European vacations

Getting to Barcelona

After I came back from school, I wanted to go outside the country, to a place I’ve neven been before - it was either Amsterdam or Barcelona. After looking at the guides, I decided that Amsterdam was more for traveling with friends, and since I was the only one who could afford to go, I went with my mother. It was mid-May, and we booked the trip for 8 days, 7 nights - a total of around $2,500, which turned out to be expensive, since it was a last minute, unplanned trip. Since neither of us know any Spanish, it was something to consider, since Barcelona is not as tourist-friendly as other vacation spots, like resorts.

We traveled by Delta France, with a 2 hour stop in the beautiful Charles de Gaulle Paris airport. The entire trip was about 8-9 hours. Not too exhilirating. We heard a lot about pickpockets in Barcelona, so we decided to keep everything with us, locked up. We took a cab to the Hotel Royal, on La Rambla, the center of the city, by the Gothic Quarter. As it turned out, we could not have found a better spot to live out the week.

La Rambla

I will not describe the great hotel accomodations, except that one of our windows overlooked a side street branching off La Rambla, off which we could hear spanish music and watch dancing at all hours of the day and night. The street below us looked like a classic old spanish alleyway, with pots of flowers and clothing lines streaming off the balconies. It was beautiful. Once we decided to go get something to eat, there was a small cafe bar across the street with typical Spanish “tapas,” which Barcelona is so known for. These are small crackers or bread with pieces of seafood, vegetables, olives, etc. mixed together, all marinated and salty. To drink we had a type of punch, which is usually drunk here during the day, like a rose wine. The food in this city is uncommonly fresh and very inexpensive.

As we went out onto La Rambla, the noise rushed at us. It was beautiful, a word I will repeat often. Artists dressed and made up in all types of costumes littered the enourmous street. At every step one could see a tree naiad, or a myriad of fairies, people posing as statues, Houdinis, ninjas, musketeers, 18th century noblemen and women with umbrellas, greek philosophers and playwrights, etc. Along with them, there were tens of little outdoor shops set up. Some with fresh, unwilted, and uncommon flowers; some with birds, and all kinds of tropical parrots; some with ginuia pigs, chinchillas, rabbits, hamsters, etc.; and some with souveniers, calendars, cards, and newspapers. At about 6pm, the artists left and the shops were closed up and taken away. Instead, you could see tables set up for palmreading, with crystal balls and gypsies at every 10 steps, who sat outside the closed up flowershops. Instead of the artists in costume came artists who painted your name with flowery letters, drew your portraits, or sat on the floor and spray-painted far-away galaxies with rainbow colors. Short, dirty men brought out tables and cards, as well as encouraged tourists to play at guessing under which cup the ball was, which they moved so quickly that it was impossible to tell. In a minute’s time one could see a poor tourist losing $50 euros, or dollars, which is a lot of money in Barcelona.

On every side of La Rambla were hotels and food shops and cafes for tourists. The entire street was a tourist attraction, and at no time, not even 4am, would the street be less than as crowded as Times Square in New York City.

A typical day in Barcelona

Every morning, my mother and I would go down to a cafe on La Rambla in search for breakfast. We always had coffee, orange juice, and a croissant with marmalade. The croissants were average, but the coffee was spectacular. It was the most delicious coffee I have ever tasted. And I am not exaggerating. It felt like a cappuccino, but not exactly as frothy, and it wasn’t hot, but just warm enough. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, and the most expensive thing on any menu. As I said earlier, delicious.

After breakfast, we went to the beach. It takes about 40 minutes from our hotel, but since the weather was extremely warm (about 28 celcius) with minimum humidity, it was an enjoyable walk, even if tiring walk. To get to the beach, we passed such unique houses and attractions, as one could never dream of. Many houses are decorated with frescoes and ivy-woven balconies. Restaraunts, museums, and attractions are shaped in strange ways - such as a theater with the roof shaped like a fish, shining golden in the light of the sun. Again, beautiful. On the beach, the sands are soft and small-grained, but the water was still cold in mid-May. It is not a nude beach, to which I would never go with my mother, but the women, no matter the age, did not wear bikini tops.

On the way back from the beach, we stopped by the several market shops, which sold beautiful original jewelry, took pictures of the dancing locals (it was a holiday), and enjoyed a ride over the river to a mountain. We thought it was going to our side of the river (the beach was on the other side), but we turned up at a mountain, from which we tried to hike back to our hotel, it took us two hours. The mountain top was like an old temple. And of course, the view was amazing.

