Tag: Travel

Capri

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This tiny little island, just one hour boat ride off the coast in Napoli, is called the lemon-island. And indeed: lemons everywhere! Not only on almost every tree, but every store sells lemon stuff, every decor is somewhat lemon something and the food and drinks you can order has some lemon flavor: lemon ravioli, limoncello spritz, pizza with prosciutto and lemon, etc.: delicious! If lemon wouldn’t already be my favorite taste, it would be now!

And then there is more than lemons: the charm! Capris and Anacapris tiny little streets, cute little stores, bars and restaurants, everything is small, narrow, tiny! Even the garbage trucks, delivery trucks, buses, everything is small scale… cute, except you LLP want to sit in one of those buses, which don’t have any legroom 😜

The highlight of every visit in Capri is definitely the blue grotto! Getting in and out of this needle hole of an entrance is somewhat adventurous: you have to lay flat inside a small fisher boat and the sailer is waiting for the water level to go down with every wave. He then pulls the boat inside by grabbing a chain and pulling hard. As I said, all the people in the boat lay flat, kind of on top of each other, nothing sticks out higher than the rim of the boat. And then you’re inside!

There is only one street in Capri (and many walkways / hiking trails) and that one street is narrow! As a tourist, you are not allowed to drive a car on this street, only a scooter, but I wouldn’t recommend that. With an inch between upcoming traffic on one side and the cliff on the other, only the local pros can maneuver that craziness!

Dear trenitalia,

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I really liked you when we met; in fact it was love at first sight! We had great trips together, you were attractive, stylish, a perfect handsome italian gigolo who would be a little flimsy from time to time, but mostly reliable.

But today, I almost filed for divorce. How dare you! We had an agreement, a booking, that you’d take us from Rome to Civitavecchia, leaving at 8.15pm and arriving at 9.15pm, but you totally screwed it up!!! Our part of the commitment was to pay the fare, to show up on time, to be a good, well prepared customer. And we tried really hard! But you on the other hand, you showed up, pretending that everything works out, you even were on time, so we trusted you.

And it went downhill from there.

We made it almost to Civitavecchia, 3 more stops to go, when you decided to quit. You just stopped, no explanation, no reason, you plain stopped and left us at a station. It was late night, we were confused, but you didn’t care! We were hungry and tired and our Airbnb host was already waiting. But you just sat there, as if we never met before! What the hell?!? Trenitalia, I trusted you! You were my friend, we went through thick and thin, we had adventures together, and now that???

After a 1 hour wait, the full moon raising, we were hushed out of the carriage to switch to another platform to catch another train, your best friend so-to-speak. But how can we trust your best friend after what you did to us tonight? But our choices were limited, we hoped your friend would show up, and he did after another 15 min. But it was not the same. He tried hard, but those stops at stations without a name, those stops without opening the doors, he really tried, but how should I say, nada. Eventually he brought us to Civitavecchia and we were glad to arrive. We found our Airbnb, it is midnight, and we are starving…..

Photo by Pramod Tiwari on Pexels.com

Lago di Garda

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It’s never enough time at the lake, Lago di Garda in Italian, Garda Lake in English or Gardasee in German. When my sons saw the lake the first time, they called it “Caribbean”! Little did they know, they never were in the Caribbean, but the breathtaking views with the mountain range in the back and the lake with its surrounding villages in the front is just an instant love at first sight moment that grows into a lifelong love. Once you’ve seen Lago di Garda, Limone, Malcesine, Sirmione, Gargnano, just to name a few villages, you find more and more beautiful places and you want to stay forever!

And then there is Muslone, a tiny little mountain village, a 3 km drive up the street on the western shore of the lake. The street ends here, there is a church, and an alimentari store with Enzo, who knows everybody and everything. He is the local vacation home rental manager, the post office, the go-to-guy for local affairs. Enzo is the best, everytime I go there, he teaches me some words in Italian and – he has the best food in the world!

Our friend Harald, Enzo, me and Jürgen
Enzo, whispering in Jürgen‘s ear

Harald, Jürgen, Ted and I are spending a few days in Muslone, because we not only fell in love with the village when we stayed here for 2 weeks last summer, we fell in love with a very special house. I’m not sure how old it is, but the village was built in the 16 hundreds…..

Well, that house is for sale right now…..

Oktoberfest – Part 2: beer tents and amusements

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Imagine a big beer tent in the US, a few hundred people in it, live music of course, good mood and great food and drinks. Now that would be the equivalent of a small tent at the Oktoberfest. And there are 21 small tents, usually specialized: fish, wine, sweets, etc.

Additionally to the small tents, there are big beer tents. 17 of them to be precise, and they are BIG! They seat 6-10,000 people and the have additional outside beergardens for a few thousand people. It’s amazing!

