Venezia per i locali – Venice for locals

I am back! It is sad (for me) but true. Back to work. Back to rainy weather.
BUT

I have taken a bit of Italy with me. A bit of Italian cuisine. A bit of Italian laissez faire. I hope it will last a while in my Berlin everyday life ;-)

I have also brought back some souvenirs for you. Don’t worry no Carnival masks! No Murano glass. No fake Gucci bags. No gondola lamps.

Just a few photos I want to share with you over the next couple of days. To keep the Italian dolce vita alive. And to show you a few ‘different’ sides of Venice. If you live in an apartment there and try to avoid the tourist crowds, you can find amazing and truly beautiful things.

But first my accommodation recommendation. An apartment right in the centre, very close to Piazza San Marco. The house looks pretty run-down, like most buildings in Venice. The courtyard isn’t too inviting and the stairway just looks ‘brutto’ (according to the lovely owner of the apartment), but the apartment itself is recently renovated and furnished practically and beautifully with Ikea. Plus it has a working air condition which is indispensable in the hotter months (June, July and August).

Entrance to the hidden doorway leading to the courtyard (between two restaurants with wonderful food – in case you don’t feel like cooking at home)

One of the two bedrooms – modern refurbished but with the wonderful old timber beams

View from the window to the beautiful palazzo on the other side of the Campo

Where: Corte Sabionera off Campo SS. Filippo e Giacomo , Castello, Venezia

Highlight:  so close to Piazza San Marco that you can even see the apartment on some of the San Marco postcards, ideal to stop there any time for lunch, an afternoon nap or cooling off in the aircon

More photos, information and ideas:  Apartment Corte 2

Beautiful Birmingham

At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.

* * *

I know beautiful might not be the first word that comes to mind when you think about Birmingham. Nevertheless I found it surprisingly beautiful when I had to go there for a number of business trips. What I really like about is that it is so unpretentious, yet there have beautiful architecture, beautiful restaurants, a beautiful pedestrian area which is perfect for shopping, beautiful coffee shops and this beautiful hotel (although the website is horrible!)

The Hotel du Vin itself, however, is a classic design hotel. Simple and sophisticated, a historical house with all the modern luxuries you can think off. It is also a perfect example for the fact that little things can make all the difference:

How nice is it to have a range of really nice glossy magazines in the room? And not only the standard hotel  brochures or the advertising folders of the city you stay in.

And how sweet is this little reminder which invites you to take the lovely shower product home with you? Come-on everybody does that. And they don’t cost the earth, do they?

And how yummy is this sweet and savoury assortment of snacks above the mini bar? Yes they are expensive, but so are the standard Mars bars which you usually find in the mini bar. And they are just for emergencies in the middle of the night anyway ;-)

Don't you wanna go there straight away?

Where: Hotel du Vin & Bistro Birmingham,  Church Street, Birmingham B3 2NR, UK

Phone: (0044)0121 200 0600 , email: info.birmingham@hotelduvin.com

 Highlight: all those little nice things that make your stay just special

More photos, information and ideas:  Hotel du VinBirmingham, Bullring Shopping Centre – it is more than a shopping centre, it is modern architecture at its best

Frankfurter Villa

At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.

* * *

After a bit far-away dreaming last month, I want to share a beautiful hotel with you today that is a bit closer by. If you live in Europe anyway ;-)

I have been in Frankfurt on business trips quite a bit and I haven’t found many nice hotels. None to be honest. Until a colleague recommended this one to me – and from then on I never stayed anywhere else. It is lovely! It is close to the centre, but a bit away from the action. The staff is very friendly and helpful, the food is so yummy that once I was almost late for my meeting because I could finish breakfast and the drinks at the little bar are not bad either. There is nothing more relaxing than reading a book at the library with a wonderful red in your hand, before soaking yourself in one of the old-fashioned bath tubs and then falling into a canopy bed. After such an evening, I promise, it doesn’t feels like a business trip anymore.

The most amazing canopy bad I have ever seen – so modern, so luxurious, so big and not a sign of romantic princess style. I love it!!!

The modern yet luxurious style continues in the bathroom. Old-fashioned lion-footed tub meets clean chic.

Aren’t these door plates just the cutest? I wish I would have a pair like these at home and someone would act according to these adorable orders. Please don’t disturb – I need my beauty sleep ;-)

Where: Hebelstraße 1, 60318 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
phone: (0049) 069 40584-0, fax (0049) 069 40584-100, email: contact@villa-orange.de

Highlight: well-stocked library with great books and not only trashy novels like in so many other hotel libraries

More photos, information and ideas: Villa Orange, Museum fuer Moderne Kunst, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt

A Piece of Tibet in Beijing

At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.

* * *

Today I am taking you to a exotic place. Exotic in more than one way. First of all it is in Beijing, china. Secondly it is a Tibetan hotel, which is very unusual due to the independency aspirations of Tibet from China. And then it is right in the middle of one of the old quarters of Beijing – so called Hutongs. They are not only one-storeyed buildings, but complex communities and unfortunately they are torn down to make room for 90-storey high skyscrapers of modern Beijing every day. So hurry up and you may be able to see this incredible area before it disappears forever.

