Hello, Aidan!

Baby Aidan was supposed to make his appearance two weeks later, but he just can't wait. The warm bath in the bathtub pacified him for a bit, but by midnight, he's at it again. At the Canterbury Hospital, Mau was taken to the birthing room and put on the laughing gas. The jokes must be lame because I don't hear her laughing. It did make her forget about her contractions until we were able to find an anesthesiologist awake enough to give her an epidural.

By morning, when everyone is up and awake, the doctor walked in and announced yup, it's time for business. So Mau started pushing. She huffed and she puffed, but she wasn't pushy enough. So out comes the scissors - snip, snip. In goes the forceps. And before you know it, Aidan slid out into the world. 2.49 kilos, 49 cm.

Hello, Aidan!

Oliveto 1st Anniversary

What better way to celebrate the first anniversary than to eat?

For our anniversary lunch, we make a booking at Oliveto Ristorante & Bar, nicely located at the Brays Bay Reserve in Rhodes. It was a sunny day, and we got a table overlooking the bay.

Menu, please:
Primo

• Crispy pork belly, orange, radicchio, snow pea runner salad, apple jam
• King prawns alla diavola, tomato chilli, garlic

Secondi

• Lamb rack, confit truss tomatoes, radicchio, fennel, black olive tapenade
• Confit duck, pearl barley risotto, morello sour cherry sauce

Dolci

• Limoncello souffle, lemon sorbeto
• Hot chocolate
• Cappuccino
  

Vivid Sydney - Macquarie Visions

As part of Vivid Sydney, the whole of Macquarie Street is converted into one big lights and sound show called Macquarie Visions.

This is already the last week, so I decided to take some photographs after work. It was colder that I expected. I had coughing fits, while walking my way to St. Mary's Cathedral. After picking up my complimentary festival torch, I proceeded to watch Designing the Nation, projected onto the facade of St. Mary's. On the way to the Hyde Park Barracks, we pass by the Downer Macquarie Arch, symbolizing the construction of the road over the Blue Mountains by Macquarie.

Next up is Fair Go at Hyde Park Barracks Museum and Common Wealth at The Mint. The Parliament House is featuring Advance Australia, with interviews on inspirational projects. At the State Library of NSW, we see Words on the Street. There's more at the Conservatorium of Music, but it's too far and too cold for me.

At Circular Quay, some of the building nearby also have special lighting turned on.

Premier Seat for the Baby

I'm in the market for a convertible baby car seat. Instead of going to Kmart or BigW or Babies R Us, I went to eBay. The secondhand ones on eBay are definitely cheaper. The only downside is that there are so many brands and models and price ranges, and you're not really sure what condition they are in.

So I find this auction for a Safe-n-Sound Premier baby car seat ending soon. $78 sounds reasonable to me, so I put in my bid at the last minute. Just to test the waters. There were a few interested bidders, so I'm pretty confident someone with increase the bid. I wanted to see how much a Premier really costs. I ended up winning the auction.

Steamed Fish Fillet with Fried Garlic

Ingredients:

• one piece of fish fillet
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ginger slices
• rice wine
• salt
• oyster sauce

Cut fish fillet into small chunks. Marinade fish chunks with salt and a little rice wine for half an hour.
Boil water. Put fish chunks in boiling water together with ginger slices and drain when the meat has changed colour. Pour a little oyster sauce on the fish.
Heat oil on pan. Fry chopped garlic until golden brown. Sprinkle on top of fish. Serve.

Baby and Kids' Market at Lane Cove

Got a last-minute email about a baby and kid's market at St. Ignatius College, Lane Cove. By the time we got there, all possible parking spaces are occupied. Lucky for us, on our third survey of the place, we managed to find one.

$3 entrance fee gives you access to lots and lots of preloved and brand new stuff for babies and little boys and girls. I find the baby clothes and towels and toys a real bargain. Nice cupcakes, too.

Trying out Google Search Stories

Was sort of inspired when the first SearchStory called "Parisian Love" came out. Google Search Story (via YouTube) is about telling a story through search.

