vineyards, fruits and nature

Mirror Lake - where is the water

The long drive from Camrbia to Yosemite N.P. was not very interesting. Vineyards at the beginning. Closer to Fresno lots of fields with fruits. Fresno is big but not very beautiful! But you have to make a stop somewhere.

After another long drive we finally arrived in Yosemite Valley. We explored the park and made a little hike around Mirror Lake.
As we both enjoyed the nature so much we decided to stay for one night. Lucky as we were they had a tent left. So we camped in the woods which reminded me at my time with the boy scouts back home in Switzerland.

Nevada Falls

Early in the morning we headed for Nevada Fall which is just underneath Half Dome. Very steep but no problem for us. We were followed by squirrels. On the top ew enjoyed the view over the valley flanked by Sentinel and Half Dome.

Now we were so thirsty that we headed directly to Sonoma Valley. After this nice 4h drive we opened our first bottle of Californian wine! 

hiking, wine and rich people

As we only had 2 weeks of vacation and California is huge we had to make a plan. San Francisco, the ocean, some state/national parks and wine was essential for our trip. The flight back home was from San Francisco as well which means going back there.
The plan was to drive south ways and turn into land direction of Yosemite N.P.

Pool at Hearst Castle

On the way we made a stop in Pfeifer Big Sur State Park. It was hot like hell but underneath this big trees the air was nice. We hiked up the mountains on each side of the valley. This State Park is a must when you are near. Not many people and a gorgeous view!

We drove all the way to Cambria out southernmost point. Why Cambria you ask? I can't tell you except that the Highway to Yosemite Park starts from here.
We spent 1 night here. In the evening we went for a wine tasting at Fermentations on Main Street. Cool place go and check it out!

A crazy but very interesting attraction we visited the next day. Hearst Castle quite close to town. A museum like no other they call themselves. They are absolutely right. Mr. Hearst was a newspaper publisher and made a little money. So he bought some land only about 8400m2 (house only)  and a garden with more than 120 hectares! He had Zebras and many more exotic animals in the gardens. The house has more than 160 rooms, 2 pools a library etc. To many numbers I know. It is crazy and that is why you have to see that for yourselves. Don't miss the panoramic view over the fields and the ocean.

going South on Highway N1

Half Moon Bay

When I was planning this trip my father who joins me was not a big help to be honest. He did not care what we do and where we go. But he wanted to drive a Ford Mustang convertible. So I booked one and we picked it up at the airport after the San Francisco days. I would not suggest you to drive through this huge and crowded city by a car.
To be honest my father was right it was a great car and we had just enough space the two of us.

From now on the directions of our trip were quite easy. We drove south as long as we could and then turned into the land up north. After that west and back south to the airport.

On our route to the south our first break was in Half Moon bay. We wanted to see the beauty of the ocean.

outside our Carmel Inn - the lamp liter

The following route is breathtaking, beautiful, amazing and I would almost say something for your bucket list! The road leads along the sea, sometimes it sticks on the hillside, then again at sea level and every curve made the heart beat faster, which probably hides behind it. Take your time for these miles and drive from north to south so you always can take a photo stop easily and quickly.  

The raods lead us to Carmel-by-the-Sea and lucky as we were we found a very cozy Inn. It was so nice and calm that we had to stay for 2 nights. 

Carmel is a small town located on this beautiful beach. Lots of shops, restaurants all of the quite expensive but nice. So we headed for the only bar and were quite surprised that it was not expensive ;)

on 17-Mile Drive

 Carmel is a very good location for visits of nearby state Parks such as point Lobos or Big Sur and the 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach. Although the last one is not really a state park more like a forest with golf course and accommodation. But you can drive through and explore the nature.

Big Sur State Park was one of the highlights on the coast. We went for 2 hikes (first one was so quick and easy we needed more...) It is all about huge threes and hiking up the mountains. I loved this place since it was quite calm and being in the woods always gives me peace.

one of many spectacular views on Highway N1

 We both would have loved to stay longer in this region but we were short in time and eager so see more of the state of California.
So after 2 nights we continued our road towards Cambria and L.A.
I thought the way to Carmel was beautiful which it was but what I saw between Carmel and Cambria was even more beautiful, breathtaking.....

