sunny Wengen

ski in Kitzbühel

I finally went to the Oceanário

I lived close by for so long but hadn't yet visited
the Oceanário de Lisboa

the best beach in Portugal

the picture was still in my camera since this sommer...
but now I have it, can you recognize where this is?

Japan in a week

friday, in the afternoon, we arrive at Tokyo airport after 11 hours flying
after getting our JR Pass we took the train (1 hour) and finally got the hotel
where we had our first Bento box (bough in one of the many station stands)
and still took a few pictures from our 17th floor window before bed!





saturday we got up early (still jet lagged) and visited the Tsukiji Fish Market
(what an impressive amount and variety of fresh fish and seafood!)
afterwards we had breakfast and walked through Ginza's Chuo Dori
past Marunouchi and kept going towards the Imperial Palace East Gardens
where we had our first contact with the cherry blossoms (sakura in japanese)
afterwards we had lunch (nice stew with rice) and took the train to Ueno Park
there we did some people watching (there was a massive hanami party)
with food stands, improvised picknik tables and many, many japanese
we took a peek at the Tokyo National Museum and took the train to Shibuya
where we saw the Hachiko statue, crossed where millions per day go past
and stopped at the Starbucks to observe the ever moving crowd
back near the hotel we had the cheapest best sushy dinner ever!





sunday we went to the Metropolitan Government Building (not that great)
and proceeded to Harakuju (Takeshita street) and then to Omotesando
finally, we used our last hours visiting Tokyo to go to Aoyama cemetery
where we could do some quiet and people-less hanami before going back



monday morning we took the train to Takayama (5 hours with one change)
and still got to see Hida no Sato, walk in the Old Town and visit the Jinya
this was our only stay in a Ryokan with traditional dinner and breakfast
a very nice experience with many tricky shoes/slippers/barefoot changes





tuesday morning, before we got on the train to Kanazawa (2 hours)
we still had time to go to the morning market by the river (very small)
and bought sake in a traditional brewery (tasting and advice included)
in Kanazawa we headed to Omicho Market for a fantastic seafood lunch!
we walked through the old samuray neighborhood (being recovered)
and just had time to see the Kenrokuen Garden and the castle (outside)
and this night we actually had abendbrot from a "german" style bakery!!





wednesday we took the train to Kyoto (3 hours) arriving in the afternoon
after finally finding the hotel we still had time to see the Heian Shrine
and head towards Gion to see a geisha show (we went to Gion Corner)
after dining noodles we walked back through iluminated cherry blossoms
and many, many japanese with tripods and cameras, filling up the streets!!





thursday we took the bus to the western part of town (1h30m), Arashiyama
we first took a peek at Togetsukyo bridge and the nearby hanamy area
and then went to the Tenryuji temple and out through the Bamboo groves
we kept walking up to Gioji temple and had lunch in the Saga-Toriimoto area
finally a sunny day with great contrast between the sakura and the blue sky!
we kept going to the Adashino Nenbutsuji (we missed the Otagi Nenbutsuji...)
and walked some more to finally get to the Daikakuji temple (very nice)





friday we visited the eastern part of Kyoto, starting in the Nanzenji temple
and walking up the Philosopher's Path past the secluded Honen-in temple
all the way up to Ginkakuji temple before taking the bus down
to the very popular and very touristic Kiyomizudera (nice climb to get there)
we then walked north through the Higashiyama district to Kodaiji temple
we continued to Maruyama Park (massive hanami party, with food stands
and the ground covered with tatami like if it was a house or temple)
past the nicely lit Yasaka shrine, back to Gion and headed to the canal
to meet a couple of friends (also visiting) for dinner at Pontocho





saturday we did our one-day train excursion to Nara (a very rainy day...)
we walked from the station to Kofukuji temple and in Yoshikien garden
we kept walking into Nara Park, entering the Todaiji temple and Hokkedo hall
walking through the Nara Park we saw many deer (and fed them cookies)
while walking to our final destination for the day: Kasuga Taisha





sunday, before taking the train (3h) to the airport, we went to Nishiki Market
visited the impressive Nijo Castle and went through the Imperial Gardens
we slept at Hineno, right next to the airport for the early morning flight!





