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JapanTravelling

Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises

written by Maria
Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises

For me it was a huge deal to go to Japan ’cause I’ve been dreaming about this country since my teens and when we bought tickets, I literally couldn’t sleep due to my excitement. But the point is, we got tickets in August 2018 and was going to fly at the beginning of May, so my enthusiasm partially evaporated with time and I’ve got too relaxed about getting ready for Japan. This inspired me to write this little post-guidance in case you need some advises and get your thoughts together. Here we go 🙂

Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises

Kyoto, view at Kiyomiyu Temple, Japan

11 must and mustn’t from me

Living on the opposite side of the world (in comparison to our destination place), I found it quite challenging to get ready for Japan. So many things should be considered! What clothes would be the best? Another memory card for a camera? Oh yes, and a Japanese adapter plugs!… And so on, and so on. That was me during preparations ;D Ok, enough of these, let’s jump right to our list!

Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises

Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

  1. Japanese adapter plugs. It would be useful for you, if you’re not from the UK, Australia and all those countries with similar plugs. We’ve bought something like this one, but with two USB jacks.
  2. Take care of rental of a pocket  WI-FI. It’s more convenient regarding a quantity of GB, then a sim card or anything else. A hint for you if you’re thinking how much GB do you need: in our case, we had 25 GB for 23 days and we didn’t use all of those 25 GB.
  3. Take some yens with you, but not too much. Here is why – 7 eleven have their own “Seven Bank” which offers the best exchange course you will ever find in Japan. Besides, Seven Bank accepts, I guess, everything, including Maestro.
  4. If you’re still thinking, whether to take dry shampoo with you or not – TAKE IT! As I noticed, that’s one of those things that is not so common in Japan (correct me if I’m wrong) and usually costs above 1100 ¥ in contrast to hairsprays. 
  5. If you have some place in your luggage, take some hangers with you (like 2 or 3) ’cause 3 out 4 of our hotels didn’t have any wardrobes, even though they weren’t super budget as usually 😀
  6. Are you going to Japan during sunny months? Take a sun protection cream for body and face – the sun is there merciless! 😀
  7. Additionally to 6. – take with you also a hat/cap. You won’t regret it on a hot day.
  8. You may leave your umbrella at home – it’s probably better to buy one in Japan (they cost around 500 ¥ ~ 4 €). The point is – sometimes winds are strong in Japan during rainfalls, so your favorite umbrella is in jeopardy. Japanese umbrellas are much better at that – they are big, cheap and sometimes quite resistant to winds! 😀
  9. Don’t forget pills from allergy, even if you don’t tend to have allergies. Better have them with than to be sorry later. But if you had an allergy accident and you didn’t have the pills with you, it’s still possible to buy them in a pharmacy.
  10. Try not to pack up your luggage since you will need the place for your future purchases: Japan is a marvelous place for shopping, and I mean any goods, from clothes and stationery to tea and sweets.
  11. Last but not the least – a Japanese phrasebook. I don’t think you’ll use it often, but it may help you in an unforeseen turn of events 🙂
Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises

Ponto-cho alley, Kyoto, Japan

Some comments

All those advises are based on my experience and it’s up to you whether to take them into consideration or not, but if I knew some of those things what I wrote about I would probably not get an allergy reaction (’cause remember Murphy’s law :D) or wouldn’t lose some money on the exchange rate ;). Besides, another quite a nice thing about those 7 Bank ATMs – you don’t have to have big amounts of cash with you, so it feels safer (but you don’t have to worry about it, the crime rate is pretty low there).

Thanks to my husband, who already was in Japan several years ago, I was warned about not overfilling my luggage, so it was a torture to decide for me, what to take and what not to :D. In spite of my diligence, I ended up with 14 kg anyway, so I only had 9 spare kilos (ideally I’d have 10 kg at most when leaving Europe :D). So 9 free kg was ok, but it felt like I need another two or so.

I guess that’s all for now, wish you luck with your packing!

Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises

Tokyo, Japan

Get ready for Japan! Tips and advises was last modified: June 14th, 2018 by Maria
June 14, 2018 0 comment
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Travelling

Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

written by Maria

Hi there!

Long time no see, isn’t it? But finally, I found some time and inspiration to write this small article about our Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes.

This time we decided to spend our holidays in Switzerland because the cost of the road there was the most beneficial for us (so far we use public transport). The destination point became Basel. Why? That one I’ll explain a bit later. It wasn’t going to be the first time in Basel, because a few years ago we dropped by already. So that I’d like to compare our experiences this and last time! Let’s begin?

Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Basel, Switzerland

Our Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes. Now and then.

The loveliness of Switzerland haven’t changed much, thanks gosh ;D But how we experienced everything there and how we managed this and that has changed.

Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Spalenvorstadt, Basel

So, let’s begin with how did we get there? 

Then:

by plane. We flew from Bremen to Basel’s airport and we didn’t have any plans for what are we going to do there.

Now:

by train. Everything has been bought and booked in advance, and we had a quite plan (stroll through the city over and over again 😀 and visit Lucerne of course).

Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Mt. Pilatus, Luzern, Switzerland

Feelings and expectations.
Then:  
  1. My first thought was “Where are the damn mountains?!”. Well, that was my first time in Europe and Switzerland was the first foreign country apart from Germany that I visited, so my notion of Europe was super blurry. (Off topic – can you imagine that I didn’t want to go to Amsterdam in the first place ’cause I thought I’ll be like another ugly Russian city? I was super biased earlier, thanks to all the gods it has slightly changed).
  2. We had no idea about the currency exchange (Rubles and Swiss Franks). You know what? We weren’t even curious enough to find out how much it was ’cause of our assumption, which came out of nowhere, that 1 Swiss Frank equaled 80 rubles, (while 1 EUR equaled ~ 40 rubles). Practically, as I found out much later, it actually cost 40 rubles 😀 (It’s the same if you, for example,  suppose that 1 SFr is 0,5 EUR but in fact, it’s 1 EUR.) Hence, we bought nothing there, because everything was ridiculously expensive for us.)
  3. After being less than a day in Basel we went to Mulhouse since our hotel was there. By the way – I’m sorry, but I can’t recommend this city for visiting. Quite dull in comparison to Basel, even back then. But there was an advantage though, of course, it’s mountains. On the second day, I assume, we went to les vosges, just to wander there during a day. Without water, food or appropriate clothes. In spite of all of that, that’s my favorite story of my life so far because it was so careless 😀
Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Luzern, Switzerland

Now:
  1.  I was already prepared, that there are no high mountains 😀
  2. This time we also didn’t check the currency rank, but it wasn’t so essential ’cause our earnings are in Euro, and we had a vague picture of that 1 SFr ~ 1 Eur. But in spite of that, we came to the conclusion that Switzerland is quite expensive especially if you’re not having an average income IN FRANKS.
  3. Our passion to mountains led us to Lucerne this time – a city which is located in a breathtaking area, near a lake that is actually also named Lucerne 😀 Without outstanding adventurous we used a mountain train to get to the top of mt. Pilatus. Guys, the view out there is just something! Highly advisable for visiting! Besides, the route to the top is also something ineradicable; you experience everything – the beauty of valleys and mountains, the city and the lake; a slight tremble ´cause of the high; snow and the warm snow at the top!  (⌬̀⌄⌬́)
Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Mt. Pilatus, Switzerland

Our Swiss vacation – Summary.

I guess now I need to conclude with some advantages and disadvantages that I discovered for myself this time.

Advantages.
  1. We´ve got pretty lucky with the hotel – the room was super spacious for that price and very good planned. It was located near a tram stop, and they provided us with a free transport ticket for the whole period of staying (!!! you´re going to need that one, because daily tickets are quite expensive, just like everything else there), fast Internet connection. Only one inconvenient thing was there – no breakfast. If you´re interested, the name of the hotel is Apaliving. I´m not advertising, just saying.
  2. Transport. No need to say, that the public transport in Basel is excellent, so you even don´t need to worry about how to get to your hotel on the New Year´s Eve. For me that´s surprising guys, ´cause I can’t say the same about Reutlingen, where buses go every 20 minutes ಠ_ಠ
  3. Atmosphere. I really liked celebration of New Year outdoors, especially in Basel. There were pretty a lot of people, but still, I felt safe there (I mean, I was a bit afraid of inappropriate usage of fireworks (´-ω-`) )
  4. Architecture. Even though it’s a touristic city, there’re still pretty a lot of places without crowds of tourists. Personally, I fell in love with the district Freie str., Leonharsgraben and Petersgasse. Check out Spalentor’s area as well! Besides, there’re plenty examples of modern architecture, which I also found wonderful.
  5. Belgian waffles. Yes, not Swiss chocolate,  but Belgian waffles 😀 I’m a pretty huuuge fan of those, so I was in the seventh heaven.
Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Basel Messe, Basel, Switzerland

Disadvantages. 

I can name only one huge disadvantage – it’s prices. So for example, you can get almost everywhere in Europe an excellent breakfast for about 10 Eur pro person and you’ll be full. But not in Switzerland – for 8 Frs you’ll have a cup of hot water and a bag of Lipton tea, one croissant and a standard small box of tea and jam.  That’s it. A typical lunch would cost you about ~ 30 – 35 Frs pro person,

Another example is the ascent to Pilatus – pro person it costs somewhat ~75 Frs. Well-well…  Please, don’t think I’m stingy or something, but I was just slightly shocked after average German prices 😀 If you feel another way, please, share it with me in comments below ^ω^

Thank you for your time and attention!

Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes

Spalentor, Basel, Switzerland

Swiss vacation and the beauty of Swiss landscapes was last modified: February 5th, 2018 by Maria
February 5, 2018 0 comment
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GermanyTravelling

Bad Urach – it’s not only about architecture

written by Maria

Bad Urach – it’s not only about architecture

Probably this post would better take place during summer months, but Bad Urach is not going to disappear next year, is it? 😉 Besides, what I am going to write about can be visited at any time of the year.

Bad Urach is a small town

Are you ready? Let’s go then!

Bad Urach

The main square

4 reasons to visit Bad Urach

Bad Urach is a sweet town which is about 35 minutes by train from Reutlingen, where I currently live, surrounded by gorgeous Swabian Alps (or Schwäbische Albs in German). Even though it is quite small, its main square is utterly adorable and strike with its half-timbered houses and quiet atmosphere.

Bad Urach

A view on the main square

So here is the reason number one: the old town and the main square of Bad Urach.

Personally, I would not say that it is something outstanding and unforgettable, but with time I developed fondness to this cute town. Just wanted to share with you something personal ❤

Bad Urach

Old town

The reason number two: hiking, riding, biking

If you are keen on hiking and nature, Bad Urach’s area is perfect for you. There are short and long wonder paths, waterfalls, lakes and so on. Pick up what you want! 🙂

Bad Urach

Swabian Alps, Germany

Besides, you can try there mounting biking or just cycling. There are roads in Schwäbische Albs that pass wonderful for biking and gentle hills which are not so difficult to ride up and down 🙂

Bad Urach

Swabian Alps, Germany

And it is not all! There are also stables, where you can rent a horse (they are so gorgeous and beautiful there) and go straight into the mountains! Isn’t that thrilling?!

