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San Francisco in 24 hours

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San Francisco should have been my first blog-post about the U.S. cities, because I admire it a lot. I already visited San Francisco more than 5 times, and it never gets old. It's one of the most liberal, laid back and colorful cities you will ever discover in the United States of America. People always ask me, how many days they should plan on spending in SF. Believe it or not, you can experience the most popular parts of San Francisco within a day, if you leave your hotel very early in the morning. Of course, the ideal time for your visit should be around 3 to 4 nights.

Every time I get back to my favorite city in California, I'm mostly traveling with different people, and I have to introduce them to the beautiful city of San Francisco. Below you can see a map, how I start my journey:

  1. {green} Union Square
  2. {blue} North Beach / Coit Tower
  3. {yellow} Bay Area
  4. {orange} Lombard Street
  5. {grey} Alamo Square
  6. {red} Haight-Street
  7. {pink} Castro

 

UNION SQUARE

I usually try to get a hotel around Union Square, even though it's the less charming part of the city. It's surrounded by the most common shops and shopping malls, that you will find in any other U.S. city. But Union Square is always busy, and mostly very safe at night. There's a big selection of restaurants and bars, and some of those are busy every day, so you don't lose time on finding a right spot to socialise with the locals or other travelers. During my stay in San Francisco, I always get food at The Old Siam Thai, it's cheap, always delicious, and their service is super fast. Try the Thai-Icetea!

NORTH BEACH

If you walk straight up north from Union Square, you will walk all the way through Chinatown, til you reach North Beach, the italian neighbourhood of SF. There's not "that much" to check out in Chinatown, nor in North Beach. But I love having a coffee at the TRIESTE cafe. It's very italian-like, and you can watch the locals getting by and grabbing a coffee. Considering some articles I read online, Francis Ford Coppola wrote much of his screen-play for his masterpiece "Godfather" in that coffee-bar. 

Move up north, and check out the small, but lovely Coit-Tower. You will notice the tower, from too many places all around San Francisco. It's located on the top of a hill. For only a couple of bucks, you can get on top of the tower, to take some beautiful photographs of the city.

"Saint Peter & Paul Church" is located west of the Coit-Tower, the church where Marilyn Monroe, and the legendary baseball player Joe Dimaggio got married. 

BAY AREA

Still head up north, til you reach the beautiful bay area of the city. Check out "Pier 39", do some shopping, grab some delicious sea-food, and take some photos of Alcatraz Island. "Pier 39" is a very touristic place, but you will still enjoy it, if it's your first trip to San Francisco. The sea lions, the Fisherman's Wharf sign, the last cablecar stop, ... there's so much "San Francisco" in the bay area, and of course the straigh view on the Golden Gate bridge [if it's not too foggy]. That's usually the place where I have my lunch/brunch. Visiting Alcatraz will cost you lot a of time, and mostly you gotta wait a couple of hours after you bought your tickets. Sometime it's even soldout and you need to get a ticket for a different day.

After filling your stomach with seafood, walk west towards the Aquatic Cove, and from that point it goes uphill again, til you reach the famous curvy Lombard Street. 

 

ALAMO SQUARE

If you feel like it's becoming a long day already, or if you wanna save some energy for the evening, get a cab for a couple of bucks, and take a ride to Alamo Square. Everybody will recognize Alamo Square from the Tv-Serie "Fullhouse". Sit back, enjoy the view, and drink a delicious coffee at one of the coffee-places around the square.

 

HAIGHT STREET

From Alamo Square, you're only a couple of blocks away from Haight Street and the beautiful Buenavista Park, however it will take you 30-45 minutes to walk through its green area. Follow Haight Street towards Golden Gate Park, and discover the craziness, the hippies, and the creative shops of Haight Street. Love it, or hate it! I love spending some hours in the local clothing shops, book stores, and of course the holy music store called Amoeba. If you love buying records or CDs, Amoeba is a must! It's the biggest music store I've ever been to.

After Haight Street, it's up to you, if you prefer visiting the Golden Gate Park, and its Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, the Botanical Garden, or Stow Lake. The second alternative would be the worldfamous gay neighbourhood called CASTRO.  I'd recommend Castro.  Golden Gate Park is just too big, to walk through it. Save the park-tour for a different day, take a bus ride and check out the peaceful and colorful Castro area. Everybody who visited Castro, loved it... trust me. :)

 

You've made it ! You've seen "a lot" of San Francisco on your first day, but there's still so much to check out in San Francisco. I'd never recommend to visit the city in one single day. It's just too much at a time, and you will not enjoy, nor discover the big heart of the city.

But if you're only having a stop-over in San Fran, i'd recommend following this plan.

 

 

 

 

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Istanbul

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I just turned back home from the beautiful turkish city Istanbul. It was my first trip to Turkey, so I really didn't know what to expect from that multicultural city. We spent 5 nights in the area of Karakoy, which apparently is becoming Istanbul's hotspot.

 

Istanbul is divided into 3 main areas :

  • Eminönü & Fatih 
  • Beyoglu & Besiktas 
  • and the asian shore Üsküdar & Kadiköy.

Eminönü & Fatih

Eminönü and Fatih are located in the older part of Istanbul, which is famous for its mosques and lots of historical buildings like Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia. It was the first area I visited on our first day in Istanbul. We spent a whole day on that side of the city, and we could have spend another whole day to check out every corner on the west-side. Among the mosques you will find countless streets filled with markets, the Grand-Bazaar and the famous Spice-Market. At different times a day you will hear the prayers through the speakers who are attached on the mosque's towers. For myself it was the most interesting and unique part of Istanbul, and it's the place where you certainly will feel like a total stranger.

