First Impressions of a Continental Bridge

The journey to Istanbul had begun with a business class flight, featuring a surprisingly excellent grilled duck leg – tender, juicy, and far exceeding expectations for airline cuisine. The connection through Madrid provided time to relax in the lounge before boarding Turkish Airlines for the final leg.

Turkish Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, serves traditional Turkish mezze platters on international flights, featuring selections like ezme (spicy tomato paste), muhammara (red pepper and walnut dip), and various cheese preparations. The cold appetizer service, while authentically Turkish, presents flavours that challenged my unaccustomed palates with their intensity and unique spice combinations.

Our first night’s accommodation was a newly constructed hotel that showcased both the promise and pitfalls of Istanbul’s rapidly expanding tourism infrastructure. While the breakfast buffet displayed beautiful presentation, the protein selection was limited. One memorable detail was the availability of purple olives, which are actually black olives that have been treated with a natural fermentation process, giving them their distinctive colour and slightly different flavour profile. The newly opened hotel gleamed with modern finishes, yet a closer look revealed shortcuts beneath the polish: water from the sink’s U-trap had a slow drip, hinting at rushed plumbing work.

Walking Through Conquest

In the morning, we met a subset of our group tour that also signed up for this optional walking tour. It began at the Gate of Charisius of the Theodosian Walls, the massive fortification system that protected Constantinople for over 1,000 years until Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II finally breached them in 1453. These walls, built in the 5th century, stretched for 12 miles and featured double lines of defence with towers and gates. The conquest of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of Ottoman rule over this strategic city.

Our guide also shared a local idiom about fig trees, explaining that calling a “fig tree” appears complimentary but actually suggests they ruin everything around them – much like how fig trees’ aggressive root systems can damage foundations and infrastructure.

Mihrimah Sultan Mosque

We visited the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, designed by the master architect Mimar Sinan in the 16th century. This mosque, one of two built for Sultan Süleyman’s daughter, demonstrates the sophisticated engineering and spiritual symbolism of Ottoman architecture.

Mosque architecture reflects Islamic principles and practical needs. The mihrab (prayer niche) always faces Mecca, orienting worshippers toward the holy city. The minbar (pulpit) stands to the right of the mihrab, while the main prayer hall remains free of furniture to accommodate prostration. The qibla wall (facing Mecca) receives the most decorative attention, often featuring intricate calligraphy and geometric patterns.

The building process showcased the ritual of wudu (ablution), which Muslims perform before prayer. The wudu process follows specific steps: first, practitioners state their intention and say “Bismillah” (in the name of Allah). They then wash their hands three times, rinse their mouth three times, cleanse their nostrils three times, wash their face three times, wash their arms up to the elbows three times, wipe their head once, clean their ears, and finally wash their feet up to the ankles three times. This purification ritual prepares both body and mind for prayer.

Church of St. Mary of the Spring

The Church of St. Mary of the Spring, known as Zoödochos Pege, represents a significant Orthodox Christian site. Emperor Justinian I built the original church here in the 6th century. The current structure dates to 1835, rebuilt after Ottoman forces destroyed the Byzantine-era building.

The church’s Byzantine art reflects the Eastern Orthodox tradition that survived the Iconoclastic periods of the 8th and 9th centuries. These paintings, featuring saints and angels with golden halos, represent the triumph of iconophiles (image-lovers) over iconoclasts (image-breakers). The artwork employs traditional Byzantine techniques, using gold leaf backgrounds to suggest divine light and eternal glory.

The holy spring beneath the church has attracted pilgrims for 1,500 years. Orthodox Christians believe the water possesses healing properties, and the site remains active for religious ceremonies.

Culinary Discoveries

Our lunch featured a carefully curated selection of Turkish dishes, including pide, often called “Turkish pizza” but more accurately described as boat-shaped flatbread topped with various ingredients. Traditional pide dough contains flour, yeast, water, salt, and sometimes yogurt or olive oil. The boat shape is formed by folding the edges, creating a rim that holds ingredients like minced meat, cheese, or vegetables seasoned with Turkish spices such as cumin, paprika, and parsley.

The meal also included various mezze spreads, including hummus and spicier preparations, along with vegetables cooked in clay pots – a traditional method that infuses food with earthy flavours while retaining moisture and nutrients.

The Art of Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee preparation represents a centuries-old tradition that UNESCO recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The process begins with finely ground coffee beans, ground to a powder-like consistency much finer than regular coffee. The coffee is brewed in a cezve (a small, long-handled pot traditionally made of copper) with cold water and sugar if desired.

The brewing process requires patience and attention. The cezve is heated slowly over medium heat, allowing the coffee to warm gradually. As it heats, dark foam begins to form. The key moment arrives when the coffee approaches a boil – the foam is carefully distributed among the cups before the coffee itself is poured. This foam is considered essential to proper Turkish coffee service.

The resulting coffee has an earthy, intense flavour that can surprise newcomers. The grounds settle at the bottom of the cup, and the coffee is never stirred once served. The texture is notably different from filtered coffee, with a slightly grainy consistency that reflects the traditional preparation method. This coffee culture extends beyond mere consumption – it plays a role in social rituals, including traditional marriage customs where the bride-to-be serves coffee to the groom’s family.

Living History in Modern Times

Our exploration revealed parts of town where residents have built apartments directly on top of the old city walls that once surrounded Constantinople. These informal settlements demonstrate how Istanbul’s residents have adapted historic structures for modern needs.

Cruising the Continental Divide

The Bosphorus cruise provided perspectives on Istanbul’s architectural evolution across different periods and empires. This narrow strait, connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, serves as the boundary between Europe and Asia, making Istanbul the only city spanning two continents.

As the ferry glided along the strait, we caught sight of Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace (which I will get into in a later post).

Historic yalı (waterfront mansions) line the shores, representing the Ottoman elite’s summer residences. These wooden structures, many dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. People still live in these houses today, and for a time, they could lounge on their patio overlooking the river, but not many more due to the tourist traffic.

We observed the Ortaköy Mosque, a 19th-century gem celebrated for its ornate baroque revival design, delicate stonework, and prominent twin minarets.

The cruise also revealed the Rumeli Fortress, constructed in just four months in 1452 by Sultan Mehmed II as part of his conquest preparations. This fortress, along with the Anadolu Fortress on the Asian side, allowed the Ottomans to control Bosphorus traffic and cut off Byzantine supply lines.

