Since I grew up in a small town just outside of Vienna, I always knew that I would be living in a big city once I start with University or work. For the last four years now, Vienna has been my home and I have to say that I start liking the idea of living in a smaller town again. After visiting Graz, this thought has been even more on my mind than before. Graz has so much more flair and heart than Vienna. Everything is close together and therefore more manageable. If I would have to compare it with another city in Europe, I’d say that Graz is the Berlin of Austria (though obviously not as large); trendy, stylish, worth living. I think I have a new crush … Graz, I love you!

Where to stay?

Graz is only about two hours from Vienna, which is a nice distance because you don’t arrive there fully exhausted. My friend and I booked ourselves into the lovely Hotel Wiesler along the Mur River. Such a nice hotel with much love for details. For example: We stayed in one of the “Independent Rooms” with a wonderful view up to the Clock Tower. Sure, that’s nothing too special but get this: there was a pair of binocular attached to the wall next to the window … Hmmm, the hotel leaves it up to you if you rather spy on the people living on the other side of the Mur then take a closer look at the Schlossberg ;) Just one of hundred cute details, which made the hotel stand out even more.

Our "Independent Room" at Hotel Wiesler, Graz.

Where to eat?

Breakfast: The coffee shop tribeka is supposed to offer the best coffee in town … I couldn’t tell since I didn’t visit any other coffee shops but what I can tell you is that it’s one hell of a good coffee! They also have a great variety of sweet or savory breakfast food. Really lovely place and if the weather permits, you can enjoy your breakfast outside.

Dinner: I knew that Hotel Wiesler was a well known hotel but I didn’t know that the Speisesaal (which is a part of the hotel) is one of the best (burger) restaurants in Austria. The burger was absolutely fantastic! I can really recommend this place – not only because of the superb food but also the great atmosphere.

Sights worth seeing.

Schlossberg: Obviously one weekend is not enough to see an entire city – not matter how small it is. But I did the best of my time and started walking along the Mur river to the steep way up to the Schlossberg. The way up there is long and exhausting (you can also take the escalator for 0.90 € if you don’t need the work-out) but so worth it. 260 steps lead up from the Schlossbergplatz to the Clock Tower. Between 1914 and 1918, Austrian & Russian pioneers built these steps which is why they are called “Russensteig” (Russian steps) or “Kriegssteige” (war steps) as they were build during WWI. Up there, you have a wonderful (pretty much) 360° view of Graz.

The Clock Tower: The landmark of Graz is also one of the cities oldest buildings. The tower on the highest spot of town has already been named in 1265. In 1560 the Clock Tower received its characteristic wooden ambulatory and the clock.

Some impressions:

The clock tower on the Schlossberg in Graz, Austria.

The view from the Schlossberg in Graz, Austria.

The Altstadt in Graz.

The Kunsthaus in Graz, Austria.

The clock tower in Graz, Austria.

A cat in the window of a house in the Altstadt of Graz, Austria.

The Kunsthaus in Graz, Austria.

It was a long way up to the Schlossberg in Graz, Austria.

Our daily routine started with an early swim in the rooftop pool of our hotel on Shamian Island. This part of Guangzhou is a relaxing area within this vast city, where traffic is  limited and you can walk under old trees along very nice old colonial buildings. For your western comfort you will also find a Starbucks cafe around the corner -  not that we love such world spanning chains but in some places they just come in handy for a luxury treat :)

Around ten o’clock the shopping temples open their gates for the brand cautious shopper. Guangzhou truly is a shoppers delight. After a few hours of choosing, comparing and haggling, we definitely had enough. So we stepped outside, and found this little Muslim restaurant where you get the best noodle soup in the whole city! By now we’ve eaten our way through many other places in Guangzhou but absolutely nothing compares to this semi outdoor food stall.

So, after returning for a quick offload of the purchased stuff, we were ready to hit the hidden sights of the city in the afternoon. We set out South with the subway. There was one station that caught our interest: It’s on an island on the Pearl River. After some 40 minutes we finally got there and walked up the stairs to realize that we were in a complete different world; birds were chirping, chicken ran around, you could find typical old Chinese houses and women who had their marketplace right near the subway station Eggs, herbs, fruits … simply all things that are produced on this island were sold there. The locals were truly astonished that two Western women visited their island … A chit chat starts immediately (of course) but unfortunately we didn’t understand a word…

There are maybe around 50 houses on this island with small alleys, and entrance doors opened. Not many strangers find their way down there, so you can peek into ones living rooms :) It’s like a typical Chinese village life. Fish was being dried along the way and some women were doing embroidery on the village square.