The entrance to the Qomolangma hotel and temple complex

The rooms and suites in the garden houses are particularly beautiful – there is lots of green around you (very rare in Beijing!), it is quiet (even rarer!!) and the rooms are decorated in the traditional Chinese style (gold, dark wood, lots of China and other pieces of art)

The only downside of this amazing hotel is the dining room which is located in the basement of the main house. It is lavishly decorated, but still there is no natural light. It is okay for having breakfast and watching some Chinese soap operas in the morning, but for lunch and dinner I highly recommend leaving the hotel (which I strongly suggest no matter where you are!). There are lovely restaurants near Lake Longtanhu or plenty of food vendors on West Gulou Street.

The food is always good, because Chinese people LOVE their food. They simply wouldn’t accept anything but great food – no matter whether you pay 10 cents or 30 dollars per dish. Ordering food is usually simple as well – either you point at what you want (especially easy at food stalls in the street or at markets) or you order something of a menu with photos (they show very vividly what chicken feet look like) or you just order ‘blindly’ something of an all-Chinese menu (believe me the English ‘translations’ won’t help you a bit!). If you opt for the adventurous ‘blind’ order, but want to avoid too adventurous food (Chinese people seem eat all kinds of meat and all parts of an animal!), my advice is to order something more on the cheap side, because these are usually the vegetable or chicken dishes. Turtle, guinea pig, snake and chicken tongue are Chinese specialties and therefore usually the most expensive dishes on the menu. Even if your Chinese host or waiter strongly recommends them, I would rather insist on something simple ;-) That said during my three trips to China I spend about 30 days there, I ate three times a day (at least!), I had several dishes at every lunch and dinner (due to the great tradition of sharing dishes), at chic as well as dodgy restaurants, at cafes, markets and on the street, in big cities and small towns, I tried lots of new dishes, I wasn’t always sure what was on my plate, but ... I NEVER EVER had one dish that didn’t taste amazing. So, I am sure you’ll enjoy trying out new restaurants.

Where: 149 West Gulou Street, Beijing, China; between Drum Tower and Deshengmen
phone: (010) 640 188 22, fax (010) 640 11 330, email: hwelcome@qomolangmahotel.com

Highlight: situated in the over 100-year-old Guan Temple inside a beautiful park

More photos, information and ideas: Hotel Qomolangma, amazing photos of Beijing’s hutons, Hutong tour

Beautiful Beach House

At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.

* * *

Today I want to show you a beach house which I have rented for my birthday weekend two years ago. It is in Australia, near Melbourne, close to one of the most beautiful National Parks in Australia – and I think probably the world: Wilsons Promontory. If you want a sneak peak of the park, have a look here, at its abundance of animals here, at its amazing beaches here and the landscape after the bushfire here.

But today I want to talk about a beautiful beach house on the other side of the bay. It is located in the little town of Walkerville North, but you can hardly see any other house due to the lush vegetation around the house. Actually I have to admit that Walkerville is not a town, it is hardly a village. So make sure to refuel and bring all your food and drinks with you. We found it a bit hard to buy coffee which we had forgotten. But on the other hand, who need coffee when you can sleep as long as you want to ;-)

It is the perfect spot to get away from the buzz of Melbourne. It is just a 3 hours drive to the south-east. You can either take the scenic road close to the coast (which is a bit longer) or the beeline inland.

The house accommodates easily 6 people – it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a huge living room with open kitchen, dining table, TV, fireplace and a broad terrace. The view over the sea really takes your breath away!

And because of the view, because of the sun and the wind which tasted a bit salty, we spent most of our weekend on the terrace. We set up a hammock and took our turns in dozing in the sun. In the evenings we heated up the barbeque and stayed outside until Pirate, the one-eyed possum payed us a visit.

The most important part of a beach house is, of course, the beach or the sea. And both of them are beautiful at Walkerville North. True, the sea is always cold – it is Bass Strait after all and the next landmass to the south is Antarctica. – but it is not as rough as it can get at other points on the southern coast because of the bay. And the beach is wonderfully quiet, deserted at all times of the day (even on weekends), full of shells and close to the Cape Liptrap Coastal Park.

Where: 12 Waratah St, Walkerville North, Victoria, Australia
phone: Richard 0438-864252 or Sam 0418-878911 email: here

Highlight: 180degree view of the sea and Wilsons Promontory NP across the bay, possums and birds visiting you on the terrace

More photos, information and ideas: Blue Waters Beach House Accommodation, Wilsons Promontory NP

Birthday Survey & Giveaway

My first blog birthday, like my real birthday, is time for reflection. What did I like about the last year? What do I want to do in the next year? And since my little blog isn’t only about what I want but also about what YOU – dearest readers – want, I would like to make a little birthday survey with you. Don’t worry, it won’t be hard work for you. Au contraire, just 2 little questions to answer and lots of prizes to be won. It’s my blog’s first birthday after all ;-)

So all you have to do to win is:

Answer the following 2 questions (just leave a comment or send me an email until next Saturday, January 8th):

What do you like to read most in this little blog of mine? (e.g. travelling, crafting, reading, food, fashion, interior, babies, weddings, shopping, interior, personal stories about my life,...)