From the water, we observed the Dolmabahçe Palace, a 19th-century Ottoman palace that served as the empire’s administrative center during its final decades.

The Spice Route’s Istanbul Hub

The Spice Bazaar, built in 1664 as part of the New Mosque complex, served as a crucial link in the global spice trade. Historically called the Egyptian Bazaar because it was funded by revenues from Egypt, the market connected Asian spice producers with European consumers.

Turkey’s position along historic trade routes gave it access to spices from across Asia, but the country also produces distinctive spices that reflect its unique climate and culinary traditions. Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber) vary in heat levels and include smoky varieties like isot biber from Şanlıurfa. Sumac, made from berries of the Rhus coriaria bush, provides a citrusy tartness that’s become essential to Turkish cuisine. Turkish spice culture developed over centuries of trade and cultural exchange. The Ottoman Empire’s vast territory allowed for the cultivation and trade of numerous spices, while the empire’s diverse population contributed different culinary traditions. This history explains why Istanbul’s spice markets offer such variety and why Turkish cuisine incorporates flavours from across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia.

The spice market today caters heavily to tourists, a far cry from what it used to be, with vendors selling everything from traditional spices to novelty items like “Turkish Viagra tea” (likely a blend of herbs with no proven medicinal properties). However, authentic spice shops still operate here.

An Unexpected Group Dynamic

That evening, we met with the rest of the tour group. Our group gathered around a street-side table in Istanbul, waiting for our eighth and final member who had been delayed. Our group had clicked immediately, and someone joked that the missing traveller might be the odd one out. At that moment, a man walked past our table with a distinctly sour expression. We called out the missing member’s name as a joke, not expecting it to actually be him – but it was!

His taxi driver had taken him on an expensive detour around the city (taxi drivers across Istanbul are notorious for being scammers), explaining his mood. Once he joined our table and shared his story, his demeanour shifted completely. Later that evening, several of us continued to a rooftop bar, where conversations flowed as easily as the drinks. Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district, where we stayed, contains numerous hotels with rooftop terraces offering views of the city’s distinctive silhouette of domes and minarets.

Our group of eight travelled around the country in a van, staying in budget hotels and exploring destinations that attracted a younger backpacker crowd. The tour format allowed for spontaneous discoveries and shared experiences that individual travel might have missed, as more posts will soon show.

See here for more images of Istanbul

The drive to Porto took three hours, and for the entire time, we struggled to sleep off the fever from the food poisoning. I slept literally the entire ride. Our friend who felt the least worst ended up driving the whole way. Poor guy.

Porto is a historic city located in the north of Portugal, on the banks of the Douro River. It is the second-largest city in the country after Lisbon and is known for its port wine.

Church of Saint Francis (Igreja de São Francisco)

We started our walking tour along the riverbank, and then headed to the Church of Saint Francis (Igreja de São Francisco).

Construction of the church began in the 14th century, and it was completed in the 15th century. The exterior of the church is notable for its Gothic design, with intricate stone carvings and a rose window above the main entrance. The interior is even more impressive, with an ornate Baroque decoration that covers almost every inch of the walls, pillars, and ceilings.

The interior of the church hosts a display of gilded woodcarvings and intricate plasterwork. The nave of the church is divided into three sections by rows of pillars, each of which is decorated with an array of sculptures and reliefs depicting biblical scenes and saints.

The catacombs, which can be found in the lower level of the church, are known as the Crypt of the Franciscan Order, and contains chambers that were used to bury the monks who lived and worked in the church.

Ribeira Square (Praça da Ribeira)

Ribeira Square is a picturesque area with colorful houses, narrow streets, and lively cafes and restaurants, and is a great place to walk. The square is also home to a number of restaurants and cafes, serving traditional Portuguese cuisine and drinks.

Cathedral of Porto (Sé do Porto)

Getting to the cathedral from the waterfront required navigating a series of stairs. A walking tour around Porto is no easy task for people getting over food poisoning.

Construction of the cathedral began in the 12th century. The exterior of the cathedral is characterized by its fortress-like appearance, with a large square tower and battlements along the roofline.

The interior features Portuguese tiles, also known as azulejos, a distinctive form of decorative tilework. The designs are known for their intricate patterns, vibrant colors, and the use of repeating motifs such as flowers, birds, and geometric shapes.

The inner cloisters consist of a square courtyard, surrounded by a covered walkway with arches supported by slender columns. The columns are decorated with intricate carvings.

The altar is surrounded by a profusion of ornate decoration, including twisted columns, garlands of flowers, and cherubs.

The roof offers a panoramic view of Porto and the surrounding landscape, including the Douro River.

São Bento Station

São Bento Station is a train station and is famous for its facade decorated with azulejo tiles. The 20,000 plus hand-painted tiles depict scenes from Portuguese history and everyday life. It’s still a fully functioning train station. As someone not really educated in the history of Portugal, I couldn’t really follow the story.

McDonald’s Imperial

The McDonald’s Imperial is still a McDonald’s but its uniqueness comes from the beautiful Art Deco building it’s housed in, which was originally built a coffeeshop.

In the 1990s, McDonald’s acquired the building, but retained some of its existing features. The inside mostly looks like a regular McDonald’s though.

In a weird way, eating McDonald’s was actually a break from the seafood that made us sick and while the food is not considered healthy, we felt safer eating it.

Livraria Lello

Livraria Lello is considered one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. It’s gotten so popular that entry into the bookstore costs money.

Though for the 5€ it costs, there’s not much to see except for the main atrium and the upper floor. However, the ticket price can be redeemed against any purchase.

Mercado do Bolhão (Bolhão Market)

Bolhão Market allows visitors the opportunity to see and purchase a wide variety of fresh and seasonal produce, including locally grown fruit and vegetables, fish caught locally, and various cuts of meat. In addition, there are also artisanal products, such as cheese, bread, and wine.

It’s really clean compared to other food markets (like the ones in Asia) despite them also handling produce and raw meat. We ended up buying some cans of sardines here too just to give them a try. We also got a complimentary sardine pate too. Though like I mentioned in the other post, I later found out that the sardines here weren’t as good as I expected.

Fado Music

Fado is a traditional form of Portuguese music that is characterized by its melancholic tone. The word “fado” comes from the Latin word “fatum,” which means fate, and the music is often associated with feelings of longing, saudade (a Portuguese word for a deep sense of yearning), and a sense of resigned acceptance of life’s ups and downs.

