.::. The Honeymoon - Part 4 .::.

We flew from Munich to Iceland. Not the best way because air tickets ain't that cheap (cheaper from London).

Iceland is a very unique country. It's the first country that we have been and do not know how their currency looked like. It's amazing that the whole country is wired effectively and you can pay for your bus tickets with your credit card on the bus. We paid for everything by card and they have these wireless device that is even faster than those wired ones in Singapore shops. So yes, you do not need to exchange for any of their currency to travel around Iceland!

We were in awe once we arrived and got on the bus. It's one of those countries with landscapes so dramatic that you just had to be in awe. I was praying to catch the northern lights, but out of the few nights we were there, only the first night was clear.

Another great thing about Iceland is that the airport shuttle drops you at your hotel (most hotels anyway). The tours also picks you up and drop you back at your hotel.



So obviously, the first thing we did was to call up the tour agency to book the northern lights tour. It was a clear night with beautiful stars and freezingly cold. Really cold. We were driving around, trying to chase the lights. The tours informed each other of their location and if there were clear skies or clouds closing in. It was a long night and after hours of waiting, we almost gave up hope.



And at the last stop, we finally saw it. Not impressive really, but hey, at least we saw something! It was so hard to get out of the warm car into the cold at every stop. The lights were flickering at the horizon, with lots of stars.

We did try hunting for the northern lights again the following night, but didn't see anything.



We followed a tour the following day, to visit all the scenic areas. It's really amazingly dramatic landscapes. First stop was this flat plane covered with snow and a hint of the sun in the horizon.



This was one of the most famous waterfalls in the world. Frozen. It was so cold here, I had trouble smiling with my frozen face. After like 30 minutes out in the cold, gosh, the hot soup we had for lunch was so good.



And here's the geyser! I captured the moment just before it shoots up. The tell-tale sign is this blue dome just before it erupts.



Here's us.



Another super cold area with lots of historic significance. But it was just flat and really vast.

After a whole day of touring, we had dinner at one of the famous restaurant and paid a bomb for really fresh fish and delicious food. It was yummy.

The next day in Iceland was a relaxing day. We slept in, walked around in town and went to Blue Lagoon, this geothermal pool that was stunning and really shiok in the cold weather.

There's also mineral clay to be used as a mask. It's not only Asians that are erm cheapskate. I saw so many ang moh bringing containers to bring those mineral mud home. It's per entry for the Blue Lagoon and you can use the mineral mud freely, but obviously not supposed to bring it home! They do sell the mud and other mineral products at the store!

Totally breathtaking place. I think both of us enjoyed it a lot and it was a nice relaxing day as our tour was coming to an end.

Right outside Blue Lagoon.

Some graffiti in town.

We've come to the final destination of this trip and have done a loop around Europe yet again.

First stop was Four Seasons duck. It's yummy, but still wasn't as nice as we remembered. The first time we had this was really unforgettable.

I wanted to watch Les Miserables desperately. And ridiculously, all tickets were sold out for the next few days. We usually bought discount tickets on the same day and did not expect this to happen. This was probably because of the recent movie that brought renewed interest to the show. When we were choosing between this and Phantom the last trip, all tickets were available on the same day! 

I only have myself to blame for not checking or booking tickets earlier on when I was in London just 2 weeks before. The box office was very rude too, telling us there were no more tickets at all. I asked if there was any way, if someone did not collect tickets or anything, he barked that there's NO MORE TICKETS AT ALL - like I did not understand English. *bleah* Very disappointed, but well. Next time!

We went to Camden Market, somewhere we have not been before. Sit on motorbikes and eat chinese takeout box and fish and chips in the cold.

We spent quite some time shopping in Selfridges. Gosh it's a nice place to shop! I love all the furniture and household stuff. We nearly wanted to buy a clock back, the grey one in the middle that the husband likes. But the thing is, we didn't need a clock and it's kinda big to carry back. We didn't in the end.

Oh, and nespresso capsules are ALOT cheaper in London. We bought like 12 sleeves of capsules back at about 50 cents each.

And the last night in London was Chinese New Year's Eve. He insisted on having steamboat, which was fine by me. But he insisted on going somewhere quite far for steamboat instead of the one in chinatown that had mediocre reviews and cost about SGD$40. The further one was cheaper and had better reviews.

