The Commuter In Austria: The Train Ride to Spittal an der Drau

In one of those rare occasions that I get to go out of the country, this blog shows snapshots I took on a train ride to Spittal an der Drau. To know more about this town, you may check out this link. I came to Spittal together with the choir, Novo Concertante Manila. This trip was taken in 2009. It was truly a wonderful experience for me that two years later, I really couldn't forget the places I've been, the people I've met, the walks to the park, to the castle, to the auditorium, to the mall... I said to myself that I would write about this trip in a journal so that I could read and reminisce those happy days. Sadly, I never got around to it...until now! As a commuter who appreciates the walks, the rides and the sightseeing, here is the first of three parts about my trip to Spittal an der Drau, Austria.

Experimental snapshot: The train was just leaving the platform. I was trying to get a shot without the flash to see if it would be clear. Apparently so...not for the glass window of the train though. So we are off to Spittal an der Drau.

 

I captured this thinking if it is actually a small town or village. It actually is a refreshing sight. If I'm going on a trip away from home, I might as well capture something I don't see everyday. This definitely fits that category!

Lush greens; full, dark mountains, set against a cloudy sky

Clouds covering the snow-capped mountain peaks

Rocky mountainsides, with a corpus of bushes and trees

I think this is a river, the name of which I never really got to find out. Bodies of water such as these makes me feel relaxed.

When I saw the river turn into a corner like it's coming or going in between mountain slopes, I knew I had to capture this. I don't get to see something like this often.

Following the same river as it flows under the bridge

Hmm...I really have no idea what this is. But it's amazing that I got the snapshot on a moving train. My camera wasn't really that good with moving shots.

This is a hotel in Salzburg: Stieglbrau Hotel

Here is our stop! From here, the choir will be taken to our designated hotel. More on this on my next blog...

The train ride started from Munich, Germany. I forget how long the train ride was, but according to a resource I gathered (the distance calculator over the Internet), the distance between Munich, Germany and Spittal an der Drau, Austria is 207 km. Moving on, I was also conserving the camera's SD card capacity. So that ends the train ride. In the second part, I will reminisce the sights and sceneries of Spittal an der Drau.

The Commuter Goes to Bacolod: Going Around City Proper

On my last day in Bacolod, my family went out to buy goodies to bring home to Manila. I took advantage of this time to take some photos of places I find interesting. Although I may not have gone in some of these buildings, at least I know where to go to in case I'd find my way back to the home of my ancestors.

Capture it! Piazza Sorrento: taken from a moving car

University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos

Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol

Left-wing of the Provincial Capitol

Negros Occidental Museum

What's featured in the museum

Development Bank of the Philippines: its building looks exactly like the main branch in Makati City

Insular Life Building: looks nothing like its equivalent in Makati City--clean, white building

Pendy's: the place to go for goodies and delicacies

Interior of Pendy's: cozy and quiet dinning space

 Goodies, mags, and other food items to take home to your loved ones from Pendy's

Another place to go for goodies and treats is Virgie's

Virgie's dinning area

Mmm...yummy treats and goodies from Virgie's

The New Bacolod-Silay International Airport

That ends my trip to Bacolod. I'm going back to the land of the familiar and back to the routine of daily life.

I saw a blog that featured sights of Vienna, Austria. I was so inspired that I decided to share my trip to Austria. In my next blog, I'll take you around Spittal ander Drau, Austria. Until next time!

The Commuter Goes to Bacolod: The Road Trip

Municipal Hall at Isabela, Negros Occidental

This is my first trip to my dad's province in Isabela, Negros Occidental. Here I showcase all the pictures I took on a road trip from Bacolod City to Isabela and back. The two-hour (seemed like more actually) ride to Isabela gave me the opportunity to see the beautiful landscape, mountains, and the simple, pollution-free life. Hope you could enjoy the ride with me.

Capture it! Rows and rows of sugarcane plants along the road to Isabela

The green and beautiful mountains of Mt. Kanlaon taken from the family's mausoleum in Isabela

The Family Mausoleum

The Pieta sculpture, the centerpiece of the mausoleum

Paying respects: my great-grandfather, and grandfather's tomb.

Back on the road, capturing the Municipal hall of La Castellana--the park and garden landscape is relaxing and peaceful

Mango trees! Who says Negros only has sugarcane?

Our ultimate destination on the road trip--BISCOM...

...Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company

 The office of the sugar central 

I captured this and asked myself, is this really a school? Quite obscure in appearance as compared to colleges in cities

After lunch, I felt sleepy already. I got to my cousin's house and fell on the bed, slept throughout the day. I wasn't able to go out with my cousins anymore. The long trip was tiring...but it was refreshing! In fact, too refreshing that I had a good long nap.