 

Beyoglu & Besiktas

We stayed at the hotel Grandiva in Karakoy, just across the Galata Bridge at the modern part of Istanbul. In my opinion it was the best spot for a hotel. You could reach the old part of Istanbul within a 10-minutes walk, and it took the same time to reach the Galata Tower. From Galata Tower, it's easy to get to the Istiklal avenue, a super long avenue, which leads to the popular Taksim area.

It felt like, that the modern area had culturally less to offer than Eminönü, but still there was so much to check out: too many restaurants, different spots where nightlife takes place, an endless shopping street, streetfood-stalls, and many historical buildings.

The neighbourhood of the Galata Tower was packed with a diversity of people, the youngsters, the hipsters, the older generation, the hippies. In the evening many people were sitting on the pavement around the tower to chit-chat, and share food & drinks.

While walking down the less attractive Istiklal avenue, you had the choice between hundreds of restaurants, from every price-range. After dinner, we hit the Taksim block, which was filled with quite a diversity of bars and smaller clubs. Arsen Lüpen would be an interesting bar to check out. On thursday nights, they host a jam-session, where everyone can join the stage, to play an instrument or sing with other musicians. No entrance fee, some crazy dancing and lots of fun!

On our second last night in Istanbul, we met a lovely local girl who brought us to the nightlife-heart of Karakoy which is located on Mumhane street and Kemankes street. It was the hippest part we discovered in Istanbul, and i'm pretty sure, the next time I'm gonna visit Istanbul again, this will be the place I'm going to hang out every night! It's the most attractive nightlife spot, and it's packed with too many beautiful people.

At the Grandiva Hotel we had the chance to get delicious breakfast in the morning. However if you miss the breakfast-hour, check out the Güney restaurant next to Galata Tower. It offers a variety of typical turkish breakfasts, for an affordable price of course! And you get taken care of by some turkish hipsters :). 

 

Prince's Islands

On our third day we planned walking towards the Bosphorus Bridge, but it was just too far away from out hotel. At the first ferryboat station, we decided to buy a ticket to get to the asian side of Istanbul faster. As a total stranger in Istanbul, we didn't thought about carrying our passport. 

We opted to check out one of the 9 princes' islands. Büyükada is the biggest one. A ferry ticket to the big island was around 6 turkish liras [2 euro, 3 us$]. A bargain! But we didn't know it would take us 2 hours to reach the island! 2 hours with too many people aboard, and we got a free sunburn. If you get the chance to catch a direct ferry from Istanbul to Büyükada or the other way around, it will still take you an hour at least.

Different travel-websites recommended to visit at least one of the islands, and considered Büyükada and Adalar as a must-see. I wouldn't recommend the island of Büyükada to anyone. It definitely was a beautiful place. So many beautiful victorian houses, no cars allowed on the island, lots of nature and parks, and great views of the ocean. But that was all it had to offer. The pier-area, where you get off the ferry, is packed with too many tourists, and every shop-owners wants you to buy food, drinks, and just any kind of presents. Once you get out of that mass of people, you're slowly walking into the silent streets of the city. 

But there are just too many horse-carriages on the streets of Büyükada. The constant noise of the horse-shoes ruins the vibe of the island. Most restaurants look very touristic, most people you will walk by will be tourists, and the shops are tourist-traps as well. 

If you love hiking or if you are into floral photography, it's definitely a place to check out. If you prefer the city life and hunting for must-see-spots of Istanbul, I wouldn't recommend you "Büyükada".

 

My thoughts about Istanbul

To be honest, the first 48 hours, I didn't have the feeling of being welcomed by the turkish people, especially the turkish men. It wasn't as bad as in Moscow, but still I had mixed feelings for Istanbul. Most of the men were unfriendly, not helpful towards tourists, some bumped into you without apologizing, even at the bars or restaurants, there was barely no communication. You could hardly notice a smile on their faces.

Things changed when we went out at night. Different hours, different people. It was quite easy to get into conversations with the locals. Especially with girls. Most of the women & girls, religious or non-religious, were super friendly, and totaly helpful. They showed us different places in the city, and introduced us to the turkish cuisine: turkish coffe followed by a coffee-ground-clairvoyance, the delicious streetfood mussels, turkish Ayran [iced water, yogurt, salt], and other turkish street food specialties.

We met many lovely turkish people! And during my last hours in Turkey, when we headed back to the airport, I felt like I needed to get back to Istanbul very soon! There's still so much to discover, so many turkish dishes to check out, and too many lovely Turks to meet. 

 

Useful informations

  • The taxi-ride from Atatürk airport to the Galata Bridge takes about 35 to 45 minutes, and costs around 50-60 turkish liras [20 euros, 24 us$].
  • Food is cheap. Booze isn't. A menu at a touristic restaurant [entree & main dish] with water and a glass of wine mostly costs around 20-30 euros [26-34 us$]. Longdrinks costs 25 turkish liras [7-9 euros, 10-11us$]. Cheapest drinks would be water, softdrinks and beer.
  • A single ticket for the tram-ride in the city center costs 4 TL [1.3 euros, 2us$]
  • A one-way ferry ticket costs around 4-6 TL.

 

 

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Kyoto & Osaka & Nara

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In my last two years I visited 8 cities in Japan. If you plan on spending only a couple of days in Japan, I totally advise you to visit these 3 cities: Kyoto, Osaka, Nara. 

 

Osaka would be the best city for your hotel. It's located inbetween Nara and Kyoto. Both cities are reachable with a 40 minutes train ride. Osaka is the most laid back city of all three, and it offers the most entertaining nightlife. Beautiful nights are spent just next to the Dotonbori river, which is surrounded by a universe of neon-lights and the longest shopping gallery I know. Both sides of the river are packed with restaurants and bars, and several bridges that connect both parts of Dotonbori. Not to forget about the famous Glico-Man neon sign, which attracts too many people for some photos & selfies. Another famous area for nightlife or day-time shopping would be Ameri-mura, a fusion of an americanized japanese neighbourhood.

