In Episode 20 in my travel podcast series I’m taking a winter break in Gothenburg on the West Coast of Sweden. We tasted our way through plenty of delicious food in between visiting Christmas markets and popping into the odd museum. We enjoyed our fika, the Swedish for coffee break, in several of the cosy cafes around town and tried the Gothenburg truffle topped with sea salt. We met Camilla Parkner, the head chef at Basement, one of the 5 Michelin star restaurants in the city and at restaurant Gabriel in the Fish market we learned how to get the best taste of oysters from the owner and oyster opening champion Johan Malm. And to prove that eating out in Sweden needn’t break the bank, we took a budget lunch at Sjöbaren – the Sea Bar in Haga and heard the drinking song that encourages you to knock back the snaps with a Swedish toast – Skol!

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Reception at Hotel Elite Plaza hotel, Gothenburg, Sweden

Bedroom at Elite Plaza hotel, Gothenburg, Sweden

We flew with SAS to Gothenburg from Heathrow and arrived to find snow at the airport, although by the next day it had all melted. Over the long weekend we were staying at the Elite Plaza Hotel, a lovely 5 star hotel with an elegant, classical style, built in the 1880s as the headquarters of the Svea fire and life insurance company and converted in the 1990s into a hotel. Our bedroom was on the 5th floor, under the eves which allowed us a view over the copper topped roofs of Gothenburg towards the canal nearby.

We spent our first morning exploring some of the cafes and food venues in the Inom Vallgraven neighbourhood near our hotel. In the courtyard at Magasinsgatan we came across the Strömmingsluckan food cart which just opens for lunch to sell fried herring and mashed potato with lingonberry sauce – the owner Thomas told us that there are many of these food carts across East Sweden but not so many in West Sweden so they decided to open one in Gothenburg. In the same courtyard we found a small branch of the Da Matteo coffee shop  while across the courtyard is the bakery or Panetteria, where they make sourdough bread and where you can see the coffee being ground with huge bags on the floor in a separate room to one side.

Next we stopped close to the canal, at the elegant Café Kanold where we enjoyed a warming cup of hot chocolate topped with chili flakes to keep out the chilly wind and tasted a few of the Gothenburg truffles topped with sea salt, invented by Jeanna Kanold who has built up this old family business.

Strommingsluckan van selling fried herring and mashed potato in Gothenburg

Later that day I chatted with Camilla Parkner, the head chef at Basement, one of the 5 Michelin Star restaurants in the city and the only one that’s run by a woman; in fact she’s the only female head chef at a Michelin star restaurant in the whole of Sweden.

Camilla feels that the seafood is one reason why Gothenburg has such a great reputation for great food and also that the chefs here are down-to-earth and unpretentious in their approach to food – so they stick to what they know and love with really good results. Camilla describes the food at Basement as a little bit ‘rough’- but stylish-rough – meaning that they take the kind of food that you might eat for Sunday lunch at your grandparents but then give it a stylish twist. The restaurant is especially known for their slowly cooked roast meats. For the 10 years that the restaurant has been open there has always been a slowly cooked meat dish on the menu, which is cooked in the oven overnight at 85 degrees Celsius so that the meat gets very tender and is presented with a flavoured glaze.

The menu changes every 2 weeks and is based on whatever is in season, which is why they call it the Seasonal Selection. Camilla loves the changing seasons and tries to use the best from each season – she grows a lot of vegetables herself at home from March to November, which brings her inspiration and also her colleagues bring her ideas for the menu.

Camilla Parkner, Head Chef at Basement in Gothenburg

When asked whether being the only female head chef in a Swedish Michelin star restaurant should make her an inspiration for other female chefs, Camilla wasn’t so sure – she doesn’t really think of it as being a woman and a head chef – her focus is on just being a head chef – although maybe other women might look at her achievements and think – “Why Not?” – they could achieve this level too.

Camilla’s recommendation to visitors to Gothenburg would be to try the fish and the shellfish which she considers the best in the world. She may have eaten seafood all over the world but finds it doesn’t taste the same as here in Gothenburg – perhaps chefs in Sweden use more salt to cook their shellfish or it could be that the water is so much colder off the coast of West Sweden, giving the seafood a unique flavour. At Christmas Camilla will be serving seafood of course, with different kinds of herring and salmon and it will be washed down with Christmas beer and perhaps a snaps with the herring.

Bar area at Basement in Gothenburg, Sweden

Our starter at Basement in Gothenburg, Sweden

Later that evening at Basement we tried the 4 course tasting menu and were impressed by the attention to detail and the passion with which the combinations were put together. You can add on a couple more courses to make a 6 course tasting menu or if you just want some simple dishes there is a different menu available in the bar area where you can’t book in advance. We also tried the tasting wine menu which is carefully selected to complement to food in the tasting menu and changes each time a new food menu appears. Although it isn’t cheap at 675 sek (£62/$98) for the 4 course tasting menu and 895 sek for the 6 course plus 495 sek (£44/$71) for the wine menu, we felt it was good value if you are looking for a gastronomic experience, with complete harmony of food and wine. We enjoyed the slowly cooked meats for which Basement is known with neck of suckling pig and reindeer tongue marinaded in honey, with each course of food and wine being described in great detail to us as it was served.

Buns at Café Kringlan in Haga, Gothenburg, Sweden

The next morning we visited Kronhuset which is one of the oldest buildings in Gothenburg and was originally an artillery store, with the buildings arranged around a courtyard. In the Kronhuset or Crown House there was a Christmas Market with many different craft and charity stalls where we bought some Christmas decorations before coming into the Café Kronhuset to have a fika break with coffee and a cake. The atmosphere was very jolly and traditional with red tablecloths and a fire burning at one end.

Christmas market at Kronhuset in Gothenburg

At lunchtime we had ate at restaurant Gabriel in the Feskekörka fish market (literally the Fish Church) and had a chat with the owner, Johan Malm about the seafood in Gothenburg. We started with the famous Gothenburg oysters that had been caught the day before, accompanied by a glass of champagne and then we had a plate of different styles of marinaded herring followed by some fish soup, washed down with the local Ocean lager and snaps with the herring.

After lunch I learned from Johan that the seafood is a long tradition in Gothenburg – there’s water all around and fish has always been a major part of the diet in West Sweden. The water is highly salted and very cold here and in winter it’s dark most of the time so the fish grow slowly in deep, cold water and that makes them very fresh and tasty.

At Gabriel they serve mainly locally caught fish and shellfish and anything that is in the fish market can be served in the restaurant. There is a menu but it is just a guide for what you could eat and if you find something in the fish market that you’d like to try that’s not a problem. They serve oysters, mussels, herring and the fish served changes with the season depending on when the fish are at their best. The month of December when we were there is the perfect time for oysters before it gets too cold.

With Johan the owner & oyster opening champion at Gabriel Feskekorka, Gothenburg

Johan was the oyster opening champion in the Galway championships in 2010 and he told me how he came to be competing there. In Gothenburg they had a contest between all the different restaurants that serve oysters, to promote the fish restaurants in Gothenburg and Johan won that competition which qualified him for the Swedish championships where he came second enabling him to go to Ireland to attend the Galway contest. He had such fun over the 3 days that he decided to keep going back until he could become the world champion which happened in 2010. At the contest in Galway each contestant opens 30 oysters per heat although in the Nordic championships they would open three times that so their hands are pretty sore at the end of the contest.

Johan prefers to serve the oysters very cold and fresh (the ones he served us were hand caught the day before) and as natural as possible with just a splash of lemon. You can cook them as they do in the US and serve them with Tabasco, but Johan’s preference is to taste the natural flavours. His recommendation is that you must chew the oyster and not just swallow it down if you want to get the full taste and flavour.

Oysters at Gabriel in Feskekorka Fish Market

Feskekorka Fish Market in Gothenburg, Sweden

After our meal at Gabriel we hopped on an old fashioned wooden tram to take us to the entrance at Liseburg, the biggest amusement park in Sweden which at Christmas becomes the biggest Christmas market. We used our Gothenburg city card to get into Liseburg and found the whole park lit up with lights covering every branch of every tree (50 million of them and counting). There were lots of stalls and rides and we just caught the end of the ice show. As it was the end of the day we were rather tired and the park was very crowded so we didn’t stay too long and took the tram back to Haga where there are cafes and shops and cobbled streets – but at 6pm on a Saturday night it was dead with hardly anyone there – they were all at Liseburg instead!

Liseburg in Gothenburg, Sweden

On our first day we had tried the good value lunchtime menu at the cosy restaurant, Sjobaren (The Sea Bar) in Haga which is typically served in many local restaurants for office workers. This normally comprises a choice of salad which you help yourself to from the bar, bread and a main dish which is served with water and coffee. It’ a good way to try different local dishes if you’re on a budget, as for £8-10 you can get a hot lunch with salad.

We also learned about the Swedish customs around snaps – a spirit that’s drunk during all the main Swedish holidays at Easter, Christmas or in the summer at the crayfish parties – it works especially well with herring to cut through the slightly oily taste. You can sip it or drink it down and there are many snaps drinking songs that encourage you to knock it back with the Swedish toast of Skol!

Christmas marching band in Haga, Gothenburg

Cafe Kringlan in Haga, Gothenburg, Sweden

On our last morning we returned to Haga, the old working class district of Gothenburg with pretty houses and narrow cobbled streets where there are many interesting shops and cosy cafes that are the ideal place to have a fika – the Swedish for coffee break. This is where you might meet with friends for a coffee and a chat and perhaps eat one of the enormous cinnamon buns or the saffron buns that are served at Christmas. We found a space in Cafe Kringlan on the main street of Haga, where we tried a huge cinnamon bun and found a Christmas market of stalls selling interesting food with choirs singing and a marching band parading along the main street of Haga Nygata.

