Prambanan - Indonesia

Prambanan – Indonesia

Post published:14 October 2015
Post category:Asia Indonesia Southeast Asia

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The largest Hindu temple in Indonesia

Our next move while in our Yogyakarta base would be for spending the entire day visiting multiple temple complexes located just few kilometres to the east of the city; among them, of course, the must-see world renown masterpiece of Candi Prambanan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique history and grandeur, and great state of conservation due to the many ongoing restoration projects that kicked off already during the Dutch colonial times.

If you are planning on visiting only this temple, then you will end up with plenty of free time to…coming back to Yogyakarta? Well, if you don’t really have much time then it’s fine, but otherwise don’t fall in the mistake most of the tourist do in “forgetting” this area is filled with many other temples as impressive and shocking as Prambanan itself and literally few hundred of meters away from each other! Most of them are inside the Prambanan archaeological park itself. I must admit that I personally did not know about the existence of that many other places around that near until I received an Indonesia guide I ordered online to read through about all the places we were planning to visit and prepare our trip to include as much as possible while around.

On a good side, if you have an entire day for sightseeing outside Yogyakarta then let me tell you it is perfectly possible to visit not only 1 but another 3 or 4 archaeological sites on top! And all without any rush and giving you plenty of time. (more…)

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Yogyakarta - Indonesia

Yogyakarta – Indonesia

Post published:13 October 2015
Post category:Asia Indonesia Southeast Asia

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Yogya: Suitable, Karta: Prosperous

Moving onto the second stop along Indonesia we come to the city commonly known as the center of education in the country: Yogyakarta. Also commonly seen written as Jogjakarta or simply as Jogja. Nowadays, the second most visited city by tourists after Bali due to the proximity to two of the most beautiful and impressive temples in the entire country: Borobudur and Prambanan. But it is not only those nearby temples but for the beautiful yet small old town and much history that can be seen and felt across the city. It is the center of the Javanese culture, and without any doubt, one of the best stop-overs along an Indonesia tour you could ever do.

As said before it is very highly likely that tourists skip the visit to the city as they head directly on mostly organised day tours to the temples, but is worth to spare a day in here, see the cute Dutch fort, Great Mosque and the beautiful Sultan’s Palace. A good note I can give you in here about the palace is that the first building you get to see once you enter the complex is not the true beautiful one. That one lies afterwards, and unfortunately has a limited opening hours; same as is with the Taman Sari (or Water Castle as it is also known). Why would I mention this you might ask? Well, because it happened to us and we were too late there when it was already closed, being able to only see the first buildings that are nothing special unfortunately.

All other sights were not a problem and easy to see them all. What is best is that all of them are within walking reach from each other hence no public transportation involved in between plus saving you lots of time. The city after all is quite small, and one day will be more than enough to visit in full.

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Jakarta - Indonesia

Jakarta – Indonesia

Post published:13 October 2015
Post category:Asia Indonesia Southeast Asia

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Old Dutch Batavia

Ready for the next big holiday to a far destination, Indonesia, starting at its vibrant capital Jakarta. That’s the 3rd great trip so far this year, or 4th if considering the long-weekend trip to Turkey just few months earlier in the year, and of course plenty of weekends all over Europe. And as I know it won’t be still the last for this year it means I remain excited and will remain happy even when this holiday is over after returning from Indonesia and looking forward to the next one; or well, not that much long to wait, just 5 more days until flying again for one of the usual weekend trips.

If last year was Philippines, this year is the turn for Indonesia. It does not really matter when in the year but there is always one trip to anywhere in Southeast Asia or far East Asia; and I hope to keep it going this way as it works really well while always escaping the bad weather back in Europe in search of sun and heat at destinations mostly within the Tropics. Not the longest daylight hours per day but hey! I cannot see any other “downside” point apart from that. The only workaround is starting the days very early in order to maximise the day, and rest in the evening once sunset.

Jakarta was our entry point and first encounter to Indonesia. This huge capital city is not what you might have though and been told on first instance. I’ve always heard from my friends who’ve been there before that there is really nothing to see and do and that everything is ugly and unorganised. This was in reality very untrue!. The city is instead very vibrant, day and night, and so vastly large there is always something to do and places to go. From the ultramodern skyscrapers mushrooming everywhere, to the more traditional Indonesian, and to the great Old Town, former Dutch colonial city which has retained majority of its buildings almost intact and unspoiled, nowadays beautifully restored to their former glory with a much larger ongoing project to recover more and more of these structures and make the city more tourist friendly.

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Opole - Poland

Opole – Poland

Post published:3 October 2015
Post category:Eastern Europe Europe Poland

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Historical capital of Upper Silesia

Another weekend flying to Wroclaw after a year we went there, yet with a different reason this time which was reaching Opole, 100 kilometres to the southeast. Not a city of special importance or any great sights, but fully meaningful to my travel companion as it is his birthplace before having to move to Germany when the borders changed and Opole returned to be a city in Poland and no Germany.

Also a good reason for returning to Wroclaw was to be with my friend whom I did not see for almost 12 years!. And of course, for the city itself. It is still among one of my favourite in Poland with so much to see and do. While the last time we visited it was almost December and the huge Christmas market was already on in the main square and streets, this time we got just in time to enjoy probably the last days of sun and warm temperatures before the Autumn drop. We’ve been very lucky on both Wroclaw and Opole with the weather, it could have been already very bad.