Bad Urach

Swabian Alps, Germany

The reason number three: castle ruins.

There is even a castle in Bad Urach! Even though it is already in decay, I mean, only ruins are left. Nevertheless, it is not a pile of bricks and stones, and there is something to see! And I must say, it is an ideal destination if you decided to hike in Schwäbische Albs 🙂

And the reason number four: spa and bathing.

Don’t  you think I would leave that topic out! The name of Bad Urach speaks for itself – a German word “das Bad” means “a bath.” Try healing mineral waters of Bad Urach and relax 😉

Bad Urach

Some cute details 🙂

How to get there?

I assume that must be an important question!

Mostly you can get there by train. There is a direct train from Reutlingen that goes every hour. If you are going to Bad Urach from Stuttgart, there are two news: bad and good one. I will begin with the bad one: there are no direct trains to Bad Urach. The good news: there are trains to Bad Urach with only one change! It is not troublesome, just get informed in a Deutsch Bahn App.

You can read about the app here, and you can follow the link there to download the app. Personally, I use this app all the time because it is not always convenient to use the web version.

Bad Urach

Residenzschloss Urach, Germany

Which stop do I need?

Here everything is simple.

Do you want to hike, ride horses or cycle? Then you need a station Bad Urach Wasserfall.

If you want to go to the town itself, you will need a station Bad Urach (there is a station between Bad Urach Wasserfall and Bad Urach).

 

Thank you very much for your time!

See you 😉

Bad Urach – it’s not only about architecture was last modified: October 20th, 2017 by Maria
October 20, 2017 0 comment
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Travelling

Top visit cities in Belgium

written by Maria

Travelling in Belgium!

It was already our third visit to Belgium, so now I have a rough image of where should one go to enjoy the beauty of Belgian cities 😉 That is why I thought, why would not I make a top must visit cities in Belgium? 🙂

I must warn you that it is my personal range of cities which we have visited and I do not want to offend anyone 🙂

Are you ready? Let’s begin then!

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Mechelen

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Mechelen, Belgium

A charming town which is not so far from Leuven (30 minutes by train). We were there on Sunday when all the shops were closed, so that in the city center there were not so many people and we could enjoy the town’s atmosphere 🙂

Mechelen’s main square is utterly cute with its toy-like houses, Gothic Town Hall and St. Rumbold’s Cathedral.

Besides, while we were walking towards Grote Markt (basically the main square), I noticed there were a really huge bunch of shops. So if you are into shopping, I advise you to go to Bruul 🙂

And there is one more thing to say relating to Mechelen: do not plan for the town the whole day, three hours will be more than enough 😉

Dinant

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Dinant, Belgium

Another town with an outstanding view! Go to Citadel and also enjoy the view of the town below you!

My tip regarding Dinant: if you do not want to eat in restaurants near Citadel and give away a fortune for your lunch, there is a Chinese restaurant with reasonable prices and tasty food (well, personally, I liked it). Their address is Rue Grande 91 5500 Dinant. 

Antwerpen

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Antwerpen, Belgium

Even though we were there one and a half years ago, that is a city I can not be silent about! I remember I could not simply go to the city center because I was enjoying every street on our way and of course I took hundreds of photos 😀

Grote Markt as usually deserves your attention, as, I guess, every main square in Belgium 😀 Basically, Antwerpen is a treasure trove of captivating places for you! Museum aan de Stroom, an abandoned stock exchange, Zurenborg, Port House by Zaha Hadid, etc. are worth your attention!

Brussels

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Brussels, Belgium

It is a city of contrasts and beautiful architecture. If you are in Belgium, drop by Brussels, for one day or even two, you will not be disappointed!

We have been to Brussels three times already. Our stayings were not long there, but they were enough for me to change my mind about the city. Yes, after the first visit I did not like Brussels at all, but I gave it a second chance and I did not regret 😉

Ghent

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Ghent, Belgium

We visited Ghent as long ago as Antwerp, but I still remember how I liked this town! Frankly speaking, I do not even know, what I like more, Ghent or Leuven (it will be the next).

The town combines past and present: historical architecture is just outstanding there and at the same time Ghent full of students. It creates its atmosphere that captures you and does not let you go 😉 If I go to Belgium fourth time, Ghent will be on my visit list for sure!

Leuven

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Leuven, Belgium

This town made quite an impression on me! Honestly, I even did not expect it 😀 A spectacular town with incredible architecture, full of bars and restaurants! On average you will meet there only young people: students. And no wonder, ’cause in Leuven is located the most well known Belgian University 🙂

While we were walking through the streets of the town, I caught myself on a thought that sometimes Leuven reminded me of Bruges 🙂

Bruges

Top must visit cities in Belgium

Bruges, Belgium

A city which is never dull to return! Every time I am in the city center there I lose my breath because of this inexpressible beauty! It feels like it is never enough time and you want to stay there forever just to enjoy the city’s architecture.

Personally, I absorb every minute of being there and time that is spent there can be considered as a soul therapy. Not on main streets that are huddled up with tourists, but in relatively remote areas, where one can enjoy silence and the atmosphere.

 

That is all I have to say by now! I hope you like it and find useful for you 😉

Enjoy Belgium!

Top visit cities in Belgium was last modified: August 3rd, 2017 by Maria
August 3, 2017 0 comment
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Travelling

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

written by Maria

Stumped?

Did you stop in one of the cities or towns of Baden-Württemberg? Did you explore basically everything in this place and don’t know what else to do? Do not hurry to buy tickets to Bavaria, Switzerland or France, because Baden-Württemberg is a treasure trove of beautiful cities and towns, which you have never heard of!