Jeanna Kanold at the Kanold shop in Gothenburg

Cafe Kanold in Gothenburg, Sweden

On the way to get the tram back to the airport I popped into the Kanold chocolate shop in Viktoriapassagen to buy some Gothenburg truffles as a gift and met by chance Jeanna Kanold who was serving in the shop that morning. Her family own the Kanold business and she is known in Gothenburg as the inventor of the Gothenburg truffle which is topped with sea salt and I asked her what was the inspiration for making the Gothenburg Truffle?  Jeanna told me she was going to a competition in Stockholm and she was trying to come up with a chocolate flavour that would epitomise Gothenburg and the West Coast of Sweden, perhaps some combination that included seafood which is so spectacular here. After a while the combinations of seafood weren’t tasting so good and then she realised that she could use sea salt to represent the sea and the seafood of Gothenburg. Now she’s started a trend for chocolate with salt and she told me that it’s particularly good to try with champagne.

After eating our way through some fantastic food, enjoying the atmosphere of the Christmas markets and seeing some of the sites of Gothenburg we’d highly recommend the city for a short break or for a longer visit to see something of the beautiful coast of West Sweden.

Places mentioned in the Podcast

Elite Plaza Hotel in Gothenburg – An elegant and stylish 5 star hotel housed in a 19th century building that was once the headquarters of a Swedish insurance company. Address; Västra Hamngatan 3 404 22 Göteborg

Strömmingsluckan – A food stand selling traditional fried herring with mashed potato and lingonberry sauce – only open at lunchtime on weekdays. Address: Magasinsgaten 17, 411 18 Göteborg

Da Matteo – recommended for excellent coffee with two branches in the Magasingaten courtyard, one of which is a Panneteria where they make sourdough bread and I’ve heard they do excellent pizzas. There is another small branch in Viktoriapassagen.

Kanold Chocolates – An old family business making chocolates and known for their Gothenburg Truffle topped with sea salt invented by Jeanna Kanold. They have a café on Grönsakstorget where you can buy some of the chocolates and a larger branch just for chocolates and hand-made candy nearby at Södra Larmgatan 14 (beside Viktoriapassagen) as well as a workshop in the Saluhallen food-hall. These are all very close to one another near the canal in the Inom Vallgraven neighbourhood.

Basement – One of 5 Michelin Star restaurants in Gothenburg and the only one with a female head chef, Camilla Parkner. The restaurant is open in the evenings serving a seasonal tasting menu and if you want something simpler you can sit in the cosy bar area which is not bookable in advance. Address; Götabergsgatan 28, 411 34 Göteborg

Gabriel – One of the two seafood restaurants in the Feskekörka fish market and is co-owned by Johan Malm with his father. He was the oyster opening champion in the international Galway championships in 2010. Check out their Facebook Page. Address; Feskekörka 411 20 Göteborg

Sjobaren- The Sea Bar situated on the main street at Haga which served excellent fish and seafood with good value lunch dishes. They also have a second restaurant at Lorensberg Address; Haga Nygata 25, 413 01 Göteborg

Liseburg – The biggest amusement park and Christmas market in Sweden with many rides and attractions for all ages – ideal for families.

Visitor Information for Gothenburg or Göteborg

• The local tourism site Göteborg.com is full of information on the best things to see and do
• For information on West Sweden visit the West Sweden Tourism site or follow them on Twitter @WestSwedenTB or on their Facebook page and you will find their blog at ExploreWestSweden.com
• Another useful site for all things Gothenburg is I Love Göteborg
• If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing it’s worth getting the Gothenburg City Card which will allow you entrance to all the major attractions as well as public transport. Look out for the deals that some hotels offer that include a Gothenburg Card with the hotel booking.
• We stayed at the elegant 5 star hotel, Elite Plaza Hotel which is right in the centre of Gothenburg in the Inom Vallgraven district and walking distance from most things.
• We flew to Gothenburg from London Heathrow with Scandanavian airlines, who have 2 flights a day to Gothenburg from London.

Music Credits: The entry music on the podcast is Venus as a girl by Andy McGee on Musicalley.com and other music was recorded on location in Gothenburg

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Sweden – Gothenburg photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

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In Travel Podcast Episode 19 I visit Egypt where I spent a week travelling with a friend who lives in Alexandria. I took a walking tour of the city where many of the houses are crumbling away and where we bumped into a wedding procession hooting horns and letting off fireworks. We drove west to the popular holiday resort of Marsa Matrouh and turned south-west to the desert oasis of Siwa near the Libyan border. I found Siwa to be a truly magical place and we explored the old mud brick fortress of the Shali, visited the ancient tombs at Gebel al-Mawta or the Mountain of the dead and watched the sun set over the lake at Fatnas island.

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Alexandria in Egypt

On my first day in Alexandria, I drove along the corniche that stretches along the coastline, past the Alexandria library which surprised me for being a modern building, not ancient as I had imagined. My new friend Gordon, an Englishman who lives in Alexandria took me on a walking tour of the old Italian, French and Greek neighbourhoods. The impression is of buildings that are peeling and run down, as the rents are fixed and the tenancy can be handed down the generations so the landlords have no incentive to renovate their properties.

We wandered through the souks where we found a street for every different thing you might want to buy, such as the stationary street and the party decoration street . Gordon told me that the Alexandrians celebrate all the festivals for each different religion, but they can only start decorating 2 weeks before. We walked through the fruit market where strawberries were in season & the fresh figs would soon be available in June and finished in the jewellery quarter where although most shops were shut I still managed to treat myself to a necklace.

Beau Rivage Hotel at Marsa Martrouh

Beau Rivage Hotel at Marsa Martrouh

The next day, we drove westwards out of Alexandria along the coast road past a succession of holiday developments, each closely built in a different architectural style with only the occasional break through which you could glimpse the sea. These are popular with Egyptian families although they are only used in the summer months although I preferred it when the developments petered out and we were just driving through the desert. We passed El Alamein, the site of the famous World War 2 tank battles, passing the Italian, German & British war cemeteries. We arrived after a few hours at Marsa Matrouh where everyone in Alexandria comes for their summer holidays with a lot of apartments and hotels. We noticed a few military checkpoints, partly because of the recent revolution and partly because Libya has claims on this part of Egypt so it is treated as a military zone.

We stayed at the Beau Rivage hotel on the edge of town, with views over the beautifully landscaped gardens and over the pool and towards the sea. We enjoyed relaxing on the sun loungers on the beach and took a dip in the intensely turquoise sea – but after a while we felt everything was a bit too perfect so we took a walk beyond the hotel walls and found a bit of normal Egyptian life outside the hotel compound. We came across a man fishing and another with his children making a small fire of brushwood on the beach where he was brewing up some tea and showed us a small fish that he was keeping alive in a rock pool and was planning to cook later.

That evening we decided to drive into town for dinner to look for a good fish restaurant as the Alexandrians take great pride in their fresh fish. Our Egyptian friend, Said, inspected all the fish that were on display on ice and we chose what we wanted and then it was weighed and we paid for the weight. We were asked how we liked it cooked – grilled, fried or with a sauce and of course we over-ordered a huge spread of giant prawns, octopus and fish served with meze and salads. After dinner I was getting internet withdrawal symptoms and we found an internet cafe which was filled with men watching football and smoking the shisha pipes. I puzzled over the problem of logging on to the Wifi since the password was in Arabic script, but luckily a Libyan medical student came to our rescue and managed to copy the password from his phone onto my laptop to log in. Meanwhile we drank hibiscus tea and a creamy desert topped with fruit and coconut.

Internet Cafe at Marsa Martrouh

The next day we drove on to Siwa about 3 hours south west of Marsa Matrouh, through the gritty desert landscape with the odd military base and a cafe half way in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly the rocky outcrops that surround Siwa rose out of the desert and we saw the lake ahead of us (and it’s not a mirage!). The oasis is based on underground springs that keep the oasis green and enable date palms and olive trees to grow. We stayed at the lovely Siwa Safari Gardens Hotel – an oasis within the oasis with a spring-fed pool in the middle of the garden and our rooms in the 2 story buildings around the garden.

The traditional buildings in Siwa are made out of rock salt and mud clay and the Siwa people are keen to preserve their culture and the tranquil atmosphere with sustainable tourism. Since it was not long after the revolution and the Libyan crisis was still going on, there were not many tourists although we felt very safe in Siwa.

The Shali in Siwa in Egypt

We visited the Temple of the Oracle, with mud wall construction and the remains of the stone built temple at the top with amazing views towards the lake and over the city. Then we stopped at Cleopatra’s spring which is a large round pool with clear green water with the bubbles coming to the surface, reminding me of the Roman springs at Bath near where I live. We sat and had some lemon grass tea in a cafe next to the Cleopatra’s spring and we were offered a small fruit the size of a cherry but with the flavour of  an apple. The date palms and olives are the main cash crops in Siwa- vegetables can also grow here but they are sold locally as they would cost too much to transport.

