happy steps

For those who will be touring Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin, here are some informative parts of its map posted on a large guide board at the side of the Altes Museum. There are five museums in the Museumsinsel complex as shown in the map, with their corresponding numbers and an arrow guide for tourists to follow when visiting the museums.

(1) Altes Museum (Old Museum)
Antikensammlung/Agyptisches Museum
Collection of Classical Antiquities/Egyptian Museum

(2) Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)
Malerei und Skulptur des 19.Jahrhunderts
19th Century Painting and Sculpture

(3) Neues Museum (New Museum), Re-Opening 2009
Agyptisches Museum/ Museum fur Vor- und Fruhgeschichte
Egyptian Museum/Museum for Pre- and Early History

(4) Pergamon Museum
Antikensammlung/Vorderasiatisches Museum / Museum fur Islamische Kunst
Collection of Classical Antiquities/Museum of the Ancient Near East/Museum of Islamic Art

(5) Bode Museum formerly Kaiser Friedrich Museum
Skulpturensammlung/Museum fur Byzantinische Kunst/Werke de Gemaldegalerie/Munzkabinett
Sculpture Collection/Museum of Byzantine Art/Works from the Gemaldegalerie/Numismatic Collection

The Neues Museum (3) building is grayed out in the map since it is still undergoing restoration. Click on the thumbnail image below for a larger version of the whole map.

More information about the Museum Island posted at the guide board:

Masterplan Museumsinsel Berlin

Bordered by the River Spree and the Kupfergraben, Berlin’s Museumsinsel is an incomparable ensemble that has developed from the unique history of Germany’s cultural and museum heritage. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Along with Berlin’s other major museums - located in the Kulturforuj, Dahlem, Charlottenburg and Köpenick - Museumsinsel demonstrates how significant the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin) are as a universal museum dedicated to human culture from its very beginnings to the present day. The Master Plan for restoring Museumsinsel is already bearing fruit: the Alte Nationalgalerie reopened in all its magnificence in December 2001. The Bode-Museum was opened in October 2006; the Neues Museum is due to open its doors again in 2009. Then the restoration of the Pergamonmuseum and the Altes Museum will go ahead.

If you’re given a choice between going on a trip to your dream destination and buying a new gadget, which would you choose, granting that both options have the same cost and are not really part of your needs? Well, for travel bugs like me, the first option would be an easy choice.

I remember when we had our training in Italy, and I bugged my co-workers to spend a day in Venice. I also used part of my finances during that training to travel to nearby Vienna instead of doing a lot of shopping like my companions did. I chose to visit as many new places as I could because the training was just about three weeks and considering the costly airfare needed to travel from Asia to Europe, I just had to grab the chance to travel to nearby destinations and maximize my stay as well.

Similarly for kids, it’s just like a choice between a trip to a theme park or a new high-tech gadget such as a game console or the latest mp3 player. Hmmm…I wonder how my nephew who’s fond of playing computer games would react to this if being asked to choose.

The sea offers a lot of activities and sports for the adventurous and going underwater and diving amongst the colorful marine life below can be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences. It would be nice to be part of the dive and travel trips by Ultimate Dive and Travel, where they offer scuba diving lessons and personalized certification programs for beginners and experienced divers.
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Continued from Berlin day tour: Alexanderplatz and nearby points of interest

The Altes Museum (Old Museum)

The Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin is a group of notable museums - Altes Museum (Old Museum), Neues Museum (New Museum) which will be re-opening in 2009, Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Pergamon Museum and the Bode Museum formerly known as the Kaiser Friedrich Museum - situated in the Spreeinsel (Spree Island) in the Berlin-Mitte district. This tourist destination is easily accessible by subway via the Alexanderplatz station and is just within walking distance along the Unter Den Linden Avenue when you’re coming from the Marienkirche.

A closer look at the façade of the Altes Museum

The Museum Island complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999 and some of the buildings are currently undergoing renovation thus we were not able to tour the whole of it.

The façade of the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) amidst ongoing restoration of the complex.

For museum lovers or those who are fond of learning more about art, culture and history, the Museum Island is a must-visit. The museum buildings are just within walking distance from each other and it’s best to allot at least a day in visiting all of them since going through museums usually takes time.

Next stop: Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)

Bringing along pets during travel can be tiring especially when you are carrying other stuff with you. If you’re a pet owner who need to carry a small dog or cat or any pet without looking like you’re bringing some luggage, how about a pet sling for a change? You and your pet would look cuter while on the go.

