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Mongolia

Mongolia

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We made it to Inner Mongolia the first time around, but the logistics of getting to Mongolia proper were just too hard to manage back then.

Mongolia is a basically an oval shaped country (2,400 km E-W and 780 N-S) wedged between China and Russia. Three quarters of the place is open pasture (The Steppe) which supports the huge herds of grazing animals for which the country is known. Mongolia is considered the world’s least densely populated nation, with 3.3 million people spread over 1.5 million square kilometres.

While many countries are denying or denouncing their imperial past, Mongolia is bucking this trend vehemently. They have proudly and brazenly embraced it. So much so that everything is about the great Mongol empire and their most famous of leaders.

Genghis Khan (1162-1227) known locally as Chinggis Khan, was a warrior-ruler and one of the most famous conquerors of history. He first consolidated the disparate tribes into a unified Mongolia and then expanded the empire through to the Adriatic Sea.

The empire lasted almost 400 years after his death. Mongolians see him as a symbol of their country’s strength and resilience.

The Mongolian nation was officially proclaimed in 1924, with the capital set around the main monastery of the Bogd Gegeen (spiritual leader) and was renamed Ulaanbaatar (“Red Hero”). While technically ‘independent’, for the first 70 years it was actually a one-party state closely tied to Russia (the Soviet Union). It received all technical, economic, and military assistance from Russia and generally followed Russian guidance in all matters political and economic, while building a socialist society.

After the collapse of the USSR, Mongolia ended the monopoly and embraced free multiparty elections, coalition governments, a new constitution, and installed greater cultural and religious freedoms.

Our entry saw us flying in to the Chinggis Khan International Airport (virtually everything here is/was named after Chinggis). This saw the first actual panic occur in the time since we have been away (600 days ago). Having no local currency Jill hit the ATM (as usual) but mid-transaction she was hit by the blue screen of death as the machine shut down and rebooted itself (with our card inside). Needless to say, some internal panic ensued over the next few minutes. But our card eventually spat out and we used a different machine, got our money and started the usual SIM card and taxi negotiations.

The airport is about 50 km out of town and provides you with an excellent opportunity to get a true sense of what you are getting yourself into. Flying in there is a single bitumen road (three lanes wide in each direction) and everything else is a dirt road or a paddock. Driving on the bitumen road, you pass gers (the local Yurt version), herds of cows, horses, goats and some truly stunning scenery.

The cab ride in was astounding with some of the most amazing landscapes, sculptures and wildlife. Our first glimpse of a steppe eagle in full flight was just stunning. These huge muscular birds are quite the sight and can be easily spotted just glancing out the windows.

After a while the dirt roads on the sides give way to the city, enter the appearance of some amazing (and sometimes a bizarre) statues along the roads. The first thing that catches your eye is the abundance of Prius vehicles. Quite literally every second vehicle on the road is a Prius.

Ulaanbaatar is home to half of Mongolia’s three million population and is the coldest capital city in the world with heavy snow and cold lasting for three months.

As we were here in early summer, we missed all of this cold weather, and enjoyed some cool evenings and pleasant days in the mid-20’s. The cold is due to:

  • its high elevation (1350m),
  • relatively high latitude,
  • being hundreds of kilometres from any coast,
  • the effects of the Siberian high.

These factors combine to deliver winter temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius. With a temp range from -40 in winter to plus 35 in summer, Mongolia has an extreme and inhospitable climate where only the hardiest survive. Forty percent of the population still live as nomadic herders.

Ulaanbaatar (or just UB for us well travelled types) is surrounded by 4 sacred mountains (Bayanzurkh, Bogd Khan, Songinokhairkhan and Chilgeltei). South of UB, Bogd Khan Mountain is proclaimed as sacred and was declared a protected area in 1783, which made it the oldest national park in the world.

Our accommodation was at a boutique hotel, quite literally in the middle of everything. We were directly opposite the national museum, a block from the Chinggis Khan museum, right next door to the Parliament building and Sukhbaatar Square. This meant that our step count would not be high, but we were sure to see everything (around town at least). Bit worried about the gas mask in the cupboard though.

Almost immediately opposite our hotel was the National Museum, which would also be our first port of call. It was a great collection of all things Mongolian with a particular emphasis on the national dress over the years. Given that the Chinggis Khan museum was only a block away, that bit was a bit light on. But I was interested to find out that Mongolia had its own astronaut (Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa) who went into space in 1981 as part of the Russian space program.

Being a Tuesday, the Chinggis Khan museum was shut so it was off to Sukhbaatar Square.

In the early 1800s, when UB was still in its infancy, a large square was constructed as the city’s center with the name “Great Freedom” (Ikh Choloo). After the People’s Revolution of 1921, the area was called “Indrin Square” and in 1946 was renamed “Damdin Sukhbaatar Square” to honor the Mongolian independence hero. It was renamed to Genghis Khan Square in 2013 and changed back in 2016.

The square houses statues of Genghis Khan, Sükhbaatar, and Sanjaasürengiin Zorig (who helped lead the democratic revolution of 1990).

At the top (north) of the square is the Mongolian Parliament Building and the square is surrounded by some great soviet era old buildings that include, the stock exchange, the cultural centre (Соёлын Төв Өргөө), state opera and ballet and the usual big (local) banks.

National Parliament of Mongolia is the home of all government related stuff. The front of the palace has statues of Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan, and Kublai Khan.

The statue of Genghis Khan is guarded by two of his generals Muqali and Bo’orchu on horseback.

At the southern end of the Sukhbaatar Square you find the bizarrely out of place Blue Sky Tower (Хөх тэнгэр цамхаг). This is an ultra-modern 25 story, 105 meter, steel and glass skyscraper that houses luxury apartments, a 200-room hotel, restaurants, and office and conference space. To say it stands out is an understatement.

The second day it was off to the Chinggis Khan Museum. As you can imagine, this one had much more about the development of the empire and the tools of war, as opposed to the traditional costumes from the day before. Until recently there was no photos allowed but now for about $20 you can purchase an authorising lanyard and take some happy snaps.

Next stop for us was down to the State department store. Back in the soviet days this was the only (official) place to get your items. It was written up as an attraction in its own right. For us it was a six storey shopping hell. It was basically a Westfield, with all of the usual stores, selling pretty much what every shopping mall sells. The fur section was a little bit special and I did spend some time looking at a fur stoal made from a white arctic fox with head intact.

Our next day was meant to be off to the Palace (officially the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan) but it was about a 2.5 km walk and the weather (rain) set in fairly nastily. Add to this the bride not feeling 100% in the preceding days, we decided to hide and boycott until the next day. Built between 1893 and 1903, the palace is where Mongolia’s eighth Living Buddha, and last king, Jebtzun Damba Hutagt VIII (often called the Bogd Khan), lived for 20 years. 

To say that the palace has seen better days in underselling the situation. Extreme temperature fluctuations (-40 to +35) has seriously taken its toll on the older buildings. Despite this the Palace houses some important items (such as the Mongolian Declaration of Independence from China in 1911) as well as some gifts received from foreign dignitaries. Some of these include: a pair of golden boots from a Russian tsar, a robe made from 80 foxes and a ger lined with the skins of 150 leopards. The Bogd Khan had a thing for unusual wildlife and there is an impressive display of stuffed animals in the palace. At one point the Bogd purchased an elephant from Russia for 22,000 roubles.

