Bremen - Germany

As mentioned, my weekend trip to Germany included 3 cities... Bremen, Hanover and Hamburg. Bremen was my first destination and also my favourite =) But i have to start telling the story from the beginning.. which is our journey there..

Train ride to Tampere

Everything went well.. right until we arrived at Tampere. Upon arrival, we realised that the train station we intended to stay overnight at closes at 1am. Not only that, i was only prepared for Germany weather and not Tampere night temperatures! So we frantically went around looking for a 24 hr place where we can hang out till 5.15am (where the bus is supposed to take us to the airport).. nothing was open.. not even the police station.. haha yes we tried..

So we found a multi story carpark and hid in the stairwells.. it was a truly miserable way to begin our trip.. We couldn't sleep at all coz it was too cold to sit down for long. Thats not all.. we arrived at the budget terminal only to realise that we were 1/2 hr from opening time.. So we stood outside the closed airport doors in the freezing cold.. sucky morning.

So you can imagine how happy we were when we finally arrived in Bremen! The sun was shining and it was positive degrees. I never did realise i miss the sun so much.

You can tell you're in Germany once you set foot outside the airport. It was exactly how i expected Germany to look like. Audis, BMWs and Mercedes Benz's all around =) And we saw a sign that said "Bremen, City of Trams".. Clean Green, High Tech, Efficient.. We're in Germany!

Bremen Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway Station)

When in Germany... eat Sausages!

And Huge Pretzels

We put our barang barang in our cosy hostel.. which had a nice lounge (where they had this Jason Mraz poster)

Bremen is a really charming little place.. its possible to walk from the railway station and cover the sights in a day or so..

A park between our place and the City Centre

Trams - the main mode of public transport besides bicycles and walking

A l5 min walk and we arrived at the Market Place.. very old and nice.. =)

St Peter's Cathedral

Roland the Knight

The Town Musicians

Entrance to the Bottcherstrasse Street.. a nice alleyway of small shops and restaurants.. lined with public artwork

The street led us from the Market Place to the Waterway..

From the Waterway we headed to this place called the Schnoor.. which was the oldest part of the city.. with little narrow streets and houses.. restored and converted now into nice shops and eating places..

We had traditional Bremen Food (we asked wikitravel).. and of coz.. i had to have my first German Beer.. which was good!

We made our way back after dinner and walked through the city centre again.. here we see the Cathedral at night..

I really like the fact that Bremen isn't too busy or touristy.. the city itself is small enough to cover in a day or 2.. the people are so nice and interested to help you and tell you more about their city.. Oh ya.. not to mention things are so cheap compared to Helsinki!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey Dear!

Won't be around on the 14th.. but here's an early gift for u..

* i know that you might take a few days visit again.. so hopefully the timing will be good!

Back in a week

I'm back in Finland (from Germany) for 1 afternoon!
Busy packing.. and doing other stuff.. before having to head to the Bus Station to go to Lapland..

My Germany story coming up.. will blog about 1 city a day once i return =)

be patient!

Be Back Soon!

I won't be blogging for a a week and a half or so..
until i return from my Double Trip!

I'm quite excited really..
here are my plans for the week ahead..


5th Feb (tonight):
Attend Sauna Party
Leave early
Train ride from Helsinki Central Railway Station to Tampere (a city in central Finland)

6th Feb:
Ryanair Flight to Bremen, Germany
Check into our backpackers hostel

7th Feb:
Train to Hanover

8th Feb:
Train to Hamburg

9th Feb:
Fly back from Bremen to Tampere
Train back to Helsinki -> Otaniemi (where i am now)
Do laundry (i booked!)
Report Strength (Skype Girlfriend)
.
.
(Loooong) Bus ride from Helsinki Railway Station to Lapland

15th Feb:
Back from Lapland

Now you know why i call it a double trip.. coz we're leaving again the night we return.. =)

When people think of travelling to Germany, the first places are usually Berlin or Munich. We chose Bremen, or should i say Bremen chose us, because Ryanair (the cheapest budget flight out of Finland) only goes to a few places. We decided to go along and see what fresh experiences throw at us.. I guess it's good in a way that i visit places that people go less frequently.. perhaps it less touristy? Google is my best friend.. and we're venturing in rather unplanned.. Land of Sausages and Beer here i come!

The Lapland trip is a planned student trip that we signed up for.. we're missing some classes but what to do.. i have to set my priorities right (hehe).. We'll be staying in a cabin.. and going through several activities like Arctic Survival Course.. Ice Fishing.. Skiing.. visit Reindeer farms (eat some?) and Santa Claus Village.. Cross the Arctic Circle.. Drive a Husky sleigh etc.. and hopefully.. see the Northern Lights. This is one of my life goals.. to see the Northern lights.. God willing i will fulfill it this time.. =) If not.. haha i trust that the glory of God revealed when i see Him will be a far more spectacular sight..

Ateneum Art Museum

This photo was taken when i first arrived.. when there was no snow yet

I'm not gonna pretend that i can appreciate what i just saw at the Ateneum Art Museum (above).
All i can say is that even though everything is really beautiful.. there are only 2 Artists that stand out for me. As in.. not that the others are not good.. but paintings by these 2 artists stand out. It's a subjective thing is guess..

The Ateneum Art Museum houses mainly works by Finnish artists.. tells us a bit about artists and their role in Finnish society.. like how they contribute to Finnish national identity and nation building. It of course also features paintings of Finnish scenery etc etc..