Osaka hasn't as many sights to offer as Kyoto or Nara, but still Osaka is a very charming city. Visiting the Osaka Castle, will easily take half of a day. The castle is surrounded by a huge beautiful park,  a very lively area. Familydays are spent in the park, group activities, mediation groups, or just sit back and enjoy the different fountains across the park.

There's another area I'd recommend after sunset in Osaka, the Tsutenkaku Tower. The neighbourhood of the Osaka tower, is prettiest at night, because of the street-lights, infinite lanterns, and the crazy neon signs. The alleys are packed with restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops. Some locals told me that it would be the run-down area of Osaka. Frankly I didn't have that impression. 

For cultural daytrips and unforgettable sceneries Kyoto is the right place! Kyoto is often refered to as the cultural heart of Japan. Not less than 2000 shinto and buddhist shrines & temples are spread all over the city. Ok, I gotta admit, after I've visited the 10th temples, I had enough.  

For my self the most memoral sights in Kyoto were the following places:

  • Fushimi Inari Shrine: The world famous path of orange torii gates, leading you to the top of mount Inari which is 233 meters above the sea level. 

 

  • Arashiyama Bamboo Groove: The bamboo forest of Ashiyama is one of the most beautiful forests I've ever experienced. It isn't the largest forest, it only takes you 15 minutes to follow the path across the bamboo forest. But it's all worth it. Expect lots of tourists on the path, and it isn't easy to get a decent photo of the bamboos without any visitors on it. Enjoy the village of Arashiyama, and the lovely alleys packed with shops, and delicious restaurants. Everytime i'm in the area, I plan on spending half a day at Arashiyama, such a divine place.
     
  • Kinkaku-ji Temple: It's not the biggest temple, but one of the few I highly recommend to visit. It's not the size of the temple, but rather the golden coating of the temple, surrounded by a beautiful natural environment. The mix of nature's green, and the temple's golden shine, is just the perfect spot for your photo camera.
  • Gion & Kiyomizu Temple: I'd recommend visiting the Gion neighbourhood, better known as the Geisha district, and from Gion walk towards the Kiyomizu temple. Very likely you will run into a couple of geishas or maikos [apprentices], or probably just japanese tourists dressed like one of them. Some shops offer a kimono-rental-service, which gives you the possibility to look like a geisha for a day. In Kyoto a geisha is also called a "Geiko", a geisha from the western part of Japan. The Kiyomizu is a big impressive buddhist temple on top of a hill, it's worth the visit. But as I mentioned before, after 10 different temples, I had enough.

 

Last, but not least! Nara.

Nara is a mix of Kyoto and Osaka. A very laid back and quiet city, which feels different than the city-life of the two previous mentioned cites. Lots of natures, temples, lakes, and too many deers. One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Nara, were the deers. I wanted to get a selfie with a deer so bad!

The parks of Nara are filled with over 100 deers. You're allowed to pet and feed them. The deers are so tame, that even little kids aren't scared to touch them. The funniest part would be the bowing [a sign of showing gratitude], if you start bowing in front of the deer, they will bow as well... well, mostly if they get a deer-cookie in exchange. You gotta witness Nara in real or just through images, words can't describe how beautiful that place is. I had the chance to visit Nara during the sakura season [cherry blossoms], it was an unforgettable daytrip. When I got back to the hotel, I noticed that I still had missed so many spots in the beautiful city. I need to get back one more time!

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New Orleans & Mardi Gras.

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““Laissez les bons temps rouler””

Blues'n'Jazz, endless partying, melting pot of people, creole & cajun cuisine, carnival parades... and there's so much more, that the charming city of New Orleans has to offer during Mardi Gras. The Carnival period in New Orleans starts on the 6th January each year, and  it lasts til fat-tuesday. It reaches its peak of celebrations the last 4 days before "Mardi Gras". 

I've been to Nola [New Orleans / Louisiana] twice, and each time for Mardi Gras. Sometimes I asked myself, if I shouldn't visit  Nola on different dates, to get a more authentic view of the city. But if you're going for the music, the soul of the city, I guess the best annual periods to visit Nola would be for carnival in February, or for the famous music festival called "Jazz Fest" in April.

Blues, Jazz, Soul... black music is the heart of New Orleans. During Mardi Gras Nola offers you hundreds of concerts each night, in bars, clubs, or outdoor fests. Expect to meet lots of people, coming from all over the world, to enjoy the awesome music and the laidback vibe in the city. 

In my case, I guess there's no other city in the world, that would offer me a better carnival. There's no doubt, that Rio's carnival in Brazil is terrific! But if music matters to you, when partying, New Orleans is the place-to-be during carnival for blues & jazz fans.

Many bars are open almost 24 hours, the party never stops. As far as I experienced Mardi Gras the last years, Burbon Street and Frenchmen Street were the busiest spots to go out at night. During daytime we loved to hang out around Woldenberg Park, just next to the Mississippi river. You could listen to the typical nola music, while watching people dance, and hear the steamboats passing by.

Mardi Gras is the paradise for photographers. Everyone wants to get photographed on those days. Everbody seems to be very outgoing in New Orleans, and on Mardi Gras, you won't see any people without a costume on the streets. Dancing & partying all over the city. As for myself, I took my best portraits photos ever in New Orleans.

