10 Things We Love About Europe [T]

We absolutely love traveling to Europe! It's one of the places we've always dreamt of visiting. And now we're grateful we get to fly there with each other to share the experience.

After being blessed with three trips together to this enchanted land (2008, 2010, 2012), we've compiled our very own "10 Things We Love About Europe." So fasten your seatbelts, stow your tray tables, and let's shazoom together to Europa!...


1. CLIMATE

Mount Saentis, St. Gallen,
Switzerland 2012

Coming from an oven-baked, humid Philippines, the climate is the first obvious plus Europe has to offer. The cold isn't just full-blast-Aircon-cold but biting, numbing cold that pierces through clothing. The chill is a great relief that we look forward to, plus it's a great chance to look like a Pinoy action star and wear a leather jacket.

Besides the cold, one thing we also love is the dry humidity. After coming out of the bathroom, you're dry in a few minutes. It's a great advantage when you're in a hurry dressing up. It does take its toll though on Asians as our lips and skins dry up after a while. Thus my wife constantly runs after me to smack moisturizing lotion or lip balm on my cracking skin (ugh!).


2. EVERYTHING'S PRECISE AND HIGH TECH

Everything is on schedule! Their trains arrive on the dot and leave on the dot. Even the buses have such schedules and you can be sure to make it to your destination on time. You can download these schedules or check these at the stations and map out your route easily. I would do a countdown on the expected time and like clockwork, the rides would arrive to my amazement.

The EURAIL system (Europe-wide) is something to drool over. People live in the outskirts of town and can easily be in their offices in the city traveling via their safe and punctual train system. Hence the cities are decongested & the countryside is comfortably populated.

Almost every place in Europe is connected by train, so it's easy to move from one city or country to another via the speed trains. Anne and I absolutely love riding the EURAIL (and even intercity Metro trains). It's an adventure to configure the connecting routes and hop on and off the platforms from one train to the other.

Also, everything is high-tech & digital. The train & bus schedules and stops are viewed on the digital monitors on board. You can buy tickets from a "vending machine" ticket booth (you can pay these via Cash or Credit Card!). Even bus stops on the street have digital signs with countdown clocks telling you how many minutes the bus is arriving!

Digital Signs at Bus Stops telling
how many minutes the next bus is arriving

Since labor is expensive here, there's a gamut of other things around that I love that are also high-tech, not requiring human intervention. Like Parking Lot Entrance/Exit booths (just insert payment into the machine and the bar goes up to grant you entry/exit); Shopping Carts requiring you to insert a coin to use it, so that you'll be sure to return it to the stack to retrieve your coin (so they won't need to hire cart boys to return carts); Vending Machines for everything: Train tickets, Bus tickets, Drinks, Food and even Souvenir Coins! Even Toilets are accessible by inserting coins (better always have coins handy in case you need to do a doodoo).

Insert a Euro Coin at the slot to release the Cart.
Return the Cart here to retrieve your coin

3. ROAD DISCIPLINE

Drivers stop at every corner (by instinct) and wait til the road is clear before entering. If you're approaching an intersection and you're on the right of way, there's no worry that a car speeding from the other side will collide coz they really do stop and wait their turn. You should see the waiting involved on rotondas. No tailgating or sticking to the car in front to secure your entry. Everyone waits their turn.

Drivers stop for pedestrians. When walking and approaching the Pedestrian Lane, you'd notice the drivers to really stop to let you cross.

I have rarely heard a car horn as I was in Europe. Drivers wait and rarely badger the others to move out of their paths.


4. EUROFOOTBALL!!!

We got a chance to experience the football (soccer) pandemonium in 2008 when we were there in the height of the games! The football fever is intoxicating! Everyone had their sides and was passionately supportive of it. We're glad we're catching up with this world sport and hope our Azkals can quickly gain the needed skill to compete with the big boys.

Funny, we noticed that wherever country we were in, that country's team would lose the scheduled game when we were there! (Don't tell anyone, lest they issue a travel advisory against us during the games). Deutschland lost when we were in Germany. Austria when we were in the Austrian Alps. Italy when we were in Rome. Turkey when we were loving Turkish Kebaps in Vienna!

But the height our thrill of it was when we were in Vienna during the Croatia vs. Turkey match. The city was the center of the Fanzone at that time. As we were touring through the subways, Croatians in checkered red and white sports shirts would chant their anthems and everyone would smile at the revelry and respectfully cheer them on. That is until the Turkish fans would greet them at the subway stop and they'd jeer at each other playfully. Parang La Salle-Ateneo game lang!

We found ourselves right in a Croatia festive gathering when in Vienna in 2008 during the day of their football match against Turkey. We posed for a photo, a Croatian gave me the hat to include in the picture! Ole ole ole ole!! 

