https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/rss RSS Feed for Matthew Fedaks Website. Matthew Fedak is a PHP web developer who also likes taking photos. Matthew Fedak's Blog (https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk) https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/view-from-burj-khalifa-dubai
This photo was taken from the 145th floor by my father and is still twenty floors from the top. To go to the very top you need a premium ticket and we only had the normal ones (thanks dad). It was a relatively clear day and the city below looked like a lego village from above. In addition to being inside the world's tallest building it must have also been my fastest ever elevator journey. It only took about 35 seconds to go from the lobby to level 144 and my ears even popped during the descent.]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2025 04:31:55 +0000 View from Burj Khalifa, Dubai d1832503009db5ff71557f86d8e43670 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) View from Burj Khalifa, Dubai
This photo was taken from the 145th floor by my father and is still twenty floors from the top. To go to the very top you need a premium ticket and we only had the normal ones (thanks dad). It was a relatively clear day and the city below looked like a lego village from above. In addition to being inside the world's tallest building it must have also been my fastest ever elevator journey. It only took about 35 seconds to go from the lobby to level 144 and my ears even popped during the descent.]]> https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/view-from-burj-khalifa-dubai https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/al-qudra-50km-cycle-track-dubai
Renting Bikes:

The rental service from the Trek Bikes shop at the start was excellent. I reserved two Trek Emonda race bikes (Alu frame, carbon fork, disc brakes) with SPD pedals, helmets and shoes for 6 hours and in total it cost ~ 70 GBP. I did this a week before the trip. The rental service opens at 0530am.

Getting there:

We took a taxi to the track from downtown and we had no problems finding one at 5am. It also only took about 10 minutes to find a taxi to go back to the city although I have heard it can take longer if no drivers are nearby to pick up the fair. The taxi ride took around an hour each way and cost about 40 GBP.

Drinks/Supplies:

There is a supermarket at the start (ZAD's Food Store/ Cafe) which sells coffee, water and all kinds of energy gels and related sports nutrition. I read online that there was nothing but that was untrue.]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:51:35 +0000 Al Qudra 50km cycle track, Dubai eb789173076943d974eb1c2066e07784 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Al Qudra 50km cycle track, Dubai
Renting Bikes:

The rental service from the Trek Bikes shop at the start was excellent. I reserved two Trek Emonda race bikes (Alu frame, carbon fork, disc brakes) with SPD pedals, helmets and shoes for 6 hours and in total it cost ~ 70 GBP. I did this a week before the trip. The rental service opens at 0530am.

Getting there:

We took a taxi to the track from downtown and we had no problems finding one at 5am. It also only took about 10 minutes to find a taxi to go back to the city although I have heard it can take longer if no drivers are nearby to pick up the fair. The taxi ride took around an hour each way and cost about 40 GBP.

Drinks/Supplies:

There is a supermarket at the start (ZAD's Food Store/ Cafe) which sells coffee, water and all kinds of energy gels and related sports nutrition. I read online that there was nothing but that was untrue.]]> https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/al-qudra-50km-cycle-track-dubai https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bird-shop-in-falcon-souq-doha-qatar
The birds in this shop ranged in price from around £500 to £3000 depending on age and breed. They can live up to three years but it depends on lifestyle and how well they are looked after. We were not his usual Monday morning customers but the shop keeper was welcoming and happy to talk to tourists.]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2025 06:19:03 +0000 Bird shop in Falcon Souq, Doha, Qatar 62f207a61782e9b5afaa57b8ae15a7c7 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Bird shop in Falcon Souq, Doha, Qatar
The birds in this shop ranged in price from around £500 to £3000 depending on age and breed. They can live up to three years but it depends on lifestyle and how well they are looked after. We were not his usual Monday morning customers but the shop keeper was welcoming and happy to talk to tourists.]]> https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bird-shop-in-falcon-souq-doha-qatar https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bucharest-marathon-2025 Via Transilvanica back in the summer of 2023. This was my third marathon, and even though training didn’t go quite as planned, I still managed to hit a new personal best and finished just under 3 hours and 40 minutes! The energy on the course was incredible, and the weather was perfect for running.]]> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 14:16:12 +0100 Bucharest Marathon 2025 c6de93a6f6a13be03e2a1227bbb87d29 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Bucharest Marathon 2025 Via Transilvanica back in the summer of 2023. This was my third marathon, and even though training didn’t go quite as planned, I still managed to hit a new personal best and finished just under 3 hours and 40 minutes! The energy on the course was incredible, and the weather was perfect for running.]]> https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bucharest-marathon-2025 https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bikepacking-through-rotterdam-netherlands Roderik later that evening. On the way we cycled through The Hague and Rotterdam.

