They Made It To The Top of Pet?ín Hill!
September 16, 2017
Finally :D
During their first trip to Czech in the middle of 2015, we ran out of time to explore Prague itself. Lol. I was so eager last time to take them to different cities in Europe and turned out I forgot to allocate more days to explore Prague itself. -__-'
But, alhamdulillah this time, more places checked!
Pet?ín hill, Czech
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| With Pet?ín Lookout Tower (Pet?ínská rozhledna) |
Finally they managed to get to the top! The queue for the funicular was not that short but I was glad we had few unplanned hours to spend. :)
The day after my graduation day was when our Europe road trip started. We were expected to pick up our pre-booked rental car at about 3pm when unexpectedly it was delayed till 6pm.
Early morning that day, I took a tram from our Airbnb to the city center to get my degree's translation done, together with the other Malaysians. Since the scroll was very big, we need to make a notarized, smaller copy (A4) - and of course it costs money. Then, we left the smaller copy at the translation office.
Guess what, the translator was extremely old and we were told that he is currently the one and only official Latin to English translator in Czech! We kept praying that he will remain healthy as long as he can :)
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| Summer with flowers. <3 |
Done with all procedures, I rushed back to the Airbnb to help with check out. With Uber, we took our luggages straight to car rental office and planned to store our luggage there for few hours while waiting for the car to be ready.
Things happened, plan changed.
So, the car will only be ready around 6pm.
What to do?
Let's explore Prague!
Of course not really by foot but public transportation :D Hehe
PET?íN - SCENIC VIEWPOINT OF PRAGUE, CZECH
click here to read and to enjoy the views from this hill :)
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| Main aci nyorok ;p This was how I enjoyed my parents' old school jokes... ambik je gambar nanti kacau diorang balik :) |
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| Sometimes, I feel like I am just a photographer for their trip. Haha. I wonder how older generation can maintain the sweetness and harmony in their relationship? T__T |
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| The queue for funicular. You can always use the same tickets for tram / metro as long as they are still valid. |
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| View from the funicular. |
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| My mum requested her picture with these roses :D |
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| Homemade lemonade - already missing this T__T |
This lemonade was nicely done and delicious! Always ask about the ingredients if you come to Czech as they sometimes don't consider wine / beer as alcohol (as these are totally normal for them). Don't simply ask about alcohol okay?
Does it have alcohol, beer or wine? Má alkohol, pivo nebo víno?
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| Ginger for ayah, lemon for mak, strawberry for me. |
Around 5pm+, the car rental company texted me that the car was ready for pick up. :)
RUNWELL Rent A CarJust for my future reference, in case I forgot about this.
Or you can try this car rental company as well :) I recommend it!
After checking the car and set the navigation, we finally leave Prague for a transit in Hannover before our next destination, Hamburg, Germany. :)
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| Sunset in Germany. |
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| SubhanAllah, isn't it beautiful? :D |
Till next post, insyAllah :)
SS, Perak, Malaysia
170916
Day Trip to ?esky Krumlov, Czech
September 14, 2017
After 5 years, I returned to this town - still lovely as it used to be, still packed with tourists especially Asians. I am telling, there are so many Asians (including us) in ?esky Krumlov.
11th July 2017
?esky Krumlov, Czech
This time, I went there by bus with my parents. A month before our trip, I've checked Student Agency bus for the tickets. There were approximately 30 empty seats left. Not really sure why I postponed buying it to last minute. Later, I find out all early morning trips from Prague to Cesky Krumlov were sold out!
Student Agency is my favourite bus company in Czech, I was a bit blurred of other alternative of buses. After searching around, I managed to buy tickets from another company (M Express - 215kc/person/way) but unfortunately the journey was longer and even more expensive. It took almost 4 hours when it supposed to be only 3 hours by Student Agency (200kc/person/way). T_T
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| The weather was so good for ice-creams. :) |
Since I've shared my trip to Cesky Krumlov before, I don't think I will share more details about this place in this blog post. You can check my previous posts:
2 HARI DI ?ESKY KRUMLOV, CZECH - PART 1
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| Fridge Magnets in CK. |
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| My parents at the Old Town, they love matching clothes like this. Haha. |
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| A part of the castle. |
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| Restaurant with terrace. |
Starting with this town, I realized that I need to locate public toilets in all places that we will go. My parents need toilets more frequent - a sign they are getting older. T__T
A thing I am impressed with my parents are they are getting used to dry toilets and take wudu' in public toilets. :D I usually accompany my mum while my dad take care of our belongings, then we take turns.
