the last weekend before exams...

... and where was I? Taking excursions with papa to other parts of Switzerland. Bravo.. I can only say good luck for exams.

Nevertheless, the two days were good.. apart from being able to spend time with my dad, i got to see more of german Switzerland. Papa told me I was here in 1994, sitting at this spot by the river or taking pictures there.. But heh, I was what, 7?? Couldn't recall much, naturlich...

Anyway, so Saturday, we took the train to Basel, the 'triangle' border city, cos it's the city at the border of Switzerland, Germany and France. A big town, I'd say.. There was a lot going on, and very hustle-and-bustle-y... From the Basel SBB Bahnhof below:We walked through the city to the Marktplatz, where you see the prominent town hall:
Till we got to the River Rhine:
Yea, and we met up with an Austrian friend, with whom we had dinner with before heading back to Zurich. I'd say I was in Basel, but it's not necessary to go back.. :)

Sunday morning, we took an earlier train to Luzern, arriving at a comfortably crowded city, which looked very 'swiss'. A pity it was Sunday, so most shops apart from eateries were closed. Still... Along the bank of the Lake Luzern: (reminds me a bit of Clarke Quay)
The famous Chapel Bridge, apparently the most photographed monument of Switzerland:
And we took a 2 hour ship cruise on the lake, on a ship very much similar to this:
I'd say Luzern's a quaint yet sufficient city, which I'd most happily visit again, if I have the chance. Didn't get to see the other famous sight, the 'Dying Lion of Lucerne' monument, cos it was quite a distance from where we were... Still, I like Luzern and I wanna discover more :):)

We arrived back in Zurich at about 18:00, took a short rest, and met Yuki to have dinner together with my dad at the Chinese Restaurant. Haha part of our order: 'mai hiam, boi pai, ai hiam, gana sai' would be a very apt description here... :)

Haha those pictures with my face are not in my camera, so Entschuldigung! :)

Alright, gotta turn in; tmr sending papa off in the morning :(

Nevertheless, time's running out for me in Zurich! *frantic* ahhhhhhhhhh.....

'studying'

By right, I shld be studying.. But by left.......

Tuesday night, Yuki came over to my place to spend the night, and she brought along a surprise gift! which reminded me of the sunflower Maggie and Glory gave before my departure here.. Sunflowers are like, the prettiest flowers.. :):)

Seems like this is the first time I've experience spring, so I was blown away by the blooming flowers, and couldn't resist not taking this picture on my way to school: love the rose bush.
And this morning, at Migros... Woo!! It's strawberry season.. Compare these to what we had months earlier: then, it was scrawny and barely red and pathetically small, now it's shiny bright red, huge and oh-so-yummy-looking!! Needless to say, these were really sweet :)

A few of us are invited to dinner tonight at a Swiss friend's place, and I offered to bake a cake to bring along. This below, is a typical swiss cake, called Carrot cake. One with real carrots, ground almonds and a slight hint of lemon flavour. The whole corridor of my apartment here smelt delicious when it was baking in the oven. Yummy!!

Will be going to Basel and Luzern over the weekend, and hopefully take lots of pictures! :)

it's june...

i'm officially in Zurich for 3 months. And this month, is the month I've been dreading all semester: exams. But now that it's here, I can't wait for it to be over! Haha I told myself I'll really concentrate on studies, and not undertake any 'extra' activities. But.. haha my plan doesn't seem to be turning out as expected...

1st June, Yuki asked if I wanted to go with her to the Chocolate factory. I mean, who can turn down such a trip! We found our way, and the moment we alighted the bus, we smelt chocolate in the air! I'm serious!! the factory was just by the main road, but still!! Haha the people living in that area must be feeling so fortunate. This endearing smell also stirred up my craving for a chocolate, even though I had just told Yuki earlier in the bus that I somehow didn't feel like eating chocolates that day.
I love this poster!! haha it says below: Created with love and passion.
Yup our main purpose there was actually to buy chocolates, cos Yuki's mum will be coming to Zurich in about two weeks, but wouldn't have time to head down herself, and thus asked Yuki to buy 30 small boxes of swiss chocs for souvenirs to bring back. Unfortunately, the actual production process is not opened for public viewing, but people come here to buy chocolates cos the prices are much cheaper than what you get in Migros or Coop; sorta like warehouse prices. The shop, though, definitely looks nothing near a warehouse. Haha i just felt like letting out a squeal of excitement when I saw the shelves packed with all sorts of chocolates in this shop... (sorry for the pic quality, though. I took it from a postcard, since I had, in my choc frenzy, forgotten to take a pic in the shop itself)
Haha I'll surely be going back there. Most probably before i fly back, to get enough chocolates for all my dear friends in Singapore. Haha if you happen to be reading this, I suggest you fix a date to meet me shortly after I return, to collect your share of chocs, otherwise I can't guarantee that what happened last year wouldn't happen again this year.. haha *winks to Liuyin* For the clueless, just to fill u in if u're interested:

Last year, in Germany, we visited a chocolate museum, and naturally, i stocked up on quite an amount of chocs to bring back for friends. Thing is, that visit was somewhere at the beginning of our trip, which meant that the chocs were not exactly fresh by the time I returned. What's more, I only got to meet some friends when school started, and by then, the chocs had already EXPIRED. haha Liuyin ka-qiao-ed me about this matter quite a bit, so nope! I shall not let history repeat itself!!

Yesterday, I paid a visit to another of papa's friends, in Grenchen. A small town southwest of Zurich. They were a nice simple couple, and took me around to walk in Solothurn, while telling me about the past of certain buildings and statues. Which set me thinking: the Europeans are really well informed of their surroundings. They knew when a particular building was built, to which family it had belonged to, what happened inside, what it's used as currently, etc... Wonder if I can do that with the buildings in Singapore. Hmm, wahrscheinlich nicht..
Oookie, time to get back to books. :( I just CAN'T WAIT FOR EXAMS TO BE OVER!!!