Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my faithful readers out there - yes, all five of you!

We are trading the chill and fog in this part of the world for the sunshine and blue skies back home. Oh, yes, and a family wedding. I am definitely looking forward to our flight tomorrow, even the three hours of standing in queues, getting searched & frisked and drinking Sophie's milk at Heathrow. YL even said he is looking forward to the meals on the flight. Well, assuming Sophie actually allows us to eat on the plane.

We are arriving home just in time for Christmas dinner, Malaysian-style. Steamboat!!! Yum yum! Twenty hours on the road with a demanding, fussy baby will not deter us from polishing off everything...but then again, since YL's mom will be hosting that night, we may have to admit defeat after all. Mother has never failed to surprise us with the amount of food she has in that kitchen of hers...

In any case, I may not be updating my blog for a couple of weeks while I'm out enjoying the tropical air and good, cheap food, so here I leave you with a picture that will keep you going for the next few weeks. I'm sure it will be etched into your brain forever (perhaps unfortunately)....

Munich & Fussen, Germany

Munich Christmas Market at the Marienplatz (St Mary's Square)Meet Dr. Leo, Dr. Soong, and Dr. Wong

Approaching Neuschwantein Castle, aka Sleeping Beauty Castle, in the village of Schwangau. The 5-minute steep and curvy hike up to the castle took longer because we kept stopping for pictures.

A closer shot of the castle (built in the mid 19th century), after the tour
Outside Neuschwantein Castle, the last but most inspiring fairy-tale castle of King Ludwig II of Bavaria
Mucking around the snow outside our hotel in Fussen
Dinner time at our hotel in Fussen. We ate there on both our nights in Fussen because we were too tired and lazy after a day out in the cold.Conked out after half a day of being on the move. We were on the Fussen-Munich train, on our way to catch our flight back to London

Was I mad to suggest going to 'a place that snows' for our December trip?? That thought crept into my mind a few times while we were out in the cold streets of Munich and Fussen in Germany. I forgot how miserable REAL winter is....

On this trip, we were joined by Fuh Yong, Evelyn and Syn Yee, who were a pleasure to travel with - so chin chai and such entertaining company. In any case, since they put up with Sophie's repeated powerful performances of bawling, whining and high-pitched, ear-shattering screaming with such good nature, they deserve all the praise in the world.

The main purpose of the trip was to check out the famous German Christmas markets (which our group concurs, is basically a pasar malam minus the pirated VCDs) and to visit the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwantein (New Swan). It was built by the last king of Bavaria, King Ludwig II, in the mid 19th century. Situated on a dramatic crop the mountains near the German Alps, it does indeed look exactly like what a castle should look like in a fairy-tale, maybe because most castles in storybooks were inspired by - if not actually - Neuschwantein. Unfortunately, the two photographers-cum-part-time-doctors didn't get the blue skies or vantage points that they wanted, so our pictures are somewhat disappointing.

There was about 2 inches of snow in Fussen. For most people in our group, it was their first time encountering snow. YL darted around photographing it. Evelyn slipped a few times (been there, done that!) on the black ice. Syn Yee seemed to be amused by her father's insistence that he 'accompanies' her to play in the snow. Sophie was nonchalant, as usual. I was just glad that I got my wish to re-live a snowy winter. Well, most of the time, anyways.

Munich & Fussen, Germany - Landscape & Buildings

Typical Bavarian houses
The town of Fussen at the foothills of the German AlpsInterior of the impossibly baroque Assam Church in Munich, built in mid 1700's

A park just outside our hotel in Fussen
Candle ornaments at the Munich Christmas market

Syn Yee & Sophie

This shot is perfect for so many witty captions that I couldn't choose so I decided to let it speak for itself. It was taken during dinner time at our hotel in the German town of Fussen, a small place 2 hours from Munich. We had just returned from a day trip to the fairy-tale Neuschwantein Castle, and were famished, but as usual, ordered too much food. While the Mummies and Daddies tried to clear the dishes, Syn Yee and Sophie were busy pottering about and making mischief.

Dim sum lunch

We went for a dim sum lunch on our own since the usual members of the gang have all gone on vacation in Rome. Sophie loves egg tarts and char siu pau.

Busy baby

Sophie went to her stack of diapers and took them out of the room, one by one. She then proceeded to lay them carefully on the floor as if she's designing some sort of pattern with them. She moved one or two pieces around to see where they would fit best in her masterpiece. Can you guess what it is supposed to be?

Lunch time at the nursery

Waiting for lunch

Tucking in

Spot the difference

Just like old times!
On the Golden Jubilee Bridge across the Thames River with the London Eye in the background

Autumn trees. Notice the constipated look on YL's face. He didn't want to take this picture because it is so 'touristy'. Well, guess what, we ARE tourists!

Along the Thames River with St Paul's Cathedral in the background

So, have you spotted the difference in these photos? Yes, no Sophie!!!

Due to an unforseen work rescheduling, I ended up with two days of work-free, baby-free, free days. Finally! We get to do a little sightseeing around London. I spent my first day taking a guided tour of the British Museums re-visiting the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon marbles, the Egyptian mummies, the Assyrian wall reliefs, and other world treasures. This time, I could really immerse myself into the stories without worrying about milk feeds, diaper changes, and a wailing baby.

On the second day, YL and I joined a London Walk guide to explore the South Bank area between the Embankment tube and the Waterloo station. We explored London's back streets which hadn't changed in 200 years, chatted with an old man who was beachcombing the Thames River for bits and bobs of artefacts from the past, and digested some anecdotes of the famous Savoy hotel, the popular London Eye, the eye-catching Gherkin (or Swiss Re building) and other landmarks along the Thames. Aaaa.....bliss! We are now refreshed and recharged for another round with the baby.... :P