Fado music is typically performed by a solo singer accompanied by a Portuguese guitar and a classical guitar. The singer sings songs that often tell stories of love, loss, and the struggles of everyday life. Fado music is usually performed in small venues, such as restaurants and cafes, and the intimate setting adds to the emotional impact of the music. I can’t say I enjoyed a lot, but I could definitely feel the emotion in the singing and it’s pretty consistent with the style.

Port Wine Tasting at the Vila Nova de Gaia

Across the Dom Luís I Bridge that spans the Douro River is the neighbouring district of the Vila Nova de Gaia, which hosts a number of port wine houses.

Kopke is one of the oldest Port wine houses in Portugal, and located in the district of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro River from Porto. The Kopke family has been producing wine for over 400 years, and the winery is known for its exceptional vintage Ports and aged tawny Ports.

We got to take a tour of the Graham’s Winery. The guide explained to us the difference between tawny, ruby, white, and vintage Ports. Tawny Ports are aged in oak barrels and have a smooth, nutty flavor, while ruby Ports are younger and have a fruity, sweet taste. White Ports are less common but offer a refreshing, citrusy flavor. Vintage Ports are made from the best grapes from a single year and are aged for a long time, resulting in a rich, complex flavor.

As a part of the tour, we purchased three different tastings of port, a combination of tawny, vintage and ruby ports. My preference is definitely the aged tawnys, though I found it tough to distinguish between a 20 year, 30 year and a 40 year tawny – so I guess that means spending more on the extra years of age isn’t worth it for me. But at least I could tell between the tawny and the other ones and now I know what I like.

Bota & Bira

This definitely one of the best meals we had in Portugal. We ordered a 1.2 kg aged T-bone steak to share. Combined with the aging process and the seasonings they added, the meat had a rich, beefy, earthy flavour.

We felt bad that we made our friend drive the whole way from Lisbon to Porto while we just slept so we treated him to this meal.

Porto compared to Lisbon

Compared to Lisbon, Porto was a lot hillier. The whole city is built on hills, which made it challenging when recovering from being sick. Though the city itself was much more well maintained than Lisbon

It was a lot less grungier too, but there were still people in the street hustling their fake purses or selling marijuana (though to a lesser extent).

At one restaurant in particular, when the host led us to the table, mentioned that we were lucky to get a table as there was a reservation no-show, even though while we ate, there were several tables that never got filled. It just made them look dishonest.

Though on the whole, we definitely enjoyed Porto a lot more than Lisbon. The food was better, the sights were more interesting, and we felt safer.

See more photos of Porto here

During the Roman times, the main rival of Arles was Marseille as a port town. Back then, the town was closer to the Mediterranean and the Romans built a series of canals to the sea, but over the centuries, the silt flowing from the river has buried the former harbour. Marseille is the bigger city today, but in that time, Arles was of considerable importance to the Romans. The leaders of Arles sided with Julius Caesar in his war against Pompey. Once Julius Caesar won and consolidated power, Marseille’s possessions were transferred to Arles. The city went into decline during the barbarian invasions that led to the fall of Rome.

For breakfast, again we found that the French, at least in this part of the country, don’t open any of their restaurants until noon. Even the places that are open, only serve drinks. This often left us hungry from morning till noon. At least for lunch, we went to La Gueule du Loup (literally translates to the Mouth of the Wolf). There we got to try a bull steak and a bull tataki (maybe a reference to the bullfighting event). Apart from the bull meat, the steak itself is prepared the standard way with a red wine sauce. Upon ordering the steak, I realized I didn’t know how to say rare in French, but the server was nice enough to explain it to me – “saignant” (the same server later also taught us how to pronounce Arles, like “arrrl”). The tataki was much more special – a blue rare bull steak with a miso/sesame sauce, mushrooms, and a black rice risotto topped with truffle oil (tataki is a Japanese culinary term, but the only thing Japanese about the dish was the use of miso and sesame). The black rice is grown locally in the region of Camargue, that Arles is a part of. They even brew beer with the rice, but the taste isn’t too different from other types of lagers.

After lunch, we headed over to Avignon, which used to be the seat of the Catholic church (as opposed to the Vatican) for 7 successive popes in the 14th century. Eventually, there was a dispute resulting both Avignon and Rome both declaring their own line of popes and for a time the papal succession had branched. The line of popes from Avignon were subsequently declared as illegitimate “antipopes” (but we like to say “bastard popes” for fun). The last antipope eventually agreed to relinquish the title and became a bishop. The popes resided in the Palais des Papes. The palace itself was both a fortress and a residence for the Avignon popes. The walls were intentionally very thick to withstand long sieges – to add on to that, the city has its own walls too.

The inside of the palace explains the long history of the Avignon Papacy along with different rooms in the palace. Like European history in general, it’s pretty tough to follow because there are so many interconnected people and events happening concurrently.

Walking around town, we stumbled upon a confectionary also selling the same calissons from Aix-en-Provence – they even had nougats too. This time, we got flavoured calissons, but they don’t taste as good as the original flavour. The nougats themselves are nice and soft.

As we headed out of the city, we got to see the massive walls surrounding it. They were built during the Avignon Papacy and deterred enemy attacks during the Hundred Year’s War. Heading further out, we also got to see a vineyard.

After a short drive, we reached Pont du Gard, the ruins of an old Roman aqueduct. It has three levels and people can walk all the way to the top if they follow a guided tour. The Grand Rhône runs through the area and people can spend time at the nearby beach or hike the trails in the greenery.

Looking closely at the bricks used to build the aqueduct, it’s amazing to see that the Romans were able to figure out how to cut each stone so precisely that they’d neatly fit together. And it’s also cool that they figured out how to ensure that the structure didn’t collapse under the load and that arches were the optimal shape to use. The keystones on the arch are still clearly visible.

For dinner, we ate at a nearby restaurant with a cozy courtyard. It was nearby the aqueduct in a small town, so we didn’t really have high expectations going in. But to our surprise, they were able to prepare a nice pizza, a salad, and razor clams (I’d never tried them before). But like many meals we had recently, we always get whiffs of cigarette smoke from some other table.

Check here to see more photos of Arles and Avignon

Cologne (Köln)

Last time I went to Cologne, I celebrated the Carnival and didn’t really see or do anything else. This time, I spent a half day checking out the chocolate museum and have a few beers.