So we dropped our stuff at the hotel and took a train out of town (we were staying at Victoria). It was a 45 minute train ride and when we walked out according to the map, it was a residential area and very quiet. It brought us to a quiet and dark neighborhood with no sight of the restaurant. There were nothing but houses in sight even when we reached the very short road where the restaurant was supposed to be. I was cold and hungry by then, it was already after 8pm. We finally saw a couple and asked them for directions. To our dismay, they told us that the address was at the other side of London, very far away. There was the short road with the same name in the neighborhood, but the address and area wasn't there.

Gosh. I was really cold and hungry by then. The train back to town would take another hour and there were nothing to eat around that area. I was grumbling and feeling incredible, not knowing to be angry or to laugh at how the husband has yet again brought us to the wrong place during our travels. He was acting sheepish and trying to gauge if I was really upset, but at the end I guess both of us found humor in our situation. After all, it's having each other's company that was the main point.

We were contemplating MacDonalds near our hotel or heading to Chinatown to find some food. We ended up at Chinatown and made it into a chinese restaurant around 10pm, just before they closed.

On hindsight, I guess we were thankful that the map brought us to a nice residential neighborhood instead of one of those areas that we should avoid. I mean, we had no idea where we were going!

This is how London's Chinatown looks like during Chinese New Year. You can find everything here. I think London should be a nice place to live in. I ilke London, in a not-too-crazy but very fond sort of way.

And this was us, after a long day and adventure around London on Chinese New Year's eve. We flew back the next day, just in time for Chinese New Year.

It has been yet another great trip as a couple. And it was on our anniversary when he wrote me a card that made me realize how accommodating I was with the husband's schedule and everything. I practically planned the whole wedding single-handedly and the husband did not need to worry about any of the details. I didn't even make him visit endless bridal shops to choose my gown as I bought it myself online. The hotel coordination, the flowers, the prep work and the everything was all settled by me. He just had to choose when I asked him to and show up with me when needed, while I did all the homework. I didn't get upset when he had to leave right after the wedding and was actually supportive of his study trip. Then, I planned the whole honeymoon. He just needed to give his inputs on where he wanted to go and I made everything happen, choosing the most convenient hotels and cheapest deal and routes. I've done all the research and find out where and how to go the nicest places. And when he had his classes, I was entertaining myself and enjoying the me-time to travel around alone, buying him toiletries without whining nor throwing any tantrums. Perhaps, I finally saw what he loves about me though his default answer is 'because you're ben ben de (silly)'. He's happy to let me do these stuff (there are some stuff that he does and I do not ever touch) and I really do not mind getting these done, for us.

I think we make a great team. I'm as thankful to have him as he is to have me. The honeymoon was well, one of the many memorable trips we had that brought us closer yet again. These are moments that I'd like to remember in the many years to come.

To many more happy trips~!

.::. Our Honeymoon .::.

We went for our honeymoon right after the wedding, and it was truly tiring. The husband had to go on a course in Birmingham right after the wedding, and I tagged along. I mean I had to right? Otherwise my husband would be gone for 2 weeks right after the wedding.

The first week in Birmingham, it was snowing heavily.  He made me take a bus from London to Birmingham after a long-haul flight (right after the wedding), change to a 3-hour bus ride to Birmingham, take a train (which was delayed) to the campus AND walked 20 minutes in the snow. I was so shag - all these when he could have took a cab (it's claimable) to the doorstep from Birmingham Central! We stayed on campus where his classes were, just right opposite. 

I spent the first day exploring Birmingham, the next exploring the campus, another day in London and one day in Cambridge. I enjoyed the me-time very much, exploring places by myself.

It was a chore to travel from the campus – 20 minute walk in the snow to the campus train station, another 15 minutes to reach Birmingham city where the connecting trains were. The other day were spent in the room, planning the rest of our honeymoon and booking hotels, doing research.











Here's Birmingham Central and it was freezing.



And this was the view from our hotel window.



I went to London a day before my birthday.







Headed straight to Borough Market for some pub grub and beer, then to see the beautiful Wesminister before doing some shopping and da-pao-ing the famous Four Seasons duck back to share with the husband at Birmingham. The poor boy was complaining about having to eat sandwiches and salad everyday when it's so cold.

