13th December 1997: Reached Changi Airport In the evening, ready to take the flight to our first stop: Switzerland
Country: Switzerland
Area: 41288sq.km
Population: 6.5 million
Capital: Bern
Language: French, German, Italian
Currency: Swiss Franc
Economy: Tourism, machhinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, watches, food and textiles.
14th December 1997, 0645H....
Reached Zurich Airport..had croissant and coffee for breakfast. Oh boy wasn't it cold? Coach came and picked us up one hour later.
Stopped at a McDonalds at nine plus because a family had to return to the Airport to pick up one of their family members.
Ate another croissant, nuggets, fries and tea with my family while waiting for the family to return.
Our tour guide Dennis told us that Switzerland, along with Germany and Austria, is the heart of Europe and Switzerland
is the second most mountainous country in Europe(60% covered by mountains). Austria comes first with two third of it's land covered by mountains.
After lunch we went to a Swatch retailer and looked at the watches there. Reached Lucerne around evening....some shops were closed as early as 5pm.
That place was really beautiful man, especially Lucerne Lake(pictured right). Had dinner at the top floor of the hotel
(the lift door is manual--you have to open and close it by yourself) and an early rest for the next day's activities.
15th December 1997 0345H
My whole family woke up at such an unearthly hour....No wonder....it was 10.45am in Singapore! We were far from being adjusted to the timing in Switzerland.
It's snowing outside and that was the first I saw snow, real snow. Used my videocam to record this beautiful scenery =)
Went up to the Swiss Alps(pictured right)....Dennis told us that for every 1000m increase in altitude, the temperature will drop around 6°C.
Since the temperature at land was -1°C, and the mountain is about 3100m high, so the temperature at the peak was around -19°C.Brrrrr....
Played with snow until my palms were numb....too bad we weren't very close to other tour members or it would have been even more fun.
Country: Germany (Deutschland)
Area: 356755sq.km
Population: 79 million
Capital: Berlin
Language: German
Currency: Deutschmark
Economy: Manufactured goods, chemicals, consumer goods and engineering goods.
16th December 1997
Off to Germany!! That's what we did after we checked out of the hotel in Switzerland. A few hours of coach ride later we reached the Black Forest(pictured right).
That's the place where cuckoo clocks were manufactured those quaint cottages looks exactly like what you will see in fairytales....
Reached Frankfurt at evening(by the way the sun sets as early as four plus) so by the time we reached there it looked like 10pm. The dinner was really slow
(it took an hour for the main course, turkey pasta to be served). The appetizer was a really salty soup which I could barely stomach.
Some children fell asleep even before the appetizer was served.
17th December 1997
Checked out of the German Hotel in the morning and reached Cologne in a couple of hours. Visited the magnificent twin Cathedrals of Cologne and took a stroll outside the cathedral.
Boy wasn't it windy? 3 layers of clothings(long johns + sweater and jeans + winter coat) wasn't enough to shield me completely from the cold.
While having lunch I found out that many of my friends were from top graded schools, somehow I felt a bit inferior.... Reached Amsterdam in evening.
Country: Netherlands
Area: 40844sq.km
Population: 14.7 million
Capital: Amsterdam
Language: Dutch
Currency: Guilder
Economy: Oils, chemicals, food and animals, machinery, cheese.
17th December 1997 2000H
Reached Amsterdam at evening time....What can I say? Amsterdam is just so beautiful at night!
18th December 1997
Visited the cheese and clog factory and bought some souvenirs.... Took some pictures of the famous Dutch Windmill
and walked on the river(yes it's true!! The river was frozen and so it was possible to stand on it).
On the way to Coster Diamond Factory I began to realise one significant difference between Europe and the US.... While there are thousands of skysccrapers in the US,
there's hardly any to be seen in Europe! Made some new friends in the factory as we began to share jokes.
Then we were off to the Sex Museum!! If you're above 18 and want to know more about the Sex Museum click here.
After the Sex Museum trip we took a cruise for a 45 minute ride along the beautiful canals of Amsterdam. Had dinner after that and retired early for the next day's activities.
Country: Belgium
Area: 30513sq.km
Population: 9.8 million
Capital: Brussels
Language: Flemish, French
Currency: Belgian Franc
Economy: Chemicals, vehicles, machinery, iron, steel and chocolates.
19th December 1997
Checked out from the Dutch Hotel and made our way to Belgium's Capital.... Visited the Atomium (pictured right) and took some photos of it.
Went to the City Hall and took pictures of the Baroque Buildings, and bought some famous chocolates from the chocolate shop.
Had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and made our way to our next destination, Paris.
Country: France
Area: 547026sq.km
Population: 55 million
Capital: Paris
Language: French
Currency: French Franc
Economy: Cars, electrical equipment, wine, cereals, textiles, leather goods, chemicals, iron and steel.