The museum chronicles the history of chocolate, from the cultivation of the cocoa bean, to the industrial machines that produce the chocolate. Visitors can even order their own custom chocolate bar! They pick the kind of chocolate (white, dark, etc.) and can choose a multitude of condiments too.

I honestly was more impressed with the industrial chocolate making machinery more than the chocolate itself. As a graduate of mechatronics engineering, I can certainly appreciate the engineering behind these machines. The movements of each component is precisely controlled to perfectly pick up and drop pieces of chocolate or to pour liquid chocolate into molds, and the subsequently release them.

Afterward, we met up with a friend of mine who decided to move to Germany from America. He was so interested in Germany that he earned his C1 level in the Goethe Insitut examinations (it’s one level below native speaker), and when talking to him, I could always tell his future was in Germany. He found a job working at Deloitte and his German is so good that he doesn’t even speak English at work! Even I can’t do that with my German.

Next up: the bar. You can’t go to Cologne and not try the local brew, Kölsch. Germans outside of Cologne assert that Kölsch shouldn’t be considered a real beer, and honestly, I find it to be just okay. It’s not great and not terrible. A unique part of the Cologne pub culture is that if the waiter sees you with an empty glass, he will automatically serve you another one, regardless of whether you want one or not. The sign that you’re done is to put a coaster over the glass.

We walked around town a bit and went to probably the biggest landmark in town: the Cologne Cathedral. This Cathedral is the second tallest church in Europe (the first is in Ulm, also in Germany), with a height of 157m. It’s hard to imagine the size, but most of the buildings in Cologne aren’t very tall so this building appears to tower over the skyline.

Düsseldorf

Next, we drove to Düsseldorf. All we did there was walk a bit around town, but the streets just kind of look like other cities nearby, like Cologne, except Cologne has a giant cathedral to look at. We did come across a small celebration in the street though. I’m not completely sure, but I think it’s for the massive Carnival celebration that was gonna happen in late February.

The fun started later that night though. We were looking to get some dinner and went to a local pub. It was Friday night and the place was packed – so you can be pretty sure this place is good. Normally, you’d just walk in and sit at any free table – there’s nobody to show you to your seat like in America. There was nothing free anywhere.

A group of Germans signaled to us that we could join them and they’d make space for us. I politely told them that it was okay and we could wait, but they started shifting over so we ended up joining them. We chatted with them over drinks and they turned out to be super fun people!

A older couple were having beers with their son in law and his friend until we joined (they were drunk already when we showed up). They were so happy to chat with us and kept telling us how awesome we were for visiting Düsseldorf. One guy kept telling us in his German accent how “North Rhine-Westphalia is the most open-minded place in all of Germany”, how he grew up in Bavaria near Allgäu, but can never go back there because Düsseldorf is just so amazing, and that we should live here permanently.

Germans when they’re drunk, really like speaking English. One of them kept getting stuck on words and he’d ask their friends what the word was in English. I’d translate the words for him each time and eventually one of their friends literally just told him, “don’t ask us, ask him! He knows all the words!” They were super impressed by my German and it’s a pretty great feeling to know that my German is good enough to have these conversations with locals.

My friend on the other hand, could more or less understand what was being said, even though he couldn’t speak the words. In fact, he had a bit of trouble with his pronunciation, to the point that not a single server in any pub we visited in Germany understood him when he tried to order a Radler. This bar was no exception either, and I couldn’t help myself but laugh at his misfortune

As we left, we jokingly said we’d meet again at the same place and same time to have beers together again. I gotta say that most Germans I’ve met have been pretty cool.

That’s all for now!

• Cologne
• Düsseldorf
  

The luwak coffee has no added milk or sugar and is sweet on its own. It tastes like regular black coffee with sugar in it, but then I’m not a coffee drinker, so my taste for it isn’t as nuanced.

The luwak eats the coffee cherry (the fruit that contains the coffee bean), and. The bean itself is partially digested and defecated and then used to make the coffee. Yes, the coffee is actually made from part poop. Plantations send people out into the woods to specifically look for the poop. The guide said 1 kg takes 42 days to produce.

It’s one of the most expensive if not most expensive coffees in the world. Our guide at the plantation called it a “cat-poo-ccino”!! The plantation doesn’t actually charge for any of the tours and samples (except for the cup of luwak coffee), but rather they rely on people buying coffee and tea to make money.

The next stop was the monkey forest. It was really cool to see monkeys running around with humans so close to them.

There was a sign that said to not stare at the monkey for too long, but I clearly forgot…

Monkeys like to play too!

The monkey forest was the coolest place in the whole tour. Mike’s video has even more clips of the monkeys. Check it out below.

The next stop were some rice fields. But a freak rainstorm occurred and cut that way short. At first we thought, it’d be okay with a little, but then it just poured.

The raindrops were HUGE.

15 minutes later, the rain was gone. A bit of a drive later, we reached a waterfall as the conclusion of the tour.

From there we drove back to our accommodations and passed by some more rice fields. Throughout the car ride, we chatted with our guide about sorts of things like the history of Indonesian independence, North American culture, and life in Indonesia. One thing that really stood out to me was that he spoke very fondly about how dad prepared dog meat really and how much he enjoyed eating it. To him, it’s something super normal and part of the culture, but it seems so foreign to us in North America.

This ends our day trip in Ubud. See more of the trip here.

Near the waterfront was the Old Market Hall. It has a small set of shops and cafes, but it seems to be mainly aimed at tourists.

I was recommended to go to the Soup Kitchen for some Finnish seafood soup. It has a tomato base, with some cut up veggies. The protein were chunks of salmon and shrimp. It had a savoury flavour that was somehow perfectly balanced by the acidity. I could taste the intensity of the flavour without it being overpowering – this is something I’d like to know how to replicate in my own home cooking!!

Another popular location in Helsinki is the Esplanadi. It’s essentially a urban park in downtown Helsinki with restaurants and cafes on the side for people to chill at.

On the nearby island of Suomenlinna is the site of an old Finnish sea fortress from the 18th century. It’s a pretty nice place to walk around with views of the water.

There’s also a museum for an old retired Finnish submarine too.

For dinner, I had the chance to try bear meat for the first time! It’s from a Russian-style restaurant called Ravintola Saslik.

The bear itself was grilled and wrapped in bacon. The bear tasted like a rougher red meat. It wasn’t that chewy and fell apart easily. It’s true when people say apex predators don’t taste as good. Unfortunately, I felt super lethargic that day from the hectic days of travelling, so I didn’t have the appetite to really enjoy this meal as much as I wanted to.

