Eurotrip Outfits

hello all, wow, I guess i've been hit by nerdy virus since i surprisingly become very active in posting again. Hahahaha. So, i just want to make a quick post regarding the outfits i wear during my exchange period in Europe. Just for a note, almost all of the coats that i have was bought in Europe. It'll be better for you guys who will go travel to buy your clothes in your destination country because the price is cheaper and there'll be more variation. Have a nice reading

grey coat (bought in Lille, France), brown scarf (bought in Porto, Portugal), sling-bag (bought in Porto, Portugal), black gloves (bought in Lille, France), dark brown leggings (bought in Cologne, Germany), brown boots (belong to my friend, we did a trade for a while)

orange scarf (bought in Indonesia), black coat (bought in Lille, France)

blue hat (bought in Indonesia), blue scarf (bought in Amsterdam, Netherlands), blue gloves (bought in Cologne, Germany)

silver bag (bought in Indonesia), flower midi-dress (bought in Indonesia), black cardigan (bought in Indonesia), grey leggings (bought in Lille, France), black boots (bought in Lille, France)

brown coat (bought in Lille, France), red mini skirt (bought in Porto, Portugal), dark blue leggings (bought in Cologne, Germany)

black leggings (bought in Indonesia), grey boots (bought in Lille, France), red belt (owned by my friend, Vidya)

red jacket (bought in Indonesia), pink gloves (bought in Cologne, Germany), yellow tops (bought in Lille, France)

Cologne, Germany Trip (part 2)

Hey all, what you’ve been up to? It’s been almost 3 weeks since I returned from France. It is nice seeing my friends here, there are a lot of new stories that I need to catch up with them. So these last two weeks, I always went out with them without worrying about my thesis, sigh :D Alright then, enough with the my breaking news, I just wanna continue telling about my Cologne trip, so sit back, relax and enjoooy :D

Ophy, Ifti and me

The first day I arrived in Cologne was already quite late. I met my friends, Ifti and Ophy there. They were like me, taking exchange program from one semester abroad. So, after picked me up in the train station, we went to grab dinner in Turkey restaurant. We spent like one hour there before we split up. Ophy went home and I stayed over in Ifti’s student residence. You know what, I was kinda worried when I saw the way to go Ifti’s place because it was so dark and inhabitant (okay, I started to exaggerate). It was just like entering a forest, well, I wouldn’t complain that much if it’s noon, but it was night time, hahahaha. In the end, I was so happy arriving safe and sound in Ifti’s place.

in front of the Sport Museum :D

The next day, Ifti took me to walk in Rheine riverbanks. The weather that day was really nice. During our walk, Ifti told me that at night she and Ophy would take me to the giant wheel so that I would be able to see the whole city landscape, of course I agreed for that delightful plan. Long before I arrived in Cologne, Ifti already promised me to take me to the Chocolate Museum. So it was the time to ask for her promise. The entrance ticket was 5 Euro for student (no forget to bring your student card), and 9 Euro for general.

I really like Chocolate Museum, they seemed like open factory, because we could see the process in making chocolate and the best thing was that we were allowed to take picture inside the museum. That was my first time seeing chocolate production which was sooo sophisticating, they used robotic thingy to pour the chocolate mixture into the mold. There was also a lot of heavy machineries to mince and stir the chocolate. Me n Ifti we did take a lot of pictures there, I believed more than a hundred pictures were taken, hahhaha. After we’re done in Chocolate Museum, we met Ophy.

We walked through Neumarkt, it was Cologne famous shopping street. There were a lot of shops there, although most of them I could find in Lille :D During our walk, Ifti found a very cute white coat in very good price, good for her. After that, we went into Ophy’s apartment because they had cyber class at 5pm.

