Travelling Back In Time (Part 3): Medieval Towns in Germany

The Romantic Road is a marketing nomenclature for 350 km of medieval towns and countryside in Bavaria, southern Germany, and we spent 3 days exploring different towns in our journey from Frankfurt to Munich. For Hubby and me, these 3 days were the best and most enjoyable part of our holiday. We immersed deep into the small, unknown towns of medieval Germany, and revelled in the fact that we were lost in time.

I find the history of Germany fascinating. Do you know Germany only became a unified country back in the late 19th century? Before that, Germany was rarely united, and hundreds of independent states and rulers existed. I think this is part of the reason why the residents of Germany are full of pride and self-initiation in whatever they do – and it is very apparent in the excellent condition of their buildings, their processes, their work, etc – because they had never needed to rely on a central authoritative government or ruler in the past.

Solar-powered wind energy is very common in green Germany

Anyway, back to the trip. Here are some highlights of the Romantic Road trip!

Wurzburg

As we departed from urban Frankfurt, we were captivated by the gradual transition from a big, commercial city to the rolling meadows of the countryside, seeing charming villages set at the foot of little hills, and an expansive horizon of meadows and farms. 



We started off the Romantic Road trip with a brief stop in Wurzburg, a bustling town from the 4th to 5th century. The imposing Fortress Marienberg set on a hilltop, with views of a monumental bridge hailing from the Middle Ages across a broad, serene river, as well as myriad spires from the majestic architecture of the town, were most memorable for me.

Shortly after Wurzburg, we visited a historic manor house owned by a Count, with gardens resembling that of Versailles Palace's in France. It was liberating just to stroll in the gorgeous gardens, and the rich Baroque interiors of the dancing hall made a deep impression on us.

 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We spent a night in Rothenburg - and oh, what a fabulous 24 hours that was! Rotherburg is the epitome of German romance and chivalry, and the moment we entered the walled medieval town, I could immediately tell why.

Nestled in resplendent, exquisite, rolling countryside, with majestic guard towers, lordly gateways and magnificant historical city walls, the antiquated town is the most well preserved of all the small towns in southern Germany. The ubiquitous half-timbled fachwerk cottages and houses dot the entire cobblestoned, walled town which is redolent of gallant knights and regal ladies.

We wandered in the dreamy countryside with little vineyards, aqueducts and manor houses.

We explored country lanes in the surrounding woods, blowing gigantic dandelions, peering up at ancient trees that the girls claimed were Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree, peered into an empty but pretty bird's nest, daydreamed at miniature, growing grapes in the vineyard. What a heavenly afternoon!

 

We browsed in quaint, dark little shops that sell the most amazing merchandise, from a whole shop full of the most beautiful Christmas accessories to resplendent chess sets with fantastical pieces (which Hubby could not resist buying!).

 

 

One of the chess sets that we bought, and the Bees with their father had been busy playing with them since then!

 

A multitude of exquisite Christmas decor items!

 

 

Sausages and frankfurters galore!

Schneeballen, a Bavarian delicacy that is very sweet and crunchy!

We dined alfresco under the ambrosial sunlight and ambled along cobblestoned streets in the tangerine golden rays of a 8pm sun.

In the evening, we set out to join the historic Night Watchman's Tour, where a night watchman related tales of this medieval town from eons back.

Unfortunately, jetlagged Little Bee fell asleep in our arms midway through the tour, and we had to return to the hotel.

Our hotel was an absolute charmer - it was a lovely guesthouse run by a very friendly woman called Marian, whom we had many amiable conversations with.

The Bees love her big French sheepdog, and breakfast was spent playing incessantly with it.

We stayed in a spacious room with 2 queen-sized beds up on the highest floor (3rd floor!) of her guesthouse, and loved the quaintness of it all. We had to lug our heavy luggages up all 3 levels of her spiral staircase, and we slept without air-conditioning, with the windows opened to the fresh, beautiful air of the Rothenburg countryside - and we revelled in this country living! I remember waking up in the middle of the night to absolute silence...no sound of moving cars or late-night party-goers. This is truly the sound of the real planet earth - the sweet silence of nature in slumber.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early for breakfast. The breakfast was the best we had in this whole trip! It was a homely breakfast set in the cosy and heartwarming dining room of her beautiful guesthouse, and we loved all the personal touches of her country-styled breakfast! It was a truly memorable stay here.