At night, the Christmas market at Senate Square is still bustling.

On my last night in Helsinki, I went out with some of the folks I met at the hostel I stayed at. We went out for dinner and drinks and I finished the trip with one last hurrah. I also learned that Finns really like to karaoke! It is said that Kimi Räikkönen really likes karaoke, despite his stone cold responses in his press conferences.

Here’s a bonus picture of a dog that I met while browsing a bookstore! Her name is Lola and she is the bookstore dog. She likes to lie there and take pets from passers-by!

Photos here

STP 2017

In the summer of 2017, two friends and I rode STP over the course of two days (this was my first cycling event ever). At the time, I didn’t really know how to train other than just riding a lot of miles and I never really gave any conscious thought to hydration or nutrition. I clocked in about 1500 km over 70 hours of training from March till July (which was totally below what the official training plan called for).

On the event day, I ate whatever there was at the rest stops and drank the electrolyte drinks. I also ate this supplement called SportLegs that people were giving out. They supposedly improve muscle performance (however, sports dietitian thinks they’re more placebo than anything). I didn’t know anything at the time, and I just ate them anyway.

We were worried that our legs would be too sore to continue on the second day, but on the morning of the second day, we didn’t feel fresh, but nonetheless we made it through both days (with both legs still working!) and we were super happy with ourselves for having accomplished this. We joked that maybe it was the SportLegs (to this day we still don’t know). As we crossed the finish line, I said to my friends, “OK so we’re going to do STP in one day next year right?”. They thought I was joking, but I wasn’t.

The problems begin

The next event that summer was Obliteride 2017, a century ride to raise awareness and fundraise to fight cancer. I figured that since I had done STP, I’d be able to do this ride no problem. This is where problems for me started.

Around the 50 km mark, I started cramping up a little bit, and I still had 110 km to go. I started drinking much much more of the electrolyte drinks and eating, but the cramping just got worse and worse. It’s not that I didn’t have the strength – but each stroke I took, I felt the cramps. But the cramps weren’t SO bad that I couldn’t continue – I just had a terrible finish.

I went to see a physiotherapist to see what was happening, and she took a look, and she could only identify a slight pelvic rotation (my hips were leaning to one side of the bike), but she didn’t think that was the root cause. She couldn’t see anything wrong with the bike fit either, but thought it could have been a lack of training since Obliteride was much hillier than STP. I did the exercises she asked me to do and that was about it. I had also signed up for the Whistler GranFondo and Chilly Hilly as well, but I couldn’t even finish either of them. At one point, my entire right leg locked up on me and I couldn’t bend it for a couple of minutes. I began to worry if I could even continue cycling anymore.

Tackling the problem

I was so fed up with this problem, that I scheduled appointments with different doctors in sports medicine to get their advice. They all suspected that it was a nutrition problem and referred me to a sports dietitian. At my first appointment with the dietitian, she asked me about my lifestyle, how much I ate, exercised, etc. and immediately said, “you’re not eating enough for the exercise you’re doing” (I estimated that I was eating about 2200 calories/day). She wrote out on the whiteboard a high level guideline as to how I should eat.

I saw her for about a month and a half and after following her advice, my problems were solved! In a way, I got the OK from the nutritionist to eat as much as I want, even massive amounts of sodium and sugar, provided that I keep up my level of exercise. Knowing that eating more was the fix, I had no problem with that.

She also got me to measure my sweat rate, so I’d know how much water to replenish during big rides.

Training for STP 2018

I rode sporatically in the winter (I should have followed Rule #5 of the Velominati) and didn’t really start training seriously until June. From January to May, I clocked in only 848 km over 38 hours, which was only a bit less than year before at the same time, but I had started earlier in the year this time.

I made a plan for myself where I would do intervals twice a week with a big ride on the weekend (in June alone I clocked in 577 km over 25 hours). Two of the big training rides I had were century rides, where I got to work out the specifics in my nutrition and hydration plan. In total, I rode about 1600 km over 73 hours, not counting the intervals.

Three weeks before the event date, I started sleeping earlier and earlier (by about 15-30 minutes each day) to get myself used to waking up early since I would have to be on the road by 5:30am on event day.

Two days before the ride, I started carb loading (as per instructions from the dietitian).

My emotional state

I didn’t like the fact that training took so much time out of my week. I was already spending 10+ hours on the saddle, and I was beginning to feel mentally tired from all willpower required. The intervals drained me mentally even more because of the mental focus I needed to force myself to spin as hard as I could. It’s so easy to just stop when things get tough, and interval training was more mentally draining than any training ride I did.

As the event date drew closer, thoughts of my possible failure creeped into my mind, getting stronger day by day. I couldn’t think of anything else. I thought back to the wise words of Sun Tzu:

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。

I even started meditating to calm my mind. My coworkers could tell that I was more distracted than usual and provided me with good encouragement.

Race day

My friend and I started the ride around 5:30 am, and because there were so many cyclists on the road, drafting propelled us quickly and we made it to the halfway point around 2:30 pm. I still felt pretty fresh at that time which was good.

I knew that most riders do the ride in 2 days, so I expected not to be able to draft behind other riders. By about 200 km, I started feeling tired, but I knew I had to keep going. There was still 120 km to go.

I wasn’t having fun anymore. At this point, it was just a grueling grind to the finish, where the finish line was hours away. I wanted the day to be over. and thought to myself, “this too shall pass”. Looking at my bike computer frequently to see how far we’ve gone made it worse – slowly watching the distance ticking upward while thinking “when will this end?”

The temperature that day went up to a max of around 38 degrees Celsius. We rode in the burning heat, slowly becoming more and more dehydrated. I wanted the sun to set faster, so that it’d be cooler.

Judging by the dozens of people we saw at rest areas, we figured our pace was pretty good. But as we went further along, there were less and less people at the rest stops. Either they bailed, or they were much faster than us.

The finish line would close at 9 pm, and there was no way I’d get to the finish line in time. I wish I had trained harder.

For most of the last third, we rode mainly on our own, occasionally seeing another rider, whom we’d ride behind just to get an extra bit of a boost.

At the last rest area, there was almost nobody, maybe like a dozen people at most, but we were only some 25 km away. We could do this.