When we came back, it was early afternoon. We went to the famous market (I forget the name), and returned with tiny strawberries which can be found nowhere in America. I believe in Spanish it is fressas. Or something like it. We had the tapas, and took an afternoon nap. Sometimes, after the nap, we would go wander around the Gothic Quarter, or Barrio Gotico, look into local shops, ate Catalonian desserts, and, of course, we got lost plenty of times. These little wanderings took us about 4 hours at a time. Once, instead, we took a tour bus to Montjuic, a small mountain with a village at the heart of it, with examples of over 80 different architectural styles from around the world. Each of these buildings was a shop or restaurant. And of course, ther were examples of Gaudi works. The tour bus also took us to see the most famous Gaudi buildings, the zoo, the museums.

The early evenings, however, were different. Anywhere we went, we would see groups of kids in their early 20s, dirty, dressed in rags, mismatched. This was a typical Barcelonian young person. They laughed and looked like they were constantly having a great time. I hadn’t time to go to any clubs, and it was a bit dangerous, as every street was dark, and many drunk and stoned men strolled around the empty alleyways which were so charming during the daytime. It was also a bit chilly, and a jacket was necessary. We went out to eat, usually seafood, and of course, drank plenty of wine, in the style of the Catalonians. Everything was delicious. We spent the entire week just walking around Barcelona, trying to get to know the culture of this wonderful, lively city.

The End

I believe that you need 2 weeks to really enjoy Barcelona. I regret going with my mother, and not my friends, although I promised to go with them next spring break. When you are in college is probably the best time to visit this city, which seems made for the young. I would definitely recommend going there and at least visiting the clubs, which I hadn’t a chance to do.

Around May is the best time to go to Spain because the weather is warm enough, and at the end of the month, the sea is nice enough to swim in. Later becomes very hot, and earlier is too cold.

Note:I was told I could post more than one review of Scotland. I tried, but no dice. I guess Epinion wants all of Scotland in one novel. So I am posting this under museums since I do review 2 of them. Sorry, Peter, I tried. I don’t know how you get all of your Australia ones in but I love reading them. If somebody can clue me in, I will be thankful.

I want to tell about Solovki, an archipelago in the White Sea, in the north of Russia. I’ve been there two times, in September and July, a year apart, and I will definitely return in the future. The islands are reached either by air from Arkhangelsk or boat from Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk, or Kem’ (Karelia). I booked a weekend trip there with my friends and paid about $100 each. I am Russian and have Russian passport - I was told it’s more expensive for foreigners. Our group flew from a smaller Arkhangelsk airport on a 10-12 seater plane, Czech-made. The flight over White Sea took about 45 minutes. We landed on a field with a cement airstrip and a cow nibbing on grass nearby. The islands do get a few foreign tourists - there is an exchange office near airport. But that’s about all the “amenities” you can find there. What you get instead is a sense of going back in history. The main attraction is an ancient monastery, built in 15th century and later rebuilt in stone in the “Kremlin” manner, with a wall surrounding cathedral and monks’ quarters. Huge stones on the bottom of the wall are amazing and awe-inspiring. They are covered with orange-colored moss, and the morning or sunset views of the Kremlin with its mirrow reflection on the man-made Holy Lake are fascinating. I have posted photos of Solovki on RussiaByNET site: http://www.russiabynet.com/russia/february7.asp

The monastery was one of the most rich and powerful in Russia in the middle ages due to its successful salt trade. It had also housed prison from time to time. Most notorious is Stalin-era camp, when thousands of prisoners were exiled there. Solzhenitsin’s “One day of life of Ivan Denisovitch” describes Solovki prison. The contrast among events that took place on such a small and remote territory is amazing. It almost feels that current peace and quiet is unreal and unnatural. This place definitely has a special aura about it and I could feel it.

On our trip, we had a tour of Kremlin itself, bus tour of the main island where kremlin is located (other islands require special permission to get to, they are natural preserves), then the next day we went rowing along 3 or 4 lakes connected by canals. There are close to 500 lakes on the islands. Many of them were connected by the monks with man-made canals - about 50 or so. There was an overwhelming feeling of peace and tranquility when we rowed through the lakes surrounded by dense forest… in september leaves were changing color that added beauty to the surroundings. Afterwards we walked through a botanical garden started by monks and maintained through the years. One amazing thing is that monks were able to grow watermelons (by heating ground below) despite the fact that the islands are located on the Arctic circle.