 

What I love about German breakfasts - an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits!

We then spent more time exploring the rest of Rothenburg - once again, we wandered into quiet historical courtyards, and eventually ambled to the ancient walls of the town, much to our delight. The scenery around us was so picturesque that everything was heartachingly beautiful - the charming outline of the town from outside the walls, alluring courtyards with little flowers blooming, an archaic dark brown bridge spanning the inner and outer city walls on which I could just visualise ancient knights galloping into town.

We even had the amazing opportunity to stroll on the grassy patch of the now-defunct moat and chanced upon a big, dark loft with a huge cannon room within the walls. It was somewhat creepy and the Bees were a little spooked, but Hubby and I were thrilled with our discovery!

We also spent some time wandering about the surrounding woods that resembled something straight out of the Lord of the Rings - damp forest grounds full of busy ants, emerald-green foliage and dim surroundings. We strolled for a while in the outer areas of the woods but did not venture deeper because the Bees felt pretty uneasy in the dark, lonely woods where not a soul was to be found!

After a sumptuous lunch set in the most picture-perfect restaurant where we had a bird's eye view of the surrounding countryside and the beautiful outline of the town's buildings, we set off finally from this gorgeous little town, much to our melancholy.

On that day alone, we stopped by several thousands-year-old medieval towns like Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen and Ausburg, where each town has its own distinctive flavour and specialty.

Dinkelsbühl

Dinkelsbühl is somewhat similar to Rothenburg, but much quieter, with beautifully preserved buildings dating back from the Middle Ages. Their cobblestoned streets are broader, and thus a little more impersonal to me. Their houses are a lot wider and bigger, and there are blackletter labellings of every single house which really captivated me!

We stopped here for a little ice-cream set in an alfresco cafe beside a man playing a fiddle - how relaxing! But most of all, we were struck by the majestic cathedral of Dinkelsbühl, with magnificant interiors!

Nördlingen

I was most enthralled by the history of Nördlingen, a 1,115-year-old walled ancient town set in a crater of a meteorite impact, with its impressive tower built with the rock formed from that impact! Again, its plazas and market squares were a lot wider than of Rothenburg as well, and I did not quite grasp the small quaint town feel here.

Ausburg

Ausburg is the third oldest city in Germany (older than all the historic towns we visited), so it has this bustling large town feel with trams, modern shops, and rich, large patriarchal buildings which I did not really like. There were some beggars around, and we felt like lost kids in a big city!

In all, we felt like we were literally lost in another time, another age - and truly revelled being part of this historical journey of medieval Germany!

Travelling Back In Time (Part 2): Frankfurt, Germany

FRANKFURT

This post will be about our experiences in Frankfurt. This was my first trip to Germany (other than the stopover in Frankfurt Airport on the way to the United States last year), and I did not have any expectations nor impressions about Germany, except for my deep interest in the holocaust and Nazi Germany's destructive forces. Thus, when we touched down in Frankfurt on a bright, sunny and crisply cool day on 6 June, I had zero expectations and minimal anticipation.

But, after a week spent in Germany, I was impressed and fascinated. The Germans I met are highly efficient and adept, take immense pride in whatever they do, friendly but not probing, soft-spoken, very clean and polite, and process-driven. In fact, the entire country reminded me very much of Japan, and I wondered many times during the trip if these are the potent characteristics that propelled these 2 countries to be the aggressive and ambitious superpowers in World War II!

Another thing I love about Europe during summer is their languidly long summer nights. It made travelling so much easier, and we are able to extend our daily experiences to indulge in the ethereal sunlight.

In addition, Germany has one of the better and more efficient transportation systems in the world. Their cab fares are reasonable, and all the cabs are Mercedes taxis! Their subway is clean and punctual, with an excellent network across the city, and their buses are so comfortable and spotless too! It was so easy to travel all around on our own.