5. HISTORY

Castles. Museums. Arches. Landmarks. Amphitheaters. Ruins. Churches. Ooohh we love history. We love knowing that the places we enter during tours used to be places that people built with their own hands (or slaves' hands) and where they actually dwelt once upon a time. That people of old used to walk those halls and exist in those grand structures. I have this habit of touching the walls of palaces & museums, imagining that hundreds of years ago, ancient humans would also touch these. Connect!

Note: We frown on vandals who leave their "marks" on such preserved memorabilia for their own personal desire for glory. Let's take care of history and leave it intact for the future.



6. PAYING IN COINS

We're not used to paying for large purchases in coins, so because of the exchange rate, every Euro coin is important! It's tempting to keep buying as you see price tags containing only a few digits. That is until you start multiplying the amount by 55 to get the shocking peso equivalent.

As of this writing, the Euro to peso is in our favor. When we traveled in 2008, it was PhP 70 for every euro. Now it's PhP 55! (Shhhhh... Don't tell Anne, we have no more room in our luggage for new purchases).


7. FOOD

Fresh salad greens. Fresh fruits. Fresh ingredients. Olive oil. Spatzle. Cevapcicci. Wines. Wheat Beer. Steaks. Gelato. Kaffe (Coffee). Chocolates. Breads. Pastries.

Need I say more?

Gelato!!!

8. LANGUAGE PRIDE

What can be a bane to tourists is something I admire with these countries. English is a SECOND LANGUAGE in Europe. Street signs, shops, menus, etc. are mostly in their native dialects. Majority of the TV shows are in an alien language to me (except for CNN). Their dubbing industry is quite an important and dignified trade. I was watching a rerun of SCRUBS with Dr. Cox berating JD in fluent German!

Tourists adjust to them, not the other way around. It's harder for tourists but since their tourism industry is still high, methinks it's not a bad thing.

We should learn from this—take pride in our own language (and regional dialects) and not look down on our brethren who can't speak English well. A lot of successful Europeans speak barok English as well. Panalo!


9. EUROPEAN COUNTRYSIDE

San Gimagnano, Italy in 2010 (near Florence/Tuscany areas)

Chimsee (Germany). Bavarian Region (Austria). Tuscany (Italy). Santorini (Greece). Delphi (Greece). Bodrum (Turkey). St. Gallen (Switzerland).

We love the European countryside more than the main cities! It's more peaceful, more quaint, has lesser people, nicer people. The air is fresher, nature is purer.

We'd visit the cities for the tours and famous landmarks, but we adore the outskirts more and make it a point to book there.


10. IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT (emphasis on the last word)

The last thing we love about Europe is that it's a nice place, but it's just for visits. We adore the place but what's good about it is that IT'S NOT HOME.

Despite us being way behind in technology, efficiency, governance, discipline, etc, we'd take our beloved Pilipinas hands down with all it's flaws coz IT IS HOME. It's where our Family, Friends and Feasts are and we're glad to be coming home to it. Our imperfections make us a better people coz we adapt, we strive, we cope, and we pray.

We still have a lot to be grateful for. To us, our people are still the friendliest, our hospitality is still the warmest, our Islands are still the awesomest, our faith is still the truest and our morality is still the best.

"It's more HOME in the Philippines!"

~ Toh


PS:
Despite all the bad things we hear about Europe and its people, we've never encountered these in our journeys. We've been to the best and met the best! We believe in Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life", as well as to the belief that "what you expect, happens." So if you live always worried & fearful of the bad, it happens. We've always expected the GOOD to be upon us—to meet "the best of Europe"—and we actually always have. Thus complain less, rejoice more, and see the good happen to your life.

PPS:
Next stop: Portugal (then Spain) in 2013! Olé!

Switzerwubs 2012 [T]

• Schengen Visas... Check!
• Thermal undergarments.... Check!
• Portable gadget charger.... Check!
• Moisturizing Lip Balm.... Check!
• Dental check up... Check!
• Immunization Shots... Check! (c/o Didoy & Mayi's Health Shots)
• Heavy Jackets... Borrowed!
• Work... Not yet checked! (Cramming!)

(Whew! Sometimes the trip preparations are even more tiring than the trip!)


This year's adventure will take the Wubs to SWITZERLAND!  We're blessed with another chance to visit the land where the magical letters "W" and "C" combine to form such a relieving feeling. Where you can't ask for water from a waiter, but buy it (I prefer the "no gas" version, burp!).  Where seeing a fellow Pinoy in a crowd of lighter-skinned folk makes you smile at the chance to touch base with home. "Kabayan!"


SWITZERLAND
Our first stop is St. Gallen, which is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 160,000 inhabitants) and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic base.

St. Gallen is situated in the northeastern part of Switzerland in a valley about 700 meters above sea level. It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland and it often receives a lot of snow in winter (glad we're traveling there in May). The city is pleasantly situated between Lake Constance and the mountains of the Appenzell Alps (with the Säntis as the highest peak at 2,502 meters). Our hotel is between Mount Säntis and Lake Constance.

