A- like Amsterdam

Gracht in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is always worth to travel, even if it`s always packed with tourists and the people who are living in the city centre, especially in the Grachtenbelt start to complain about it. But never the less: Amsterdam is amazing and has attractions for every kind of interest and every age.
To get a good insight into Amsterdam I recommend a three night stay. The pricelevel for the accommodation in Amsterdam is pretty high. So do maybe look for alternative options like airbnb, 9flats or for people who like it, homeswapping.
If you plan to explore the city by public transport (which is very comfortable and safe) do buy an ov-card when you arrive at the airport or the train station. You can use this card to pay in all trains, trams, busses and on public ferrys. When you board the bus etc just check in and when you get out, check out. The price with the ov-card is much lower then buying a single ticket. Another option is to buy day tickets.
Now you are ready to explore good old Amsterdam. Even if it´s a bit “touristy”: Do start with a grachten and harbour tour by boat. Most of them will start near the main station in the street Damrak. Don´t use the greyline tour - I was not very satisfied with their tour. They promised a 1 hour tour, it was 40 Minutes, they promised the explanations in different languages which they finally didn`t do all. Besides there were just very little and short explanations. A lot of interesting sights were not explained and the tour was 10 € instead of 8.50 € at the competitor next door.

Hustle on the Albert Cuyt market

 A definite recommendation is the Albert Cuyp market (open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Do visit this place! I love it! It is the longest open-air market in the whole Netherlands and the people use it to do their everyday shopping. Fish, vegetables, meat and sweets are offered as well as clothes, cosmetics and other things you will need or not. It is great to see, smell and feel all the different offered things. Of course do try some original Dutch food. Salty haring, crunchy fries with sauce “Special” (mayonnaise, ketchup and onions) or sate sauce or Poffertjes (little dutch Pancakes) are my favorites and are all offered at the market. If I need more than a snack, I visit the restaurant De Duvel, just next to the market at Eerste van der Helststraat 59/61. Here I get really tasty food (do try the fish) and really good service. Do also take a walk through the neighbourhood around here. This part of the city, called De Pijp is in a huge transformation process - from a previously a bit shabby place to a very cool and trendy neighbourhood. In some areas like the Ferdinand Bolstraat the process is nearly done, in other areas like the Van Woustraat the process is just starting. So do take a walk and enjoy.

One of the nine Straatches

Another area which is worth taking a walk in are the 9straatches (9 little steets). These streets are in Jordaan. Here you can discover little nice cafés and small designer shops with nice shoes and clothing as well as a traditional cheeseshop or stalls where you can buy chocolate. Do find a place on one of the terraces with water view for example and watch the people passing and enjoy the special atmosphere at the water and the old Grachtenhouses.
Beside all the tourist spots every guidebooks recommends you should visit, there are some things you have to do in Amsterdam. One is to pull some food out of the wall. That really sounds strange for most of us, but it is common in the Netherlands. You will find a lot of Delis called “Fritture” were you can get known food like fries and burger as well as some Dutch food - for example Krokette or Frikandel. Often you can not only buy these things at a counter, but you can buy it also (or sometimes only) out of a machine, which is in the wall between the diners kitchen and the street. So the cook fills the machine all the time with freshly prepared food from one side and the clients are buying the things out of the machine from the other side. Its always good fun, even if the food is often not of a high quality.
The other thing some might want to try is marihuana. As commonly known, consumption of this drug is allowed in the Netherlands in special coffeeshops and my experience is that the whole city smells like of it. I do not like marihuana and so I didn´t try, but friends told me, that you have to be very careful because the quality in the Dutch coffeeshops is much better than in other countries. So don´t try to hard, even if you might be used to it.
So do travel to Amsterdam!

Asparagus madness in Germany

Fresh asparagus from Nienburg (c) Mittelweser-Touristik GmbH

Every year when the Easter days are coming closer and closer, one question is getting more and more important for a lot of Germans: Will it be possible to get German asparagus for Easter dinner? To achieve this, it is necessary to have some warm springdays in the weeks before, so that the asparagus is growing and is ready to be harvested.
This year it was possible like nearly every year. And so Easter was again the start of a very special and typical season in Germany: The asparagus season or "Spargelzeit" in German is starting in April and will last until the day of the 24th of June, called Johanni. The whole country is going crazy for this white and long vegetable especially in the first weeks. Foreigners often make fun of them like in this article. 
Most restaurants in whole Germany serve asparagus dishes or even have whole esparagus menues and the people love it in all kinds. There are salads, soups, main dishes (served often with potatoes and ham) and even desserts with the Queen of vegetables, as the Germans call it. And thats the reason why every German eats in average 1,6 kg asparagus during the about 10 weeks lasting "Spargelzeit".