We visited the Siwa House, a museum of Siwa culture, where the curator told us the story behind the wedding dresses worn by the Siwa women. The dress worn for the wedding night is made of embroidered green silk, although many of the women now wear western style wedding dresses. The creamy white silk dress with embroidery like the rays of a sun is worn on the third day after the wedding when the bride’s relatives come to visit her, although her mother does not visit her until the seventh day when she wears a black silk dress with embroidery and mother of pearl buttons for decoration. The mother of pearl buttons were brought on the caravans by traders who would exchange wool, carpets and wheat in exchange for dates and olive oil. The dyes used to colour the silk fabric and the embroidery thread are made from dates – the traditional colours of Siwa are only green, yellow, orange, red and black – each colour is produced from the dates at different stages in their ripening. The trousers and shawls are also made from natural silk embroidered with the coloured threads.

The House of Siwa in Siwa, Egypt

When the female relatives of the bride visit her after the wedding they are offered part of the heart of the palm as a special treat, but the mother of the bride receives a whole palm heart decorated with fruit and sweets. This is considered a great sign of hospitality as the palm is considered a valuable plant due to the dates it produces. From the age of 10 to 13 when they get engaged the young girls start to embroider their wedding dresses helped by their mothers and their aunts. The parents will arrange the marriage for their children, choosing the husband based on the knowledge of the families rather than financial considerations.  The hair of the women in Siwa is braided in different styles depending on whether the woman is single or married. The unmarried girls will have many braids on each side of their heads while the married women have 9 braids which cross over the forehead.

Gebel al-Mawta, Mountain of the Dead in Siwa in Egypt

We also visited Gebel al Mawta or the Mountain of the Dead, the ancient burial place of Siwa. We climbed to the top of the mound and looked down on all the rock hewn tombs below, some of which can be viewed with a guide and are painted inside. You can hear the wind blowing at the top and from there I got a great panorama over the oasis, looking across to the ancient fortress town of the Shali.

Mint tea at Fatnas island in Siwa in Egypt

Sunset at Fatnas island in Siwa in Egypt

That evening we drove to Fatnas island to see the sunset setting over the lake although in recent years the lake level has dropped so it is more like a salt marsh. Sitting in rattan chairs we sipped sweet mint tea and looked across the lake to the eco-lodge where Prince Charles and Camilla stayed when they were in Siwa. We chatted to the man who owned this land and had set up the tea kiosk as a business – he is a storyteller who had travelled all over the Middle East including a performance for the Queen of Jordan. In the darkness we drank our tea under the date palms as we watched the sun go down.

Other podcasts you may enjoy

 Papua New Guinea podcast – interview with Beth Whitman
The Mongol Rally with Sherry Ott
Visiting the Christmas Markets in Munich

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Egypt – Alexandria photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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In Episode 18 in my travel podcast series, I talk to Sherry Ott about the Mongol Rally and her adventures driving from London to Mongolia with three other travel bloggers. I met Sherry, who blogs at Ottsworld, in London just as their Social Media Syndicate (with Deb and Dave from ThePlanetD and Rick from Midlife Roadtrip ) were preparing to leave England starting from Goodwood. Now Sherry’s safely back from the Mongol Rally we caught up and heard about their adventures driving on dirt roads when the tarmac ran out, through rivers and over rickety bridges, although all this seemed tame compared to what happened to some of the other teams. In 5 weeks they made it to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia where all the Mongol Rally cars were sold to raise money for charity and there were not one but three finish line parties to celebrate the achievement.

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The Social Media Syndicate camping in Mongolia Photo: Sherry Ott

Show Notes

The Mongol Rally is a car adventure for teams to drive from London to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, preferably in a totally unsuitable car. The Rally is organised by The Adventurists to support a different Mongolian Charity each year and all the cars are sold at the end with the proceeds going to support the charity.

Before they set off Sherry’s Social Media Syndicate team arrived in London to prepare the car that they had bought over the Internet, making sure they had all the spare parts they needed and well as getting all their paperwork in place. The challenge was that the team knew very little about car mechanics even though on average each Mongol Rally team has 9 breakdowns en route.

Muffler repair in Mongolia on the Mongol Rally Photo: Sherry Ott

The team comprised Sherry Ott from Ottsworld, Deb and Dave from ThePlanetD who are based in Toronto and Rick Griffin from Midlife Roadtrip - their strap-line was “4 travel bloggers over 40″

Each Mongol Rally team can choose their own route and Sherry’s team planned to travel through 14 countries; Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Mongolia finishing in Ulaanbaatar. To decide the route to team had got together on a Skype call with Google maps and plotted what they thought would work, but there was no detailed plan. There were times when Sherry wasn’t sure if they would make it due to delays at borders, problems with paperwork and mechanical difficulties, not to mention the terrible roads.

Kazakhstan dirt roads on the Mongol Rally Photo: Sherry Ott

The team are all still friends but it was stressful always being in a car together and having to make constant travel decisions such as; what road do we take, where do we eat, where do we stay, what was that sound in the car? The team worked out any disagreements by sitting down and talking out the pros and cons of each decision, such as whether to change their route.

At the start of the Rally at Goodwood, everything came to life with a circus atmosphere and the organisers even arranged actors to impersonate Russian Border guards. It was exciting but everyone had their hoods up and was looking under the engines which made Sherry anxious that the other teams were better prepared than her team was.

Pushing a car in Mongolia on the Mongol Rally Photo: Sherry Ott

A lot of the vehicles were ambulances and one was a small school bus named the “Too big to fail bus” which lived up to its name and made it to the end even though they had a few problems driving their bus through the streets of Istanbul. There were a couple of fire trucks and a car covered with long purple fur, called the “Fast and the Furriest” which by the end was completely grey with dust. Another car was completely wrapped in duct tape and the team had a lot of problems at borders because the officials couldn’t understand how to classify the car.

In Europe they enjoyed staying with travel bloggers in Cologne and Brussels and Prague was highlight where they stayed for a day to look around. Then they drove through Hungary and Slovakia and Sherry loved Brasov in Romania, a beautifully kept town surrounded by mountains. Sherry was sad not to be able to see more of these places but they were focused on keeping going and too many stops would put them behind on their schedule and even then they wouldn’t have time to see it all properly. There were also constraints due to the visas which determined that they had to enter Russia on 4 August as they only had 30 days to cover several countries then cross back into Russia again.

Kiev Ukraine Church on the Mongol Rally

Visiting Prague on the Mongol Rally

Until they got to Romania there were no border crossings but as they crossed into Moldova and into Ukraine things changed because there were border crossings and this meant delays over paperwork and difficulties in communicating as the language and alphabet changed and these countries had much less tourism. At borders they had to be patient and wait it out to get through without too many bribes. The border crossing took from 1.5 hrs to 24 hrs at longest with an average of 4 hours. Often they would have to act dumb and pretend they didn’t understand what was going on to avoid paying bribes.

On the roads crossing from Russia into Kazakhstan the roads got worse, because although they are tarmac they were poorly maintained and pounded by huge trucks with massive potholes or pot hills. If you went too fast the road condition could change quickly and you could scrape the bottom of the car, risking damaging it. In Mongolia the roads were also difficult as they were dirt and it was not always obvious which route to take.

Road choices in Mongolia on the Mongol Rally

Camping in Kazakhstan on the Mongol Rally

Sometimes Sherry felt a little vulnerable at night in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, when they would pull off the road and drive into a field to camp, as she feared that they might be robbed, although in the end they had no problems of this kind. All the locals who came up to them just wanted to talk to them and find out what they were doing.

Once they got to Mongolia they encountered river crossings where they would rely on the advice of locals on the best route to cross the river as they were not always the obvious crossing points. Once they followed 2 guys on a motorbike, snaking though the river and the water came into the front of the car but they kept their foot on the gas and kept moving so as to avoid getting water in the exhaust. Although the driving was stressful, after 5 weeks Sherry was becoming a bit more relaxed about this kind of challenge.

River crossing in Mongolia on the Mongol Rally Photo: Sherry Ott

Sherry had visited Mongolia 2 years ago when she spent 2 weeks on a local tour in the Gobi desert. This time she was able to see Western Mongolia which is more remote, but she found that outside the city the Mongol way of life of living in Gers remained the same and the landscapes were just as stunning. Whenever they camped in Mongolia the locals would come to visit them in the morning or evening and bring gifts such as cheese or fermented mare’s milk. As they had a map sticker on the bonnet they could use this to try and explain their journey. Any local visitors would invariably ask to buy their car due to the shortage of cars in Mongolia. Even though people can afford to buy a car, very few are being imported, so even in the smallest villages people would ask to buy the car.

Once the teams arrived in Ulaanbaatar they handed over their car and the paperwork to the Adventurists who organise the Mongol Rally. Some better vehicles get cleaned up and put in a bigger auction but otherwise they are auctioned on the day they arrive. The organisers pay the vehicle import taxes and the rest of the money goes to the charity with many of the cars being sold for more money than they were paid for in the UK. The charity changes every year, but this year it was the Christina Noble Foundation who run a Ger camp that houses orphaned or disadvantaged children who can’t live with their families. At the final party the kids from the camp performed for the teams, singing, playing music and doing a judo display, with around $500 being raised for the charity.

A Ger in Mongolia on the Mongol Rally

Western Mongolia on the Mongol Rally

Because the Mongol Rally has no set end date, with everyone arriving at different times, the organisers set  up 3 different finish line parties, one at 4 weeks after the start and the others at 5 weeks and 6 weeks. This meant that most of the teams could go to one of the parties, depending on when they arrived.