For now, I am going to be your local guide, and I will tell you where you can go 😉

My story or how did I explore

This narrative began at the end of December when I just moved to Germany. As you may know, this time, at the end of December and at the beginning of January, when all of the Christmas are already closed, the most of Europe is half dead.

Of course I am joking, but the meaning is still the same: shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. do not work, so you are on your own. Especially if your family is faaaar away, you are soooooo doomed during this time!

So we took entertainment of ourselves in our hands and came to a conclusion, that the only one we can do, is to travel around the area.

Then the holidays passed by, but my curiosity was still there. I was searching a lot for places nearby, just for one day trip. And then I realized that Baden-Württemberg is a home for soooo many lovely towns! They’re quite small, but their historical parts are splendid. It seems like you jumped right into Medieval!

Let’s begin now? 😉

Before we start

I must say, it is just those towns I visited and which I could recommend. Do not expect to see there something big like Berlin or Munich. They are really small, only Reutlingen has a population almost 110,000, the others has even less, so you will not see Starbucks (except for Esslingen) and hundreds of malls.

Some of them have lively atmosphere, some of them has the calm one (you will see only grannies around 😉 )

But if you are ready for exploration of non-typical destinations, it is for you 😉

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Herrenberg

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

One of the main streets of Herrnberg during Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht

It is a lovely town in the mid of Baden-Württemberg, 30 km south of Stuttgart. If you are tired of hectic pace of city life, you will be pleased to spend a day in a quiet Herrenberg 🙂

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Defensive wall of a former border of the Herrenberg city

Personally, I felt there like instead of a train I entered a time travel machine and stepped out in one of those romantic medieval towns! Herrenberg definitely marked my heart, and I will never forget this adorable petite city  ❤

Schwäbisch Hall

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Historical part of Schwäbisch Hall

My impression of Schwäbisch Hall was something similar to my impression of Herrenberg.  Quiet, steady pace of life, magnificent surroundings. However, there’s something that decaffeinates Schwäbisch Hall from the other cities of this area: a bit unusual architecture of the main square. Side by side you can see the baroque and traditional half-timbered houses.

Esslingen

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Altes Rathaus, Esslingen

Just 13 minutes from Stuttgart and you’re in another town with beautiful architecture. By the way, in Esslingen you have a chance to contemplate original buildings – the town, fortunately, wasn’t severely damaged during WW2.

Reutlingen

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

A view on mt. Achalm from Marienkirche

When you have an opportunity, you can also drop by Reutlingen. A cozy city where you can find interesting and calming spots. By the way, Reutlingen hosts the most narrow street in the world!

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

A small park near a Museum of Reutlingen Hisrtory

Tübingen

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

A glimpse at the Tübingen Rathaus

I would say, without any doubts, that Tübingen is one of the prettiest cities of Baden-Württemberg. An excellent atmospheric city center will bring you in joy and peace. Every house, every corner is so photogenic, so that I promise you won’t let your camera out of hands! 😉

Don’t be confused as you just walk out of the train station, surroundings are not as you expect them to be 😀 Just be patient, walk 10 minutes towards “Stadtmitte” and you’ll get your portion of beauty 😉

Bad Urach

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Main square of Bad Urach

If you are craving for hiking through mountains, but you do not have much money or time, this is definitely for you then! Bad Urach offers an enormous amount of wander paths through Swabian Alps, with its outstanding views, ruins of castles and waterfalls!

Be careful! Before going into the wild nature, buy some sprays for insects! There can be mites, so take care or yourself!

Castles

Hohenzollern Castle

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Hohenzollern Castle

Just look at that! Doesn’t this castle look like from our beloved Walt Disney fairy tales, don’t it? You can get there by train from Stuttgart or from any other city or town, which follow this direction. A train schedule you can check on Deutsch Bahn website.

Be careful! Check out the castle’s website as well to learn more about buses that can bring you to the castle.

Lichtenstein Castle

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

A view on Lichtenstein castle

As it turned out, Baden-Württemburg is a treasure trove of castles! So just by accident we discovered a cute little castle nearby. It so neat and exquisite, but with a mountainous background it looks even more impressive!

Sigmaringen Castle

Exploring Baden-Württemberg

Sigmaringen Castle

The first thing you see, when you’re approaching Sigmaringen by train – it’s Sigmaringen Castle. Utterly impressive, I must say!

Frankly speaking, I didn’t have an opportunity to go inside and stroll through its halls, but I’ve heard it’s nice-looking in there!

Metzingen

Even you are not the big fan of shopping, I insist on visiting this outlet-city. There you can find dozens of brands and, the main point, the prices there ARE REDUCED!

Besides, very often shops offer extremely beneficial deals. For instance, 2 for the price of 1, up to 40 € you are getting a discount, etc.

P.S. I was there four times already, but I still don’t have any photos >__<

Afterword

I am not saying “goodbye” to this topic. I am planning to visit more cities and towns and tell YOU about them! 😉

Stay tuned!

Exploring Baden-Württemberg was last modified: May 27th, 2017 by Maria
May 27, 2017 0 comment
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Travelling

Interesting facts about Amsterdam

written by Maria

Intro

Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands – that’s a topic for today! I don’t have a particular thematic, and I also don’t want to write about boring numbers. Facts are pretty random ’cause most of them we have learned spontaneously, or we were curious about something so that we researched a little about it.

For the first time, Amsterdam is mentioned in about 1275. So almost 750 years of history! Don’t you think that during such period the city acquired stories and facts that are worth to be told? 🙂

This time we’ve learned a bunch of useful information about both: Amsterdam and the Netherlands as well. And now for me this country and this city are not just “faceless” places with outstanding architecture, but also places with something essential behind.

Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands

Classic Dutch landscape

Amsterdam and the Netherlands facts

You got used to thinking that the Netherlands is a tiny country, but it used to be utterly powerful, and it had incredible influence on the world.  Dutch shipped out on their risk into unknown waters to explore the world. With a foundation of the East Indian Trading Company, the Dutch Golden Age has begun. Exactly during the Golden Age Amsterdam was heavily expanded with the Canal district.

  • Why does “Amsterdam” mean? Well, there’re two versions (that are alike from my point of view). First, it refers to a dam on Amstel river, so it came up with “Amsterdam.” Second, it might originate from several words “aem”, “ster” and “dam,” which mean “people who have settled at the dike along the river.”
  • “The Netherlands” also has an explanation of its name ;D Basically “the Netherlands” means “lower lands.” And the name is quite right: only approximately 50% of the Netherlands’ lands are exceeding one meter above sea level. (Especially good you can see the origin of the name “Netherlands” in German, where “nieder” means “low” and “land” is “terra.”)
  • Do you sometimes call the Netherlands Holland? If so, you’re not fully correct, ’cause the Netherlands – is s name of the country, and Holland is central region IN the Netherlands.
  • New York was established by the Dutch and was originally named “New Amsterdam.”
  • Roughly about 30% of the territory of the Netherlands is below the sea level.
Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands

Every house in the Amsterdam has a hook, which is built in

  • The biggest airport of the Netherlands also has a legend behind its name. The first one tells the airport situates in the lands of a former lake. People say that waters of the lake were severe for ships and storms used to destroy vessels. So from old Dutch “Schiphol” translates as “Ships grave.”  According to the second one, “Schiphol” refers to “scheepshaal.” Scheepshaal means a canal or a ditch through which ships would be towed from one lake to another. And, finally, the third version arises from “scip hol.” It indicates a low-lung area (a hole) where wood would be collected for building ships.
  • On the flag of Amsterdam depicted three X. Why? Basically it’s not Xs, but Saint Andrew Crosses. According to the most popular legend, were meant to ward off fire, floods and the black plague.
  • The oldest building in Amsterdam is Oude Kerk.
  • Tulips are NOT originally Dutch. They came to the Netherlands from Turkey.
  • 80% of tulips bulbs that are traded in the world are from the Netherlands.
Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands

Crooked houses of Amsterdam

  • Houses in Amsterdam are narrow. Sometimes extremely narrow, so you even can’t use stairs to lift your furniture up! So what then??? Look up! EVERY house there has a hook! Besides, buildings were constructed in such way, that gambles were further out into the street to make it easier to haul everything in via the hook and window! So if you see a sofa is hanging over you – don’t be surprised! ;D
  • But why are houses narrow then? People used to pay taxes not for the territory they’re taking, but for the width of facades!
  • For buildings’ foundation in Amsterdam use poles. Since the ground is quite swampy, poles are the best option. Currently, poles are made of concrete, but it used to be wood.
  • Did you notice that many houses in Amsterdam are crooked? That’s because for old buildings were used wooden poles and they couldn’t last forever. Apparently, foundations of buildings were renewed, so don’t worry 😉
  • Even though the foundations were remade, it’s still not possible to build in elevators in old houses.
  • To make their houses look taller, owners used to play with sizes of windows. In Canal District you can sometimes notice that windows of the ground floor are the biggest, and those in the attic are the smallest. It created an illusion of perspective 🙂 (Actually, you can see it in the picture above)
Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands

Amsterdam canals

  • According to graphics, on average Amsterdam has about 180 days when it rains or snows.
  • Not since the beginning of time Amsterdam was a bike capital. In 50s-60s, on the contrary, the number or automobiles was growing utterly active. Due to this fact, the amount of car accidents, that involved pedestrians, was increasing steadily, and hit its peak in 1971. 3000 people died on the roads, 450 of them were children. It caused large-scale protests. Besides oil crises hit Europe, when oil-producing countries stopped exports. Owing to these two occasions, the government of the Netherlands has changed its course and started encouraging citizens to cycle. The result you can see today 😉
  • In 2016 population of Amsterdam within the urban area was 1,351,587. Guess, how many people own bicycles and cars? About 800, 000 people have bikes and 263,000 have a car. A crazy correlation, isn’t it?
  • Amsterdam is also known as “Venice of the North.” It has 165 canals and 1281 bridges.
  • The Netherlands is actually also a kingdom and has its king! The Netherlands is only a part Kingdom of the Netherlands. To the Kingdom also belong Caribbean provinces Antilles and Aruba. Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is currently the King of the Netherlands.
  • Although Amsterdam is capital, all political organizations are located in The Hague.

 

Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands

Neighborhood of the Noord district

  • The Netherlands is utterly tolerant! In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the world where gay marriage was legalized.
  • Although soft drugs are legal in the Netherlands, but it wasn’t like that in the past. Legalization occurred only in 1972, and after an independent scientific committee on drugs (the Baan Commission) approved this idea.
  • Amsterdam hosts 137 nationalities!
  • Tap water in the Netherlands, and especially in Amsterdam, is safe to drink. People also write on the internet it’s the best tap water in Europe :))
  • The Netherlands’s currency before euro was Dutch guilder. A symbol of the former Dutch money was ƒ.
Interesting facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands

Vijzelstraat, Amsterdam

Interesting facts about Amsterdam was last modified: May 7th, 2017 by Maria
May 7, 2017 1 comment
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Travelling

What to do in Amsterdam

written by Maria

Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam?