Time for the harvest (c) Buschmann & Winkelmann

Some of you will wonder why I write so much about asparagus in a travel blog. And you are right - but there is a travel theme about it. Due to the asparagus some parts of Germany are getting worth to travel because of this culinary reason. And so I would like to introduce four parts of Germany that are famous for asparagus and wich are worth to travel to during the German "Spargelzeit". 

The first region is in the Southwest of Berlin and home of the famous Beelitzer Spargel. Here you can follow the Beelitzer Asparagus route between the towns of  Schönhagen und Lehnin. On  a lenght of 34 km you can visit asparagus farms, fields and even a museum. You can buy asparagus directly from the farmers or taste it in one of the restaurants. Especially on the Spargelfarm Klaistow you can get a lot of information about the cultivation and tradition of asparagus in this region. Sometimes there is a aparagus festival with music and lots of activities on the farm. During the season the restaurant is always open to taste the queen of vegetables. 
Another queen you can meet in Nienburg, in the northwest of Hanover. On the Nienburger Asparagusmarket in May they elect a young girl to be the Queen of Asparagus for one year.This market is the highlight in Nienburg and the whole town is out on the streets and everybody celebrates. Those of you who like to run can participate at the Asparagusrun that goes 10 km through the town. A really good deal in the region is the Nienburger Spargelteller in a lot of restaurants. For a price of 14 € you will get 300 g asaparagus, 100 g ham with potatoes and butter. A list of the participating restaurants will you find here. Enjoy your meal!

Asaragus harvest in the early morning (c) Buschmann &Winkelmann

A different expirience you can enjoy in Effeld, close to the Dutch border. Here you can try a cross border cycling tour to discover the special vegetable. The tour is starting in Wassenberg, between the city of Mönchengladbach (well known for the famous German football club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the only European city with two mainstations) and the city of Heinsberg (well known in Germany for its asparagus). You just follow the way beside the small river Rur and after a few kilometers you will reach the village of Effeld, the important asparagus village on our tour. Every year on Ascension Day the inhabitants are celebrating the Effelder Spargelfest, a huge party to honour this amazing vagetable. But also on all other days can you taste the famous Effelder Spargel in the restaurants and buy it along the roads directly from the farmers. The tour continues to the Netherlands, where you can have a nice cup of coffee in an old castle, which is now the beautiful Hotel and Restaurant Kasteel Daelenbroeck. After your tour through the beautiful landscape the tour will conclude in Wassenberg again, where you have agin the chance to taste asparagus in one of the restaurants. 

Time for a coffee break (c) Kasteel Daelenbroeck

These three regions are not the only ones where you can discover the secrets of the German asparagus madness. Of course there are many other like Schrobenhausen in the north of Munich, Braunschweig between Hanover and Wolfsburg or Schwetzingen near Mannheim. It doesn´t matter where you are in Germany during the Spargelzeit. There are many opportunities to taste the queen of vegetables and the important thing is, that you will try it. So do travel to Germany and taste the German Spargel. It is delicious! And for all of you who do not travel to Germany during the asaragus season I do have a link to a typical german asparagus recipe. So have a safe trip and enjoy your meal!