Now Google allows you to DIY. Just go to www.youtube.com/user/SearchStories and click on "Create your own". Enter your search terms (up to seven), choose what kind of search you want (normal web search, images, maps, books, product search, blog search, or news), choose an appropriate soundtrack (non-copyrighted, of course), and voila! Your very own SearchStory.
Very easy - just type, select, point and click.

Lost. Money.

I've been paying good money to the local gym, but so far I've only been going there only once a week on average. Today, I decided to get some workout, and what have I to show for my troubles? An empty wallet. Only discovered the crime when I got back to the office. At first, I thought my colleagues were playing a prank on me, as I sometimes leave my wallet on the table. They all look innocent enough. Only other time the wallet is not on me is when I was at the gym earlier. Lucky for me, nothing else was taken.

Third Time Unlucky

Another flat tyre for the Holden Zafira. That's actually the third time that it had happened in recent weeks. First time was the Honda CR-V. Due to our proximity to a taxi garage, street parking in our area is pretty limited, so we parked the CR-V in front of the neighbor's. The first time it had a flat, we thought little of it. Called in Honda roadside assist to put in the spare.

A few days later, another flat for the CR-V. The first one's got a puncture, while the second one is missing the valve pin. As for the Holden Zafira, one of the tyres got deflated and we can't find the valve cover. Looks like somebody doesn't like us parking near his place. (Mind you, we're talking street parking. It's not like we parked in front of his driveway or something.)

Noble House Nights

Been watching Noble House for the past three nights. Based on the book by James Clavell, and produced by the same guy, this 3-CD mini-series sure bring back memories. The movie covers one week of Hong Kong in the 1980s. During this time, there were kidnappings, joint ventures, corporate takeovers, landslides, bank runs, boat fires, secret agent defections, etc.

Been a while since I last read the 1,000-page Noble House, so it was good to be re-acquainted with Ian Dunross, Quillan Gornt, Lincoln Barlett, Casey Tsolok, Four-Finger Wu and his son Paul Choy, Orlando Ramos, etc.

Skype for Symbian

Skype for Symbian officially released about a month ago. Had time to test it only now.

Installed it on the E66 and E75, and it works pretty well. Was able to make mobile-to-mobile calls via WiFI, and also PC-to-mobile calls and vice versa. Free calls!

Pennytel Problems

On a whim, I signed up with this VoIP provider called Pennytel. There's no contract or anything. All you need to do is sign up online and register for a free account with them. Create a wallet and top it up with some funds, either via BPay or credit card. BPay takes three days to clear; credit cards even longer.

So I've created my account, I've topped up my wallet, I've configured the modem/router to talk properly with Pennytel's SIP gateway. I make my first VoIP call and it cuts out at 32 seconds. A couple more calls, and they all terminate at the 32-second mark. I'm sure it's a router config, though I can't seem to find the setting. A check on Whirlpool tells me that I'm not the only one suffering from this. Most of the guys were able to fix this issue by either:

• changing the RTP port to 5100
• increasing the "incoming no answer" to 3600s
  
• disabling the firewall, or
• changing the re-invite expiry

All of which are not applicable to me.

With no other options left (aside from buying a new ADSL2+ wireless modem/router with built-in VoIP and firewall), I decided to flash my firmware. Now, the Open Networks 824RLW only goes up to as high as the Open 5.53 firmware. If I wanted something newer and better, I have to reflash my box to Billion's 5.54b firmware. And I did so at great risk to my box, but in the end, it's still 32-second VoIP calls.

Bummer.

Day Out with AW

So, last week I sent a postcard to my Bavarian friend to let her know that I'm in the country. She's quite mobile, so I sent the postcard to her parent's place to make sure she receives it the next time she visits home. As luck would have it, her sister was home, intercepted the postcard and told her about it. Given that Karlsruhe is not that far, she's spending the weekend in Munich to catch up with her friend and me.

Seven years later after Suomenlinna, we meet again at the hotel lobby. After a long breakfast at Vi Vadi Cucina Italiana catching up, we take the train to Odeonsplatz and headed for the Munich Residenz. Given our limited time, we decided to explore only the Residenz Museum and skip the Treasury. As I paid for our breakfast, AW insisted on paying for the museum entrance fees.