The third day, I went into Fachhochshule Koln, it’s Ifti and Ophy university. What for? Well, I joined their class, err, actually I was the intruders. Ifti and Ophy convinced me to take half session (just like I did in Rotterdam) and free to go after the break. In the break, we had “mensa” in university cafeteria. From that moment, I stumbled into a thought that German people do concern more about quantity instead of quality. I paid only 2.95 Euro and I got a tray full of bread, rice, fruit, lasagna and many more. Wow!! Fascinating!!! After they’re done with their class, we went to the Dom.

in the Dom stairs

Dom is a huge cathedral in Cologne which located in front of the train station. The entrance was free, so we spent like one hour inside, taking pictures, of course. After wandering around in the Dom, we split up. Ophy had to go because she had work to do. Then, Ifti took me to Hohenzollernbrucke. It was a famous bridge in Cologne, indeed, it was one of Cologne landscape. What makes the bridge truly well-known was the love padlock in its wall. More than millions of padlocks were there, crafted with romantic poets. I just wondered how to get rid of old padlocks if there isn’t any space left and how they can recognize which is the old one. After crossing the bridge, we arrived at LVR Turm building.

the breathtaking view in the top of LVR Turm Building

It was a high building which we could have the access into the top by paying 2.5 Euro. The reason why Ifti took me to this building because there wasn’t any giant wheel anymore, like what she’d promised the day before. The giant wheel had been removed. Hahahaha. After that, we went to Kampung Indonesia (Indonesian restaurant where Ifti and Ophy work) to have dinner with their classmate. And oh, that night I slept in Ophy’s apartment because the next day I would leave Cologne, and I found that Ophy’s place was closer with the train station.

me, Ifti, Ophy and their clasmates @ Kampung Indonesia

The fourth day, we just spent the day by taking a walk to buy costumes for Ifti and Ophy, because the next day was the 11-11-11 Cologne Carnival. And after that we cooked lunch in Ophy’s. So, 45 minutes before my departure, we already left the apartment and started moving to the train station. We took the subway by considering it would take maximum 15 minutes only. But guess what my dear readers, the subway moved very very slow. At first we didn’t realize it, but as the time goes by, we were getting panic. We arrived in the train station 2 minutes before my departure. Ophy grabbed my suitcase and asked me to run to catch my train. Goddamit, I run as fast as I can. I screamed into the crowd so they would clear my way, damn I hate running!!! And finally I arrived at the platform, seeing my train there. I asked Ifti to open the door, but it was locked!!!! I saw the machinist in the train and begged him to open the door for me but he just lifted his shoulders and gave me a look like it was fault why I was late. And yes, I saw my train LEAVING, with me left behind. I was so shock, so were Ifti and Ophy. We went to see the train officer and asked whether there would be any train to Lille later or not. The station officer suggested us to see my train agent in front of the station. We went there and surprisingly the staff didn’t speak any English. Ifti and Ophy they didn’t speak fluent German. Daaaamn, that was frustrating!! Ophy called his boyfriend and ask him to explain my situation. But his explanation was confusing. When I felt like almost hitting the bottom, I suddenly asked the staff: “est-ce-que vous connaissez français?” aaaaand he nodded his head!! Hahahhaa.. So then I explained all my problems and the cause why I was unable to catch the train and you know what some of the train ticket was refundable. Yaaaay!!! He also helped me finding a train to Lille the next day. Hahahaha.

me in front of the Koln Hauptbanhof, the train station

The fifth day, I woke Ophy’s up because my train was at 9am and hell yeah, I didn’t wanna lose it again. So, we went to the train station again, but with different subway lines. Hahahhaha. Finally I was succeed getting into the train without any drama like the day before. What a nice adventure. Thanks Ifti, Ophy and Patrick for spiced up my holiday there.

Cologne, Germany Trip

Alohaaa readers, miss me already? Well, since I’m almost done with my study, I have more free time to fill this blog, although sometimes I just feel jealous to myself regarded how easy the words flowing through my fingertips in writing the posts here instead of writing my thesis, oooops :D Alright then, today’s post will tell you about my journey to Cologne or Koln, a city located in western Germany. But I think I will split my Cologne story into two parts because I do really have a lot of thing to tell. Enjoooy!!