Eat them in the restaurant... (c) Buschmann &Winkelmann

... or buy them fresh from the farmer... (c) Mittelweser-Touristik GmbH

... but do try asparagus! (c) Mittelweser-Touristik GmbH

(c) Mittelweser-Touristik GmbH

(c) Buschmann &Winkelmann

Trip around the world in Bangkok

I can´t say that I love shopping centers. Yes, they are nice if its a rainy Saturday in autumn or winter in Europe and you have nothing to do. But normally I avoid them. For some reasons this is changing when I am in Southeast Asia. I would not say I gravitate to them but I like to visit for example the Siam Paragon in Bangkok, the Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur and the ones at the Orchard Road in Singapore. The biggest difference for me between Asian and European shopping centers is usually not the shops - sad to say that nowadays, those are the same all over the world. You have the ususal brands in different price ranges, be it Zara, Esprit, H&M, Adidas or Nike or be it Louis Vuitton, Tiffanys, Prada and Gucci. The biggest difference for me is the people - the people in Asia are really into shopping and there is nothing better to do on the weekends then to meet with some friend and go to a shopping center!
To give these shopping addicted crowds something new and fancy is not so easy. Every few months, a new center opens somewhere and drags the crowd with them. So I was really amazed to see a totally new concept of a shopping center in Bangkok in the brand new Terminal 21.
Ladies and gentleman - fasten your seat belts! And also make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position. We are ready to take off to your trip around the world!

Find your directions at Terminal 21

The idea of the Terminal 21 is just terrific! The entrance of the shoppingcenter is build like an airport. The security staff and the ones at the information desks are dressed like pilots and stewardesses. (Please don´t tell this to the security staff at London Heathrow. Even if they think they are the most important people in the whole world of travelling they don´t have to look like that *lol*) But back to Bangkok. You will find the directions on a large display panel, like at the airport. Each floor has a the design of a cosmopolitan city in the world and the elevators are your flight from one city to the other.
So let us start our round-the-world shopping trip with a flight to Paris. Just arrived at this floor you really get a Paris feeling. Street lights and floors in french style and little shops with colourful window frames made me just expecting an old guy carrying a baguette home, but I didn´t see one. In little Paris you will find ladies and mens wear, shoes and accesoires in small shops. A really a-typical feeling for Asia, where the only European and American brands you find are usually well known brands in large flagship stores. This does not mean that you won't find these brands in this mall, you simply will find them in a different way.

Little Paris in Bangkoks Terminal 21

Our travel continues. And thank you, dear owners of the Terminal 21 for making us catch a fly for our way from Paris to London instead of the crappy Eurostar trains *lol*. So take off for our short flight from little Paris to little London. Of course the concept here is the same. Small shops with products more or less fitting to the London theme in a Camden Market surrounding. Not surprisingly, you will find a typical red telephone box, a red double decker bus and a bobby. But if you are now wondering if the atmosphere might seem artificial, I have to disappoint you. Yes, it is still a mall in Bangkok and geographically far away from Paris or London. But it is well done and really worth to visit - also because the set up of this center is completely new to the Asians. There a long queues where people wait to take a photo in front of the red double decker bus or other attractions. It is also very interesting to see how the Thais see the eight citys and regions that are shown in Terminal 21 and what they find typical.
Our travel will go on. On our trip around-the world - ehm, around-the-shopping center - we are stopping in Rome, Istanbul and Tokyo. All of them are unique, have a very special atmosphere and different things to explore.
A real highlight is the San Francisco area. Here will you find the Golden Gate Bridge, just hanging under the rooftop of Terminal 21. And when you walk nearly into the cable car, which is part of a restaurant, it is maybe time for a rest - thank god the San Francisco part contains some restaurants! Another possibility to take a break is the Hollywood area - it is not a big surprise that you will find a cinema here.

The caribbean Lighthouse at the Terminal 21

Loaded with new energy let's explore my favorite floor, the LG. This is the Caribbean floor, with palm trees, a beach area, and colourful houses that give you a real holiday feeling. The highlight on this floor is the gourmet market. Here will you find delicious food from all over the world. If you are abroad for a long time you might be to get some food from your home country.
So even if you are normally not a big fan of shopping malls, do visit the Terminal 21 if you are in Bangkok. It is a different shopping experience to be on a trip around the world during shopping, eating and simply having a good time!

British telephonbox

The asians love the red big double decker

Up to Istanbul

Welcome in San Francisco

Please be aware of the cable car

Enjoy Rome with nice paintings on the ceiling

Copenhagens Strandvejen: 42 kilometers worth to travel

The nice harbour of Rungsted

I am sure there a thousands of streets everywere in the world that are named Beachroad. And of couse there is also a Beachroad (in Danish Strandvejen) in Copenhagen. But I think that the one in Copenhagen is one of the most interesting ones in the world. Architecture, culture, sports, nature and much more are to discover on the 42 km long way from Copenhagen northbound to the city of Helsingborg. No matter if you take the car or - as the Danes prefer - the bike or maybe the boat for this journey. I am sure you will enjoy it! So do follow me on this short trip with lots of things to discover.