The food in New Orleans is kind of different, than in any other U.s. city. Don't expect the fine french cuisine, because of all the french [creole] words you will see everywhere in the city. To me it was more of a multicultural cusine... part french, part spanish/italian, and of course with an american touch. I never got tired of the sea food in New Orleans... delicious oysters, jambalaya [like the spanish paela], shrimp pasta or the Po'boy sandwich.

 

Beads, beads, beads everywhere... you can't walk through New Orleans without wearing any beaded necklace. For the carnival weekend, people throw those beads from their balcony or rooftop all over the streets. It's totally normal for the women to show off their naked boobs, to get the fanciest necklace. Expect to see lots of nudity for Mardi Gras. :) Nola is also cheaper than the bigger U.s. cities. Don't expect crazy prices for the drinks during Mardi Gras. 

 

My favorite music bar was the B.M.C .

Balcony Music Club - New Orleans

Adress:  
1331 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116 

Phone #:
15043015912

 

As a little personal tip, don't start Mardi Gras with a hangover. It's hard to resist, when you go out on monday, the day before fat-tuesday, bump into people, make new friends, and get free rounds from the people around you. 

But Mardi Gras is a long & exhausting day... with lots of dancing, drinking and shouting "happy Mardi Gras". The longest parades, the loudest music. Fat-tuesday feels like a 48-hours-day. 

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

 






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Krakow.

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Last winter we decided to celebrate new year's eve in Krakow, Poland. We were looking for a city we haven't visited yet, and which was afordable at the same time. Without any big expectations we flew to Krakow. I didn't have any clue about the country, nor the city before my arrival at the airport. Our gentle cabdriver Jozef drove us to our hotel at Jozefa street, which was located in Kazimierz, the old jewish neighbourhood.

Krakow is  a small city. I'd recommend it as a lovely weekend trip of 3-4 days, which would be long enough to discover the beauties in and around the city.

My favorite part of Krakow was Kazimierz, because it was full of street art, new discoveries around every corner. It was the right mix of old historical buildings and modern art. Kazimierz is very lively at night. There are plenties of bars, and a big diversity of restaurants. I'd recommend to try every single polish dish in the city, because their food is amazingly delicious. I'd go for Pierogis [polish dumplings] any day! Check out the restaurant "Starka" at Jozefa Street, a lovely arty restaurant, which serves polish dishes. great wines and home-made vodkas.

The main square of the city, would be the place that reflects the image of Krakow the most. It's a huge place surrounded by old cathedrals and historical buildings. I think it's the biggest square i've ever been at. Because we were visting for new year's eve, the whole place was covered with food stalls, and a big christmas market [yes, after Christmas]. Same as Kazimierz, the square is surrounded by hundreds of restaurants and all kind of bars, jazz clubs, sports pubs, and old polish tavernes. The Royal Castle is just inbetween Kazimierz and the city's main square.

While in Krakow, I guess it's a must to visit Auschwitz, or in polish Oświęcim. Visiting a concentration camp was still on my check list. During highschool we had to read so many books about 2nd world war, and the concentration camps across Europe, that I had to witness this monsterous place on my own. Our cabdriver Jozef picked us up at our hotel, and drove us to Auschwitz, which took us about 50 minutes by car. The guided tour lasts approximately 2 hours. After Auschwitz you get another short busride which will bring you to Birkenau. Visiting both camps takes half a day. 

After Auschwitz Jozef took us to Wieliczka Salt Mine which is located nearby Krakow. The Wieliczka mine is often referred to as the Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland. Now it's hard to tell if the salt mine is a tourist trap or not. Some rooms, mostly at the bottom of the salt mine, were quiet impressive, considering that all the statues,  chandeliers, stairs, have been carved out of saltblocks. The floor, the ceilings ... they're all made out of salt. The negative part of the saltmine was the guided tour. We had a lovely guide, but the tour just lasted too long. 

Sadly I can't tell what Krakow looks like in summer. We had some pretty cold and grey days in Poland, but they were the right match for the new year's eve vibe, and our visit of Auschwitz. Depsite the freezing weather, Kaziemierz was always busy at night, same for the main square area. We met a couple of polish people, who they were all super welcoming. It's a cheap city, so it allows you to have a good time, and enjoy your stay without carrying too much about your wallet.

 
 
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Second Line / Soulbar {Shinjuku, Tokyo}

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On my 2nd trip to Tokyo, I booked my hotel in the Shinjuku area. Shinjuku is famous for its nightlife block called "Golden Gai". It's a whole block filled with bars, most of them are dive bars. Many of those places can only host a handful of customers, and are very limited in size. 

I heard about bar called "Curtis", which reminded me of the soulsinger Curtis Mayfield, it sounded like the right place to start my evening as a solo traveler. Due to a total lack of free-wifi spots in the area of Shinjuku, I wasn't able to get the right adress of "CURTIS" while walking through the tiny alleys of Tokyo.

Outside of a building I saw the wooden sign "SECOND LINE". In New Orleans -Second Line- is called the dancing crowd, which follows the brass band during a street-parade. I totally got the idea behind the bar name, and felt this would be a great substitute for "Curtis Bar".

I went downstairs to the basement, and entered the first door on the left. It was small bar, very dark, with 2 people sitting in a corner on a round table, and two other customers sitting on the counter. I took place on the counter as well, and the bar owner started to introduce himself in pretty good english.

A pretty big collection of vinyls, soulmusic playing in the background, dimmed lights above the tables, and I was watching the owner cutting ice blocks with an ice-pick for my drink. You could notice that the owner Masaaki Matsuzaki put all his heart into that bar. He told me I should call him Matcham.

Matcham introduced me to a couple of customers, which kept me busy for every night I visited his bar. We talked about records, about Japan, New Orleans and about our lives. Rarely I've been to a bar, that reflected so much passion.