A gentle breeze from the river and the sound of some doves made this afternoon a very relaxing one – in an otherwise so busy city.
We top off the day with a visit to a hairdresser for a wash and blow dry including a sensational head massage. The pool back at the hotel made this day in Guangzhou a perfect one.

The Old Towns Spare is one of the most visited places in Prague. No wonder. You’ll not only find the scarey looking Gothic Tyn Church there but also the world famous Astronomical Clock. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. Before leaving for Prague, my mum told me that my great great grandfather was one of the few people who knew how to repair this clock and therefore was one of the even fewer people who got his hands dirty repairing it…Pretty cool huh?

2. Prague Castle.

Of course one of the biggest attractions is the Prague Castle with St. Vitus Church and the Golden Lane. It is the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Prague was so tightly bound to what we call Western Europe today, that in the 17^th century it was enough to through two catholic town councils and a secretary out of the Prague Castle to start a war; a war that would last 30 years and seized almost all of Europe…

3. Petřín.

Petřín is a hill in the center of Prague with an Eiffel Tower like tower on top. From up there, you have a stunning 360° view of the city. Sooo worth seeing!

4. (John) Lennon Wall.

To be honest, we didn’t plan on visiting the John Lennon Wall. We heard about it, yet it didn’t capture our attention. We reached the wall by accidents when walking through the side alley near Charles Bridge – and we were not disappointed. It once was a regular wall, but since the early 1980′s it was continuously filled with John Lennon inspired graffiti. Why? Well, in 1988 Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time. This led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described (ironically) as “Lennonism”. What’s so great abut this place is that it constantly undergoes change because people still paint/write on the wall.

5. Jewish Cemetery.

Since the Jewish cemetery in Prague truly fascinated me, I wrote an article about it here. In three sentences: It’s one of the most well known cemeteries in Europe because of the way the tombstones are arranged. Even though the entry isn’t cheap, it’s worth every single cent. A huge must see!

Yosemite National Park, the High Sierra, and the Eastern Sierra are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Ever since Shawn Reeder serendipitously won a trip to Yosemite when he was 18, the beautiful Range of Light has captured his heart and become his home.

Here are a couple of impressions:

Mountains.

Gunung Kerinci is an active volcano and with 3.805 meters it’s also the highest mountain yet still (more or less) easy accessible. With the occasional eruptions, the walk through the rainforest is incredible because the flora there is so rich and beautiful.

National Parks.

Gunung Leuser National Park is still a true virgin rainforest – thanks to the difficult terrain. The park is a world heritage site since 2004 and a great choice for trekking or watching the wildlife. Bukit Lawang was the most famous Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center, which adjacent to Gunung Leuser National Park, but since a torrential flash flood swept through the valley in 2003 (a few tourists and about 250 locals died & the entire village was destroyed) the Orang Utan (translates: Orang = person, Utan = forest) Center was relocated to Bukit Tigah Puluh National Park. This park is about 200 km East of Padang, where you can even see the rare Sumatran Tiger. This National Park is not so well known and a good way away from the beaten pat,h so therefor everything is much more authentic and a bit more difficult to access. Unfortunately Sumatra is not spared from deforestation (of course). It is threatening the entire area around these wonderful National Parks. The land is cleared for planting oil palms (elaeis guinneensis) and teak.

Lakes.

Sumatra also offers you some really beautiful lakes: the most famous one is Danau (= lake) Toba with a very large island in the middle. Lots of guesthouses wait for exhausted travellers and it’s a a really nice area to rest for a couple of days. We visited Danau Singkarak on our last trip to Sumatra. We drove around by motorbike along the rice paddies – it was an easy ride yet we still got to see some wonderful impressions. For example we drive through a couple of villages where thousands of fish were dried along the road (I guess these lakes still contain a lot of fish).

Culture.

Sumatra is rich in culture and tribal heritage. People still use local methods for all kind of their daily routine. For example: to make yoghurt you simply need fresh bamboo, cut it in pieces and fill it up with fresh cow milk. Let it stand for a couple of hours (in the warm climate) and you get the best yoghurt. It was the best one we’ve eaten throughout our Southeast Asia trip! Milk products are one of the few things that we really miss during our travels, so this is a good recipe.