San Franciso in 3 days

As I told you we explored the city by foot on day 1. To see all the attractions such as the cable cars, Fishermans wharf, Transamerica Pyramid and so one it was quite easy to make by foot. Well it took us some time but well we had time.

What I really liked was the biketour we did on the next two days.

No Name Bar Sausalito

We rented some bikes (50$ per day) at the ferry building where the ferries leave for Tiburon / Sausalito. First we headed to the Golden Gate bridge alongside the piers. As it was so nice and easy we crossed the bridge and headed to Sausalito. Watch out for pedestrians and cyclists on the bridge. It can get really crowded and the road is quite narrow!
As we entered the town of Sausalito we were quite thirsty so we went to this bar to have a glass. They have live concerts and the barkeeper is a cool guy. So go and check it out.

Then we continued to Tiburon. A small town with lots of huge houses and nice pools. From Tiburon we took the ferry passing Alcatraz back to the pier were we took our bikes.
This route is very easy to make and quite interesting as you pass the bridge, the small towns and beautiful places alongside the sea.

Golden Gate Bridge without fog for 3 days!!!!

On day 3 we continued our bike ride trough the city. First we headed to Golden Gate Park. At the Japanese Tea Garden we bumped into a tour guide that was looking for any participants for a tour around the garden. She explained us how the Golden Gate Park was created and how the Japanese Tea Garden  was built and grew over the years. Thank you for this amazing and free tour!
After we went up the tower of M. H. de young Memorial Museum to enjoy the gorgeous view of the city. 
We followed the road in direction of the ocean and all of a sudden there was fog for the first and only time during our San Francisco stay. It got cold and nasty so we went for lunch. After that the bike lanes to us back to the pier via China Beach and Presidio.

California - getting there and around

rental car - I miss you...

From Switzerland there are non stopp flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Swiss in cooperation with United Airlines is flying daily. Then there are lots of flights with connection in New York, Dallas and so on.... But remember that you have to make the immigration at first airport in US so you need at least 3h connecting time.

From San Francisco Airport there is a train running to the city center. Tickets are cheap and you can get them at the train station SFO airport. It takes quite a time to get to the center.

The city of San Francisco is huge and there are so many thing to see and do.  If your hotel is centrally located you can see and do a lot by foot. Busses and metro are quite cheap and run very often. But we did not take them. On the first day we walked for hours and really enjoyed that. There are lots of bike rentals all over the city centre so we decided to rent a bicycle to explore the city and it's surrounding. This was a great idea as there are lots of bikelanes and it is not too steep at least it is not steep everywhere ;-)

To explore the state of California I recomend you to rent a car. I am really not a fan of cars but the USA is such a great country to be explored by car. So the Ford Mustang convertible just fitted us well ;-)

Let's go to San Francisco

Posts
I dream came true! The dream to go to San Francisco! Last autumn we flew over four a 14 days roundtrip. 


I got tickets by United Airlines which serves daily Zurich San Francisco non stopp. We had an enjoyable flight aboard the brand new aircraft. Thank you so much!

But I let me start from the beginning.
14 days in California is not enough but at least for a few things we had plenty of time. Big cities, the pacific ocean, mountains and wine regions. All that and much more is California!

what to do?

There are so many reasons to visit Mauritius. It is well known for Honeymoon as hotels give very attractive offers. There are lots of beautifully laid golf courses, the conditions for water sports are already explained, you can go hiking, fishing, biking or sightseeing.

in the north

We staid for one week on the island and decided to take two hotels one in the west and one in the south. On the day we changed we drove north instead of south. Our plan was to see the north and east of the island. It took us the whole day but it was worth. Thanks again to my driver :-)

We went shopping in Grand Baie, we stopped on deserted beaches up north and east and we tuned in to a reggae show an the radio and we sang along enthusiastically because everybody on the road did so. Maybe we just wished so but it was so much fun.

On another day we went hiking. We first went to Black River Gorges National Park. It is very steep but very green and the river was of a colour of coca cola. But I did not take to much attention as I had a problem. After the first steps the sole of my shoes felt apart. I had to find a solution.....

my dear old fellow ;-)

Black River Gorges N.P.

.....

 

The next hike was very interesting and my favorite one. Ebony Forest just south of Black River N.P. is a project to fight the invasive plants and to give more space to ebony and other native species. As we did not have to much time and a broken shoe we basically had to run up the steep and narrow path to the top. So we did not take the tour or visited the museum. I will do that the next time for sure.
It takes approx 40 minutes we were told. It took us 25! Breathtaking view from the top.

