sights.signs.heidelberg

after schwetzingen, we departed for heidelberg, the two cities are rather close by to each other... i actually visited heidelberg in 1995 during my first grand bus tour of europe after i graduated from staffordshire university... the memories are pretty much about the river on a hot summer afternoon and about a castle that i never visited...

sights and signs of heidelberg

our sumptuous lunch and desserts, however the dessert is not really up to expectation, my black forest cake is overdosed with rum (very alcoholic), A's chocolate mousse cake comes in double portion (a blessing??) and J's apple strudel is definitely a disappointment.

i like this shot of an fortress from a small alley at the main street in a distorted angel...

the market square

at the bridge that cross the rhine river

there are lots of shops along the main street and most of them are nicely decorated as well, the window display is mainly about bunny, eggs, chocolate to mark the easter theme...

other than the rather windy and drizzling weather, it's been a good stroll along the city center.

schwetzingen.castle.garden

after admiring the cherry blossom, we continue our stroll at the schwetzingen castle but now checking out the french landscape garden which is kind of a mini and rough version of versailles palace in paris outskirt...

approaching schwetzingen castle, the tower in the city center

schwetzingen castle - main entrance

the statue in the center of the pool, the quality of the statues varied...

Parterre in the formal garden

what i find peculiar is that there is a mosque in the palace garden

a pond at the end of the garden, a rather scenic shot, don't you think so?

apparently according to the local, there are big fishes in the pond, these fishes are man rare for two years and then just prior to christmas, the fishes will be electric shock to death and sell at the fish stalls for christmas delicacy, what an interesting fact but it is at least good that the eco system is at work and fishes are rare for 2 years before being eaten up by the germans...

hanami.schwetzingen

it's a reasonably nice moring with sunshine and expected overcast in the later of the afternoon... we decided to check out the sakura blossom in the schwetzingen castle. i could never expect to see cherry blossom in germany, could you? apparently there is a cherry garden in schwetzingen castle, we checked out this place as soon as we arrived...

mine..is mind blowing, the blossom of sakura almost convince me that i am in japan again... the pastel pink against the vivid blue sky and green grass... what a picturesque moments

i am quite sure if the cherry blossom must be at its optimum during our visit there

hanami, instead of doing the hanami in japan (10 hours flight), we made it in germany (5 hours drive)

and i am absolutely happy with the beautiful blossom that i see and enjoy...

now i am rather convince that germany and japan somehow has crossed the line.. with a little japan in dusseldorf and now a cherry garden in schwetzingen, how japanese can germany be..

mannheim

after 5+ hours of driving, we arrived mannheim... a good friend of mine from hong kong is temporary relocate to mannheim, so we visited her and stayed at her house...

her house is located at a quiet street, the house is rather old fashion decorated but it is not a surprise considering the owner of the unit is an eighty over old lady... there are plenty of carpets in the house too...

the owner of the house must have been well travelled and the house has a lot of collectibles from all over the world... just the kitchen alone there are already plenty of cute figurines...

in the room that we overnight, there are plenty of little objects too...

what is good about staying at one's home is you got to guess one's taste personality base on the interior decoration and as you admiring, you get some inspiration at the same time....

well, thank you A for hosting us...

stop.over.dusserdolf

i never thought to be on the road this weekend but in the mid morning we decided to make a east bound trip to mannheim germany visiting a friend of mine.... the journey took about 5 hours and we set off at around 2pm, having arrived at dusserdolf, we decided to pause for awhile.
it's good friday, thus all shops are closed except the cafes and restaurants, we were at the little japan area..

most shops are closed...

cafe relax

cafe relax is a very typical japanese cafe serving simple meal, desserts and drinks. i like the ambiances and the interior deco, the patrons are also mainly japanese youngsters, despite of the heavy smell of the smoke, it's a nice place to hangout with free wifi...

and i love their desserts, they even have macaron on sales here and all the nice little tartlets, too bad that i just not have enough space to eat them all... they even decorated the little dog with macarons, what cute!!

i had a green tea (matcha) tiramisu and a green tea genmai hot tea, what a perfect way to pause for the long journey

a dinner at naniwa sushi restaurant, the taste is authentic and the sashimi all are fresh and delicious...

back.to.life

after 2 days of sleep, o... I slept a lot and jet lag finally hit me now (4 days after my arrival). this morning i woke up at 4am. i went back to office yesterday and on my way home i was caught in long traffic jam and it really reminds me that i am back to life, back to reality... not that the trip to usa is an escape to reality but certainly it was a pleasure trip both from the work perspective and from personal perspective...
i gained a lot of confidence through the faculty role, being section lead for both weeks were demanding and mending 60 young 'kids' required extra energy as well.
I did well in managing my health... my blood sugar went high sometimes but that was due to american portion and irresistible dessert, once i increased the insulin dosage according to my appetite, everything is fine...
I only have one 'off day' during the school but that mainly due to the fact that i caught a cold and developing into sore throat and was advised to 'voice' off for a day.
yesterday while in the office canteen, it hits me hard that i am really back to the dutch sober food, although i complaint a lot about the unstable quality of food in q dining but i was spoilt with choices, endless of choices back there. now i don't even have a choice but feast on bread/sandwiches and frozen salad for lunch..
so i am back to life, back to reality but certainly not back to the square one before i left for america. i am back to 100% of work and find myself coping really while during the faculty prep and school. all i need now is a project to continue to show case the spirit of excellence that He has given to me...

26:26 jfk

finally time to say goodbye, but not quite yet as i was told at check-in counter that the flight is delayed by 2 hours due to late arrival from amsterdam...

stranded at jfk airport... thankfully i have access to the lounge which provides me with full hot dinner and many other snacks and healthy stuff to munch on...

oasis lounge, not a bad one really, it is relatively spacious to cater many stranded passengers like me...

and if you forget to buy something from victoria secrets in the city, there is always another chance at jfk because there is an outlet here selling almost identical stuffs from the high street plus it is duty free here...

i showered, i ate, i surfed the net, edited my photos, facebooking but still time passes rather slower. i guess when i got onto the flight i am just going to sleep then...

this is my last daily post for my usa trip. i definitely had some fun and both hard work this trip, but the overall experience is an enriched and confident boost one....

till then, God bless america....