travel with Mivvy

Street Art in Dublin

2012-10-30T19:01:00.000+01:00

Public art is dotted all over Dublin. You will find bronze statues in unexpected places and meet famous people such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Patrick Kavenagh.

My favourite is the Tart with the Cart - Molly Malone at the Trinity side of Grafton Street. In the song 'In Dublin's Fair City' she 'wheeled her wheelbarrow, through streets broad and narrow'. This is exactly what she is doing here. The statue is very popular with tourists who all take pictures of her and her deep cleavage.

A close second is The Prick with the Stick, the statue of James Joyce at the corner O'Connell Street and North Earl Street. Hand in pocket and leaning on his walking stick, he seems to observe any one who passes by and doesn’t mind people sitting on his pedestal.

Oscar Wilde admirers will love to see the Fag on the Crag, the playwright draped across a rock, opposite no 1 Merrion Square, across from his childhood home.

Poet and novelist, Patrick Kavenagh’s statue is also known as The Crank on the Bank. Seated on a bench, he overlooks the Grand Canal near Baggot Street.

Famine Monument at Custom House Quay has no nickname. This sculpture is in memory of the many Irish people who were forced to leave Ireland because of the Great Famine in the 1840's. The statues mark the spot near Dublin docks from where steam boats to Liverpool departed. From there many travelled on to New York to seek a new beginning

Top Sights in Prague

2012-10-27T16:42:00.002+02:00

Estates Theater Prague

Prague top 10 attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, and drinking beer on Old Town Square after watching the spectacle of the astronomical clock. Or would you rather go shopping in one of the malls in the suburbs? Be sure to visit the Royal Gardens in spring when they are a riot of colour and fragrance. Get active and join a cycle or Segway tour. They lead along the most beautiful spots.

Read on: Prague top 10

More Prague attractions

The Hague: Madurodam Miniature City

2012-10-13T18:20:00.000+02:00

Strings of orange banners festooned the streets of Madurodam Miniature City in The Hague. Flags fluttered in a gentle breeze. The sun shone out of a cornflower blue sky as Madurodam prepared for the World Cup. People lounged in their gardens. One family gathered in front of a wide-screen television put out on the patio. When I passed Madurodam stadium, the match had not started yet. Players and fans were singing the national anthem.

On the outskirts of the city, I passed the klompenfabriek, a clog factory. Fifty years ago clog making thrived in the Netherlands; eleven hundred wooden shoe makers produced 3.8 million pairs annually. Today only fifteen factories remain and turn out 800,000 pairs per year. The Madurodam factory is still in full operation. I inserted a euro in the slot machine. A grumble roared inside the building. Seconds later a shining pair of clogs bounced onto a conveyer belt, into a lorry which started moving and stopped right where I stood. I bent down and picked up my miniature pair of clogs.

Madurodam is Holland’s smallest city. Its inhabitants live in houses, apartments or farmsteads. In summer they go to the beach or visit the Zoo. There are 4,542 cars and lorries and eight motorways. The city prides itself on ten museums, five train stations, four churches, three theatres, twenty-seven bridges, one post office, fifty-eight ships, one airport, 3,150 lamp posts and 30,000 flower bulbs, mainly tulips. I did not count them but the Madurodam booklet I got at the entrance told me.

Madurodam offers a variety of architectural styles, from Gothic St. Jan Basilica to futuristic bridge dwellings, houses spanning the river. The tallest building is 25 m (82 ft) high and houses the Rotterdam Insurance Company. The all-glass façade looked stunning, but good God I thought, it must be a window cleaner's nightmare!

All buildings in Madurodam are on a 1:25 scale. Construction of the buildings and maintaining them is a full time job for thirty-five people. Curaçao-born George Maduro gave his name to the city. He died in action during the Second World War. Madurodam is both a war monument and a charity foundation.

The city was founded in 1953. The project was a joint initiative of Mr and Mrs Maduro and Mrs Boon who supported the Dutch Student Sanatorium. Here students could recover from tuberculosis and at the same time continue their studies. Since this was very costly, funds had to be found. Mrs Boon took the English miniature village in Beaconsfield as a blueprint. High revenues enabled the British owner to make regular donations to London hospitals. I can do the same, she must have thought.

Madurodam finances eighty per cent of the objects. Industries and companies with an affinity to the objects sponsor the remaining twenty. Several airlines have one of their airplanes stationed at the city’s airport, a replica of Schiphol Airport. I found well-known Dutch retail chains and supermarkets in the shopping street. Multinationals have their headquarters in Madurodam.

Sponsored buildings and objects must gain approval before planning permission is granted. A building site must be available. The building must be typically Dutch and attractive for visitors. If the commission approves, construction can start. Once the two parties have signed the contract, the building will remain in the city for five years.

Every year, companies sponsor one or two new buildings. They first take detailed photos of the original. Then construction starts in Madurodam’s own workshops. Originally all buildings were made of wood, but these days synthetic materials are used because they are weather-proof. Smaller buildings take about three months to complete, but larger, more complicated ones can take as long as three to four years. One of these complicated buildings is the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I looked through the roof windows and saw visitors admiring works of art. The scene looked very much like the real thing.

To my big surprise, I found only one hotel; Hotel De Wereld, a four-star hotel in Wageningen, a city in the east of the Netherlands. On 5 May 1945, a Canadian general and a German Commander-in-Chief reached an agreement on the capitulation of Germany. Today the Dutch celebrate Liberation Day on 5 May when special ceremonies take place in Wageningen and Hotel De Wereld.

Madurodam Rail was my favourite. I loved to see miniature trains criscross the city. Twelve different types of trains cover four kilometers. All trains are hand-made and replicas of Dutch trains. Every six to ten years, engineers renovate the tracks, just as in the real world. Accidents are rare because Automatic Train Protection System is in force. A train stops automatically when the next stretch has not been cleared. The Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Dutch Rail, uses the same system.

If you have visited Amsterdam, you will recognise many sights: Dam Square, the Royal Palace, Anne Frank House, Skinny Bridge, Rijksmuseum and Mint Tower. But also the rest of the Netherlands is represented. A visit to Madurodam is the beginning of an exploration of other Dutch cities.

QUICK FACTS: The city walk took me just over an hour. I followed the white arrows on the paths. This meant that I did not lose the way and saw all sights and buildings.

Madurodam is open all year round. The most crowded time of year is summer with bus loads of visitors. At sunset, 50,000 light bulbs give the city a magic glow. Winter is equally good, especially when a dusting of snow covers the roofs, parks and streets.

