Düsseldorf Day 2

My train departs at 515pm today, so not much time to look around. Called Yusuke, a japanese exchange student we know from WHU, and arranged for late lunch/early dinner at 3pm. LOL.
Keaton carried my bagpack as we left his place at 12pm, in case there wasn't time to go back and get my stuff. We took a stroll to Altstadt, passing through a nice park which I do not know the name of. The weather was BEAUTIFUL and so was the pond :D

:D

Black Swan!

Sunnyyyy :D

Unfortunately, we met 2 irritating drunken young german lads in the park who insisted Keaton talk to his fren on the phone. So bo liao. Fancy getting drunk at 12pm. Come Singapore, I call the cops already ar! =X

Anw, at Altstadt, Keaton & I shared a mini Hawaiian Pizza for lunch, which wasn't so mini but definitely super duper yummy! Thin crust, loads of cheese, chunky pineapples & ham. It's one of the best pizzas I've eaten in Germany! Not that I've tried many, but 100 times much better than the super salty one in Triberg. (Remember, Paul? haha!)

Yummy!!

Basker: the true "Charcoal Black"

After pizza, we bought gelato! Sat around, enjoyed the wonderful weather and continued walking around, towards the Korean restaurant, where we were supposed to meet Yusuke!

Impressive sculpture/water fountain until...

u see his expression. HAHA =X

Walk walk walk! :)

The korean restaurant opens only aft 5pm on sunday, so we ended up meeting & dining at a Japanese restaurant instead. It was so nice to see Yusuke after 2 months! During my semester in WHU, Christian, him and I did a Corporate Finance Project together. Was in German 3 classes with him as well (those times when I actually went). I think it's really wonderful to meet up after so long, with him in Germany again! Chatted and caught up a bit with him over our meal and went to a quite famous pub nearby to drink Altbier!

Me & Yusuke :D

Keaton & I

As we were drinking, we were talking about some biz, industries and countries stuff. Being a representative of my sunny little island, I can't help but feel tiny. Japan & Korea - what big economy they have. What can I boast of from my country? Ich schweige und kann nur meinen Kopf nicken.

Korean, Singaporean, Japanese, in Germany :)

By the way, don't u think that they look really korean and japanese respectively? haha! So cute :D

After our drink, it was time for me to leave. They walked with me to the Hbf (central station) and I said goodbye to Yusuke. (Hopefully we'll meet in Asia in the future!) Bought my tickets, a bread and went to my platform. Once again, the train was delayed, which means I might miss the next train again!

Went to the DB staff and after checking for 3 mins, he scribbled some stuff on my ticket and said "u'll travel directly to Berlin instead. The departure time is 1753h." Yay! This meant that I had more time in Dusseldorf, get to travel on the more ex ICE train, without any transits and arrive at almost the same time! Tan dio! :P

Lonely trip home!

When I finally reached Berlin, I felt scared. It was raining, cold, dark and if u know Berlin, it's not the prettiest city in Germany. Graffiti, punks, homeless people, Berliners with a beer in their hands are a common sight, especially during weekends. It didn't help that I was carrying my laptop, digicam, handphone and €100+ worth of cash. I couldn't wait to get home!

At the U bahn station, a drunken guy came to the platform and peed at the TV screens which are placed at the front for drivers to see. So gross T.T
Though I've never thought of it as a ridiculous rule, I now think it's perfectly justifiable for Singapore to fine those who pee in public!

After the frightening journey from Berlin Ostbahnhof to home, which was just 2 stops away, I suddenly realised that sense of security is really a relative thing. The fear I felt was like 3 yrs ago, when I first visited Berlin, never felt this way in the 5 wks i've been living here. Probably cos I was carrying many valuables but also cos Düsseldorf felt so safe. Singapore is a haven too; this is probably why Singaporeans, like my parents (and me included), are so afraid of travelling.

That was the end of my exciting weekend but I'm looking forward to the next weeks! Here's what's on or what I have in mind next week:
- Wed: Farewell party for my fellow colleague interns
- Thurs: Dinner gathering at my colleague's place (mini farewell)
- Sat: Berlin Pride 2009: Giant parade to include gays, lesbians, transsexuals
- Sun: Attend church service!