Taking the subway in Frankfurt



Impactful and eye-catching designs at the subway stations

Such self-initiated creativity at subway stations!



I love the quirky personalities of trams!

Some key highlights of our Frankfurt segment of the trip are listed below.

1) The Main River
The first morning of our trip was spent languorously ambling beside the River Main. Our trip coincided with major floods happening in southern Germany, which affected most of the river systems in the country, so River Main was very swollen, with fast-flowing waters overflowing to the banks.

 

It was such a delightful early morning walk in the cool air, with minimal people around us. We were literally able to smell and admire the blossoming summer flowers around us, as well as the abundance of foliage all around.

2) Heaven for musicians - Session Music
We spent the rest of the morning indulging in Hubby's favourite hobby - browsing for music keyboards in Frankfurt's suburbs. The Bees were suitably excited by the amazing array of pianos, keyboards and guitars that adorned the vast 2-storey shop, and all 3 (except for musical idiot, me!) tinkered with the pianos and keyboards.

3) The Römerberg
The historic heart of Frankfurt was breathtaking and charming. We were captivated by alluring ancient statues around the square, and browsed in quaint shops selling the most enchanting merchandise. The Bees were drawn to an antiquated water fountain, and loved chasing the pigeons around the old plaza.

The fascinating cuckoo clocks that originate mainly from Black Forest

We had alfresco lunch at a winsome German restaurant, and indulged in typical German cuisine like bratwurst (hot dogs) and sauerkraut (sour cabbages), etc. I must say I am not a big fan of German food, as there is too much meat in their cuisine! We took a lovely long lunch under the mild sunrays of a rejuvenatingly cool summer day!

4) The cathedrals
What is a visit to the historic town centre without taking a peek at the town's cathedrals? We visited 2 cathedrals that dated back to the 12th to 14th centuries (the modest Alte Nikolaikirche and the glorious Dom St. Bartholomaus).



Little Bee doing some colouring in an ethereal cathedral

We were awed by the brilliant architecture and our frazzled urban souls were soothed by the pervasive peace within these cathedrals.

 

Splendid organ pipes

5) The Naturmuseum Senckenberg (Natural History Museum)
The highlight for the Bees was the natural history museum. I had always wanted to visit a natural history museum before, but never had the opportunity to, so I was as excited as the Bees.

And we were not disappointed. We marvelled at the splendid display of colossal dinosaur skeletons, and most of them are originals from eons ago! Simply mind-boggling and amazing.

Venturing deeper into the museum, we were able to experience interactive displays on the solar system and earthquakes. There were also highly educational displays about deep sea creatures, huge exhibits of exotic stuffed animals and the evolution of the human species. Fascinating stuff indeed. Needless to say, the kids loved this museum, albeit Little Bee was a little spooked in some deeper, darker and lonelier parts of the museum. I also found it remarkable that the museum was hardly populated with visitors! We were usually the only visitors in some parts of the museum, and this was so refreshing after having arrived from over-crowded Singapore!

 

We ended the day, jetlagged, with a cosy and relaxing room service dinner, while looking forward to what the next day might bring!

Travelling Back In Time: Germany and Paris (Part 1)

We are back from an amazing 16-day journey from 6 to 22 June in Germany and Paris, with a little bit of Salzburg thrown in for good measure.

 

We traversed up chilly and rainy forest lanes to see the awe-inspiring castle that enlivened Walt Disney to create his Sleeping Beauty castle. We hiked along lots of country paths and in beautiful woods. We stayed in medieval towns so well preserved from the Middle Ages that we felt that we were time travellers in another age, in another time.

 

We were immensely humbled and grief-strickened by stories of horror, devastation and bravery in Dachau's concentration camp. We immersed in the splendid Salzburg hills that are alive from the Sound of Music and cruised in the placid St Wolfgang lake, surrounded by the magnificant Salzkammergut Mountains, spellbound by the unreal natural beauty around us. 