WHERE: George Maduroplein 1, The Hague

HOW TO GET THERE: Train to The Hague Centraal Station (CS) or Hollands Spoor (HS) Tram 9 to Scheveningen, get off at Madurodam stop, same tram for both stations

OPENING HOURS: 9 am – 7 pm, July and August until 10 pm

ADMISSION FEE: €14,50, children under twelve €10,50

Amsterdam Stopover Mini Guide

2012-10-12T17:05:00.000+02:00

Whether you have the luxury of a layover to visit Amsterdam or are just in for a stopover the Amsterdam Stopover Mini Guide, Kindle edition provides all information need to know about Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Schiphol is a popular transport hub. Amsterdam city center is close enough to turn your stopover into a sightseeing trip. If it is shorter, you are trapped at the airport, but this is not a bad thing at all. This huge, vibrant airport is the ideal place to stretch your legs in between flights. You may need as much as forty minutes to walk from one side of the airport to the other, so put on your walking shoes.

If your Schiphol stopover is longer than four hours, you can easily visit Amsterdam and be back in time for your connecting flight. Amsterdam Stopover Mini Guide, Kindle edition, helps you to get the most out of your stopover.

Amsterdam Stopover Mini Guide is divided into eleven chapters

I - Schiphol Stopover: Airport Sightseeing
2 – Where to Change Money at Schiphol
3 - Schiphol Luggage Lockers
4 - How to get to Amsterdam by train
5 - What Train Ticket to Buy and Where
6 - Schiphol Layover / Stopover - Trip to Amsterdam
7 - Two Museums - Sex Museum and Our Lord in the Attic
8 – Guided Stopover Tour
9 - Hotels near Schiphol Airport
10 - Self-guided Walking Tour
11 – Go Dutch Rent a Bike

Chapter 1 – Airport Sightseeing includes details where to shop for duty-free goods, food and drink suggestions and where you can find showers and a day room. Schiphol is the only airport in the world to have a museum and an art trail, with the Mini Guide providing directions for both.

Chapter 2 - Where to Change Money at Schiphol gives locations and opening hours of Bank branches and where to find ATMs.

Chapters 3 – 8 provide information about train tickets, including where to buy them and how to travel to Amsterdam city center. When you follow the instructions of the do-it-yourself walking tour, you will see some important Amsterdam sights. A stopover doesn't allow enough time to visit the Anne Frank House unless tickets have been booked online. The Mini Guide suggests a visit to Our Lord in the Attic, a museum containing a clandestine church tucked away on the attic of a seventeenth century canal house. If you are in a silly or curious mood, the Sex Museum will satisfy all your wishes.

Chapters 10 – gives step-by-step instructions of a walking tour through the Red Light District, Chinatown and suggests a visit to Cannabis College, an information center highlighting the uses of cannabis and hemp.

Amsterdam Stopover Mini Guide, Kindle edition, file size 21KB will serve you as an ideal guide during your layover or stopover at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. This Kindle Mini Guide will help you to find your way in Amsterdam and at Schiphol Airport and turn your stopover into a serendipitous sightseeing trip.

Prague Top 10 Attractions

2012-10-08T12:33:00.001+02:00

Prague top 10 attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, and drinking beer on Old Town Square after watching the spectacle of the astronomical clock. Or do you rather go shopping in one of the malls in the suburbs? Shopping Prikope street is best for international labels and Parizska street for fashion houses like Dior. When you have emtied your wallet stroll through the cobbled street in the Old Town. Dine on the top floor of the Dancing House and go to the opera or Black Light Theater.

Here is my top 10:

1. Wander about Prague Castle ground and marvel at the vew.

2. Join a bike tour and you will see different parts of Prague

3. Take a stroll in the Royal Gardens. Spring is a good time for this, when the tulips and other flowers are in full bloom

4. Drink beer in one of the beer gardens. A good one is U Medvdicu.

5. Dine on the top floor of the Dancing House and marvel at the view.

6. Have a coffee in Kavarna Slavia and enjoy the view of the Vltava River and Prague Castle beyond.

7. See an opera performance in the National Theatre. If you don't like opera, go anyway to see the beautiful interior.

8. Have lunch in Art Nouveau style in Hotel Central at Wenceslas Square.

9. Climb the miniature version of the Eiffel Tower.

10. Eat Prague sausages with a big dollop of mustard at one of the sausage stands.

Constantine P. Cavafy Museum in Alexandria, Egypt.

2012-10-05T14:37:00.000+02:00

The Cavafy Museum, 4 Sharia Sharm el Sheikh, is run under the auspices of the Cultural Section of the Greek Embassy in Cairo and is open Tues -Sun 10.00 - 15.00.

The Greek poet, Constantine P. Cavafy, is inextricably bound to the city of Alexandria, where he lived most of his life. His parents were from Constantinople. but Cavafy was born in Alexandria on 29 April 1863, and he died there on the same day in 1933. In Cavafy's days, Alexandria was a cosmopolitan city with a Bohemian atmosphere. It rivalled Paris and proved a powerful stimulus for literary output with one- third of its population of foreign origin, among them T.E. Lawrence, Rudyard Kipling, Evelyn Waugh, Lawrence Durrell and E.M. Forster.

Who was Cavafy?

Cavafy’s father was a wealthy merchant who traded in Egyptian cotton and Manchester textiles. Cavafy senior's death in 1870 left his wife and seven sons poorly provided for. In 1872, the family left for Britain to concentrate on the British part of the business. Inexperience in running the business caused the ruin of the family fortunes, and seven years later they returned to Alexandria to a life of genteel poverty. Cavafy found those years in Britain an enriching experience. His exposure to English and Ancient Greek history shaped his sensibilities and became a potent force in his poetry. His fluency in English allowed him to write his first poem in English. However, all others were written in Greek.

Cavafy spent the rest of his life in Alexandria apart from three years from 1882 – 85 when the family moved to Constantinople to live in the maternal grandfather’s home. It was in Constantinople that he was introduced to the city’s nightlife and experienced his first homosexual encounters. When the family returned to Alexandria, Cavafy took on an uneventful job as a clerk working for the British Irrigation Service. But at night he led his real life and above all he wrote. Not much else is known about the man Cavafy. He left no autobiographical notes but Lawrence Durrell allows us some glimpses as he used Cavafy as the basis for his character Balthazar in the Alexandria Quartet.

Cavafy wrote a hundred and fifty-four poems. During his life his work was not well-known because he wrote in Greek, a language not widely spoken. He lived for his poetry, but never published an official volume of poetry, only contributed some of his poems to literary magazines. His private life must have been a shipwreck. In his poems, he never addresses anyone as his beloved. The word you is never used. Instead he hoards up fragments of his ephemeral loves. Memories alone survive and are transformed into immortal poems.