Once Sherry’s team met up with the other teams they realised that their team got off lightly. One team from Scotland went to a disco in Russia and 2 out of 3 got drugged and robbed while the third got in a cab to go to his hotel and the driver took him outside the city and demanded money from him. There were stories of people driving into rivers and their car floating away. Sherry reckoned that the Social Media Syndicate were too busy working and blogging to get into as much trouble as some of the younger teams.

Throughout the trip, the blogging team worked very hard at staying online. When they stayed in hotels they could generally find wifi and would work late into the night to get photos and blogs posted. Until they reached Mongolia they were able to use a 3G Kindle to get Internet access and do some live tweeting en route and check email. Once they were out of 3G range in Mongolia, they could use a world sim card sponsored by Onesimcard to text their tweets to a phone number which would then be posted on Twitter. In Europe they used a Tep wireless device which enabled them to get wifi on the move and they could even get Internet access and do work in the car. The Car was sponsored by Allways Rental in New Zealand.

Horse meets car in Mongolia on the Mongol Rally Photo: Sherry Ott

The team used a satellite tracking device from Track24Solo who tracked their position and posted it onto their Facebook pages – within Europe they were able to track their position on the map but once they got to Mongolia they used it to track distance between villages. In London the team were put up in an apartment by Oh-London and in several other cities, Roomorama provided short term rental accommodation.

Now she is back in the US, Sherry’s current project is a series of meet-ups in cities in the US and Canada through her Meet Plan Go website, inspiring and advising people how to plan career breaks to enable them to travel. After that Sherry is not sure what she will be doing and has a feeling of anticlimax, that nothing can top the unique adventure of the Mongol Rally.

Find out more about the Mongol Rally

The Mongol Rally is an annual event organised by the Adventurists - find them on Twitter @theadventurists
You can read all Sherry’s stories from the Mongol Rally on Ottsworld
Read what Sherry’s team-mates wrote about the Mongol Rally – Deb and Dave at ThePlanetD  and Rick Griffin at Midlife Road Trip
Connect with the Social Media Syndicate on Twitter @ottsworld @theplanetd @midliferoadtrip – they used the hashtag #mongolsms and #mongolrally

All photos are copyright of Sherry Ott

More Travel Podcasts from Heather on her travels

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Episode 17 in my travel podcast series takes us for a long weekend to Copenhagen in the early summer. You’ll hear the sounds of the children’s carnival that we came across while shopping, and the gastronomic specialities from Smørrebrød to Michelin star cuisine, that have given Copenhagen such a reputation as a foodie destination. Just like the Copenhageners we got on our bikes and took the train to visit the Karen Blixen Museum at Rungsted, cycled back along the coast road and enjoyed the band and old fashioned amusements at the Tivoli Gardens. We also took the canal tour to see the sights of the harbour area, such as the Royal Yacht and the Little Mermaid and had to duck to avoid banging our heads on the low bridges of Nyhavn.

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Show notes

• We flew from Heathrow to Copenhagen airport and easily made our way directly to the hotel by Metro, buying a ticket from the machine in the airport that takes credit cards.
• We stayed at the Ibsens Hotel, a neighbourhood boutique hotel in Nansensgade, an area that has a studenty feel with plenty of small bars and restaurants and is near the Copenhagen lakes. The hotel aims to be CO2 neutral – breakfast it is served on a plastic tray with a selection of different cereals and fruits in glasses and sandwiches in paper bags to avoid waste. The decor is colourful, funky and modern with items from local artizans who have shops nearby.

Library at Ibsens Hotel, Copenhagen

• We spent our first morning shopping, walking around the main shopping street of Strøget and Amagertorv, exploring the big 3 Danish designer shops, starting with Illums Bolighus, a homeware store that sells beautiful Danish and Scandanavian design for the home. You can walk directly through from the 1st floor to the Royal Copenhagen store with the famous blue and white Copenhagen pattern that we also saw in many of the restaurants that we visited as well as the Christmas plates that we saw on sale in the flea market beside the canal. We also visited the Georg Jensen store with silver jewellery and watches – I visited the Georg Jensen workshops in a previous visit to Copenhagen and saw some of the heritage pieces being made.
• As we walked along Amagertorv we saw a parade of children dressed in green and pink, drumming and dancing in a procession as part of the Copenhagen Carnival that was taking place that weekend.

Childrens carnival in Copenhagen

• Copenhagen is known as a gourmet destination and is scattered with a number of Michelin star restaurants, with Noma being one of the best known as it was voted the ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ We wanted to try the Danish open sandwich known as Smørrebrød and stopped at Gitte Kik for lunch, then later tried Aamanns where there is a deli with Smørrebrød made with fresh and seasonal ingredients for a late afternoon snack. The chef Adam Amaans started his deli after he wanted to make good food for his children to take to school for their packed lunch and couldn’t find the quality he was looking for, so ended up making it himself.
• At Gitte Kik I interviewed the owner Frank about the Danish tradition of Smørrebrød. At Gitte Kik, rather than a menu card they have a counter where the dishes are laid out so that customers can choose from 80 different combinations of toppings. The restaurant has been on this spot since 1797 and as it’s right opposite the Danish Parliament Building, its a popular lunchtime spot for the Members of Parliament. Herring is very popular topping and is generally washed down with beer or schnapps. One of the specialties is known as Dyrlægensn natmad or the Vet’s night snack, with a topping of liver pate with salt veal and onions which was traditionally prepared by the farmer’s wife when the vet came out to tend to the livestock.

Gitte Kik in Copenhagen

• I interviewed Christian, the owner of Ved Stranden wine bar close to the canal – apparently it’s the favourite off duty haunt of René Redzepi, the chef at Noma. The wine bar, which opened a year and a half ago, tries to create a convivial atmosphere for guests. The speciality here are cold climate wines from Austria, Germany and Eastern Europe with great minerality, structure and fruit.
• Later we moved on to look around the neighbourhood of Nørrebro, where we stopped in the Claus Meyer bakery, known for the great Danish bread - I had visited the Claus Meyer production bakery when I was last in Copenhagen, so I know how passionate they are about their sourdough!

Coffee Collective in Copenhagen

• Just across the road  we stopped in at Coffee Collective where they are equally passionate about their coffee. There’s only one small shop and a few tables outside and most people get their coffee to take away although they sell coffee all over Copenhagen.The owners work with the farmers in Brazil, Guatamala, Kenya and Panama paying the best prices for the best quality coffee.

Heather Cowper and Henrik Yde-Andersen at Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen

• We finished the day with Champagne and canapes at Kiin Kiin, the only Michelin star Thai restaurant in the world, where I chatted to the owner-chef Henrik Yde Andersen. Henrik was a chef for 4 years in Thailand – his signature dish is the frozen Red Thai curry served with a lobster salad with coriander seeds and for desert the Khao Niaow Ma Muan with sticky rice and sweet mango or the Pandan ice cream with roasted coconut.
• If you want somewhere low key to eat, Henrik also has a number of other restaurants in Copenhagen such as AroiDee just next door to Kiin Kiin, Rice Market and Dim Sum. Henrik is also on a suicidal mission to take Thai food back to Bangkok and has rcently opened his latest restaurant at the Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok.When he’s off duty he takes his Dad for lunch at for Smørrebrød at Schoenneman

On the train in Copenhagen

• We hired bikes and took the train out to Rungsted to see the house of the famous Danish Writer, Karen Blixen. I had visited her house in the neighbourhood of Karen (named after her) in Nairobi built on the site of her coffee plantation. When her plantation failed in the 1930s she returned with no money to her childhood home at Runstedlund
• In one wing you enter the shop and cafe with an exhibition room upstairs where you can see the typewriter on which she wrote all her books. In the other wing are the private rooms which are furnished as they were in her life where you can walk through the rooms that she lived in, the dining room and drawing room  where she entertained guests and a chest given to her by her servant Farah.
• She was known for the beautiful wild flower arrangements from the garden where there is a cut flower garden. In her later life Karen Blixen became a celebrity and she travelled to America to speak on American Radio. At the back of the Karen Blixen House, through the garden is a bird sanctuary in the woodland where she is buried under a shady tree. Everyone I met seemed to have a story at Karen Blixen, she was such a strong character who inspired many people.

Karen Blixen House near Copenhagen

• We rode our bikes back to Klampenborg station along the coast road catching glimpses of the sea between the houses. At Klampenborg we stopped for a while on the beach to look at the apartment complex designed by the famous Danish designer Arne Jacobsen. It’s easy to travel with your bike on the train in Copenhagen – there’s a special carriage at each end of the train where you can put your bikes.

Pantomime Theatre in Tivoli Gardens

• In the late afternoon we visited the Tivoli Gardens where we strolled around looking at all the attractions and sat listening to the band in the bandstand. As you come in the gate you can see the Moorish Palace style building of the Nimb Hotel and there is a lake with boats and a pirate galleon. It’s said that Walt Disney visited the Tivoli and it gave him the idea for the Disney parks.
• Although there are many restaurants in Tivoli, we decided to eat in the neighbourhood of our hotel where there were many small bars and restaurants. We found a restaurant called Nice, which sold Moules and Chips which my husband fancied trying. We realised when we sat down that the restaurant didn’t take credit cards and we had 500 Krone which would normally not go very far in Copenhagen where eating out is expensive, but luckily it was enough for our meal.