and monday got the plane back at Kansai Airport (driven in a nice pink bus)



Japan is a very nice country to visit with extremely friendly people
everything is properly organized (more than in Germany!) and colour coded
and, especially in the sakura period, makes for a very beatifull destination!

in the middle of the Atlantic

we arrived at the airport in the afternoon and got the rental car
and went to the hotl, to take a first look around
and have something typical for dinne in the many Ponta Delgada restaurants



the next day we left towards Sete Cidades
went up Covoada and pat Pico do Carvão (not really obvious to find...)
until we stopped in the area of the Lagoa do Canário and went down
we stayed around and did a bit of the Serra Devassa trail
with volcanic cones, craters, big lagoons and an impressive view
then we went down to Sete Cidades, but first stopping at the Vista do Rei
after a good lunch in Sete Cidades (and a new concept of pepper)
we went to the coast, towards Mosteiros and Ponta da Ferraria
back in Ponta Delgada we went to the Gruta do Carvão
and walked through an onld lava tunnel!
back in town we had again for dinner something typical from the islands!



the next day we took it easy, relaxing in the area of Furnas
where we sepnt a few hours in the warm water of the Poças da Dona Beija
afterwards, in the town of Furnas, we visited the Terra Nostra park
and then tasted the typical Cozido - what a treat!
we drove down to Ribeira Quente for a bit of time at the beach
and came back to the hotel through the Pico do Ferro (spectacular view)
we still had time to go down to the hidden Lagoa do Congro
and pass by Vila Franca do Campo and by the Nossa Senhora da Paz
from where you have a very good viwe of the famous Ilhéu





on the morning of the third day we had the whale watching boat trip
as expected we saw at least two species of dolphins
and many sperm whales, even a mother with her little 8 ton cub!
in the afternoon we went up to the Lagoa do Fogo
and came down by the Caldeira Velha and the geothermal power plant,
afterwards we were back in Ponta Delgada and went again to the beach,
between Lagoa and Sao Roque, very familliar apart from the black sand



on the fourth day we drove to the remote area of Nordeste
again passing by Ribeira Grande where we cisited the cebtral area
and there we went in strangely curvy highway,
passing through the Tea crops area (Gorreana and Porto Formoso)
after having lunch in town (the prices are much lower in this area)
we headed, along the clifs, to the Ponta da Madrugada
passing by many sunday barbeques, always with a nice view
and afterwards we came back, a long way back to the hotwl (almost 80km!)



on the fifth day we drove straight to Povoação, but on mountain roads!
enjoying the view you get if you come from the Furnas area
and, after lunch, we went to Faial da Terra
where we did a very nice trail to a beautiful waterfall
we then crossed again through to Nordeste, but on a dirt road,
passing by the highest peaks (I'm glad the car was a rental!)



on the last day of the trip we stayed in Ponta Delgada,
where we did some tours of some chirches, the harbour area
and the Forte de São Brás barracs
before we went back to the airpot to catch the plane back



I knew the Azores were amongst the most beautiful areas of Portugal!
but I didn't know this island yet, and it is no less beautiful than the others,
the advantage is it includes most of the landscape types in one trip only!
we really wat to come back, next time to the Central Group

Lisbon and the Azores

we flew saturday to Lisbon to spend a few days in Cabanas
and still went to the beach in the fantastic hills of Arrábida,
Figueirinha, Galápos, Portinho da Arrábida...



and caught a Sata flight to S. Miguel on wednesday
from where we came back 7 days later, this time to stay in Lisbon





and afterwards we spent a few days in Areia Branca with my parents
where we went again for a few hours on the beach (a little windy)
and came back early sunday morning to Darmstadt!



some very nice holidays and maybe the last chance before Christmas...