He lived for his poetry. His oeuvre consists of provocative philosophical poems, historical poems about forgotten heroes of the Hellenistic Age, and erotic poetry obnoxious for those who understood the meaning. In 1951, John Mavrogordatos translated Cavafy’s work into English and since then the poet’s work has been translated into most of the world’s languages.

Cavafy Museum, Alexandia

The apartment in Alexandria where Cavafy lived is now a museum. It is tucked away in Sharia Sharm el Sheikh, a side street off Sharia Nabi Danie. A plaque next to the front door indicates, in Greek letters, that this is the building where Constantine P. Cavafy lived until 1933.

A central front door opens up to a stairwell. A worn flight of steps leads to the landing on the second floor and to the Cavafy Museum. On hearing the tinkling sound of the front door bell, the custodian opens one part of a huge double-winged door to the apartment. Inside, the narrow hallway smells of beeswax and old musty books. Some of the wooden floorboards creak with age. A tall bookcase has its shelves stacked with books in all shapes and sizes. A glass door prevents dust from soiling their covers and pages.

Cavafy’s study is a high-ceilinged room; subdued light shines in through the draped windows. A soft recorded voice recites his poetry. The words flow melodiously to a non-Greek speaker. Listening to the words is an uplifting experience. His desk stands in one corner. His pens lie neatly arranged, ready to use. It is not difficult to imagine the man himself sitting behind this writing table. From the wall, his portrait looks benignly on his visitors. On his aquiline nose rests a round-rimmed pair of spectacles. He has bushy eyebrows, and a receding hairline parted in the middle. His mouth shows a faint smile. In middle age he dyed his hair, and asked for the wrinkles to be left out of his portrait. Family photos on all walls show glimpses of his private life.

In the next room there are more photos, some of his brothers, his parents and others taken in Constantinople. One of them is a faded black-and-white picture of the Hagia Sophia. In the middle of the room glass-cases display books and manuscripts: the translations of his poetry in twenty languages by forty different scholars. Filing cabinets line the wall. When the custodian opens them, they brim over with some thirty thousand articles and works written about his poetry.

He died of throat cancer from excessive drinking. His homosexuality was never openly referred to. However, Cavafy himself attributes his art to his sexuality.

Understanding

My younger days, my sensual life
how clearly I see their meaning now.

How needless the repentance, how futile...

But I didn't see the meaning of it then.

In the loose living of my early years
the impulses of my poetry were shaped,
the boundaries of my art were plotted.

That's why the repentance was so fickle.
And my resolutions to hold back, to change,
lasted two weeks at the most.

Constantine P. Cavafy 1918

Skip the Turkey and Spend Thanksgiving in Amsterdam

2012-09-28T11:09:00.002+02:00

Skip the Turkey and Spend Thanksgiving in Amsterdam
Avoid the rush. Skip the turkey. Spend no time in the kitchen and see your family after Thanksgiving Holidays. Spend your Thanksgiving holiday sipping cappuccino in a Dutch café with canal view. Bring home brightly painted clogs, blue Delftware and lots of fond memories. Amsterdam is the perfect destination for a Thanksgiving City Trip.

When you spend Thanksgiving Holiday in Amsterdam, you can try to eat Peking duck in China Town or fried rice with satay doused in peanut sauce in one of the many Indonesian restaurants. Buy presents and souvenirs in Kalverstraat, Amsterdam's main shopping strip and sniff up culture in the Van Gogh Museum. If you decide to visit Anne Frank House, be sure to get your tickets online so that you avoid the queue. Whatever you do, spending Thanksgiving in Amsterdam is the perfect city trip.

Hop on a wheeler taxi, marvel at Rembrandt's Night Watch, seek enlightenment in Europe's largest Buddhist temple are just a few things you can enjoy when you spend Thanksgiving Holiday weekend in Amsterdam.

Skip the turkey and go for pancakes as big as cart wheels. The Dutch never eat pancakes for breakfast. They eat them for lunch or dinner. Pancakes are a meal in itself. Pancakes topped with bacon and smothered in black treacle make the prefect Thanksgiving treat.

The Thanksgiving Holiday is the perfect time to visit Amsterdam. Airfares and hotel rates are at their lowest. The weather may be chilly, but it's never freezing. It is dark by 5 o'clock. This is ideal for a leisure stroll along the canals and across humpback bridges sparkling with thousands of lights.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday in the Netherlands meaning that all shops are open. If shopping is your passion and you are looking for bargains make a beeline for Amsterdam's open-air markets. If it is too cold for the markets, head for 'the nine streets'. Here you will find the densest concentration of vintage and second-hand stores.

There is no need for you to explore Amsterdam on an organized tour. The city is compact and it is easy to find tour way. Here is a suggestion for a walk from Centraal Station to Dam Square and what to see on the way.

Skinny Bridge or Magere Brug in Dutch is Amsterdam's best-known and most photographed landmark. It makes for a romantic evening walk, when the twelve hundred lamps that festoon the bridge lit up. Go Dutch, rent a bike and cycle across. This will make your Thanksgiving Holiday truly memorable.

Istanbul: Büyükada Island without Cars

2012-09-05T17:11:00.000+02:00

Büyükada smells of horses, kebab, grilled fish, and sea. I found this quiet island a stark contrast to crowded, noisy and polluted Istanbul. The only sounds were the mournful cries of the seagulls, the distant blast of the ferries, and the soft clip-clop of horses’ feet shod in rubber horseshoes. Büyükada is an island without cars. True, there is the odd police car, the Coca Cola delivery truck and the garbage disposal vehicle, but there are no passenger cars. That’s the most wonderful thing about this island.

Büyükada means big island. It is the largest of the Princes’ Islands, an archipelago of nine islands in the Sea of Marmara, some 20 km southeast of Istanbul. Across the sea lie Istanbul’s densely populated and built-up suburbs. Tall apartment blocks in Bostanci, Maltepe, and Pendik stand out against the deep blue sky. Airplanes land at Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Istanbul’s new airport in the outer suburb of Kartal.

On summer Sundays, day-trippers come in droves and compete for restaurant tables. I was here in late April with my partner. The day was a clear and sunny, but the air still chilly. Spring comes late to Istanbul.

I boarded the ferry at Sirkeci pier no. 5, opposite Istanbul’s main train station on the mainland for the one and a half hours boat trip to Büyükada. My fellow passengers made a beeline for the horse and carriage stand next to the clock tower. I didn’t and found out that the scramble was unnecessary. Plenty of horses and carriages stood waiting, four tourists fit comfortably and six with a bit of a squeeze.

