Mikulas ( Saint Nicholas Day )

Presents do come early for kids on the 5th Dec in many parts of Europe.
During this day parents and schools will organize to bring little kids to meet this saint and his companies. The saint is another version of Santa Clause and it is called Saint Nicholas.
They normally come in 3 persons St Nicolas ( Mikulas) , the angel ( andel ) and the devil ( cert)

Children who have been good throughout the year will have no fear and will need to recite poems or sing songs to Saint Nicholas. And in return they will receive sweets, chocolates or other gifts. On the contrary bad children will not be given goodies but instead raw potatoes and will be threaten to be put into the bag and drag to hell by the devils woah ha ha if they don’t behave well.

On this day, the city center will be filled with people and the angelic & devil beings dressed by volunteers ( young and old ) roaming the streets questioning little children. I find this occasion very interesting as it brings the knowledge of good and evil to children at a very young age even though it can be quite traumatic for some. Well as part of growing ,these memories are nice to be remembered when you are older.

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Baby gal too young to understand all these ..

The kid with the yellow hood was put into the sack..to be taken away

Santa in disguised

The Battle of the 3 Emperors (Austerlitz)

Every year around this time , in a small village near Brno, a traditional commemorative event will take place at the occasion to remember a battle of the three emperors. The battle is significant till today due to the tactical masterpiece of Napoleon which brought victory to French by defeating a Russo- Austria army, commanded by Tsar Alexander I.

To cut the story short, please help urself by searching the net.,.hehehe

"Leng Chai " Napoleon - The man himself

Young and old standing side by side waiting for the battle to begin

Some even climbed up the tree to have the best view of the day

Before the battle begins , All activities involved around the city center with soldiers chatting , trying out their weapons, camping, marching and chiling out with visitors.

French armies - rehearsing the marching tune

Coffee on a cold morning.

chopping out some woods for the "ABC soup " no kidding

Old soldier going around the city with his cute wooden bike

I love wars movies and I always wanted to see how a war will look likes in real life. This enactment really gave visitors young and old to experience the first hand of battle involving real men , guns and canon except no casualties.

They really look cool in uniform

French lieutenant

Some guy with hairy hat

About 800 re-enactors participated at the event of Austerlitz 2009 coming from all over European countries, 350 of them in the uniforms of France and Napoleon's allies, and 450 in uniforms of the powers of the 3rd coalition, 40 horses, 15 cannons

Marching through to the battle field

I had the privileged to see the man in uniform , ate the food they eat , marched with them and even fought with them hehehehe..

Croatia - Jewels of the Adriatic - Part 2

We continued our journey, driving to the west, to another city called Pula
which is the largest city in Istria County. We took the coast line from where we were to see the sea and its surroundings. I was surprised to see the houses at the coast look somehow identical to the one back Home “Penang”

If you haven’t been to Rome, then Pula can be a substitute, it has its very own amphitheatre which looks like Coliseum and other surviving ancient Roman monuments. The amphitheater was built in the 1st century AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. It is believed that the Amphitheater could seat about 20,000 spectators and like all arena, it was built to watch Gladiators brutally battled with animals, criminals and slaves.

The Temple of Augustus was constructed between the year 2 BC and AD 14 . The temple is dedicated to goddess Roma and I must say the size of the building is not big, roughly the size of a class room of any high school. The entrance to the temple is 10 CK. Don’t expect to see the goddess, she was taken to the museum and only walls and broken artifacts can be seen inside. Other famous monuments from the Romans the “Golden Gate” the triumphal arch leading to the city back then and today it is still standing as a reminder of its glory past.

Pula is also haven for marinas, so many of them around the coast. You can even take one-day sailing course: Sunset sailing, Full Moon sailing, Sunrise sailing and One-day-long navigation in the maritime zone of the island of Cres. Seeing so many yachts docking side by side makes me wonder, how in the world did the sailors parked them without making any scratches on its expensive boat, Out of curiosity I took a walk and checked every sailor parking skills and only to discovered each boat has a plastic separator on each side to avoid hitting other boat , Only “Dungu” like me do not know that. I also came to notice that each boat carries a safety buoyant mostly round like tire except one.- boys favorite – a buoyant in a shape of a naked lady ...hehehe where to grap in those drowning moments,

Beaches in Pula are beautiful and its turquoise water is perfect for swimmers and beach goers. I can imagine during the summer, it will be packed with people from all over Europe and despite the beautiful sea I was still reluctant to go for a swim, afraid of sharks lurking for an Asian blood and no Baywatch life guards around to save me.

Everytime when im on the road in Pula I couldn’t stop laughing when I see the car with this number plate. I kept telling my wife, I do not want that number plate on my Car in Malaysia. DO you?

Croatia - Jewels of the Adriatic - Part 1

To the world it is known as Republic of Croatia but to Croatian it is call "Republika Hrvatska"
I find it hard to pronounce Hrvatska at first and often asked the hotel staffs to repeat it twice till i can master it, as correct pronouncing is an act of politeness as a visitor.

My first stop in Hrvatska was Plitvice lakes after many hours of driving from Czech Republic (8.5 hrs) . I remembered receiving forwarded mail from frens 5 years ago and thinking it was a man made , fairly tales or super imposed pictures from somewhere else.

My excitement grows as I stepped out from the car, listened to the sound of splashing water coming from a distance . Paying the entrance Fee of 110 Koruna per person ,we walked through bridges ,path and were greeted by sign boards - prohibiting visitors from doing what can be harmful to nature except the sign on the right - probably no dancing .aiyo yo ( till today i do not know what it meant)

If you ever come to visit this place, choosing the right program is a must ,as certain routes are dangerous and involve long hours of trekking. We chose the easiest route under the program F ( 3 hours in total that includes walking ,boat ride and Train ride) . The road signs are everywhere , therefore any visitors who know ABC wont get lost unless you "cho gau gau"- in Hokkien ( Extra adventurous)

As the lakes come in sight, it is a breath taking view and unique in every angle ."Seeing is believing" . Plitvice Lakewith a area of 294.82Km2 is listed in UNESCO list of world National Park. It is known to have 16 lakes in total and known for their cascades and the ongoing bio dynamic process of Tufa formation under specific ecological and hydrological conditions. Over time, the water changes its course , leading some barriers to dry while simulating tufa growth in other places. This creates the feeling that the lakes are never the same from one day to the next. The national park is also describe as 'Corkova uvala" , a virgin beech- Fir forest , one of the most beautiful virgin forests in Europe and inhabit brown bears which i did not come in contact. aiyah..

The lake water is crystal clear and clean , filled with fishes of all sizes coming to the surface to get heat from the sun light. I felt like seeing nature at its bests . If you are photographer , this place is a must to visit, you wont be tired of walking but tired of clicking.

Besides program F , other programs take u to see more lakes, streams and rivers with adventurous routes like bridges or path way that made of wood planks . It is not suitable for young children or parents with pram as one could trip and fall. Our last stopped was at the highest water fall -76 meters. It is called Veliki Slap or Slap Waterfall. It could be seen from a distance and taking photos with a posture is a must when come to face with such a beauty.

We only visited 4 out 16 lakes and till next time we will return to see again its wonders-

Plitvicka Jezera

and for smokers , let me warn u first.. i saw the signboard that says :-