Name : Apratz
Current occupation : Full time traveller, full time daydreamer, part time student
Status : On duty (2)!

I'm sinful, I'm cursed, O' REDEMPTION!!!! *turned down a bit*

I will be going to Spain-Portugal and conquering Madrid-Lisbon-Barcelona starting from 28th of April until 8th of May. Honestly speaking I am more enthusiastic to explore Cordoba, Seville and Zaragossa when it comes to Spain, but people convinced me that Barcelona is the best.

And, I will be having exams on the 14th and 16th of May *BEHOLD, Thou who is cursed! T_T*. I promise myself that I will be a good student who study during travelling *packing some books*.

Don't miss me \^o^/, since I try to blog from Spain *giggle*.

P.S.
Spain-Portugal is at its hottest -I guess, I shall prepare to get myself over-tanned T_T.

Still owe this blog with abundance of traveling pics and stories behind. I ought to record those since my memories will be obliterated sooner or later!

Took a train from Venice to Florence in 4 hours journey. Local wisdom called Florence as ‘Firenze’ (no wonder we have difficulties in buying the train ticket via automatic ticketing machine). Bad thing is, I cannot really enjoy the trip and appreciate my every step here, because I have to carry my 10-kg luggage T_T. Spent only one day in both places, I marathoned from Florence to Pisa, then went to Rome at night T_T.

Florence (Firenze)

Florence is my favorite city in Italy –I can say. If you happen to watch Full Metal Alchemist at the beginning of the episodes, then Florence resembles that so much! Florence is a monument to the renaissance, the artistic and cultural reawakening of the 15^th century. The buildings of Brunelleschi and the paintings and sculptures of artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo turned the city into one of the world’s greatest artistic capitals.

Santa Maria del Fiore, Michaela-Apratz-Siang Leng

Santa Maria del Fiore

Set in the heart of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore –the Duomo, or cathedral of Florence-, dominates the city with its enormous dome.

Santa Croce

Siang Leng and Apratz, and here comes Greg XD

Yeok Tho-Michaela-Apratz nearby the gate of Santa Croce

The gothic church Santa Croce contains the tombs and monuments of many famous Florentines, among them are Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli.

Statue of Dante Aligheri in front of Santa Croce

Do you know Dante Aligheri? I somehow familiar with his name (I thought he was a famous yet evil alchemist, as referenced in ‘Full Metal Alchemist’*grin*). Dante Aligheri is actually a famous poet and writer, his notable work is ‘The Divine Comedy’.

I have problem with my camera in Florence, so I couldn’t take many pictures*sigh*.

Across the Fiume Arno

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio is the oldest surviving bridge in the city. This bridge is at its most attractive when viewed at sunset (it was also the only one to escape destruction during World War II). By the way, Fiume Arno means River Arno.

A cozy caffee \^o^/

Palazzo Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio is remarkable of its external medieval appearance, and its imposing bell tower dominates the square. This "Old Palace" still fulfills its original role as Florence's town hall.

Pisa

Pisa is only 1 hour from Florence. We only managed to see the Leaning Tower, Pisa’s Duomo and the Baptistry. Everything was concentrated in one area.

The green field in front of the Baptistry

The Leaning Tower Pisa

Pisa's Duomo

Threesome; Baptistry-Pisa's Duomo-the Leaning Tower

Next update : Rome and Vatican City (whaa I still have to write about Milan, Berlin and Amsterdam T_T).

Yeok Tho-Apratz-Siang Leng-Michelia-Greg-Bell

Everything came up in a swift.

Suddenly, I heard news that he has to undergo a surgery because a lump of blood has found stuck inside his skull (which eventually caused an intense pressure towards his brain). The blood should be spilled out from the cranium immediately –I hate to say that anymore slowness can cause death. At the beginning it was claimed as an acute migraine, but thank God the real problem could be detected after undergoing a scan. The operation went very well, and he is already able to talk and laugh normally though the small hoses are still attached to his head O_o.