After I visited "Second Line", I turned back every night for a drink or two for my next 4 nights in Tokyo. I'd recommend this place to evey music lover, and everyone who's looking for a laidback but classy place to start the evening in Tokyo.

Adress: 

  • 新宿3-10-11, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
  • Facebook: Bar Second Line
  • Phone # : +81 3-3226-7890


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Reykjavik & the Iceland Airwaves Festival.

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I was really excited about going to Iceland. I startet listening to the icelandic band "Sigur Ros" when i was 15 or 16 years old. It's an amazing and unique band, which totally "sounds like iceland", and their music videos are packed with the most beautiful icelandic natural spectacles. My mind got tricked with many clichés: epic natural panoramas, woolen sweaters, lots of sea food, and good music. The clichés turned out to be right. 

 

After a friend had told me about the annual music festival called "iceland airwaves", which takes place in Reykjavik, I had to google it online. I was instantly conviced. Reading more and more about that festival, I got the message that "ICELAND AIRWAVES" is a festival for music lovers, purists, ....yeah for the music snobs :). I had to get there! 200 concerts a day, during 5 days! Over 1000 concerts in different places all over the city! Some of the bands which were playing at the festival, were still on my check-list. I needed to get to Iceland! I bought an early-bird ticket for Iceland Airwaves almost 10 months before the event. After i found a package-deal (hotel&flight) for 350 euro, instead of 650 euro, it was a done deal! [fyi check out "WOW Airline" for the cheapest flights from London].

 

My first impressions I got after spending some days in Reykjavik, or mainly in Iceland:

• After my arrival at the airport I noticed the difference in design and warm decor of the airport.
Keflavik (international airport of Iceland), which probably is the nicest airport i've ever visited. Later I noticed that the hotels & shops which looked alike, were heavily influenced by the nordic design that we know from Ikea, Sweden or Norway. Simple, but unique.

• Pretty designs, pretty people. Icelandic people are beautiful people. Crazy that there are barely no obese icelandics. All the icelandics i observed in Reykjavik and some other cities, looked pretty fit, thin, and had the most pretty faces. If you're on the hunt for your next partner, go visit Iceland ! :)

• I expected lots of delicious sea food and traditional icelandic dishes. But many locals strongly recommended me to avoid those dishes. I had a fish soup on daily basis, which was the best fish soup i ever had. I also had the worst sush i ever had in Reykjavik, even though I never had bad sushi before. Gastronomical wise...Iceland wasn't a big fish. They had lots of fast-food restaurants, or the typical greasy dishes you get in every other country, for example: fish&chips.

• Is everybody an artist or a musician in Iceland? I read that 60-65% of the icelandic population lives in the area around Reykjavik. The festival line-up was packed with too many fantastic bands from Iceland. Bands which have a hard time getting famous outside of their country. I dont get it. So many talented musicians live in Iceland, with a unique sound, beautiful music and lots of talents (some band names to check out: Valdimar, Rokkurro, Vök, Jonsi, Sigur Ros, Asgeir, ...and so many more). I became a huge fan of their music-scene. 

• YES Iceland is VERY expensive. 12 euro for a gin tonic. 6 euro for a beer. 22 euro for a soup, water, and a coffee. 55 euro for sushi. I got a rental car for 24h, a cheap Toyota Yaris [shitty car] but it was cheaper than the sushi i had the night before. Food and drinks are very expensive. Busrides were expensive as well, when you didn't have the exact change. Busride was 350 kroners. So you needed at least 4 coins to get the 350 kroners together. 4 Tickets a day, makes a lot of change. I rarely carried that much change in my pocket. Most of the time I had to pay with a 500 kroners bill. And you never get any change back from the bus-driver. TAXI is SUPER EXPENSIVE. Dont ever take a cab in iceland.

• The most impressive thing I saw in Iceland, was the amazing nature! So many waterfalls, geisyrs, rivers, oceans, mountains, crazy sunsets, northern lights.... a blast of an natural experience! Take many storage-cards with you, because you're going to need them for the photos. The nature-scenery often looks unreal. I've seen so much beauty in 5 days traveling. Japan was quite impressive, but nature-wise no country beats Iceland.

The only thing I would reconsider, the next time I'm going to visit Iceland, don't do sightseeing and a music festival in one day. It's just too much, too much to appreciate at once. On my next travels to Iceland I'd consider doing a roadtrip for 5-6 days across the whole island, and then do 3 days of one of their popular music festival [Iceland Airwaves or Secret Solstice].

Oh i forgot about another fact that stroke me while being in Iceland... the pride of the icelandics! Does it sound bad, if I say "pride" ? I guess not. The people who live on that iceland, who grew up over there, are proud of what they have around them. They don't brag, or show their pride that much, as we know it from the U.S. "'muricaaaaaaa". But the way they talk, welcome people, their daily clothes... you can feel that they're pride of where they come from. You don't see a lot of immigrants,  barely none... You never feel walking around in a melting pot, with different cultures, it's just icelandic people around you. And I kind of like it when people are proud of their own culture, and the history that made their country, a fact that makes their country unique. Somehow it reminded me of Japan. It's a nice to see that a country doesn't lose its own face. 

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Hong Kong.

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Hong Kong was the first city I visited on the asian continent. Those were my first steps in a country, in which i couldnt read a sign, and maybe the first time i felt a culture shock. I really liked it though.

Most people I know prefer visting Thailand, Japan or Indonesia. But i gotta tell you, that Hong Kong has A LOT to offer! We spent 5 or 6 nights in HK, and those 6 days kept as busy for every single second.