We are starting in Copenhagen, just near Svanemøllen st‎ation. Here you will find the urban part of Strandvejen. Because this part is so close to the city it is a very popular housingarea. But before we take some time to discover the architecture of this part, we already reach the first stop on the way just after 500 meters. The Experimentarium. This museum is perfect for families. Natural science and technology can be discovered by the visitors. More than 250 interactive exhibits are waiting to be touched, looked at, tried out and experienced by kids and adults. They will love the great soap bubble show! But today we don't have time for that and simply proceed with our trip on Strandvejen. Less than 2 km further we have the chance to discover the next museum. The Museum Øregaard is open since 1921 and offers one of the largest topographic art collections with Danish art dating from 1750 through 1930. Additionaly there are two to three temporary exhibitions a year.
Our way continues to the Charlottenlund Slot og Park, the palace and palace garden, which was the Royal Danish residence from 1730 until 1930. For those who need a break: The Cafe Jordenrundt offers snacks and drinks and has the sea just infront.

Typical Danish bathing club at the Strandvej

After some relaxing here, our trip continues and we are passing the horse racing track before we take the chance to have a quick look to the house with the adress Strandvejen 259, a historic villa, build in 1885 with a little tower. During the second World War it was the residence of the German occupiers, since 1946 is it the residence of the ambassador of the United States in Denmark. We visit the small harbour of Skovshoved, before we are proceeding with the most important stop of this first part of the Strandvejen: the architecture of Arne Jacobsen. Here in Skovshoved in Kystvejen 24, you will find a gas station. But its not only a gasstation - it is maybe the only gasstation with the European Heritage Label. Arne Jacobsen build it in 1938 and it is a prime example of the functional design. Just the same is the residential complex Bellavista in Klampenborg, built in 1932. With 68 flats, a theatre, a restaurant and a bathing area is is like small village in itself.

Deer in the Jægersborg Deer Park

For those who are now keen to some nature or activity: The Jægersborg Deer Park (Dyrehaven) with over 2000 wild deer and some really nice outdoor restaurants and the oldest amusement park in the world Bakken with its 425 year long historie are waiting for you. All others continue Strandvejen that changes his face now. We are passing smaller villages like Taarbæk, Skodsborg, Vedbæk and Rungsted, with castles, palaces and manor houses with names like Miramare Rosenlund and Sølyst. 
Very interesting is the Karen Blixen Museum in Rungsted - don't miss it! The famous Danish author was born here 1885 and moved to Africa 1914. After years in Africa she returned 1931 to Rungsted, where she wrote her bestseller "Out of Africa" in 1937. Now its time for a break. And I would recomment to relax at the harbour of Rungsted. Here you can find several shops, restaurants and cafes. My favorite place to take a rest is the Fiskerikajen. In this stall you can sit at the waterfront and enjoy the scenic view together with some fresh fish and drinks. I would recommend the salmon wrap and the homemade fishburger. 

Nice lanes are waiting for you in the city of Helsingør

Now we are ready for the last part of our way and the famous museum Lousiana. I don´t want to spent much words about the art in this Museum because you have to see and experience it yourself. The museum is a perfect combination of modern art and nature in a typical danish way. I have never seen a museum where its usual to picknick on the meadows between sculptures and the sea and where you can take a rest during your visit and take a walk at the beach. So do visit the Lousiana!
Further on Strandvejen reaches Helsingør and ends here. Helsingør has also interesting places to visit. So take a walk through the cosy city with nice old houses and watch the Swedish tourists arriving and departing from the port to buy the much cheaper (!) Danish alkohol - yes, you won't believe it, the stuff IS more expensive over there!. The last attaction on our way also is one of the highlights: Kronborg Castle, one of Northern Europe's most important Renaissance castles and well-known all over the world  from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. But its not only the castle that is worth visiting - it is the whole site. Overlooking the Øresund, with a scenic view of the Swedish city Helsingborg. The fortifications of the castle are often used to relax, do a picknick, take a sunbath or fish in the Øresund.
Strandvejen has brought us to its final destination, but our journey continues. Maybe by train back to Copenhagen, by ferry to Sweden or by car further on following the Northern Strandvej to Hornbaek. Or maybe for those who are still under the charm Strandvejen - just turn around and take the journey back!