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| Our lunch - nasi impit, kuah kacang, serunding daging. |
Another thing if we are travelling to a place without prayer rooms, always prepare qiblah compass, okay? It does not matter if we use physical compass or any apps, as long as we put priority to our prayers even though we are 'musafir'. My parents are getting used to pray in public as well, alhamdulillah!
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| That yellow bag - our food bag. It became one of the best bag ever! |
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| Castle - An example to show my parents how to snap millennial's style of pictures. HEHE. I mean, how straight all lines should be etc. |
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| I already miss this orange roofs T____T |
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| Castle's Garden - My favourite picture! |
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| Heheee, just for fun :D Ni lubang air. |
Towards more travelogues :D
Haha.
Tolonglah rajin menaip, Nina T__T
SS, Perak, Malaysia
170913
How Graduation Ceremony in Czech Looks Like?
September 13, 2017
Today marks exactly 2 months since my graduation day - the time I became an alumni of Charles University in Prague.
Mixed feeling, it is normal right?
13th July 2017
Karolinum, Prague, Czech
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| The Asians. |
Well, graduation ceremony in Czech is not the same as in our country. There, it is only a small occasion - but it feels so meaningful after years of hard works, prayers, laugh and tears.
For my batch, the were about 44 graduates. And we were divided into two groups - 12pm and 1.30pm. So, you can see that one specific ceremony only take 1 hour +-. There was less protocol compared to Malaysia.. maybe. I can't recall the last time I joined a convocation here.
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| In front of Karolinum. |
So far that I know, Karolinum (or the site where Karolinum is located today) was actually a residence and later became lecture rooms etc for Charles University. It is now known as National Cultural Monument in Czech Republic. So, if you guys have the chance to visit Prague, you can put this building in your plan. :)
Charles University (English)
Univerzita Karlova (Czech)
Universitas Carolina (Latin)
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| The hall. Behind us is where the rector, dean, senate members will sit. The graduates will stand in the middle of the hall, with parents and family members on both sides. That statue is King Charles. |
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| The Senates. |
We didn't really have proper rehearsal. Every graduate was given a briefing just few minutes before we enter the hall. Haha. And graduates don't wear graduation robes as they are only for the Senates. But, we rented the robes later, for the sake of memories :)
The flow of graduation ceremony was roughly like this:1. All guests took their seats.
2. Rector, dean, senate members entered the hall, followed by graduates.
3. Introductory speech by the dean.
4. The Oath.
5. The scroll.
6. Speech by Valedictorian.
7. Shake hands with the senate members.
That's it :D
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| The graduates. |
Usually, the graduates will be standing according to alphabetical order. And through out 6 years, I was always the first person to be called for anything T_T. I thought I would be standing the most front that time. Haha.
But the tall guy, Matt in front of me was the best student - he received the red scroll! I mentioned him once in this blog - my first official run in Czech. Czech has different grading than Malaysia - if students in Malaysia aimed for the highest 4.0, here in Czech the highest grade is 1.0.
So, red scroll means, his average results can be around 1.0 (or I can say four flat / close to four flat in Malaysia).
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| I am not sure her position - but she was kind of the emcee. |
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| Refer here for Hippocratic Oath. |
The oath was delivered in Latin by our Promoter (the one who will give away the scroll). And the graduates will answer the Promoter with Spondeo Ac Polliceor which means I Promise & Swear.
