Nomadosophy: Europe

Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Friday, September 14, 2012

Prague in 6 Hours (Part 2) - Charles Bridge on Vltava

8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - After we saw the Opera House in Part 1, we headed for the banks of Vltava River. The longest river in the Czech Republic crosses the capital from north to south, offering stunning views to those who take a stroll along its banks.

Prague in 6 Hours (Part 1)

Me on Charles Bridge, one of the highlights of the day.

Hello from Prague, my friends! We had 10 hours to kill on our way to Paris, so we strolled around this amazing city for 6. I didn't think it was possible to see a lot in such a short time, but the friendly layout of the place helped us a lot. So, what did we do in Prague?

Denmark: Roskilde Cathedral

Roskilde Domkirke is an impressive red brick cathedral, one of the most remarkable buildings in the whole Denmark. Listed among the World Heritage Sites in 1995, the cathedral marks the center of the town and is visited by more than 100,000 tourists every year. Taking a tour here is like taking a tour of the Danes' history as it also represents the burial place for the royal family since the 15th century.

Food Mood: Croque Monsieur vs. Croque Madame

If you visit Paris on a budget, the Croques are the most affordable food for you, except for the Turkish or Moroccan hole-in-the-walls. The average price is 6 euros. This basically very simple, popular food imbued with the French influence brought by the Bechamel sauce is a favorite among both locals and foreign tourists. But what's the difference between these two?

Croque Monsieur. (c) Premshree Pillai via Flickr.

Roskilde is a quaint small town (what Danish town isn't?), located 35 minutes West of Copenhagen. Its harbour is a natural part of it, marking the south end of Roskilde Fjord.

Prague on Our Way to Paris: A Wish List

A 12-hour layover on our way to Paris. Early autumn in Prague. Breakfast on our way to the country of petite-dejeuners. Local beer in the Czech Republic. Not too shabby. This is what I do know. This is something that has been planned ever since I started drinking and enjoying beer.

The Gorgeous Keukenhof Park (Amsterdam)

Keukenhof is a small suburb of Lisse (the Netherlands), located 37 kilometers south-west of Amsterdam and known for the flower park put together here for 8 weeks every year (from late March to mid-May). Its name means kitchen garden, but the place and its amazing flower show have been considered for years the Garden of Europe.

The nowadays flower garden was initially the herb garden of the Jacoba van Beieren's castle kitchen (hence the name). Today, it is open all year long and houses festivals and classical music performances. One of the most famous destinations in the Netherlands for sixty year (with a total of 44 million visitors so far), the colorful display of springtime flowers in bloom is created by more than seven million tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, spring bulbs and gorgeous trees.

You can choose from many tour options available or you can just stroll by yourself among the tulip fields and manicured lawns, along the 15 kilometers of footpaths. There are several restaurants within the park or you can bring along a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the many benches and picnic spots.

No wonder it is the most photographed places in the world. Besides the kinds of tulips and other spring flowers that we know, it houses numerous rare species, carefully supplied by royal warrant holders.

The tickets are 14.50 Euro (adults) and 7 Euro (children aged 4-11 yoa). But foreign visitors have the option of buying a combi ticket for 21 Euro (11 Euro for children), which includes a bus ride from Schiphol Airport and one bus ride from Leiden. Tickets can also be purchased online on the Keukenhof website - www.keukenhof.nl.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Dalboka Mussel Farm (Bulgaria)

The Black Sea Shore at Dalboka

Great stopover while on our way to Saigon.

An all-inclusive holiday in Bulgaria is always affordable. Lunch at the mussel farm in Dalboka, on the Black Sea shore, is totally inexpensive. For 6 Bulgarian levs, you’ll get a huge pot of awfully tasty seafood, cooked in various ways.

The mussel farm in the distance.

Dalboka is a farm that specializes in cultivating and producing organic mussels. As Bulgarians have recently proved to be common sense businesspeople, the owners of the farm have also set up a small rustic restaurant on the shore, with wonderful views to the sea and to the surrounding Kaliakra Bay and even with a free wi-fi area. Dalboka is approximately 40 kilometers North-East of Balchik and 7 kilometers South-East of Kavarna.

