The German Alpenstrasse, also known as the German Alpine Road, is a series of roads winding through the Bavarian Alps. It features breathtaking sceneries, weaving through Bavarian towns and castles.

While researching for my Germany road trip last winter, I ended with two roads, the Romantic Road and the German Alpine Road. Unlike the Romantic Road, there were limited articles on the German Alpine Road, but the few articles promised spectacular sceneries.

Since I am in Prague for a business trip, I made use of the weekends to do some exploring. If you're interested to read more my adventure in Prague, check out my older travel post on my Prague trip in 2014. I'll be updating a new blog post on my current Prague trip when I return to Singapore (which will be in 2017).

Kutna Hora is a historic town located an hour train ride from Prague. Kutna Hora is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to some of the most magnificent churches. Kutna Hora also sits on a silver mine.

Kutna Hora is an hour train ride from Prague. To get to Kutna Hora, buy your train ticket either online or at the Prague main train station (Praha Hln). The train will take you to Kutna Hora Hln and you'll have to switch to a connecting train to get to the town center, Kutna Hora Meso station. So make sure your ticket brings you to Kutna Hora Meso instead of Kutna Hora Hln. The return ticket will cost 209czk. The train comes at an interval of 2hours in the morning so make sure you check the timings, especially on your way back.

I alighted at Kutna Hora Meso and walked to the town center. It was winter, and one of the coldest days, so nobody was on the streets. The shops were all closed too so I highly recommend not to come in winter.

The first stop is to the Church of St Barbara.

It's such an amazing sight just walking to the church. I took a rather long way, winding some alleys, because I got kind of lost and I was refusing to take off my gloves to navigate the map on my phone because it was freezing.

Church of St Barbara is a gothic style cathedral that began construction in 1388 but was only completed in 1905.

The entrance fee for the church is 60czk and you can actually get a bundle ticket which will include the other main attractions in Kutna Hora.

To be honest, I did not do much research before going over so I had no expectations and idea of what the main attractions looked like. Neither did i know that there's an entrance fee. So I went in on a Sunday when there was service and managed to sneak in for free. I only realised that there was an entrance fee when I was buying tickets at the other attractions and they were showing the bundle package which included Church of St Barbara.

Before leaving, there's this hidden gem with a great view of Kutna Hora just next to the cathedral.

This is the Stone Fountain in Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora Stone House is around the corner and unfortunately, it's closed in winter. During warmer days, you can actually go on a tour into the silver mines.

As mentioned earlier, it's winter and not a single shop was open. So at the sight of an opened store, I went in immediately. The chocolate museum serves chocolates made in Czech and they allowed tasting. So I kind of left the store with a little more chocolates than expected.

Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is the other attraction in Kutna Hora. While the Church of St Barbara is located at the Kutna Hora Meso station, the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is closer to the Kutna Hora Sedlec station.

It takes 30 minutes to walk from the town center to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. Would not really recommend it so it's better to take the train.

While the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist has a gothic style, the interior of the church has a clean look with the minimalistic style.

But the key attraction of Kutna Hora has to be the Sedlec Ossuary. My colleagues, who recommended me to visit Kutna Hora, was raving about the bone church where they used bones to decorate the interior.

It's a little unusual to use bones to decorate a place but it's definitely an interesting sight. There's piles and piles of bones lined up as decorations.

To be honest, I felt Kutna Hora to be a little underwhelming in the winter with the empty streets and closed shops. But it was definitely worth the escape from Prague to visit somewhere less crowded. If you have extra time on your hands, do drop by Kutna Hora.

Will be updating the blog again real soon as I will be clearing some of my backlogs from my other previous travel adventures.

Till then!

One of the most life changing trip I've embarked on was visiting Ireland. It was the first time I went on a road trip and I can't stress how much I enjoy going on road trips.

Singapore has a population density of 8,000 people/km square whereas Ireland's population density is at 73 people/km square. Even though both countries have similar population size, there is so much more space and land in Ireland.

Transportation around Ireland is not frequent and the preferred mode of transport is to rent a car and explore Ireland in it.
I touched down at Shannon Airport and got our Thrifty Ford Focus. Upon arrival, we drove our way up to the Cliffs of Moher. Did you know that one of the scenes in Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince was filmed here?