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One of the things I miss these days is going to the beach. A weekend at one of the beaches here in Negros would do, such as Lakawon, Jomabo or Punta Bulata, but these days, most of my time is spent catching up with work. I need to work harder since the holidays are coming up soon.

Anyway, I hope to do more than just being soaked in the sea next time, maybe do some boating and going to the nearby marine sanctuary at Punta Bulata and see the colorful corals. The last time we’ve been to Punta Bulata, I was hesitant about riding a boat that would take us to the corals.

Would you ride in a boat such as this to go to a nearby island?

If only the boat wasn’t that small, I wouldn’t worry about being on it considering that the island destination is a bit farther though it can be seen from the shore. Hopefully, next time, I would be braver though.

What better way to reward one’s hard work and long hours in the office than to treat oneself with a vacation? Just thinking about a one week getaway or a weekend at the beach can make one excited but there are some who would prefer not leaving their homes even for few days of leisure since they worry about their home security or leaving their kids or businesses behind. Unless you have a trustworthy nanny at home or reliable employees to take care of stuff while you’re away, you can’t really enjoy your vacation when your mind is concerned about your home or business.
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(Continued from Old Town Square, Prague: Tyn Cathedral, Old Town Hall and nearby buildings)

It was already midnight when we arrived at the Old Town Square in Prague and I thought we would be greeted with empty streets and deserted cobblestone walkways, but I was wrong. Even at such late hour, there were still tourists hanging around at the square. Most of them were on their way home, while some were already drunk with pivo (Czech for beer) and starting to get noisy in the sidewalks.

The Ministry of Economy building, the Goltz Kynsky Palace, the House at the Bell and the Jan Hus Memorial at the center of the square.

At night, the Tyn Cathedral looked even more beautiful yet somewhat intimidating.

The evening atmosphere at the Old Town Square has a different charm of its own, where devoid of the bright sun, one can have another look at the beautiful buildings which flaunt an interesting play of shadows and varied lighting.

The Old Town Hall Tower with the astronomical clock looked like a building out of a fairy tale. I can almost see Rapunzel letting down her long hair from the window.

The street lamps with their yellow colored glow add to the fascinating and historical character of the buildings.

We rested for a while at one of the benches beside the Old Town Hall Tower while enjoying this view in front of us.

Walking along the Old Town that evening, it felt like I was in a dream save by the loud singing of the Czech national anthem by some drunken guys across the street.

Do you dream of sailing and relaxing in the middle of the sea, lounging in the sundeck with a drink in hand? I do. That is, when I’ll have my own private yacht someday or when I’ll be on one of those Caribbean cruises. Okay, enough dreaming!
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I now know the story behind the colorful bear statue we saw in one of the sidewalks of Berlin which I just fondly named as the Berlin Bear. Well, that’s what you get with surfing in the net; you end up with some interesting information. The bear statue we saw is actually one of the United Buddy Bears.

A buddy bear (or friendship bear) is a painted sculpture made of fiberglass about two meters in height.

The buddy bears were displayed in previous art exhibitions in Berlin (2003 and 2006) and Warsaw (2008) with the motto: “We have to get to know each other better; it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully.” The exhibition also went on global tour and was hosted in Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo, Warsaw and other cities.

The United Buddy Bears exhibition at Bebelplatz, Berlin-Mitte (Photo credits: Wikipedia)

The United Buddy Bears’ message is about the art of tolerance, to promote international understanding among different nations.

With its many lakes and waterfalls, the Pocono Mountains aka Poconos in northeastern Pennsylvania is a popular tourist and outdoor recreation destination. It’s also known for numerous summer camps such as Camp Kresge, ideally located in the picturesque Pocono Mountains. As a Poconos summer camp, Camp Kresge offers parent-child weekends and family camp weeks, the latter is a new program for 2008.
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One of Prague’s must-see attractions is the Old Town Square which tourists can find within walking distance from the Charles Bridge.

Going to the Old Town Square, tourists are greeted with buildings lined up at the sides and the Tyn Cathedral straight ahead.

The varied architectural styles of the buildings in the square make it an open-air museum featuring the Gothic styled Tyn Cathedral with its pointed spires, the Gothic façade of the House of the Stone Bell, the nearby St. Nicholas Church with its Baroque dome and other buildings.

The Old Town Hall with the Kriz House (pink building) adjacent to it.