relaxing in the Maldives

we took the plane saturday, 4th, with aproximately 4 degrees!
and after 11 hours flyung we landed at the Male airport,
where we caught another plane to the Ari Atol (1 more hour)...
and there finally got a boat to the Sun Island Resort!



upon arrive, on sunday, we checked in and discovered...
we were lucky: two nights in a water bungalow!!
in that afternoon we still dived a bit and walked around the resort,
apreciated a fantastic sunset and went to see the sharks being fed!



on the next day we enjoied the bungalow with exit into the water
and only took a walk in the middle of the day to digest lunch,
while we waited to go back in the water!
at night we went back to the shark area to see the show.



tuesday we moved to the beach bungalows, in the best area of the islands
and spent the day snorkeling in the corals right in front of the room
filled with curious colourful little fishies!
and in th evening we went to pet and feed the Stingrays!



wednesday we kept the routine, snorkeling in the southern part of the island,
the difference was that we heard there had bean a coup,
and the president of the Maldives was brought down, in Male...
but, for the while, in the touristic areas, everything peacefull!



on the next day we went snorkeling on the other side of the island,
an area much deeper, with bigger corals and fish...
and that was where we saw a big Stingray pass by!



friday we were snorkeling again in the same area
and finally we saw the Reef Sharks live and up close!
they impose respect, swim in group and we managed to see a 2 meters one!
at nightfall we went line fishing for our dinner (a 1 meter fish!)



saturday we were approaching our return and things in Male were peacefull
we sepent the last day snorkeling and swimming with the sharks
and, at the end of the day, we tried feeding the fishies,
that went mad with the little peaces of bread we gave them!



sunday we made our trip home with no problems
and, in the same day, we went from 30 degrees to -4 degrees!!
these were some extremely relaxing and calm holidays,
and it was fantastic spending our days in the water with the fish!

essential China

saturday night, on the 9th of last month, we took the Air China plane
and arrived at 6h in the morning, 10h later, to Beijing, ready to sleep!!



we slept a bit and still used the afternoon by going to the Temple of Heaven
located in a garden filled with older people playing, singing, dancing...
before we went for dinner and to meet the group and the guide for the tour



monday we woke up early to go to the impressive Great Wall
built by mandate of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China
back to Beijing, we went to the Silk Street market (how stressing)!
and in the evening we still went to Wangfujing and the snack market



tuesday we went through Tiananmen Square straight to the Forbidden City
we spent the morning and had lunch together before climbing Jingshan Park
where we would have had a fantastic view, if not for the permanent fog!
afterwards we went north just the 2 towards the Drum and Bell Towers
where we went in, almost by chance, to the Nanluonguxiang hutong!
in the evening we still managed to go to the olimpic area (nice lights)
and we still went to Qianmen before going to sleep



wednesday, 12h, we were at the Summer Palace up to lunch time (very nice)
and came back to the centre to get the train to Shanghai (12h trip)



thursday, arriving early to Shanghai we left the bags at the hotel before lunch
we took a tour around the city and ended up in the Bund taking pictures
before we got soaking wet with the sudden torrential rain!!



friday we left early towards the Yuyuan Gardens and surrounding Bazaar
the garden is very picturesque with statues decorating the roofs and walls
and close by we visited the City God Temple (taoist)
before the day ended with the chinese acrobats show,
we still passed by the Shanghai Museum (and we though it would be quick)
still saw a kid taking a crap in the subway (into a plastic bag, of course),
and went again to the Bund to take more pictures and eat some chestnuts!



