Bits of Germany

Since the last trip we’ve decided to take before the baby arrives was aimed towards a cooler (as in colder) place, we’ve thought of Germany.

The intricate itinerary we’ve built took us by train in Aachen, the spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia. Luckily we were able to book a room at a 4 star hotel (at half price, thanks to a deal going on in that specific timeframe) and then go by foot to see the surroundings.

As almost all these old cities, the center was dominated by an old cathedral. Aachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne in 786 AD and was on completion the largest cathedral north of the Alps.

But the main thing to do on such a short trip is the spa! We’ve chose Carolus Spa, a large but expensive location where you can be spoiled and treated by thermal waters at the same time. Since pregnancy has its own limitations, we’ve only could enjoy the pools there, but they were enough for 2 hours.

Next day we’ve managed to catch the train (after galloping half the town in the wrong direction) towards Cologne, another gem of the north-western Germany.

Although the booking deal also lead us to a 4 star hotel, its location was more like a 1 ½ star (since we were above the on-going construction for a new subway line and hearing all the adjacent noises).

Still, the purpose of the trip was to visit, so we’ve proceeded. 

The very first thing you notice (well, not notice, because it hits you in the face) is the magnitude of Cologne Cathedral. Especially if you arrive by train and from undergrounds you get out to the surface in front of this “wow” monument.

We’ve booked a tour guide and found out that it is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. The monument houses the Shrine of the Three Kings that supposedly contains the relics of the Three Magi, shrine that gets open only once a year in January.

The city located on both sides of Rhine offers great architecture, lots of beautiful churches and an impressive abundance of Asian cuisines.

The perfume that originated here and bears the name of the city smells lemony and unless you buy it as a gift, I doubt that there are still many people wearing it.

Three days are barely enough to see everything Cologne has to offer, but it is a good start.

Our trip took us further (by train as well) towards Paderborn, a smaller town, filled with universities.

Here we took advantage of the proximity with Bad Lippspringe, another spa city, a little cheaper than Aachen and offering similar facilities.

It’s worth to be mentioned that all these cities had the best pastries and cakes ever and the currywurst is to be found at every corner. Again I was amazed at the good shape of the people there, as they live amongst such goodies and still they manage to look very fit.

After five tiring days we’ve returned to Brussels, by train as usual, ahving filled only 3 GB with photos but keeping alive the memories.

Brussels by winter and by summer

Last time we’ve been into this city, it was freezing cold outside, our plane barely took off (14 hours later than originally booked) and the tickets were much cheaper.

Now, more than half a year apart, lots of stuff has happened: we’ve bought and renovated an apartment, made a baby (well, the last one is still in the oven but it still counts), even the friends we’re staying at have increased their family.

So, Brussels in winter is clean, white, cold and allows you to drink 17 kinds of beer in 5 days.

The buildings were impressive: Justice Palace, Maison du Roi, all old cathedrals and churches, very well preserved and maintained.

Manneken Pis – a little disappointing, as I was expecting a much bigger statue, or at least not so hidden within the city’s mingled streets.

Mainly in Brugge but not only, the street vendors were everywhere, selling from clothing pieces, overpriced Christmas decorations to hot sausages and mulled wine and beer. Just enough to make you enter the holiday spirit ;)

It wouldn’t be Belgium if chocolate wasn’t present: in every form, shape or flavor that you can imagine. Still, the Brusseleers are pretty thin so maybe the beer and chocolate are just for tourists?

Fortunately we have the chance to compare all these goodies in the summertime.
 .......

Well, Brussels by summer looks more like a city in late fall or early spring. The temperatures barely went to 18 Celsius; it rained a lot and the visitors did not crowd the streets like in the winter.

Maybe it was just bad luck for us but we barely saw sunshine in the three days we've spent there.

However, a very pleasant surprise was the city of Ghent that seemed to me even prettier than Bruges. These two are similar in the way all small streets were converging to the main plaza and all the old buildings beautifully preserved were bearing small shops / restaurants inviting you in at every corner. But Ghent seemed a little more spacious, maybe the streets were a bit larger. Its history is impressive as well, until the 13th century Ghent was the biggest city in Europe after Paris; it was bigger than London, Cologne or Moscow.

All in all the short trip to Brussels was worth it in the summertime but if I have to choose, next time I’ll try spring or fall, who knows, maybe there’s more colour hidden somewhere waiting to be discovered.

The hot Cyprus

Kalimera or kalispera, depending when one is reading this

Just so I don’t forget some of the most important trips outside the country’s borders, I felt I should write about this specific one: Cyprus, October 2010.