Seating is not difficult before 4pm, if you want to get a seat after 4pm, you need a reservation (that you can do at the official website: http://www.Oktoberfest.de) Don’t book through any other source, they’re not legitimate! At the entrance of each tent is security, they check bags, sort out drunk people and count how many people get in and out. If the tent is full, it’s full and there is no way of “schmusing” your way in – even a low cut dirndl doesn’t help! Believe me 😜

Entrance

A general good idea is to not carry a big handbag with you. At the entrances is a bag check and – unless you have a baby with you – they don’t allow bigger bags inside the “Wiesn”. They also sort out glass bottles or anything an airport security check would not allow. So just be smart and bring: nothing and your wallet!

One big difference to any American Fairground, where you pay ~$15 or $20 to get in, the Oktoberfest is a free event!

No entrance fees!!!

😍

Amusement

There are 2 main streets at the Oktoberfest, the Wirtsbudenstrasse and the Schaustellerstrasse (Beertentstreet and the amusement street) with several streets connecting them.

At the south end is the big Ferris Wheel. It is 50 meters high (~150”) and has 40 gondolas for 8 people each. It is not the biggest Ferris Wheel on earth, but it has the most beautiful view. To the south you see the Alps, to the north, at the foot of the Ferris wheel, is the Oktoberfest, surrounded by Munich with all its beautiful landmarks. it costs €10 per person and goes around 5 times. Since I’m afraid of heights, it was 4.5 times too many and my photos are not taken from the top. That’s where I had my eyes closed and my hands were holding on to the seat with a death grip 😖

My friend Lisa leaning over to me – emotional support!

And of course there are numerous rides you can try, some of which originated from the 19th century, some brand new, super fast and scary like hell! more than 50 different choices, from the little fairytale ride for the little ones to everything that challenges the beer you just drank. They do recommend to wear “throw-up proof shoes for a reason! 😳

Panama Cruise – Day 11 – Tuesday, January 17th

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In case you wonder why we enjoy this cruise so much, part of it is because we have a lovely room with a balcony. Cruising through the Caribbean Ocean in January means perfect weather, 25-30 degrees Celsius with pleasant winds. A balcony is the must-have to enjoy sitting outside, read a book, play with Harold (my Ukulele) and/or drink a glass of something.

Today is our last day before we have a 3-day-3-port visit in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. And today we were quite busy: a q&a event on how to run a floating hotel, we watched a 1 hour performance of a marching band from the university of Wisconsin (300 of their band members are on this cruise!), we attended a wine & macaroon tasting, had a lovely dinner at a Mexican restaurant and watched the Beatles cover band again; this time: the psychedelic years!

Black glass wine tasting with macaroons
Guacamole – freshly prepared at the table
Shrimp ceviche – delicious
Red snapper with plantains

Ship Facts

  • The ship was built in Germany and is registered in Nassau, Bahamas
  • It is not registered in the USA because, if so, it could have only hire US citizens, but for hospitality they prefer to hire people from other countries (kitchen: India, room and restaurant service: Philippines, etc. Entertainment is mostly US)
  • The ship is 1094 ft – 333.5 meters long
  • It is 135.8 ft – 41.4 meters wide
  • 1700+ crew
  • 70+ nationalities
  • 20 decks
  • Total souls on board: 6700 (guests and crew)
  • The laundry facility has 25 staffs
  • The crew laundry is washing 300kg per day / 1500 pieces
  • There are 20+ different dining options
  • 210 waiters and 150 chefs
  • 10000 meals are served per day!!!
  • 1000 rolls and 550 baguettes per day

Miami – Day 3

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Miami – good-bye!

Day 3 in Miami meant sleeping in, breakfast in bed, rest, cuddle, pack and jump in an Uber to go to the cruise terminal. Our ship, the Norwegian Bliss, is one of 7 ships that are here today. Just think about the logistics to these operations 😵‍💫 By the end of the day, it is always amazing that you have your luggage in your room and a meal in your belly!

Norwegian cruise terminal – outside …
… and inside
And this is (part of) the ship

Miami – Harold

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Walt Grace Vintage – Cars & Guitars is a huge warehouse in Wynwood that we just visited to kill time before lunch [Zak the Baker: see below!]. We couldn’t believe the expansive collection of guitars and equipment; my brother Anton would just want to move in because of the guitars and my brother Jürgen would take all the cars. Win-Win!

And there it happened: I fell in love with Harold (sorry Ted!). Harold was just so handsome, colorful and bright; perfectly in shape, he was what I always wanted! And there he was, waiting for me!!!

I just had to have him, right there, right now! And the sales clerk tuned him for me, explained a few things and we decided to give my newly acclaimed Ukelele his name: Harold! I love Harold and as soon as we got back, I restrung him into a left-handed Ukelele and practiced my first song, „You are my sunshine“! Ted, who is a good sport about Harold, is still around, neither Harold nor my music scared him away!

