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| Entrance way |
Its area also very wide and spacious, (even its parking area was very big, I could guarantee that it's enough for minimum 8 bus or minimum 20 cars) with 3 storeys and 60 rooms, separated into some section rooms (I forgot to ask the house manager, how many room sections they have).
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| Name Board |
They named every rooms ( include the hall, meeting room, eating room) with bible name, such as "Betlehem", " Jerusalem", and etc. Our room was located in section Finisea. Forgot to mention that they had 2 ways house's entrance, first, the officially entrance door, and second, entrance door from the side of the house, near the parking area. Well, because we entered the house from the door near the car parked, which was further to reach our room section (compared to, if we entered from the officially entrance door), so we were a bit of getting lost, we did need 3 minutes to find our room.
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| Main Entrance Door |
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| Side Door |
Their room section's way was a bit alleys-gonna-be, so their stairs & ways a bit confusing especially for a new visitor, like me, we have to turn right / turn left several times, or go up to a small stairs, then continued to the long stairs, and etc, to reach my room section, Fenisia. Such a pity, since the last stairs to my room's floor was too small wide, it wasn't wide enough for safety & not so comfy. Alleys that connected each room was fenced with a-bench-look-alike. I thought that it was very good, because on your free time, if you get bored in your bedroom, you can sit here, enjoy the fresh air, and I am sure that after did this, you'll get a new aquintance, because not so long after you sit there, you'll find some people come along, sit there also...then you may start the conversation to know each other as new friend! #yippiee...!
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| The Alleys |
All room section also provided with a hall area which could be used for meeting, gathering, and even for praying ceremony.
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| The Hall |
Ahh... finally it's time for "Fenisia"! Room section was a-3-floor separately area, consist of 3 or more bedrooms & 3 or more outside bathroom in each floor, with a hall in the 3rd floor. It seems that all bedroom was prepared to be slept for 4 adult, because our bedroom consist of 1 king sized bed, 2 single sized bed, and a cupboard.
Since that there were only 3-outside-shared bathroom to use, with 3 bedrooms (3 or 4 person in each), it means that, it would be a hard competition in the morning & in the afternoon to won the bathroom ^_^ Lucky for us, ours was exactly straight near the bathroom area. So we surely won the bathroom competition everytime.
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| Shared bathroom |
Very comfy, neat, and so cooolllddd (-the water- I mean). The hall area was next to bedrooms area, there they served us with drinking water in a jug with glasses.
Dinner and the next day morning breakfast were served in buffet of Indonesian food, in the eating room "Betlehem". For me, their cooking quite good as my expectation. So I should rated them with minimum 3*, okay?
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| "Betlehem" |
Bandungan -Special Food-
Free time at night when we stayed at Retreat House of Elika....HAHAHAHA :P it's time to explore outside the house. When our bus arrived in the Retreat House, it passed through a night road which has so many local food stalls, and what so curious for me was they all had the same name-board where their special menu written there (while it was also the same for all o_O). It was "Serasi Tofu" (-tahu serasi- on Indonesian language) written there.
So after having dinner at "Betlehem" room, about 8 o'clock at night when we able to escape from the tour session in the main hall area, we got out from the house, goin' around, and stopped in the nearest food stall there we asked the seller (a woman) about what Serasi Tofu was. We found the fact that serasi tofu was Bandungan special food, especially at night. Why it named as "Serasi"? Actually it was a brand from a home industry who produced it. They took its name from Semarang's motto "Ungaran Serasi".
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| Raw Serasi Tofu |
After their product became famous, then the other home industry of tofu there used the same brand "Serasi", and now it became as the specialty food at Bandungan. It has two way of cooking, it could be mild-fried (so it was deep fried in the outside, but mild in the inside) or it could be steamed and the rules for enjoy this night food was, it must be complimented with a hot soy milk. Another preferable way to enjoy it was by dipping it into chili-mix-sweet-soy-sauce, so tofu would taste crunchy (if fried) or smooth (of steam) and sweet but also spicy!
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| Tempe Gembus |
Beside serasi tofu, they also had another special food, they called it as "Tempe Gembus" it's made of soya bean, it was cut into triangle shape, covered with bread-powder, then deep fried them. Hmmm....yummy!!
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| Our night food |
1 pack raw serasi tofu cost Rp.9.000, if it was mild fried ready to eat it would cost you Rp.13.000. The complimentary drink, 1 glass of soy milk was Rp.3.000, while the chili-mix-sweet-soy-sauce was given for free. Fried ready to eat "tempe gembus" cost you only Rp.5.000. These food was a real out of my expectation, except the "tempe gembus". Serasi tofu for me, it's just an ordinary fried tofu like what my mom always cooked at home. The soy milk also, there was nothing special. The "tempe gembus" was really out of my expectation...from its small shape raw "tempe gembus" it changed into very big, I didn't know why, maybe it depends on the chef cooking ability :), and it tasted really delicious (at least if I compared it with tofu or milk).
Cathedral Church of Semarang
Second day pilgrim trip in Central Java, we visited the Cathedral church of semarang, which was located in Pandanaran street 9th, Central Java, Semarang, only a couple block far from pandanaran gift shop area.
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| The church inside |
It was the biggest & greatest church (especially for Catholic I think..) in Semarang. Unfortunately, when we arrived there, a Catholic wedding ceremony was being held. Actually there's nothing bad from it, but it was because we couldn't explore all of the church area especially the inside part. So we did exploring the outside of the church building area.
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| Pieta - Per Mariam Ad Jesum |
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| Jesus cross |
At the side part of the church, there placed praying area of Jesus Christ (in cross), St.Mary (holding a child) and Pieta "Per Mariam Ad Jesum". It was so crowded there, because all prayer was praying there since they couldn't go inside. Even the candles area became so full of lightning candle that it became hardly for me to put my candle on, there.
Lucky for me.. one of our group member, an old lady told us that she could enter the church even there's a wedding ceremony inside. We tried. We really could enter the church, but as she said before we had to stay on the backside of the church to kept the atmosphere of a-holly-wedding. So we enjoyed the church's inside for only 30 minutes at the back row benches.
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| Ego Quasi Rosa Plantata Super Rivos Aquarum Eructificavi |
"Ego quasi rosa plantata super rivos aquarum eructificavi" was written on the upperside of the church's front hall. Some people said that this sentence reffer to bible books of Isaiah 35:2 "It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, that shall see the glory of Lord, and the excellency of our God".
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| Church's bench |
I didn't know whether it was such a coincidence or it's just only my opinion, but when I saw the church's bench ornaments which was look like flowers I connect its ornaments with sentence in the front hall church, because that Isaiah bible book mentioned a word of "blossom". Any other opinion from you, my blog reader? Well, you may commented my posting :)
Right beside the main door of the church, there placed St.Mary holding a child. There we placed our candle on, and pray.
Since that there were only 3-outside-shared bathroom to use, with 3 bedrooms (3 or 4 person in each), it means that, it would be a hard competition in the morning & in the afternoon to won the bathroom ^_^ Lucky for us, ours was exactly straight near the bathroom area. So we surely won the bathroom competition everytime.
Lucky for me.. one of our group member, an old lady told us that she could enter the church even there's a wedding ceremony inside. We tried. We really could enter the church, but as she said before we had to stay on the backside of the church to kept the atmosphere of a-holly-wedding. So we enjoyed the church's inside for only 30 minutes at the back row benches.
