SaarLorLux Christopher Street Day 2011

Sorry for being so lazy to update this blog!

Well, it's actually midnight now and I should go to bed soon but I'm just in the mood of blogging.

I'll try to post more about Jakarta foods tomorrow. And today, it's about gay pride parade in Saarbruecken last July!

CSD Saarbruecken is not as big as CSD Cologne or Hamburg but well it is the only street festival in Saarbruecken. Despite the bad weather, CSD was fun and interesting. Oh it was really cold by the way. It was on 24th of July but it was like almost 10 degrees. The gay parade was probably not as crazy as the parade in Amsterdam maybe because it was just too cold to get undressed or wear sexy stuffs.

Well, here are some pictures. Guests on the day were singer Katja von Kassel and comedian plus singer Daphne de Luxe.

There were all kinds of people coming to the parade.

Transvestites were there




Hunks were there too


And... not-special-and-kinda-boring-but-party-loving people were there


Latex lovers were there

The bunnies from XL Sauna. Big thanks to you guys for bringing CSD spirit although it was sooper dooper cold. But you guys made it topless and have fun on that van. Great job.


And last but not least leather lovers were there. This woman is Katja von Kassel. She is a singer, her songs are quite good actually. I'm sure there were many leather and BDSM lovers adore her so much.


I can't believe I wrote about fetishes. Lol

Jakarta Food City #1

Last March I went back to my hometown, Jakarta. And of course I enjoyed it a lot. I ate all foods I cannot find in Germany.

I took pictures of the foods by the way and planned to write about it with details like the address. Unfortunately I took them from my phone camera so the quality is far from good. I tried my best though. Since I live in West Jakarta, most of the restaurants reviewed are in West.

And here are some of them, enjoy!

Bakmi Asui

It is a simple chicken noodle or mie ayam (read: mee ah-yum) how we call it in Indonesian. It is near my house and I'm so happy about it. Sadly I forgot to write its address but it's in Green Garden Blok Y, next to Duta Buah supermarket.

Noodle is not that special actually. I still can eat noodle in Germany. But the best thing about Bakmi Asui is that they have didih (read: dee-deeh). You know what that is? I bet you don't. It's chicken blood!! No, it doesn't look like blood. They don't pour it into a glass. It looks like this

It tastes a bit like tofu and it doesn't feel like you're eating blood. The blood is steamed so that it looks like that. At first when I was a kid, I didn't want to eat it. What kind of crazy people eat blood. But since my mother owned a paint shop and she sniffs chemical stuffs all the time, her doctor suggested her to eat regularly crabs and chicken blood. Then she took me frequently to eat blood there and I began to like it so much that I missed it in Germany.


Martabak Manis Bangka

THIS! THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN'T MISS WHEN YOU'RE IN INDONESIA!!

There are two kinds of martabak: martabak asin (salty martabak) and martabak manis (sweet martabak). Martabak asin is deep fried and it's made of egg. The people in Surabaya have another term for martabak manis and it's called Terang Bulan, which doesn't sound like food at all.

I even brought one box for my friends and my brother in Germany because this is like the best food ever. And luckily the German immigration police didn't take it away and throw it like trash in front of me. I always order it separo-separo or half chocolate and half cheese. It's just fantastic to eat this in the afternoon or for breakfast. It costs about 30000 IDR.






Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng

One of the most popular Indonesian foods. You can get it everywhere in Indonesia. So I won't write too much about it.

Nasi Goreng

Mie Goreng


Warung Leko

Warung Leko is new in Jakarta actually. At first it was only in Surabaya but 3 years ago the owner tried to open one in Jakarta. They always name themselves as spesialis iga sapi penyet. Iga Sapi Penyet is grilled beef rib with chili paste or something served on a bowl made of rock.

And I have its 3 addresses in Jakarta

1. Rukan Cordoba Blok F 19, Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta Utara
2. Jalan Raya Pesanggrahan No. 168 F, Puri Indah, Jakarta Barat
3. Ruko Kebayoran Arcade CI No. 10-11, Bintaro Sektor 7, Jakarta Selatan

The one in Pantai Indah Kapuk is the best one. Make sure you order Iga Sapi Penyet there. It is just too delicious to be true. Anyway sorry for the bad picture

And yes that orange sauce is chili.