Your travel begins when you buy tickets and book accommodation. And then you’re waiting for the day X. But what is it? Your journey starts in several days, and you have only a vague idea what to do in the city of your dream!

Don’t worry, here I prepared several tips, what to do in Amsterdam, what to see and where to go 🙂

Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam

View on Magna Plaza, Amsterdam

How we got known Amsterdam

In this April we went to Amsterdam for the second time. Since 2014 I couldn’t release myself from thoughts about this city. So when my husband asked me: where would you like to go on Eastern? I already had an answer – let’s go to Amsterdam!

Our first staying in 2014 was barely two days, but it was enough for us to fall in love with the city. But before that I encountered with disgust to the city.

Frankly speaking, when we entered the city and stepped out of Amsterdam Centraal, I thought: “Oh my gosh, WHAT’S THE CHAOS ON EARTH????”

Bikes, bikes and one more time bikes, cars, trams, crowds of people, ringing bikes, signaling trams, beeping cars, loud speaking, and on top of that, pretty dirty (sometimes). After calm, quiet and clean Bremen I was SO shocked and annoyed! You may also experience it, so be careful 😉

In fact, everything was not so terrible. I adjusted very quickly to the atmosphere of the city, and put up with the thought I could be run over by a bike every minute 😀 Just kidding, you simply must be careful, use pedestrian paths and if you hear a bicycle’s ringing, turn your head back – it might be for you.

About trash on the streets I saw – it can be easily explained. There’re many tourists and not all of them are concerned about throwing their garbage in the bins. Of course, cleaning service takes care of it, but we, people, must also be mindful of the others and don’t throw anything right on the streets. 

Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam

On the intersection of Prinsengracht and Reguiersgracht

Things to do in Amsterdam

I won’t write about Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank’s museum, Van Gogh museum, etc.. If you’re going to Amsterdam, you already know about them 😀 . Visit them or nor – it’s up to you, of course. I would recommend you to enjoy the city, but if you have plenty of time and you’re bored of strolling through beautiful canals, visit them. Be prepared to long lines, and big amount of people inside – you’re not the only one, who wants to enjoy Rembrandt’s paintings 😉

  • However, I’ll tell a couple of words about Rijksmuseum. The museum’s opening hours from 9 am to 7 pm. Entrance ticket costs 17.50 €, for kids and youth under 18 entry is free.

TIP: Go there early in the morning (as the museum opens at 9 am), or about 4 p.m before closing (at 5 pm).

  • Visit Begijnhof – Béguinage of Amsterdam. Earlier there dwelled beguines: lay religious women who stayed in a community and didn’t take vows. Begijnhof’s open time – daily from 9 am to 7 pm.

TIP:  Please, don’t make a lot of noise there, people are LIVING there.

Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam

Begijnhof Amsterdam – an inner medieval yard

  • If you’re for the first time in Amsterdam, take a boat trip around the city! The most convenient way of getting acquaintance with Amsterdam 😉 The tour takes only one hour, during which you’ll learn interesting facts about Amsterdam and some of its historical features. Near Amsterdam Centraal there’re many tours, pick that one you like. We traveled with Lovers Canal Cruise (you’ll recognize them by long lines 😀 ). One ticket costed 16 € in April, a new tour every 10-15 minutes.
  • TIPS: 1) if you decided to take their boat tour as well, firstly you should buy tickets and only then go to the line. 2) if a boat is already loaded and workers ask someone from the line to take a seat there, you better wait for the next boat (especially if you’re a couple), ’cause probably you’ll seat not near windows and opposite to each other.

  • If your visit in Amsterdam is during the spring, visit Keukenhof! Check out info about the garden in my previous post 😉
  • Drop by Starbucks at Centraal Station. One of the most beautiful Starbucks we’ve ever seen!
Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam

Starbucks at Amsterdam Centraal

  • Visit Zaandam. It’s just a Holland village, don’t expect to see another Amsterdam. Zaandam is utterly good for shopping, and on top of that, there’s Primark 😀 (Don’t go there during weekends, everything is closed. I keep forgetting about it ;( ).Besides, there’s something to see: Zaandam has changed in recent years, so now you can see a New Town Hall and a hotel in “Zaanse Huisjes” style.
  • TIP: if you want to see windmills, there are some nearby! Go to “Zaanse Schans” – this’s very close to the village!

  • TIP for my Russian readers! If you didn’t know about Primark, you must visit it: relatively good clothes for incredibly low prices. Personally: I like buying there something for wearing it home 😉

    Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam

    Inntel Hotel in Zaandam

  • It’s a well-known fact, that soft drugs as marijuana is legal in the Netherlands. So if you’re into trying it out, visit one of the plenty of coffeeshops of the city. Pick the one you like!
    IMPORTANT: before buying, check all of the options (coffee shops have different menus) and if you’re not sure which one is for you, ask a seller. You can always ask them about recommendations, how should you smoke, if you need 😉
  • TIP: you should have some cash with you ’cause some of the coffeeshops don’t accept cards.

    BE CAREFUL: don’t buy any hemp on the streets, only IN coffeeshops

  • Are you into movies? Visit EYE Film Museum!
  • Take a look at Beurspassage. The passage is decorated with glass mosaic, which shows unique features of Amsterdam!
  • The last, but not the least, my personal recommendation: take pleasure in being there! Stroll through Amsterdam’s streets and canals, visit all of the districts and enjoy the atmosphere 🙂
Amsterdam trip: What to do in Amsterdam

Brouwersgracht Amsterdam

Wish you a GORGEOUS JOURNEY! 