The Residenz Museum is one big museum. Could easily take a day to explore if you use the audio guide for all the rooms. Inside are mainly apartments, ceremonial rooms, and courtyards of the Wittelsbach rulers. A big portion of the palace was destroyed during WWII, so some of the rooms have to be reconstructed. Most memorable for me is the Hall of Antiquities, the Reliquaries Room, and the Ancestral Gallery. The Hall of Antiquities (Antiquarium) was used to house the antique collection of Albert V, which later became a banquet hall. The Reliquaries Room a.k.a. Reliquienkammer. Inside this vault of a room are more than 60 reliquaries, containers specifically crafted to house relics, typically bones of saints and objects associated with them. One of the reliquaries on display is said to contain the severed head of St. John the Baptist. The same claim is made by many other religious parties. The Ancestral Gallery (Ahnengallerie) is a very long corridor where the portraits of the notable members of the Wittelsbach dynasty are set into gilden carved paneling.

By the time we finished the self-guided tour, it's way past lunchtime already and starting to rain. I was surprised to find out my friend is actually vegetarian. Took the train to Sendlinger Tor for lunch at the popular Prinz Myshkin (Hackenstraße 2, 80331 München). I would've liked to take pictures of its high-ceilinged interiors, but didn't anymore. Another long lunch where we made sure our vegetarian food is properly digested. On our way back to the station, we passed by a small church with a striking facade in the Baroque style. It's called the Asamkirche (Asam Church), after the two brothers who designed the church; officially known as St.-Johann-Nepomuk-Kirche (Church of St. Johann Nepomuk). Cosmas Damian Asam and Egid Quirin Asam, who lives next door, intended for the church to be their own private place of worship. The church hierarchy didn't like the idea, and demanded it to be opened to the public. Unfortunately, the church is closed at this time, but we managed to get in and peek through the gates. The church may only be twelve rows of pews long, but the interior is chockfull of statues, sculptures, ornaments, and frescoes. The high altar is surrounded by four twisted columns with a wax figure of the church's namesake within a glass sarcophagus.

It's now 4pm, and we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Deustches Museum, said to be the world's largest science museum. The bad news is the museum closes at 5pm. The good news is, entrance is free after 4pm. With half an hour to spare, we jumped straight to the exhibits on new technologies. With 55,000 sq. m. and 28,000 objects covering around 50 fields of science and technology, we've merely scratched the tip of the iceberg. By 5pm, all of the parents and their kids came streaming out of the island museum. So this is how German families spend their weekends.

Back at Hauptbahnhof, we killed more time by having a long coffee break at Starbucks, until it was time for AW to take her train back to Karlsruhe. Auf wiedersehen, my Bavarian friend.

St. Paul's Cathedral, Bavaria and Maximilianeum

Another early dismissal. If this goes on further, I'll have to ask for a refund. Not. From the Theresienwiese station, it's just a short walk to St. Paul's Kirche. It's an early Friday afternoon, but I notice a lot of teenagers hanging around the church, preventing me from getting a good shot. Apparently, a student choir/orchestra is about to perform inside the church. Stayed around for a few minutes to enjoy the performance, then left. Took the train to Schwanthalerhohe in search of Bavaria (the statue). I figured it would be pretty big and easy to spot. Not so. I managed to circle the whole Bavariapark before I saw the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) and iron-cast Bavaria. Quite impressive in size up close. Down below and in front of the Bavaria is this wide open space, which I believe is used for the Oktoberfest celebrations. In the distance, one can clearly see St. Paul's Church.

Next item on the agenda is Max Weber Platz to see the Maximilianeum, home of a gifted students foundation and the Bavarian Landtag (state parliament). Reminds me very much of the Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome. Took some pictures of the River Isar, then back to base.

