Switzerland - Vevey - Fun Fondue Place

Think Switzerland; think cheese fondue.

I began my life in Vevey, Switzerland in August 2014 - summer. The first thing I want to eat is cheese fondue, but no one really eats cheese fondue in summer. The best time to eat fondue is indeed during winter :P

There are several cheese fondue restaurants in Vevey, but this restaurant is rather unique: des Trois Siflettes (or 3 Siflettes, as the restaurant sign says).

As an outsider, I cannot comment on how good the cheese fondue is compared to other restaurants. To begin with, people have different preferences. Someone who does not like the strong, pungent cheese smell would chose a blander option, and vice versa. Personally, I like mildly stinky cheeses. Sometimes I cannot handle goat cheese, but I'm okay with dry, aged cheese. However, I could say that I was satisfied with the fondue, and especially the whole experience at the restaurant.

The restaurant does not only offer cheese fondue, but other traditional Swiss food such as dried meats. My favorite is the bacon.

Dried meat platter: beef, bacon and pork slices, with pickles

The restaurant itself holds a homey, cozy ambiance. It's not a large establishment, but I estimate that it can fit around 40 people. 

Did you notice something on the picture above?

The cheese fondue is placed on a burner to keep it warm and unsolidified.

As I mentioned at the title of this post, this restaurant is a fun place for a cheese fondue. I will not spoil the fun by posting what happened, but here are some hints: Swiss flag, music and an unusually humongous tableware. You can experience the fun if you order a set of cheese fondue.

By the way, don't forget to try the traditional meringue (baked whipped egg white with sugar) with crème double. Crème double is not just a normal cream: it has double the fat content of a normal cream (40-55% fat), so it's normal the fun in the mouth.... probably not in the belly, if you are on a tight diet. You have to eat the meringue WITH the crème double. The meringue will slowly melt in your mouth, giving you a burst of pleasant sweetness, and the crème double brings the rich, creamy texture that complements the sweetness of the meringue. It's one of the fantastic desserts I have ever tried.

If you are visiting Switzerland only for a couple of days, I think the whole experience is worth loading some calories. I've lived in Switzerland for 8 months, and I have only had 3 cheese fondues so far. Well, 4 if I include my attempt to have cheese fondue at home using a makeshift double-boiler (a ceramic bowl on top of a saucepan containing boiling water). At that time, I didn't have a fondue set.

Interested to visit? Here's the address:

Restaurant des 3 Siflettes
Rue du Simplon 1
1800 Vevey
Phone: +41 (0)21 921 14 13

Nearest bus stop: Hôtel de Ville

Closed on Sunday and Monday noon

Read More

The Netherlands - Tiki Bad Waterpark, Wassenaar

It's been 6 years since the last time I went to a water park. I finally got the chance to visit Tiki Bad in Wassenaar, close to The Hague. And 'bad' means "bath" in Dutch. It's not the good and bad "bad" :)

The theme of this water park is tropical, and it's actually indoors. I heard from my friend that the opening hours are typically longer during winter just because there are normally not that many things you can do in winter, and the water in the pool is actually warm.

The entrance fee varies by time:

• 3-hour entrance: 14 Euros
• 4-hour entrance: 15 Euros
• Full day entrance: 17 Euros
• 30 minute extension: 1 Euro

I think 3 hours is enough to try every single attraction, including the waiting time. But if you want to have a more relaxing day by resting once in a while, then I'd recommend the 4-hour. The full day package sounds more profitable, but only if you're willing to spend that much time in the water park. There is a cafetaria on the second floor of the park, selling French fries, frikandel and other snacks. They also sell hamburgers and broodje Unox (bread with sausage; it's like hot dog with tough bread instead of buns). The price is of course a bit pricey (around 6 Euros for a meal, 3-4 Euros for the snacks). But you can bring your own snacks if you don't feel like spending more.

There's an open shower (not enclosed in a room) and for each entry ticket, you are entitled to a locker that you can open and close any time. There are also plenty of changing rooms available. Hand driers are available to dry your hair (the driers are positioned such that it's directly above your head). I don't think they sell toiletries, towels or anything like that, so don't forget to bring everything you need there.

The attractions vary from very relaxing Lazy River to something fast and extreme like the Cyclone. I personally like the Lazy River after spending a tiring weekday.

On the other hand, I also like thriller rides. My favourite extreme attraction is Cyclone. It's not the typical slide. It's slide, plus some open-air spinning. It's like you're the ball spinning on the roulette. Except that in the last part, you're plunged into a 3-meter pool.

The Cannon Ball can hurt your nose a bit. It's another high velocity ride, but very short. In about 2-3 seconds, you're already plunged into the water. 

This one as well. I think the name of this vertical slide is Flamingo. It's kind of like Cannon Ball, but this time you see everything, including how high the slide is. The pool is also 3-meter deep. I barely reached the floor after the plunge.

Not a big fan of overly scary attractions? Don't worry, there are also the 'normal' slides. You can even pick the speed. If you take the Family Ride, it's veeeery slow (to me). I could even go down the slides while sitting down, holding my phone as I attempted to take video.

Or if you really don't want feel like engaging in any kind of activities involving any movement... the Jacuzzi is always there for you, warm and bubbly. I think there are about 3 Jacuzzis around the park, but beware that the Jacuzzi is almost always full.  