The Commuter Goes to Bacolod: San Sebastian Cathedral

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The imposing Cathedral of San Sebastian…was the work of Fr. Mauricio Ferrero, O.A.R., and the parish priest of Bacolod City (1871-1898; 1902-1910). The original church was constructed in 1825 under the leadership of Fr. Julian Gonzaga (parish priest in 1818-1836). The old church was made of wood and galvanizes roofing. It had one medium-sized bell, until Father Roman Manuel Locsin donated a huge bell and later Fr. Mariano de Avila donated another one when he became the parish priest in 1863 after the death of Fr. Locsin, Fr. De Avila’s bell was installed in the tower when the Cathedral was constructed in 1876, but lowered in 1969 when the towers were reconstructed. It was never returned there, but in 1976 the Sugarlandia Lions Club of Bacolod constructed a special belfrey where it hangs today with the small bell purchased by Fr. Ferrero.

This info was copied from Inside Negros: Promoting Negros Online.

The cathedral was the first place I've been to. My dad and I were being driven to the drugstore and the driver happened to pass by the Public Plaza. I saw the church and I jumped on the opportunity to have a look. Personally, the visit meant so much more to me.

Ah! Less blurry than the other one. I spent some quiet time in the church. In fact, I was kinda shy in taking some more pictures. But the real reason why I only had a few was that my camera ran out of batteries--which was irritating because the batteries were charged overnight! Unbelievable! Oh well! 

More sights from may trip to Bacolod. Stay tuned!

The Commuter Goes to Bacolod: Bacolod Public Plaza

It was my first time to go to my dad's province, Bacolod City. I was excited and rearing to go that one February afternoon. In any place that I go to, I make it a point to take pictures of sights and places worth seeing. Not only because I wanted souvenirs, but because I know my vacation would be incomplete if I don't get to go sightseeing. So in this first of a series of blogs on Bacolod, I'd like to take you on a short trip at the Public Plaza.

This is the center of the public park. It looks like some sort of bandstand. Perhaps it could be a venue for concerts and stuff. There are lots of people in the park, most of them sitting around on benches. Of course, I didn't spend all my time snapping away at everything I see. I walked around and took some shots of some buildings that encircle the plaza.

This all-blue building seemed fascinating to me. After all, I don't always get to see a building that's colored blue. Also, it wasn't that dirty-looking compared to some buildings in Manila. I guess that's what's about being in a provincial city--less pollution and less traffic. This is La Consolacion College. It's just across the street from the plaza. I think some of my relatives have gone to this school.

Beside the college is the San Sebastian Cathedral. I have other pictures of the interior of this church. I'll being showing them on my next blog. This was taken from across the street, Rizal Street. Finally, let's follow the direction of these public transports that you see in this picture.

Bacolod's very own SM City. Should you decide to go straight along Rizal St., this is where you'll end up. It is built on a reclaimed area by the sea coast. It seems that SM properties has a thing for building their malls on reclaimed areas (like Mall of Asia).

See you next time when we explore other sights during my one-week vacation in Bacolod City.

Capture it! Ceiling fan?

Yup! This is a ceiling fan And where would anyone find such a fan let alone get close enough to get a picture of it? The ceiling is quite high and this fan is found in a new mall in Antipolo city--SM City Masinag.

This is the view from the second floor of the mall. The mall has three floors in total. This was during Father's Day. And the ceiling fans are up there in a row. If you're asking why a mall such as this would need ceiling fans for, well, maybe it's to cool people off? Isn't that what aircon is for?

Here is a closer view of two fans. They are moving quite slow, which is why you could more or less capture their spinning movement. One way to get a close shot of them is by riding the escalator.

I took this one going up the escalator. I was on my way to watch a movie. Of course, I zoomed in on the fan. If it was really that close, you'll be dodging on the way up.

 Enough of the fans! I was on my way to the cinema. I took this shot...hmm...the fan is still there. Hehehe! Get away fan! Hey, it is a fan after all!

Ah, much better! While waiting for movie time,  I took this shot from the third floor. It is Father's Day, and this is the atrium area of the mall. The decorations are beautiful too. The month of June is the time we celebrate our Independence Day. Come to think of it, the name of the decoration of those blue-yellow-red banners on the side, skips me. Are they called banners?

Well, it's time to eat! See you guys next time...or do you wanna join me?
When going to the malls, sometimes it's good to see something out of the ordinary. Besides, what else could you do in a mall, besides malling?

Antipolo commuter says "Ciao!"