 

We were then captivated by Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower while sipping coffees in Parisian sidewalk cafes. We shook hands with Mickey Mouse and were dazzled by fireworks over Disneyland's castle. Most of all, Hubby and I could not believe that we could be rocking with tens of thousands of French fans at a Depeche Mode concert in the grand Stade de France...seeing our girls swaying to their music was truly memorable!

 

I will be writing more accounts of the awe-inspiring places that we had travelled through - but it had been an unforgettable holiday that bonds us closer as a little family :)

 

 

Post-Exams Bustle

School's out for June! Before this long reprieve from school, the Bees' school organised plenty of social and enrichment activities for the students to wind down after their stressful mid-year exams. This is the fundamental reason why I love the Bees' school - it is holistic and cares about the students' well-rounded development, which is so important to help shape the kids' character development.

This is the first year that Little Bee would be involved in all these activities, and fun-loving her was beside herself with pure excitement every day! I had been actively helping out in Big Bee's activities for the past 4 years, so I gently informed Big Bee that this year is the time when I would start helping out in Little Bee's class, while keeping an eye on what Big Bee is doing in school. Being a fiercely independent tween, our Big Bee bravely breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that mummy is no longer going to tag after her. However, I could tell from the questions she asked and her mirthful reactions when she saw me in school that deep inside, she was still thankful that I am still present in school and could wave to her from afar.

Post-exams May was a hectic one in school! Little Bee had two drama concerts (an English and a Chinese one), and it was truly gratifying to watch her indulge in her favourite activity on stage - acting! Our drama queen always loves the stage and would always recite her stage lines incessantly at home the whole day long.

I managed to take some time off work to help out in a couple of events. The first was for an in-line skating lesson. It was amazing to hear and feel the initial fears of the students (especially those who had never skated before, like Little Bee) - only to see these fears dissipating away with the wind the moment they started skating away! As always, I could see Little Bee making all kinds of cheeky faces and asking all kinds of crazy questions....like the drama queen that she is!

A tired-looking Little Bee after an hour of skating! 

The following week, I helped out in the annual Zany Brainy Games Day - as per usual for the past 4 years! This year was like cycling back in time because once again, I became a parent chaperone of a primary one class, instead of a station master for older students. I forgot how enervated and exhausted a parent chaperone could be, especially after conducting a scavenger hunt, dashing through different locations within the school, under the hot noon sun!

I really like the parents in Little Bee's class. They are very united and everyone got along really well. There are plenty of communications and coordination between the parents before such events, so our children could all enjoy better-organised group activities even more! For example, instead of the usual recess, the parent chaperones decided to bring some food for the kids to have a picnic under a balmy pavilion. A simple idea but a grand way for the kids to chill and bond with their friends without the frazzled need to buy food in an over-crowded school canteen!

Some of the food that the parents chaperones brought for their recess picnic

Zany Brainy Games this year comprised of a poster competition, in which each parent chaperone was in charge of a group of 5 girls to create a poster about kindness.

My team's poster, decorated by the prolific students!

This was followed by a spelling competition and then a movie session, before the scorching scavenger hunt! However, I thought this year's programme provided the parents with some respite from the heat and never-ending activities, compared to previous years!

The groups of students had to dash around school, performing activities and  looked for clues
so that they could collect pieces of this tangram puzzle and solve it. 

In all, it is just so important to be present and supportive in school, no matter how busy our lives are. It allows us to get to know our children's friends a lot more, so that we could have common conversation topics about their friends at home. I noticed it is valuable as Big Bee enters tweenhood when I got to know her friends and chat with them like friends. There is a certain sense of acceptance and contentment from Big Bee as she sees me interacting with her friends or when we chat about them at home.

Furthermore, when the kids see us in school, participating in their activities, they will understand that we too want to be a big part of their lives, and this is a start of a lifetime of friendship with our children....

Her Dance Odyssey

Last year was a monumental year for Big Bee in terms of her dance commitments. She was appointed as Ballet President for that year, and had to attend a leadership camp to groom CCA (co-curricular) leaders like her. She was chosen in an open audition to participate in the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) national dance competition. And she was on the school performing team for her ballet CCA. Due to all these hectic commitments, unfortunately, we had to nudge her to drop her tennis CCA. There just wasn't sufficient time for her to be devoting time to all these commitments while juggling her schoolwork and other enrichment outside of school.