Sop Konro Kareboshi

Another beef rib dishes from Indonesia. It is from Makassar, South Sulawesi. People call it Konro. There are two types of Konro: Sop Konro (Konro soup) or Konro Bakar (grilled Konro). All of them are good. The problem with Konro is they don't contain vegetables at all so if you really want to eat healthily, it's not the right choice.


Sop Konro costs 35000 IDR and Konro Bakar costs 37000 IDR. I don't get it why Konro Bakar is a little more expensive than the soup one.

And the address

Sop Konro Kareboshi
Jl. Boulevard Raya TA2 No. 38
Kelapa Gading
Jakarta Utara
Tel. (+6221)452-0990

Ayam Mardun

OH GOSH I WANNA EAT THIS NOW.

This is not just a fried chicken. It's special. It's not crispy and we eat it with peanut butter. I often have it delivered to my home and I just can't get enough of it. A bit pricy though since one piece costs 17000 IDR.


Warung Ayam Goreng H. Mardun Martinah
Jl. Raya Panjang No. 66
Jakarta Barat

Kwetiau Sapi Mangga Besar 78

Kwetiau is the term for larger noodle. So it's like tagliatelle but made of rice. You can find kwetiau easily in Indonesia because it's simple and delicious. The best one is thie beef kwetiau in Mangga Besar. But they also have another one in Green Garden and I can have it delivered to my house (yeay!).

There are 4 kinds of kwetiau

1. Kwetiau Goreng -> fried kwetiau. It's very dry
2. Kwetiau Mun (or Kwetiau Bun) -> It's a bit wet but not as wet as Kwetiau Siram
3. Kwetiau Siram -> Kwetiau poured by sauce
4. Kwetiau Kuah -> the kwetiau is in the soup

Those are all great. Just try all of them and this is the picture of Kwetiau Mun. It's hard to describe it



Nasi Uduk Kebon Kavang Hj. Ellya

Nasi Uduk is rice cooked with coconut milk. This nasi uduk has an innovative way to sell it. They pack it in banana leaves with each costs only 2500 IDR. As supplements you can have fried chicken, tofu, liver or even appendix.


Nasi Uduk Kebon Kacang Hj. Ellya
Jl. Pesanggrahan No. 169
Kembangan
Jakarta Barat
Tel. (+6221)5835-8260

Miss Ecuador 2011 about Her Lovely Hometown

Ximena Navarette has to give her crown next month and the candidates have been submitted.

I checked out their portfolios yesterday and found some interesting candidates, for example Miss Ecuador. Miss Ecuador 2011, Claudia Schiess is from Galapagos Islands, one of the most popular national park in the world. When I read it, I was like "What? Are there people who live there?" But then I thought about a similar national park in Indonesia, Komodo Islands and there are about 2000 people living there.

So I tweeted how interesting it is to know there is a native Galapagos in the running to be Miss Universe. And someone sent me her video about Galapagos. I think it's very interesting so just check it out

It's Been A While

Hello.

It's been a while. Yes, it's been a while.

The internet connection was very shitty and I couldn't upload pictures from my computer forcing me to go to campus for updating my blog. I don't see it as a good option. So, I don't update it.

But anyway, my life has been very great. I've got a job for my school holiday until October. I've travelled to some awesome places which I'm going to write about.

And now I'm staying at a friend's house with a very nice view to Saar river and better internet connection.

So, catch up with my posts later!

Heidelberg - Germany's Oldest Town

I don't know whether it's true or not. But people say that Heidelberg is Germany's oldest town. The general of US during the world war II didn't bomb this town because he had studied and lived there for a while. Well, it is probably true.

Heidelberg is famous for its good college. People from Germany and also from other countries dream to live there to study medicine. If I hear someone say that he studies medicine in Heidelberg, I'll be so amazed.

Heidelberg is also not famous for its good university, but also for its beautiful landscape and ancient buildings. Located in Baden-Wuettemberg, the city is crossed by the Neckar, an important river in Germany. I told you before, Heidelberg was not bombed during the world war II and that's why you can still find many ancient buildings. The Altstadt (old town) is the biggest I've ever visited in Germany.

I went there with my Indonesian friends. We went by train using this 24+ Ticket. It's a cheap ticket for travelling in Rhein-Neckar. Some of the cities in Rhein-Neckar are Kaiserslautern, Neustadt, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Speyer, Landau, etc. It costs only 20EUR for max. 5 persons. And you can travel by train or tram or bus in this region.