Although the carriage looked comfortable, I decided to walk the thirteen kilometres around the island. First, I admired the beautifully restored clapboard Victorian summer houses which still line the road leading out of town. In the early 20th century, the island was a popular summer resorts for wealthy Ottoman families who wanted to escape hot, broiling Istanbul. Given their charm and grace, I imagine they are still summer houses of rich Istanbul people.

My walk led along a surfaced road following the seashore. The muffled clip clop of horses’ hooves mixed with cooing seagulls and surf crashing on shingles. Neighing horses attracted my attention. A farrier smith waved at me and invited me for tea. While I sipped strong black tea from a tulip-shaped glass, he told me that the jumble of cottages along the road was the place where the keepers of the horses live.

Saffron, ivory and vermilion spring flowers speckled the grass along the road. Back at the harbour, I sat down in one of the many cafés-cum-restaurants near the clock tower, and ordered mantı. This is Turkish-style ravioli served in a yoghurt/garlic sauce and sprinkled with dry mint. What better way than to end the meal with a genuine Kahramanmaras ice cream (mastic is one of the main ingredients which gives it elasticity) followed by strong Turkish coffee.

HOW TO GET THERE:

•Fast ferries and sea buses from Istanbul centre.

WHERE TO STAY:

Most visitors come as day-trippers. An overnight stay in one of the renovated mansions is rewarding and the best way to experience the island’s solitude and peace after the tourists have left.

•Hotel Splendid, Nisan Caddesi 23 – Renovated mansion speckled with cupolas and balconies, lush garden with pool.
•Izzet Paşa Köşkŭ / Turing Evi Hotel, Cankaya Caddesi 55 – Clapboard mansion where Leon Trotsky lived in exile from. A listed building with an authentic interior meaning most rooms don’t have ensuite bathrooms.

WHERE TO EAT:

A string of restaurants festoons the street from the pier to the clock tower.

•Milto Restaurant, Gülistan Caddesi 104 – Famous for calamari and octopus, but also köfte (meat balls) and döner kebab (lamb roasted on a spit at a vertical grill)
•Konak Et Lokantasi, Recep Kocak Caddesi 87 – Try lentil soup, stewed vegetables or chunky bits of meat swimming in broth or sauce served with rice decorated with chick peas.

WHAT TO DO:

•Tour the island on a rented bike (bike shops everywhere) or in a horse drawn carriage (50m from the ferry terminal in the centre of the town at Isa Celebi Sokak)
•Admire Izzet Paşa Köşkŭ and Con Paşa Köşkŭ two of the many fin de siecle wooden mansions at Cankaya Caddesi (street)
•Ride a donkey or climb on foot the 202m high Yüce Tepe Hill for the best view and Hagia Yorgi Church and Monastry.
•Walk from Hagia Yorgi Church through the pine wood to the now vacant Greek orphanage, said to be the largest wooden building in the world.
•End you day by walking Aşiklar Yolu or lovers’ walk. This together with the scent of pine, myrtle, rock roses and lilac will be one of the most memorable aspects of your trip.

The Hague: Panorama Mesdag, an Optical Illusion

2012-08-29T14:54:00.001+02:00

The Hague has a plethora of museums. You will need several days to visit them all. If your time is limited, be sure to visit Panorama Mesdag. This circular painting gives the impression that you are inside the painting. Panorama paintings were popular in the nineteenth century, but many were lost. The Raclawice Panorama in Wroclaw, Poland is one of the panoramas that survived, it is a monumental painting measuring 15 × 120 metre, showing the Battle of Raclawice. Panorama Mesdag is unique because it is the only panorama painting in Europe depicting an everyday scene instead of a battlefield.

I’m leaning against the railing of the beach pavilion on top of Seinpost sand dune. A panoramic view pans out in all directions. The sun breaks through the clouds and creates shifting patterns on the beach and the sea.

Bathers in funny, old-fashioned swimming costumes, frolic on the sand. Sea gulls sit on beached fishing-boats. The cavalry is exercising and a woman sits in front of a painter’s easel in the shade of a sun umbrella. Another women mends fishing-nets. An abandoned clog and an empty bottle are half covered in the white sand. Behind me is Scheveningen village with its steepled church and lighthouse. People walk in the main street on their way home. Panoramas were popular attractions in pre-cinema and pre-television days.

For a moment I believe that this is the real view, but what I see is a 120-metre circular canvas. Hendrik Mesdag created this illusion of reality in 1881. Helped by his wife Sientje and four other painter of the Hague School, it took him four months to complete this work of art. One of his co-painters was Breitner who was to became a famous people painter. Mesdag himself, a marine painter, took care of painting all the boats and the sea. It was common practice in panoramas that the painter depicted himself in his painting. Instead of depicting himself, Mesdag added his wife Sientje. She is the lady behind the painter’s easel.

Panoramas are called paintings without borders. When you look at a panorama painting, you do not see the real world. This is done on purpose so that you cannot compare the scenery you see with reality. Looking at a 'flat' painting, your eyes see what is around this painting; the real world. In a panorama painting you cannot see the real world. Therefore the illusion of what you see becomes the real world. This is why panoramas are so real.

The entrance to Panorama Mesdag is through a dark corridor at the far end you climb up a winding staircase. This takes you to the viewing platform. You imagine yourself in a beach pavilion with views into all directions. It takes some time to adjust your eyes to the bright light which heightens your feeling of disorientation.

The building has a glass roof, which cannot be seen when you are in the pavilion. This a perfect touch because the real sun throws real shadows across the beach, the sea, the dunes and the houses. The effect is spectacular. The real sand that surrounds the pavilion merges with the painted sand, thus obscuring the lower frame of the painting. The upper frame of the painting is also hidden from view by the roof of the pavilion. Walk round the railing and take in the vista, first the wide expanse of the sea, then the contours of Scheveningen village.

Now go to the real Scheveningen to see that more than one hundred years later, the view has not changed very much.

How to get there?

Panorama Mesdag
Zeestraat 65
Den Haag

Opening hours:
Monday - Saturday 10:00 - 17:00
Sundays 12:00 - 17:00

closed on 25 December and 1 january

Shopping in Paris

2012-08-07T16:30:00.000+02:00

Are shopping and sightseeing the two main reasons why you would go to Paris? Excellent, because there is no better excuse. Stroll along the Champs-Élysées, mix with the rich and famous while you hunt for designer brands. Browse at Louis Vuitton and if the store is within your budget, spend between €100 and €1,000 on travel trunks or bags. Shop at the House of Guerlin. Relax in the in-house Spa and stock up on Shalimar and cutting edge fashion. Look around Le 66 displaying fashion by local and international designers.

