Unfortunately, my Weebly Account doesn’t work properly at the moment that’s why I summarize my last couple of weeks in one Blog post.
Two weeks ago, my cousin Stephan came to Tianjin to visit me. We met at the railway station and first it felt a bit weird to see him in Tianjin since I have never expected that someone will find his way to this city. After a first welcome beer I showed him the magnificent view to the city centre. Frankly, he was quite surprised what he saw and how beautiful the skyline looked like. This was followed by a supper in a Sichuan style restaurant and a couple of drinks in a local bar where I could introduce Stephan to all my friends.
The next day I had to work while Stephan found time to explore the city with Yulia, the sister of my friend Ilyana. Fortunately, I could take a day off on Friday so that we could leave TJ on Thursday to head to Beijing. The following day we decided to go to the Temple of Heaven and to the picturesque lake Huhai. In the evening Team Linky Sense and many other friends showed up in BJ and we celebrated our stay in China and the life in general with 5 Yuan Tequila at the student district of Wudaoku. It was an awesome night since everyone was in a really good mood.
The next day we went to the Summe Palace. For me it was the second time there but because of the different route and the different season it felt like I had never been there before. We enjoyed the sunny summer day before we went to the “Crazy food Street”. It is a street where you can find all kind of foot. We had to try snake and scorpions. To be honest scorpion looks worse than it is. The worst part about it was that you have to choose a stick with 4 scorpions which are still alive. After you have chosen, the vendor throws them into scaling hot oil and fries them. In the end, you get a crunchy, horrible looking thing which tastes like nothing but the spices the vendor put on it. A bit more taste had another animal. How would a stay in China feel without trying dog? So, we indulged in it as well and the best thing was: We liked it!!! :-)
On Sunday we went to the silk market again to pick up my new suit (which looks and feels really good). As a result of that, I decided to get a tailored tuxedo as well. In the evening we went to the famous Beijing acrobatic show which was just incredible. How the girls can bend their backs and how easy everything looks is just amazing.
We finished our weekend in the restaurant with the best Kung Pao chicken in whole Beijing. We had a blast the whole weekend and it was super cool and nice to see my Cousin after such a long time.
The last weekend we have been to Xi’an in the centre of China. I wanted to go there from my first moment in China but it is quite far away and for only seeing the Terracotta Warriors I wasn’t sure if it is worth doing. So, I was quite relieved when Anne-Marie found, with Hua Shan, another attraction in Shaanxi Province. Hua Shan is also one of the five sacred mountains in China (like Tai Shan) and when you search its name in Google you find some eerie pictures of a cliff hanging path and the statement that this is one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the world. Ok, as you can imagine this exaggerates the reality a bit and it’s another proof that you don’t have to belief everything you read on the internet. Maybe it used to be really dangerous track a couple of decades ago when there were no handrails and stuff but nowadays it is (or at least it seems) quite secure. Anyway, we went up the mountain with a gondola and started our 5 hours walk with a million other tourists. The scenery was just breathtaking and we were also quite lucky with the weather. Once we reached the south peak we decided to take that “most dangerous path in the world”. When I first saw it, I have to admit that I feel a bit awkward. But fortunately, they provide safety harness and that let me feel a bit calmer. In the end, it was just an amazing experience and the scenery was overwhelming.
The following day, we went to the world famous Terracotta Warriors. It is an army which is made out of stone to “protect” a former emperor. It is said that he wanted to have an army to protect him when he is dead and additionally he just wanted to have a couple of soldiers to rule over. That’s the reason why Emperor Qin Shi Huang decided to build around 6000 soldiers, chariots and horses. The mind-blowing things are that this army is over 2000 years old and is perfectly preserved and perfectly made and that all the face expressions, clothes, hairstyles are unique.
And what’s up next? Unfortunately, Iliada will leave on Monday and our group loses an important person. There are two other interns coming in mid-June and we are planning to do a three day trip to a Shaolin Temple to get an introduction to Tai Chi.