The Astronomical Clock at the Old Town Hall’s tower provides brief entertainment to tourists with its “Walk of the Apostles” mini-show every hour.

Another view of the Town Hall Tower.

The House at the Bell (right) and the Goltz Kynsky Palace where the National Gallery is housed.

The Ministry of Economy building.

St. Nicholas Church

At the center of the square is the Jan Hus Memorial made of bronze by Czech sculptor Ladislav Saloun.

The Jan Hus memorial is a favorite place for tired tourists with its benches around where one can sit back and enjoy the great view of the surrounding buildings.

To be continued

Few more weeks to go and it will be Christmas! Are you counting the days excitedly until the big day? With the holidays almost here, I bet most people are starting to get busy with their holiday planning and making their lists for food, shopping and gifts. My sister and I have some ideas for our family reunion for the coming Christmas and New Year breaks, but we still need do some brainstorming to make it more fun. A simple yet meaningful get together with a short program perhaps. What about the food? With both my parents conscious about their diets, it’s just important to include healthy dishes in our menu such as fresh vegetable salad and fruits.
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One of the familiar buildings near Alexanderplatz is the Marienkirche or St. Mary’s Church. Since visitors are allowed to go inside, the curious me decided to take a peek.

There was an ongoing renovation that time, with some temporary steel framework set up at the left side and the right side pews arranged facing to the left. Nevertheless one can still appreciate some of the artistic parts of the church such as the ceiling vault, the pipe organ above the church entrance, and the detailed artwork in the pulpit.

Here are some of the church photos:

At the entrance door

The ceiling and the organ

The ceiling vault

The pulpit

The church organ up close

Marienkirche is one of the oldest churches in Berlin along with Nikolaikirche, with most of its structure made of brick and granite.

As I’m writing this, my sister is now traveling somewhere in the clouds, from Europe all the way to Asia with her little daughter C. I know it would be a challenge for her to bring a little girl who just turned a year older. We know how kids behave and they can be unpredictable especially at public places such as airports. So we advised my sister to tie little C with a leash to keep her from running away from her mommy. We also told her not to bring lots of stuff and just the trip essentials would be enough – diapers, wipes, food and extra clothing for little C and other personal stuff.
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This coming Christmas vacation is something I’ve been looking forward to. All of my bros and sis will be here, yey! As with all travels, it’s best to be prepared with the necessary documents months ahead before the trip. I think my big sis in Finland is the most prepared of them all. They even have a Boracay reservation awaiting them. But my cutie sis who’s the least prepared will be arriving anytime soon. Thanks to last minute flight deals and speedy passport processing.

How about the Thailand bunch? The other day, SIL requested me to call up the Thai Embassy in Manila to inquire about the following:
1. What are the requirements for Dependent Visa Type O under husband with Visa Type F?
2. How many days is the visa processing?
3. How much is the visa application fee?
After browsing over the net, we found out that there’s no official website for the Thai Embassy in the Philippines, we only got some contact numbers from the many information websites about embassies around the world. SIL already sent an email to two addresses but her emails bounced back. I tried calling these numbers - +63 2 8154219 to 20 – and got routed to a voice recorded message giving me options to press this and that number. After going through with trying the right number to press for my SIL’s inquiry, I got through local 102, which is the number for visa related concerns other than what’s on their options list. The staff who answered gave me these two websites:
http://immigration.go.th
http://consular.go.th
I thought these two sites would be helpful to my SIL’s inquiries, but I found out these are Thailand-based websites and even the fees are in Thai Baht. I clicked on almost all the links and found nothing helpful for my SIL’s inquiries. sigh. Even the second url given was not working. What we need is a Philippine based website of the Thai Embassy in Makati, what are the visa requirements, fees, office hours, downloadable forms and other important information.

Anyway, I’ll be calling up the staff again and get the requirements directly from him. I can just compare my browsing experience with the Philippine Czech Embassy website where everything is already provided and the site is very organized, including the visa application form to be filled up, the guidelines for filling up the form, and other necessary information.

Our first stop at the Berlin-Mitte disctrict was Alexanderplatz, a public square and a major transport center in Berlin where the Weltzeituhr (World Time Clock), the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), Park Inn Berlin and other buildings are located.

The World Time Clock and the Park Inn Berlin

The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) and the Bahnhof Alexanderplatz (Alexanderplatz station)

The TV Tower is a familiar structure of the Berlin-Mitte skyline and can be seen along the Unter Den Linden Boulevard and other neighboring areas.

The Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall)

Near Alexanderplatz, is the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall) where the governing mayor holds office. This renaissance-styled red brick building built in the mid-18th century was heavily damaged during the World War II and subsequently reconstructed according to the original plans during the 1950s.

Few steps from the town hall is the Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church) and the Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain). I will be posting about Marienkirche and its interior in a separate post later.

The Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church)

Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain)

The huge circular Neptunbrunnen with a height of about 10 meters highlights Neptune at the center, the god of the sea according to Roman mythology (known as Poseidon in Greek mythology). Around him are four women representing Germany’s four main rivers.

Are we tired yet? Still so many points of interest lined up! Okay, off we go walking again…

Next stop: Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral).

In the fast-paced world of today, most businesses have mobile employees to handle the sales of their products, be they pharmaceuticals and medicines or consumer goods, or electronics materials/equipments or gadgets, to mention a few. Travel expenses such as food, accommodation and transportation therefore are shouldered by the company. Especially in giving car allowance, these businesses need a program to handle efficiently these employees with cars, how to reimburse them, such that it is fair to both the employee and employer concerned. This is a reasonable concern for a traveling employee, so he can spend time on his work with peace of mind.
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After the mid-noon Mass at the St. Albert Magnus Church in Berlin, we headed off to the Charlottenburg Palace (Schloss Charlottenburg) since it’s within the same district of Charlottenburg. The Charlottenburg Palace, built in the 17th century, is Berlin’s largest palace. We brought with us lots of food (yup, we’re not just travel bugs but pacmans as well) in the car and had a picnic at one of the benches in the palace grounds.

At the Charlottenburg Palace gate

A closer view of the palace dome

A statue inside the palace grounds

For a fee, tourists can get inside the Old Palace where there are many rooms with intricate details of architectural styles; while behind the palace is a large garden. At the right wing is a souvenir shop where you can find Charlottenburg Palace keepsakes and Berlin souvenirs and other trip essentials such as Berlin travel guides and photography books. We decided not to go inside and explore more of the palace since we had other tourist attractions lined up in our day tour itinerary and it was already past noon.

Next stop: Alexanderplatz

Also known as The Big Apple, I hope someday to be going around the streets of New York City, sightseeing on a double-decker bus which has top-deck-only seats for the best view of the city’s tourist attractions. It would be fun to go on sightseeing tour packages which conduct visits to major places of interest and with activities such as harbor cruises, visit to museums, and even shopping trips. And while on tour, I might consider living in NYC and getting myself one of those New York sales jobs.
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Not only is Berlin known for its historical significance but it is also one of Europe’s top tourist destinations along with Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Athens, Venice and other popular cities for travel bugs. Thus, a day tour in Berlin, being the capital of Germany and its largest city, was added to our travel itinerary in Europe considering that ours was a Schengen Visa and it was good to make the most of it by traveling to nearby Schengen states. And why wouldn’t we take time to visit Berlin when it is just about three hours travel from Prague?

Berlin is best enjoyed not just for a day though, but for those who haven’t got the luxury of time, a walking tour around the Berlin-Mitte (center) district would be sufficient since most of the main tourist attractions are concentrated here.

Below are some of the major points of interest to visit in the Berlin-Mitte district:
Alexanderplatz
Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall)
Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church)
Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain)
Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)
Unter Den Linden Boulevard
Zeughaus (Old Arsenal) which houses the German Historical Museum
Neue Wache (New Guard House) war memorial
Staatsoper (Berlin State Opera)
Sankt-Hedwigs-Kathedrale (St. Hedwig’s Cathedral)
Humboldt University
Bebelplatz
Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate), shown in the above photo
Reichstag building

Other points of interest we’ve visited outside the Berlin-Mitte district: Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) as our first stop located at the Charlottenburg district and Checkpoint Charlie (via subway) in the Friedrichstadt suburb.

Note: Photos and details of each point of interest to follow in separate posts.

Whether you’re on a business trip with colleagues or on a family vacation, having an airport shuttle ready to service you as soon as you get out of the airport arrivals area, is a great way to start off your day. Isn’t it nice to be pampered with comfortable and reliable transportation to get you to your destination?