The last hike took us on the famous Le Morne Brabant in the south. To reach the top you need a
guide. We made it up to the shoulder were the stunning view could not really been capture with the camera.

All those hikes were quite easy but worth. There are no snakes are any other dangerous animals on the island.

from top of Ebony forest - mountain in the back is Le Morne Brabant

Another sight was 7 colored earth near Chamarel. Just beautiful. I can't tell much more, because even scientist do not know exactly how and why. Sometimes it is just better to not know as it gives room for your fantasy I think.



So what about you? When are you exploring Mauritius?

Seven colored earth

accomodation in paradise

lunch with birds in Lakaz Chamarel in the hilly south

The first 4 days on the island I had the chance to visit hotels, villas and apartments. You find everything from the small sell-catering apartment to the high class 5 star all inclusive resort. There are the beach hotels and the mountain lodges. So if you stay a week or more I suggest to mix north, south, east and west beach or country side.

Although the island is quite small the diversity of the vegetation and the scenery is very huge and interesting. For example around Grand Baie in the west where most of the hotels are located there is variety of shops, restaurants and bars. In the east and south it is much more calm and more original. The north is windy and more flat and in the south its quite hilly and green.

In the south you will find the best spots for water activities such as kite- and windsurfing. In a lost of hotels these things are included in the package.

Getting there and around

China Town in Port Louis

As Mauritius is an island you have to fly there. From Switzerland Edelweiss Air flies non stopp and then you have several airlines with good connections such as Qatar and Emirates. Tanzania and Kenya are not very far away so lots of people combine a safari and go then for the beaches on Mauritius.

The roads on Mauritius are quite good. In the hearth of the island around Port Louis the capital there are some lets call it highways. During rush hour they get stuck very easily. So plan your trip well. There are buses running but most of the tourist get a rental car or take part of an organized excursion.

our rental car

I really recommend a rental car for some days. You would miss a lot by just staying in the hotel. There are lots of villas and houses you can rent and for these people the car is a must. But don't forget you drive on the left...

Mauritius - angels teardrop in the Indian Ocean

White sandy beaches, huge palm trees and the ocean so blue you might think you are swimming in blue skies. That is Mauritius as everybody knows it from pictures. Since my first trip to the island I have to admit: yes they might use photoshop etc. but wisely and not to often. The island just looks like that.

I went to this small paradise in September 2018. Part of the trip was business and the bigger part was holiday. Business because I start working for a tour operator specialized in destinations in Indian Ocean, East- & Westafrica including Morocco and Arabia.

So he sent me first things there to see hotels, get to known our agency and to get a feeling for Mauritius. Who wouldn't say yes to this?

overview from Ebony Forest near Chamarel

Mauritius has about the same size than the Kanton of Zurich lies in the Indian Ocean next to Madagaskar and except the beaches and the ocean it offers a variety of green mountains for hiking, climbing etc, wind for all kinds of water sports and of course lots of golf courses.

So I packed my bag and flew down their. Ah, well I have to add that they are south of the equator so it was winter. Nevertheless it was between 22 und 30Celsuis. Love it :-)

short visit to Nuremberg

Nuremberg 

As every year we go for this short trip. Again we went to a German city. This the train took us to Nuremberg in Bavaria.

What a nice city! What a lively city! And so many easy going people.

The train ride from Schaffhausen took a bout 4hrs. We had to change in Stuttgart only. I suggest you to make a seat reservation as the trains are always fullypacked.

After this long journey I decided to walk to our hotel (sorry my dear friend ;-) I took 40 minutes passing new town and downtown. We stayed at the Centro Hotel which is a 10 minutes walk to the castle and old town.
If you stay there make a booking request for the groundfloor rooms that way you can enjoy a terrace (no view) but perfect for smoking....

Kreuzigungshof 

The city is not too big you can easily explore it by foot or tram for longer distances. Taxis are quite cheap too.

 Burggarten with tower 

Nuremberg is a very green city with lots of parks. One park we visited is called Hesperiden Garden. Centuries ago Nuremberg had like a green belt around itself. The city tries to rebuild these gardens. If there is a house on the former belt that is beiing demolished the city tries to buy the land and rebuilds the garden. Hesperids Garden refers to ancient greek mythology where the Hesperides protect the garden were there is a golden apple.