As Ballet President, she was tasked to be the assistant for the teachers, where she would need to broadcast important announcements to her team members. She was also required to check on the attendance of her friends in the CCA, and of course, to provide motivation and inspiration for her team members. However, in a performing arts group, competition - while present - is not as strong as that in a sports team, so she did not need to be yelling loud motivating cheers to drum up the morale of her team mates, which is not her style anyway.

She spent days and weeks with her SYF team, practising slick moves for a sanguine, upbeat jazzy dance item. I went to support her on the day of the competition, and was blown away by how grown-up and snazzy she looked in her fashionable black jumper and glittering gold beret. The parents for these girls cheered the loudest (as always), and we were elated when we learned later that they attained a Gold award for their effort.

After the exhilaration of the competition, the team had several performances - both in the public and within the school. All the performances were enjoyable to hubby and I, of course. It was truly intoxicating to see your own little baby on stage, dancing an electrifying jazz number or an elegant ballet item, looking all grown-up and out-of-this-world. There was this strange and unsettling sense of disbelief.

My favourite performance was the public show at Botanic Gardens where the group performed to hundreds of people at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage. Together with the beaming grandparents and our Yorkie, we spread out huge picnic mats and sprawled on the emerald lawns of the gardens to watch our girl perform.

The team's performance in Botanic Gardens

There were 3 other school performances, and for one of them, she had to dance in 2 items - a pop-jazz dance and a Swan Lake ballet item of which she was one of the lead dancers. We were kept busy last year!

When I asked her the kind of fulfillment she gets from dance, she would provide me with cheeky answers like "It helps me lose weight!". But I could really see that it helps destress her, and provides an excellent platform for expressing herself and for dispensing all those extra energies away, so that she comes away from a practice with a clearer, more focused mind.

This year, she steps out of her role as Ballet President and had gotten out of the jazz dance team, but will still be prancing around on stage as a classical ballerina :)

The Arabian Enigma

Even in urban, modern Singapore, our family seeks to find little beauties that are out of the ordinary. In this age where many Singaporeans lament about the humdrum monotony of our country and seek other countries to appease our search for the exotic, we chanced upon an alluring enclave some time back - the Arab quarters of Singapore.

Although we had visited Arab Street a few times, we never failed to be enchanted by its mysticism, its eclectic charms, its differentiation from anything typically urban Singaporean. It exists in a time and place in itself.

We wandered insouciantly through narrow, colourful alleys full of surprises like stumbling upon an entire wall of dazzling, psychedelic art never before seen around other parts of Singapore. Or ambling past a dusty hole-in-the-wall shop whose facade was filled with an amazing array of antiquated perfume bottles straight out of the middle ages!

We visited small but alluring shops filled with extraordinarily quirky items for sale. We strolled past umpteen shops with the most creative and awe-inspiring of facades. It definitely felt as if we were lost in another city in a different age.

The girls were fascinated by this little niche in Singapore that was so new and unfamiliar to them. Hubby and I hope to show them similar enclaves in Singapore - so that they understand the little beauties of the country we are living in....

Colours Of Nature: The Green Corridor

There is a vast meadow near our old house where we used to hang out over the weekends. It is a pasture where we could take long leisurely walks without seeing any cars or smelling their noxious fumes. A colossal verdure where we can observe the little things that make nature so wondrous. We were able to observe at close range the simplest beauties like an eagle soaring low over the meadow, verdant patches of lalang, and dense morning mist rising over the dewy, wet grass awakening from a night of slumber.

Recently, we went back to our little emerald playground, and we were devastated to see a proliferation of bulldozers, trucks and other horrible machines meant to annihilate the primary forest, undergrowth and the enduring greenery in that entire area. I think the government just cannot bear to see a large piece of unspoiled natural beauty gone to "waste", and prefers building sterile shopping malls and pricey condominiums instead. It is inexplicably saddening. 