I beg you to pray for his safety and tremendous recovery after post-surgery.

Well, he is one of the most brilliant people that I’ve ever met (I really meant ‘brilliant’). Hopefully this accident doesn’t deteriorate his brainpower at all.

For Thou who always study and work too hard, I tell Thou, having ambition and passion are important since those keep our life stay focused thus make life more meaningful. But please remember that our body has its own limitation, so don’t forget to keep those two in balance ;).

Bishounen Crisis

I am about to lose my sanity, every plot and idea that I could ever think about is anomaly. Today I spent my time procrastinating and watching Haitsu-fanservice* in Youtube. Everything is overwhelming with bishounen** and shonen-ai*** (I urge to go to psychiatry!). Alas, I blame the distress over my very least preparation of exams which caused me to release an immense negative energy X(.

I desperately need to study and not fantasize over bizarre plot! Argh!

Footnote :
* A slash-attraction (often put emphasis on sexual appeal) meant to fascinate fans in the live shows or concert, usually did by J-Rock bands. Haitsu is abbreviated from Hyde and Tetsu, players who commit the fan-service.
** Beautiful guys in school-aged
*** BoysxBoys homogenous relationship, specifically the more warmth and light one

Here are facts for today!

Fact no 1
The image is the result of doing a side job while studying at the same time, using my digital camera (whose battery-charger was foolishly left in Sist’ Myra’s place in Amsterdam). Hurrah, I don't need a scanner to manipulate my drawings!

Fact no 2
Doing brute force and battle royale in sending resumes to 7 companies in one day (since I adopt Julius Caesar’s Vini-Vidi-Vici which means I come-I see-I conquer! I bumped into careerhub.com, I saw countless job opportunities, and I sadistically applied everything that matched my preferences XD). Please cross your finger on me ^o^.

Went to a small, intimate feast in Valby last Wednesday, the dinner turned awesome (since I was the main chef, I guess =p). I met Pascaline, a lady from Nancy, France who can read palm-hand. Without further ado, I asked her to read mine, though the result was a bit unexpected, I still didn’t believe in such, so it was just Ok.

For me, astrological signs are the way our ancestors investigate about people’s traits, behavior and personality –more into a riddle in the past before the modern-psychological theories were found. In other way, I will take into account of what they’re saying when it comes to one’s characters and persona (but will mercilessly abandon it when it leads to love- predicament or fortune telling issues).

And today, I just got my readings from Astrology.com regarding my Maya-Aztec Astrology report (and it highlites about personality and traits).

Most Personal Traits
Deer: You are a person who follows your own instincts and feelings -- which may mean doing what you want to do, when you want to. You have no hesitation about speaking your mind on controversial subjects, and you are generally quite knowledgeable about such matters. Mentally, you combine a powerful intuition with good reasoning abilities and are not easily convinced or swayed from your intellectual positions. To others, you appear dominating, but you don't really want to dominate. You simply know what you know well and tend to be quite inflexible at times.

Deer is a sign of participation in the community. Those born under this day-sign are often deeply involved with family traditions, and in some cases, socio-political traditions. Your need for the security of close relationships with others is at the base of this tendency. Partnership appeals to you, and yet you have a difficult time of it because your need for freedom creates conflicts and leads to unconventional relationships.

Your strong instincts come into play when you sense that your "territory" is being invaded. You have concern for your personal space, as well as that of the community you are a part of, and if you feel someone or something is degrading your environment, you will act immediately. In extreme cases, this instinctive concern of yours could lead you into power struggles and "turf-wars."

You are a very sensual person. On one level, food and eating are probably very important to you (gaah this is precisely trueeee!). Your aesthetic sensibilities are usually strong and you may be an artist, musician, poet or writer, or at least be interested in the arts. You have a strong sense of rhythm and enjoy dancing and other sensual body movements, including sex, for example. In fact, your strong sex drive may be part of your problem in maintaining stable relationships.