Copenhagen Canal tour

• On the Sunday morning of our last day we decided to take a canal tour which is a good way to see a lot in just an hour. We took the one with DFDS boat that was included in our Copenhagen cards although there is a cheaper Netto tour boat a little further along the quay. The tour goes through the canal areas under the low bridges and then we moved into open water, passing the Royal Yacht and the Royal Library nicknamed the Black Diamond. We saw the Little Mermaid with crowds of people waiting to have their photo taken. The areas which were once the run down areas of Copenhagen are now the most sought after with expensive apartments with boats moored alongside and merchant houses looking like Amsterdam.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

More about Copenhagen

In search of the perfect Smørrebrød – in Copenhagen
Out of Africa and other Danish stories – At the Karen Blixen Museum
What can you buy for 500 Krone in Copenhagen?
A tour of the Georg Jensen workshops in Copenhagen
Modern Thai cooking with Danish style at Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen

Links to the places mentioned in Copenhagen

Ibsens Hotel
Illums Bolighus
Royal Copenhagen
Georg Jensen
Aamanns
Slotskaelderen hos Gitte Kik
Ved Stranden
Claus Meyer
Coffee Collective
Kiin Kiin
Restaurant Schønnemann
Karen Blixen museum in Copenhagen
Tivoli Gardens
DFDS canal tours

Resources for visiting Copenhagen

• The Visit Copenhagen website has information about places to visit in Copenhagen
• We used the Copenhagen Card that gives free entry to 65 museums and attractions as well as free public transport around the city

Thanks to Wonderful Copenhagen for sponsoring our weekend in Copenhagen.

Music credits: The music at the start of the podcast was Venus as a girl by Andy McKee on Musicalley.com and the Mozart music from Out of Africa was Clarinet Concerto Adagio played by Umeshshankar with other music recorded at the Tivoli gardens in Copenhagen.

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Copenhagen – around Copenhagen photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home
You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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In Podcast 16 in my travel podcast series, I visit Salzburg in Austria and the nearby Lake Wolfgang at the beginning of May with my family. We looked in at Hangar 7, a combination of motor and aeronautical museum and foodie destination, climbed up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress that dominates Salzburg, and tapped into the musical connections that the city has with Mozart and the Sound of Music. After a couple of days we drove east of Salzburg to Lake Wolfgang, stopping to see the trick fountains at Schloss Hellbrunn and stayed in the wonderful Hotel Im Weissen Rössl by the lake and took the steam train up the mountain for amazing views of Lake Wolfgang and the other lakes nearby.

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Formula 1 cars at Hangar 7 in Salzburg

Smart Food at Mayday Bar in Hangar 7 in Salzburg

Shownotes

Our first stop on arrival in Salzburg was Hangar 7, a domed hangar on the edge of Salzburg airfield, filled with vintage planes and Formula 1 cars, with an art exhibition in one area and a computer game console with a motor racing game.

We ate in the Mayday bar, which serves Smart Food, that is delicious, beautifully presented and nutritionally designed to do you good. You can choose between the Brain Menu, the Mood Menu or the Beauty Menu and in the podcast you’ll hear what I enjoyed from the Brainfood Menu.

The Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg

The next day we visited the Hohensalzburg Fortress, ascending on the funicular, with birds eye views over Salzburg and the countryside around. From the audioguide tour we learned how the wealth of the city was built on salt and how the Bishops of Salzburg who ruled here built up the fortress over the centuries. As we came down from the Fortress, the Mayday celebrations were in full swing and we found a beer tent with a brass band at the foot of the Fortress where we ate lunch of bratwurst and sauerkraut.

In the Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg

Across the river we wandered through the Mirabell gardens where the formal parterres were filled with a colourful display of tulips and pansies. The gardens are a favourite place for newly married couples to come and have their wedding photos taken, and as I’d visited the gardens as a child with my sisters, we recreated the photo of our family sitting on one of the stone unicorns in the Mirabell gardens.

Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg

Next we visited the museum at Mozart’s Birthplace set in the house where Mozart was born and his family lived. The family apartment is quite small with only one bedroom where Mozart was born, although the museum stretches over other rooms, and contains family portraits and information about Mozart’s life. The rooms were quite bare so you couldn’t get much sense of what the house was like when Mozart lived there.

Our last sightseeing stop was the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg’s Museum of Modern Art. Although the Museum is set on the top of a cliff, there’s a lift that takes you up from street level. There was a Giacometti exhibition and I enjoyed the large outdoor sculptures on the wooded terrace outside the main Museum building.

I’d been recommended by Austrian blogger @Travelwriticus to visit the Steinterrasse on the 7th floor of the Steinhotel. From here we got another great view over the town of Salzburg and we sat in the late afternoon sunshine enjoying a coffee, slice of Sacher Torte and an ice cream sundae.

Museum der Moderne in Salzburg

Later that evening we ate at the Sternbräu restaurant where I interviewed Restaurant Manager, Johannes Magoy about some of the traditional Austrian dishes served at Sternbräu. The Sternbräu restaurant is one of the largest restaurants in Austria, with 14 restaurant rooms, all serving traditional Austrian dishes. The restaurant used to be a brewery until it moved out of the city and it is thought that Mozart also came here to eat.

View from Steinterrasse in Salzburg

Johannes recommended traditional Austrian dishes such as Tafelspitz – boiled beef with horseradish sauce, Bierfleisch, a goulash made with beef cooked in a beer sauce. For desert he suggested you try the Salzburg Nockerl, a sweet souffle of eggs and sugar and Topfenknödel a dumpling filled with cream cheese. If you love cakes you should try the Sacher Torte invented at the Sacher Hotel in Salzburg as well as the Apfelstrudel, apple pie Austrian style. Sternbräu serves 7 different kinds of draught beer including the Stern beer that is brewed especially for the restaurant and the Weissbier or Wheat beer that some people say tastes like bananas.

Sternbräu in Salzburg

Sternbräu restaurant in Salzburg

Driving out of Salzburg we stopped at Schloss Hellbrunn, built by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Markus Sittikus in 1613. The park is free to enter and there is a country house to look around but Schloss Hellbrunn is best known for the trick foruntains. The archbishop was brought up in Italy and had visited Italian villas with similar fountains and he made the fountains as a diversion and amusement for his guests. The trick is that when turned on the fountains spout water from unexpected places and directions to soak the unwary passer by.

There is a large stone table where the jets of water spout out of the table and seats and a grotto where there is a fountain was topped with a golden crown that moved up and down on the jet of water to represent the rise and fall of power. We also passed by a water theatre with small models which turn around, all powered by the flow of water.

Gardens at Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg

The evening before we had watched a DVD of the Sound of Music which was filmed in and around the city and there are popular Sound of Music tours to visit the film locations. I watched the film after we had spent a day sightseeing and we had fun spotting the locations where we had been earlier in the day such as the Fortress that is the backdrop of many scenes in the film, the Mirabell gardens and the squares and fountains that feature in the film.

At Schloss Hellbrunn, we saw the pavilion that features in the film where Liesel sings I am 16 going on 17 and Captain Von Trapp proposes to Maria. It would be fun to do a Sound of Music tour but you can see many of the locations just by wandering around Salzburg.

Most of the things we saw in and around Salzburg were with the Salzburg Card that we purchased at our hotel. The card allows free or discounted entrance to most of the major sights and attractions in Salzburg as well as free public transport and is especially good value if you are there for 2-3 days. While in Salzburg we stayed in the comfortable Hotel Zur Post, a family run Gasthaus that is a short bus ride from the old centre of Salzburg.

Sound of Music pavilion at Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg

From Salzburg we drove to Lake Wolfgang where there was a Mayday celebration taking place in the town with bands playing and different stalls selling food and wine and beer.

We were lucky to stay at Im Weissen Rössl, one of the nicest hotels in St Wolfgang – well known as the setting of the popular opera also called Im Weissen Rössl, about a head waiter who falls in love with the widow who owns the hotel. There is a spa, indoor pool and lakeside terrace at the hotel with an outdoor pool and jacuzzi which we enjoyed swimming in. The lake water is known for being of drinking quality being very clean and clear.

Hotel Im Weissen Rössl at St Wolfgang in Austria

While in Wolfgangsee I interviewed Wolfgang Linsmayer who I met at the Mayday celebration and runs Gastof Burglstein, a 4 star hotel beside Wolfgangsee. He told me the story of how St Wolfgang build a church in the town, which has been a centre of pilgrimage over the centuries. The story goes that St Wolfgang threw his axe from the mountain and where the axe landed he decided to build the church. Saint Wolfgang made a bet with the Devil and as the Devil lost, he had to help build the church.

Wolfgang recommends that his guests enjoy swimming in the lake and there are plenty of walking and hiking trails in the mountains surrounding the lake, as well as a cycle path around the lake. Being in the centre of the Salzkamergut region there are many things to do such as visit the town of Salzburg, and see the nearby Salt mines at Hallstatt or the Ice caves at Werfen.

Wolfgang and Carolin Linsmayer in St Wolfgang

On our last day we took a trip on the Schafbergbahn, a steam powered cog wheel train that runs up the mountain from St Wolfgang. The train takes 45 minutes to get up to the top of the mountain with amazing views over the lakes below. At the top you can do some hiking or just have a coffee or drink in the cafe at the top before coming down again.

On our return to the hotel we had a final ride in a pedalo on the lake provided for guests at Hotel Im Weissen Rössl before heading for the airport and back to the UK.