I went to Cologne directly from Rotterdam. I took the Eurolines bus from Rotterdam central station. When I wanted to enter the bus, I noticed that the passengers were just me and two African people. I felt a bit worried at the beginning but well, what choice did I have? So after tried finding a seat as close as possible with the driver, I sat back and relax. One hour later, we arrived at Amsterdam and had 30 minutes break and you know what, there were more people boarding into the bus. Yaaay!!

The trip to Cologne from Amsterdam was supposed to be 3 hours long, but unfortunately it was already dark outside so I spent most of my time by sleeping. In the middle of my journey, one of the African passengers started to make a conversation with me. Well, I didn’t mind having a chatty friend to spend the time during my journey, but if the conversation was getting completely off base, ohooo, that’s making me uncomfortable. So, please don’t get me wrong if I give him my fake name and phone number. Hahhahah :D

I did have a lot of new experiences during this 3 hours trip. My favorite is when we entered Germany border ( I notice it by the SMS that welcoming me to Germany ) suddenly our bus was surrounded by two police cars. They asked us to stop. I was afraid and excited at once. I felt safe because I had all the document needed for travel. Then, four policemen entered the bus, greeted us and started to check our documents, like passport or visa. I was pretty sure that they did a random checking in unpredicted moments because there were 2 passengers in the bus which having problem with their documents. One passenger from Eastern Europe was caught having…..weapon (speechless) without bringing the proper document. Thus, he was asked to de-bus by the policemen. The checked took about 30 minutes and everyone felt happy when finally the policemen let us continue the journey. 15 minutes later, we stopped at the gas station and I decided to go to the restroom. I stopped for a while because the restroom was located a bit far and I have to pass the parking trucks to go there. Suddenly, voila, there was a woman that goes to the same direction with me. So I walked with her and she started asking me a lot of stuffs in dutch!! Hahahha, that was so funny, I explained her that I didn’t understand any dutch and when I tried to speak in English it turned out that she didn’t understand English. Well, we kept on communicating on our way to the restroom by making some understandable gesture :D Oh, how I love that kind of coincidence that enriches my experience.

Our first stop in Germany was in small city called Dusseldorf and just in 5 minutes, it was just me and the driver in the end. Hell yeaaah, all the passengers got off in Dusseldorf!! Hahahha, that was awkward. The driver then asked me about my destination, ups I was afraid that I took the wrong bus which has Dusseldorf as its final destination. So in order to looked brave (and smart, perhaps), I asked the driver whether he will continue to drive me to Cologne or not, and how relieve I was when he said “of course, Cologne is just 30 minutes far from here”. Finally at 9.45 pm, I arrived in Cologne central station safe and sound. Then I texted my friend, Ophy and Ifti to meet me there (to be continued…)

Netherlands Trip

the souvenir shop in Amsterdam

Back with me again, readers, how are you? As I promised before, I will start to share you guys about my adventure in Europe. And the first country I visit outside France waaaaas ……. Netherlands!!! Long before I had my residence permit, I said to myself that I will travel around Europe, visit new places, meet new people, try all the public transport, etc. Please do not blame me with all the cockiness, I was just extremely excited. Sooo, a day after I got my residence permit, I started my adventure.

the WTC in Beurs, Rotterdam

My consideration in choosing Netherlands was because I have some friends there. They study in Erasmus University, Rotterdam. I went there for 4 days, November 3 to November 7. For my trip there, I took the Eurolines bus from my city, Lille. When I bought the bus ticket, I was a bit confused about the picking point. In the bus website, the pick-up point was between the Lille Europe train station and Crowne Plaza Hotel, but when I checked using the google map thingy, I saw no sign for Eurolines pick-up point. Not any single sign. So I contacted my Korean friend, Doyun, and fortunately she was able to accompany me there, and voila, I saw it with my own eyes that there was no sign of Eurolines bus there. No wonder I got so confuse. My departure should be at 16.30 but wow, the bus arrived 15 minutes before and left 5 minutes before the schedule. The bus driver was so friendly and funny. He made several jokes during the trip. One and a half hour later, the bus stopped at Brussels, Belgium. We had 45 minutes to wandering around or getting some food. Some of the passengers got of at Brussels and only few of them continuing to Rotterdam.