I told you I went there with my Indonesian friends. And yeah, just like most Indonesian tourists, we looked for an Asian restaurant for our lunch. And our friend who lives in Heidelberg suggested us this Japanese restaurant, Mosch Mosch.

Mosch Mosch
Hauptstraße 136
69117 Heidelberg
www.moschmosch.com

It's a very nice and cozy restaurant located in the Altstadt. The cost ranges from 7 to 12 Euros. Not bad at all for an Asian restaurant. I recommend you having the homemade tea (hausgemachte Eistee).




After having lunch, we continued our journey to the Heidelberger Schloss, the most popular attraction of Heidelberg. And I was stunned. The castle is very very very gorgeous. I was blessed with a good weather too.

You should take a Bergbahn. It's a train to go there. It costs 5 EUR (3 EUR for students) and you can also get in the castle with that ticket.

The view from up there is way too epic. We can see the whole Heidelberg from the castle. And, oh the blue river, the ancient buildings, the alte Bruecke (old bridge), I think I fell for Heidelberg. This town is a really great destination in Germany. I love it. And I really want to visit this city again.







We walked to the old bridge, which is also famous. The bridge crosses the Neckar. And the view from the bridge is also spectacular.




And finally after enjoying the beautiful landscape of Heidelberg, we went to a pub for a traditional beer of Heidelberg. It is stronger than normal beer (but not stronger than wheat beer). And yeah I really had a good time there.

Tips for Travelling in Paris

Finally I've finished posting my trip in Paris. And here are some useful tips for you.

1. If you're under 26 years old, buy this ticket Jeune Week-end. It's a day ticket on Saturday and Sunday, it costs only 3 or 4 EUR. Normal day ticket costs about 9 EUR. (more info: ratp.fr)

2. If you're not under 26 or if it's not weekend, buy this ticket 10+. A ticket costs only 1,20 EUR, normally it costs about 2 EUR (more info: ratp.fr)

3. Bring your student ID and show it before entering a museum. All museums in France (incl. Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, etc.) are free for students under 26.

4. Buy souvenirs in Montmartre, and bargain.

5. Do not visit Versailles on Monday.

6. If you're in a restaurant and want to drink water, order a carafe d'eau (read: karaf dow). It's free. Otherwise you'll have to pay for overcharged evian.

7. Cheap restaurants can be found in St. Michel near Cathedrale du Notre Dame.

8. It's better to bring 3 small luggages than 1 big heavy luggage. Most Paris metro stations don't have elevator and escalator. It can be really stressful sometimes.

Paris - Part 3 (Louvre and Sacré-Coeur)

Day 3

On our third day, we decided to visit the world's largest museum in the world, Musée du Louvre. This is not just an ordinary museum. The glass pyramid is also one of the famous landmarks in Paris.


There were so many people there. I had never visited a museum that crowded before. Students under 26 have free entrance fee to all museums in France. So, I gave it a try. I couldn't believe I could enter Louvre with 0€.

The proof:


It is amazing. I think I will revisit this museum if I have the chance to go to Paris again. I mean, look at all those art works!





And finally, there we were. That is why everyone is so crazy about Louvre, Da Vinci's Monalisa. Everyone tries so hard to get a picture of this painting.


And then, the Venus de Milo.

And many other stuffs from various continents.




We spent like 5 hours in the museum. Seriously. It is huge! And we continued our journey to Montmartre to see the Sacré-Coeur. I can say Montmartre is my favorite place ever in Paris. From Sacré-Coeur you can see the whole Paris. And it is very gorgeous. Montmartre is also a place for artists. Unfortunately I was there in winter so I couldn't find many artists in the street. If you want to buy souvenirs, buy them in Montmartre. The price is lower than in Champs-Ellysées. And, bargain! They don't have fixed price.


We wanted to go to Pigalle actually to see Moulin Rouge. But my friends were all so exhausted after 3-day sightseeing. And we didn't get there.

Day 4

My host and I went to visit Versailles. It's quite far from Paris. And we were disappointed! Versailles is closed on Mondays. So, do not go there on Monday!





And finally, we went to St. Michel to have lunch and we found these artists in front of Notre Dame.



Then, I went back home to Saarbrücken. I had a wonderful time in Paris for sure.

Thanks to Gerry Prayogo and Yana Jurnatan for some of the pictures.