Two weeks ago, my cousin Stephan came to Tianjin to visit me. We met at the railway station and first it felt a bit weird to see him in Tianjin since I have never expected that someone will find his way to this city. After a first welcome beer I showed him the magnificent view to the city centre. Frankly, he was quite surprised what he saw and how beautiful the skyline looked like. This was followed by a supper in a Sichuan style restaurant and a couple of drinks in a local bar where I could introduce Stephan to all my friends.
The next day I had to work while Stephan found time to explore the city with Yulia, the sister of my friend Ilyana. Fortunately, I could take a day off on Friday so that we could leave TJ on Thursday to head to Beijing. The following day we decided to go to the Temple of Heaven and to the picturesque lake Huhai. In the evening Team Linky Sense and many other friends showed up in BJ and we celebrated our stay in China and the life in general with 5 Yuan Tequila at the student district of Wudaoku. It was an awesome night since everyone was in a really good mood.
The next day we went to the Summe Palace. For me it was the second time there but because of the different route and the different season it felt like I had never been there before. We enjoyed the sunny summer day before we went to the “Crazy food Street”. It is a street where you can find all kind of foot. We had to try snake and scorpions. To be honest scorpion looks worse than it is. The worst part about it was that you have to choose a stick with 4 scorpions which are still alive. After you have chosen, the vendor throws them into scaling hot oil and fries them. In the end, you get a crunchy, horrible looking thing which tastes like nothing but the spices the vendor put on it. A bit more taste had another animal. How would a stay in China feel without trying dog? So, we indulged in it as well and the best thing was: We liked it!!! :-)
On Sunday we went to the silk market again to pick up my new suit (which looks and feels really good). As a result of that, I decided to get a tailored tuxedo as well. In the evening we went to the famous Beijing acrobatic show which was just incredible. How the girls can bend their backs and how easy everything looks is just amazing.
We finished our weekend in the restaurant with the best Kung Pao chicken in whole Beijing. We had a blast the whole weekend and it was super cool and nice to see my Cousin after such a long time.
The last weekend we have been to Xi’an in the centre of China. I wanted to go there from my first moment in China but it is quite far away and for only seeing the Terracotta Warriors I wasn’t sure if it is worth doing. So, I was quite relieved when Anne-Marie found, with Hua Shan, another attraction in Shaanxi Province. Hua Shan is also one of the five sacred mountains in China (like Tai Shan) and when you search its name in Google you find some eerie pictures of a cliff hanging path and the statement that this is one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the world. Ok, as you can imagine this exaggerates the reality a bit and it’s another proof that you don’t have to belief everything you read on the internet. Maybe it used to be really dangerous track a couple of decades ago when there were no handrails and stuff but nowadays it is (or at least it seems) quite secure. Anyway, we went up the mountain with a gondola and started our 5 hours walk with a million other tourists. The scenery was just breathtaking and we were also quite lucky with the weather. Once we reached the south peak we decided to take that “most dangerous path in the world”. When I first saw it, I have to admit that I feel a bit awkward. But fortunately, they provide safety harness and that let me feel a bit calmer. In the end, it was just an amazing experience and the scenery was overwhelming.
The following day, we went to the world famous Terracotta Warriors. It is an army which is made out of stone to “protect” a former emperor. It is said that he wanted to have an army to protect him when he is dead and additionally he just wanted to have a couple of soldiers to rule over. That’s the reason why Emperor Qin Shi Huang decided to build around 6000 soldiers, chariots and horses. The mind-blowing things are that this army is over 2000 years old and is perfectly preserved and perfectly made and that all the face expressions, clothes, hairstyles are unique.
And what’s up next? Unfortunately, Iliada will leave on Monday and our group loses an important person. There are two other interns coming in mid-June and we are planning to do a three day trip to a Shaolin Temple to get an introduction to Tai Chi.