You are really a very complex person who has both traditional and unconventional qualities. You are concerned with family and social integrity, yet you will take risks in intimate matters that could destabilize your social life. You tend to be a generous person and have display strong feelings for animals and plants, but will not hesitate to blast someone who you feel is stepping into your territory. However, you are probably also, in spite of all your weirdness, a pillar of your society.

About the Deeper Self
Beneath your surface personality you are an emotional powerhouse. You feel strong creative urges and you have an instinctive need to nurture others. For most, this is a desire to have a family or to protect those whom you choose to associate with. You can be very dominating, in an unconscious way, and others may have problems with this. You are a strong, emotionally intense person who may be a community leader or possibly an artist. You are very little concerned with what others think about you.

*

That is interesting. Anyway If you intend to try just go to astrology.com and obtain a free subscription there ;).

P.S.
Please disregard my previous posting, especially about Danish thingy (though I'm multitasking Danish and blogging at the same time XD). I am surrender even before trying *sobbing*. And gladly there was nothing wrong with my blogspot account, so I assumed my previous experience was just a slight technical problem.

ACHTUNG! HJAELP! TASUKETE!

For somewhat unknown reasons, all of images I uploaded to Blogger.com peculiarly disappeared without traces in my January-February archives. I don't want the photos in Venice and London (and some others) to be worthlessly vanished as well X(.

Could anybody please help me explain what did actually happen? I will be super-duper grateful for your sincere help. (Otherwise I will feel traumatize to upload more photos T_T)

Meanwhile,
Tusand tak!
Danke schön!
Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita!

P.S.
My whole blogger dashboard turned into Danish in a sudden O_o, which reminded me that I acutely do NEED to improve my atrocious Danish (since exam is around the corner –and no other reason=p), thereafter, am willing to post everything in Danish starting from tomorrow! *gazing with determinated eyes*

I will be going to Spain and Portugal starting from 28th of April until 8th of May (and conquering Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona), whilst having exam on the 16th of May O_o. Now please question my sanity, are they still exist anyway? I know I'm sinful, a despicable student, a loathsome undergraduate, but an extremely adventurous traveler XD.

...........................

O' my sanity,
Thou hath to come back!
But Thou hath late!
X(

Just came back from Amsterdam. Gazillions of thanks to Sister Myra (my senior in high school) who sincerely provided me with 5-star accommodation and full service in 5x24 hours in Haarlem, Netherlands. As promised, these are the entries about my Italy trip.

Venezia! (Venice)

Greg-Siang Leng-Apratz-Yeok Tho-Michelia on the way to Maestre Station, Venice

First scenery after stepping out from the Venezia Train Station

Masquarade!

Everyday is a carnival!

Honestly speaking, the trip in Italy was supposed to be the most awesome of all, if and only if we didn’t -by any chance- force ourselves to carry our 10 kg bags while walking here and there. However, back-pain and injured leg hurt me the most within this whole trip, which deteriorate my full-satisfaction of traveling.

You can find gondola in every corner ^o^

On the way to the famous Rialto Bridge

We spent a day in Venice. Venice is anciently unique in its own way. Being created on a series of mud banks in a lagoon, with canals in every corner of the roads, these sceneries kinda remind me of Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’ and Cornelia Funkel’s ‘The Lord Thief’ as those stories have Venice as their settings. This is one of the perfect place for a daydreamer *pointing oneself =p*.

The main characteristic of Venice’s buldings is gothic *Apratz is screaming*. This city is a fabulous treasure of art and architecture, built in a series of islands, where there are gondolas as cars and canals as streets. Venice also reminds me of couples of beautiful cities in some Role Playing Games (how I missed playing those T_T).

St Mark Basilica from behind

The Famous St Mark Basilica

La Piazza of St Mark Basilica (Plaza in front of St Mark Basilica)

Can't stop praising the basilica from every side T_T

Hundreds of pigeons add its gorgeousness!