Beaches.

And then of course there are the beaches … lots of wonderful tropical beaches. We’ve seen many many amazing beaches during our years of travelling but Sumatra’s coast (plus the Mentawai Islands) truly is one of the best places for a beach adventure – without breaking your budget. The surf is abundant and one of the best surf spots in the world (Nias) can be found on these islands.

You should be a bit adventurous, flexible and curious to explore this part of the world because it is still not an area for a package tourist. Get in touch with us for further information and travel tips :)

Here are some impressions:

The lush rice paddies in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Fishermen in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Women working in the rice paddies in Sumatra, Indonesia.

An Orang Utan in thr zoo of Padang in Sumatra. Stop animal captivity!

Students in Padang, Indonesia.

Dried fish along the roads in Sumatra, Indonesia.

The beautiful landscape of Sumatra, Indonesia.

An old abandoned house in Sumatra, Indonesia.

A fisherman painting his little boat in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Wrecked ship off the coast of Padang in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Woman washing her cloths in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Snake in Sumatra, Indonesia.

The Titanic in Southampton (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

Only 160 minutes after colliding with the iceberg, the RMS Titanic sank.

She got the attribute “unsinkable”, was the pride of its building contractors and should bring its passengers from the old world into the new world. No one expected that an iceberg would put an end to the Titanic. Here’s a short chronology of the events of April 14, 1912:

March 20, 1912: This actually was the planned date of departure but due to repair work on another ship in the same shipyard, the work on Titanic is not done yet.

March 31, 1912: The end of the construction work at Belfast.

April 10, 1912: At noon, the RMS Titanic sets its sails from Southampton. Almost all passengers stand on deck. When leaving the port, the Titanic generated such an undertow that the ropes of two nearby ships (“New York and “RMS Oceanic”) ripped. Both of ships are about to collide with the Titanic – only with “full speed ahead”, a collision was prevented.

April 14, 9.00 am: The Titanic travelled about 1.500 miles when at 9.00 am the first iceberg warnings come in.

April 14, 11.40 pm: Sailor Fleet sights and iceberg and gives the alarm. The course is changed but it is too late. The Titanic hits the iceberg with full speed.

April 14, midnight: Captain Edward John Smith talks with the constructor of the Titanic, Thomas Andrews. He estimates, that the Titanic will be able to hold herself above the water for another 60 – 90 minutes. The captain then gives the order to send a distress signal and to man the rescue boats.

April 15, 12.05 am: Crew and passengers are given life jackets. The rescue boats can’t hold all passengers.

April 15, 12.15 am: The distress signal of the Titanic are received by other ships but they are all too far away. Even the “Carpathia”, the closest ship (58 miles), will only arrive after the sinking. The band starts playing.

April 15, 12.45 am: The first rescue boat (Nr. 7) casts off – but only with 28 people instead of the possible 65. Many passengers still believe that the Titanic is unsinkable and prefer to stay on board. The fourth officer Boxhall believes to have seen lights of another ship and tries to make contact with Morse signals – unsuccessful. Which ship this could have been was never solved.

April 15, 1.15 am: The water is now all the way up to the ships name and the oblique position becomes more dramatic, which results to panic. Finally the boats are better occupied.

April 15, 1.30 am: When rescue boat Nr. 14 is ready to launch with 60 passengers, officer Lowe has to pull his handgun and fires off a warning shot to keep other passengers from jumping onto the ship which could result in the capsize of the boat.

April 15, 1.38 am: The foredeck is flooded; panic and chaos are getting greater.

April 15, 1.45 am: The “Carpathia” receives the last distress signal of the Titanic.

April 15, 1.55 am: John Jacob Astor, the richest man on boat the Titanic, says his goodbyes to his wive, since only women an children are allowed onto the rescue boats.

April 15, 2 am: Only three more meters until the water reaches the promenade deck.

April 15, 2.05 am: The last rescue boat leaves the Titanic. Again warning shots have to be fired so that the boat is not overrun. There are still about 1.500 passengers on board. The bow is fully flooded.

April 15, 2.08 am: Lights go out.

April 15, 2.20 am: Shortly before the end, the ship raises steeply and breaks into two pieces. The Titanic sinks. Only one rescue boat returns to look for survivors.

April 15, 4.10 am: The “Carpathia” arrives.