We should really be teaching our children - who will be the next generation of leaders in this urban nation - the value of nature, the huge benefits of leaving forests unkempt and growing at their own pace (instead of terribly boring cultivated parks), and the power of heritage in this young children. Otherwise, there is no way for our children's children and other generations beyond to truly understand this fledgling country if everything is all about economic success and air-conditioned leisure. 

I am blessed to have parents who used to bring us to parks and beaches for picnics and outings. My brother and I grew to appreciate nature a lot - even until now. I am also very happy to have a husband who loves the heat of Singapore as much as I, who always refrain from going into boring, air-conditioned malls to spend a free afternoon. 

Some time back, my husband and brother made plans for a cycling trip along the Green Corridor. I would love to join them one day, maybe trekking behind them with the Bees. Here is a guest feature by my brother who wrote briefly about the sights and scenes from their dawn cycling adventure. I thought it was a very poignant post about grasping at the last vestiges of our memories. In the end, my hubby and brother cycled for a good 6 hours throughout the breathtaking Green Corridor! 

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The Green Corridor (The old railway track)

Text and photography by my brother

As I cycled on the old train track along Ghim Moh, I took a moment to look up at the block of flats that my eldest uncle once stayed.

Every first day of Lunar New Year, all my relatives would congregate there. I still remember vividly during my childhood days, my sister and cousins would rush to the windows and catch a glimpse of the passing train. As it whistled by in a hurry, it brought us smiles.

Today, the block of flats stood silently cordoned away from the public, awaiting its final destiny.

Further down, Tanglin Halt comes into sight. It is here that my mum spent many of her growing years in. Once again, the block of flats had met with the same fate as those in Ghim Moh - en-bloc.

Queensway is just round the corner. There are news that it is up for sale. Will the Mecca of sports shoes meet the same fate as Ghim Moh and Tanglin Halt?

Ironically, in this day and age, nothing can withstand urbanisation. A stretch of dirt path filled with rich memories - and yet, its fate is in peril.

What other sacrifices do we need to make in the relentless pursuit of economic growth in Singapore? Have we all lost our soul and innocence in the process?

  

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost is one of my favourite poets, and I really love his evocative poems about nature, love and sorrow. He had an amazing power to convey the smallest nuances of reality through his concise but vivid writings.

Recently, I chanced upon this poem of his again (The Road Not Taken, as reflected below). As a mother, I thought long and hard about how I can convey this message to my children, how I should be imbuing in them the inspiration to do what they truly want, even if that would be unconventional and different from the others. I also thought about how this poem can inspire them not to be too easily influenced by peer pressure, especially with Big Bee embarking onto her tweenhood journey.

And most of all, I thought about what we should really be teaching our children in a stressful Singapore - to go with the flow of rigid studies based on rote-learning, or to listen to their hearts and excel in something they are good at? I guess the big question would be: Can we parents learn to accept the different roads our children may choose to take? How can we be sure that we will always be standing beside them, advocating them unconditionally, without putting any of our expectations on them?

These are tough questions as our children grow bigger, with more societal pressures on them. But I hope to be always inspired by my own mother, who had always advised me to follow my dreams and to pursue my passions. In an age when most parents preached professional degrees like Medicine and Law, I remember vividly the day that she told me to follow my heart when I was choosing between a law degree and a more broad-based communications and social sciences one. Most parents will nudge their children to a professional degree, but my own mother took a look at me and said, "I do not think a legal profession will be suitable for you, and I do not think you will be happy. Just choose what you are interested in." It was a bold and wise statement coming from a woman without much education, and it had remained indelible in my mind since then. And since then, I had never felt happier in my university journey and my various careers.

Will I be able to tell my children the same message when they come to the same crossroads?

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Colours Of Nature: The Virgin Forest

Virgin forest
Definition: A forest that had attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. Includes diversity of tree-related structures that serve as diversified wildlife habitat that leads to higher bio-diversity of the forested ecosystem.

