Today (actually yesterday) I started my journey to the Asian continent in Cologne at the station. My parents drove me and Vanessa there to avoid potential traffic jams on the highway to Frankfurt. My sister joined us at the station to say good bye... Even though it was 6:45 am!! With many Singaporean, German and Dutch flags the three waived outside the train when Vanessa and me took a seat inside. It was the first time for me to travel by ICE and to be honest: You do not feel the speed. You only realize it when you reach your destination much quicker. At the airport we met Philipp, his girlfriend and his mother. We just checked if our documents were complete or whether we missed something. Of course we also discussed how to best get an upgrade for our flights! (These discussions turned out to be useless). When leaving Germany we were all still really active and full of energy! But most of it was already gone when we approached Doha. For all of us it was the first time to be in Qatar. Even though our time spend at the airport was less than two hours those were very impressive experiences.The Hamad International Airport is very modern but also incorporates many traditional Arabic elements in windows ceilings and so on....In addition it is definitely on of the biggest airports I have seen so far. We realized that by walking to our departure gate instead of taking the escalator all the time. The flight from Doha to Singapore wasn't that exciting, but the arrival was an new experience. Leaving the air-conditioned plane was a torture because we were still wearing our long clothes. In addition the Airport seemed to be extremely clean (Probably due to the strict law). This continued when we took a taxi to the University Town Residence (U Town). The speed limit on the highway is 90 km/h but for compromise drivers and passengers can enjoy many colorful plants and flowers on the side. The skyline of Singapore was quite impressive, but I am looking forward to seeing it by night.
My apartment is simply great!! It is really modern and I have short ways to everywhere: To a free gym, a free infinity pool, cheap lunch opportunities (meals costs less than 2€) and cheap freshly pressed exotic fruit juice! Today I tried the celery juice....very great! I hope I will be able to show some more pictures of the residence in the upcoming posts! Tomorrow I am going to visit my faculty for the first time which is accessible via the free university shuttle. So far this is a really awesome stay in Singapore!!