Hidden in behind the Blue Sky tower you can find the Choijin Lama Temple Museum. This is a complex of five temples with elaborate paintings, colorful masks, and ornate statues. The monastery was built between 1904 and 1908 for the Choijin Lama, a brother of the Bogd Khaan who became Mongolia’s first leader after independence.

Most of the top things to do in UB are actually outside the city. So the next day it was in a car and out of town on a day trip in and around the natural beauty that is Mongolia. A hundred Aussie bucks bought us a car and driver for the day with an itinerary to boot.

The most famous of thing to see is the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, about 54 kilometers outside UB. At its heart stands a 40 meter tall statue of guess who, perched atop a 10 meter pedestal.

The complex stands on the bank of the Tuul River and was built to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan’s birth. It is the world’s largest equestrian statue. The base consists of 36 supporting columns, representing 36 great Khans (Mongol kings) with the entrance gate to the complex being decorated with statues of the nine generals (noyons) of Genghis Khan. 

To say that you can see this thing from afar is a tad obvious. Construction took three years, cost $4 million and used 250 tons of stainless steel. It opened in 2008, and the interior houses an art gallery, museum, a dress up shop, and the obvious souvenir and coffee shops, etc.

Most importantly, it houses the world’s largest boot (maybe). I say maybe because google doesn’t list it as such. This one is 9 meters tall and the one listed on the internet (in the USA) is only 16 foot (about half the size) tall.

There is probably some weird rule as to why this doesn’t count, but I don’t know.

Apparently, the current version of the complex is just phase one. Over time it is planned to place a whole town of the yurts to make up a thematic town, revealing all sides of Mongolian life. The complex was built here (Tsonjin Boldog) because according to legend, Genghis Khan found a whip in this area. In Mongolia, people believe that man finding a whip is a sign of fortune, good destiny, and occasion. The statue faces east, the direction of Genghis Khan’s birthplace.

After the statue it was off to the Terelj National Park. This is one of the most accessible national parks in the country, being about 70 km northeast of UB. It is known for its picturesque alpine scenery, interesting rock formations, and outdoor activities.

In short, we spent hours driving through some of the most amazing scenery that you can come across. We stopped at some obvious spots (like turtle rock) for photo opportunities, but in reality almost every second presented photo opportunities (the single lane road just wasn’t designed for stopping).

A small portion of the National Park has been developed for tourists, with hotels and tourist ger camps set up. These obviously come with the associated restaurants and souvenir shops. In addition there is a bunch of locals set up to take bus loads of (predominately) Koreans on horseback rides, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, rafting, and bird-watching trips.

Our next stop was to be the Zaisan Memorial which was built on a hill to just south of town to commemorate those Mongol and Soviet soldiers killed in World War II. Sadly the mountain it stands on was shut to shore up some landslide activity – so we missed out.

While we missed out on climbing the mountain, at the point we got turned around, we had a perfect view of the big buddha.

Built in 2006 the Buddha statue looks through the entire UB city and protects the city from any danger.

Speaking of missing out, Eastern Mongolia has the Ikh Burkhant complex which has a 90 meter high stone Buddha built into the hillside. It was built between 1859-1864.

Naadam Festival

Sadly we missed this one by a couple of weeks (we were at Brads birthday when it was on), but this is the main festival of the nation. It is the most important holiday and biggest event on the Mongolian Calendar. The Naadam Festival includes the “Three manly games”. These are sports competitions of Wrestling, Horse racing and Archery. Despite the name, women participate in the archery and horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling.

The main festival is held in the capital UB, however smaller versions are replicated though the provinces and villages (soums). It begins with an elaborate Opening Ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians.

Mongolian Wrestling (bökh), has no time or weight limits, and bouts end when one of the opponents hits the ground. Bökh wrestlers’ costume consists of 2 parts: upper part is called zodog and the lower part is called shuudag. The zodog & shuudag are usually bright red or blue. Wrestlers complete their looks with Mongol hat & Mongol boots.

Mongolian horse racing as featured in Naadam is a cross-country event, with races 15-30 km long. The riders are children (girls and boys), with the oldest being 10 years old and the youngest only 4. The racing routes are straight requiring less navigation and more speed and endurance.

Traditionally, children rode without saddles but modern consideration for the jockeys’ safety has introduced regulations requiring saddles, stirrups, helmets, vests, knee and elbow pads. In addition to this each rider must be covered by accident insurance.

Mongolian Archery involves 360 targets that are put up for the archery competition. In this competition, both men and women participate; men fire 40 arrows from 75 meters away while women fire 20 arrows from 60 meters away. The winners of the contest are granted the titles of “National marksman” and “National markswoman”.

Mongolian traditional homes – “the Ger or Yurt” are important part of Mongolian national identity. But, in rapidly growing UB’s life, you can see the ger districts on the fringes.

Mongolian Statues

Almost everywhere you look as you wander about town you end up running into some pretty interesting statues. Some are of the famous Khans etc, but many others are just there. they can be found at almost every intersection. Some you have to hunt for while others jump out at you. My favourite was the Predator riding an Alien motorcycle, or the whole caravan of camels in the middle of a roundabout.

Taxis

While wandering the city we did learn the trick of the local cab system though. Basically, every car is potentially a taxi, just wander along with your arm dangling out a bit and somebody will stop. I suggest you are more organised than I was, as my pronunciation left much to be desired. Maybe take a screenshot of where you want to go and just show the driver, knowing the distance in advance makes the price calculation and end of trip communication much easier. The fee is 2000 tugrik (about a 90c) per kilometer and I just rounded up the parts of a kilometer based on the google map distance.

The Black Market

Our last full day saw us venture to Naran Tuul or the Black Market (using the above taxi method). As sketchy as a Black Market sounds, nowadays it is all pretty legit. There are warnings of pickpockets and bag snatchers and scammers trying to elicit an entrance fee to the free market, but none of these eventuated for us.

What really strikes you about UB’s Black Market is how much and what there is for sale. This is a market aimed at the locals and seeing what is on sale makes you realise how different Mongolia is to the rest of the world. The size of the material section was huge. Rows after rows of material and sewing gear. Clearly many of the clothes remain home made.

For me most of the interest lay in the boots. Mongolian boots are truly a thing of beauty, not just the pointy toed traditional types (gutuls), or the warm felt Ugg boot type things, but just the normal everyday boot. They are magnificently made, of the softest leather, and are really nicely styled.

This is the big drawback of this sort of travel, our souvenirs and trinkets must be small and light. Otherwise the likelihood of me leaving with some fantastic boots was high.

Mongolian Cashmere

Mongolian cashmere is widely considered to be the best in the world. The harsh climate makes it an ideal environment for cashmere goats to grow thick undercoats.

Cashmere is a type of wool obtained from the soft undercoat of the cashmere goat. The wool is harvested during the spring molting season when the goats naturally shed their undercoat. Mongolia is the largest producer of cashmere, accounting for more than 50% of the global production., with India, China, Iran, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan producing the majority of the rest.

And here you can find it almost everywhere you look. Like everything else in Mongolia, it is mot cheap, but the quality is exceptional.

Mongolian Food

Food in Mongolia is certainly a melting pot. Today, you can get just about anything you want and the quality is pretty good. If you look at the surrounding nations and those that at one time made up the empire, it is pretty normal to think that the variety would be wide.

There are plenty of local restaurants offering (some) traditional dishes that are worth the effort in tracking down. And some other traditional dishes that maybe only for the more adventurous (more about that below). Veggies in summer were tough to find and I assume that this is worse in winter. Many of the local dishes are high in meat content (but there’s nothing wrong with that).

