Hallo from Berlin, Germany!
I finally have a chance to use the internet, albeit legitimately, in this cafe in Berlin near my hostel.

This is my very last stop before i move on to Newcastle, where I officially begin my SEP
but after travelling for 2 weeks, it feels like Ive already started my exchange.
Been to Cologne, Munich, Salsburg, Vienna, Prague and now Berlin and so far its been awesomely beautiful.
I have seen magnificent castles, palaces, extravagant decors, awe-inspiring churches and I will never forget them =)
I will update the pictures in a few day's time after I settle down in Newcastle and will update accordingly.

Of course, my German vocabulary has expanded extensively apart from my favourite 'ich habe einen barenhunger' (which derek will be very proud of me) and ive tried all the food that the german course taught us.. like wiener schnitzel, schweinhacker, bratwurst, potato dumplings, saurkraut... and the wine and beer here are cheap and good.. the drinking environment in the bierhaus (beer house) like the one we went called Hofbrauhaus is really very happening and fun =) too bad we have to miss OktoberFest but we managed to go to the very site and just snapped pictures right away. Germans are generally very warm and nice and they greet us Konichiwa and even think we know Kungfu. Its quite amusing and makes us laugh cos they try spouting bits and pieces of Korean, Japanese and then Chinese to surprise us.
The train rides here are rather scenic and we can actually catch quite a sight on the trains.

And we got into some trouble in Prague with some fishy police who extorted money from us.. its really scary cos we were stuck in a foreign environment with no familiar language. Anyway, ill delve deeper the next time when the internet is more accessible. Most importantly, i got to see this really really ravishingly beautiful disney-like castle near the alps. pictures dont do any justice to the things i have seen at all but thats the best choice.

I went to the berlin wall today or wat is left of it.. its called the east side gallery. its done up via drawings from artists from 22 countries and we left our marks there. guess its the icon of freedom and life and it is very inspiring to just take a walk down the lane.

i also went to the Reichstag (parliament house) and its quite a strange yet beautiful feeling of visiting the site that i have been studying all about. tomorrow we are going on a free tour to visit that, as well as the SS headquarters. this is all like a dream come true for me =)

so much said, i miss home a lot. really a lot. we were so happy to find a chinese restaurant amidst the most unfamiliar prague and dug in heartily to normal chinese cuisine, which i have taken for granted. i miss my family a lot.. the smiles from all the angels in my home. i miss my friends too and all the hangouts we used to go =(

school is about to start in a few days time and its gonna fly by real soon. i wish time stops. and this trip is gonna help me take a breather where i learn to stand up for myself and away from things that i actually dont want.

heres to an unknown but exciting 5 months in uk! =)