What to do in Amsterdam was last modified: May 1st, 2017 by Maria
April 30, 2017 0 comment
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Travelling

Keukenhof, the Garden of Europe

written by Maria

Amsterdam trip: Keukenhof. The Garden of Europe


Keukenhof, or the Garden of Europe is known as the largest bulb garden in Europe. There are 7 millions bulb flowers, which cover 32 hectares!

Amsterdam trip: Keukenhof. The Garden of Europe

Flower river

Interesting facts about Keukenhof and tulips


  • The Garden is open only 8 weeks during a year, from the mid or March, bid the mid of May.
  • Keukenhof opened only in 1950 and had immediate success: during the opening period that year it welcomed 236,000 visitors.
  • In total there are 800 varieties of tulips.
  • On 23 March 2017, Keukenhof opened its gates for the 68th time. Annually the garden visit about 1 million people, 75% of which are coming abroad: France, Germany, Chine, India, United States and United Kingdom.
  • “Keukenhof” translates from Dutch as “Kitchen garden“. Why is that? Its history goes back to the 15th century, when the woods of this area provided fruits, vegetables and herbs for the kitchen of Jacqueline of Bavaria’s  castle.
  • A group of 40 gardeners work in Keukenhof  during the whole year.
  • There are almost 100 Suppliers who have royal origins.
  • Even though tulips tightly associate with the Netherlands, they are actually native to Central Asia and Turkey!
  • Tulips were brought in Holland in the 16th century: Carolus Clusius received some tulip bulbs from Turkey and planted them in the botanical garden of the Leiden University. Since then tulips have become highly popular.
  • The Netherlands produces 3 billion tulip bulbs every year. 80 % of all flower bulbs that are traded worldwide come from the Netherlands

    Amsterdam trip: Keukenhof. The Garden of Europe

    Tulipa “Lilac Perfection”

How to get in Keukenhof


Since Keukenhof is a very popular destination for tourits, there is a lot of opportunities to get there.

  • Public transport
  • Guided bus excursions and tours
  • By car

There’a a good option: combined tickets, which includes transport fees to and from Keukenhof + entrance ticket. It’s possible to buy tickets on the official Keukenhof website.

But, frankly speaking, we didn’t prepare to our Keukenhof trip: we didn’t have tickets and we didn’t know how to get there. We even didn’t know which day we would go there! (Everything depended on weather 😉 ) But in the morning of a day X we received an email with vouchers  to Keukenhof. It gave us 4 € discount for every ticket, so we decided immediately 😀 . Company Hop-on Hop-off (vouchers were for Hop-on Hop-off) provides combi-tickets (36 €), which includes transportation to and from, plus entrance ticket. In general, it was cheaper, than buying combi-ticket on the website I mentioned earlier. We bought tickets directly in their office in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam trip: Keukenhof. The Garden of Europe

Colorful landscapes of Keukenhof

Time planning

Be careful, if you go to Keukenhof, ’cause the garden is very time consuming! Spare for tripping there at least the half of your day.

If you go to Keukenhof, make your timing carefully

Direct road without changes by bus takes about 45 minutes (~ 90-100 minutes to and from). Plus think about traffic jams there – you are not the only one who want to visit the unique garden 😀 . So it takes time as well.

The garden itself is 32 hectars, it is quite huge, isn’t is? It will take at least three hours to stroll through the garden and see everything. Besides, take into account, there are a lot people, so sometimes you will spend some time waiting to make a photo without people 😉

From my point of view: as you enter the garden and see all those beautiful flowers, you’ll immediately forget about counting time 😀 Be careful!

Amsterdam trip: Keukenhof. The Garden of Europe

Orchids in Beatrix Pavilion

What to do in Keukenhof?

Keukenhof has utterly big area for walking.

There you will find three pavilions with flower exhibitions, and in some of them you will even be able to buy tulip bulbs, or orchids ♡

While walking through Keukenhof, pay attention to sculptures there: there are over 100 of them! On the territory of the garden there is also a windmill, from which you can observe tulip fields and take couple of photos 😉

If you are getting hungry, don’t worry! There are food pavilions where you can “fuel up” with food and cold/hot drinks and go farther to explore!

As you enter Keukenhof, don’t forget to take a free map! It will help you to navigate 😉

Amsterdam trip: Keukenhof. The Garden of Europe

Orchids in Beatrix Pavilion

Keukenhof, the Garden of Europe was last modified: May 1st, 2017 by Maria
April 25, 2017 1 comment
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Travelling

Spring Amsterdam trip! Weather and food

written by Maria
Amsterdam trip during Easter. First experience with Eurowings, unpredictable Amsterdam weather, tulip village Keukenhof, and, of course, coffee shops!

Getting ready!


In January we decided to go somewhere, ’cause there were quite long holidays due to Easter and we had no desire to stay in out town and get bored to death (as we did on Christmas holidays, ’cause everything was closed 🙁 )
So even though we planned our trip in April, we bought flight tickets and booked hotels in January. And there was a reason for it – 82 % of all hotels on Booking.com were already booked in January. In January, Carl !!!
In general, I highly recommend to take care of your trip as early, as possible, especially if you go in Amsterdam during fests, holidays, football plays and who knows what else. Just do it 😀

 

Spring Amsterdam trip

View on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal

 

 

The Flight

 

This we had flight with Eurowings, but my husband tried to avoid them as long as possible due to that horrible incident in March of 2015. But there’s a lot of flights in Stuttgart to different destinations. We were easily seduced by relatively low prices on flight tickets :D. Nevertheless, I must warn, even though Eurowings is representing itself as

Spring Amsterdam trip

Our, so to say, “cancelled” flight

lowcoster, their prices are a bit higher than prices of Easy Jet or Ryanair. Of course it depends on when you buy tickets, but usually if you buy them beforehand, their prices are ridiculously low.

