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Time: 11:45pm
Weather: 2 deg - weather forecast said its gonna snow.. but it didnt happen..
Venue: Düsseldorf, Germany
Mood: love shopping - hate packing - yikes!
Peak Agenda: When it comes to Düsseldorf theres not much of a peak agenda... its like we either start our hols fm Düsseldorf or end it in Düsseldorf... daily without fail.. i will wake up in the morning.. prepare brekkie and as soon as hubs is out i will get ready and take Sonia to the nearest playground bef heading to town... usually i will go to diff parts of town and will only spend around 2hrs there as the weather was too cold for our liking..

So let me just finish up the 3rd part of our days in Colmar... didnt realise that the pic that was supposed to be the 3rd part are all abt Sonia riding her horsey in the evening lol


Right bef we drove to Strasbourg.. we decided to walk around Colmar to find the one and only baking shop there.. found it and was a little disappointed with the price there.. got what i was supposed to get and found another type of colour powder meant for macarons... wasnt cheap and bought a few bottles.... if it works like a charm.. am thinking of bringing it in my online store :o)


Hotel St Martin that we stayed in... bed was comfy and room was rather small.. reminded me of the hotel room we stayed in Paris lol.. the interior was classic and the window that u see was our room :o)


On our way to Düsseldorf, hubs decided to drive to Holland to go to the Roermond Factory Outlet since on this trip hubs was too busy to go to any and since it was sunday the factory outlet is open till 8pm.. he thought why not... it was our first time in Holland .. its like u drive a further 45mins fm Düsseldorf and u end up in Holland lol.. we got there close to 5pm and by 7pm we were out... so so crowded with ppl.. saw a couple of Malay women there.. first time i came across our own ppl on this trip lol .. to us the price wasnt too impressive . we bought pretty much what we wanted and by 8pm we were already unpacking our stuff..


We stayed in an apartment in Düsseldorf which makes it easier for me to feed our tummy.. the very next day as soon as hubs got home fm his meeting.. he took me to the halal butcher to stock up our fridge..


Hereon are a few pics taken at the Christmas night market here in Düsseldorf.. only went there once... to me.. Düsseldorf is the fashion city.. as its the only place where i have so far found Massimo Dutti for example :o(


There are a few christmas markets around here and we cant even be bothered to go all.. we were a little disappointed to find out that our usual Italian cafe that we patronized is no longer there.. not just that.. our fav kebab place has now changed to some other restaurant... so in another words.. theres not much to look forward to except that we have found a new shopping mall which is abt 10mins away fm our apartment.. hubs is usually back by 5pm and since the mall closes at 8pm.. it was a perfect reason for us to keep ourselves warm and shop at the same time hehe.. oh i also found a perfect cafe there.. they serve great coffee and cakes.. yumms!!


Sonia and her rides... haishhh


Can u imagine seeing something like this at our ramadhan bazaar? sure our Poffertjes will be selling like hot cakes lol


I really love all the window displays here... especially the Steiff ones.. they hv like maybe 10 window displays in this Kaufhof store alone! oh gosh... we in Singapore shud learn a thing or two on this... ours is like forever and ever showing the same thing lol


Christmas period is like a fairy tale .. beautiful lights... beautiful feelings.. beautiful weather.. so it is really a good idea for them to display their toy products since most of what we end up buying for our kids is toys.. toys ... toys lol


Christmas market around Königsallee ... same like two years ago.. no changes and no more magical feeling  hahaha


Düsseldorf - super crowded with tourists


Ok thats it.. this will be my last post ... tmrw we will be driving to Frankfurt right after hubs meeting and will be staying there for a night.. we fly back to SG on Saturday afternoon via KL :o)

I just wanna thank everyone for taking the time to read up my posts and following us on this trip... its always a pleasure to blog abt it .. it makes me feel close to home when i get to interact with others.. to me.. am blogging about it for my kids to read up whenever they want in the future and at the same time to take my readers with me on my trips... take care all and hv a wonderful weekend.. i know when i get to SG on sunday... i will probably be too sleepy to even unpack my luggage lol... cheers and see u back in Singapore!
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Time: 9pm
Weather: 7 deg - weird but its freezing here at 7 deg!
Venue: Colmar - Hotel St Martin / Dusseldorf, Germany
Mood: Relaxing and realising that my hols will end this wkend.. huhu.. for some reason... am not missing my oven .. YET hehe.. i cooked rendang and chicken soup today.. its been awhile since we last had rice.. 
Peak Agenda: Salam peeps.. as promised.. here are a few more pics taken in Colmar.. i usually will hv "the mood" to take lots of scenery shots when hubs is around.. easier when someone is there to keep a look-out for little Sonia..