Schafbergbahn train above Wolfgangsee

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Links to places mentioned in the Podcast

Hangar 7 – Free entry motor and aeronautical museum and stylish foodie destination
Hohensalzburg Fortress – dominating the town, this Fortress was built up over the centuries by the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg
The Museum of Mozart’s Birthplace
Museum der Moderne – Salzburg Museum of Modern Art
Steinterrasse – the open air terrace cafe on the 7th floor of Hotel Stein
Sternbräu restaurant – one of the largest restaurants in Austria with 14 different rooms and courtyards serving traditional Austrian dishes
Hotel Zur Post – a comfortable Gasthaus where we stayed while in Salzburg
Schloss Hellbrunn – a country house with lake and gardens that is known for its trick fountains
Im Weissen Rössl, (The White Horse Inn) – a small luxury hotel set on the shores of Wolfgangsee in Austria
Gastof Burglstein – the 4 star hotel by Wolfgangsee, run by Wolfgang Linsmayer who I interviewed at the Mayday festival
Schafbergbahn – the steam powered cog wheel railway up the mountain
Salt mines at Hallstatt – The wealth of Salzburg was founded on salt
Ice Caves at Werfen – the largest system of ice caves in the world
Salzburg Card – provides free or discounted entrance to all the major attractions in Salzburg and free public transport
Salzburg Tourist Information website
Wolfgangsee Tourist Information website

For more information about Holidays in Austria visit the Austrian Tourism Website and follow them on Twitter @Austria_UK

My thanks to the Austria National Tourism Office UK for sponsoring our trip to Salzburg and Wolfgangsee

Music Credits: The music at the start of the podcast was Venus as a girl by Andy McKee and the Mozart music was Piano Quartet in G 3rd Movement played by Linda Holzer  both on Musicalley.com, other band music was recorded at the May Day Festival in Wolfgangsee

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Salzburg – around Salzburg photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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In Podcast No 15 in my travel podcast series, you’ll hear about my week’s holiday in Hungary starting and ending in Budapest with a few days in between at Lake Balaton, a large freshwater lake that’s a popular Hungarian holiday destination. We spent four days in the laid back Hullám Hostel and visited the castles and palaces along the lake shore, took the ferry across the lake and floated around among the water lilies in the thermal spa at Hévíz. In Budapest we also enjoyed the Palatine Baths on Margaret Island, admired  the statues of the communist era at Memento park and spent our last day exploring the castle district and the Hungarian festival of folk arts that was being held over St Stephen’s day.

Heather at Szigliget castle near Lake Balaton, Hungary

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I hope you enjoy the slide show below that is designed to accompany the podcast

Our first couple of nights in Budapest were spent at Mandragora Hostel, set in a turn of the century apartment building with an internal courtyard, with Indian style decor. We found the Mandragora Hostel charming and comfortable, and the staff were extremely helpful, but you should be aware that the location is on a busy intersection, so some of the rooms facing the road can be noisy.

On our first morning we walked around Margaret Island, a large public park set on an island in the middle of the Danube and visited the Palatine Strand Baths there. The park is named after the daughter of one of the kings of Budapest who vowed that if the Mongol invaders would cease their attacks, his daughter would devote her life to God, and so she spent her life here in a convent.

The Palatine Baths is ideal for families with a large number of different outdoor pools with fountains and jets, some for swimming, others with warm thermal water and waterslides and a wave machine. We had lunch at the snack bar beside the baths and managed to over-order six plates of chicken livers!

Palatinus Strand on Margaret Island, Budapest

Souvenir stalls in the Central Market, Budapest

After we returned to the Margaret bridge at the end of the island, we took the No 2 public tram which is well known as a good sightseeing route as it runs along the Danube, past many of the major tourist sights such as the Hungarian Parliament building. We were pleased that we’d bought a 24 hour transport ticket which was valid for the metro, buses and trams and meant that we could hop on and off as many trams as we liked.

In the afternoon, we visited the Central market where we admired the beautifully presented stall selling vegetables and paprika products, and bought a few souvenirs on the upper floor, such as painted eggs which we planned to use as Christmas decorations. We tried some snacks from the food stalls that were also on the upper floor of the market and especially enjoyed the Lángos, that’s a cross between a pancake and a doughnut, with sweet and savoury toppings. Guy also enjoyed his dark malt Hungarian beer that was a little like Guinness.

The next day we drove down to Lake Balaton, stopping on the way at Memento park, where the statues of communist leaders and other sculptures from the Communist era are now on display. The only leader who’s stautue was destroyed was that of Stalin who was so hated after his death that his enormous statue was pulled down, leaving only his boots that are on a podium at the entrance to the park.

Laka Ballaton is a major holiday area, popular with Hungarians and Germans with many campsites, guest houses and holiday apartments around the lake, which is used for swimming, fishing and sailing. The lake side is very green and fringed with reeds, with sections of the shore that have been made into swimming areas with platforms and steps into the lake.

Révfülöp at Lake Balaton, Hungary

Hullam Hostel, Révfülöp by Lake Balaton

We loved our stay at Hullám Hostel, a stylish and friendly hostel, that attracts an international backpacking crowd, but is also very family friendly. At the Hullam Hostel we enjoyed the Hungarian goulash and other local specialities that they served up each night that was cooked in a cauldron over an open fire, served with bread on an all you can eat system. During our stay a juzz evening was held in the hostel to celebrate the Hungarian national holiday of St Stephen’s day and  you’ll here some of the music from the evening throughout the podcast.

We visited the nearby castle at Szigliget that was built in the 13th century, set on the top of a volcanic plug and clambered over the battlements to get amazing views over the lake and surrounding area. On the way back we drove through the wine growing area on the slopes of the volcanic plugs and stopped for lunch at Salföld, a pictureque traditional Hungarian Village, with Salföld Manor a restored show farm, and tried the sour cherry soup in the garden of the Pajta Galeria restaurant on the edge of the village.

Salföld, nr Lake Balaton, Hungary

Sour cherry soup at Pajta Galeria in Salföld, Hungary

On another day we visited the Festetics palace at Keszthely, built in baroque style in the 18th century with the air of a French Chateau, surrounded by formal gardens. We didn’t go into the palace as the queue was rather long but the formal gardens were free to enter, with fountains and colourful floral displays.

On coming out of the palace, we followed signs to the Marzipan Museum, which was more of a patisserie and tea shop, with a room at the back displaying examples of cake decoration and marzipan models, including one of the Keszthely Palace. We enjoyed our cake and coffee at the end of the visit in the small courtyard at the back, although I thought it was stretching the point to call the display room a museum.

Heather at Festetics palace at Keszthely, Hungary

Thermal Lake at Hévíz, Hungary

In the afternoon we visited the thermal lake at Hévíz which is naturally heated and where the mineral properties of the water is thought to be very healthy. The spa is like a modern leisure centre, built on to the lake where swimmers float around in the warm lake with rubber or foam rings. It was a great example of the Eastern European enthusiasm for Wellness although a somewhat bizarre experience for us Brits.

On our third day in the Lake Balaton area, we crossed the lake on the ferry over to Balatonboglar to the southern shore and found a busy holiday scene with a funfair in full swing to celebrate the St Stephen’s day holiday. After a couple of hours wandering around the packed resort, we returned to the more tranquil northern shore and decided that we definitely preferred the area we were staying.

We dove back to Budapest where we stayed in Art’Otel for our final night of the holiday, with a great view of the Danube. The hotel is modern at the front although the back half is made up of older townhouses, joined by a pretty courtyard. The feature of the hotel is that it features the work of a single artist, Donald Sultan and we took an art tour to learn more about his art works on display in different parts of the hotel. The hotel is perfectly positioned for the castle district on the Buda side of the river and from the Art’Otel you can climb up through the cobbled streets to see some of the well known Budapest sights.

Church in Budapest

View from the Fishermen's bastion in Budapest

On our final day in Budapest we walked up to the Mátyás church which is notable for the decorative painted walls and colourful tiles,  and also saw the Fisherman’s Bastion, an ornate colonade where you can get a great view over the Danube. You will often find gypsy bands playing traditional folk music there and there are also a couple of cafes on the ramparts with a great view, and no doubt prices that include a premium for the view.

From there we walked along towards the Hungarian Royal Palace and found the Festival of Folk arts in full swing. There were many stalls with beautiful embroidery, painted eggs,  pottery and wood carvings and we enjoyed watching the Hungarian folk dancing and listening to the traditional music.

We took the Castle funicular down from the area of the Hungarian Royal Palace to the river level, which was only a 5 minute ride and rather expensive considering the short distance, although if you’re on a budget it’s perfectly easy to walk the short distance. We concluded that although we loved the Laka Ballaton area for a family summer holiday, there was plenty more to explore in Budapest and we’d really need a return trip to do it justice.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Visitor information for Budapest and Lake Ballaton

On our holiday we stayed in the following accommodation;

Mandragora Boutique Hostel on the Pest side of Budapest
Compare prices and book Mandragora Boutique Hostel with Hotels Combined
Hullám Hostel in Révfülöp on the northern shore of Lake Ballaton
Book Hullam Hostel in Revfulop with Hostel Bookers
Art’Otel Budapest on the Buda side of the city, overlooking the Danube.
Compare prices and book Art’Otel Budapest with Hotels Combined

For more information on the other places we visited, please follow the links in this article to my other blog posts.