I’ll try to remember the daily trips but probably I’ll forget lots of points of interest :D

Anyway, us 4 (me, Vic, Ady Rau & Adina) got there on a Sunday afternoon, after a mere 2 hours flight from Bucharest. “There” being the airport of Lanarca, one of the newest of Cyprus, very well maintained.

First thing you notice is the driving on the wrong side (or should I say, the right side, ha!)

The oversized van that Geta and Claudiu rented for us, eventually fitted us all plus our 7 kilos bags.

We got to the house (looking more like a small mansion) in one hour and, to celebrate our arrival we’ve ordered the “traditional” Greek pizza - extra large super supreme from Domino’s.

Second day: I woke up with a weird calling outside: Antony-mou, Antony-mou…I thought it’s just a loud neighbor yelling at his friend (but I found out later the guilty neighbor was a cute talking parrot)

In the courtyard there was a big fig tree with large ripped figs, yum…

Among the points we’ve visited that day (and afterwards): Apolo’s temple, a Roman arena, Aphrodite’s rock and spring; Venetian bridges; Kyrenia and Kantara Castles and the Turkish side of Cyprus.

The high point of the trip: me overcoming my everlasting fear of getting water inside the ears. The remedy? Snorkeling!!! Even though there were no spectacular scenes, being able to see clearly underwater is a great feeling. Next step: scuba diving.

Speaking of phobias, this trip started a new one: off-road driving, especially when hungry. The rise in the adrenaline’s level it’s not worth it…

Another thing that started on this trip: being dependent on “The Big Bang Theory” sitcom. This coming Thursday we’ll be up-to-date with all the episodes.

I should also mention their dishes: Cyprus food is good, not great; too less spices for my taste and too many fish based meze. Also, what’s up with that aversion against garlic?

The drinks: do not try Keo (their traditional beer) and also, the Carlsberg is weird there…Romanian beer is better ;)

What else? Ah, the wild donkeys from the northern part – cute but dusty, almost look like they were domesticated (we’ve even touched one).

As for the cities: we didn’t get a good chance to visit them (as we were on a strict schedule), but what I’ve seen, I’ve liked: clean, white buildings, blending with a couple of higher steel & glass ones; very good roads and touristy taverns everywhere. On all of them the customary water tanks, proving the importance of unsalted water on that dry island.

The prices? A little too high for what they were offering, but, as every country that relies on tourists to bring the majority of income, it’s understandable.

Over all: a beautiful, small region, where you’d be happy if you'd really love the heat and which makes you want to visit its big sister; but that, hopefully, will be another story.

Barcelona day by day

Hola,

Estamos en Barcelona, yey!
But I did find a couple of minutes to write (very punctual) some of our impressions so far.
Day 1:
We got here an hour later, due to some never-ending airport formalities but the "aerobus" was on time and Placa Catalunya was waiting for us.
The hotel, Room Mate Emma - a real delight, priced like a three-star hotel but offering technology like at least a four-star one. On the way to the hotel we've walked by Gaudi's two famous houses: Batllo and Mila. (and everyday afterwards we've passed by them on our way to the subway station).
As tired as we were, we still went to see the Magic Fountains show of light, water and music. It was like you were descending to a fairy tale and never want to go from there.
Day 2:
Had our (overpriced) coffee on the Rambla, admiring Casa Mila on the daylight. Then, we've walked towards Sagrada Familia, which, like a ton of other monuments is still in a re-construction phase. Impressive artwork, amazing details at every corner and all the towers were displaying biblical stories and characters.
After a couple of cervezas, we've headed down south to see Parc de la Ciutadel with its fountains designed by who else? Gaudi...
Day 3:
Since Barcelona has a couple of kilometers of beaches to the Mediterranean Sea, we've decided to dedicate a full morning (and 17 Euros) to sunbathing. As for swimming, it's almost impossible...cold water, strong currents and abrupt edges at the seashore. On the beach one feels like home: tens of street vendors yelling their merchandise: sun glasses, massages, scarfs, tattoos etc.
In the afternoon I've decided to take a chance in trying Barcelona's traditional dish: paella. Big mistake! Not only it had clams, semi-cooked squid, bones of a (supposedly) chicken, but the rice itself had the weirdest taste. The soup, gazpacho, it was a little better, like a cold cucumber and tomato soup, very refreshing.
Afterwards, we've headed to Gaudi's most prestigious park: Parc Guell. Situated at a higher altitude (luckily there were some escalators), the park stretches on a couple of ha area but we only went to see the columns, the windy benches and, of course, the lizard. For the latest we had to wait a little bit, as there was a scene of a movie getting filmed there and the area was closed.
Day 4:
This day was a relaxed one, we've only went to see the Cathedral and Placa de Colum (with its huge statue of Columb towering the port).
Just an FYI: the Chocolate Museum closes at 7pm weekdays :)
Day 5:
We got up really early and went to MNAC; impressive by its size and location, as the palace has more than 100 rooms (I wonder how they didn't get lost in the past there?), all forming a labyrinth (and I bet there are a couple of secret entries, too).
Tonight we'll see the fireworks (hopefully) for the St. Joan holiday. These fireworks can be bought almost from everywhere, together with "petardas" - it's going to be a loud night, I bet.