No pics allowed in the museum.. so sorry!

But i'm gonna google and show u all a few pics.. as well as copy and paste what the museum website says about the 2 Finnish artists that stood out for me.. (Italicised- copied)

Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) is one of the most scintillating figures in Finnish art history. He was a creative artist who remained in the front rank of Finnish painting for a quarter of a century. He was also one of the first Finnish artists to achieve an international reputation of any magnitude.


I can't find other works of his on google images.. And it's impossible to see the texture of the oil on the canvas as well as how big the paintings are.. haha .. i'm no artist. I like this guy coz of the way he paints people.. the people in his paintings are so lifelike and the detail.. It kinda makes u wonder what the people in the painting are thinking about.. and why did Edelfelt draw them this way. What is it that he wants to capture?


Werner Holmberg's artistic career was short-lived. In less than seven years he created an oeuvre that has had a decisive influence on later Finnish landscape painting. Holmberg himself had wanted to prove to the world that 'Finland too is capable of creating a school of art for herself'.

What in the world is oeuvre.

haha nvm.. since i copy and paste, i shall not complain nor edit people's language..


Again these photos cannot capture the WOW factor.. I like this guy coz of the way he does landscapes (of different seasons). It's truly stunning the detail he presents with his oil paintings. His landscape paintings WOW-ed me when i saw it from afar.. then when i come nearer and look closely i get WOW-ed again by little things he captures.

Finland National Museum

Being poor exchange students (not to forget kiasu Singaporeans), we decided to wait for a nice Tuesday to visit the Finland National Museum. Coz its free entry from 5.30pm onwards .. =)

It was quite a nice experience to go back in time and i feel i understand a little more about how modern day Finland came to be.


The first area is known as Prehistory. As the name goes, it contains exhibits collected from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and moving onto the Iron Age. Certain tools and pottery dug up from archeological sites. Interesting to see how community becomes more complex with the advent of metallurgy. Precious metals were exchanged for animal hides and food, facilitating trade with surrounding countries.

Early cruxifix pendants.. indicating how early Christianity spread to Finland

The rise of the Roman Empire also led to the increasing influence of the Catholic Church in Finland. A room showing beautiful craftsmanship from the period.

The Reformation, leading to Lutheranism becoming the predominant denomination

Finland was basically caught in between Sweden and Russia, and as a result were occupied by both empires many times. We can see the influences from both sides.

Above is a famous painting titled "The Attack".
The Maiden of Finland defends the book of Finnish law against the aggression of the Russian Eagle

Also on display were everyday items, tools and costumes used by the common folk in the past, as well as weapons of war etc..

From left: Rihao, Cindy, Antonia, Pei Joo, Kevin, Wei Sing

*More photos on facebook.

Next up.. the Ateneum Art Museum.. =) Free on the first wed of the month... ehh isn't that tomorrow??? hehehe

Thank God!

A most incredible thing happened to me this morning..
You see.. calling the guy to come and unlock the door for you costs money.. Shu Shan spent 40 Euros coz she locked herself out on a Sunday night..

I was on the way to brushing my teeth.. when i realised i locked myself out..
I was like.. oh my tian! How can i be so blur?!... so i knocked on the doors of my neighbours, hoping to borrow a phone to call the housing office.. Nobody responded.. they must be having classes or something..

I uttered a tiny cry to God... an SOS.. but i wasnt expecting such a quick answer to me prayer..

I heard footsteps outside so i rushed out and saw a guy in black (GIB)..

LF: "Hi excuse me, i'm locked out of my room do you know who i am supposed to call?"

GIB: "Oh you're supposed to call ME, give me a moment"

I was totally stunned..

GIB knocks and i open..

He opens my door.. asks for some ID.. and asks me to sign a form..

GIB: "Oh i was home so alright.... (Finnish English).... ya... "

LF: " So do i need to pay anything?"

GIB: "Oh no its ok"

LF: "Thanks!"

GIB: "Bye bye!"

I was stunned once again.. praise God.. haha..
did i just meet an angel?? hahahaha

Korkeasaari Zoo

Choosing to visit the Korkeasaari Zoo on a -12 Degree day wasn't such a good idea. It was the coldest day i have ever experienced.. And i'm only in Helsinki.. i can't imagine what it would be like going to Lapland next week.. =)

Korkeasaari is basically an island, think Sentosa. The whole island is a zoo and we went primarily to catch the ice sculpture competition and were hoping to catch a glimpse of watever animals there were.. unfortunately.. it was winter.. and some animals were kept away (?).. the bears were hibernating! Selected pictures ..

Crossing the bridge into Korkeasaari

View from the bridge

Cute fat grey seal rolling on the ice

Mountain Goat, check out the beard!

1 Camel smelling the other camel's ass

The incredibly rare Red Panda (i was really excited to see it coz i saw it on National Geographic)

A surprisingly entertaining play that was in Finnish =)

The tiger was doing a literal Catwalk for us to take pictures. Closest distance to it: 20 cm

The theme for the competition was Saved By the Zoos. Teams have 3 hrs to sculpt something regarding endangered animals that zoos are trying to protect.

Teams hard at work

My 2 favourite ones below..

The eventual Winner

Also managed to catch the sunset.. =)


I think i'll be able to do a Sunsets in Finland Calendar by the time i come back... =)

Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea

Walk on...