Here are my favorite spots I'd recommend to everyone who visits Hong Kong for the first time:

• Victoria Peak
The classic skyline from the top of a mountain. From that viewing point you get a look all over Hong Kong, the bay and all of Kowloon. Everything else besides the view feels very touristic, the restaurants, the crowds, and the waiting line for the escalator. Go up there, take some photos, enjoy the skyline, and get off again.:)

• Lantau Island
Lantau Island is famous for its Big Buddha, and the way to reach the island is a pretty adeventurous one as well. You can hike all the way up to the Buddha which will take you a couple hours i guess, or you take the hanging cable-car, which still takes around 10 to 15 minutes to reach the touristic area. But expect a huge waiting line to reach the lift. Next time i'm gonna visit HK, i will plan a whole day on hiking the Lantau Isaland. If you're afraid of heights, it will be a fun ride. I had to close my eyes a couple times. ;) Once you passed the souvenir-shops & the food village, you can walk your way up a hundred of stairs til you reach the Big Buddha statue. From up there you get a breathtaking view of the Island. Expect lots of tourists though...but still.. totally worth the trip!

• Lei Yue Mun
Lei Yue Mun isn't the hippest or cleanest area of Hong Kong, but it's a great place to take authentic photos of HK. Actually it's a big fish market, surrounded by boat houses, and tons of fisher boats. Most people you will meet over there are locals. The day we visited Lei Yue Mun, we were pretty much the only tourists.

• Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery
This walk uphill was one of the most memorable moments I had in HK. You can feel the serenety while walking up those the thousands of stairs til you reach the monastry. You're surrounded by nature, and it takes you away from the busy city life you mostly experience in Hong Kong. It's en exhausting path for sure, and it feels like an endless path. The monastery itself isn't that impressiv at all, but it's rather the path with the then thousands buddha statues in line who will lead you to the top of the mountain.

• Victoria Harbour
Trust me that the skyline of Hong Kong you will see from the Kowloon bay at Victoria Harbour, is far more impressive than then one you know from Brooklyn of Manhattan. I remember that we walked towards the bay after sunset, feeling a light wind, and hearing the sound of the waves, and the huge concrete jungle ahead of us felt like a blast that moment. Every evening there's a laser show, which actually is the cheesy part of the game. Lots of people meet up at the Victora Harbour to observe that laser show. Forget about the laser show, and enjoy the HK skyline!

• Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong is a big block on the Hong Kong Island where nightlife happens. Bad thing about it, it's filled with expats and tourists. The only asian people you are going to meet, might be tourists from other countries. The good thing is, it's easy to find, it's always busy: every night! There's a daily happy hour, where you pay 5 euro [7$] for 2 gin&tonics. All the bars are grouped within one block, so you never get lost, no matter how drunk you get. Just above Lan Kwai Fong, there's Wyndham Street, and Hollywood Road. Those two streets are packed with restaurants and bars as well. One of the popular clubs called "Dragon-I" is located on that road. 

There are plenties of temples all around the city. Same counts for shopping areas, expect infinite shopping in HK. I love the right mix of modern buildings, vivid city life, and still keeping traditional buildings & markets inside the city.

Food and drinks are pretty cheap, and the food is really delicious if you avoid the touristic hotspots. The flight from Luxembourg to Hong-Kong and our 5-nights at fancy hotel totally cost around 800 euro. I haven't visited HK since then, but i'm pretty sure I'm heading back very soon. We visited HK in November and it still felt like summer time. If you're looking for a nice winter/fall destination, check out Hong Kong Island! 




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Seattle, WA

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The first thing that pops up in your head when you hear about Seattle, might be "Nirvana" or the grunge-era. At least that was the case for me, before I visited Seattle, WA.

I didn't know much about the city, til I met my buddy Tony in New Orleans during Mardi-Gras. After a couple of drinks in Nola, we shared contacts, and invited each other to our hometown. That's how i made it to Seattle. After having convinced my girlfriend back then, we decided to do the whole westcoast on one single trip. Seattle was the first city on our journey.

Seattle is a pretty big city, and you definitely need a car to move around. It depends on where you're staying at, it can easily take 1 hour bus ride to make it to the different areas in Seattle.

Well the famous "Space Needle" tower, was all I wanted to see. But i was so wrong! First of all, after our first day, I noticed how big their coffee culture is! The first Starbucks coffee shop, was opened in Seattle in 1971 just nearby the Pike Place Market. In that area, you can find so many different coffee bars, and every single coffee i had in Seattle was just amazing. Since that trip I started enjoying my coffee "black", without any sugar or milk. Tony took me to different coffee drive-ins, and shared his knowledge of coffee roasting. Besides the coffee culture, there's an even bigger beer culture in Seattle! But i can't tell about that, as i'm not a beer drinker.

The food was delicious ! I had the best alaskan salmon, the best oysters, and generally the best sea food in Seattle.  It seemed like fastfood wasn't such a big thing in that city. 

There's so much nature to discover in the state of Washington and around Seattle. Mount Rainier and the Olympic Mountains are surrounding the city. While talking to the people in Seattle I could notice the importance of nature for them. Tony and his friends knew so many precise stories about the different mountains, lakes, and woods all around Seattle. Most of the houses in the suburbs were built with their local wood. 

But don't get the idea that Seattle would be a lumberjack city. During our stay there was a big block party on Capitol Hill, and so many bands were playing that weekend. As i was told Capitol Hill is the main gay-block of the city. The streets were packed with punk-kids, hipsters, and even older people who were having a good time, and enjoying bands like: Tv on the Radio, Les Savy Fav, Baths,...

BALLARD - was one of my favorite neighbourhoods in the city. You can find so many different shops, from the famous recordstore "Bop Street", to different tattoo parlours, good restaurants, and diy designer shops. 