In Rotterdam we had a sandwich and took a couple of photos. This lunch spot was conveniently located east of the bridge (Erasmusbrug) just across from the Deloitte offices.]]> Thu, 11 Sep 2025 15:43:35 +0100 Bikepacking through Rotterdam, Netherlands ad07c2519dc5dd7e926c4ed9d993156c [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Bikepacking through Rotterdam, Netherlands Roderik later that evening. On the way we cycled through The Hague and Rotterdam.

In Rotterdam we had a sandwich and took a couple of photos. This lunch spot was conveniently located east of the bridge (Erasmusbrug) just across from the Deloitte offices.]]> https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bikepacking-through-rotterdam-netherlands https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/lennon-wall-prague-czechia
After the death of John Lennon in 1980, this stone wall in Prague was turned into a memorial and featured a portrait of the musicians face. Soon after slogans appeared on the wall which criticised the communist regime which the residents of Prague lived under. Back then Prague was part of Czechoslovakia which despite not being part of the USSR, was a satellite state and had been under Soviet control since the end of the second world war. Today the wall has less political significance but is a tourist hotspot and part of the cities modern history. People from all over the world can write messages on the wall and it has even inspired other Lennon walls such as the one established in Hong Kong during the 2014 protests in Hong Kong.]]> Mon, 25 Aug 2025 09:25:17 +0100 Lennon Wall, Prague, Czechia 6428ff3b914617cc5cf4dd42cc82063c [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Lennon Wall, Prague, Czechia
After the death of John Lennon in 1980, this stone wall in Prague was turned into a memorial and featured a portrait of the musicians face. Soon after slogans appeared on the wall which criticised the communist regime which the residents of Prague lived under. Back then Prague was part of Czechoslovakia which despite not being part of the USSR, was a satellite state and had been under Soviet control since the end of the second world war. Today the wall has less political significance but is a tourist hotspot and part of the cities modern history. People from all over the world can write messages on the wall and it has even inspired other Lennon walls such as the one established in Hong Kong during the 2014 protests in Hong Kong.]]> https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/lennon-wall-prague-czechia https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bmw-r32-bmw-museum-munich Wed, 11 Jun 2025 23:23:01 +0100 BMW R32, BMW Museum, Munich 679306be5b8fe906f632e0bb671e176a [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) BMW R32, BMW Museum, Munich https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/bmw-r32-bmw-museum-munich https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/ponte-vecchio-florence-italy Mon, 07 Apr 2025 21:41:47 +0100 Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy 1b59440e455699982efdee92825d2818 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/ponte-vecchio-florence-italy https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/the-peoples-friendship-arch-kazbegi-georgia Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:57:56 +0100 The People's Friendship Arch, Kazbegi, Georgia 92112a1d58a7e6ca4a50535b903d7c81 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) The People's Friendship Arch, Kazbegi, Georgia https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/the-peoples-friendship-arch-kazbegi-georgia https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/cooling-down-in-lake-sevan-armenia Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:47:02 +0100 Cooling down in Lake Sevan, Armenia dacb6b0f67b24b959db7f83ea46d0368 [email protected] (Matthew Fedak) Cooling down in Lake Sevan, Armenia https://www.matthewfedak.co.uk/blog/photo/cooling-down-in-lake-sevan-armenia