we’d been in semarang

… semarang kaline banjir, wis sumelang ra dipikir. jangkrik upa saba nang tangga. mlumpate tengah jogan. wis watake priya, jare ngaku setya, tekan dalan selewengan.

that’s a folksong from semarang in kroncong genre of music. can be translated as …. “semarang, known as the city next to banjir kanaal [the main river which divided this city into two part]. if you decided to be relax, just relax, pal. just like grasshopper flying to the stairs. then jump to the floor. you should now about guys’ world …. promises that they’re loyal towards girls. but in the meantime doing affair” [hahahhaha >> what a clever lyrics ever 😉 ]

i like semarang very much, especially the old quarter which known as dutch quarter. from the old train station, to ciggy’s manufacturer, from the church saint emmanuel to the post office and several gothic and art deco buildings. my choice, mostly goes to …. the haunted lawang sewu.

said as one of the most beautiful buildings in semarang, this lawang sewu or in english known as thousand doors has a long history. used as headquarter of railway company; nederlandsch indische spoorweg maatschappij

with the architects jacob klinkhamer and bj queendag, the function changed into kantor jawatan keretaapi indonesia [now known as pt kereta api indonesia] after second aggression of the dutch. then became military headquater of military district of central java.

during second world war, in 5 days battle of semarang or in a heroic way we’re indonesian proudly address it as pertempuran lima hari di semarang, this building became a basecamp of angkatan muda kereta api in the fighting against japanese kempetai and kido

this building had underground prisons, underground tunnels, a legend told someone [or more than one 🙂 ] can be confused to find the way out after pass the entrance of lawang sewu. since so many doors there in similar shape [to make it easier, read the signboard ‘ingang’ whenever you’re there].

GPIB St Emmanuel Blenduk

(c) ukirsari

after lawang sewu, we’re heading to the dutch quarter in the heart of semarang. from tawang train station, artificial lake and dam [made since dutch occupation, long long time ago, before first world war] and here we are …. many old buildings standing still. without a word, they tell about a long history ….

semarang has delicious food ….

after learning the history, shouldn’t be missed about semarang’s delicacies. so rich in its taste, since chinese culinary also gave accentuation in local food. like lunpia [chinese spring rolls], wingko babat [sticky rice with coconut] or bakmoi [mixed pork or chicken with shrimps and tofu in light soup, served with steam rice].

further along from dutch quarter, we love to have dinner at toko oen. the oldest european style resto in semarang, owned by mr and mrs oen [they also have a branch at malang, east java and still open nowadays].

(c) ukirsari

toko oen’s wiener schnitzel [nick’s fave] was superb, same as tenderloin nz steak [my fave]. also domino ice cream [nick’s] and tutty frutty ice cream [mine].

kotagede, a lovely district inside jogjakarta

an old house … 150 years old. nice environment with mainly occupation as silversmith … hmmm how enchanting this old quarter of jogjakarta in my sight! it was used to be mataram’s first capital city.

(c) ukirsari

noted as the first capital of mataram kingdom, this district founded by panembahan senopati in 1582. then changed into ‘resident of the haves’ — rich jogjakartan people– around 1920s. said that tiles in their houses decorated with old dutch and chinese coins to reflected how rich they are. and using first class wood like mahogany to build the houses. nowadays still can be found some of these beautiful architecture where locals open private gallery to show the heritage of their ancestors.

about snacks, meals and eateries …. kotagede has similarity with jogjakarta. since this district is not so far. but if can be said more details, influence from malioboro –a cozy, comfy and humble point of jogjakarta– we can see locals gather around at the night and having cup of coffee or ginger tea.

then having supper after midnight with gudeg. most infamous one dish meals contents of steam rice, boiled egg and chicken in heavy coconut milk, red bean-chilli-cow’s skin mixed in coconut milk and young jackfruit stew in mahogany leaf [seems the preparation so difficult and takes long time, but the result always hmmm, two thumbs up!].

i love to hang out with my friends and have dinner [or supper] together with lesehan style [sitting together in pandanus mattres] enjoy gudeg with hot ginger tea 🙂