I know this guide is going to be quite explicit, but for the shake of it I could not pass the occasion and give it a go in creating it as I got some spare time right before our main long holidays for this year just 5 days ahead of us. But not minding the very small size of it and that there is not much to see, it was still worth to come for the day and enjoy the cute old town knowing most of it is a reconstruction since the World War II made a great loss and destruction in Opole. (more…)

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Vienna - Austria

Vienna – Austria

Post published:27 September 2015
Post category:Austria Europe Western Europe

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The City of Music

Vienna, how to even start creating a guide for one of the most stunning cities in the world. Not only its impressive elegance from the incredible architecture all over the place, but its rich history and culture on every corner. And if with the eyes was not enough, this is a delight to the ears as well. No other city in the world has such a vast history and legacy from the greatest classical music composers of all times. That’s the fact in the city’s nickname, the “City of Music”. Now glad to return few years after the first time and continue to explore this magnificent place.

Few years back, we did arrive in Vienna after little over 4 hours train ride from Prague, the enchanting city of Central Europe. And if 3 days were definitely not enough back in Prague, we experienced the same conclusion here in Vienna back in the days. That trip was for merely 2 days and an extra evening since we planned a very busy day tour to Salzburg, therefore cutting short the overall stay. Now, talking from extra fresh new experience after this trip, I can finally say my visit is complete and definitely looking forward to the next time and more.

The city has a great urban plan and follows what is pretty much a circular pattern. The Old Town, which is the historic area is called Innere Stadt and is completely encircled by the first ring road, the Ringstrasse, which was built with magnificent palaces, buildings, fountains and monuments all the way along. Both the Old Town coupled with this ring road are mandatory places for sightseeing, leaving for last the sights on the outer neighbourhoods from the Ringstrasse, being the major landmarks the Prater, Central Cemetery and Schönbrunn Palace.

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Bratislava - Slovakia

Bratislava – Slovakia

Post published:26 September 2015
Post category:Eastern Europe Europe Slovakia

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Beauty on the Danube

Another of the jewel cities in Central Europe, yet the smallest capital city from the neighbouring countries such as Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Even Salzburg feels bigger although it is smaller by population. This makes Bratislava perfect for a short visit like a weekend cultural trip, that’s well more than enough but it is also one of the cities I don’t mind returning, hence this is for now, the second time.

Without minding the size, the old city is truly worth the trip itself. Recently revamped and gentrified with most of the houses around the historic old town restored and beautifully painted and many sculptures embellishing the streets, some of them as original as I have not seen before elsewhere as you can see down below in the photo album. Really charming Central European city with an enormous potential. And comparing the 6 years in between both visits, I felt very lucky to have come in 2009 when there were still not that many tourists and everything was somehow, more unique and traditional.

Finding your way along the city is as easy as walking the main street in the old town and some parallel ones, and the one leading to the top of the castle. There is not really much more out there from the historic centre, therefore great for visiting everything without the need of any public transportation to get anywhere.
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Stavanger - Norway

Stavanger – Norway

Post published:20 September 2015
Post category:Europe Northern Europe Norway

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Stafr: Branch, Angr: Bay

Coming back to Norway only after few weeks since we re-visited the capital city, Oslo; but this time to a new destination never been before: Stavanger. Fortunately as a rare exception to any Norwegian city, here money seemed to last a little bit longer. Nothing to compare with the most expensive city we’ve been so far in the country, Bergen, and even still, a bit cheaper overall than Oslo. This is in a way good to know, but remember that a meal for two in a normal and “not expensive” restaurant will come to a minimum of £40, that is over 400 NOK.

Nicknamed the Oil Capital City of Norway can self-explain a lot. Yet it is not only about the oil and energy, but on the more demanding tourists coming here to enjoy some of the most spectacular natural landscapes on earth that lie only few kilometres away, being its highlight the world known Lysefjorden Fjord, which is the icon and symbol taken to represent any fjord on any catalogue about Norway.

If you are expecting a beautiful city to the likes of Oslo, Bergen or Tromso, then you might be a bit disappointed, but only due to its very small size. However, Stavanger is one of the oldest cities in Norway and ranks among the best examples in wooden architecture from the 18th and 19th century that can be found everywhere around the city centre and outskirts and are beautifully preserved and restored. (more…)

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Potsdam - Germany

Potsdam – Germany

Post published:13 September 2015
Post category:Europe Germany Western Europe

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Residence of the Prussian Kings and the German Kaiser

Our second day of this quick weekend we spared to visit the beautiful city of Potsdam, just 24 kilometres to the south west of Berlin. This was for us the main reason for this weekend trip, and since we’ve already been to Berlin some years back where we got to spend 4 days full days, more than enough time to visit everything, it is why we took on this occasion Saturday only to remember a bit and walking along the major tourist areas and attractions without any rush.

Sunday, in the other hand was a very different story. Even the day was planned to start early, which it did, was definitely not enough time to visit every place I will be listing below in the next section of what to see and do. There are way too many places to see in Potsdam, and distances in between too vast, but it’s not only about visiting those places from the outside alone (which in any case for this first time in this city we did), but once you start entering the palaces and acknowledge the real size of them, time will fly away. As few weeks ago we got enough from spending the entire day in Versailles in Paris, and in matter of 2 weeks we will be in Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, we decided to stick to the plan of see as much of the countless amount of palaces, pavillions, sculptures, fountains and parks just from the outside.

So what’s all this buzz about this place then that everyone talks about and ranks among the top 5 attractions in the whole of Germany? It is nothing else than the history that represents. The city became the full permanent residence of the Prussian royal family, who started to create such palaces, castles, pavillions and parks. The highlight came during the reign of Frederick the Great with the creation of Sanssouci Park and Palace in 1744 with its impressive Rococo architectural style instead of classic that was the norm elsewhere in Europe. The legacy after the centuries is what you can see today, all in its former glory after the vast long program or reconstruction and restoration that took place after the loss and destruction that happened here during the WWII and the Cold War afterwards. (more…)

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