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| See the guy in red robe. We need to put our fingers to the stuff he hold while saying Spondeo Ac Polliceor to the Promoter. |
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| The Promoter. There were official photographs during the ceremony but I am too lazy to buy T_T |
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| Our Valedictorian. Viktoria used to be our group leader since the first year. |
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| Shake hands session with the Senates. |
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| With our family members. |
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| This is how the scroll looks like - it is in Latin and we need to officially translate it to English first before it can be used in Malaysia. |
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| The Malaysians :) |
Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah.
Thanks for the prayers, guys.
Keep on praying for our journey as your future doctors :)
SS, Perak, Malaysia.
170913
Esc. by Budak Tomato | Book Review
September 12, 2017
This book is highly recommended by few other bloggers and people on Twitter. Because of that, I am triggered to get myself a copy of it. Again, as shown on the front cover - Bestseller di MPH. Ehemm.
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| Front cover. |
Title: Esc.
Author: Budak Tomato
Pages: 175
Publisher: Iman Publications
Publication Date: August 2015
I categorized this book as self-reflection and self-help.
Budak Tomato - the first time I know this person virtually when I came across his blog and attracted with his pieces of Chad and Qiden. Upon reading his blog posts, they reminded me of Hlovate. Their styles are not really the same but I have no idea why it feels related.
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Let me share what I have learned by reading this book so far. :)
1. Responsibilities.
While reading this page, it reminds me of two main goals in our life - to be the a'bid (worshiper of Allah) and khalifah (leader). I think I've shared many times on this topic in this blog - just for a reminder to myself.
"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me".
- Quran 51:56
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| Hak kepada Allah, hak kepada manusia. |
2. Budak Usrah.
Maybe some people are allergic to the word 'usrah' - I had that phase before; a long phase before I realized it somehow helps me to develop a better version of myself. Just like other people, I have my own past - the past that I would love to erase from my life. But thing has been done, I can't do changes on it.
After getting to know these kind of so-called 'budak usrah', I know that people deserved to be treated not because of what they have done, but how they are right now and in the future. People can change. The world can change.
Usrah is not about getting to know our religion alone - it offers more than that - friendships, general knowledge, career tips, attitudes, life tips. :)
3. Sincerity.Human loves compliments, somehow. -_-'
I am currently preparing my mental for housemanship (I have no idea when). It is going to be a tough phase - to adapt with the system and to actually 'work'.
Be sincere.
Expect nothing from humans but rewards from Allah, ameen. Maybe if not here in this world, may everything we have done can help us later - in the other world.
4. Respect."Pergi sana sini orang kenal."
Somehow, Budak Tomato's words help me to realize and change my perception on this.
Honestly, I prefer not to be known by so many people. There are advantages anyway for being known - of course people treat you differently. I am known as my dad's only daughter in my town and it feels so bad when people know me (some can even call my name) but unfortunately I can't recall their names and our relations. T_T
Sorry ayah.
5. Appreciate our family.
Do we realized that we tend to fight with our siblings more than with our friends?
Do we realized that we tend to care about other people than our own family members?
6. The lost.
8 days left to the very first 'one year' since you left us.
Moga Allah lapangkan kuburmu, dijauhkan sebarang gangguan di dalamnya.
Moga ditempatkan bersama orang-orang yang soleh.
Moga semua doa kami sampai kepadamu dan mampu menenangkanmu di alam sana.
Ameen.
My rating: ★★★★★
I love all books that I've read so far. :)
Thanks guys for all recommendations!
SS, Perak, Malaysia
170912
Arkitek Jalanan by Teme Abdullah | Book Review
September 5, 2017
Honestly, I read this book first without knowing it is actually the second book. After reading Pelukis Jalanan, I would recommend to read them from Pelukis to Arkitek Jalanan. But, it does not really matter if you start with this one anyway.
I read Arkitek Jalanan on my way to Johor Bahru, the time I went to Singapore. It was surprisingly really intriguing as I managed to finish reading it within few hours!