I spent my birthday in the hotel, planning our trip, strolling around the campus and joining him for a course dinner. The coordinator graciously invited me along knowing that I'm here with him right after the wedding, and even picked us up in a London cab from the hotel as it was snowing and very cold.

I then went to Cambridge the next day. It's a 3-hour train ride away from Birmingham and someone pasted a hand-written note on the ticketing machine saying that there are no trains. I tried the machine and it seemed to work. I thought that someone played a prank and pasted that on the machine, perhaps a student? I tore it off and wanted to buy tickets. Then, the ticketing person came and told me off, looking annoyed like I do not understand English. She refused to let me buy tickets and insisted that there are no trains when I see trains coming on the screen! Luckily I decided to take the risk and went down the platform without buying tickets. The train came and I managed to get to the central where I'm supposed to get a connecting train. The problem was, I did not have a ticket and there were people at the entrance checking tickets. They weren't always there, and there was a long queue of people paying 'fines' as they've no ticket (like me). I decided to try my luck and flashed my old ticket - I got through effortlessly and they didn't look at the date at all!

Lucky me, did manage to get to Cambridge but missed the walking tour of the day. It was already past noon when I arrived and the only option was punting at 3.30pm. I took that up and rushed to wander around the city with my map in hand.





It was beautiful, and Cambridge has so many stories.



And here I was, punting in the river. It was so cold and I was famished by then. Cold and hungry - not a good combination.



I finally found a restaurant opposite the...church I think..some iconic structure in Cambridge. The hot tea and curry chicken with rice was so good.

Did I mention that I love Europe.  I love the feel of Europe and just being there. And I'm glad that I had some me-time to spend with myself and reflect on things there. It almost feel like those student days in Sweden again.



The husband finally finished the course and the test on Friday, and we headed to the central for dinner before our honeymoon officially starts.

Our first stop was Liverpool/Manchester after his course ended. We visited Anfield (his favorite club) which was really ulu and old.  We went for a tour around the stadium and headed to Manchester United (my favorite club) since the 1999 treble.  I managed to get tickets for the FA Cup match against Fulham, and was so excited about going for a live match there!





Next stop was Paris, because I made a mistake with the closing day of the Louvre (it’s Tuesday instead of the usual Monday for most museums) and the husband didn’t get to visit the last time round.  We spent about 2 days there, spending a day at the Lovure (I really love it) and the other times looking for the best baguette in Paris and strolling along Champs Elysse.















We went in search of the best baguette in Paris (and probably France).

Third stop to Lausanne for a stopover to catch our first scenic train ride in Swizerland.  We had some time to walk around the Olympic City which was full of slopes and cobbler stones roads.



Next up was the scenic train along ‘The Golden Pass’ from Montreux to Interlaken, taking in the dramatic landscapes in Swizerland.  We stopped  by Interlaken which will be our base to travel around the area for the next few days. After having lunch, we explored the little town and walked along the river as the sun set. Dinner was the best veal I ever had!







We went to Jungfrau the next day as weather was fine.  The trains up the steep hills were amazing, and the views up at “Top of Europe” was really dramatic. It was so windy up there, at minus 13 degrees.  The viewing platform was partially closed and we could barely keep our balance.  We kept trying to take a nice picture, our hands keep getting numb and snow kept flying onto my teeth (which hurts!).  We stopped by Gwindewald, and was contemplating whether or not to try snow sledging the next day.  It was cheap, but I was afraid of the cold (snowing) and not sure how I’d take to heights on the slopes.  Moreover, sledging would mean being unable to visit Luzern  or Bern/Zurich.











We ended up at Luzern the next day.  It was a picturesque town, with this ‘Harry Potter Bridge’.  We spent the day wandering the town and went back Interlaken for traditional cheese fondue.





We left Interlaken for Bern next.  Bern is a small little charming town that I really liked. It can be explored in a few hours, walking along the old streets and climbing up the hill for a birds-eye view. As we still had some time in the afternoon, we ended up dropping by Zurich on the way to Chur.  It was a long and fulfilling day!