Olympiazentrum and Konigsplatz

Another early finish to the day. My classmates (mostly guys) advised the place to visit is the BMW Complex. From the Olympiazentrum, it's a short stroll to the BMW Welt (BMW World). Note that this is NOT the BMW Museum, which is the silver bowl-shaped structure across the road. Beside the BMW Museum is the BMW Tower, which has been the global headquarters of the Bavarian carmaker for over three decades. The BMW HQ is also called BMW-Vierzylinder, literally BMW four-cylinder because of the shape of the building. It consists of four vertical cylinders connected to each other. Interestingly enough, the cylinders do not actually touch the ground, but are supported by a central support tower. Back to the BMW Welt. Entrance is free to the public. It's basically an exhibition facility presenting the current BMW models, a few interactive displays showcasing BMW technology, and a distribution center for BMW cars.

Just across the highway is the Olympiapark, built for the 1972 Summer Olympics. First thing you'll see is the Olypiaturm (Olympic Tower). The 291-m high tower basically functions as a communications tower broadcasting analog and digital radio and TV channels. Aside from the requisite observation deck, the tower also has a revolving restaurant. Just beyond are the Olympic Hall (Olympiahalle) and the Olympic Swim Hall (Olympia Schwimmhalle). At this time, only the Swim Hall is open. Further on is the Olympic Stadium, but decided to cut my tour short and head back.

Off the train at Konigsplatz, I make my way to the wide plaza designed by Karl von Fischer and Leo von Klenze at the command of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. On the west side of the plaza is the Doric memorial gate Propylaea. Walking down Konigsplatz street, there's the Iconic Glyptothek museum on the left and the Corinthian State Museum of Classical Art (Staatliche Antikensammlungen) on the right side. At the end of the avenue is Karolinenplatz, a square/roundabout with a 29m-tall obelisk in the middle. The obelisk was erected in 1833 in memory of 30,000 Bavarian troops who died fighting for Napoleon against the Russians and the Austrians in 1812.

Moving south, I end up at the Alter Botanischer Garten. It's really quite late now, so there's nothing to see in the garden. Beyond the Fountain of Neptune, I find myself along Elisenstrasse with the magnificent Justizpalast. Ten more minutes, and I'm back at my hotel.

Leopoldstrasse, Ludwigstrasse, and Maximilianstrasse

Early dismissal from class today. Instead of going back to the hotel, I took the U3 straight to Giselastrasse. Walking down the wide avenue of Leopoldstrasse, I pass by Siegestor (Victory Gate) in the middle of a big roundabout. The Siegestor is a three-arched gate topped with a sculpture of Bavaria on a chariot being pulled by four lions. Cars were going all around me, while I stood in the middle of the roundabout, in knee-deep snow, taking pictures of the gate. Further on along Ludwigstrasse, I pass by the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Ludwigskirche (Catholic Parish and University Church St. Louis), and the Bavarian State Library (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek). Too bad I didn't go in Ludwigskirche. Its altar fresco is supposedly the largest in the world.

Walk, walk, walk, I end up again at Odeonsplatz. Last time I was here on Sunday, my camera batteries shut down due to the cold weather, so I wasn't able to take any pictures. Time to explore the Hofgarten again. In the middle of the Court Garden is the Diana pavilion. If you look closely, on top is a replica of the sculpture Bavaria. On one side of the garden is the Festsaalbau of the Munich Residenz. On the eastern end is the Bavarian Staatskanzlei (State Chancellery), which used to be the Army Museum.

I continued along the shopping street Maximilianstrasse with its posh boutiques and luxury shops until I got to Maxmonument, dedicated to King Maximilian II of Bavaria. The statue was sculpted by Kaspar von Zumbusch. I could've pushed on to the palatial Maximilianeum, which is right across river Isar, but I decided to double back. Leave some interesting places to explore next time.

Back at Max-Joesph-Platz, where the royal avenue of Maximilianstrasse started, I loitered around to take more pictures. In the middle of the plaza is a monument called Max-Joseph Denkmal, as a memorial for King Maximilian Joseph. Behind the statue is the Bavarian State Opera. On the left is the Munich Residenz and the Residenz Theatre. Beneath the plaza is a subterranean garage.

With that, I took the train to Marienplatz for more shopping.