On the other hand, if you're up for some bromance buddy-buddy time with your friends, it's also quite gezellig. 

It's not exactly warm outside, so the outdoor pools are not open yet. But if you feel like getting some fresh air, there's a small outdoor section close to the Lazy River.

And lastly... it was a really good chance (or I'd say, gamble) to bring my Xperia Z1 underwater!

It worked. And after some time, my phone kind of went dead and I got some anxiety attack. But after 2 days of incubation in rice, it worked again. But I'll never bring it underwater again, especially that SONY actually doesn't recommend chlorine water. The Xperia Z1 ads are very misleading! They won't fix your phone if it's under chlorine water because the manual says "fresh water" even though the ad shows swimming pool.

My neck hurts the next day after Tiki Bad, but after stretching it for 2-3 days, my neck went back to normal (phew!).

Up for some fun with water? Definitely go to Tiki Bad :)

View Larger Map

Read More

The Netherlands - Rotterdam Centraal Opening Day

My morning today was greeted by a lovely live performance of Bob Marley's song "Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright".

There was definitely something going on in Rotterdam Centraal Station. There were multiple live performances at the station, covering a wide range of music like pop, jazz and classical. The spirit-lifting mood began early in the morning. I came around 8 AM today, and it was already quite lively.

Activities were usual: during the rush hour, there was a stream of incoming and outgoing people going to school or work.

But still, it was very nice that people would stop to listen to the performances, even for just a couple minutes.

Today, the 13th of March, was the official opening day of the central station. The station had been going a series of renovations and sometimes I found it annoying to have some paths outside the station partially blocked due to construction works. Well, now it's finally done!

It seemed that the King also came to celebrate the opening of the station. Too bad I was at work. It seemed that there were a lot of people coming to celebrate.

On the way home from work, I had to stop by at the station again and there was an even bigger band performance starting at 6 PM.

And of course, the smaller performances closer to the train platforms still continued. This time, there was an opera performance, which I found very captivating. I stayed to listen to 3-4 songs they performed.

I left the station around 7, and the station was still pretty lively from simultaneous musical performances. It was a very joyful moment for me, especially after getting mentally exhausted from work.

Until I found out that the bike I parked behind the central station was stolen. Ah, bike thieves, thou art heartless bitches. I locked it against a pole with a chain, and also locked the wheels with an additional lock. And it was still gone :'(

Read More

UK - Sherlock Holmes Museum @ London

What can be better than visiting 221B Baker Street for Sherlock fans? Yes, the street actually exists in real life London.

Well, I'm actually not his biggest fan. I tried to read Sherlock Holmes when I was in secondary school and I gave up because it was too difficult to read when I was 12. I know about Sherlock Holmes from a manga called Detective Conan, and then the two movies with Robert Downey Jr., and then... the series on BBC. That series just got me hooked on Sherlock Holmes. 

By the way, I finally made use of Picasa photo editing service up on Google+. It's actually pretty handy. I thought it would take a lot of time to get them edited, but with good internet connection, there wasn't much problem. I think I'm going to keep editing the photos for the next blog posts!

Located exactly as it should located, 221B Baker Street (my brother was surprised that I could even remember the "B" in the address), the museum is technically where Sherlock Holmes lived (in the story). 

You have to first buy the entrance ticket in the museum shop. A pretty clever way to get you browse the shop, huh? But anyways, the shop has a cool setup.

I even tried the deerstalker hat. It's certainly a weird hat. And I tried holding the pipe, too!

The ticket costs  £8 for adults and  £5 for children.  The ticket is basically the pamphlet about the museum and about Sherlock Holmes, which is pretty nice. The queue might seem long, but it took about 30 minutes for a line with 25 people or so to get in. It's not too bad.

Oh, by the way, before you enter the museum, make sure you check the basement. There is a small, kind of hidden staircase in the shop. I'm the curious type of person, so I checked everything around before I leave the shop. It's a habit I got from playing RPGs too much when I was young. But anyways, just ask where the restroom is. This 'secret' basement is basically next to the restroom, but you can't enter this room. You can only see it from the window. I'm not even sure if anyone can enter this room.

Anyways, we headed inside. The house was kind of old, so you'll hear the floor board squeaking every step you make. But the setting was just gorgeous.

And somehow this painting caught my eyes. I was like, "Hey, isn't this the Netherlands?!"

Just because I live in the Netherlands. LOL. But anyways, I had fun checking out the first two floors of the museum, until I went to the next floor and entered the first room next to the stairs (ah, I spoiled the fun for you!)

Dammit, that was scary as hell!!

I didn't expect it and somehow it looked kind of real. But once you realized that it was a doll.. it wasn't as scary as I thought it was.

You will see "re-enactment" of some murder cases around the house. You can even see a 3-D portrayal of Sherlock and Watson.

One of the best thing about my visit was the view from Sherlock's bedroom. It's a good place to observe people and the street below. 

And there are just other things to explore in the museum, depending on how curious you are. I clearly don't have a lot of knowledge on the kind of details I should be paying attention to because I haven't read the book yet, but there are just many things that make you interested because either you're not born yet when they had / use these things, or they're just weird. They're Sherlock's; it's supposed to be not surprising to have some weird items around the house.

If you like stories of Sherlock Holmes, definitely pay a visit to this museum :)

Read More