As we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher slightly before sunset, we were welcomed with this view of the cliffs. It was so surreal and blew our minds. We spent our first night at Doolin Cottage B&B which was a lovely cottage along the Wild Atlantic Way road. The host was lovely and the breakfast was delicious. After recharging for the night, we drove along the Wild Atlantic Way towards Galway. It was really therapeutic to drive along the Wild Atlantic Way, having the ocean breeze against our faces. We even made a couple of pit stops along the way because the view was simply too stunning.
We had to cross over a field where a couple of cows were grazing. Imagine all the cow dung we had to carefully avoid while heading to this place. It looked really dangerous at where the waves were hitting because they were really strong so we did not dare to go to close to the ocean. And this taken at the blackhead, which was part of the Burren National Park. Driving along all the black rocks was really amazing. The rocks were smooth and looked as if they eroded gracefully. We went over to the edge of the cliff which was really terrifying. There wasn't a single soul around so if my partner was to push me down the cliff into the ocean, nobody would have known and my body will probably never be found. This signifies the importance of getting a travel buddy whom you have absolute trust in. Also, take note of your travelling time because as you can see, there are no street lights! It'll be extremely dark and hard to navigate when the sun sets. Plus, some of the roads can get really scary because they are only one lane with cars from both directions.

We were travelling in one of the shortcuts and it was two-direction road with only one single lane! The roads were hilly and surrounded with tall grasses so when we were ascending, we had to be really careful because we could not see the car in front of us. There are plenty of tiny villages and towns along the way which made it easy to stopover for meals. One of my recommendations is Bofey Quinns Bar & Restaraunt. It is along the way to the Burren National Park. Try their traditional Irish stew, definitely the best Irish stew I had while in Ireland! The buildings in Western Ireland are really pleasing to the eyes and I love driving through these towns. Their vibrant colours stand out from the natural environment along the Wild Atlantic Way. It'll be really nice to retire and move to Western Ireland and live in one of these houses. The drive from Galway to Dublin took three hours and it was easy to navigate as it was a straight expressway across Ireland. I didn't really like Dublin as much as I love the Western Ireland and Wild Atlantic Way.

Ireland is definitely deeply missed and if I have the opportunity again, I would love to do another road trip in Ireland.

Amsterdam, best known for its canals and narrow houses. Putting the famous red light district and coffee shops aside, the capital of the Netherlands has many other attractions.

I stayed at the Central Station Hostel, a tiny hostel right smack in the middle of all the buzz in Amsterdam. We had a 6 bed mixed dorm en suite, so no complaints there. It was convenient, cheap and clean.

The first stop of the trip was Anne Frank House. It is a biographical museum dedicated to Anne Frank, a Jewish who was in hiding during the World War II. The queue for Anne Frank House can get really long so we started queuing before the museum even opens. Either come early to queue, or prebook the tickets.

The Anne Frank House was thought provoking and solemn. Even the wait may be long, I felt that it was worth the visit because it was an eye-opener.

After the trip to Anne Frank House, we hopped by The Pancake Bakery which is just within walking distance from the museum. I ordered a savoury pancake and realised I pretty much prefer my pancakes sweet. Fret not those with a sweet tooth, The Pancake Bakery do have pancakes for you too.
After a hearty meal, we made our way to the Heineken Experience. Heineken Experience is an interactive tour around the history of Heineken. My expectation for this attraction wasn't high because after all, we only went for it for the free tasting after the tour (FREE ALCOHOL).

However, the tour turned out a lot more fun than expected. All of us enjoyed it tremendously because there was so many things to do in there. Even the people who don't drink enjoyed the tour. We even played a football match on the xbox in one of the interaction rooms.

You'll get to customise your very own Heineken bottle by printing your name on it. It will make the perfect gift for a friend.

After the tour, you'll get a free boat ride. How can you say no to ride a boat along the canals of Amsterdam. I may have slept throughout the boat ride because I drank a tiny bit too much beer back in the experience (blame it on friends giving me their free drinks & also because I'm a bad drinker).
When the night falls, Amsterdam changes into a city of lights. The famous red light district comes to life. Girls in lingerie, standing behind the glass door, waiting for a customer to approach her. Sex stores at every corner, and even sex shows going at 2 euros for 2 minutes. In a dark box, drop 2 euros into the machine and the curtain in front of you will open, revealing the act, and closing shut after 2 minutes.

After a tour around, we walked to Winkel 43, which was said to have the best apple pie in the world. Two thumbs up! I would say you have to definitely give the apple pie a try if you're in Amsterdam!

The rest of the night was spent looking for coffee shops. The Bulldog Cafe is one of the more popular coffee shops in Amsterdam, and the moment you enter, you'll see photos of celebrities who have visited the place.

The next morning, head over to Van Gogh Museum . I walked there from the hostel, so it was a good morning walk! After which, the famous IAMSTERDAM sign is just nearby the museum. It is impossible to take a proper photo of the sign without anyone spoiling your photo.
Hi from the top of the T! :)

The next trip was to Zaanse Schans! We took a train to Koog-Zaandijk from Amsterdam Central Station before walking approximately 10 minutes to this lovely place. There weren't many visitors so you really had the space to yourself.
You don't get to see many of these windmills around anymore. This place is the close to Amsterdam so most visitors visit this place for a taste of The Netherlands. There's also shops there that sell cheese and stuffs.
That's it for my short trip to Amsterdam! Stay tuned for more posts on my trip to Europe!