Also known as: Primary forest, old-growth forest, primaeval forest, or in the UK, ancient woodland.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Sounds like nothing that we would encounter in Singapore? Well, one of our favourite to-do things over weekends would be to look for stretches of greenery in sweltering Singapore, and revel in the lush, verdant beauty. A tall order in blazing hot Singapore? Not surprisingly, nature reserves, forests and parks have one of the lowest temperatures due to the nurturing canopy of giant trees. So, even if we are trekking around under the mid-day sun, it will be cooler than walking around in the concrete jungle of Orchard Road!

The gorgeous forest canopy enveloped us from all perspectives

Which is why I love to immerse deep in the woods of Singapore. The smells of age-old trees and their leaves, the sounds of orchestras of unseen birds and insects chirping and shrilling away, the visual spectacle of endless verdure and minimal human traffic....all these are divine, to say the least.

We traipsed around the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve recently, in the Taban Loop of the Taban Valley, to be specific. It was just a hike almost in mid day, but one could never guess it was high noon from the cooling temperatures underneath that dense canopy. The Taban Valley is undulating, so there were plenty of really steep and high stairs built into the ground and lots of rustic forest paths. We deliberately avoided the masses of people thronging the main asphalt road just outside the woods, as we would rather have insects and trees as our companions when trekking. And true enough, many people avoided the more challenging forest walk, preferring instead to stroll in the comforts of the man-made roads outside.

We saw big spiders spinning intricate, colossal webs; we caught glimpses of amazing wildlife through the density of the foliage (we stood at a tiny rundown bridge on a tiny languid stream, enthralled by a rare rusty-brown bird bathing itself in the stream!); we listened to different calls of the wild and wondered what they are; we focused a lot on the narrow, rugged forest path to prevent ourselves from falling into the wooded valley below, and feasted our eyes on myriad plants.

According to the National Parks website, our nature reserves are home to more than 840 flowering plants and over 500 species of animals - and that the number of plant species growing in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve alone is more than that in the whole of North America! And some of the trees in this forest are a few centuries old. How amazing is that...!

We completed the loop just under 1.5 hour, which was way too fast for Big Bee, who wanted to trek up to the summit. However, we had to consider poor Little Bee, whose short legs were so tired from scaling those numerous high steps cut into the ground!

Which means we will be back very soon, in a bid to climb to the top...

Love, Forever

They say the mind's memory archives fade with time. But they also say that the human heart remembers breathtaking moments in life, rather than specific, chronological days. For me, special moments are etched indelibly in my heart, in my soul - making some of these moments ineradicable in my mind.

I spent some time looking through some really old photos tonight, and these magnificent moments serve as a reminder for me to cherish every single day and to truly count my every blessing in life. For life is pretty marvellous indeed.

Big Bee at 4 years old, and Little Bee was barely 1 month old!

The girls in Arab Street 2 months back...

Of Felicity And Gatherings

One of the best things last month was that we managed to catch up with lots of family and friends for fun gatherings. The Bees are lucky in that they have lots of cousins and childhood friends to play with - other children who had stuck with them since babyhood, and who had grown up together with them. I thought this gives very special meanings to their first understandings of friendships - that friends grow and blossom together, and that - try as they should - friendships should really be all about long-term cultivation and sustenance.

We were lucky to have connected with our usual 3 groups of friends and families last month.

1) The Cousins
They had been hanging together since they were infants! Not only did the Bees have lots of girly cousins to play with (we need more little-boy cousins!), the grandmothers (all sisters!), who are usually chaperones of such gatherings, can use these beautiful opportunities for well-deserved gossiping and chatting!

We met up on the Thursday of the March school holidays at my house for a day-long of playing and swimming. Everyone was so reluctant to leave each other at the end of the long day!

2) PF and kids
These children literally grow up together from babyhood. Playing with baby toys like building blocks, bumbling baby gibberish together, exploring the world together and building sandcastles as pre-school kids, and now, as 3 of them are trundling into their teens, their idea of play is now playing chess and sitting around, chatting and gossiping. I am glad that the tiniest one amongst them - Little Bee - is being accepted wholeheartedly and is holding her weight very well with these big guns!