The only reason we went to Chur was to catch the Bernina Express the next morning.  It was supposed to be the most scenic train ride in Switzerland (and maybe whole world). It stopped once for us to take pictures, and everyone was scurrying in the snow. It was indeed stunning, and we went all the way to the border of Italy.  The last part of the train ride was closed for maintenance and we stopped by for lunch at the ‘Italian’ part of Switzerland which served cheap and delicious pasta.

Very sadly, my lens was stuck and the auto-focus broke down when we left the train to take pictures in the cold. And stupidly for some reason, I didn't bring my other lens out. We simply did not manage to capture the beauty of the place - something which has to be left to our memories. Some pictures had to be taken with my trusty iPhone after the accident. =(







We had a little adventure, as we decided to take the earlier train than scheduled, thinking that we can stop to take pictures somewhere then catch our scheduled train on the way back. When we got down, it was so cold and the snow so deep.  I sunk into knee-deep snow every step I walked.  It was so cold and impossible to actually walk to take pictures! And to our horror, our scheduled train does not stop there on weekends. The next train that stopped there was in an hour and went to another town. For a moment, I thought that we’re going to be stranded, now knowing if we can get back to our hotel tonight.

Then! Our scheduled train pulled at our station.  I hurried to press the door open and rushed up the train, feeling really relieved.  The train stopped till the train conductor found us.  He recognized us and told us that the train stopped by mistake as the driver forgot that it wasn’t supposed to stop on weekends. *phew* we really got lucky.



We were supposed to get to Munich to meet up with 2 of my friends, but part of the train track was under maintenance and we had to be on a bus for that portion of the journey.  I was really uneasy about it, afraid that delays would mean missing our connection and lots of trouble.  The bus was late and I thought we were in trouble, but thankfully the train waited! We got lucky yet again.



We only had an afternoon in Munich and it was mainly to meetup with my friends and catch the flight to Iceland the next morning.  We had lunch in this really nice typical German beer house, and I really loved the place.  It reminds me of Poland actually.  The food was good and I love the ‘Radler’ which was lemonade with beer – very addictive! We walked around the town area and bought Birkenstocks. It was a cold and gloomy day in Munich.





Iceland was really an experience by itself.  I don’t think I’ve been to anywhere with that much inhabitable land and unique landscape. It’s also the first country we’ve been for many days without even exchanging for any of its currency (we still have no idea how Icelandic Kroner looks like). We went to a famous fish restaurant there and it was really delicious! We went to see geysers, craters and spent a day at the Blue Lagoon. It was really beautiful.

We hunted for northern lights for 2 nights, since we were already there.  It was really cold at night. We only got to see faint lights on the first night, 2^nd night was really faint and flickering – now you see it, later you don’t.









It was really cold and our hands, face, mouth were all frozen.









We also had lots of fun at Blue Lagoon which was so beautiful.











We ended the trip in London.  I wanted to watch Les Miserables, but it was fully sold out for weekends the whole month!  I should have booked the tickets earlier instead of trying to get discount tickets! We went around, shopped and had my favorite Four Seasons duck. Nesspresso capsules were half-priced there and we stocked up on it.







Our Chinese New Year eve was spent in London’s Chinatown.  It was memorable, because the husband brought me to the wrong place yet again.  He insisted on having steamboat for our ‘reunion dinner’. There were steamboat in Chinatown, but he insisted on going to the other one which was way out of town.  He said that the Chinatown one was expensive (20 pounds buffet) and wasn’t that nice. So, we dropped our shopping in the hotel and took a 40-min train ride out of town to the place.  Upon reaching, we couldn’t find the restaurant, it was a quiet neighborhood.  I was cold and hungry by then, it was already almost 9pm. We asked for directions and the Londoner told us that the restaurant was on the other side of London! There was a small road that was the same name there, but the area was totally different.

So there I was, not knowing to laugh or to get angry. It’s not the first time he brought me to the wrong place while travelling. Luckily the neighborhood was safe and not some dangerous area! We took almost another hour to reach Chinatown and made it to a Chinese restaurant just before it closed.  There we were, cold and hungry on Chinese New Year Eve, far away from home and eating at 11pm.



It brought our honeymoon to a close.

I know someday, I will be reading this, looking at these pictures, remembering those happy times we had. Perhaps someday, our children would read this and feel the love their parents shared since they were teenagers.

And to the husband - to many more happy memories to come. =)