FREMONT - a less busier area for shopping, but still it's totally worth to check out. You will find lots of street-wear shops, a big wall-painting of Shepard Fairey [OBEY], a statue of Lenin, and of course the Fremont Troll ! If you wanna grab lunch in Fremont, i'd recommend the delicious "Jai Thai" restaurant. 

For a more morbid adventure in Seattle, you can visit the different memorial statues of Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and the graves of Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee. Visiting the grave of Bruce Lee was very interesting though. The grave is located at the Lakeview Memorial cemetery. Not only you could still see lots of fans visiting Bruce Lee´s grave with their most respectful behaviour, some were even crying. The Lakeview Memorial is the nicest cemetery i´ve ever visited. From the top of the hill, you have a beautiful scenic view all over the city. 

 

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Sea Rock Inn {Mendocino, CA}

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One of the most memorable hotels i've ever stayed at in the USA, was the Sea Rock Inn in Mendocino, California. 

Heard about the Sir Douglas Quintet song "Mendocino" ?  "Please stay here with me in Mendocino, Mendocino, Mendocino, Where life's such a groove". That's exactly what Mendocino feels like. A small village with the all beauty and magic you expect to happen in California.

And the Sea Rock Inn, was just the perfect match to our short stay in Mendocino. You can choose between different cottages or bigger suites. We had a small wooden cottage, just next to the Mendocino coast. As soon as you stepped out of the cottage, you had an amazing panoramic view of the ocean. Perfect for watching the most romantic sunset.

Our room was equipped with a small stove, to heat up the room during colder nights. The location was alright. It tooks us 10-15 minutes walking to reach the city center. Free parking was available as well, just behind our cottage. 

The "Sea Rock Inn" just felt like a total different experience compared to most other californian cities i've been to. Forget about the glamour, the hipsters, and all the bling bling. I'd recommend Mendocino to every couple who wants to have a break from the big city life. Enjoy the nature, the lovely people of Mendocino, and the delicious sea food.


If I  had to go back to Mendocino, the "SEA ROCK INN" would be definitely be the place i'd love to stay at again. The breathtaking view from the porch outside the cottage is all worth it.

Breakfast was delicious as well. The lovely staff took care of everything. And again from the breakfast room, you could enjoy the beautiful scenery around the hotel.


Contact:
Sea Rock Inn
11101 Lansing Street
Mendocino, CA 95460

E-mail: innkeeper@searock.com
Website: http://www.searock.com/

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Budapest

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I visited a lot of cities in Europe, some were more impressive, others more entertaining, but I gotta admit ... for now ... that Budapest became my favorite european city. I first discovered the beautiful capital of Hungary last summer in July 2014. My first trip lasted 5 nights, and after that short trip, I knew I had to turn back. So I booked another flight to Budapest for September 2014. After those 2 trips last year, I'm heading back this summer in August 2015.

There is so much to discover and to enjoy in Budapest. The city is packed with delicious restaurants, beautifully designed bars, and lots of historical sights. The main attractions are located centrally. Most parts are reachable by walking distances, so public transportation isn't needed. For the 10 days i spent in the capital, we always had the best weather.

Let's start with the north of the city-center, where the Budapest City Park Városliget is located. You can spend a couple of hours in that part of city. The beautiful park is surrounded by historical buildings & castles, the famous heroes square, a big pond, and a bunch of restaurants.  I'd recommend the restaurant "Robinson" and its charming outdoor dining area, where you can try some delicious hungarian dishes, and a panoramic view of the pond the park is included with your hungarian goulash. :) Inside the park, there's the famous and biggest thermal bath of Budapast "Széchenyi". It's an eyecatcher for sure, and you will feel like taking a bath in the 19th century. Every weekend they organize an open-air party at the Széchenyi  thermal bath. Even if it's cold or raining, the warm temperature of the water, will put you at ease.

 

If you're booking a hotel room, I'd recommend looking for the area nearby the St. Stephen's Basilica. In my opinion that's the very center of the city. You can reach anything within walking distance. Just in front of the basilica starts the Zrinyi Street, which is packed with restaurants, and some of the most popular clubs and bars of Budapest. The Erzsébet Square is only 3 minutes walking away from the basilica. The square is a beautiful and hip place to hangout all day in summer time. People are cooling down their foot in the small pool, you can have food at the nearby open-air dining area, or you just go clubbing at the Akvarium Club which is located below the square in the basement floor.

The southern part of the city, which is located on the BUDA side of the Danube river, is reachable within 20 minutes. Just pass the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, and follow the path to the top of the Buda Castle, or the less tiring option would be the elevator. From the top of the hill, you can enjoy the the beautiful skyline of the PEST side of the city. You get pretty much the same view from different areas of the BUDA side. The Citadella fortress on the south-east side is totally worth the hike. It's even higher than the Buda castle, and on the top there's beautiful botanical garden (during summer time), once you walk down the citadella hill, you will reach the famous thermal bath Gellert. Passing Gellert, and moving over the bridge back to the Pest side, you will hit the Central Market Hall, which is worth a visit. 

 

WHAT KEEPS ME GOING BACK TO BUDAPEST ...

• it never gets boring. I guess i've seen most of the main attractions, but just walking through the streets of Budapest is totally enjoyable. Everyone is super friendy, and everyone I met speaks english, even the older generation. 

• it's cheap ! Like many eastern-european cities, food & drinks are half the price than central Europe.  It's a great city, to go out dining in a restaurant everyday. Expect to pay around 10 euro [13 Us$] for a starter, the main dish, a coffee, 2 softdrinks and a glass of wine. Half a pint of beer is around 1 euro, gin&tonic is around 3.50 euro, and a cocktail around 5 euro. 