Chinese is everywhere, as is burgers and pizza, Turkish, Italian, Indian, Korean and Japanese. Then the surprising ones come into play Mexican was the one that threw me most. But we had Uzbek, saw Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, Irish pubs, Vietnamese, Spanish tapas and a surprising number of vegan and vegetarian restaurants (we didn’t go there).

Local Dishes

Khuushuur or Huushuur – A local version of a deep fried meat pie that more resembles a pasty or an empanada. The filling is just meat and onion.

It was the first thing that we ate on night one as a beer snack (they looked small and bite sized) but they came out the size of your hand and we ended up not needing dinner.

Buuz is the Mongolian version of the steamed dumpling commonly found throughout the region. It is basically a local version of the Chinese baozi or the Nepalese Momo.

Bansh is like the buuz but smaller and boiled in a soupy kind of broth rather than steamed. The filling usually comes from either a cow, goat, sheep, horse, or camel.

Tsuivan is a local stir fry made with home made fresh noodles with vegetables and a meat of some kind. Not the most thrilling meal about, but hearty and filling.

Chanasan makh is next and it is basically just boiled meat. Not really too much to say about this one, it is what it claims to be.

Khorkhog is a goat stew that uses the entire goat and is cooked on open fire with hot rocks. The quirk here is the belief that holding the hot stones after cooking helps to relieve tiredness and improve blood circulation.

Boodog involves using the actual skin and fur of the animal as the cooking vessel. The animal is butchered with skin remaining intact and is sealed up having been filled with the meat, vegetables, and hot rocks to cook from the inside out.

Guriltai Shul is one of the most popular noodle soups in Mongolia. It is considered to be the classic dinner staple – basically just boiled mutton with handmade wheat-flour noodles.

Vitals soup is popular for being very nutritious. It is part of Mongolia’s culture that no part of an animal is wasted and so Vitals Soup is offal. Made with the lungs, hearts, intestines, liver, stomach and kidneys of an animal. 

Needless to say that neither Jill nor I rushed to order the Vitals soup. Budaatai huurga is a nice simple (inoffensive) local fried rice version with mutton.

Last and definitely least is Airag, or Kumis this is considered to be the country’s national beverage. It is fermented mare’s milk. We had it in inner Mongolia a decade ago and it was terrible. The memory was strong enough for us to both avoid it at all costs.


Mongolian Beer

This was a tough one. Having once had such a mighty empire, the beer was highly variable. Some of the best beers that we have had were in Kyrgyzstan who had adopted the best of Czech brewing practices to deliver some really tasty beers, and you could find some really tasty ones here. But at the same time the empire stretched east, which brought into play the lighter Chinese style brews. These were much more gassy and less flavoursome.

Possibly the hardest part of the beers was working out what you were actually drinking. Niislel (Нийслэл), Sengur (Сэнгүр), Borgio (Боргио), Golden Gobi (Алтан Говь), Jalam Khar (Жалам Xар) and finally the only one I could get my tongue around, the Chinggis Pilsner.


Brazil

Fortaleza, Brazil

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Fortaleza (or fortress) is Brazil’s 4th largest city (with about 4 million people) that sits in the Northeast of the country. The main claim to fame of Fortaleza is as a major domestic tourist destination hub. At this stage, it does not draw large numbers of international tourists but is a Mecca for the locals.

Hopping off the boat we got sick of the idea of haggling with the overpriced taxis that infested the port. The taxis were trying to charge $20-30USD (96-144 Brazilian real) to get a lift to town. So we did our usual and walked out of the port area to get an Uber.

Jill’s map showed that there was a lighthouse just outside the gate so we aimed for that.

At this point, we were met with a police blockade telling us that the nearby neighbourhood was too dangerous to walk through and that they would only let us leave in a vehicle.

We met another couple who wanted to walk along the nearby beach but they were also discouraged due to the perceived danger. We also met a Canadian couple who were equally as eager to explore but equally oblivious as to where to go.

So we perched on the side of the road and ordered our Uber. Having no idea where to go we aimed for the Cathedral, figuring it would be pretty central and we could roam about from there. So a 37 real ($7.70) Uber ride and we were delivered direct to St. Joseph’s Cathedral.

This is the main Cathedral in town and can fit up to 5000 inside. The main towers reach 75 meters. Perched on the top of the hill it is a mere block or so from the circular Fortaleza Central Market (Mercado Central de Fortaleza). Originally a meat and fish market, it has now been converted to a crafts market with about 500 shops.

The streets around the markets were full of pop-up market stalls with virtually anything you could imagine on offer.

But the main thing about Fortaleza is the foreshore. To the north of the city is a long, scenic and highly accessible Atlantic Ocean. Leaving the Central market I led the way and marched down the road, around the corner and through some pretty dodgy areas until we eventually turned left and found ourselves at the suspect end of the Avenida Beira Mar.

The Avenida Beira Mar is a wide beachfront promenade that runs along the oceanfront. Our entry point was closest to town which was pretty sketchy at best. While the beaches offer emerald green seas, the neighbourhoods were not quite as salubrious. Not quite favelas , but certainly not very tourist friendly.

But the more we walked, the nicer it got. The dodginess eased and the tourist staples started to appear. The Avenida Beira-Mar sidewalk kicked in revealing the expected cafe’s, restaurants, Japanese garden, beach volleyball courts and the rest of the tourist elements. In fact, the range of shoreline activities are almost unending.

We (including the Canadian couple that we met) found ourselves at a funky little beachside cafe that offered good (if tough to understand and communicate with) and cheap service. Really nice, cold, big beers, by the beach and surrounded by cheeky bikinis made for a tough afternoon. Even more so when the bill came back at under $10 for 4 really large beers. Add to this the random lobster and prawn salesman who was offering 3 for $10.

Futuro Beach is one of the most famous beaches in Fortaleza. Stretching for 8km along the city foreshore it is a great beach and the local touts offer fresh lobster, shrimp, crab and fish.

As we walked away from town the beach kept getting better and better. They were obviously setting up for the upcoming New Year’s celebrations and stages, generators and makeshift toilets were all finding their way to the foreshore. We were due back to the boat before 5pm which sadly saw us having to leave the area early.

I got the sense that the area that we were in would be absolutely amazing for sundowner drinks and into the early evening. I would probably stick more to the tourist end rather than the town end but the beach promenade would certainly be the place to be.

The Uber back to the ship was even cheaper and we ended up getting transport in both directions and 4 big beers for less than the cab drivers were charging for a one way fare.

Caribbean

St Kitts and Nevis

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Saint Kitts and Nevis is an island country and microstate in the Caribbean and our first official foray into the West Indies (or the Lesser Antilles). With only 261 square kilometres and about 50,000 residents it is one of the top 10 smallest countries in the world.

The capital city is Basseterre and is where we found ourselves landing.

Basseterre is on the larger island of Saint Kitts and is the main port for passengers and goods. The smaller island of Nevis is about 3 km southeast of the main island across a shallow channel called the narrows.

Much like the Dominican Republic, the immediate port arrival is full of all of the tourist things that you would expect (but without the beaches and pools). There were touts aplenty, t-shirt and trinket shops, duty frees, and the general assembly of bars, cafes and restaurants.

Getting around is pretty easy as the streets are typically named after the things that are on the street. So there is Bank St, College Street, Fort Street and so on. There are two main churches in town, the biggest is St. George’s Anglican Church which sits up the hill past all of the initial tourist mess.

The other is the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception which sits closer to the port and opposite the Independence Square park.