At 21.00, I finally arrived at Rotterdam grand central station. Surprisingly, it was only me who got off there. The remaining passengers were going to Amsterdam. So after waiting for about 20 minutes, my friend Ahmad and Dewisya finally picked me up there. I spent my first night in Dewisya’s apartment. Dewisya lived with 3 Indonesian girls. They all study in the Erasmus University.

cubic house

The next day, I went to Erasmus University and guess what, I joined their class. Well, not the whole class, just the first 90 minutes, and after that, while waiting for my friends finishing their class, I did a quick tour around the university. In the afternoon, me and Dewisya went to have some lunch in the downtown. I ate the kapsalon, it was slices of chicken combined with French fries and some salads. After that, we went to the city hall, world trade center and cubic house. I also met my friends Ira and Metta from my home university. The good thing in Rotterdam (or even the whole Netherlands) was the existence of Indonesian restaurant everywhere, maybe it was because not only the Dutch ever occupied Indonesia for almost 3.5 century, but also the expansion of Indonesian students to Netherlands itself. Knowing my lack in Indonesian culinary during my stay in France, my friends took me to an Indonesian restaurant owned by Indonesian couple. For 10 euro I got rice with ayam rica, tumis kacang panjang, and telur balado. It was delicious and worth the price, although in Indonesia, you will have at least ten portions of those food in that price. Well, I spent my second night in Ira and Metta apartment. Their apartment is a bit further, but they have bigger apartment than Dewisya. I even got my own room J

me n Dewisya

The day after, they took me to Amsterdam!! Yaaay, the train ticket was only 16 euro for two was because one of my friends got the discount card, not baaaad at all. The trip was only 1 hour long. Once we arrived in Amsterdam, we split the group. Me and Nilam went to Sex Museums, and Amsterdam Shopping Street. Actually I wanted to go to Madame Tussaud, but the queue line was so long. In the evening we went to a book store (I forgot the name) which sold the book in very good deal, unfortunately I didn’t buy any of those books. And at night we returned to Rotterdam.

The third day, it was the Idhul Adha day. All the moslems throughout the world celebrate this day by sacrificing four legged animals such as cow, camel, goat, etc. in Rotterdam, since there was a lot of Indonesian people, me and my friends went to the small mosque there and found a lot of Indonesian family there. After doing the pray, we gathered in a one Indonesian house and having the lunch there. Oh how I miss my family at that time..

My last day in Rotterdam was tranquil. I went to a local supermarket to buy some snacks for my next trip to Cologne, Germany. I bought Dutch traditional food, stroopwafel. I was so glad meeting my friends in Rotterdam. The local people there were also so fluent in English. What I didn’t like there is the public transport. It was so expensive. For a single journey could cost us 4 Euro, meanwhile in Lille, the same amount of money can be used to purchase one day ticket. Ckckckckkc k. It was funny how I also miss Lille during my every trip outside France.

Well, that was my trip to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. I will be back very soon to tell my other trips. You have a nice weekend!! Ciaooo

re-greet :)

Dear readers, i’m back in Indonesia already. Finally after 5 months living in wonderland full of experiences and shocking moments, here I am again, in my hometown. I do have tons of stories to tell, since I amazingly made to visit 10 countries during my 5 months stay in Europe. So buckle up readers, the next posts will be exposing about my quick and delightful adventures. Yaaaaay!!!