The Titanic in Southampton (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

Titanic rudder before the launch (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

The iceberg that is believed to have sunk the Titanic (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

One of the rescue boats (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

The next day looked bright & clear and we were ready to hit the town to check out our driving options for out trip West. We decided on the bus to Takoradi; cheap, easy, reliable on a newly built road. No problem.
But before we left Accra, we of course had to visit the markets, so we hired a taxi for the day. A lot of things were on display and the more unusual stuff caught our attention immediately. For example snails, huge snails! We were told that they are a delicacy in Ghana. We refused politely, and the market woman didn’t mind that we took pictures of her merchandise.

Edible snails at a market in Accra, Ghana.

A market woman selling oranges in Accra, Ghana.

Market life in Accra, Ghana.

A pleasant accurate bus ride brought us to Takoradi, from there we continued by taxi to Busua. On the way you will see many people selling bush meat along the road. You mostly see squirrel or duikers and even monkeys are sold for the upcoming dinner table.

We simply wanted to go to the beach so as soon as we arrived at Busua Inn (run by a French couple) we hit the beach. The couple btw has another lodge about 20 km away in Ezile Bay on a beautiful unspoilt beach, with solar power and a few cabins. So this place was going to be our destination for our Easter Holidays.

The beach was really beautiful with white sand, blue water and a little village nearby. The village Akwiida has a little market, where you can get everything for your basic needs. You could go fishing, or if you’re not the sea-kind of person, fresh fish is available everywhere. The locals wrap it into banana leaves and grill it on the beach. Yummy!

A wonderful beach near Takoradi, Ghana.

Kids playing on Takoradi beach, Ghana.

Group picture on Takoradi beach, Ghana.

Walking along the long stretch of beach gave us an idea on daily life in Ghana, which was really nice. All in all it was a great two week trip down to the Black Continent.

Tip:

If you take a taxi back to Accra, stop along the way to visit Elmina castle. Dating back to 1492 it was built by the Portuguese and it has a very diverse past. Nowadays it’s a tourist attraction and a completely renovated fort along the Gold Coast of Ghana. The famous German director Werner Herzog used Elmina as location for his movie “Cobra Verde” and President Obama was there during his visit to Ghana.

Elmina Castle in Ghana, Africa.

Inside Elmina Castle in Ghana, Africa.

The fishing boats near Elmina Castle in Ghana.

Why eggs for Easter?

Well, first of all in the Middle Age, the egg where considered as liquid meat. But during Lent, Christians were (and still are?) not allowed to eat egg … but at the same time, the egg production b(l)ooms during this time of the year. So naturally all of these eggs had to be eaten and therefore the traditions with the Easter eggs emerged…

So anyway, I’m going to be honest … I’m not the biggest fan of all these religious holidays (yet I do enjoy a long weekend) but I still would like to wish everyone a happy Easter! Hopefully you’re enjoying Easter Sunday with family or friends … and if not (because you’re travelling or whatever), I simply wish you a great weekend :)

The cleaning (luckily) has already been done but the holiday preparation has just begun. We’re actually planning a real big one this summer: Pakistan, India, Indonesia and China … or maybe Africa? As you can see, our tickets are not yet booked and we haven’t decided anything. All we know, it that it’s going to be another great adventure.

So for this trip (wherever it may take us), I was thinking of buying myself a couple of new things. And since I love online shopping, zalando.at is a platform to spoil myself … for example with a new pair of nice trekking boots :)

So anyway, zalando is hereby allowing me to give away two AWESOME vouchers. One 100 € voucher and one 50 € voucher! Not bad huh? Be a part of our raffle and have a chance in winning.

How to participate in the “50 € voucher” raffle:

We all have some things that we can’t live without – especially when travelling … We want to know three items that you can’t live without while travelling. Tell us either by …

• … commenting below …
• … commenting on our facebook page …
• … or by twittering your answer (but don’t forget to also post the article link and @cookiesound – otherwise we unfortunately can’t include you). This could look like this for example: “I’m packing my suitcase and I’m bringing: Camera, notebook and a water kettle. http://bit.ly/Hj7Iiz via @cookiesound“

How to participate in the “100 € voucher” raffle :

If you want to have a chance in winning the 100 € voucher from zalando, fill us in on why you need these three item so badly when travelling. Tell us either by …

• … commenting below …
• … or commenting on our facebook page.
• Please no twitter because we want to read more than just 140 characters :D

Both winners will be announced on Friday, 11th of May 2012.

Good luck!