Sightseeing Sunday

Today being Sunday, almost all the shops are closed. I was told this is due to the state's strong Christian background. Lots of tourists out and about though. First stop is Karlsplatz. I got a bit lost and ended up at the doorstep of the Munich Justizpalast (Palace of Justice). Right beside it is a neo-Gothic structure in red bricks. Both these buildings serve as courthouses. To the west is the Stachus, which is what I'm after. After seven years, it still looks the same as I last remembered. Through the Karlstor gate is Neuhauser Strasse / Kaufinger Strasse, a pedestrian walkway connecting Karlsplatz and Marienplatz. Along this passageway are mostly shops and restaurants. As these are closed, I visited the churches instead.

First church I passed by is the Bürgersaalkirche (Citizens Hall Church). From the outside, it's hard to tell this is a church. Baroque-style building with a pink facade. An elderly man saw me with my camera, and he beckoned me in. While the ground floor is a three-aisle windowless crypt, the upper church and prayer hall is simply cavernous and magnificent. As there is Mass ongoing, I decided to come back later for pictures. Same goes for the nearby Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady). Further down the road is Neues Rathaus (New City Hall). More and more tourists are filling up the plaza in front of it, waiting for the performance of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel on its facade. The Glockenspiel comes alive every day at 11am, 12nn, and 5pm. I was just in time for the first performance of the day. After the 15-minute performance, I went back to the churches to take pictures.

I found Frauenkirche quite interesting. The church with its twin towers and domes seems to be the tallest structure within the city centre. Turns out that there's a local height limit that prohibits buildings taller than 109 meters in the city center. The cathedral's twin towers are about 98.5 meters in height. Upon entering the church, you'll immediately find the tomb of Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria. The crypt below houses the tombs of the members of the House of Wittelsbach. There's an interesting story about the church. It is said that during its construction, the devil made a deal with the architect Jörg von Halsbach that church will have no windows. Halsbach got around that by positioning the columns in such a way that the windows cannot be seen from the foyer, where the devil was standing. When the devil realized that he had been tricked, he stamped him foot with such force that it left an imprint on the entrance to this day.

Back at Neues Rathaus, the tourists are back again for the noontime performance of the Glockenspiel. I took this chance go to inside the New City Hall to take pictures. Beside the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) is Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church). Again, Mass is not yet over, so I visited Alter Peter first. For a fee of a few euros, you can climb up this 92-metre tower and have sweeping panoramic views of the whole city. It's a fairly long and steep climb, so be prepared. Also best to come to Alter Peter early because the viewing platform is relatively narrow, and it's hard to move around when there's many tourists. Back inside the church, we see the gilded high altar with the figure of Saint Peter. Mounted on the columns are various sculptures and paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross. Next church I visited is Heiliggeistkirche a.k.a. The Church of the Holy Spirit, located just beyond Neues Rathaus. At this point, all the churches start to look the same to me. This one's got another very impressive high altar by Nikolaus Stuber with Ulrich Loth's "The Effusion of the Holy Spirit" as the altarpiece. The ceilings and columns are done in the Rococo style.

Late lunch is a bunch of patries I bought from Rischart. Went back to the hotel to eat the pastries, as I need to rest my legs for a while. Then, it's to Odeonsplatz for more sightseeing. Straight out of the station up to the plaza, you'll see Feldherrnhalle (Field Marshals' Hall) - a loggia containing the statues of military leaders Johann Tilly and Karl Philipp von Wrede on either sides. To the left of Feldherrnhalle is the Theatinerkirche (Theatine Church). The facade may be yellow in color, but inside the church, it's all white. To the left of the Feldherrnhalle is the Hofgarten. I'm sure it's very nice in spring, but right now, the whole place is blanketed in snow. In the middle of the Renaissance-style garden is a pavilion dedicated to the goddess Diana.

There's still enough light in the sky for more pictures, but at this point, my camera batteries gave up due to the cold temperature. Before leaving the hotel earlier, I changed to a different set of batteries. Should've stuck with the old ones. Anyway, with no juice left on my camera, I decided to call it a day.