Another interesting thing is a part of the wall they put on a square. People should remember what happened. The funny thing is lots of inhabitants do not know that there is a part of the wall ;-)

You need any recomandations for a good bar or restaurant?
Well to try the famous nuremberg sausages go to Goldenes Posthorn next to Sankt Sebaldus Church.
For good meat and beer i suggest Hütt'n which is close by the Tiergärtnertor.

In Summer evenings you will find lots of people sitting next to the Tiergärtnertor having a beer or two.
In the mood for party? Well I just checked out one club in Nuremberg. Z-Bau is the name. They had a great Funky DJ. We were dancing till early in the morning and had such a great time.

There was the city beach for a good beer nd drink during day. They had the Africa Festival. Beergardens and so on.

Nuremberg you are awesome!!!!

sail away in pictures

Cavtat Croatia - beautiful small town

Crkva Sv. Matije, near Kotor Monetenegro

very good restaurant in Kotor Cesarica

our sailing yacht

entering the port of Brindisi IT after a looooong night 

sail away - join the crew

My first sailing trip took me from Dubrovnik in Croatia to Brindisi in Italy.
It took one week. We stopped in Montenegro, Albania and Italy.

Lets start from the very first idea of this trip. A friend of mine has a sailing yacht that had to be moved as the rent in the harbour of Venice was too expensive. So he decided to bring the ship to a cheaper place somewhere south in Italy. As the trip takes several weeks he asked friends to join the crew. Five friends including him as the captain/skipper sailed from Dubrovnik with several stops to Brindisi.

The initial route was: Dubrovnik (Croatia), Kotor (Montenegro), Bari (Italy), Monopoli (IT) and Brindisi (IT). According to the wheater and the time we had left we ajusted the plan each day. That was actually very interesting. The whole crew planned the journey each evening. Most of the days we did not have enough wind to sail so we had to swich on the engine. In the middle of the week we realised that the wheater is going to change and a big thunder storm is going to hit us. We decided to change the route and sail/cruise further directly from Bar (Montenegro) to Durres (Albania). That was quite exhausting to be on sea the whole day long. In Durres we stayed for two days and explored the city and bought a lot of food and water.

In the evening of the third day we started our journey to Italy. One hour after we left the thunderstorm begun. Luky as we were the storm stayed on the albanian coast. So we did not have any rain.

We had two teams to work in shifts during that long night. 3h working 3h sleeping. It took around 12h to reach the italian coast.

Enough routeplanning, geopraphy and technical details. It is not possible to describe the feeling you have when you are sailing.     -     Freedom! Peace! Relaxation!   but well I gonna let pictures do the rest.

Stonetown - living history

After the Pemba trip we continued our journey to Zanzibar and its main city and old town Stonetown.

Zanzibar Town 

A vibrant city peppered with historical buildings, an interesting museum, colorful markets and so on

If you have one day or even less to spend in Stonetown I recomend you to do a city tour. During the day you can easily do that on your own. Certainly you will be asked if you need a guide every other minute. There are german speaking guides as well as french, english....

former embassy of Germany

You should at least visit the museum about slavery and the market. Zanzibar was an important city centuries before. Spices and fruits were and still are the main export goods. As the infrastructure was good they began to export slaves to countries all around the indian ocean. The museum tells the story and you can see the cave were they waited.....

The market is just nextdoors. Get some spieces and honey I sad to myself. And I did :-)
There is also a night market next to the harbour. It is all about food, meat on a skewer. Good fruit juices and sweets.

After a few hours we returned to Switzerland. So I have to come back and explore the rest of the island. And more of Stonetown. I love this city!

so more tips will be postet some day.....

Relaxing days on Pemba

The reason for my short trip to Tanzania was the opening of a hotel on Pemba Island. I was invited by Constance Hotels and Lets go Tours. Constance Aiyana is quite new and during the rany season they took the oportunity to invite some travel agents to see and get familiar with the new resort.

I do not want to talk to much about the hotel. Follow the link and explore the hotel for yourself.

We had a spacious room next to the beach and enjoyed some peacefull days.

my terrace

What to do on Pemba? Well there is not much to do to be honest. Ride a bike to a village and go to the market. Pemba is well known for diving and snorkeling.
We took a change and made a boat tour to the mangroves. Another trip took us to a sandsank for lunch.