As it would happen our wanderings took us up the hill, where we found ourselves at Warner Park, the local cricket ground and home of the local Caribbean Premier League Team. Being a cricket tragic, I had to wander in, on and around a West Indian Cricket Ground. Such a pity there was not a game on, but I will take what I can get.

Saint Kitts and Nevis were one of the first of the islands in the Caribbean to be colonised by Europeans and housed the first British and French colonies. It is also the most recent British territory in the Caribbean to seek and gain independence, gaining it in 1983.

The Brimstone Hill Fortress is a national park, and one of the most popular tourist attractions on St. Kitts. As one of the one of the most well-preserved British polygonal-style fortifications in the Western Hemisphere.

Frigate Bay lies just southeast of the capital and is the home of the tourists who choose to hang out a bit longer than our mere day trip.

The St. Kitts Scenic Railway is a 3-hour ride that circles the island by both narrow gauge train and 12 miles on buses. It was built as a sugar cane railroad and now goes past the island’s sugar plantations and sugar factory.

Now let’s call this one straight. This place is seriously humid. Sweating in hot temperatures is normal for me, but here even Jill was dripping in sweat as we walked around. The thing that does need to be mentioned is the food. Everywhere we went we passed the most amazing smelling restaurants we had ever encountered. As we had come off a cruise ship, we were stuffed but if we ever come back, the food journey will be high on the list.

We did manage to sample the local beers ($2 each) and dipped our toe in the water with a Johnny Cake. The Johnnycake is something that I had heard of but never tried. I asked the lady what it was and got a relatively indecipherable answer so figured the best way wax to just order it and play lucky dip on what arrived. I do tend to do this a lot. The beers were great, but the fried doughy bread thing stuffed with (jerk) chicken and salad could probably have been avoided.

St Kitts was lovely and with a bit more time it would be nice to explore it a little more fully. Reading into what we missed revealed rainforests, sandy and volcanic beaches and given the relatively small size of the place, they are all quite easily accessible with the hiring of a vehicle. And for future reference, August is when the cricket is on and pumping with the Caribbean Premier League.

Belgium

Belgium

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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a tiny country of 30,528 square km and a population of around 11.5 million.

It is bordered by the Netherlands (north), Germany (east), Luxembourg (southeast), France (southwest), and the North Sea (northwest). It is most known for its beers, waffles, and chocolates.

Brussels

I came here on my first trip to Europe back in 1996. But as it was one of those whirlwind tours of Europe, my recollections of this and other places is quite low. While those tours show you a lot, they blur together quickly and short of a camera roll tick box there is very little that really sticks in your mind, other than you had been there.

The most recognisable thing to see in all of Belgium is a two foot tall, bronze statue of a boy taking a leak.

It is called the Manneken Pis and is about my only real recollection of coming here the first time around.

The tourist blurb even tells me that it has his own dresser and thousands of different costumes for any occasion imaginable. The chances of seeing him dressed in something eye-catching are quite high.

It is near the Grand Place (which I am sure I saw but don’t really recall) in Brussels. As we buzzed past this time, the Grand Palace was covered in scaffolding.

Antwerp

Antwerp is the largest city in Belgium by area and historical records show occupation since the 2nd century. For us though it was a series of flying visits (several visits all with little or no time) as many of our trains transited through the place. The station is amazing with multiple tiers of platforms all running on top of each other. Space is a premium and they have have responded accordingly.

Antwerp has been known as the diamond capital of the world for several centuries. The diamond trade in the port started nearly 500 years ago when the first rough stones were brought over from India. today 85% of the world’s rough diamonds, 50% of the polished diamonds, and 40% of industrial diamonds are passing through the diamond district — highlighting its status as the diamond capital of the world.

Ghent

Ghent is the third largest city in Belgium and primarily functions as a port and university city. It dates back to the middle ages and was originally built at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie. Ghent is a compact city with all attractions within walking distance from one another.

there are Two tourist quarters – the Historical Centre which has the historical buildings and monuments and the Arts Quarter which has the main museums.

This place is amazing. We came on a day when there was two separate music festivals on and the next day was the Belgian National day. To say the place was hopping was an understatement. The town is full of stunning old buildings and castles, which (without a ton of temporary stages and bars set up around them) would have made for some fantastic photos.

We dodged the human traffic of the festivals and did our best to hit the big tourist spots. We managed to get near the old Fish Market, Kunsthal (13th century Monastery), Lievekaai St Antoniuskaai (a really funky bridge and canal) St Bavo’s Cathedral, Belfry, museum, Saint Nicholas Church, St James Church, and Town Hall.

Without a doubt the highlight for me was the temporary (or at least I hope that they were) urinals that were set up in the middle of the street.

No walls, no privacy just a 4 way trough plugged directly into the sewer system. How else do you deal with large numbers of people drinking and partying in the heart of town.

Not sure what the ladies were supposed to do. I didn’t see any alternative options.

Ok so the real top pick was probably the Castle of Counts. This is a medieval fortress, right in the heart of town, with its defence system virtually intact. Its history dates back to the Roman occupation. The coolest bit was that in 1949 it was occupied by students in a siege situation. They were protesting a rise in beer prices.

Graffiti Street is an area designated to street art, some of which is fantastic. Others however are just senseless defacement. And in a city where an area has been set aside for such pursuits, the senseless stuff still spills over into the surrounding streets, defacing an otherwise charming little town.

Bruges (Brugge)

As Ghent was not very big, and Bruges was a short 30 minute train ride away, the next day we hopped the rattler and headed into Bruges. We got up early (on the Belgium National Day) and headed off to check the place out. The Belgian National day marks the anniversary of the investiture of Leopold I as the first King of the Belgians in 1831. It is a public holiday and saw masses of people flooding into Bruges.

Bruges is Belgium’s most preserved medieval town, and its beautiful architecture attracts more than two million visitors every year. From our perspective, this is the pick of all the places that we have seen so far. In every part of the old city and the path towards it, this is by far the prettiest city that we have seen since beginning our travels.

As we were there on the National Day and the day after the finishing of a major festival, we did not see Bruges at its best. There were temporary structures and scaffolding up around the main square (Jan van Eyck Square) and all of the catering elements were still in place or being pulled down. Despite all of this, we still thought it was the prettiest town that we had visited. We were able to see past the mess to the town underneath, and it was stunning.

Getting around Bruges is pretty easy.

The walking is calm, easy and flat and the Canal boats are simple to find and easy to ride.

But if you really want to get around the horse and cart options are a charming way clip clop along the cobblestoned streets.

The biggest issue you will face when visiting is that there are a number of towers and not a lot of room to photograph them. So you spend a lot of time taking upward photos that really do not do the target structures justice.

The Belfry of Bruges stands right in the heart of town and is 83 meters tall. Built in the 15th century there is a 366-step climb to the top that is usually available (but not on the day we were here. On the hour the tower rings out a peal from the bells. 

As you can see from our photo trucks and scaffolding were ruining our photos, but not detracting from the charm and architecture.

Bruges Markt has been holding a weekly market since 1985. The guild houses have all been converted into restaurants around the outside. 

The view of the main canal from the St Boniface Bridge.

While the bridge is fairly modest, its position along the canal makes it a favourite as it provides canal views as well as views of the Church of Our Lady.

It was built in the early-20th-century.

Basilica of the Holy Blood is home to a phial which is said to carry a cloth soaked in Jesus Christ’s blood.

The 112-meter-high spire of the Church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk) is the tallest in Belgium.

Work began on the nave and aisles around 1230, the outermost aisles and chapels were added in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of the Virgin and Child.