Hohenschwangau Castle Tours

Went to Ristorante Vi Vadi at 7:30am for my breakfast. Turns out it opens at 8am during weekends. Ah, had I known, I would've woken up much earlier and gone straight to the train station. Anyway, after breakfast at McDonald's, I took the 7:52 train. Most of the other passengers are either on their way to the ski slopes or to the castles. Got off at Buchloe around 8:45am, and transferred to another train to Fussen. Arrived Fussen 10am. Waited 15 minutes for the bus, which dropped us off Hohenschwangau at 10:30am. Like I said, should've come earlier. Everybody got off the train in a hurry, and it's a mad dash (a la Amazing Race) to the ticket office through deep snow. I was first in line, yet my "King's" Ticket (€17) is scheduled for 11:50am entry to the Hohenschwangau Castle and 1:50pm entry to the Neuschwanstein Castle.

So what do I do till then? Walk around the winter wonderland until the snowstorm blows in, and I had to take cover inside a nearby souvenir store. A few other people had the same idea, so the store started to get busy and crowded. Come 11:50am, the castle entrance flashed my number and with a swipe of my ticket, I went in. Strangely enough, the guys who were behind me in the ticket queue were already there. Must've bought their tickets online. The guided tour of the castle last about half an hour. We were given an audio guide each, and every time we enter a new room, our guide would "activate" our players to play the right commentary using her controller. The neo-Gothic castle was the official summer residence of Maximilian and his wife Maria. He acquired it in 1832 and converted it to what it was today. Ludwig, who would be king, spent his childhood here. Of the many rooms in the castle, the Festaal Hall (a.k.a. Hall of Heroes and Knight) is the largest. The table in the middle of the reception room spans the whole width of the castle. The ceiling has a pink background with silver stars. The paintings on the wall illustrate the Wilkina Saga, part of the legends about Dietrich of Berne. Too bad picture-taking (or video) is not allowed within the castle, or else I would've had field day with the 14 majestic rooms.

After the tour of Schloss Hohenschwangau, I walked back down to the Ticket Centre. At the Müller Hotel, I took the horse carriage ride up to Neuschwanstein Castle. Normally I would've preferred to walk (even if it's a 40-minute uphill walk). But in the middle of a snowstorm, I'd rather pay €6, and let the horse do the horses do the walking. If you still don't know, Neuschwanstein Castle is the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle. Of the three castles that Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria built, this fairytale castle is the most famous. Instead of a proper architect, this castle was actually built by a theatre set designer. And it shows - look at the towers and the spires and the turrets. King Ludvig II must've been a forward-looking guy. This castle was fitted with many modcons that would be quite modern for 19th century. There was running water on all floors. Quite convenient as the spring that supplies drinking water to the castle is just 200 meters above it. There were toilets with automatic flushing on all floors. There was warm air heating system for the whole castle. There was a hot water system for the kitchen and bath. There was a phone line installed. There was a paging system, so the King can get assistance from any room within the castle.

Most notable of all the rooms is the Throne Hall. The room is two storeys high, inspired and designed in the style of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (now Istanbul). The huge chandelier with fake jewels is supposed to look like a Byzantine crown. The throne dais is surrounded by painting of Jesus, the twelve apostles and six kings. However, the actual throne is missing, as King Ludwig II went bankrupt at this point in time. Too bad. His bedroom is not too shabby either. The king's bed is in the neo-Gothic style with intricate carvings. It is said that 14 master carvers worked for 4.5 years on the carvings in the bedroom. A secret door leads to the toilet. The Singer's Hall is the biggest room in the whole castle, said to be patterned after the Minstrel's Hall of Wartburg Castle. The first performance in this hall was in 1933 with a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Wagner's death.

Outside the castle, the snowstorm has stopped, leaving behind a thick layer of fresh snow. I would've liked to take a hike to Marienbruecke (Mary's Bridge), but the entrance is closed and locked. Never stopped me (and others) before. After half an hour of trudging through steep and slippery snow, I finally got to Mary's Bridge over the Pollat Gorge with a magnificent view of the Neuschwanstein Castle sitting on top of a rugged hill. Very cold and very windy. Took a few quick shots and headed back to the town centre. I've got half an hour to spare before the bus arrives at 4:40pm, so I went in the nearest restaurant I can find and had a quick late lunch - pork cutlet Vienna style with fries and salad (€9.80) and tomato soup (€3.20). Got back to Munich round 7pm already.