Weekend in Brasov

The previous weekend (4-6th of June), before the heat wave hit us here, we went for a short trip to a beautiful mountain area: Brasov.
Situated in the middle of the country, it's taking about 5 hours by train to reach it but it's worth it, no matter the outside season.
Like usual, we went to the old part of the city, where Piata Sfatului reigns, surrounded by all sorts of hundreds-old buildings (like Biserica Neagra) intertwined with a couple of new age constructions.
Everywhere you'd turn you'll find a coffee shop, beer garden, outdoor restaurant, etc. This concentrated diversity tends to look at a certain point like a single entity but it is nevertheless charming.
Lucky as we are, our second night there we got to listen to free jazz (as there was an international festivity) and the third day we witnessed a folk festival, gathering costumes and folk music from all parts of Romania.
I'm sure I've skipped a ton of stuff worth telling but, maybe when the Golden Stag will be held there in September, I'll watch TV and remember to update this post :D

My first 1st May here

As other people were crowding the Black Sea littoral and were driving on the ultra-jammed highway to the seaside – we’ve decided to stay here, in the capital city…

And it was a good idea – we’ve discovered at least three new places (some better than others).

First, we went at PP59, a restaurant in the Foisorul de Foc area. For a nice warm afternoon, it’s the perfect spot to go: hidden enough to feel intimate but close enough to the public transportation not to be discouraged in going there. The portions are humongous, two people will better share if they’re not really, really hungry. I bet when the owners will turn on the fountain from the center of the veranda, the place will look even better and the turtles will be happier.

After that, since we were in the mood for something more than food (and drinks), we went to the Carturesti bar – a cute outdoorsy bar located just behind the book shop. Except for the prices which were a little bit too high, I found the place just fine.
Not directly related to the bar description but I do have a complaint: how come two of the largest book shops (that also carry paper supplies) do not have playing cards??

As for the third place we went – the Botanical Garden, I’m sorry to say but I was a little disappointed. It looks poorly managed, the grass could use a grass mower, some plants could use a better description (or at least a description), and the lake water, let’s just say – I hope it has seen better days. But, at least it is a green corner of a dusty city and I imagine on a hot summer day one can overlook the faults and enjoy the shadow.

March and April

Long time, no see...
But there were lots of changes (status change, name change, ID change, address change etc)
Nevertheless, we did go out to find „stuff” worth telling.

In no particular order (mostly because I don’t remember when everything happened), the places we went are:

- We saw Ivan Turbinca at the National Theatre from Bucharest. I kind of liked this childish play, with its music, dances, choreography but I was a little disappointed on the size of the location. I went there expecting this huge room only to find a slightly bigger place than the Odeon Theatre. (I think I’m going to rate it 7/10)

- On the same night we found Dharma Bar – a place in Old Center where all 10 of us could fit and perhaps even more. But don’t go there in the lower room: there’s no ventilation whatsoever and the air becomes quickly irrespirable. (It gets 6/10 at most)

- The highlight of the events that we’ve attended was Mozart Rocks: entertaining, dynamic, diverse on all ranges of music (and the fact that I’ve stayed three rows apart from the cute conductor Tiberiu Soare helped a lot :D). Not to mention that it was for a noble cause: helping abused children. I’m going to give a 10 to this event.

- The latest movie we saw was Un Prophete, a French prison movie. If you could resist the first half of the movie (because it’s really violent), then the rest is quite good. I liked especially the camera movements following different actors going through different stages. I’ll rate this 8/10.

- And, the finale: a not so cheap but OK food – sushi place: Zen Sushi. Situated somewhere in the sector 4 of Bucharest, you don’t need a reservation as the place is almost empty; don’t let yourself fooled by the size of the portions, a plate for two is more than enough. I will rate this one 8/10, too.