It now sits in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium.

Sadly this was not open due to the Denmark day festivities.

Bruges is lovely

The one thing that Bruges has a ton of is the high end chocolatiers, they are almost everywhere. The next most common stores are the tourist trinket shops and then the waffle houses.

And of course, who could leave Belgium without sampling one of their infamous Belgian Waffles.

Belgian Beer

When it comes to beer, Belgium is the king. The country counts more than 200 active breweries, including the world’s largest brewer (AB InBev) and dozens of small local breweries, some centuries old. This number then further increased since the recent specialty beer fad came to town.

The most known abbey beers are Trappist beers (which can only be brewed within the abbey walls). Trappists are one of the many religious orders in Belgium. Many beers can also be sold with different alcohol content, starting at 5-6% and going as high as 11-12%.

Like the Dutch, the Belgians have embraced the special glass for each beer (not sure which one actually came first). Whichever one of them started it, it is a fantastic way of taking the beer-drinking experience to another level.

There are over 1600 registered beers in Belgium. While we were able to dip our toe into this pool, that is about as good as we could get. A few days does not allow for two people to make a dent in a list of 1600+.

The right glass

The Belgian experience suggests that the glasses help bring out the best in your beer.  

Different types of beer glasses help compliment different styles.  

With the right combination of beer and glass, the aroma, taste and steady carbonation of the beer will be greatly complimented. The blurb suggest that you “Think of the glass as a suit or dress that fits you SO WELL and calls attention to all the right parts, showing no flaws”.  

That is the job of the glass.

America

Alaska

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A large group of people were all heading into the US. We were all converging from around the world with the main intent of meeting up to join the Claudia birthday cruise (previous post). Claudia and Jeremy (Jimmy) have featured often throughout the posts most notably on our Miami sojourn for our (mine and Jimmy’s) 50th birthday Caribbean cruise vacation.

For us it was a simple journey from Vancouver in Canada up to Anchorage in Alaska, where we hung out for a bit before catching a train down to where the boat left.

Anchorage

Flying into Anchorage is an impressive sight, no matter what time of the year. Jill had the window seat and was constantly clicking away as the views were that good. High peaks and snow capped mountains everywhere you look. This place is stunningly pretty.

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska (a bit under 300,000 people) it was first settled as a tent city near the mouth of Ship Creek. It was built to house workers being used for the construction of the Alaska railroad. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first inhabitants arrived about 5000 years ago.

Wiki tells me that, in 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered a deal to purchase Alaska from Imperial Russia for $7.2 million, or about two cents an acre. In 1888, gold was discovered just south of Anchorage which led to an influx of prospectors, and small towns.

The city is on a flat coastal strip of land beneath the Chugach Mountains. This means that it is ringed by snow covered peaks for most of the year. There is a short window in summer when all of the snow will (sometimes) melt. When we arrived we got some green on the hills but still plenty of snow on the peaks.

Getting off the plane one of the first things that you are met with at the airport is a giant stuffed moose buck.

As I have never seen a live moose, this was a big ticket item for me to see. Anchorages’ proximity to the wilderness means that it has its fair share of wildlife that are in and around the town centre.

According to the blurb, Moose are a common sight in the Anchorage area. There is a summer population of around 250 moose, increasing to as many as 1,500 during the winter.

The tourist blurb also estimates that there are around 250 black bears and 60 grizzly bears that live in the area and are regularly sighted within the city.

The visitor’s center is a small log cabin in the heart of town. As you would expect, it is surrounded by a ton of tourist and trinket shops, along with street food vendors offering reindeer hotdogs. Of course I had to stop and try a reindeer hotdog.

As it wasn’t winter, and we didn’t have a car the opportunity to see bears and moose around town were not leaping out at us. So we decided to hop on the free shuttle bus that did the loop between the visitors centre, aviation museum, the wildlife centre and the botanic gardens. Stopping at the wildlife centre I got to see my moose. Add to this a polar bear, bald eagle, grizzly and brown bears and some other things to boot.

As timing would have it we would be in America on Independence day (4th of July). We met up with Brad and Nora (from the earlier Philippines posts) and decided to head to town for the parade and festivities. It was exactly as you would expect, loud, obnoxious and wildly (perhaps even blindly) patriotic.

The local park turned into a theme park style celebration with food trucks and obscenely sized and overpriced food offerings along with the odd kids ride. All things considered it was an ok day with a happy community and a nice wander around town to finish it all off.

The Alaskan Railway

The next day we (Jill and I) hopped on the Alaskan Railroad for the four and a half hour ride from Anchorage to Seward. The trip took us past lakes, glaciers, mountains and wildlife.

This was truly one of the world’s greatest train journeys. At virtually every turn there were magnificent sights to be seen. Towering snow covered peaks, multiple glaciers and we even got to see wild bears, eagles and moose as we rolled down towards Seward.

About 15 minutes outside Seward we passed through a valley called eagle point. This was an area where an avalanche had diverted the river, making it shallower than the main river, thereby providing perfect fishing grounds for the eagles. At this point of our journey, eagles were everywhere. We counted 5 bald eagles in a single tree at one part.

Seward

Hopping off the train, we set to walking the 1 mile distance to the heart of the town of Seward. There was a free shuttle but that ran every 20 mins, but there was also a full train load of people and luggage all trying to head to the same place. So we chose to walk, dragging our big bags with us. Once landing in town we could not check into our hotel for another 3 hours so we had to amuse ourselves.

There is not really too much to do in Seward. There are a few bars, some tourist trinket shops and the odd restaurant. The exception to this is the Alaska Sea Life Centre. Brad and Nora joined us again (they had an extra day in Anchorage) and we did the tourist schlepp. Apart from a seal, a sealion and a few seabirds (puffin being the pick) the place was pretty lame and certainly was not worth the $50 admission fee.

Alas while watching the sealion, which was huge, an American woman was standing next to me asking what it was. My response was (typically) that it was a rock sausage. A couple of minutes later I heard her earnestly telling others that it was a rock sausage. This amused me far more than it should have.

Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America and it spans both the USA and Canada. From its source in the Yukon, the glacier stretches 122 km to the sea at Disenchantment Bay. At the bay, the face of the glacier is around 9 km wide and rises about 100 meters above sea level, (equivalent to the height of a 30-story building). Unlike the vast majority of glaciers, Hubbard Glacier has been both thickening and advancing since the International Boundary Commission first mapped it in 1895.

The glacier is magnificent but unfortunately our phone camera’s were not good enough to pick up the colour contrasts between the sea, the ice and the sky (overcast and cloudy day).

Juneau

Juneau is the capital city of the state of Alaska and has a population of a bit over 30,000. Virtually the whole place runs on tourism. The day we arrived, we were one of 4 cruise ships that had lobbed in for the day. This translated to around 10-15,000 people descending on the tiny little town.

Like most places in Alaska, the scenery was stunning. Virtually everywhere you look there are high mountains, snow covered peaks and dense forests.

Juneau had a cable car (the Goldbelt Tram) that is just south of downtown Juneau and right on the cruise ship dock. Jill bought the tickets and we took the tram to do the six-minute (1800 feet) ascent up Mount Roberts. When on top there was more touristy rubbish including a restaurant, theater, and retail shop.

Sadly once up there, there were also a bunch of nature trails to walk that go to varying points on the mountain overlooking the town. And of course, Jill wanted to walk them. So we spent the next couple of hours sweating our rings out as we schlepped along dirt paths on the side of a mountain.