Shopping at the Champs-Élysées for the budget-minded begins in Zara, Benetton or Nike and ends in the Disney Store, Gap or Hugo Boss. Check out the Marais quarter, Rue de Rennes and Boulevard St Germain for interesting bargains especially during the winter and summer sales.

I love Paris – Paris, je t’aime

A mesmerizing woman gracefully steps out the House of Guerlin, toting several crisp boutique bags. Her high heels click-clack on the pavement. An Hermès scarf draped round her shoulders, she continues her way along Avenue des Champs-Élysées, la plus belle avenue du monde, the most beautiful avenue in the world. Parisians look sharp. Parisians have style.

Paris, je t’aime – sounds better than - I love Paris? Is this because of French sophistication or the beauty of the city? Wander along les grands boulevards, climb Montmartre hill or sit in a brasserie on the Champs-Élysées. Spend an evening in Opera Garnier or an afternoon in the Louvre Museum. Et voilà, your perfect week end break.

Twisting streets lead up to Butte de Montmartre. Most visitors go straight to the basilica of Sacré Coeur whose sparkling, white dome is an essential part of the Paris skyline.

Leafy and photogenic Place du Tertre is packed with tourists. Artists churn out oil paintings of Paris landmarks. Sit still for ten minutes and go home with your own pencil-drawn caricature.

Stop for a moment of reflection in Notre Dame Cathedral before crossing the Seine River to Quartier Latin, the left bank. Notre Dame is the heart of Paris, and also of la belle France. A bronze star on the pavement near the west door marks point zero des routes de France, the spot from where all French main road distances are calculated.

Crowned by the Arc de Triomph on one end and Place de la Concorde at the other, two-kilometre long Avenue des Champs-Élysées brims with stylish boutiques, cafés, brasseries and cinemas. Mingle with the locals and visitors that jostle and swarm along the wide pavements. The range of good and oddities of shops will keep you browsing for hours.

Dazzling Opéra Garnier crowns Avenue de l’Opéra. The theatres façade is a riot of white, green and pink marble, colonnades. The busts of famous composers sparkle in the sun. This was the place where the Parisian aristocracy gathered for gossip and match-making, dwindling the opera performance to a mere side-show. Today Opéra Garnier is home to the Ballet of the Paris National Opera.

Cafés are places where Parisians come to gossip and argue, to people-watch and to be seen. Cafés are also the perfect spot to read a book. Once café crème is ordered, the waiter will leave his customer undisturbed for hours.

When in the late 1980s, François Mitterand commissioned a modern glass and steel pyramid to be built in the Louvre Museum’s main courtyard, the French were appalled. Until then the museum was a dusty place with creaking floor boards and visitors who spoke in whispers. The pyramid heralded new beginnings. The Louvre transformed itself into a modern, inspiring and above all a museum with art for every taste.

Save Money in Amsterdam

2012-05-08T17:20:00.018+02:00

Buy a museum pass and save money when you are in Amsterdam. The museumjaarkaart, Museum Year Pass, allows free entrance to more than 400 museums all over the Netherlands for one year. It is not promoted for tourists but if you intend to visit four museums or more, the museum card saves you money.

If you visit Amsterdam frequently, buying a museum pass saves you a lot of money because the card is valid for one year. Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and 30 more museums in Amsterdam honour the card.

Get it from one of the participating museums. Fill in the form pay €45, or €25 if you are under 25 and use it immediately. The only snag is that the form you have to fill out is in Dutch. This is not a real problem because the museum staff speaks English.

Berlin: Potsdamer Platz, Center for Shoppers and Movie Fans

2012-04-04T16:08:00.033+02:00

Potsdamer Platz, rebuilt after WW II and now brimming with cutting-edge architecture. Venue of Berlin International Film Festival and a Mecca for shoppers. Come and see the cutting-edge architecture of Potsdamer Platz, also if you aren't visiting the Berlin International Film Festival. It is hard to believe that twenty years ago this square was desolate wasteland.

Today DaimlerCity, Sony Center and Beisheim Center showcase modern architecture. Take Europe’s fastest elevator to the 24th and 25th floor of the Kollhoff Tower for a panorama view of futuristic architecture on Potsdamer Platz.

Look down at the dome of the Sony Center and see if you agree that it is modeled after Mount Fuji, Japan. Join the shoppers in Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, a three-storey shoppers' paradise for all budgets - H&M, Mango, Mexx, Zara, Esprit, Tommy Hilfiger, Swarovski and many more. When shopping has made you hungry, watch the world go by in the Wiener Cafe. Indulge in apple strudel washed down by a Wiener Coffee, similar to cappuccino but served with a big dollop of whipped cream.

Potsdamer Platz Early 20th Century: Vibrant and Full of Life
Before the Second World War, Potsdamer Platz pulsed with life day and night. State-of-the-art hotels, beckoning neon lights and bars full of atmosphere attracted pleasure seekers. Restaurants and cafés hummed with activity. Trams trundled across and cars whooshed past. The intersection was a bustling traffic hub. It was so hectic that Europe’s first traffic lights were installed here, hand-operated. But the Allies dropped their bombs, flattening Potsdamer Platz and most of Berlin.

Potsdamer Platz Mid-20th Century: A Divided Square
After the war, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin sliced Berlin into four zones controlled by Britain, USA, USSR and France. The Western controlled zones became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Soviet Zone became the capital of the German Democratic Republic. Trams no longer clanged their way from east to west. The two parts developed separately. The gap between east and west widened and hundreds of thousands of East Berliners escaped to the west.

Potsdamer Platz Late 20th Century: Deserted Wasteland
Potsdamer Platz turned into a wasteland, a no-man’s land. East Berliners shifted their city center to Alexanderplatz and West Berliners went to Kurfürstendamm. On 13 August 1961, The Berlin Wall went up, running across Potsdamer Platz. The Wall was 184 kilometers long and interspersed with 260 watch towers. On the eastern side, the German Democratic Republic’s side of the wall houses were demolished and the terrain flattened so that border guards could sport and fire at defectors. On the western side viewing platforms were erected that allowed a peek at this no-man’s land. Towers and wall were torn down in 1989, one lone watch tower remained in Erna Berger Strasse, off Potsdamer Platz.

Potsdamer Platz 21st Century: Showcase of Modern Architecture
Today, Potsdamer Platz’s striking architecture makes for spectacular sightseeing. DaimlerCity, Sony Center, Bleisheim Center and Three-storey Potsdamer Platz Arkaden bustle with shoppers, tourists, diners, cinema fans and locals. Elbow your way through Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, an indoor mall packed with shops selling everything from digital cameras to tube dresses. The basement brims with fast-food outlets. Listen to the hum of the espresso machine at Tschibo, enjoy a cappuccino while you rest your weary feet. A scoop of Häagen-Dazs ice cream is the perfect calorie bomb, but will give you energy for more shopping.