We got there by car, on a very steep one-lane country road. They are currently working on broadening it, so any future trip to Dalboka will hopefully be less adventurous than ours. We passed quickly by all the extreme feelings caused by a possible car coming from the opposite direction and got to the gates of the farm.

The waitresses know squat about foreign languages, but the menu is available in English, Romanian, and Bulgarian. They serve mussels, clams, shrimps, turbot, anchovies, mullet, goby, blue fish, sardines, herring, sturgeon, shark, as well as fresh water fish. The full menu is available here: http://dalboka.bg/menu/menu.en.pdf. For two mussel dishes, two local beers (Zagorka), and two cups of coffee we paid 20 levs, which is roughly 14 US dollars.

Mussels with potatoes and cabbage

Mussels with spices

These guys don’t offer accommodation, but that is readily available in the neighboring Kavarna. Nevertheless, you can spend the whole day there, as they also offer sun beds with glorious views to the bay. Needless to say we’ll go there again soon.

Dalboka farm - video - part 1

Dalboka farm - video - part 2

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Normandy - Conquest on A Medium Budget

There was a heavy roar outside L’Abbaye de Mondaye, in Lower Normandy. The steamy summer rains were upon us, soaking the bushy hydrangeas in the courtyard. In the church, the monks in girdled white robes were burning incense and praying for love and friendship.

It’s easy to be friendly and loving in Normandy. This special version of northern France welcomes you earnestly, scented by the dry smell of sun-splattered corn fields and the bittersweet flavor of the rosy geraniums hanging heavily on all window sills. Bursts of green unfold across the hills that drown into the English (or for that matter… French) Channel at Arromanches or the D-Day Omaha Beach. No minimalist cooking or drinking. Pungent bubbling apple cider and dusty bottles of wine untie your tongue during your first 4-course feast there.

A voiturette chortles uphill to a castle nestled behind a curtain of white birch trees. The car has only two seats, a huge trunk (with enough room for the potato sacks the locals traditionally carry home to cook these delicious patates au beurre), a shift stick for reverse, and two pedals. Renting a voiturette from a local keeps your budget low and your pride high: €150/week, 5 l/100 km, plus low-level CO₂ emissions.

The brave miniature stopped with a screech in front of the castle. ‘Soyez bien venue, madame. Welcome. Jollie microcar!’ This car made me friends with all the chamberlains in Normandy. A special caste: fine historians, delightful hosts, and gifted tour guides. I took the advice of Mr. Barbey, the chamberlain of Crèvecœur, and followed the trails of the most charming medieval castles in Calvados on my big-Norman-conquest-on-a-medium-budget trip. From the supposedly haunted Calvados Castle, an impressive 11^th-century fortress, to the museums and gardens of the typical countryside Vendeuvre, I finished many of my tours with a brunch or an early dinner in a French chamberlain’s family. The mules frites (fried mussels) and puffed pastries came with stories in my butchered French and in their trilled English on the side.

The castles in Lower Normandy are all listed monuments, some small and homey, others majestic, with all kinds of period add-ons. Le Château de Caen hosts Le Musée des Beaux Arts and Le Musée de Normandie; Balleroy, between Saint-Lô and Bayeux, boasts an impressive hot-air balloon museum, while the Castle of Falaise tells you how William the Conqueror changed the face of the Western world. The €5-€10 admission includes guided castle tours.

Courteously old-fashion yet welcoming and stylish accommodation is available in almost all Norman villages: self-catering gîtes (Cottage in Besneville, Manche, €350/4 people/week), manors (Manoir du Chene, in Nonant, €75/double room/night), high-end equipped castles (Château de Sully, Port en Bessin, €170/double room/night), historic hotels (Hôtel de Normandie, Arromanches-les-Bains, €70/double room/night), or monasteries (L’Abbaye Saint Martin de Mondaye, €45/double room/night).

I didn’t conquer it all. But the Bayeux tapestry, the home-made apple cider, and the cheerful flower pots in every courtyard still conjure the unique spirit of Normandy. Ever since, hydrangea scent has never faded.

[caption id="attachment_589" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="On the National Day of France"]