My friend and I would swap taking the lead every five minutes so that we could balance out the wind load between the two of us. The fact that the two of us rode together allowed us to talk to each other and help lift each other up. I think that helped a greal deal mentally and emotionally.

At dusk, we finally entered Portland. We were now just 30 minutes away from the finish line. We joined a group of other riders and rode together till the end.

I called out to the other riders with encouraging words like, “yeah! We’re almost there wooo”, but looking back I think I sounded too happy (despite my true feelings of misery) and the people around me probably thought I was a jerk for being so happy while they felt miserable.

Finally we reached the finish line at 10:30 pm. People were still there and cheering us on as we arrived. I almost shed a tear. I was overjoyed having finally achieving this goal.

Other friends who drove to Portland met us at the finish line and could see our happiness despite how filthy we were. We weren’t even hungry nor thirsty. We were in no mood to do anything. We just wanted to sleep. My friend was told that he sounded brain dead because he replied with one word answers and lacked the concentrated gaze that he normally had, whereas I was still considered having a sound mind.

The next morning, I woke up with quite the hangover even though I drank no alcohol. I was just REALLY REALLY dehydrated from the bike ride in the blazing heat.

After this entire ordeal, I told myself, “I’m not going to do this again next year”. I didn’t get back on the bike until late August – I think STP scarred me a little bit. I definitely don’t regret having done this at all, and I’m still very proud of what I did.

During the layover, we went to the Coca Cola Museum. At the ticket counter, one of the staff members randomly approaches me and asks me, “do you want a free T-shirt?”. When anybody offers anybody free anything, the first response is always skeptism and confusion. “What do I have to do?”, I replied. She replies, “WELL, you’ve got a Pepsi logo on your shirt”. The entire time, I never realized the Chivas jersey I was wearing even had a Pepsi logo. Kudos to her for picking that out (or maybe it was the red white and blue colours of the jersey that happen to be the Pepsi colours). At this point, I see the irony, and I take the free T-shirt and put it over my Chivas jersey. Pro tip to everyone going to the Coca Cola Museum: wear something with a Pepsi logo for a free T-shirt.

Inside the museum, they show off a ton of cool advertising/merchandise that Coke has made over the years in different countries. The museum was pretty busy and so it was pretty crowded in a lot of places.

Imagine decorating your living room like this!

This was probably the best part: drinking Coke branded drinks from different continents around the world.

For people into touristy things, then this museum would be a pretty cool place to go!

Photo album here

Our latest trip took us to Prague, the capital of Czech Republic.  After going there, I’d say that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The city managed to retain its wonderful architecture because the city was not heavily bombed (relative to other cities) during WWII. Otherwise, we could not see this wonderful architecture today.

Since I lost my wallet, I couldn’t use my Bahn25 for my discounted tickets anymore, so I ended up cancelling my train tickets and instead went with others who were going by car.  We met at around 7:30 in the morning and began our journey.  As usual, I slept for most of the car ride.

The Mosaic House Hotel

We first went to our hotel to meet up with the others.  When I first walked into the hotel, I was surprised at how nice everything was and we only had to pay 72 euros for 3 nights.  The lobby of the hotel was also a restaurant/pub and each night, the hotel would hold events/parties.

The hotel room even had the coolest shower.

Normally, I don’t post about showers, but this one was too nice to ignore!

Czech Crowns

Since Czech Republic didn’t adopt the Euro, we had to go to the currency exchange.  Before leaving we learned that the rate was about 1 euro for about 24 crowns.  When we got our currency exchanged, we felt so much richer because of all the extra zeroes.

The Czech bills look cool too, but maybe that’s because I’ve never seen them before.  I really hate the change though.  Apparently a 1 crown coin exists and those were really annoying to carry around.

Old Town Square

At the old town square we saw some of the most well known historic landmarks in Prague such as the Týn Church, Jan Hus Monument, St. Nicholas Church, and the Prague Astronomical Clock.  We went here on the first day as well as the second day when we went on the free walking tour.  Many of the historic landmarks survived throughout the Second World War unlike many other cities because this city did not get bombed as heavily as other cities.

The tour guide talked about the history of Czech Republic briefly and explained the significance of the buildings and interesting factoids about them.  For example, he explained the story of how Jan Hus was burned at the stake, how the astronomical clock doesn’t actually correctly predict the correct positions of the sun and moon since it assumed that the Earth was in the center of the universe, and that the designer of the clock was blinded by people who did not want him to build a similar/identical clock elsewhere (what a terrible way to be treated after such an accomplishment).  He also talked about the defenestrations that occurred in Prague prior to the Hussite and Thirty Years War.  He even told us about random facts like how pedestrian lights in Prague only stay green for 9 seconds.

Random Frisbee Game

On our way up to Prague Castle, we decided to stop for a beer nearby.  I got to try one of the Czech beers called Gambrinus, a type of Pilsner.  It tasted similar to all the other kinds of Pilsner I’ve tried.  Afterward, we came across a grass field and decided to play some Frisbee.  While passing around the Frisbee, we somehow got the Frisbee stuck in the tree and spent about 10 minutes trying to get it down.

We even played a game of Ultimate Frisbee too. I ended up running so much, and I surprised myself as to how long I ran for. I guess going on all these trips and walking around all the time really boosted my endurance without me realizing it.

The Tears of Stalin

While walking toward the castle, we came across a giant metronome on the hill.  In front of it, a huge sign read “The Tears of Stalin” with some missing letters.   According to our tour guide, he said that the area used to be the site of the world’s largest representation of Stalin until the statue was destroyed in 1962.

The picture is crooked because I took it while crossing the street, but at the top of the hill, the words can be see (although some letters are missing).

Prague Castle

When we arrived at the entrance to Prague Castle, we saw two palace guards dressed in a really formal uniform and they behaved like the guards at Buckingham Palace.  Each one wore a blue uniform with a rifle fitted with a bayonet.

When we reached the courtyard of the castle, we came across a bunch of people coming out from the cathedral while chanting.  They even had people wearing backpacks with a giant speaker coming out of it.  I remembered that the day was Corpus Christi and that would probably explain what was going on.

Once the people passed, we saw the St. Vitus Cathedral up close.  It seemed as massive as the cathedral in Cologne.  Apparently, this cathedral here is the largest in Prague.  We didn’t get to go in though because of the Christian holiday.

Everywhere around the castle were examples of really well kept architecture from hundreds of years ago.  It was quite an amazing site to be able to see all of that.