What do you currently miss in my little blog?

Among all who take part in this mini survey, I am going to raffle off some fantastic little blog birthday presents. Or sets of presents to be more precise. Five in total. And to keep up the excitement, I am going to unveil you one surprise pack on every day of this week.

Let’s start with the Fernweh-Wanderlust Surprise Pack

containing a bag from India - a wallet from Malaysia - hand wipes from Japan - a set of mini cards (to write down addresses or vocabulary) - and a pen from Australia

Ode to Berlin

At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.

* * *

The last Fernweh-Wanderlust post of the year is a little different. Because at the moment I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than home. Anywhere else than Berlin. So here is an ode to my Berlin


Little Big Berlin from pilpop on Vimeo.

So while I am happy to be here at home, I promise you that there will be lots of new travel inspiration next year. Because there are just too many amazing places in the world.

Hope you are happy where you are at the moment as well!

Bella, bella Umbria

At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.

* * *

It is cold and rainy in Melbourne.

I am terribly busy with getting organised for our move to Germany.

So I dream of Italy. Naturally ;-). Of a warm and sunny place. Of a peaceful place with the most amazing food: Umbria.

Last year we celebrated my mum’s 60th birthday in a wonderful villa in Umbria. Just 2 hours north of Rom.

The main villa and the pool to cool off from the midday heat

The amazing garden full of fragrant roses and rosemary hedges

A beautiful decal in the former stable

Where: Villa Zuccari, Località San Luca - 06036 Montefalco (Pg) Italy
Tel: +39.0742.399.402, Fax: +39.0742.399.194,

Highlight: la dolce vita, the history and culture in every little village and town nearby, the food!!!

More photos, information and ideas: Villa Zuccari, Assisi , Spoleto, Umbrian Cusine

Turning Japanese

 

This week I want to take you with me to Japan. A fascinating country. So foreign but still close to my heart. I have visited it just once, but it is at the very top on my travel list. I love its food, its culture (or at least the bit I understand), its people, its script, its shopping craze, its bathing traditions, its fabrics,... So come with me to the “Land of the Rising Sun”.

***

I have always been fascinated by Japan – ever since my parents brought back wonderful stories and beautiful dolls from their first trip. And therefore I want to dedicate not only today’s post but the whole week to this amazing culture.

A few years ago I have been lucky enough to go there on a business trip. And to make this experience even better and more authentic I was accompanied by a colleague of mine who could speak Japanese. What an amazing trip this was! But even if you cannot take you private translator, Japan is definitely worth a visit. Even if you cannot read all signs, even if not everybody will understand you,... you will get by, no worries.
Another myth that got ‘busted’ during my stay in Tokyo was that Japan is incredible expensive. Of course, you can spent a lot of money (if you want and can), but it is really possible to have a great time and don’t spend a fortune.

A great way to save money and peek behind the Western-style side of Japan is to stay at a Ryokan. These traditional Japanese guest houses used to refuse to accept reservations from foreign visitors (too noisy, don’t know how to behave, ...) but fortunately that has changed now.

We stayed in a wonderful small ryokan near the Asakusa Temple. You can choose between traditional Japanese rooms and Western-style rooms. I strongly recommend that you go for the Japanese-style rooms. They have paper-covered doors, tatami mats on the floor, low wooden tables, facilities to make your own green tea, and a futon which only gets laid out for you before bedtime.

Some of them don’t have their own bath, only a little toilet and wash basin, but there is a public bath on the top floor. And that is how Japanese bath and relax traditionally.

Just make sure that you follow a few simple rules and show them your respect their traditions. Otherwise they might not accept reservations from gaijins in the future ;-)

1. Take off your shoes before entering the Japanese-style rooms! (don’t step on the raised floor with the tatami mats, there will be slippers waiting for you)

2. Check whether it is gents or girls only at the public bath! (you don’t just embarrass yourself but the other guests and the hotel owner as well if you get it wrong)

3. Clean yourself thoroughly before you go into the public bath! (that’s what the wooden chairs and buckets are for and make sure you get rid of all the soapy residues as well)

Here are a few more tips with very cute drawings

Where: Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu, 1-31-11 Asakusa, Taito-ku Tokyo, JAPAN 111-0032
phone: +81-3-3843-2345, fax: 81(Japan)-3-3843-2348, email: info@shigetsu.com

Highlight: the Japanese-style rooms with low tables, tatami mats and futons, the communal Japanese bath on the top floor with wonderful hot water and amazing views of the temple

More photos, information and ideas: Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu, Asakusa Temple, Nakamise-dori