Every now and then you would pop out onto a clearing and have a pretty spectacular view.

While we were hanging out and climbing mountains, Brad and Nora paid the big bucks and took a helicopter flight up the real mountains and put on the super warm gear. This included ice cleats so that they could hike on the glaciers. This ran a little rich for our budget, but I was happy to steal his photos and share them.

Skagway

Skagway is a tiny town of around 1200, it was an important port during the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad was originally built in 1898 for mining but now operates purely for the tourist trade during the summer months.

While purely a tourist trap, it does provide a great ride through the town and forests providing amazing views of waterfalls, gorges, glaciers, trestles and historic sites, all from vintage rail cars.

Skagway is a popular stop for cruise ships, and the tourist trade is a big part of the business. So too is the alcohol trade, with numerous bars and microbreweries all through the place. While the old sex trade may have gone, much of the naming of establishments has kept the more risque elements alive.

We found a micro-brewery that actually delivered a semi-drinkable beverage (as well as the stupid fruit-infused abominations) but they soon cut us off after a sample (the law…no misbehaviour). So we migrated on to the Happy Endings Saloon, which sat next door to the Morning Wood hotel (subtle lot these Alaskans).

Haines

Haines is another tiny town of under 2000 people that is only 45 miles from the US-Canadian border. It is yet another coastal town with mountains rising out of the ocean. Many ships have sailed these waters, giving rise to the name of the “Inside Passage”. At the northern end is the longest and deepest fjord in North America.

The crazy thing was that as we pulled in, there was a bunch of locals entering the water for a swim. There was snow on the mountains, we were in long pants and jackets, I may have even had my beanie on, and these idiots were going for a dip.

The scenery around Haines is amazing and according to the blurb there is also an abundance of wildlife here, from bald eagles and bears, to whales and orcas.

Icy Strait Point is a 100% tourist stop designed and built to service cruise ships, with nothing else to it. It is wholly owned and operated by the local Alaska Native tribe with all profits directly supporting the nearby community of Hoonah (Alaska’s largest Native Tlingit village).

While it was built solely for the tourist trade, it is still pretty good. There is a an old cannery that can be visited and a couple of cable cars that will take you up the mountain. The first is free and drops you at the top of the (downhill) nature walk, the other you have to pay for and takes you to the peak and more walking trails.

We did both cable cars but alas once we got to the top tier we found ourselves enveloped by cloud and our view down was non-existent. Once up there, however, we took a guided walk with a native Alaskan, who wandered around with a rifle on his shoulder the whole time in case we had an unplanned bear encounter (we did not). All the while, eagles soared overhead, and we even spotted the nest.

Icy Strait Point also has the world’s largest ZipRider, with six ziplines travelling over 1.6 km and dropping around 400 meters. So if you do both cable cars to the top, you have the opportunity to skip them both and fly down the hill on a zipline. After launching, you will accelerate to speeds nearing 100 km/h.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan is the beginning of the last frontier. It is the southernmost entrance to Alaska’s famed Inside Passage and is best known as “The Salmon Capital of the World.” It is a photographer’s dream with amazing views and sights in almost any direction. It is set in the midst of the Tongass National Forest, a 17 million acre rainforest.

The catch-cry of Ketchikan is “the place where both men and salmon have been coming upstream to spawn for hundreds of years”. The crystal clear waters and salmon swimming upstream meant that, right in the heart of town, sat a bald eagle, just waiting for its opportunity to swoop and scoop one of the huge fish. This made for some pretty good photos.

Alaskan Beers

As is my way, I made a point of trying the local amber offerings as I traversed around the state. The mass produced commercial versions were ok without being startling and were a bit insipid if truth be told. But this time around we came across the odd microbrewery that did a very passable version of a pilsner.

We were even able to find a high-strength beer (8.1%) that tasted nice. Typically these taste like old shoes and should be avoided at all costs, but the Hurricane lager was the exception. The Alaskan Pilsner and Kolsch also rate very highly, brewed in German traditions they do not try and bash you with hops or malt, just a nice smooth blend.

And finally…

Not even the frozen wilds of Alaska is free from the ever present and ubiquitous…

Instagrammers.

Germany

Hamburg

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Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (behind Berlin) and has Europe’s third largest port. It has a population of about 2.5 million, but you would never guess it as it is such a pretty, green city.  The city is on the River Elbe and also contains two tributaries the Alster and the Bille. The city has endured many catastrophes but has managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each.

But for me it has a different interest, this is where my father was born and where my extended family (cousins etc) have mostly remained in place. Hamburg for us is a family visit, Jill has been twice now and this is around my 6th trip here. My family take great pleasure in telling me that I first came here when I was 6 months old (in blue).

Having hopped off the train from Amsterdam (after getting off the cruise ship to Iceland) we were met by my cousin Jan and his son Elias. I then got to have my first experience in riding in a Tesla.

We were ferried to my other cousin Martina (and her husband Volker) where their daughter Rose and my other cousin Uwe and his friend Eva were all waiting.

An absolutely amazing meal (Matjes Hausfrauenart – herring housewife style), drinks and catch-ups took place with photographs of both sides of the family bouncing around constantly.

After the festivities we drove back to a little hotel that Jill and I would be staying at for the week. This was organised and paid for in advance by the family members, which was beyond generous. The hotel was a pretty little place, with a nice beer garden out back and a cute little breakfast buffet each morning.

The next day we were off to the small hamlet of Bokel (under 650 people) to hang with Uwe and Eva, and eat (possibly) the biggest wiener schnitzel ever made. Uwe has taken, in his retirement, to repairing and restoring old land cruisers and troopies. So his yard was more of a car park than a garden, but the workshop was magnificent. A place for everything and everything in its place – German efficiency at its finest.

The next day we were treated to a private tour of the confectionary factory that my cousin Jan runs. They make a range of soft and hard candies in volumes that just blew my mind.

We dressed up in all the food safety gear and walked the lines while 50 employees churned out tonnes (literally) of sweets off the production line each day.

The place cranks out 90 tonnes of sweets each week. And Jan was the boss, he ran it all and it was seriously impressive.

Finishing early, a last minute decision was made to go and visit Denmark as it was a country that we hadn’t seen. So we hopped in the Tesla and did a 600km round trip into Denmark, checking out two different cities before returning home.

I have decided that I like Teslas.

I had not really considered electric cars before because Australia is not yet set up for them. But Europe is and these are brilliant (and we only drove in the little Tesla 3. When the time comes, and the Australian infrastructure is in place I think that this will seriously be a worthwhile purchase.

Now is the perfect time to comment on German roads and road etiquette. On the major roads in Germany (the Autobahns), for much of it, there is no speed limit but rather a speed minimum. You must not drive slower than the minimum and trucks are banned in the fast lane (at all times). This only works because people are considerate, check their mirrors, know how to merge and stay in the slower lanes unless overtaking. So people do not sit in the faster lanes doing low speeds refusing to move over (I’m looking at you, Brisbane). In our short stay here we were able to fly along at 225 kph which made our 600km round trip to Denmark much faster and not too exhausting.

This is such a change from driving in Brisbane where (some) people believe that the lane is their birth right and will not share with any other road users.

The other important note was that when a problem was encountered, all drivers pulled over and drove at either edge of the lane, leaving a clear path for any emergency vehicles that may need to get there.

And everybody did this. It was smooth and efficient and a pleasure to be on the roads.