Within circular DaimlerCity is a smaller shopping mall and a gallery where Daimler Chrysler Company exhibits a selection of abstract and minimalist art from its collection. Daimler also sponsors street art dotted in the area. Check out The Riding Bikes at Fontane Platz, The Boxers in Eichhornstrasse or Gelandet in Schellingstrasse.

Sony Center is a jolt to the senses. With 26 floors of glass and steel, it is the highest building on Potsdamer Platz. Its glass-roofed central plaza is a feast of changing colours during the after dark light show. The plaza brims with cafés, beer gardens and restaurants and is a hangout for people-watchers and beer drinkers. Come here in February to watch celebrities sashay down the red carpet on their way to Theater am Potsdamer Platz, the venue of the Berlin Film Festival.

A swift lift whisks you up to the Panorama Platform on 24 and 25th floor of Kollhof Tower. The breathtaking view of Potsdamer Platz stretches in front, nineteen cutting edge buildings, ten avenues and two squares. This ultra modern district was built in less than five years. Over 70,000 visitors come to see Potsdamerplatz every day. Learn about the past and the present while walking around the exhibition that is spread over two floors. Illuminated panels lead you through the history of Potsdamer Platz. There is a world of difference between the pre-war and post-war Potsdamer Platz. The new Potsdamer Platz is as much a crowd puller for shoppers and movie fans as was the old Platz.

Top Sights of Zurich

2012-03-23T13:40:00.015+01:00

Lined with shops from Bucherer watches to Prada handbags, Bahnhofstrasse is the place to shop and to-be-seen-shopping. This tree-lined avenue leads from the train station to Lake Zurich. Browse department stores close to the station. Then on to more serious business and see if you can afford a Vuitton handbag or a Rolex watch. Bahnofstrasse's shop windows are one of the best top sights in Zurich.

Münster Bridge offers sweepingviews of Zurich top sights: two churches: Grossmünster and Fraumünster, the tower of St Peter's Church and the facades of Rathaus and other imposing mansions look magical in the reflecting water of the Limmat River.

Tram-packed Paradeplatz, off Bahnhofstrasse, is halfway between the lake and the station. This is Zurich's financial centre. Most Swiss banks have their headquarters here and in the streets leading off the square. These side streets are also home to designer boutiques and fashion houses.

A top sight in Zurich is St Peter's Church with the biggest clock face in Europe, 9m (28.5 ft) in diameter and a minute hand of almost 4m (12 ft)in diameter. Look up at the short tower and the window. It was from here that town watchman looked out the window every fifteen minutes for fires. When he discovered one he would sound the alarm and hang out a flag from the window facing the fire.

The cobbled street of Niederdorf, east of the Limmat River scream with history. This is the place to take an easy stroll during the day and party at night. It is a shoppers' paradise brimful with boutiques and quirky little shops hidden away in the maze of alleys. The street is jampacked with restaurants from gourmet eateries to traditional beer garden, from cheese fondu to geschnetzelte.

Budget Places has 20 hotels available in Zurich.

Lindt Chocolate and Sprüngli in Zurich, Switzerland

2012-03-16T15:19:00.000+01:00

Confiserie Sprüngli is an institution in Zurich and I can never make up my mind: is it a shop or a tearoom? Bankers, office workers and Zurich housewives sit at the outdoor terrace enjoying a frothy cappuccino accompanied by friandise, petit fours and Luxemburgli. Tourists and locals walk out of the shop with elegant boxes full of Truffes du jour, Lindt chocolate bars or chocolates with the most irresistible creamy fillings.

Spruengli at Paradeplatz in Zurich

The origins of the company go back to 1845. When chocolatier David Sprüngli set up shop in Zurich. Thirty years later, Sprungli bought the Lindt factory. Rudolf Lindt had developed a way to melt chocolate which he called chocolat fondant. This technique made Swiss chocolate world famous.

Sprüngli stores are scattered across the city. The flagship store at Paradeplatz, off Bahhofstrasse, is a popular spot for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. Sprüngli stores are scattered throughout the city meaning there is always a spot to indulge in chocolate. Surprisingly, Sprüngli's most popular product is not its chocolate but Luxemburgerli, macaroon biscuits that come in a variety of flavours, such as hazelnut, vanilla, lemon, caramel, chocolate, raspberry and champagne. They look like miniature hamburgers but are made of pastry and cream sandwiched together. They have to be eaten almost immediately, because they are made of fresh ingredients.

Sprüngli makes 90% of their 2000 or so products by hand, using fresh products. They make their scrumptious truffles, called Truffes du jour. The Grand Cru Chocolat Chaud is made from a mixture of cacao from Venezuela and Ecuador and presented as shaved chocolate. It is sold in an elegant black with gold trim oval tin. Simply add steaming milk for a truly luxurious hot chocolate drink. Stir until the chocalate swirls have dissolved, then add a measure of liqueur. Top it with freshly whipped cream, and you will have an adults only drink.

Sprüngli has two convenient locations:
Confiserie Sprüngli, Paradeplatz - Bahnhofstrasse 21, Mon-Fri 7:30am-6:30pm and Sat 8am-4pm
Hauptbahnhof Zürich (main train station), Bahnhofplatz 15, Mon-Fri 6:45am-9pm, Sat 6.45am-8pm and
Sun 8.45am-5pm

If you are a chocolate lover, you cannot simply skip visiting Sprungli when you are in Zurich. Their chocolate is light as air and melts in the mouth. Once you have tasted Sprüngli / Lindt chocolates, your taste buds will not be satisfied with anything else. If you can't travel to Zurich, you can satisfy you chocolate hunger with any of these products.

Photo Friday: Boys at Work in Iringa, Tanzania

2012-02-24T16:00:00.027+01:00

I am always looking for photo opportunities. On a stroll through the town of Iringa in Tanzania, I met these two boys at work.

The razor blade slit through the rubber. Two young men were cutting up tires into long strings of rubber, because they make excellent carrier straps for bikes. One of the boys looked at me, pointed at my camera then at himself and his friend. I nodded. After some consultation with his chum, he wrote his address in long stocky letters on a grubby piece of paper. I do not know if he ever received his picture.

