10/20/2012

Kampenwand

Being one of the most visited mountains around Munich, we had to climb the Kampenwand by any means. It is just south of the Chiemsee and offers some good views of the lake.

The Chiemsee is the huge lake with the little woody island in the middle.

There are numerous ways to climb the mountain. The lift being the easiest, though most senseless option as you miss out of some views along the way. Speaking of the way, it is by far not as diverse or interesting you may expect from such a famous hiking trail. The main path mainly follows a ski slope that turns out to be a paved road in summer. Not very comfortable to walk as you can image.

The top offers some nice views over the Chiemsee and the Alps.
The last bit - just after the Steinlingalm - requires some little scrambling over rocks and through some decent cave-like narrow alleys.
The gigantic summit cross is enormous and even has solar powered lights on it.
 

10/15/2012

Music from the past, Brazil 2005

Sometimes I remember a song without any reason really. Those two songs that came to my mind this time are both from the Detonautas and date back to my time in Brazil in 2005/2006. Enjoy!

Detonautas - Quando o sol se for

Detonautas - Outro lugar

 

4/22/2012

Istanbul for a weekend – riding the Bosporus

IMG_0209[1]The weekend started off by getting on the plane in Munich to Istanbul. The weather here in Munich was miserably and we hoped for 3 days of sun and a multicultural city on the edge between Europe and Asia. Arriving in Istanbul late because of a delayed flight from Munich caused us a lot of trouble already on the first day. We only got to the hotel at around 2am. Next time I’m not going to save the money for the taxi and wait 20 min for the local bus. At our hotel –the AsPalace Hotel – the guy at the reception was a bit nervous and offered us straight away a drink – at 2am in the morning. That made me wonder. It didn’t take long to figure out what happened. They had given away our room to someone else, when we didn’t show up during the evening. They made a bet and lost. We finally came, although we lost the game in the end. They told us there were a technical problem with the room though. A half-assed lie. We got sent to another hotel just down the road. It was more of a run-down.



The second day started out with a bit drizzle in the morning, it got warmer during the day though. We explored the main attraction around Saltanahmet, including the Blue Mosque, the “Antik Ayasofya” Mosque, which is a bit hidden, but worth hunting for it, and the huge Aya Sofya. The Blue Mosque is just impressive. Although the mosque is packed with tourists, it seems to be still used by the practicing Muslim. We skipped the Aya Sofya, because heaps of people queued up to get in. It was Saturday and the city was crowded with people. The park around the Palace gave us a good escape from the bustling city center. If you think the Netherlands are famous for tulips, you haven’t been to Istanbul. The park is like a sea of tulips.
On Sunday we decided to escape a bit from the crowed and took one of the numerous boats over to Üsküdar on the Asian site of Istanbul. It was a very calm atmosphere over there. Literally the complete opposite from Saltanahmet with its countless attractions. Travel books say most visitors never even leave Saltanahmet while they are in Istanbul. On one hand that’s understandable, on the other hand, it’s worth going to the other parts, as they differ a lot. In Üsküdar, we visited the Fethipaşa Korusu Park, which sits on top of a small hill and hosts cafes and restaurants with a nice view over the Bosphorus. Hopping on the next boat over the big river again brought us to Besiktas. As I only knew that name for a football club, it also has something more to offer. We walked to the Ortaköy Mosque just to see it undergoing a renovation and therefore fully scaffold. We walked the way back , went to Taskim Sq and walked all the way down Galata. Again heaps of people as this is the main shopping street and even worst today as they had a local classic: Fenerbahca vs Galatasaray.The next day we jumped on a boat again. Man it’s cheap. Just 1 Euro per person wherever you want to go. This time we went to the Western Districts that are heavily influenced by Christian and Jews. This part is not as heavily visited as the other ones. 

3/07/2012

Colombia ahead

Tomorrow we will go an a trip to Colombia that takes us on yet another trip to South America. After spending 2005 in Brazil, travelling the hell out of the country and still haven’t seen a lot of it, going on a 2 month trip through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia in 2005/2006 and another trip to Brazil in 2010, this time we’re going to visit the north of the continent.

It will all start off with a wedding of friends somewhere around Bogota. After the weekend most of the wedding guests fly over to Armenia to visit this famous coffee region. The last week of our 2 weeks trip, will be spent at the Caribbean coast just north of Santa Marta somewhere in the world famous Parque Nal. Natural Tayrona. Apparently the beaches along the coast are considered as one of the best in the world.

That’s the itinerary


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