Walking around the island, we saw circular labyrinths of unknown origin - they were recreated versions of the original ones. On the more remote islands they still exist as they did for thousands of years.

The accomodations were rustic - wooden house with 5 or 6 double rooms sharing a shower and a restroom. Meals were included and were traditional Russian. There are just a few food stores, a cafe and a post office in the village around monastery. Monastery now has about 30 monks, they are “black” monks, which means they have stricter requirements than “white” monks, i.e. they give celibacy oath. Weather was warm and sunny in July, in September we happened to come on a cold weekend and had to wear coats. All in all, it’s an incredible amount of impressions that Solovki leaves on visitors even in a matter of few days. It’s definitely an experience worth the hassle of getting there.

The Netherlands is a beautiful country. Amsterdam is an amazingly vibrant city and a great place to party. Unfortunately, many visitors to the country focus far too much on the latter with the result that they miss out on the lovely countryside and the great people that are outside the Amsterdam area.

One way to get out and explore the country is by bike. The bicycle (fiets in Dutch, rhymes with “sheets”) is so ubiquitous in the Netherlands that it is almost a symbol for the country, along with wooden shoes (which, in my 3 months in Holland, I have never seen being worn) and the windmill. As such, the country is criss-crossed with a network of bicycle paths, routes and trails that make it one of the most cyclist-friendly places I have visited.

If you’re looking for a comfortable, clean, modern hotel with excellent amenities and service — and all at reasonable rates — then check out the Hotel Esja.

I stayed at Hotel Esja for a couple of nights as part of a travel package booked through Icelandair (see my epinion under Icelandair in the airlines category for info on the great stop-over deals).

For a long time I had been willing to write a thorough review about the beautiful medieval city of Bruges in Belgium. Now that I have put some memories back together and gathered some information from our different visits, I feel it is time for me to guide you through one of the most charming and well preserved city I have ever been to.

Well, I do feel pretty qualified to write this review, seeing as how I spent an academic year in the charming town of Heidelberg. As a student with an American university, I had the opportunity to experience Heidelberg both as a tourist and eventually, as more of a local. It’s small enough that, once you have been around for awhile, you recognize the waiter from last night or the cashier at the drugstore as they walk down the main street, the Hauptstrasse.

Heidelberg’s castle, resting up on a hill and overlooking the Altstadt (Old Town) is mysterious and romantic. Of the many castles we have seen throughout Europe (and there are plenty!), both ruined and intact, my fellow students and I all agree that the Heidelberg castle is by far the best. Its magnitude, position overlooking the city, landscaping and its night-time illumination all lend to its achieving “favorite castle” status.

The Holy Ghost church in the Old Town area is also a sight frequented by tourists, but with good reason! A climb up to its tour not only works off the Bratwurst and Schnitzel, but it also results in a breathtaking view of the castle, city layout, Neckar River, and unique house and building rooftops.

Heidelberg is full of cute little cafes and hidden corners where you can go to escape the tourist shops. It is easy and safe to explore its offerings on your own. Yet Heidelbergers are accustomed to Americans, so providing that you are polite and accomodating, the local people will be helpful, friendly, and usually English-speaking.

I visited Andalucia (southern region of Spain) about a year ago, and it was by far the best experience I have had traveling abroad. I was visiting friends learning flamenco over the summer in Sevilla which formed our base for excursions across the region.

I didn’t have a round-trip ticket the last time I came home from Europe, so when it came time to book a flight back to States, I thought I would do something a little “financially adventurous” (what a euphemism!) and stop in Iceland on the way. On every trip I had taken to Europe, I had sat there on those boring transatlantic flights feeling like toothpaste and looked off longingly into the star-clad northern distance, imagining a magical island sitting there under the wing-tip called Iceland. Yet I had never seriously considered going there.

The other day I was in Munich to see an art exhibition. I didn’t have any plans for the afternoon and when I saw a leaflet ‘Munich Walk Tours in English’, (from May 17th to August 31st daily 10:45 am and 3:00 pm, from Sept. 1st to Oct. 31st daily 10:45, meeting point in front of the town hall entrance under the Glockenspiel on Marienplatz, 9 Euro, under 26 years 8 Euro, children under 14 with an adult free), I thought, why not that? Why not find out what foreigners tell foreigners about Munich?