With the many airport shuttle services around, here are some of the basics needed before deciding on one:
1. 24/7 customer assistance
2. reasonably priced (based on your comparison list)
3. clean interiors, comfortable seats, reliable and on time
4. operates daily
5. added convenience such as separate luggage compartments
6. 24/7 online reservation service
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Happysteps.net welcomes November with much hope and thankfulness. And as a member of the Entrecard community, I’m sending out a big thank you to my regular Entrecard visitors. For those who took time to always drop their cards and making it to the top 10, here’s some linky love as my way of thanking you.

cheapdanny (30)
BasBasBas.com (29)
Thailand Land of Smiles (28)
Random Ramblings (28)
Lofty Matters (27)
Symphony of Love (26)
rainydazeee (25)
Good Life Review (24)
Comedy Plus (24)
Darnuth Keep (24)

So, it’s a different list again from the previous August and September top droppers. This will be the last post highlighting my top droppers since I’ll be featuring them in an RSS widget on the sidebar from now on. Watch out for that! Happy EC dropping!

As a travel bug, I would often dream of travel to the other side of the world, across the Pacific Ocean, and you guess it – to the large American continent where I haven’t set foot yet.

One of my dream destinations is New York City, the most populous city in the US, and home of the United Nations headquarters. There are many NYC attractions for tourists such as the Statue of Liberty, the Rockefeller Center, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Times Square to mention some few places of interest.
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It was just one of those lazy Saturdays when you crave for grilled food and a picnic out in the sun, away from the usual environment at home.

There was really no definite place to go, and so we ended up at Branik, just few minutes away from Praha 4 in Prague. We were greeted by a wide expanse of green with the Vltava River calmly flowing by the side. The place is an idyllic weekend spot for sunbathers, families and yes, pets.

Catching the sun’s rays while reading a book

Few meters farther are thick trees along a higher terrain with a path where some enjoy speeding with their bicycles or skates

Bridge over peaceful water

Sitting by the Vltava River while discussing politics, hehehe…

One important document needed for international travel is a travel medical insurance. This is strictly needed as one of the requirements in securing a Schengen visa when I applied at the Czech Embassy in Manila before my trip to Prague. I even noticed that one of the applicants’ papers were returned since he lacked the proper insurance documents. The Czech Embassy has a list of certified insurance companies to provide guidance for the applicants.
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This is the third in a series of posts featuring photos of benches I’ve collected during my travels. Previously featured: Rauma (Finland) and Prague

After attending the noontime Sunday Mass at St. Albert the Great Church, off we went with our day tour of Berlin. I will be posting more photos about the city’s many historic landmarks and buildings, but for now here are some of the benches I’ve photographed to add to my collection. Enjoy!

Benches along the souvenir shop street… perfect place for tourists to rest for awhile after their shopping spree.

A series of concrete square benches at the rear of the Reichstag building.

More benches at the city park…

At the Charlottenburg Palace grounds. See that bench where the guy was seated? That’s where we had our lunch. =)

Financial planning for a scheduled trip saves travel bugs from future worries and headaches. Most of us would always set a trip budget and do everything we can to save on travel expenses while keeping an eye on the best flight and hotel deals. Unless you have a lot of financial resources to splurge on a holiday, every planned trip would always require some budgeting. This is where financial planning comes in and with the high-tech gadgets available nowadays, using the latest financial software makes budgeting easier.
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Most of the airline companies are now catching up with global awareness and incorporating some environmental safety measures and practices in their systems. Some companies even encourage their clients to “go green” and provide educational articles to enlighten them including options for clients to purchase green products to offset their carbon emissions brought about by travel.
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Here’s another ongoing promo for travel bugs by Globe Telecom as it joins SM Department Store’s 50th anniversary. Globe subscribers (mobile, landline and internet) paying their bills at any SM Bills Payment counter get a chance to win a trip for two to Macau.

Here are some of the trip details:
- good for 2 persons
- round-trip airfare on Philippine Airlines (PAL) economy class
- 3 days and 2 nights twin sharing hotel accommodation at Grand Emperor Hotel
- daily hotel breakfast
- half-day Macau city tour

One winner will be chosen every month starting July until December at designated raffle dates from September 2008 to January 2009. The prize is transferable and convertible to cash, with the prize tax to be shouldered by Globe Telecom.

Being a Globe broadband subscriber, we’ve always been paying our bills at SM since we usually go there for shopping anyway. It’s more convenient for us than paying at the Globe office at Lacson Street where the queue is usually longer. We’ve already paid two Globe bills via the SM payment counters, I really hope we would be one of the Macau promo winners.

Photo credits: Wikipedia.org