St Mark Basilica blends architectural and decorative styles from east and west to create one of Europe’s greatest buildings. The first basilica in the 9^th century is built to enshrine the body of St Mark. Many treasures (statues and icons) were brought to St Mark after the 4^th crusade had plundered Constantinopel in 1204.

The Grande canals

Gondolas!

Hotel above the water

Traffic jam of gondolas XD

I happened to ride a gondola with 6 of my fellow travelers, and explore Venice within canal to canal! It was breathtakingly beautiful since the rider gave us explanation about almost every building that we passed by.

Sunshineee, finally after thousand of years covered in snow XD

Ways to Ponte della Paglia

St Maria della Salute

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

Famous paintings inside Santa Maria della Salute

The Altar, inside Santa Maria della Salute

This is the great baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute, standing at the entrance of the Grand Canal. Almost every church here begins with the name 'Maria', so I had difficulties to truly recognize them each =S, pardon my ignorance.

Balcony of Doge's Palace

Can you see the statue of Angel on the top? It was built in early 15th century.

Random Statue in front of Doge's Palace

The official residence of the Venetian ruler (doge) was founded in the 19th century.

It happens to be a church but i didn't remember the name >_<

My sincerest apology for my incapability to remember the names. They were unfamiliar for me (since all of the names are in Italian), and I didn't do much research about Italy before coming down here (I was over-fascinated about London and seemed to forsake Italy -and now I regret that so much >_<).

The Rialto-Bridge (don't ask me about the naming purposes since i also have no idea =S)

The famous bridge of sigh

The bridge was built in 1600 to link the palace with the state prisons. It reputedly acquired its name from the sighs of prisoners being led across it to face trials. Anyway, the (in)famous womanizer Casanova was the only person who can runaway from this water prison! Again, it's too-RPG-too-be-true T_T.

It is surprising that most Italian that we've met didn't understand English =S. So, Greg bravely settled this matter by speaking so-called Spanish to all of them (since Spanish and Italiano is almost similar XD), then Bell jokingly told that He could use his Danish when we come to Germany (but I don't think they're closely related *lol*).

Next city : Florence and Pisa, will be updated next time =).

I seriously NEED to STUDY!

Just come back from UK-Italy-Germany trip with severe sun-burnt, fatigue and injured spring. I will be going to Amsterdam tomorrow, so this is just a quick glimpse about previous trip.

London

St Paul's Cathedral

Still, St Paul's Cathedral

The evening London plus its double decker!

Les Miserables!

Catch 'Les Miserables' with Anes XD

Cool English-Pub

London was super awesome; I spent 5 days alone in London (minus Oxford, since I have no time left). I lurveee this city, as it is so vibrant, so multi-cultural, so fairy-tale yet so bloody. I kept reciting Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’ when I was here, since I can catch the atmosphere. I managed to watch ‘Les Miserables’ musical show, which made me trembled and crying (my top 2 choices were ‘Phantom at the Opera’ and ‘Les Miserables’, but since I initially can spot the plot of Phantom, I turned out to ‘Les Miserables’). I had my hostel in Greenwich area, which amazed me since I was once in the center of the time in the entire world.

Sherlock Holmes statue in front of Baker Street station!

England's Public Telephone Box *lol*

The London Eye!

The UNESCO's world heritage : Tower of London

I am a great fan of Victorian Literature as well as England-Tudor bloody histories, so I was super excited about going to Baker Street and spotting Sherlock Holmes statue (in fact there’s nothing much there =p). The most interesting place of interest is the Tower of London, whereby all those murders and execution took place. A friend of mine told me that ‘the greater the empire is, the more bloody the histories are’, and I found that is utterly true. Now I realized that the thirst and sudden urge to attain power and the fanaticism of religion have been the main reasons to slay innocent people.

Whaa Cavalryy!!!