The food was amazing an the staff was very warm and friendly.

sandbank

You see we had lot to do ;-)

Thanks again for this amazing trip, the hospitality and the great food!

breakfast will be seved shortly 

Pemba island - heaven on earth

Sitting in the cockpit :-) 

Wow! Quite, green, authentic and a luxury hotel. A dream!

Pemba means green and so is the island. There is actually one main road leading north. It is like the hearth of the island because everybody lives next to it.

Only three hotels are on this island so there are no masses of tourists.

You reach Pemba with a domestic flight from Stonetown on Zanzibar. A small plane approx. 13 seats flies you there in 30 minutes.

on Pembas lifeline 

From the airstrip we drove 1.5h to the very north were the hotel is located. The last 30 minutes is a gravel road that leas through Ngezy Forest a protectet forest.
So quite a long trip but I can tell you it was worth it.

preparing to leave and explore

Hi Folks
It has been a long time since my last journey. Too long!
I have to change that. I am going to leave this night from Zurich heading the south.

Pemba Island is the destination. A small island in the Indian ocean. It lies north of Zanzibar and belongs to Tanzania.

Bags are packed and there are some blank pages left in the passport. I am happy to see and explore. Can't wait!

Leipzig vs Dresden - do not ask me

I love Leipzig. It is a cool and diverse town. The people are friendly and the food and drinks are good an cheap. It is a lively town but not noisy and dirty. Not too many people although it grows.
We took a car ride to see some other place like the airport (mostly freight) and Porsche fabric.
 
The city is surrounded by three lakes. In the city are a lot of parks and small rivers. It is very green and colorful.

My advise for you: go in spring or summer and enjoy not only the city but as well the nature in and around the city. By bicycle it wont take long to the lakes were people sail, swim and just enjoy each others.

first and last picture of Dresden - Katholische Hofkirhce

Dresden? Well to tell you the truth we stayed there for only a couple of hours. The opera, churches and cafes. As I felt sick I was not in the mood to explore another city. I have to come back.

As our friends live in Leipzig we will come back. Thank you for having us around. It was great.

Plagwitz - the past is futures neigbour

Plagwitz is a part of town and a song by a local band. But that is not the only reason why we took the tram to go there. Our friends told us what to do and see in Leipzig. In Plagwitz there is an old fabric and quite near there are some lofts. Sounds good because I like these things and there no tourists. Behind the scenes...

old spinning factory

We headed to the old cotton spinning factory. A huge area with tall brick buildings. These days the are a lot of start ups like architecture firms, galleries, cinemas, cafes, lawyers and so on. There are some flats as well. What a perfect spot to take nice pictures.

Plagwitz station

The train station of Plagwitz is just around the corner. As lots of houses and buildings in Saxony it looks abandoned. We followed a gravel road alongside the station and found some very nice spots to take pictures.

Time for a drink. We went to the racecourse that is surrounded by a nice park. After some snack and beer we headed to the town center. So many people seemed to have the same idea. But why? Ten... hundreds... thousands of people.  It was a football game. RB Leipzig vs. Monaco. We did not go. Instead we had a nice dinner and some beer.

Google told us we made 18 Km today!!! Now we realized how big the city was... What an easy day :-)

Leipzig - I like you

After our hiking trip in Saxon Switzerland we explored Leipzig. (Perhaps I should remind you that this hiking trip took hours and we made more than 20 Km on that day!) So we planed an easy day. Firstly we walked to the town centre to go for a good brunch. Secondly we bought a day pass for the public transport. Easy day -  no not at all. I tell you.

We decided to go to see the city from above. I like that  because you get a good overview which helps you to decide where to go. The MDR tower the tallest building in the city is not a beauty but the view from the platform was great. There is an entrance fee of some euros.

Monument of the Battle of the Nations

Back on the ground the tram brought us to the Monument of the Battle of the Nations. The architecture reminded me of Aztec Temples and Soviet buildings. Strange but very impressive. (entrance fee: EUR 8.00) Over 400 steps lead to the top! We were exhausted time for a break.

We sat next to the Monument for a smoke. In front of the Monument they rebuilt the "pool". In winter it is for ice skating and in summer you can see the reflection of the building. We were so lucky to see the bottom :-(