Photo Friday is hosted by Delicious baby.com

Photo Friday: Waiting for the Bus in Goa, India

2012-02-17T17:48:00.002+01:00

Buses are the most important means of transport in Goa. Even though the buses run frequently, they are most of the time overcrowded. Local buses are never air-conditioned. There is no need because the windows are open. A grid separates the driver from the passengers. The first two seats behind the driver are usually reserved for women. There is always a whole bunch of passengers waiting at the bus stop. When the bus arrives, the crowd pushes and shoves their way in. If you want to hop on as well, all you can do is join the bustle. Bus stops are my favourite places because they offer brilliant photo opportunities.

The bus is waiting at the bus stop for its return journey. The bus driver has not arrived yet. At the first stop there are still enough seats. There is a door in the grid. Sometimes passengers are alowed to sit next to the driver. If you have bulky luggage, it is also put in the front.

This young man was waiting all by himself. At first I didn't know that he was actually waiting for a bus. Bus stops in India are seldom indicated.

I love to study the saris of the ladies when I am waiting at a bus stop. When the bus finally arrived, it wa so full that I decided to wait for the next one.

The same bus stop as in the photo above. This time one of the ladies had tucked her sari in between her legs. It makes getting on the bus far easier.

Only two women at this stop waiting in the shade. They child is not very small and seemed quite heavy to me, but her mother carried her all the time. The bus was very full, she had to stay all the way (about 30 minutes), still carrying the child.

When I arrived at the bus stop, this bunch of ladies had been waiting for some time. The two girls standing on the left are in school uniform. The three ladies sitting on the step had been shopping. When the bus arrived, it was chock-ful, but we all could just squeeze in. Waiting for the bus in Goa is quite an experience.

Photo Friday is hosted by Delicious Baby.com

Travel Photo: Giza, Sphynx and a Camel

2012-02-13T13:29:00.000+01:00

You may count yourself lucky, if you can take a photo of Giza, the sphinx and a camel without paying for the priviledge. It is a well-known fact that tourists equal bakshees. I’m quite willing to give a tip, but not for a photo of a camel and a pyramid. Friendly, but persisting guides will show you hidden hieroglyphs, which you would have found anyway. They will tell you from which where to snap the best photo and how to mount a camel. Giving tips are an essential part of a trip to the pyramids of Giza, there is nothing wrong in with this. I’m perfectly willing to tip, but only when someone has helped me in a special way. I know wages in Egypt are low and a tip is an essential extra, but it should not be an obligation.

The pyramids are huge, imposing and awe-inspiring, yet I was slightly disappointed as I had seen so many books and photos all showing these pyramids. What these books did not show was that the pyramids are on the outskirts of Cairo, and not in the middle of the desert.

Pyramids are built of limestone blocks. They consist of a number of burial chambers. One of them is for the dead pharaoh and others for the funeral goods. Cheops, the largest of the three pyramids is open to visitors, but there is not much to see besides other tourists and a vast empty chamber.

The Great Pyramid took 30 years to build. In about 2,550 B.C., King Khufu, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, commissioned the building. Khufu’s son, Khafre, commissioned the building of his own pyramid complex which includes the sphinx. Menkaure, Khafre's son, built the third and smallest of the three pyramids. The Giza complex is a family tomb.

Over two million blocks of stone each weighing 2.5 tons were used. It is still a mystery how the pyramid builders moved these massive stone blocks. The general belief is sloping ramps, built of mud, stone, and wood were used as transportation causeways. The building blocks were hauled up by means of ropes made of papyrus twine.

The sloping walls of the pyramids look a bit rough. Due to natural erosion and with a bit of human help, the outer casing stones have disappeared from all three. The precious white limestone was good building material and used in the construction of buildings in Cairo.

The Sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh and believed to be the head of Pharao Khafre. Carved from the soft limestone of Giza, the sphinx has been renovated because over the years because entire pieces dropped off. The sphinx is truly impressive: 57 metres long and 6 metres wide. If you are a photographer, it is best to come in the then the sun shines on the sphynx's head. A camel is easy to spot, but difficult to photograph unless you are willing to pay for the privilege.

Photo Friday: Tanzania - Safari in a Bus Seat

2012-01-27T16:06:00.023+01:00

Many tourists come to Tanzania to go safari. Few go on safari in a public transport bus seat. – Iringa is 500 kilometres west of Dar es Salaam and an eight-hour bus ride along the Tanzam Highway. The largest town on the way is Morogoro. Some 150 kilometres west of Morogoro, the highway runs through Mikumi National Park for 50 kilometres.

This was a great opportunity for me to go on a mini safari while on a public transport bus. Baboons squatted near the roadside and watched the traffic zoom past. Elephants foraged and zebras galloped further afield. Our bus slowed down when a troupe of giraffes ambled across the road. They blinked their velvety brown eyes and behaved as if they owned the place.

Shopping in Berlin

2012-01-23T17:38:00.018+01:00

Berlin shopping is a mix of stores catering for the tastes and wallets of local residents and visitors. Boutiques brush shoulders with international chains. Throw in a handful of chic department stores and you have shopping to die for. London has Oxford Street, New York has Fifth Avenue and Berlin has Kurfürstendamm, or has it? It is difficult to pin down Berlin's main shopping strip. Is it Kurfürstendam, Bergmannstrasse or Karl-Marx Allee?

Berlin is divided into neighbourhoods and each has its mix of stores suited for the tastes and pockets of the locals. Shopping in Berlin concentrates in these neighbourhoods:

1. Mitte – Friedrichstrasse and Alexanderplatz
2. Charlottenburg – Kurfürstendamm and Tauentzienstrasse
3. Kreuzberg – Bergmannstrasse and Oranienstrasse
4. Prenzlauerberg – Kastanienallee

Mitte
Best for: international chain stores and souvenir hunting

Galeries Lafayette, Friedrichstrasse 76, the Berlin branch of the French shopping emporium. Three floors of exquisite shopping from Louis Vuitton bags to gourmet food hall.
Berlin Story, Unter den Linden 10, mind-boggling assortment of Berlin-related maps, books and videos in French, Japanese, English and more languages.
Galeria Kaufhof, Alexanderplatz, once a big GDR-era department store and now a busy beehive. Anything you need from underwear to coffee pots. If you can't find it here, you won't find it anywhere.
Hackesche Höfe, Rosenthalerstrasse / Sophienstrasse, lively mix of galleries, boutiques and restaurants in eight interlinked courtyards.

Charlottenburg
Best for international couture and international chains

Hermès, Cartier, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton flank H&M, Zara and Mango. Anything from household names to high-end.
Steiff in Berlin, Kurfürstendamm 220, fluffy animals for all ages from the Steiff company who in 1922 invented the Teddy Bear, named after US President Teddy Roosevelt.
NikeTown, Tauentzienstrasse 76, two floors of hi-tech. Football, golf, tennis and sports gear with watches, caps and sunglasses to match.