Inside the Cavalry Museum (my hand even didn't fit the gloves T_T)

Errrr, not suitable for the light hearted T_T

The bloody field where all the execution takes place

London Bridge! Just beside the Tower of London (the place where they hanged the head of those executed people as a shock theraphy for the citizen)

A parade in the tower of London estate

The white tower

The Tower of London’s main function is meant to be a fortress, a royal palace and prison, until the gore occurrences keep on happening after the ‘mysteries of princes in tower’, whereby the two sons of King Edward VII have never seen again in the tower after their uncle, Richard III of England sent the two young princes to the tower. The boys were indeed murdered, I am sure of it (as this story is too-RPG-too-be-true!). Certainly, Richard III was the murder, since he intended to remove the two princes from the succession, because he was the last person alive in this commotion (the last person being alive is the murder, as quoted in almost all detective stories *grin*).

Ways to the Bloody Tower

With one of the guard

There were also some explanations about London’s famous ‘Gunpowder Plot’, whereby Guy Fawkes, a Protestant fanatic attempted to assassinate James I of England. Reversely, the tragedy of Bloody Mary happened when Queen Mary I, a catholic, murdered a lot of Protestants until she herself was being executed by Elizabeth I. Lessons learnt are mostly, fanaticism of religion is the most dangerous thing, as once one claimed that one belief is true, one can kill and defend one’s faith under the flag of religion (which also made me pondering the current occurrences that were happening nowadays).

Robbie Williams!

What’s more? I had a lot of fun visiting Madame Tussaud the wax museum and taking pictures with famous figures *grin*. Surprisingly, I found that Christina Aguilera and Sarah Michelle Gellar are not taller than I am *lol*, and even Tom Cruise is not as tall as I imagined before.

The British Museum

Mummies!! *yikes =S*

National Gallery

I went to British Museum and National Gallery as well. I saw countless of famous paintings in National Gallery that I can only find in the book, such as famous ‘Madonna of The Rock’ and some others paintings with biblical references. They were so magnificent and wonderful, but too bad taking pictures were forbidden there. British Museum was the biggest and best museum that I’ve ever visited, as everything there starting from the traces of Mesopotamia and Greek to Egyptian's mummies are original and not replicas.

Gate of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

I ran to the Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of The Guards at 11am. Unfortunately there were too many people, and all that I can see was only heads T_T. It was super crowded until I cannot feel a thing. I better go to Oxford or Windsor Castle if I knew this earlier *sigh*.

Yeok Tho, Bell, Greg, Siang Leng, Apratz in front of Parlement Building in Westminster

Westminster Abbey!

Westminster area!

Spent a day in Westminster Area (the busiest district in London) and saw Westminster Abbey, the church where various tombs of famous historical figures of England buried. Unfortunately I didn’t go inside the church as the ticket is kinda expensive. Around Westminster Abbey, there were Parlement Building and the famous Big Ben. Actually I want to join the ‘Jack the Ripper Walk’ that was held within this area every night but nobody wants to join me *sobbing*. Jack the Ripper’s murders took place in Westminster Area.

Baker Street Underground Station (dedicated to Adilla)

Apratz, Yeok Tho and Siang Leng in front of Westminster Abbey

Apratz in front of Westminster Abbey

Big Ben!

I want to visit Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens and Shakespeare museums as well but again, I have no time left *sobbing*.

Last Scenery before leaving London

Honestly speaking, I was so sad when leaving London. This is the best city that met my very expectation, (even perhaps I overrated it). Everybody speaks good and proper English. I do hope that I can come back again here someday, or even work here later *daydreaming*. I want to stay here longer.

By the way, we had too much Subway and McDonalds here (even Greg wants to vomit when we mentioned Subway in front of him). Funny things are, we found the prices in London are CHEAPER than in Copenhagen! Now I realized that Copenhagen is an un-friendly city for cheapo travelers T_T.

Good bye London, next destination : Amsterdam (updates about Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Vatican City, Milan and Berlin will be written after returning from Amsterdam, hihi)

This is the best sceneries so far, Thames River and Big Ben at night T_T