saturday, we crossed over to Pudong and went up the World Finantial Center
we spent the rest of the afternoon on the train towards Xi'an (10h trip)



sunday, 16th, we left our bags at the hotel and walked to the centre
where a fantastic and varied dumpling banquet was awaiting us
after that we went to the Southern City Gate and climbed the walls
where we spent a few hours walking and watching people in the gardens
(lots of people exercising and playing ping-pong!)
and, finally, we visited the Mosque and had dinner in the muslim quarter



monday we left in the morning by bus to see the Terracotta Army!
not only was it fantastic seeing al those statues (still under excavation)
but it is impressive that this is only a small part of the tomb
of Qin Shihuang (the same that built the Great Wall)!!
after coming back, we spent the rest of the afternoon in Shu Yuan Men



tuesday morning we took the plane (the only one in the tour) to Chengdu
after the check-in, we went for a tour of the teahouses
and there was still time to go to the Baihuatan Park before the Ópera



wednesday, 19th, was a full day, starting with the Giant Pandas!!
after many many pictures of this laid back animal (and the Red Vermelho),
we continued to Leshan to see the Giant Buddha (1h in the staircase)
and all the surrounding area, filled with temples and buddhist monasteries
and after continued to Emei Shan where we spent the night in a temple!!



the next day (after dumplings from the bag, at breakfast),
we went to the top of the mountain (and fortunately the fog was going away)!
on the way we saw the ingenious tibetan macaques harassing the tourists
that afternoon we did not do much, after all we also needed a rest!!



friday, we left by bus to Chongqing (6h always honking, very stressful!!)
where we dined and strolled around before taking President 6 in the Yangtze



saturday morning we docked in Fengdu where we visited the "netherworld"!
and spent the rest of the day enjoying the landscape and resting!
at night we still heard some chinese karaoke (1h was our limit)



the next day we went finally into Yangtze's 3 gorges
there we went, always surrounded by numerous cargo ships,
first Qutang (most impressive before the dam...)
then Wu where we left in Badong to visit the Shen Nong river
beautiful but completely different (before was much nicer!)
still that night we arrived at the Dam and went down the ship locks



monday, the 24th, we left the boat early and got a took a bus (5h trip)
to Wushan, where we got the train to Guilin (arround 15h)



tuesday morning we still got a bus (1 more hour) to Yangshuo,
were we had breakfast, still before doing the check-in!!
we did an orientation walk through the city and went up a hill
in the afternoon we went with the group to a local farmers' market
where we saw the local specialties (among which were snake, frogs and dog)
on the way to a ride in river Lijang (close to the picture in the 20 Yuans bill)
where we walked around the local farmers' fields and villages
in the evening, after dinner, we went to see the Impressions Sanjie Liu
an impressive show with too many participants!!



the next day was all spent on a bike, in the outskirts of Yangshuo...
we went past many rice fields, locals ploughing the land with Buffalos,
we took a swim in the Yulong river and some went rafting in the rapids
before we went for lunch at the house of a local farmer (very good!)
afterwards, we still went up the Moon Hill before going back to town,
back through the field, where we visited some farmer' houses



thursday we started the morning with a trip to the town's market,
(again impressive due to the animals there: dog and cat)
before a chinese cooking lesson in a local restaurant
in the afternoon we took again the night train towards Hong Kong



friday we arrived at Hong Kong after lunch (took a while, in the border!!)
the hotel was right in the mega populated area of Mong Kok
and we still took a peek in the markets in the Jordan area before dark,
when the popular Symphony of Lights started (what a disappointment...)



saturday, 30th, we spent the day in Macau (1h away by boat)
from the Harbour, we went to Kun Iam Tong temple and then to Guia,
where we went around the garden and visited the Lighthouse
afterwards we went to the Leal Senado and had lunch in the area
afterwards we went to the other side of the peninsula, to the A-Ma temple
and came walking to the centre through the Mandarin House (realy nice!)
towards the famous St Paul ruins (just a façade...)
we still went past the Lou Lim Ieoc garden before going back to the Harbour
back to Hong Kong, we still went up the long Escalator
and went to the bars' and shops' area of the Soho



sunday, the last day in Hong Kong, we left early to the Kowloon garden
and after some people watching, we kept going to Victória Peak
back down, we crossed the Hong Kong Park before going back to the Hotel
to get the taxi to the airport and the plane to Beijing,
from where we got the plane back to Frankfurt and back home!



this was a fantastic trip, both for the country and for the cultural shock!
and the tour was excellent both for the guides and for the group!
undoubtedly experiences to repeat (tours with G and trips to the orient)