Our hotel in St. Gallen, Switzerland

We wave our goodbyes to the motherland on Wednesday evening and reach Zurich via Bangkok the morning of Thursday (Swiss time... Ooohh, that sounds precise). St. Gallen is accessible via train from Zurich, so we take a train from the airport to our hotel. The weather is said to be Spring-cool, which is awesome since Winter-cool is not something we've packed for.


We'll be attending my company's two-day conference in St. Gallen and catch up with business colleagues and their wives. While the men work, the ladies tour and shop (ahem). The men join in on the last day for a group tour and we end the conference with a gala night.  We're excited to see the museums in the area (we love hearing about history) and of course, the shopping areas.  Hehehe...


  AUSTRIA

Austrian Alps

After our conference, our next stop is... AUSTRIA! We take a train (we love the European train system) to Maria Alm, Austria to spend a week in a ski resort courtesy of my boss's time share. Since it's springtime, the weather is just perfect for snow-averse pinoys like us. Anne absolutely loved our Austrian adventure in 2008, specifically the fresh air, the the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music jaw-dropping landscape, the scrumptuous food (Cevapcicci!), the Wheat Beer and the cleanest drinking water in the world (they actually plan to export that as a commodity). 

First on our Austrian agenda is the "Sound Of Music tour" at the nearby Salzburg, something we missed the last time. Interesting that the Austrians aren't as giddy about the "Sound Of Music" as the rest of the world is. To them, it isn't much of a big deal, but the tourism it drives to their city is much welcomed.


We'll tour other nearby parts of Austria on the other days of the week.  It's funny, I remembered that the last time we were here, we saw humorous shirts in the tourist markets "No Kangaroos In Austria". It's obvious tourists get their countries mixed up and this is the locals' way of not needing to repeat themselves. Hehehe.

SWITZERLAND
Final stop, we head back to SWITZERLAND to conclude our trip. 

Our hotel in Morschach, Switzerland

Our last leg brings us to another time share resort in Morschach, also near Zurich where we'll spend our last week before heading home. We're excited about this one coz it's a ski spa-resort and waterpark! We'll tour the nearby areas during the week since everything is a train ride away.


We're quite pleased that this year's trip finds us at a more relaxed pace unlike our past adventures wherein we were in a new country every few days. We have more time to explore each area and we plan to take local tours based on the recommendations of our hotels.  We'll have more chances to take in the local culture, inhale the experiences of every town and just enjoy being together in the continent we love visiting.  Check out our actual adventures as we post these during the next few weeks!

Also, we're thrilled not just for the travel but for the Promise! Anne has triumphed recently over a medical procedure and we're looking at this trip as a way for God to heal us and prepare us to add another member to the Wub home!  


Okay, now back to packing preparations.  Next on my list... Neck Pillows!... 12 hour flight, we're ready for ya!




~ Toh




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Our 10th year! Sheridan Beach Resort, Palawan (Part1) [T]

Our contribution to the recent Philippine tourism marketing campaign

10 blissful years of marriage saw us at Sheridan Beach Resort, Sabang, Palawan.  Anne got a great promo rate from Deal Grocer in the nick of time and we flew to this paradise a few days after our anniversary to escape the busyness of life. 


Sabang is the gateway to the famous Puerto Princesa Underground River. Some tourists who'd wish to visit the famed landmark would book in Puerto Princesa then take a day trip to Sabang port then ferry off to the river for the adventure, then take the same long journey back. But it's a good thing Anne found a great resort in Sabang itself so we just walked to the port on day-two! We didn't even know there was a texting contest about the Underground River which ended days after we left, so we hopefully we contributed to us winning the slot as one of the next world wonders! Go Philippines! 


Sheridan was one of our best resorts ever! Modern & fully packed with great amenities, scenic spots, modern architecture, and a large pool right smack in the middle of the resort!  Spa, pools, bars, gym, FREE WIFI, etc!  The pool is a stone's throw away from the beach, thus adding to the awesomeness of our choice. It's like a large boutique hotel.  


Journey with us as we relive our adventure through the picture collection below... 

Touchdown, Puerto Princesa!

First stop: Lunch at Ugong Rock while waiting for the shuttle to take us from Puerto Princesa to Sabang

Fruit Shakes are a must in tropical islands

Yummy Grilled Shrimp! Loved the sauce

Yummy Baked Scallops!

Kisses-shaped Garlic Rice

A great start to a great vacay... FOOD!

Since we still had a long wait til the shuttle leaves, I succumbed to my husband duties and ALLOWED Anne to go shopping!  Tsk tsk tsk, the things we do... :)

Cashew Nuts are Palawan's staple crop

A different kind of Crocs

They call this large tricycle a "Taxi-cle!" Coolness!

After 1.5hours of riding in the comfy shuttle, Touchdown in Paradise!

Welcome drink

(to be continued by Anne.... soon...)