Travel - Vatican City

Matthew 16: 18 - 19 (KJV)

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Saint Peter was believed to be the first Pope in history and that the symbol of Vatican City has 2 keys. The verse above explains the keys. 

An overview of Vatican City, a state on its own.

A view of Saint Peter Church from far.

A view of Rome from Vatican City.

This statue was highlighted because of  how (almost) perfect it was when it was found. This sculpture has so fine details that you can see the muscles and even the bulging veins that shows the strength exerted.

(thousands of small) Mosaic tiles that form this picture.

Symbol of Vatican City.

The guide highlighted this to us. She asked us to focus on the eyes of Jesus and as you walk you will realize that His eyes follows you and His body seems to be shifting as well. It really did. I know you wouldn't believe, see it yourself and you will know what I meant!! I am amazed totally by the art pieces!!

Same picture after we have walked to another side.

Beautiful artwork everywhere

After all the long stroll, we entered into Sistine Chapel and was given 15 minutes on our own to just admire the entire artwork. Our tour guide has already explained and highlighted to us some parts way before reaching there. I love it totally. It was dim and no photos are allowed (the photos are taken from the posters)

On the ceiling are the Creation, and Noah's story (drew by Michelangelo). On the sides were life of Jesus and life of Moses and right in front was the Judgement Day (drew by Michelangelo). 

I was blown away by how much he was thinking when he drew this. Totally amazed.

Then we went to St Peter. Huge. But I still love Sistine Chapel. lol.

The Holy Door that opens only once every 25 years on the Year of Jubilee.

St Peter from the outside.

Purposeful Traveller - Vatican City visited. A wish come true.

Travel - Salzburg Surprises me!

Salzburg is a 2 hour train journey from Munich.

There are a few things that Salzburg is famous for, firstly it was the filming place for a few scenes in The Sound of Music and it attracted many fans of S.O.M to visit Salzburg. Secondly, Salzburg was the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Which group do I belong to?

None. hahahaha.

But because of the sunny yet cooling weather, I enjoyed the whole day in Salzburg. Here are some of the most breathtaking and gorgeous views I have ever seen! =))

Salzburg surprises me!

Walking from the train station, we arrived at Mirabell Palace and Gardens where the filming of the S.O.M was done. I thought I should just attached one of the famous song in S.O.M and you will see the beautiful scenes that never changes even after so many years!!

Crossing the bridge, we will enter into Salzburg Old Town. =)

Below is a Museum of Mozart's birthplace. 

Below is the Salzburg Cathedral.

Why I chose this picture is because if you enter through the gates into the church, you will see that the (yellow) crown will slowly descend on the head of The Statue of Mary. I just thought the design was cool! haha. *the crown is on the building at the back, while the Statue of Mary is in the center.*

We decided to visit the Hohensalzburg Fortress and I love it! The view from the highest point was awesome!

Took a funicular up!

The first thing that hit me was the WIND actually! The wind was so strong up there! Then it was all those beautiful fortresses!

After all these, here comes the breathtaking photos of Salzburg city!

A 360 degree view from the highest point of Salzburg. I stood there for quite sometime just admire the beautiful creations! =))

Decided to end with this picture, a cafe on the fortress. Can you imagine enjoying a cuppa of coffee with the breathtaking view?

Yes, this is the place where I had the unexpected! Didn't expect it to be so beautiful!

Purposeful Traveller - Salzburg Surprises Me!!

Travel - None other than Dachau Concentration Camp.

Concentration Camp became "real" to me after I have watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas quite sometime back.

When I planned to go Germany, I knew I had to visit one of them and I chosen Dachau Concentration Camp which is located in Munich. I know it is not exactly a happy entry to blog first but this tour really impacted me.

Color Coding for Different Category.

The first picture (right at the top) meant "Work Sets you Free" in English, which ironically meant the opposite then. I don't want to touch on the details of history since we could all easily google about it. I just want to share what I saw, what I felt and why this tour meant so much to me.

This is a sculpture representing those prisoners who committed suicide in the camp by throwing themselves onto the electric fences.

When our group was approaching the memorial, I saw a few tourists taking photos with the sculpture, smiling. I don't know about you but when I saw them doing that I just turned and tell my friend, I wouldn't do   that. It is so important for us to understand history so that we can treat these memorials with the right manner. I just felt that we need to be sensitive. =)

Never Again. 

2 simple yet powerful words that got me stood in front of this memorial for awhile. To me, these 2 words carried such a determination.

The electric barred wire.

The guard tower.

The moment any prisoners stepped onto the grass patch, they will be spotted and shot dead.

The dormitory was exactly what I saw in the movie.

Eventually we went to the "Crematorium", here is where the gas chamber lies too.

I stood there, thinking to myself: So this is what I saw in the movie, where the prisoners were told that they will be having a shower (which was rare for them to take showers), they took off their clothes, and were disinfected instead. 

Walked into the gas chamber, the door was shut behind them. Pitch darkness and the gas was released and subsequently the dead bodies were incinerated. Scenes of the movie kept flashing back. I came out with a heavy heart.

Outside the crematorium stood this statue.

"Honor the dead; Remind the living"

The guide shared that this part of German history was incorporated into the German education and it is compulsory to visit the concentration camps for the students. They are not proud of this history but they do not deny it. They are people who wore history on their sleeves. 

Ignorant as I am, the guide also shared that by doing the hand sign of Adolf Hitler or drawing of the swastika symbol are chargeable offences. This is how serious they treated their past.

This was a very meaningful lesson for me. This is an important part of history and I am glad I know a little bit more now. =)

Purposeful Traveller - A reason for every place visited.