Kreuzberg
Best for vintage, buzzing boutiques and the Turkish Market

Crumpler, leonca, Kultbug stand cheek-to-jowl with recycled rubber and GDR-era knick-knacks
Colours, Bergmannstrasse 102, vintage outfits from the 1960s and before, price by the kilo.
Turkish Market, Maybachufer, Heaps of fruits, mountains of bread and buckets spilling over with olives. Low prices and big smiles.

Prenzlauerberg
Best for avant-garde and street-wear fasion

Uhranus, Kastanienallee 13, Diesel watches, Funk sunglasses, Roebuck bags and lots of more difficult-to-resist accessories.
Fuck Fashion, Schönhauser Allee 72b, cheap and jam-packed, street-wear and must-haves.
Betty Button, Stargarderstrasse 10, vintage labels ranging from Zara to Calvin Klein.

Berlin Shopping Hours

Monday – Saturday from around 9:30 am to 7 or 8 pm on weekdays and between 4 and 6 pm on Saturdays.

Shops are closed on Sundays, but open six Sundays throughout the year. They are also open on all Sundays before Christmas in December.

Late night shopping and Sunday openings
Supermarkets in railway stations from 8 am to 10 pm
Edeka, Friedrichstrasse train station
Lidl and Rewe, Ostbahnhof train station

Take Your Valentine to Prague

2012-01-16T16:19:00.054+01:00

Take your love to Prague. To rekindle the romance, you can do no better than buy your Valentine a ring studded with garnets, amble across Charles Bridge or dine on the top floor of the Dancing House. Walk hand in hand through the alleys and streets in the Old Town, go on a river cruise and watch the sun set behind Prague Castle. Huddle together in a beer garden and taste Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus or Budweiser.
Read on Celebrate Valentine's Day in Romantic Prague

Charles Bridge

Where to Eat the Best Steak in Amsterdam

2012-01-10T13:00:00.009+01:00

Cafe Loetje is the best place in Amsterdam to eat steak so tender that you can cut it with a fork. This is a traditional Bruin Cafe meaning a spot where neighbours come to chat or watch the world go by from the outside terrace in summer. If you are not a steak eater, try Wiener Schnitzel followed by vanilla ice-cream smothered in hot chocolate sauce.

Read on Best Steak in Town

Amsterdam Winter Tips

2012-01-10T12:33:00.006+01:00

Winter is the perfect time time to visit Amsterdam. This time of year you have the city almost for yourself as the bunch of tourists hasn't arrived yet. An Amsterdam winter break also means that you can save money because airfares and hotel rates are at their lowest. The queues at popular museums like Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House are at their shortest.

Read on Amsterdam in Winter

My Favourite Zurich Geschnetzelte Recipe

2012-01-09T13:02:00.025+01:00

When I am in Zurich, I always go to one of the gourmet restaurants in Niederdorf. Tables spill over on to the cobbled streets. It is best to come early or book a table because the eateries in this street are very popular. My favourite dish is Zurich Geschnetzelte, slithers of chicken or veal in a rich creamy sauce.

This is my favourite Zurich Chicken Geschnetzelte recipe. It is very easy to make. You can have veal instead of chicken.

Ingredients

* 500g chicken breast, without skin
* 250g mushroom
* 1 onion
* 1 tbsp oil
* 1 tbsp. butter
* freshly ground salt and pepper

Method

1. Wash and dry the chicken breasts and cut into thin slices.
2. Peel the onion and dice finely
3. Clean the mushrooms and cut into slices or quarters
4. Heat the oil in a large pan and then cook the meat strips on a medium heat. It takes a couple of minutes for them to cook through.
5. Remove the cooked chicken and set aside.
6. In the same pan, sauté the onion and the mushrooms

Ingredients for the Cream Sauce

* 0.2 l vegetable or chicken broth
* 0.2 l cream
* 1 tblsp cold butter
* salt and pepper
* chopped parsley
* 1 lemon

Method

Heat the broth and cream in a small pan. Stir in the mushrooms and onion. Add the butter and then season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the sauce for the Zurich Geschnetzelte has the desired consistency. Stir in the chopped parsley and add lemon zest and lemon juice.

Zurich Geschnetzelte is best eaten with rösti or spaetzli, but rice or noodles are equally good. The Swiss Taste Cookbook has recipes for rösti or spaetzli.

Two Good reasons to visit Iringa, Tanzania

2012-01-02T16:14:00.018+01:00

Iringa looked interesting on the map: a small orange square, meaning small town. Next to the square it said colonial buildings, Mkwawa Memorial Museum, and Isimila Stone Age Site and Gorge. Two excellent reasons to go to Iringa, although at that point I did not know what to expect. Another recommendation was its altitude of 1,600m. Coastal regions in Tanzania can be quite hot.

Iringa is a regional capital, a charming town with attractive European colonial architecture. The town was built by the Germans as a stronghold against the Hehe, one of the most powerful tribes in central Tanzania during the late 19th century. Colonial houses are grouped together in Jamat Street and surroundings, just west of the market.

I liked wandering around the streets and in particular the market. It is between Jamat and Jamhuri Streets and south of the bus station. It is a vibrant place – a cacophony of colour, sound and smell. A whirring of sewing machines filled the streets and tailors, both men and women, produced garments one after the other. Colourful and non-western styles with frills and puffed sleeves waited on coat hangers suspended on doors and windows, ready for anyone to buy.

The pungent smell of dried fish mixed with the sweet smell of mangoes. A man biked past, steadying a tower of egg boxes with one hand. Women with swaying hips carried large baskets on their heads. Traditional medicine, khanga wraps, Maasai jewellery, the streets buzz with exitement, colour and sound.

Best of all I liked the shop that sold leather sandals and bicycle saddles – pink, green, red, and yellow with streamers as adornments. They would look perfect on my bike at home, but I carry a minimum of luggage. A saddle would not possibly fit.

There are so many good reasons to visit Tanzania and in particular Iringa – it is a town with a past, street scenes are exotic lively and cheerful. My fondest memory is the bike shop and I still regret that I could not buy a saddle saddle.

Test your Travel IQ

2011-12-30T18:21:00.002+01:00

How much do you know about the world? Test your travel IQ. Do you know the capital of Tanzania? What is the longest river in the world?
Take the quiz and as close as possible to locations on the map. Speed counts, so the faster the better. Let's know what's your score.

The Traveler IQ challenge ranks geographic knowledge of cities such as: Fresno, Kansas City or Castries by comparing results against 7,889,868 other travelers. Brought to you by TravelPod, part of the TripAdvisor Media Network