The jazz music used in the podcast was recorded on St Stephen’s day at Hullam Hostel. Gypsy violin music was recorded around the Fisherman’s Bastion and other folk music was recorded at the Festival of Folk Arts. The opening music was Venus as a Girl by Andy McGee on Musicalley.com

More articles from this trip to Hungary

Boot slapping, skirt twirling, Hungarian Folk Dancing – video
Memento Park – icons of Budapest’s Communist past
My Top 10 sights in Budapest
Thermal springs and rubber rings at Heviz in Hungary

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

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In Podcast 14 in my travel podcast series, I interview travel writer Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick about her recent trip to Papua New Guinea, a country that I was lucky enough to visit myself as a student some years ago. Beth talks about the sing sing at the annual Mount Hagen show where different tribes from all over the highlands gather to sing and dance, dressed in their colourful traditional costumes with painted faces, grass skirts and head-dresses made of shells and feathers. She also spent some time on the coast at the Tawali Dive Resort where she enjoyed meeting a local family for a meal of taro and sweet potatoes with coconut and took a guided trip around the capital city, Port Moresby. We talk about how tourism is developing in Papua New Guinea and some of the things you need to be aware of in order to have a safe and enjoyable trip.

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Beth Whitman with a Big Man's wife in Papua New Guinea

Show notes

Beth runs the Women’s travel website Wanderlust and Lipstick, offering inspiration and advice for women travellers, and is also the author of several books about women’s travel. Beth also leads guided Women’s Tours to countries such as India, Bhutan, Vietnam and Cambodia and is planning her first guided trip to Papua New Guinea for 2011.

Tribal man at Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea

Beth was drawn to Papua New Guinea by because she is interested in tribal societies and had in the past seen photos from the Highlands of people wearing their colourful traditional dress.

Erima tribal man at Mt Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea

We discuss the Mount Hagen show that takes place for 2 days every August at which local tribes gather to dress up in their traditional finery and put on a display of singing and dancing.

The large scale sing sings such as the Mount Hagen show started as a way for tribes to get together in a friendly way and to dampen down tribal tensions and warfare.

Beth flew to the Highlands for the show and she recommends going with a tour group as accommodation is expensive and it is not easy to get there by public transport and flights are also limited and need to be reserved well in advance.

Man with mirror getting ready for Mt Hagen Show

Beth was lucky to see a pre-show and have plenty of opportunity to photograph the tribal groups preparing and practicing their dancing. The show takes place over two days over a weekend although it is shorter on the Sunday

Beth visited the Tawali Dive Resort on the South East coast of Papua new Guinea near Alotau where there excellent diving and snorkeling opportunities on the reefs of this stretch of coast.

Beth also enjoyed a guided walk through the settlements along the coast and spent some time with a family for a traditionally cooked meal of taro and sweet potatoes steamed in banana leaves with shredded coconut. As a blond and pale skinned westerner, Beth was the centre of attention and enjoyed playing with the children there.

We discussed the food options, especially as Beth is a vegetarian and she found that in mainstream hotels the usual range of western style food was served and especially in the Highlands there were plenty of different fresh fruits and vegetables. On the coast you can also find excellent fresh fish.

However, as there is not an established tourist infrastructure, Beth advises making sure you keep some snacks with you, especially at the Mount Hagen show where you would not want to break off from such amazing displays, and food is not necessarily easily available.

Tawali Dive resort in Papua New Guinea

Beth took a guided tour on her last day in Port Moresby when she visited the University Book Store, the Botanical Gardens, the waterside stilt houses and a craft store where she bought some handicrafts, such as a wooden carvings. Beth was taken around by her guide, Andrew who has lived in Port Moresby for many years but is also a Huli wigman.

Parliament Haus in Port Moresby

We discuss the importance of pigs in the society of Papua New Guinea, as they are used to settle arguments between tribes, are used as a bride price and are generally a sign of wealth and status. Pigs and women are apparently the things that people are most likely to fight over.

Beth also hopes to visit the Sepik area on the northern side of PNG when she returns next year where there is a large river system with many remote communities where foreign visitors are a welcome novelty.

We talk about the local culture and the wildness of the people and country, where only a couple of generations ago it might be normal to be at war with the neighbouring tribe and with 850 different languages spoken by different tribal groups, how Pidgin English is a unifying force in modern times.

We talk about the dangers that you should be aware of, especially in large cities such as Port Moresby, where it is inadvisable to walk around without a guide or someone with local knowledge, in case you wander into dangerous areas or situations where you might be a target for theft.

For this reason, and because of the lack of tourism infrastructure, Beth advises visiting the country as part of an organised group or tour, rather than as an independent traveller, as many parts of your trip may need to be arranged in advance.

Beth found that despite the need to travel with a guide, she was able to connect with local peoples, through smiles and sign language and by showing postcards of her home town of Seattle.

Beth plans to return to Papua New Guinea in August 2011 with a small tour group to visit the Mount Hagen Show, Sepik River area and possibly the coastal area of Madang. If you are interested, you can contact Beth through her website at Wanderlust and Lipstick.

For more information of Beth’s visit to Papua New Guinea, and other travel articles you can visit her website Wanderlust and Lipstick where you can also find details of the Wanderlust and Lipstick Travel Guides and the Guided Tours that Beth organises. Do take a look at Beth’s photos of Papua New Guinea -  all photos used are copyright of Beth Whitman.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

More Papua Guinea articles by Beth Whitman

Papua New Guinea – Erima Tribe
Papua New Guinea – Is Port Moresby Safe or Dangerous?
Papua New Guinea – off the charts
Papua New Guinea – a recap

More Papua New Guinea articles from Heather

Friday Photo – meeting the elders in Papua New Guinea
Friday Photo – Back to school in Papua New Guinea

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Podcast 13 in my travel podcast series - I’m taking you on holiday with me to the Greek island of Zakynthos or Zante as it’s popularly known. You’ll hear about how we explored the island, enjoying Greek mezze in Zante town, watched some traditional Greek dancing, visiting ancient monasteries, wine tasting with our friends at Oenolpi winery and a boat trip around Laganas bay that’s known as a protected nesting site of the Caretta Caretta turtles. As my sister lives on Zakynthos, where she runs the Windmill Studios and Windmill Bay Hotel with her Greek husband, we visit her every year and this year we were there in May, which is an ideal time to visit.

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Turtle boat trip from Porto Roma, Zante, Greece

Shownotes

• You’ll hear the sounds of the birds chirping in the background as I describe the view from our room above Windmill Hotel owned by my sister and her husband, with the olive groves and fruit trees and view over the teracotta roofs and across the bay to Zante town.

• In Zante town I describe our lunch of typical Greek mezze, in a restaurant by the harbourside. We tried miniature sardines in batter, creamy tsatziki with herbs and spring onions, giant broad beans in fresh tomato sauce, courgettes baked in the oven with oil, stuffed vine leaf dolmades with rice and mint stuffing . After a walk to the end of the harbour to watch the boats coming and going we sat in a trendy cafe, sitting on rattan sofas for our frappé chilled coffee.

• You’ll hear the evening of Greek dancing at my sister’s  Windmill Hotel, where the traditional Greek dancers do their floor show and then get all the audience dancing around the swimming pool and my nephews and the barman did a show of their own.

Monastery near Volimes, Zante, Greece

Mezze lunch in Zante town

• I walked around the vegetable garden that my sister’s Greek mother-in-law maintains with fruit trees, especially oranges and lemons, a poly tunnel with tomatoes, as well as courgettes, onions, beans and garlic as well as keeping chickens and rabbits for eating and eggs. She makes delicious traditional dishes from the produce such as these Greek stuffed tomatoes.

• We visited Oenolpi winery to meet up with Christina-Maria and Timothy who we met last year and made a video of our wine tasting – Christina tells us why, although she grew up in Athens, she finds she’s even busier running a business on Zante, but why she feels she has a better quality of life surrounded by nature in the vineyards.

With Christina-Maria and Timothy at Oenolpi winery, Zante

With Yannis from Nature World Travel, Zante

• We spent a day on a catmaran trip faround Laganas bay, from Porto Roma booked with Nature World Travel who organise turtle-friendly trips to see the marine park in Laganas Bay. I talk to Yannis Vardakastanis about his work to conserve the turtles and other wildlife in Laganas bay and to Cathal, who works at the Earth Sea, Sky centre that Yannis runs at Gerakas, who tells us about the survey trips that he and the other the volunteers do every day to check on the turtle nests, and monitor their numbers which are sadly in decline.

• We drove to the rocky northern end of the island to see the old monastery of St Denis, the patron saint of the island and drove on to the outlook over the much photographed Navagio bay or Smuggler’s cove which features on many a postcard before finishing with a late lunch in a local taverna at Alykes

I hope you enjoy the slide show below that is designed to accompany the podcast

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Things that you might enjoy on Zante or Zakynthos

Stay at one of my sister’s hotels at Windmill Studios or Windmill Bay Hotel – don’t miss the BBQ and Greek night that’s held once a week, open to non-residents too.

Learn what to look for in a traditional Greek taverna

Take coffee and glika (sweet cakes) in the backstreets of Zante town, or on the main square.

Visit a beautifully furnished 18th century Greek mansion at Romas Mansion in Zante town

Admire the fishing boats, yachts of all sizes and cargo ships in Zante harbour and walk right along to the end of the sea wall

Visit the Venetian fort or castle overlooking Zante town

See the sun set with a drink on the terrace at Bohali by the Venetian fort, with a view over Zante town

Visit the winery and do some wine tasting at Oenolpi winery at Machairado

See pottery being made and hand painted at the Sigouros workshop at Machairado or browse in the shop in Zante town

Take a boat trip around Laganas bay with Nature World Travel and spot some turtles if you’re lucky

Visit the Earth, Sea, Sky wildlife conservation centre at Gerakas beach, have lunch in the taverna next door and relax for the afternoon on the unspoilt Gerakas beach

Spend a few hours at the waterpark at Sarakinado – great for older children and teenagers

Sun yourself on one of the many beautiful beaches on Zakynthos

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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In Podcast 12 in my travel podcast series, I talk about visiting the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany and also visiting the pilgrimage town of Altötting that’s known for the shrine of the Black Madonna where many miracles are believed to have taken place. You’ll hear about  our walk around Altötting with many stories and anecdotes about the religious sites there and our afternoon cycling to the swimming lake or badesee. I’ll tell you about the painted houses of Oberammergau and wood carvings, with useful information for attending the Passion Play and my impressions of the play performance with background music from the Passion Play.

