Monday, December 9, 2013

More about Prague

Ok like promised here some more of the stuff we did in Prague.

First of all, a specialty called TRDELNIK. It's a sweet pastry and being sold on the markets and some stalls on the road. The dough is wrapped around a mold and then fried on open fire. Brushed with sugar and spices. Then outside it gets crispy and soft inside. It's quite yummy though very sweet.







Walking through Prague it's one of the things you have to eat. Ok. Here finally I am enjoying it....Hmmmmmmm!!!!! Yummy!!!!!











Another major tourist attraction is the  Prague Castle. It's a large medieval (unique architectural) complex with courtyards, palaces, cathedral, convent and the popular Golden Lane. For sure you have a beautiful view once you're up there.












We headed towards the famous Golden Lane. Be prepared the entrance fee is hefty. It's not possible to only buy a ticket for the Golden Lane but you have to buy one for the small tour and then it's Krona 250. (around 10 Euro). In No 22 Franz Kafka lived for about a year and wrote "A country doctor".
The Golden Lane is a sort of museum and souvenirs are sold.





Then we went down and towards Karlov Bridge. You can't miss it. Everybody is walking in that direction. From the bridge you have a beautiful view over the Moldau. It seems especially the sunset is magnificent although on that day it was cloudy. On the bridge between many tourists, you find painters, caricaturists, musicians.








Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Trip to Prague - Christmas Market opens


I am sorry for my long silence.... somehow life is busy and the days go by without me having the peace of mind to write in my blog. Anyhow, today I have a good occasion as my husband and me just came back from a short trip to Prague -Czech Republic, I would like to show you some pictures. It was the first advent weekend and there have been many tourist in Prague.  Especially we also wanted to see the traditional opening of the market when the Christmas tree is lighted and the market officially opened. This is at the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměst). 

But OMG there were so many people, I never expected it to be so crowded. However we still managed to get in. They had closed it off but we went around like others and got in at the third entrance. Then it was just pushing and being stuck. At exactly 5 pm the tree was lighted. There was music and a light show. But I din't see too much. Just before a very tall person came right in front of me. We then quickly started to push our way out again. We just had enough of so many people. We rather went back the next day to the market when it was a bit quieter and more pleasant.




Then at the Old Town Square you'll find the Astronomical Clock. It was first installed in 1410 and the oldest one still working. Therefore it is a big  tourist attraction and before a full hour many people collect in front of it because at each hour you can see some figures in motion. The two small blue doors above open and out they come. We followed the advice of my German travel book and went into the Grand Cafe Praha opposite. It seemed that this information is only in the German book because we met only Germans in the cafe. Unfortunately the cake was not too great but the view good. However it's not really that spectacular.



Grand Cafe Praha, Cafe Mozart

Basically you could start at Wenceslas Square and walk down towards the Old Town Square and then further to Karlov Bridge and then the Castle.

More about it in my next post. :-)

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Hello Autumn!

Last week it seemed that spring was back in Germany although the color of autumn had already arrived. Today the sun was there only in the morning and it has been slightly cooler. Now the sky is grey and it might rain. Again the "proper" autumn seems back in Berlin.

The leaves are changing colors which is very beautiful and many people used the Sunday for a walk. I don't know but somehow I like autumn. I find the season very pretty even with rainy days and cloudy and grey times. A walk in the park smelling autumn and seeing the richness of mother nature makes me feel good. And then to come home and drink a nice cup of chai. That's a perfect autumn day.

Here my impressions of our Sunday autumn walk.:














Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Hamburg is always worth a journey




Hamburg is  beautiful city and always worthwhile. It's a great place and we love to visit the city. We didn't expect sunshine, so the grey sky was no surprise but luckily it was still quite warm.



We walked from the Bahnhof to Jungfernstieg. It is not far and you can also go by public transport, e.g. one U-Bahn station. But we had a look at some shops.


Here is the Hamburg station:



Here the Hamburg Rathhaus:
 
 After passing the shopping malls and stores we chilled out at Jungfernstieg and enjoyed a cup of coffee, and hot chocolate for the boys.



 Later we went to Landungsbruecken to take a "Hafenrundfahrt" though Hamburg harbor. Really enjoyed it. It was quite interesting We saw many ships, container ships, Speicherstadt, Marine Museum, Hafen City, Elbphilharmonie still in progress.
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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Trip to Serengeti Park - Lueneburger Heide -

Wow, time goes fast. It's been a long time since my last blog post .... I don't know where the time has gone. Anyhow, here some pictures of our recent trip to the Serengeti Park. It's located in Hodenhagen near Soltau. Check out their website. You can download a free ticket. If you're interested you can also book a lodge in the Serengeti Resort. We've spent a day in the park. Entering with our own car (you can also take the bus). It's just such a fun park. We've never seen the animals closer than that. The giraffes lick the windows or put their heads through. The lions and tigers are fenced off and you have to keep the windows closed. Of course shouldn't get out of the car. There is an area to get out to strike the goats. We took 2 hours to drive through. I guess in summer it might be quite crowded and take more time.
Then we visited the Serengeti Freizeitwelt. There is a fun ferry wheel, small roller coaster (Wilde Maus), twister, chairoplane, Top Twin and many more for smaller kids. We also visited the Monkeys (Affenwelt) where you can walk through various monkey areas and be very close.

Here some pictures of the adventures.