Anyway on the second day in Colmar.. we decided to drive to Strasbourg.. (the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border to Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking, explaining the city's Germanic name - wikipidia) It took us under an hr to get there and oh boy.. unlike in the old town of Colmar.. u can see halal kebab place just abt everywhere.. so long story short.. we got our meat craving fixed lol.. what to do.. we are meat eating ppl hehehe.. we spent like 4hrs there and hubs also took me to Galleries Lafayette which later saw me walking out with another Vanessa Bruno bag - big smile!



Somehow weekends get everyone going.. we were up pretty early on Saturday.. took a stroll around the old city again.. found a halal kebab place but the shop didnt look like its there anymore.. an empty shop with a halal sign lol


The duo who keep me on my feet on this trip :o)


The chocolate place - Jaques Bockel - that we patronized more than three times lol... this guy (the old guy in the picture) is famous for his chocolate and i bought chocolate couverture to see if its as good compared to Valrhona and Cocoa Berry.. pls pls try his fleur de sel praline chocolate if u do see him... its to DIE for! - oh on another note.. my fleur de sel will soon be back in store.. got em while in france!


We later walked towards an indoor market hall.. not too sure of the name.. i think its called Marche Couvert.. this market was built in 1865 but was recently renovated.. and its known for its great and varied selection of Alsatian food (Bakery, Cheese, Poultry, Fish, Butcher, Confectioner, Fruits and Veggies etc etc) as well as Vietnamese and Indian food. As it is Christmas they are also selling Christmas decoration together with their produce... 


My little Sonia is a great story teller.. she wud pretend as tho she knows how to read well and will tell a story behind every single thing that she sees.. gv her a book and she will read to u - in her own words of cos -


Staple food where ever we go... it fills our tummy whenever we travel... be it in Asia or Europe.. this is what u call.. on survival mode :oPP


Sonia with her gingerbread man hehe


This indoor market reminded me of Central Market in Adelaide.. in a small scale of cos hehehe.. a market without all sorts of veggies is a no no


A market without seafood is not a market lol... looking at those mussels.. it reminded me of the mussels we had while in France early this year .. ty to the Bachmans hehe


Morning coffee is a must.. if u wanna hv ur coffee fix u can go to this little espresso place to your left as soon as you enter the indoor market.. it has an ok cup of espresso to sit and drink or "to go" - Italians make better coffee though! hehe


Sonia being my mommy.. she said "one sugar is enough mama!" hahaha


A picturesque street in Colmar along the river Lauch....


Eh eh.. what is so funny Rima.. u shud hv just gv that sweet smile when taking pics.. at least that will cover up ur double chin muahahaha


Bonjour ...


Aduhhh another not that good shot of me .. why ohhhh whyyyy hahaha - pic on the right is my all time fav too...


We later ended up in another picturesque area of Colmar along the river Lauch..


The other side of the River Lauch.. see those berries... i wonder if u can eat them.. hmmm

They dont call it little Venice for no reason ey


Kinder market as what i wud call it... this is one of the 5 Christmas markets there at La Petite Venise


Sonia being a little difficult.. the moment she saw the horsey ride.. she wanted to go on it.. ishhh and papa can be a little impatient at times handling Sonia.. i will.. time and again remind hubs that we shud count our blessings cos Allah has given us such a precious little girl..


Live rabbits... live sheep..


