26. October 2018

Hungary – Budapest

Buda and Pest After visiting my family in Romania, Tes and I spent a few days in Hungary’s capital Budapest. The 1.7 million metropolis formerly consisted of two cities, located west and east of the Danube river. One was called Buda, the other Pest. The largest spa town in Europe is, among other things, famous for its bathhouses and thermal springs. Incidentally, in a geotectonic view, the city lies on a fracture point of the earth plates. Therefore, the city (especially Buda) is rich in hot springs, which were already used by the Romans in the second century. In total, there are over 120 hot springs and the water is used […]
14. August 2018

Spain: Valencia

Valencia in a day Back in 2018, we did a day trip to Valencia from our home in Vinaros. We mainly figured, that one day is too little to explore the city of 800,000 inhabitants. So, we spent some hours in the city center and then decided to visit the Bioparc. To do so, we decided not to visit the “Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències” (Science and Culture Park), which includes the “L’Oceanogràfic” (aquarium). Although these two are the most famous landmarks in Valencia, they are located outside the city center near the port. We will visit them during another stay in Spain. The Cathedral of Valencia The inner […]
11. February 2018

Ecuador: Mompiche

Why to Mompiche? Travel educates and broadens the mind, they say. In Mompiche, I learned a lot, especially about handling resources. But let’s start at the beginning: To hibernate outside of Germany, we searched for a house-sitting opportunity in a tropical country. The concept is, that a private person leaves his home to a sitter while traveling. In return for free accommodation, the sitter takes care of the plants and animals or whatever else is needed. To us, this was a nice experiment and it worked out perfectly. After applying to people around the world,  we decided to visit Ecuador and sit three cats for a Tasmanian author. She designed and […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Cologne

A city with lots of history The city of Cologne has more than 2000 years of history. Founded in 19 b.C. as a Roman colony, the town was named “Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium” in 50 AD. This is where the current name of the international metropolis derives. Even today the roots of the city can still be inspected on site. So, the “Roman tower” is only a ten minutes walk from the cathedral. It was part of the Roman city wall in the 2nd / 3rd Century. Other archaeological finds suggest a permanent settlement can be dated back to 4500 BC. In the meantime, Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Dusseldorf

The largest digital clock in the world We spent a day enjoying the autumn sun on the beautifully designed Rhine promenade in Dusseldorf. The most famous landmark of the 600,000 people city is undoubtedly the Rhine tower. With a height of around 240 meters, it is the tallest building in the city and the tenth highest television tower in Germany. On its side facing the old town, the landmark has a large “light sculpture”, that counts as the largest digital clock in the world. Every year, around 300,000 people take a trip to the viewpoint above the rooftops of the city. Me with some stickers The town hall Jan-Wellem-statue The other […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Hamburg

The sights Hamburg has almost 2 million inhabitants and is the second largest city in Germany, putting Munich in third place. The town has approximately 2500 bridges – more than Venice, Amsterdam and London combined. During our visit, we rented an AirBnb on the outskirts of the city and spent our days strolling through the town. The Port of Hamburg with the Elbphilharmonie, which opened in early 2017, is probably the biggest attraction for tourists. Otherwise, we spend a lot of time on the Reeperbahn, St. Pauli and Altona. As Hamburg has countless sights, we also checked out the fish market, Speicherstadt, Planten und Blomen and Rickmers Rickmers. In general, I […]
5. February 2018

Germany: Berlin

The capital – Die Hauptstadt We arrived in Berlin via Flixbus and used public transportation to get to a friend´s apartment. He hosted us for four days and helped us with orientation and everything else we needed (Thanks Effe!). We visited the usual tourist highlights as the East Side Gallery, Alexanderplatz, the TV Tower and the Brandenburg Gate. In addition, of course, we checked out the Berlin Cathedral, the Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie. In general, the German capital is a magnet for tourists. Every year, 31.000.000 overnight stays are booked in the countless hotels. Therefore, Berlin is the third most popular tourist destination in Europe, right after Paris and London. The […]
3. July 2017

Romania: Cluj Napoca – Salina Turda

A day in Cluj-Napoca, a botanical garden and the Salina Turda The price-performance ratio of the accommodations in Romania are fantastic. We slept partly in apartments for less than 25 euros per night. Our second day started with a delicious breakfast near the St. Michaels Church in Cluj. After visiting the city’s most famous buildings in the previous evening, we decided to explore a relaxed and popular tourist attraction: the Alexandru Borza Garden – a huge botanical garden. The St. Michaels Church The orthodox cathedral The national theater The Alexandru Borza garden The garden was founded in 1920 and is divided into various areas. These include a Japanese and a Roman […]