk back to the Metro station when I saw a poster for Bubble Tea...it just reminded me of Singapore and I decided I had to have some. The lady said it was not the same as in America and they used smaller pearls...so what is Hungarian Bubble Tea like? Well, it's hot...and has sago in it...still slightly hard...haha..but tastewise it was ok. The cafe was really nice and cosy...would be a nice place to sit and read a novel.
We decided to go to Westend Center and shop a bit...and maybe walk down the shopping street (which we didn't get to do in the end) and went to Marks and Spencer...and bought deo spray. The place was FULL...extremely...maybe with people trying to spend their Christmas money...but there were lots of brand name stores there...which provided a very stark contrast to the homeless people sleeping on mattresses a couple of metres away. We went to Triumph as well...needed new bras but ended up only being able to get one..I hate bra shopping..I can never find my size.
Anyway, it was too early for dinner, so we decided to go to the supermarket to buy some stuff...we saw a lot of stuff we would usually see in Germany...and bought some water..which turned out to be with gas..ugh. And some bread..the bread was really nice and not too ex...very soft and yummy. We were able to pay with euros, which was really good, because they gave us a rate of 1 Euro = 255 Ft...at the airport, we got 1 Euro = 214 Ft...and commission as well! And at the money changer's we got 1 Euro = 247 Ft...so really, it was the best exchange rate ever...unfortunately, we were going home soon and didn't need to change so much money.
We got back and had soup and bread again...with sausages...and watched TV again halfway...until I fell asleep...but that night, I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night...cos my nose was so badly blocked that I couldn't breathe through my nose...it was so frustrating that I cried...and really loudly at that. Marcus didn't complain and even boiled water to make one of those steam bath things to help me clear my air passages. He was patient and said a lot of comforting things...even though I was moody and pouty. He got me my jacket to put under my pillow and exchanged sides of the bed with me so that I could sleep next to the windows. I told him he'd make a good father someday...and I meant it...not many people can put up with such childish behaviour...especially in the middle of the night. I was reminded of the time Max was sick and was nice to me so I would come over, bring him food and keep him company so he wouldn't be bored. He even convinced me to skip class and keep him company...but late at night, he got bored of me and wanted to sleep and said, "Ok, I wanna sleep now...go home...you can come over again tomorrow if you want"...and I had to walk 10 minutes in the dark to the bus stop and wait at least 20 minutes alone at a deserted bus stop for the bus home. I remember feeling extremely ill-used at that time...and after thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that if the guy/girl is not the right one for you, you can do everything in your power...but he/she will simply not appreciate you..or worse, take advantage of you. But if they really love you, then they'll appreciate everything you do for them, no matter how seemingly unimportant...
The next day, I woke up early cos I couldn't sleep anymore. Wrote some postcards and we decided not to do so much because I felt like crap. Marcus insisted that we go and get some medication, so we asked the reception guy where there was a pharmacy...and it turned out there was a small shopping centre nearby...but the people at the pharmacy couldn't speak English, so they asked the customers if anyone could speak English...this one guy said he could..I said I had a cold and needed medicine...and he kept asking me "What do you want?" Hello...what else could I want at a pharmacy? Anyway, Marcus said "Schnupfen" and the guy said something in Hungarian...and the lady gave me Coldrex..phew..what an ordeal.
Then we decided to take the train to this big shopping centre we've been seeing every day when we travel to the city centre...called Auchan. The Plattenbau area nearby looked almost exactly like any Plattenbausiedlung in Germany...so I just had to take a photo...it was also really cold...but that didn't really show up in the photos. Oh well. Anyway, we spent hours and hours in Auchan...they had a ton of things, including tires and washing machines I think. It reminded me a lot of Giant. Marcus bought 2 strawberry soup mixes and I bought a Gulaschsuppe mix. We also bought some chips and bread, as usual :) and the bread here was even cheaper than at the other supermarket...they had lots of cake that looked quite good..but we had brought a ton of chocolates with us, which we didn't manage to finish anyway..so we didn't buy any chocolate or candy. The full cream milk in Hungary is 2,8%...not 3,5% as it is here...hmm...interesting.
Then we had lunch there as well...I had a Gulasch with meat, potatoes and paprika..and it was good and cheap...Marcus had a peperoni pizza...as you can guess, he's not very adventurous when it comes to food...but it's ok...I still love him. :) Then we walked to the roman ruins..the museum was unfortunately closed, but we took photos from the outside...and then we took the train home and played "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" and Ligretto (I think)..and packed our suitcase, did our final accounts...and went to sleep early because we had to wake up early the next morning.
Oh yeah, I had a really really bad rash starting on the second day of the trip...it was all over my back and chest. We suspect it's an allergy to the detergent they use for either the bedsheet or the towels...or to Marcus' shower gel because I forgot to bring my own...but now it's better already...I still have the scars from scratching, but I bought anti-allergy tablets when we got back to Berlin...and it doesn't itch anymore. Phew...but it's still kinda gross. It was funny though, that I didn't have rashes on my legs (though they did itch)...and Marcus' mum asked if I slept topless or something...haha...which is not true but well, we still really don't know the cause of it. Maybe the skin on legs is less sensitive.