The main attraction here is of cos the kiddy rides and this is it.. horsey ride that my little Sonia goes crazy on.. u shud see the excitement on her face.. she calls it.. wiggle wiggle ride lol


Getting ready... i think she must hv ridden on it 5 times


Foamy snow hehe


This is how she is... her expression... priceless!
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Time: 11.45pm
Weather: 7 deg
Venue: Colmar - Hotel St Martin / Dusseldorf, Germany
Mood: Sehr gut.. been shopping... am one happy bunny!
Peak Agenda: Ooppsy .. i know.. i know.. was supposed to update while in Colmar but didnt get to do it.. by the time we got into Colmar, i was too excited to explore the old town.. we are now in Dusseldorf where hubs will be busy once again with the oil and gas exhibition... it feels like yesterday since we last came here... two years ago we were here for the same reason.. someone came to Dusseldorf too .. humpfff!

ANYWAY.. the drive to Colmar took us close to 6hrs.. was a pretty long drive but it was so worth it.. i hv always been a big fan of road trip.. remember the time when i was close to 8 months preggie and took a road trip with hubs to Bangkok? hehe no wonder Sonia is so good with road trips too :o)

Anyhow to those that are so familiar with Colmar in Malaysia.. if u hv the chance.. do visit Colmar in France cos its a "country theme lover" heaven lol.. i think if i was still into rustic country.. i wud go super crazy there.. they go fm rustic country to french country to american country to shabby chic.. all the country styles that u are into lol.. i did go crazy for a moment going to two different Maison du Monde stores three times and lugging out with 6 bags each time i walked out of my fav store :op

So ok.. enjoy the pics below taken on the first day in Colmar.. i will hv to divide my Colmar entry to maybe 3 parts cos there are so so many pics that i wud love to share... pics of Dusseldorf  err shud i be taking pics of ducks and playing in the garden again ? hehehe



Colmar was founded in the 9th century. This was the location where the Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat held a diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of a free imperial city by Emperor Frederick II in 1226. In 1354 it joined the Décapole city league. The city adopted the Protestant Reformation in 1575, long after the northern neighbours of Strasbourg and Sélestat. During the Thirty Years' War, it was taken by the Swedish army in 1632, who held it for two years. In 1548 Josel of Rosheim urged the Reichskammergericht court to repeal the Colmar market ban for Jewish merchants.
The city was finally conquered by France under King Louis XIV in 1673 and officially ceded by the 1679 Treaties of Nijmegen. With the rest of Alsace, Colmar was annexed by the newly formed German Empire in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War and incorporated into the Alsace-Lorraine province. It returned to France after World War I according to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, and then reverted to French control after the battle of the "Colmar Pocket" in 1945. Colmar has been continuously governed by conservative parties since 1947, the Popular Republican Movement (1947–1977), the Union for French Democracy (1977–1995) and the Union for a Popular Movement (since 1995), and has had only three mayors during that time.
The Colmar Treasure, hidden during the Black Death, was discovered here in 1863. - wikipedia


Ok a little infor up there is for me to read again when i go thru my old entry .. its always good to know the history behind the place that we visit.. agree? hehe and pic above is my personal fav simply bec it reminds me of the time when i was into country theme.. back then i wud bring home at least a couple of wreaths... today? hehe i still do but only two wreaths ahaks


Sonia's fav! well good actually cos at least it filled up her tummy... there wasnt anything that we cud eat .. there wasnt any halal kebab around either.. blahhh....the first night we ended up munching on bread, crepes and salad :o(


Their Christmas market.. the smell of pine trees - love it!


And since we got into Colmar late... our day in Colmar was shortened and bef we knew it... it was almost Magrib.. pic abv is one of their many Christmas markets there... love going to all.. one of them was a Christmas market for children. Sonia enjoyed the kinder christmas market alot.. why? cos she get to go on horse rides and look at rabbits and sheep :o)


Just like our Ramadhan Bazaar... they open early and close late.. some sell christmas cookies... some sell table mats... some sell all things associated with candles... for food? what else besides hot dogs and also sauerkraut hehe


Christmas tree ornaments


... more christmas tree ornaments lol


So ok .. i promise i will update again tmrw morning... its past midnight now and i am so so sleepy... see ya!
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About Me

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Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..