I met Heidi at the One-North MRT. While I stood inside the train I saw her outside but she did not see me and the doors would only stay open for a few more seconds, so I rushed over to her, grabbed her by the arm and flung us inside before the doors closed. First thing she said to me was you look flushed.
We travelled to the end of the line and "walked" upstairs (standing in an escalator) where we immediately entered VivoCity after passing through the gate. Heidi asked if I was hungry and at the time I replied with 5-6 on a 10 point scale. We went looking for a bookstore but apparently most of them are closed for good since Singaporeans buy their books online. This disappoints me since there is nothing better than a good bookstore. You will always find a book you have never heard of and never thought of buying. Also, you can start reading before you even leave the store. Online you have to wait for the book to arrive and you will most likely forget that you ordered it and probably not start reading it immediately.
After my stomach had thought about her previous question, it reconsidered, making me very hungry. So we went to the already decided place Brotzeit - a German bar with great food. It was a small line but we cut it by taking the offered table outside by the smokers. Not many smoked though and so it was still bearable. We ordered two plates to share and accepted their special offer of two Löwenbräu (Lagers).
Amongst the three different types of sausage was two piles of pickles, three kinds of cheese, three types of ham, some grapes, very few walnuts, Sauerkraut (braised white german cabbage) and something in that little bowl to the left in the picture that none of us ever touched. O'BOY the food was amazing! I really miss the great food from Europe. The cheese specifically! The sausage was wonderful just as well and with the beer, it was just a perfect combo.
At the end we paid S$49 each (around 300SEK) but it was worth it. If you eat cheap food from a food court almost every day you do have the money to spend on something like this from time to time. We sat there for two hours and talked about ourselves. I really like Heidi, she is a truly interesting person and I was so happy to get alone-time with her and get to know her even better. We have so much in common it is a little bit crazy.
When we finally left the restaurant we walked around looking at the stores that were closing. The plan was to go shopping but hey, I think the talking and the eating was a lot better! Eventually we went to Giant and bought some things. Then took the MRT and talked about sports and past hobbies. She got of at Holland Village and the next station was mine. I walked in through the doors around half past ten.
Pleasant evening, it was superb and so, so much fun!
Thank you, Heidi!
There aren't many bookstores remaining in Singapore, sadly. Vivocity used to have one called PageOne, but it closed a couple of years ago. Your best bet: Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann City. It's huge, you can spend a whole day there. There's a smaller branch at Liang Court but that one stocks more Japanese titles (cos of the expat crowd at that mall). There's also an indie bookstore that people seem to like (but I've never been) called BooksActually in a quaint shophouse in Tiong Bahru. The whole Tiong Bahru area is a great place to spend a Saturday afternoon exploring. It was one of the first "modern" suburbs of Singapore, built in the 1950s. Much of its art deco/modernist architecture has been preserved, unlike the rest of the country, which we are so fond of tearing down. It has an interesting reputation: the rich men of that time kept their mistresses in Tiong Bahru.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will definitely go and have a look at these stores. At least Kinokuniya had a book I recognised online, so hopefully I will find something there :)
DeleteSitting here eating Swedish cheese and reading your wonderful blog. :)
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