The next day, we spent a total of 5 hours at the airport, if not more. We ordered the airport minibus early because we thought it might be late but it turned out the bus had already picked up 2 people and didn't pick up anyone else...so we got to the airport super early...and had to wait for 1 hour before check-in...airport was full...and finally after 1 hour, were able to check in. But they had no news that there was a delay...and after waiting so long in the waiting area, and in the queue...then they finally said, there's a delay of about 1h 35min...I was ready to scream and swear off EasyJet for life. The couple we saw on our flight to Budapest was at the airport as well..the guy was very tall...and so was she, actually. Boyfriends seem to have the responsibility of pacifying their girlfriends.
Anyway, we finally got on the plane after eons of waiting...at 15oo. We were supposed to fly at 1240! Sigh. The flight was smooth, despite the foggy conditions which were apparently the cause of delay. Because of my cold, my ears were blocked extremely badly on the descent...ugh...it was awful...and my ears would continue to be blocked until the next morning...when it was replaced by a "blowing" sound in my ear...I think I was about to go insane! We got back to Berlin and Marcus' parents' place and had dinner with them. After that, we played "Ligretto" with his dad and went to sleep soon after.
The next day, we went into town and met up with Lee Ting and Benedikt at Savigny Platz (the other side of Berlin from where Marcus' parents live) and had lunch at Ali Baba...an Italian restaurant with extremely huge portions at cheap prices. It was definitely a pleasant afternoon...it was great to see Lee Ting again after half a year...and to meet her Benedikt :)
After that, Marcus and I popped over to the Hauptbahnhof for a while...but didn't find anything...then we stopped at Norma to buy some groceries for Sunday and Monday...but didn't find any meat AT all...in the end, his mum had to get us stuff to eat...it was crazy really, everything was sold out, according to his mum. No meat anywhere. But she gave us a lot of stuff to bring along with us...and then we played Ligretto again that evening...but only the 2 of us. We also packed our suitcase and realised we had like a ton of stuff, because of all the presents and clothes...
We left Berlin on the 31st, after breakfast and go to Dresden in time for lunch. I got the parcel that my family sent me...and inside was Hoppy's new sister...well, Marcus insisted I make it a girl because my bed is already overpopulated with boys...Hoppy, Nunkey and Marcus-Ersatz. So we called her Hoppilina. We played Game of Life and Monopoly that afternoon. After dinner, we asked Fu Wei if she wanted to play with us...and we played both games again, until it was nearly midnight. Then we went to the 14th floor and watched the fireworks...which was nice because it wasn't so noisy (sounds like a warzone during Silvester) and we didn't have to worry so much about being hit by firecrackers and stuff...although this weirdo threw firecrackers out of his window and we nearly got hit...but it was less intense than being in the middle of a crowd I guess. It was prettier also because we could see more different fireworks.
January 1st was spent oversleeping....I had a sleep-hangover and tried to sleep off the headache I had from sleeping too much..ugh..awful feeling. Then Marcus said maybe we should go watch a movie...so we watched Casino Royale at UFA Palast. Erm...Daniel Craig is not handsome at all and he lacks charm...but he's not too bad. Marcus thinks I liked DC's body a lot...but I am just not into muscle-bound men..I like normal guys...not too skinny, not too fat...and no need for washboard abs, thank you...but Marcus doesn't wanna believe me. Oh well. We had popcorn and tortilla chips during the movie...so much for New Year's Resolutions eh? But I don't have any...so it doesn't matter.
Marcus had to leave on 2nd Jan because he had to work on 3rd Jan. :( But after my presentation meeting, we met at the tramstop and went to the Altmarkt Galerie to have lunch...he had pizza with salami and ham...haha. Then we went to Saturn so he could buy another Game Card and see what else he wanted to buy, since DVDs, CDs and games had no MWST this week. I picked up some stuff...but realised I could borrow them from the Videothek anyway...so I didn't wanna spend any money...I'd rather save it for trips with Marcus or other stuff...have decided to stop buying so many new clothes and books also...not trying to be miserly, but I've realise how much of a spendthrift I've been most of my life.
After that we came back and Marcus had wanted to go...but I asked him to stay for a while...and he did...I feel bad because I made him stay longer than he'd planned to...but the idea of not seeing him for 1o whole days seemed way too long..when I was younger, I guess I was very independent from my boyfriends...but Marcus seems to be different...I suffer from withdrawal symptoms when he's gone...I couldn't sleep well and neither can he. It's amazing we survived 14 days of being together 24/7 without arguing, considering how impatient and short-tempered I am...but we did..and even after spending such a long time together, we still can't get enough of each other...
Sigh...this will be the first weekend since I came back from Singapore that we haven't spent together...but he has to study for his exams and so do I...I can barely wait for next weekend!
And it's time to get back to work now...