Having returned from Denmark we all met at Martina’s place and had a train ride to town for a Hamburg sightseeing day. Being good Germans, one of the first stops that we had to make was at the stall that sold curry wurst. Another very good time to comment, Germany does some of the most amazing sausages on the planet, and their mustards are to die for.

We rolled through town, looking at the sights, taking happy snaps and admiring the architecture, waterways and just generally enjoying the feel of the city. Continue walking west and we came across the equally striking Speicherstadtrathaus, the district’s town hall. I found it amusing that the name was rat haus given the efficiency of some local governments. But the building itself was stunning.

We saw the Speicherstadt district was the old port area that is full of neo-Gothic warehouses (being turned into trendy housing, restaurants and businesses).

The group met up with Volker, we had coffee and continued to wander down and around the dockside.

We found ourselves at the Elbphilharmonie Plaza, or Elphi, which is the Hamburg equivalent of the Sydney Opera House. It is a modern concert hall with some of the best acoustics on the planet and is located on the Elbe River. The building has a new glassy construction that resembles (google says) a hoisted sail, water wave, iceberg or quartz crystal. And this has been dumped on top of an old brick warehouse. and of course, from up on top of the building, you are able to get both amazing panoramic views of the city and vertigo.

The Reeperbahn (or Ropewalk) is a street within the entertainment district of St. Pauli. But is predominantly known as the city’s major red-light district. In German, it is also nicknamed die sündigste Meile (the most sinful mile). The street is lined with restaurants, clubs, discos, bars. strip clubs, sex shops and brothels. It is blocked off at either end to keep things out of the view of others. We did not go here this time, but I had been way back in 1996 on my first ever trip to Germany.

St Pauli is a quarter of Hamburg on the right bank of the Elbe river. In the 1600’s Hamburg was a walled city and St Pauli lay outside the walls and became the home of businesses that were not wanted inside the city due to the smell or noise. At the end of the century workhouses (community housing for the poor) was also moved out there. St. Pauli was mainly used by sailors for entertainment during their stay. St Pauli hosts both the upper and lower standards of entertainment, from musicals, theaters, to bars and clubs, as well as the most known red light district.

FC St. Pauli Rugby was founded in Hamburg in 1933 and has been the largest rugby club in Germany for a long time. It is the most successful club in Hamburg and the whole of northern Germany and most importantly, it is where my father played about 75 years ago as a teenager. As a younger man I had the opportunity to come and have a game with them (nostalgia and all). They are distinctive in their brown and white harlequins jersey and the skull and crossbones motif.

Hamburg Fish Market is something that we did not hit this time, but have done previously. It typically sets up just in time to serve breakfast to all of the drunks that spill out of the Reeperbahn after an all-nighter (that was me in 1996). In addition to the drunks are the the early risers that are out for a leisurely Sunday stroll. According to the tourist blurb, little has changed in almost 300 years, except the market now has long communal tables for people-watching with pastries and coffee in addition to its seafood stalls.

As we wandered along the river we reached a domed building that we learned was the Alter Elbtunnel. This is two 6 m diameter tubes that run 24 m beneath the surface, and connect central Hamburg with the docks. Built in 1911 it is a 426m long, pedestrian and vehicle tunnel with elevators taking each vehicle down one at a time. Obviously everyone is too busy now to wait for the lift to go down before they drive across and now everyone uses a bridge. More efficient, yes, but nowhere near as cool.

St Michael’s Church is one of the most famous churches and landmark with its 132 m clock tower that can be seen widely. It is meant to be one of the finest boroque churches of its era.

Having done the tourist thing we headed out to dinner, but not before going to the house where my father had grown up so many years earlier. When he was here it was an outlying suburb but is now a trendy neighbourhood full of bars and cafes and old world charm. And as with most of Hamburg, beautiful tree lined streets.

As a summary, I have found that German sausage, mustard and bread to be absolutely top quality and better than anything else I have had anywhere else. The odd version, here and there, is comparable but across the board, the Germans do these spectacularly well.

But before we left we had a family dinner for all. The wheels fell off early on in the evening when the appetiser ordered was potato schnapps topped with either met-wurst or a potato rosti and Lingonberries. From here came the usual fare of German delicacies that covered a broad variety of the usual suspects. There was fish, herring (matjes), schnitzel, rare beef fleisch, and much more.

And as a last, Germany does some ok beers too.

Czech Republic

Prague (Part 2)

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Národní muzeum

This is the National Museum in Prague which was originally founded in 1818. It bounced around a bit as it gained exhibits and outgrew several early buildings. The current building is located at the end of Wenceslas Square, it was completed in 1891 and is absolutely stunning. In fact, the entire museum is that way. For the most part, I am not really a museum/gallery kind of guy, but this place was amazing and I cannot recommend it enough.

The early focus of the museum was natural sciences and as such there is a bunch of natural history and evolution-type stuff all over the place, and the way they have done it is brilliant. The dinosaur section was really well done and fun.

They also have a huge collection of animals and a really cool display that shows the animals ordered in the speed at which they travel.

But beyond the natural history stuff, the whole museum was really interesting and was a highlight of our trip.

Prague Statues

These buggers are everywhere. There was a statue virtually anywhere you looked in this place. They ranged from formal to classical and some straight-out quirky ones, including hanging from power lines. .

The Jewish Quarter

Prague’s Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is hidden away at the back of old town and has been there and occupied since around 965 AD. As with most Jewish areas in Europe the neighbourhood has seen more than its fair share of horror over the centuries. But it still contains some of the oldest buildings in the Czech capital.

In here you will find synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Jewish Town Hall and Ceremonial Hall. So we went and wandered through the area and through the cemetery. Jill took great amusement at the fact that they forced ever male to wear a yarmulke. So I wandered around with a mini beanie on my head that wouldn’t stay put.

 Prague Zoo

We were hanging around and found that there was a cruise available that took us up the river and delivered us at the zoo. This was a way of killing two birds with one stone so we jumped at it. Due to the water levels of the Vltava River, there are four locks that were built between 1911-1922. The locks control the water level and allow the vessels to traverse.  

The zoo was as a zoo normally is. Lots of displays, interesting animals that are particular to certain areas of the world and a petting zoo for the little kids. There were the usual big ticket items (lions, tigers, giraffes and elephants) along with some Aussie favourites that seemed pretty popular.

Whatever happens, Prague is a truly amazing city. Every street, every corner there is something amazing to look at. The architecture, the statues, the doorways, the cobblestones, this place is incredible at every turn. From my perspective, you should add it very high on any bucket list that you may be compiling.

Czech Food

Czech food, for the most part is pretty stodgy. It is priced pretty similarly (but maybe a little cheaper) than you would expect to pay in Australia. Fruit and vegetables (beyond starchy ones) were tough to find, but the food was rich, hearty and tasty.

There are plenty of soups and stews, roasted meat coated in rich sauces, typically served with a side of bread dumplings to mop it all up with. Knedliky is the name for these (steamed or boiled) dumplings they are ideal for soaking up all of the juices and sauces that Czech cuisine has in abundance.

While Goulash is originally a Hungarian dish it has made its way heavily into the Czech food staples. It is a rich, meat-based stew, consisting of chunks of stewed beef in a thick meat sauce seasoned with paprika. I was a little surprized at the spice levels in this, it was spicier than I had expected and was seriously tasty.

Vepřo knedlo zelo is one of the Czech Republic’s national dishes. This is a combination of roast pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, and dumplings, served with an onion and caraway gravy. Kulajda is a rich mushroom and potato cream soup. The addition of sour cream helps add both meatiness and tanginess to the dish. Zelňačka is tangy sauerkraut soup. 