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| Front cover. |
Pelukis Jalanan by Teme Abdullah | Book Review
September 4, 2017
This book was already in my bucket list to read after my BFG since months ago and alhamdulillah, I managed to get myself a copy of it in Popular. On the front page of Pelukis Jalanan, it stated "Bestseller di MPH" and yes, even in Popular, it is still in best selling rack despite it was published more than a year ago. :)
Pelukis Jalanan is the first book, followed by Arkitek Jalanan. In this post, I will share my thoughts on Pelukis Jalanan first and the next post will be for Arkitek Jalanan. :)
Let's go.
Title: Pelukis Jalanan
Author: Teme Abdullah
Pages: 215
Publisher: Iman Publications
Publication Date: January 2016 (PJ)
Synopsis:
Hmm, actually I am not sure if there is any synopsis written. But, let me share roughly about it.
This book is about the life of Teme Abdullah (Teme) on how he struggled to fund himself in an architecture school in London after he failed to pass the cut-off points from his sponsor for A-Level. There were a lot of life lessons and experiences that Teme had encountered while surviving abroad especially on how he worked hard for the tuition fee, how he was betrayed by his friend, how he managed to continue securing a good, supportive friend and finally how he went through the architecture course itself.
"Jika diberi peluang berpatah balik masa, perbetulkan semuanya, mengelak kegagalan berlaku, dan hidup dengan selesa, aku akan memilih untuk tidak lakukannya. Kerana pengalaman inilah anugerah bernilai Allah kepada aku.”
[Teme Abdullah]
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He is a strong guy, I must say. And I wonder if I happened to be in his shoes, what exactly will I do. At a very young age (I expect Teme leave for UK at the age of 19), he did a very challenging task - to survive.
Some of the things Teme shared there, I can indirectly relate them to my own life - either as a non-Malaysian university student and things I have encounter while staying abroad.
1. "In life, we will never get the same things as others. Never will. We are predestined to our own sustenance (rizq)."
Teme shared that he did not pass the cut-off points needed to fly. I did A-Level as well before, I can understand the struggle to meet the points. I had my rebellious phase that time. For some topics, I did not get it why I need to learn them, followed by A-Level - because I could not see the practicality of it that time - especially mathematics. I survived just for the fact - I love learning -_-' (minus the stress).
Teme's thought really opens my mind, anyway.
2. Parents' blessings.
As a grown up child, I realised most parents really care about their children. Teme's mother even planned to put their house into mortgage to help with the finance. Parents always want the best for the kids, even if they need to sacrifice a lot (in which they already sacrificed so much).
3. Teme's positive vibes.
The way Teme looks into life, is really adorable - I mean the positiveness (most of the time he think positively). I love the moment when Teme shared his thought on tawakkal - it is on page 148. This is a life lesson that I learn to treasure the most when I started my study in Czech. Not to put all burden of expectation on myself or other people but to rely on Allah with every step and effort that I make.
I was affected so much to read how Teme struggled with his monthly rent. Alhamdulillah, I had no problem with paying rents before but to search for a good flat with good price was never an easy job. My flatmate and I lost a lot of money before we secured a roof-top flat with no lift for us.
And if you are wondering what is the average flat rent in Czech - in Hradec Kralove itself it is RM1300+ per person per month (including energy and Internet). If in Prague, plus at least RM300 to it. The monthly allowance is usually enough for sponsored students (at least in the small town). Dealing with fussy landlord was another nightmare. T_T
4. Teme's artworks.
Honestly, I have no idea about Teme before until it became viral one time ago on social media. His artworks are awesome.
"Tak semua orang reti melukis, Teme. Kau rasa biasa-biasa, tapi bagi orang yang tak biasa, dah cukup mengagumkan dah. Bersyukurlah Allah bagi kau kebolehan menghiburkan orang dengan hanya buat perkara yang bagi kau 'biasa-biasa' je." - Ahmad
I am not into buildings much, but his quick sketches attracted me. My drawing skill is maybe just 1% of Teme's but sometimes I love sketching as well - especially for human anatomy when I was in my first year. :D
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Overall, I honestly recommend this book to read. Other than reading life stories of 'sponsored' oversea students - like me, this is another level of survival.
My rating: ★★★★★
SS, Perak, Malaysia
170904
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