19th December 1997, 1830H
Reached Paris and as usual, the sky was already very dark and it looked as if it was already 9pm. Had a cruise around Seine River after dinner.
While I was recording the beautiful night scenery with my videocam some
Caucasians approached me and asked if I could let them play around with the videocam and teach them how to use it.
As we crossed some bridges, some locals waved to us as....they are such friendly people aren't they?
Went pass the famous Eiffel Tower and the countdown to the next millenium was already in progress. The timing at the Tower(see right) stated that we were 743 days away from 2000.
Had a good night sleep and ready for next day's activities.
20th December 1997
Had baguette and croissant for breakfast before we set off to....DISNEYLAND!! That was the very first time I went to the World's most popular theme Park.
Had a few rides and took some pictures with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White etc before we had lunch....12 inch long hotdogs.
After the fun at Disneyland we took the coach to La Fayette, an extremely huge shopping centre and almost lost my way there =P.
On our way we passed by Arc de Triomphe (pictured right) and took some pictures of it.
21st December 1997
Visited Eiffel Tower in the morning, and purchased some tickets so that we can take a diagonal glass elevator up to the second level.
Except for my mom, who has a phobia for heights. So Dennis took my mom to a cafe for some food while the rest of us went up to level 2.
Contrary to my expectation, there are many shops that sell souvenirs and even a "foodcourt" style eating place at level 2, well except that they only sell French and other western food.
Took the Eurostar for our journey to London and had fun with my new friends Dawn and company. What a good way to spend the 3 hours ride.
Country: United Kingdom
Area: 244828sq.km
Population: 57.2 million
Capital: London
Language: English
Currency: Sterling Pound
Economy: Manufactured goods, electrical engineering, textiles, chemicals, plastics.
21st December 1997 1830H(br)
Finally crossed the Channel Tunnel and reached London. Had dinner at Chinatown and took a walk there. Checked into a hotel which is just opposite the famous Tower Bridge (pictured right)
and the Tower of London. Our room is excellent, with cozy beds, thick blankets, coffee maker, ironing board and iron and most importantly, a very clear view of the Tower Bridge.
22nd December 1997
Breakfast was fabulous....American style buffet. Ate till my stomach was bloated before we visited the Tower of London. We also visited the Westminster's Abbey, the Big Ben and Hyde Park just outside Buckingham Palace.
Passed by Piccadilly Circle and and read from a display board from one of the buildings that Manchester United had beaten Newcastle United by a goal to nil. Uh uh uh uh uh....
Had lunch at a Dim Sum restaurant before we visited Madame Tussaud's Waxworks Museum. Took several pictures with the wax figurines of Vincent van Gogh, the royal family and even SM Lee Kuan Yew.
Then we went to a horror place where we saw the gruesome 'bodies' of women murdered by the infamous 'Jack the Ripper' a century ago. We also witnessed the 'execution parades' during the Middle Ages.
After the museum it was free activities so we went to Hard Rock Cafe and bought some clothes there. We also took the Underground to Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circles and Trafalgar Square. Had dinner at a small Chinese restaurant
and the food there was so expensive.... S$10+ for a pot of tea and S$15 for a plate of rice with meat. Back to the hotel at 9+ and went for an early rest.
23rd December 1997
Somehow I did not have a very good sleep during the previous night but did not feel tired yet. It was free activities again, and we actually visited Buckingham's Palace again (the outside, of course)
and fed the pigeons there. It must be because there's no restriction regarding feeding of animals, that's why all the pigeons there looked so plump and cute!
For every 50 seconds or so I would see a plane fly pass....Must be because Heathrow International Airport is an extremely busy airport.
Walked along the streets of Piccadilly Circles and Leicester Square with Junkai with his family, so tired that I kept felling asleep whenever I had the chance to rest.
Returned to the hotel at 5+ and got the contacts of my new friends....Reached Heathrow International Airport at 8+ and had fish & chips for dinner. Talked to my friends till 10+ when we boarded the plane.
So tired man Zzzz....
24th December 1997
Reached Singapore at 6.... Uh uh uh uh uh.... I will definitely miss my friends.
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Reached Zurich Airport..had croissant and coffee for breakfast. Oh boy wasn't it cold? Coach came and picked us up one hour later.
Stopped at a McDonalds at nine plus because a family had to return to the Airport to pick up one of their family members.
Ate another croissant, nuggets, fries and tea with my family while waiting for the family to return.
Our tour guide Dennis told us that Switzerland, along with Germany and Austria, is the heart of Europe and Switzerland
is the second most mountainous country in Europe(60% covered by mountains). Austria comes first with two third of it's land covered by mountains.
