..bittersweet symphony..

Part 1 : Journey from Moscow, to Berlin, to Amsterdam.

So, during my winter holidays, me, with Ipan, Anna and Azzam scoured the whole of Europe to spend the bulk of our time and money...well actually no, we only went to Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin hehe. So off we departed by a chartered taxi to the Vnukovo International Airport, which was my first time there. Its actually a hub for more of the low-cost type of air companies. So before boarding, we chilled out and I had coffee with pancake rolls or something at Shokoladnitsa (which in English if I'm correct, means little chocolate girl?).

Yup. It tastes like how it is in the picture. Delicious.

But the thing was, our flight to Berlin was delayed, for like 3 hours or so. And we feared that we couldnt make it to our express bus from Berlin to Amsterdam because the gap in time was so near. So according to the delay, we only have about 1 hour to catch our bus or else we have to find another way to spend our night or how to get to Amsterdam. Meanwhile before boarding, Germanwings offered us their sincere apologies in the form of presenting us with complimentary flight meal and soft drinks. Being Malaysians, of course la rezeki tak baik ditolak kan, hehe. I think I consumed 2 cans of soft drinks, but we still couldnt stop worrying about how we could catch the bus on time.

My little luggage.

Compensation.

The flight was ok, the immigration process was quiet fast, and we swiftly withdrew our first Euros from the ATM and took cab. It was a Mercedes. Being honest to you, I never had a ride in a Mercedes. And I wasnt feeling a thing. Although at a glance, the bearded taxi driver was driving at 120km/h. Berlin highway looks nice too I have to say. Sure enough, we arrived at the bus terminal just nice, and had 45 minutes or so to spare, so I went to the toilet and swiftly emptied my tank hhehe.

Eurolines bus to Amsterdam, departing at 9.30pm.

Went to the snack shop and bought a boring tasteless bread, with the filling of cheese and spinach. I never was a fan of cheese, though I have no problems with spinach, thanks to my mum's cooking, hee. Plus I bought a large bottle of mineral water. You can never have enough water around you aite. It was very cold that night, like some like to say, you can feel the chill to your bones, thats how cold it was. Likely the terminal was well heated inside, but waiting for your luggage to get into the bus and taking your turn to board it, that was the shittiest. As it was, we were kinda late getting into the bus, and most seats were taken. Azzam wasnt so lucky, his seat was near the exit door so it was double torture for him. In all honesty, the bus for me was crampy, and not really to my liking. But who am I to say, I'm not a frequent traveller, complaining about menial things like that. The bus stops at a rest area every 2 hours or so. I went outside once just to see what the heck was going on, and I regretted it. Sejuk gila kot. I couldnt even bare to find the toilet. So I rushed back into the bus, back to my seat.

As I said, crampy. Doesn't help that I have long legs too.. :D

Azzam looking bored having a lousy seat.

At around 6 or 7am or so, we were entering the urban areas just outside of Amsterdam. People were bustling to get into their offices, bicycles were everywhere, and here I am, in Amsterdam.

Next story, the Amsterdam public transport, hostel, and some stuffs.

MTV of the post, from the Wannadies, You and Me :