• it's a lively city. I've only been there twice, but during those trips there was a biiiig beer festival in the mainstreet of the center, a food festival, parties on the cruising-ship, parties at the thermal bath, a techno party at the Margit Island... Budapest people know how to enjoy life. The city has a big diversity of bars, wine bars, restaurants... boredom never comes up.

• it's easy to meet people in Budapest. Not only locals, but during summer season, there are lots of tourists and students all over the city. Is it annoying ? Not really, there are so many different places to hang out that you won't notice the huge amount of tourists in the city. Budapest women are very pretty as well ! Classy, and good looking... Sorry girls, I can't tell about the men. :)

I had such a great time in Budapest, that it keeps me from visiting the beautiful city of Prague. Both cities often get compared with each other, that's why I'm afraid of not enjoy Prague that much, after I fell i love with Budapest.

 

• Here's a gallery of the photos I took during my trip : Budapest

 

 

Why JAPAN ?

I will dedicate my first travel blog-post to the beautiful country of the rising sun called JAPAN.

I first visited Japan in May 2014, and after a very short 5-day-journey across the Kansei region, I instantly fell in love with that beautiful country.

 

5 days only? Isn't that too short?

Well, I felt a little bit insecure visiting a country, where it wouldn't be easy to communicate with the people around me. I wouldn't be able to talk to most people, and couldn't read their letters and signs. I was on a budget as well. The 5 nights in Japan [2 in Kyoto, and 3 in Osaka] and the flight cost me around 750 euro [830 US$], bargain!, wasn't it? 

I had the maximum of a japanese experience i could have expected on that short trip, from delicious japanese food, to the geishas at the Gion area in Kyoto, to a traveler meet-up with locals and gaijins [foreigners] all dressed up in traditional Kimonos. 

photo by Frank Desiront

 

KANSEI AREA!

As soon as i left Japan, I knew i'd turn back very soon, for a long trip and of course visiting its capital Tokyo. I turned back in April 2015 for the sakura season [cherry blossoms], and started my trip in Tokyo. From Tokyo I moved on towards Kansei, and visited my friends in Osaka again. From Osaka you're pretty close to Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, and plenty of other smaller cities. It's just right in the middle of the country, and it only takes you 3 hours to reach Tokyo by Shinkansen [super-fast bullettrain], and 3 hours to reach Fukuoka on the west-side of the island. A 200 euro [230 US$] Japan-Rail Pass will give you access to infinite train-rides for a whole week. It is expensive for a one-week ticket. But as soon as you figure out that a one-way ticket from Tokyo to Osaka costs half the price [around 100 euro] of the JR Pass, you will notice that it's worth every cent. 

After having experienced the 2 most famous cities of Japan, Tokyo and Osaka. I'd definitely recommend the Kansei area for those who are planing their first adventure in Japan. Why? Well, it's just a totally different vibe than Tokyo. Less crowded, less busyer, more smiling people, and a lot more of cultural and traditional  sights. By the way Kyoto is considered the most cultural city of whole Japan. The city of Kyoto owns the most temples per city in Japan. 

If you plan on doing both cities on the same trip. I'd recommend visiting Tokyo on the first days of your journey. In case you'd start your trip in Kansei, you might get disappointed with Tokyo. Don't get me wrong! Tokyo is an a-m-a-z-i-n-g city! But it's just too busy, and it takes you forever to move around with public transportation.

All the clichees you've seen and heard about Japan, you will experience all of them in Osaka and Kyoto... except for the concrete jungle that Tokyo is best known for.

After my second trip to Japan, I'm already planning to turn back for a second time this year. But only visiting Tokyo for 5-6 days. It's such a huge city, that i've only discovered a tiny part of it on my first 5-days in Tokyo. 

I could go on, and write about Japan for a couple of hours, and fill pages with tons of words and photos. In the next weeks I will try to add single reviews to this blog, and more precise recommendations of the different areas I discovered in Japan.

 

Is it easy to get along without understanding a word ?

To be honest, japanese people [well most of them] are very bad in english! Once you start learning japanese, you will understand why they're so bad. It's just a total different grammar, the order of the subjects, verbs, objects are totally different, than most of the languages we are used to. They got 3 different alphabets [hiragana, katakana, and an endless huge symbol-alphabet called kanji]. Let's get to the point! It's very easy to move around Japan. Most menus have photos next to their common meals. A lot of restaurants have english menus, and all you need to do, is to point with your finger on what you want to eat. Your finger will be the most important tool in Japan.

The subway and railway stations have the english station-names on their rail-map. Most employees at the maininformation-desk speak english. The check-in staff at the hotels mostly communicate in broken-english, but they will understand anything you'll ask them.

Once you start going  out in japan around midnight, after a couple of drinks, lots of japanese people will overcome their shyness, and will try to communicate in english with you.

Everyone i've met in japan was super-friendly und very helpful. You will never feel lost in Japan... maybe just for a couple of minutes ;), til someone reaches out to help you.

Welcome.

Welcome to my travel blog.

I discovered my passion for traveling around Summer 2002, when I stepped for the first time into an airplane, and discoverd the beautiful state of California. Since then I was blown away about discovering different cultures, culinary highlights, and making new friends abroad, a few thousand miles away from the place called my home.

Traveling is a passion, ... even a lifestyle. You leave, you discover, and come back home. You turn back home wiser, relieved, and sometimes exhausted due to the huge amount of experiences, memories, and new friendships (and the so called drunken nights). The next days you start working again, getting back into daily life, all you can think about is the urge of leaving again.

If those lines sound familiar to you... please keep following my blog. I will do my best to share the great moments i experienced abroad for the last decade. I call myself a hobby photographer, even a video-editor, and I'm doing my best for bringing the best photographic memories back home, to keep that specific and special moment last forever.

Please keep in mind... you can't ever travel too far!

Frank.