We had a great playdate on the last Friday of the March school holidays for a whole afternoon of Kinect and chilling between the girls. By evening, the hubbies as well as Eugene were back for a cosy steamboat dinner where the adults were busy chatting and eating on our dining table, whereas the 4 big kids ate rambunctiously and talked amongst themselves in another table! Talk about independence!

3) The Clique's kids (wow, it rhymes!)
The mothers (us!) had been very very good friends for 27 years. 27 YEARS!!! Oh my! And although our busy lives sometimes prevent our kids from meeting all that often, we still hope our kids will continue to hang out with each other until we are old, toothless grandmothers. I am glad that we are all meeting a little more frequently as our kids grow older.

On Good Friday, all of us trooped down to LP's house for a sumptuous dinner as well as fun and games for the kiddos. The adults had such a wonderful time catching up and gossiping, whereas all the kids (7 in total!) screamed, ran, chuckled and had a blasting great time in LP's house. We vowed to have more of such gatherings in future!

To The Zoo They Went

Little Bee had always relished field trips with schools since her pre-school days. When she first heard about the very first field trip to the zoo with her primary school, she was beside herself with excitement. I had never seen her more enthusiastic to attend school on the morning of her field trip!

I love the Bees' school for their beautiful balance of work and play. They are never too academically driven - and they make sure that their students have a very rich experience of student life activities and out-of-classroom programmes. In this age of crazy rote learning, with stressed out teachers attempting to churn out high-achieving but one-dimensional and somewhat robotic students with no passion for life, I think their school's approach to learning is very laudable and refreshing. And you could tell from the students - they are energetic, with a genuine love for the school, and they walk around in school with a spring to their steps and sparkles in their eyes.

Little Bee is also blessed with a wonderful form teacher who teaches them English and Math this year. She had been so supportive, nurturing and caring, albeit she is fresh from NIE. But that is perfectly fine. I had never seen a more devoted or committed teacher - not even with Big Bee's many teachers. She emails the parents all the time, and replies to our individual emails. She also maintains the class blog regularly, and takes photos of the students in all the various activities consistently - before posting these up to the blog almost every week. I feel totally blessed to meet with a dedicated teacher like her.

Little Bee came back from the zoo trip, rejuvenated and happy, of course. The following day, she wrote a little diary entry about her trip....

Marina Celebration

There is a place in Singapore that does not resemble frantic, urban Singapore. Where the pace is relaxed and halcyon. Where it reminds us of the origins of Singapore as a small island country with water all around us. And that is the place that we brought our parents there for their birthday celebrations a couple of weeks ago.

Raffles Marina is a charming place for dinner, especially on a day with a resplendent sunset - just like what we witnessed on the evening we brought our parents there for dinner. The sun was a bright tangerine orb hovering low in the horizon, and the sky was clear and cloudless. The dazzling sunset was nothing short of spectacular. Even the service staff commented that such sunsets will only appear a few times per year. How blessed we are!

Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant within Raffles Marina, but we almost had the whole restaurant to ourselves. So, it was a very warm yet private affair, where we could spend time bonding and joking with each other with all the privacy we wanted, yet chatted amiably with the very friendly service staff. Overall, it was a very homely experience with superb food at very reasonable prices.

The highlight of the gathering was the walk around the Marina after dinner. The breeze was balmy, the tide was placid and the night sky was so clear that we could decipher what could be Jupiter beside the Moon!

I was a little worried that Father could not walk for the entire perimeter of the Marina, but he was perfectly fine with our evening stroll, and we could admire the dark expanse of sea, looking across at the Tuas Checkpoint as well as pitch-dark land of Malaysia just across the straits. We also gazed with interest at the various yachts and boats around us, and spent a long time relaxing beside the alluring lighthouse of Raffles Marina, spotting fishes like barracuda and garoupa. The girls were thrilled with this fish-spotting activity, and my parents were delighted because of the extended time spent with their grandchildren. What an excellent way to wind down and leave behind the typical urban worries of a frenetic Singaporean lifestyle!

It was with reluctance that we left our dinner venue, but I can foresee us coming back soon!