Zak the Baker is a very interesting, innovative Bakery that has delicious food and a great following. So great, that you have to wait an hour to get a table – it’s totally worth the wait!

Mushroom break
Avocado break

The chocolate almond cookie afterwards didn’t want to wait for a Kodak moment – it just disappeared in no time!

One funny thing happened at Zak the Baker: as mentioned above, the place is incredibly busy and so is the hostess, signing in hundreds of people a day. When we were about to leave after lunch, she walked inside to the back of the building and said: „good-bye, Edith“. A few minutes later she came back and I said: „wow, you must have a very good memory for names“, but she just shrugged it off: „not always; some people I just remember“

Miami – Day 2

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Muck Rock is one of many female artists whose work is in Wynwood

Wynwood is a 30 square-block area in Miami that used to be the garment district between the 1920s and the 1980s with hundreds of sweatshops. With NAFTA (North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) kicking in, allowing garments to be produced and sold in Cañada, USA and Mexico without any customs involved, the production moved south of the border because of the low labor costs there. The sweatshops in Miami closed. And all the empty warehouses attracted all those who couldn’t afford life in Miami otherwise, lots of gangs and illegal activities and – drumroll – many artists! And those artist used those warehouses, one or two stories buildings, as their canvas, producing streetart of the finest!

Didirok and Villatose are part of a women streetart group that only paint female images

We took a guided tour in a funky golf cart, experiencing not only the biggest amount of streetart you can imagine, but also the highest quality I’ve ever seen! We took at least a hundred photos each …

The details on some of those pieces are impeccable!

Todays Wynwood is an upcoming neighborhood, with rich people buying multimillion dollar condos, that are replacing the old sweatshop buildings. And with those buildings gone, the artwork gets lost….. Very sad!

The art-work below was done by Ron English, a 65-year old artist, who used Picassos Guernica as a references! I’m deeply impressed by this talent, artistic expression and ability!

Picasso’s “Guernica”

Miami – Day 1

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We are back in the USA now! And it feels weird. At first I thought I might have the urge to go home immediately, but upon arrival, I don’t want to go home at all! I want to turn around and fly back asap…..

Lots of things seem funny now:

  • Everything is “un-old”, history is missing somehow. No old houses, cobblestone streets or castles! 😖
  • Public transportation? NADA 🧐
  • All our chargers fit in the power outlets without any adapter! 🥳
  • Athleasure wear everywhere! It seems like everybody is on the way to the gym or just came back from running. Nobody wears “real” clothes 🤨
  • All signs are in English 😆
  • Ted is missing the European toilets that flush more efficiently than the American ones. Go figure! 😵‍💫
  • We can use $$$ again instead of Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish Kronas, British Pounds, Euros or Moroccan Dirham. Plain old, green, every-bill-looks-the-same-kinda bills. 💵
  • We start thinking about a to-do list for the time when we arrive home. Is that a good thing? 😇
  • Where are the pedestrians? We see many cars, MANY cars, but hardly anybody walking…
  • In America, everything is BIG! The streets are extra wide, the buildings are super tall and the cars are huge. 😱
  • It is warm: 29 Celsius, 84 Fahrenheit. 😎
  • Prices are not what it seems they are, because there is always sales tax added at the cash register. So the $1.50 yogurt actually cost $1.62 🧮
  • And don’t forget to tip the restaurant waiter a recommended 18 or 20%! In Europe you cannot even add a tip if you pay with a card; they only can type in the amount of the invoice. You can tip cash, if you have a few €.
  • Haircuts were so much cheaper anywhere we went. With the worlds best head massage, a great cut and an interesting discussion, the cut cost €19 in Lisbon. Our hairdresser was almost embarrassed when I gave her €10 extra (for both of our haircuts), she’s not used to getting a tip 💶
  • Supermarkets in America are huge compared to the markets in Europe. Not even to mention all the farmers markets and fruit stands everywhere 🙄

Our Airbnb in Miami is in a building with 31 floors – we are on the 24th floor! Each floor has 10 apartments, where 1-2 people live. The ground floor is the lobby, so 30 floors x 10 apartments x 1.5 people = 450 people!

Our Airbnb …
… is very modern and …
… located on the 24th floor! Ted has to sleep on the window side 🫥
We can watch cruise-ships sailing by!

Lisbon – good bye

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It is 7.30am and we just finished breakfast at the Lisbon international airport. That is amazing, considering that our alarm went off at 5.30am. Shower, packing, Uber, luggage check-in, security, and a bathroom break – all this in 1.5 hours; then breakfast! Amazing, everything went as smooth as can be!

Next stop: Miami, Florida