Our first experience with Eurowings was great and we were completely pleased. However we had kind of a funny experience in Schiphol, when we were leaving the Netherlands.
When we got to the airport, we went to check our flight status. As we found our flight we couldn’t believe our eyes. CANCELLED!
Practically we weren’t nervous about it. On the contrary, utterly excited, since it was the first experience for both of us. After a few minutes of confusion, we called the support services of Schiphol, and we were advice to find representatives of the company Eurowings. A funny thing, there was only one flight performed by Eurowings, and it was even later, than ours. So began with that moment, we started getting confused and a bit anxious. But the guy from support said, don’t worry, everything is fine, go there and there, check it out and ask them. So we did as he said, and it turned out, that the flight WASN’T cancelled. But on the screen it was still “cancelled”. Pretty puzzling and bizarre, isn’t it? 😀 Finally we’ve got home exactly by that “cancelled flight”. Just LOL.

Amsterdam weather


The city met us with chilly weather, wind and the sun.

– How do you like it here?

–  About the weather… I expected something else. I think it’s quite cold here!

– Well, it’s our spring!

^ Dialog with a host of one of our hotels ^

Yeah, for us it was cold, ’cause before our trip in Reutlingen it felt almost like summer with its +20-24 during the daytime. So +12-15 was quite fresh 😀 Besides, we’ve never been to Amsterdam during spring or fall, so it was difficult to imagine the weather there. I guess you may know this feeling, when you go not in a warm country and you have no idea what to take with you. We did our best preparing, but we couldn’t foresee everything.

When we arrived in Amsterdam, it turned out, you should definitely wear a normal warm jacket, a scarf, a hat and gloves (optional, it’s just my hands freeze utterly easy). Apparently I didn’t have gloves, and my husband even worse – he didn’t take any scarfs or hats with him. ‘So we spent first hours buying necessary items, otherwise it would be just unbearable :D.

If you go in Amsterdam during spring or fall, always take with you a normal coat, (and a raincoat), scarfs, hats, gloves and UMBRELLAS. If you don’t use them during these months, you’re lucky! Anyway, it’s better safe than sorry!

 During our flight we met a nice woman, who was living in the Netherlands for almost 10 years, and she said:
if there’s no rain in the morning, be sure, it’ll be in the evening.
Now I’m completely agree with this saying. You’ll never exactly predict, when your umbrella will serve you, so always take with you!

Something about food in Amsterdam


You’ll find hundred of cafes, bakeries, cafeterias and restaurants, especially in the city center. But I would like to tell you about that we’ve tried.

The most amazing thing that I’ve experienced there is Albert Heijn (well, it’s not only in Amsterdam, but in the Netherlands in general).Essentially it’s a supermarket with a huuuuuuuuuuuge section of food-to-go (no jokes, I really liked it). I hate restaurants (I don’t like waiting) and fast food (too delicious sometimes, addictive and unhealthy). So that  Albert Heijn was a rescue for us – there’re some kind of different combined lunches. Portions are huge and more or less healthy (if you don’t use dressing :D). The only one drawback – they’re cold, but if you live in a guest house, you won’t have any troubles with heating it up.

 Cafes & restaurants
  • My weak point is burgers. I mean not on everyday basis, but while travelling, why not? So that I would like to recommend one place – Burgerlijk ( Runstraat 1). The only  one place so far where a patty is really huge! And tasty of course. Burgers are sufficient themselves, but you can add something else from the menu for an additional price. Burgers cost about 6,5 euros, I don’t remember precisely. And last, but not the least, there’re veggie burgers, so if you have a vegetarian companion,  they will also be pleased 😉 

 

  • Amsterdam Centraal is a treasure trove of cafes, restaurants etc. Since one of our hotels was located on another bank of the city, we strolled pretty often through Central Station. So when we were there again, we saw Kyoto Sushi & Grill and decided to have dinner there. And, I must say, it wasn’t a mistake – the restaurant has a quite authentic interior design, a great view on Oosterdok and reasonable prices. The food is tasty and courses as usually large, so I couldn’t finish mine physically 😀 The staff is friendly and always ready to assist. For example, I ordered a course with beef, and only when I was half way eating I realized that the beef is medium rare, while I prefer medium well or well done. I asked to make it well done and we didn’t experienced any problems, and, on top of that, the chef even made my course great looking once again and add some extras there (without paying for that) 😀 So if you like Japanese cuisine, I advice to drop by there.

To be continued! 😉

Spring Amsterdam trip! Weather and food was last modified: May 1st, 2017 by Maria
April 22, 2017 0 comment
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General

Haven’t I seen it before?

written by Maria

Me and a white tiger in Tübingen

Well, probably yes!

We’ve decided to move the blog on an another platform, because, frankly speaking, my husband was freaked out ’cause of unstable work of Wix. So here we are!

Just one more time about me and the blog.

I’m Maria and currently I live in Reutlingen (Germany) with my husband, however, originally I’m from Russia. I’m 24 y.o. and last year I’ve got a Bachelor of Architecture. At the moment I’m learning German (and it’s not easy, I must say!).

I suppose, it’d be enough for the beginning, since who is interested in bare numbers and facts? I think it’s pretty boring.

As you may know from my Instagram account, we were in Amsterdam recently, and currently I’m writing a post about… Well, everything! Now I estimate I can come up with two posts at least!

See you later and thanks for reading!

Haven’t I seen it before? was last modified: April 20th, 2017 by Maria
April 19, 2017 0 comment
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