Tatarák is a dish of raw minced beef mixed with diced onion, garlic, egg yolk, paprika, pepper, salt, mustard, diced cucumber, and tomato sauce. Jill is now, and always has been, a fan of this and when given the choice of mixed or unmixed, she obviously chose to do it herself.

Smažený vepřový rízek is essentially the Czech version of a pork schnitzel. Česnečka is a garlic-base soup, topped with a raw egg, which cooks atop the soup because of the heat. Moravský vrabec means ‘Moravian sparrow’ but it is basically stewed then baked pork, sauerkraut, and dumplings. Vepřové koleno is roasted pork knee. An early foray saw us sampling the nakladany hermelin (or pickled cheese). This is a local version of Camembert that has been marinated in spiced, paprika-tinged oil, padded with raw onion and crowned with hot pickled chillies.

But as with everywhere, there is a winner and in Prague it was Trdelník. Trdelnik actually comes from Slovakia, but has become popular in the Czech Republic and Hungary. It is a doughnut-style thing that is roasted over coals, but some bright spark had the idea of filling it with cream, ice cream and other goodies.

This is excellent but obscenely overpriced. It will cost you the equivalent of around $15 for a small cone. But it is good.

Czech Beer

Czech beer (České pivo) is the overall winner, it was high on my list before we came and has now been elevated to even loftier levels. Apart from some of the the weird microbrewery offerings, there is not one Czech beer that I tried that was not incredibly good. A big thanks to Tasteatlas.com for some of the content.

České pivo is a term that refers to a variety of local beers with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) mark. The mark is used by fourteen breweries making more than 80 brands, which is about 65% of the total domestic market.

Pilsner is a beer style that originated in Pilsen (Plzeň), in western Bohemia. It was first brewed in 1842 because the citizens of Pilsen grew unhappy with the quality of the beer so decided to build Bürger Brauerei (Citizens’ Brewery), which would later become Pilsner Urquell.

As with most nations, the beer is produced regionally and some of the major offerings here in Czech Republic Include Chodské pivo (produced in the Chodsko region), Březnický ležák (produced in the Březnice area), Brněnské pivo, also known as Starobrněnské pivo, is produced in the Brno district.

The most important thing about Czech beer, beyond the excellent taste and flavour, is the price. In many of the bars and pubs around Prague, you can get a 500ml glass of your choice of beers for 49 Czech crowns ($3.30). If things get really extravagant and touristy overpriced you will still get change from $5.

Greece

Greek Food and Beer

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Greek Food

As this is our last port of call in Greece (for this trip) I thought that I should cover off on the food options that we have been served up during our month in Greece. The food here has surprised us greatly. We have had a pretty fair exposure to Greek food while living in Australia and it has been fantastic with a wide range and variety. While the food we have been given has been excellent, for the most part, the variety has been sorely lacking. It has been a world of meat and carbs and not a vegetable in sight.

Don’t get me wrong here, most of my life has been spent consuming meat and carbs, but this was even a bit much for me. Almost every meal is meat and chips. You can buy a gyros (a Greek kebab with chips inside) for about 3 euro and it will be delicious. But if you want to buy a salad it will cost you 250-400% more and you will get some lettuce leaves with balsamic vinegar on them.

The traditional Greek salad (Horiatiki) that we are used to back home, almost has not been seen (maybe it is a seasonal thing), and when it is seen the Feta is usually intact in a huge block. The chef’s salad is virtually identical everywhere, lettuce, boiled eggs, 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes, hard cheese and mayonnaise.

The meat plates are awesome, about 3-5 different meats charred and served. Add to this the Souvlaki Something very special happens when meat is introduced to flame. the Greeks have discovered and exploited this perfectly. But it will be served on a bed of chips (maybe with some pita bread too) and very little else. Jill has been craving vegetables and fruit as they have virtually been missing this whole month.

The seafood has been lacking greatly (my sense is that the Mediterranean is all but fished out) and the fish and octopus were either hard to find or brutally expensive. We did get to have the usual suspects (octopus, calamari, anchovies, prawns and sardines) during our time but not with anywhere near the ease or frequency that either of us imagined.

Eggplant– I have had some great eggplant over the years and I rate the Italian versions very highly, but the Greeks have taken eggplant to a whole other level. Whether the grilled eggplant or made into the Moussaka, these guys know how to cook an eggplant.

Moussaka we have had so many times, but having it here is so much better than back at home. The layers of potato and eggplant at the bottom, cooked minced meat (beef or lamb) in the middle, and béchamel cream on top.  How can you go wrong.

The Gemistá is the stuffed capsicum that were also really good.

Greek Pies – come in a range of versions, both sweet and savoury and based on the ones we tried they are all pretty good. I did find that the Spanakópita (filo with feta and spinach) came in sizes that were too big. By the time you had finished one, you were totally over the taste. The Tirópita was the local cheese mix version. The Bougatsa very quickly became my favourite, it is a sweet pie, stuffed with buttery custard cream and sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar.  Best eaten straight from the bakery, warm out of the oven. There is a very similar galaktoboureko but this filo is also soaked in honey.

Kotopoulo sto fourno me patates was a random stumble across that we found in Santorini, it is basically a chicken and vegetable roast/stew thing. Jill loved it.

On the random finds section we have a tendency to spray a menu and order anything that looks good, especially if we haven’t had it before. This leaves us eating a range of things that are especially local and probably may not be seen anywhere else. Some of these on this foray into Greece have included: stuffed mushrooms, goat stews, zucchini, and even pastas.

Desserts

Baklava is the obvious dessert and one thing that Greece is famous for. The filo (phyllo) pastry, butter, chopped walnuts or pistachios, and a rich sugary syrup is universally known. I find this too sweet for my tastes but Jill sampled them and did not object. Loukoumádes are a form of Greek doughnut that are typically covered in honey but the place we found in Crete served them with fresh fruit and ice cream with a chocolate sauce and it was amazing. The Bougatsa and galaktoboureko fit the pie and dessert categories.

Revani is a syrup-soaked cake made with semolina and yoghurt, known for its lemony taste. Portokalopita is pretty similar but the lemon is replaced with oranges and cinnamon and is similarly syrup-drenched. And the cop out option is Greek yoghurt and honey, which is still pretty good. The important thing to remember is that even if you don’t order dessert, chances are that you will be served one for free.

And the winner is…Greek bakeries.

I love them fully. The quality and range of items (both sweet and savoury) that can be found at Greek bakeries is virtually impossible to fathom or match.

Greek Beer

Much like the food I thought I would give a quick overview of the Greek beers. The beers on offer are predominantly local with a few imports (mostly German or Dutch) thrown into the mix as well. They for the most part are lagers or pilsners and they have all been very drinkable and well worth the effort. The best bit is that most of them come in decent sized (500ml) bottles. The usual suspects include: Alpha, Fix, Hellas, Mamos, Mythos, Nisos, and Vergina.

In addition to the usual suspects, each island tends to have their own brew and the concept of microbreweries is kicking in. I tried the individual island brews on two of the islands and they did not appeal to my tastes at all. As for microbreweries, I have never been a fan. In my view, this is the realm of bearded hipsters with man buns, who busy themselves finding new and unusual ways to ruin beer.

The other thing that you need to know is, that after a meal (every meal), the owner will deliver you a glass of either ouzo or raki (Tsikoudia). It will be free, it will be strong and it will be very rude to turn it down (even if you think it tastes like armpits).

Smile, say thankyou (efcharisto) and move on.