On our way down the mountain, we took tram 22.  Before going to Prague, I had read on the travel report for the city and it explicitly stated that lots of pickpockets operate along that tram route specifically targeting tourists.  So in order to prevent myself from getting pickpocketed again, I was extremely vigilant in watching my surroundings and protecting my stuff (I think I’m quite paranoid with that now).  Nothing happened and I didn’t notice anything suspicious either.  I guess the time that we went wasn’t exactly the peak traffic time.

Church of St. James

The next day, we went on the walking tour around the city.  We began at the old town square where our tour guide explained a lot of Czech history.  He also took us a number of other locations.  The next location we went to was the Church of St. James, where someone happened to be getting married that day.  That’s a pretty cool and unique sight if you ask me.

The tour guide also went on to talk about the history of this place.  In particular he told the story about Vratislav was buried alive by accident in the church.  Story says that the man climbed out of his coffin, but could not get past the stone doors.  Some thought his screams were because his spirit could not find peace so they tried to resolve the problem using holy water.  When the tomb was opened several years later, people found his dead body outside of his coffin.

Also in the cathedral is a statue of a mummified forearm which belonged to a thief who tried to steal from a statue of Virgin Mary inside the church.  Apparently the statue grabbed his hand and refused to let go.  After the thief’s hand was cut off, it was kept at the church to serve as a warning for all thieves.

Franz Kafka

Moving on to the next destination, the tour guide showed us a statue of Franz Kafka, a famous author from Prague.  The statue represented him conquering his demons in his dreams.

Before Kafka died, he did not want his works to be published.  He requested that all his works be burned, but the friend that he entrusted this task to felt that it would be a waste to do such a thing.  After publishing his works, Kafka became very well known and is now considered to be one of the best writers of the 20th century.

The Jewish District

Our next destination was the Jewish district of the city.  This is where we got to see a lot of synagogues build hundreds of years ago.  One of the synagogues, the Spanish Synagogue, had a design unlike most synagogues.  The tour guide said that the synagogue looks more like a mosque and could be due to the fact that the synagogue was built with the help of Muslims and the mosque-like design served as a thank you to them.

The next synagogue we went to was the oldest synagogue in Europe.  Known as the “Old New Synagogue”, it doesn’t look very beautiful as far as architecture goes.  If the tour guide did not mention that it was the oldest in Europe, I would have walked past it thinking that it was just any old building.

The last synagogue we saw was known as the “High Synagogue”.  Unlike the other two, this one didn’t have as interesting of a history.

After seeing the Jewish District, the tour proceeded close to the Vltava river, the river that runs through Prague.

The Rudolfinum

Near the river, was the Rudolfinum, which is a music auditorium.  It is also the home stage of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Walking further along the river, we could see the Charles Bridge.  And further in the distance up in the mountain, we could see Prague Castle.

Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge, named after Charles IV, used to be the only bridge across the Vltava river and therefore, this bridge was used extensively as a trade route between Western and Eastern Europe.

While on the bridge, it started to rain and all the artists selling painters instantly covered up their art to protect it.  Unlike last week in Munich, I brought an umbrella.  On a different part of the hill, we could also see the tip of what looks to be a lookalike of the Eiffel Tower.  Apparently, it is an lookout tower and a transmission tower.

One the bridge, there were so many statues across its length.  One of them however, according to the tour guide, was of John of Nepomuk, who was thrown into the river hundreds of years ago.  This man is usually portrayed with a halo of five stars.

For some strange reason, the weather couldn’t really make up its mind at the time, so I got interesting pictures of the bridge with rain clouds and white clouds hovering over it.

Epic Karaoke

That night at the hotel, they had an karaoke event.  Those who were brave/drunk enough, went up on stage to sing for everyone.  When we were there, it was quite rowdy, and our group had quite a bit to drink too.  Some of my friends went up to sing “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams.  They were like the Backstreet Bro(y)s.

While they were up there singing, the audience was really into it too.  People were dancing too.  I guess that’s a good thing.  Just for kicks, I took my friends lighter and started waving it back and forth like at a real concert.  Later on, with some “encouragement” from my friends (probably peer pressure), I went up with them too.  Never went up on a stage like that before, but I guess it worked out.  Afterward, the others went to the largest club in Prague.  Apparently it has six floors.  I didn’t go though, because I really hate clubbing.

International Music Festival

While in Prague, the International Music Festival happened to be on and so we went there to check it out.  I wasn’t that excited for this, since I’m not exactly a fan of any of the music they played there.  What was cool was that the event people shipped a truck full of beer and hooked it up to all the beer taps.  It’s like a dump truck (but with a smaller container that didn’t spin) carrying beer being transported over water.

When we left the festival, we came across the weirdest demonstration of modern art.  Just looking at it confused the hell out of me.  It just made no sense.

Modern Art

There was an modern art exhibit that people could walk through.  We didn’t go in it, but as we walked past the exit, we looked inside and saw some pretty strange stuff.  There was a couple standing in a room with glass windows on all sides and all they did was hug each other.  They stayed in the same hugging position and didn’t move.  Another exhibit had a tent with white cloth draped all over it with someone inside dressed in a similar way (I didn’t notice at first until he/she started moving) and all he/she did was move around randomly inside.  It made no sense.

There was also this thing called a “Sleeping Box”.  I guess it works really well for people who want to block the sunlight while sleeping outside.  Or maybe it was part of the modern art thing.  I don’t know.  The weirdest part about it were people randomly walking around holding a copy of “The Great Gatsby” that had an iTouch/iPhone taped on one of the pages and walked around reciting lines from a play.  It just didn’t make any sense.

The National Museum

Since the modern art exhibit was close to the box office for tickets to the opera, we decided to see if there were any tickets available for that.  Unfortunately, all their tickets had sold out.  Instead, what we did was go to the National Museum to see a mini classical music concert.

The concert played music from famous composers such as Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart.  When I heard the sound of the violins playing, it sounded so nice as I heard the instruments themselves as well as the echo.  I really admired the skill that these people had in music.

Food

In addition to just visiting landmarks around the city, we also tried some of their cuisine.  For food, I got to try their pork knuckle and their goulash.  They also served more mainstream things like perogies and burgers.  The perogies and burgers don’t sound very Czech (maybe not the pork knuckle either), but it was still very delicious.

The menu said that the pork knuckle was only 250 grams, but when they served it to me it seemed more like a kilo of just pork.  Somehow, I ate all of it (except for the really fatty part).

We also went to another restaurant called the “Iron Curtain”.  It was set up using the most stereotypical communist way.  It was underground and in every hallway was some paraphernalia from the communist times.  They were items like propaganda posters, or really old motorbikes.  They even had busts of Stalin and Lenin.  The front cover of the menu even said we’d have a “propaganda experience” and indeed we did.  The item with the best name on the menu had to be the CCCP Burger, where CCCP stood for the “Classic Capitalist Cheeseburger Plate”.  Oh the irony.

The “Iron Curtain” had the best restaurant atmosphere I’ve ever seen.  We left them a generous tip and the waitress was very happy about that.

Drinks

Many know that Pilsner beer comes from the Czech Republic, so everywhere in Prague, people drank Pilsner.  They had lot of brands, but the two most common ones were Gambrinus and Pilsner Urquell.  Apparently, the original Budweiser, came from Czech Republic and not from America.

We also tried another drink called Absinthe.  It is highly alcoholic (45 – 74% ABV).  According to Wiki, it says “Absinthe has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug” and so, many countries banned it (Canada included).  However, it isn’t proven that the drink is any more dangerous than other types of liquor.

We prepared it by lighting a mixture of sugar and absinthe on fire and then dunking that mixture in a glass of water.  By lighting the mixture on fire, the sugar would caramelize and the absinthe would lose some of its alcohol content.  Apparently, that is one of the mainstream preparation methods for the drink.

We drank it and depending on the concentration of sugar, the drink would either be too bitter or too sweet. I didn’t like it very much. We even tried it without the sugar. We just lit the absinthe on fire and had a flaming shot. That drink just burned as it went down. Someone mentioned that it was kind of like Bacardi 151.

Going Home

On the morning of the fourth day, we went back to Stuttgart.  On the whole, the trip wasn’t very expensive.  It only cost me about 200 euros with transportation and accommodations included.  We even ate out at a restaurant every night.  If I had a wallet at the time, it wouldn’t have hurt at all.

More photos here

For last weekend’s excursion, I went to Munich. Munich is one of Germany’s largest cities and has culture that totally differs from the rest of the country. Although everyone here still speaks German, I felt like I was in another country.

The City Center

We began our journey in the city center. There we saw much of the historical buildings like the Rathaus and the Frauenkirche. While walking around the city, I saw many people wearing the traditional Bavarian clothing with those really old style German mustaches, like the ones that the Prussian Kaisers used to have.

Hofbraeuhaus

For lunch, we decided to eat at Munich’s famous Hofbraeuhaus. Founded in 1589, it was once the royal brewery, but now it serves as a restaurant and tourist attraction. There, I ate their Surhax’n (salted pork knuckle), a Bavarian specialty. It tasted so delicious, but it was so incredibly fatty. Layers of fat were sandwiched in between the skin and the thinner meat. We also ate a brezel that was almost one and a half feet wide. The ones I eat in Stuttgart are only around 8 inches wide. For our drinks, we each ordered a “Mass” (usually the “ss” is replaced by the beta sign), which was one liter of beer. I think the only people that didn’t drink that were the kids. It also seemed customary for people to write something on the table since every table had graffiti from previous customers all over it. I did the same and wrote Newton’s Second Law, representing mechanical engineers and physicists everywhere. While we ate, there’d be a band playing traditional Bavarian music.

Englischer Garten and the Hofgarten

After lunch, we went to the Englischer Garten and the Hofgarten. The whole place was just a huge park where people just suntanned.

Olympic Park

Afterward, we went to the Olympic Park of the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. I saw a memorial there for the Munich Massacre, in which a Palestinian gunman murdered 11 Israeli athletes. We visited the football field and its size was rather deceiving. It looked so small, but the bikers took a really long time getting from one side to the other, so it had to be huge.

BMW Museum

We only looked around the rather large lobby of the museum, but since we already saw the Benz and Porsche Museums in Stuttgart, we didn’t bother spending that much time there. The cool thing about this museum was that we actually got to sit in the cars and motorcycles, unlike the Benz and Porsche Museums.

Starkbierfest

The Starkbierfest is a beer festival that lasts for a month, because of this, there were tons of people at all the local beer gardens. Everyone went there in the evening and as usual, people ordered their beer by the liter.

Dachau Concentration Camp

At the front gate, one could immediately see the camp’s motto that the Third Reich once displayed, “Arbeit macht frei”, which literally translates to “work makes free”. Each incoming prisoner would see this sign without realizing the horrors they would be face. We visited the interrogation rooms, now devoid of anything from the Nazi regime except for the slowly decaying wallpaper.

The museum on the site outlined the history of the camp and the stories of some prisoners and staff that were once there. Also at the camp, one could see the “houses” that the prisoners stayed in. It was hard to believe that the building once contained as many as 2000 prisoners. Outside was also the Ashes of the Unknown Concentration Camp Prisoner. On the wall, the words read, “Never Again”. I went up to the tomb and paid my respects.

Inside the house, we saw the beds that the prisoners slept on. In one room, I counted 72 beds, but obviously back then, more than 72 people slept there.

We also visited the crematorium which contained the ovens once used to cremate the dead. There was also a gas chamber. Although Dachau was only a concentration camp and not an extermination camp, it still made use of it. Each of the gas nozzles was disguised as a shower and room even had drains on the ground so that the prisoners wouldn’t refuse going into the room. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was a shower too.

On the exterior, one can still see the measures that the Nazi’s took in preventing escapes such as the use of watchtowers, electric fences, and a moat.

The Isar River

For lunch, we went to the a beer garden close to the Isar River. I wanted to eat the Bavarian Weisswuerst (white bratwurst), but they only served it in the morning. After lunch, we briefly stayed at the Isar before it was time to go.

Physics Experiment on the Way Home

While on the back, my friend put his water bottle on the table and every time the train accelerated, the bottle would move due to the inertia. Like the nerd I am, I got the idea of measuring the train’s acceleration. But to do that we also had to know the train’s speed after acceleration. We’d do this with basic vector kinematics. We measured the time it took for the train to travel 200 m, by looking at when the train passed the markers on the side of the track (at least I hope it’s 200 m). We then timed how long the train took to accelerate. Our results: the train travelled at 120 km/h and accelerated at 0.85 m/s^2. It was really nerdy of us to do that, but since we’re all mostly engineers, we found it quite hilarious.

More photos here