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Jesus enters Jerusalem Oberammergau Passion Play

• We started our short visit to Bavaria in the town of Altötting, where we had a tour of the town with a local guide who really brought the place to life with his many stories and anecdotes.
• Altötting is best known as a pilgrimage town for the Shrine of the Black Madonna situated in the Chapel of Mercy on the main town square. The dark interior of the shrine and small dark statue of the Madonna and child are richly embellished with silver ornaments and the caskets containing the hearts of the Kings of Bavaria, as well as solid silver statues in front of the altar which have a story behind them.
• On our tour around Altötting we visited the church of Phillip and Jacob with the famous Tod von Eding clock with a statue of the grim reaper and the church of the patron saint of the town, St Conrad, and the water fountain outside his church where the water is thought to be holy as it flows over a relic of the saint’s finger bone.
• We heard about the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1980 and how he came to plant the linden tree outside the church.
• We also hired bikes at the local bike shop in Altötting and cycled along the path beside the River Inn as far as the badesee or swimming lake near Passau.

Pilate condemns Jesus Oberammergau Passion Play

• The passion play at Oberammergau dates back to 1632 when plague was sweeping through Germany and the villagers made a vow that if they were spared, they would perform a passion play every 10 years.
• The play is a community effort and to participate, all the actors and musicians must be either born in the village or have lived for 20 years in the village.
• We found that everything was very well organised in the village for visitors and you buy a package of play ticket, meals and accommodation, with free shuttle buses to take you around the area.
• We found that the town of Oberammergau itself is an attractive place to visit, and even in the years when the play is not being held is well worth a visit, with painted houses and is also known for it’s wood carving.

Way of the Cross Oberammergau Passion Play

• The play is performed in a large theatre which seats 4500 people and is open at one end with a view of the hills behind and although the audience are under cover, the cast and stage are open to the elements.
• I was impressed by the crowd scenes with around 200 cast members on stage at a time, including young children and animals, making a striking scene.
• The play starts with Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey and continues with scenes from his life which were broken up by orchestral and choral music and with ‘living tableaux’ scenes from the old testament.
• The first half of the play lasts for 2.5 hours starting at 2.30pm in the afternoon with a break of 3 hours for dinner before the start of the second half.
• The second half was more dramatic than the first with the trial of Jesus and his walk with the cross, culminating with the crucifixion scene. The darkness falling also added to the atmosphere and again the crowd scenes especially during the trial of Jesus really made you a sense of what it would have been like to be there.
• The play ends with the scene of Mary Magdalene in the garden discovering the cloth that Jesus’ body was wrapped in and Jesus comes forward and shows himself with the candles and torches really adding to the atmosphere.
• If you want to see the passion play, this year’s season will end in October 2010 and the next performance will be in 2020, as the play is only held every 10 years, so your best opportunity would be to check with specialist tour operators, whether they have any spaces left on organised tours.

Oberammergau Passion Play Theatre

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Visitor Resources for Altötting

While in Altötting we stayed in Hotel Zur Post, a pleasant and traditional family run hotel right on the main square.
Visit the Altötting official tourism website
Visit the Jerusalem Panorama in Altötting website
Information on the walking and cycling tours around Altötting

Visitor Resources for Oberammergau

Visit the Official Oberammergau Passion Play Passionsspiele website
Visit the Oberammergau official tourism website
We took our tour to Oberammergau with Pax Travel who organise holidays to many other pilgrimage destinations.
Looking for a hotel in Oberammergau? Compare prices and book at Hotels Combined

Photo Credits: Passionplay photos are copyright of the Oberammergau Passionplay website and photo of theatre interior by Heather Cowper

More articles about Oberammergau and Altötting

A pilgrimage to see the Black Madonna at Altötting in Germany
Tips for seeing the Oberammergau Passion Play
Painted houses and wood carving at Oberammergau – in Bavaria, Germany

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Germany – Oberammergau in Bavaria photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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In Podcast 11 in my travel podcast series, I talk to Craig and Linda from Indie Travel Podcast about their 4 months travelling with friends in South America, visiting Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay. They pick out the highlights of their trip, and give some advice on travelling by bus, how to avoid scams and pickpockets and how they enjoyed staying with locals on this trip.

Craig and Linda on the Salt Flat Tour

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Chile

• Craig and Linda flew into Santiago because of the cheap flights from Auckland in New Zealand. The city is surrounded by mountains and can be bathed in smog although Craig & Linda enjoyed their time there with museums and great street food.
• Patagonia in southern Chile has amazing scenery although Craig & Linda didn’t visit, as it is one of the most expensive regions to visit in South America and they didn’t have enough time.
• The island of Chiloé is a great place to relax and slow down, with a Pacific Island feel with food being cooked in underground ovens, and a place you can spot seals and dolphins.
• In northern Chile, the area around San Pedro de Atacama is beautiful although the town itself is a tourist trap. You can use San Pedro de Atacama as a base for trips into the surrounding area but as an alternative you can approach from the north from Uyunay in Bolivia. This region is known for its natural beauty with mountains and salt flats.
• Craig and Linda enjoyed an astronomy tour with a Frenchman who has set up telescopes in his house to view the very clear night skies in this area that has very little light pollution.
• Linda and a friend spent a weekend in Valparaiso in Chile with plenty of street art, funiculars and brightly coloured houses where the local government had commissioned open air murals around the town. They also visited Viña del Mar, the coastal resort of the region.
• Unfortunately, Chile is one of the most expensive countries in South America for food and accommodation, along with Uruguay and Argentina.

Salt flats in Bolivia

Peru

• Craig and Linda travelled by overnight bus from Santiago to Antofagasta and up to Lima and spent 7 weeks in Peru, 3 of which were in Cusco where they attended a local language school to learn Spanish.
• Cusco is not representative of Peru as a whole as it is very touristy, being the main jumping off point for trips to Machu Picchu. We discuss the pros and cons of visiting Machu Pichu which is a major site but also expensive and crowded by comparison to other sites that receive far less visitors.
• From Cusco they enjoyed a trek through the Sacred Valley, visiting local villages that were well off the tourist trail.
• Craig and Linda didn’t visit Machu Picchu preferring to spend time at some other lesser known pre-Incan sites near Trujillo such as Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna.
• They especially enjoyed their time in the northern cities of Trujillo, Chachapoyas and Chiclayo and wish that they’d spent more time there than in Cusco.

Salt hotel in Bolivia

Bolivia

• From Peru Craig and Linda travelled to the shores of Lake Titicaca, stayed at Cococabana and did some walking on Isla de Sol, a large island in the lake.
• They visited the Uros floating islands made from reeds that were constructed as a refuge for the local people but have now become a major draw for tourists and brought more prosperity for the locals.
• They had mixed feelings about La Paz which Linda loved as they stayed with locals and she enjoyed the street-food. Craig found the city dirty and felt unsafe as they were targeted with 3 pick-pocket attempts while they were there.
• From Uyuni in Bolivia Craig and Linda visited the salt flats for a 3 day 4 wheel drive tour staying in a salt hotel and ending at San Pedro de Atacama. They loved the amazing play with perspective, coral islands covered with cactus and the heat haze with the mountains in the distance.

Uros floating islands in Peru

Argentina and Uruguay

• Craig and Linda visited the Iguazu falls from both the Argentinian side which they found more developed but also more crowded and from the Brazilian side which had less visitors. The car to take them to the falls was arranged through their hostel and was only a little more expensive and more convenient than taking public transport.
• From Puerto Iguazu they took the bus to Montevideo in Uruguay where they stayed with a friend who took them to his grandmother’s Lake House. This was close to the popular beach and surfing resort of Punte del Este which was reputed to have the best surfing on Uruguay’s east coast.
• They also enjoyed Montevideo which was a relaxing place with plenty of culture and galleries, a contrast to the buzzing atmosphere of Buenos Aries. They also spent some time in in the town of Colonia in Uruguay.
• In Argentina Craig and Linda did some wine tasting in the Mendoza and la Plata regions but found it difficult to take part in the wine tasting unless you were part of a tour as the wineries would only open their cheapest wines to try.

Igauzu Falls, Brazil

Tips for travelling by bus in South America

• As they were travelling on a budget, Craig & Linda used long distance buses to get around, normally travelling overnight, despite the fact that Linda finds it difficult to sleep on buses.
• The standard of the buses were best in Chile and Argentina and in Peru there was also a wide range of standards with some very high quality buses.
• At best these buses can be similar in style to air travel with comfortable, reclining seats, airline style meals and drinks and even sometimes on board wifi.
• Depending on the bus, you can book semi-cama seats that recline 45-60 degrees, Cama with 160 degree reclining, and even full cama that lie flat.
• Craig and Linda suggest that you research your options and book with an bus operator that has a good reputation, even if it costs a little more.
• Always keep your valuables with you on the bus and keep hold of any day-packs , especially when sleeping.
• You may like a seat at the front of the bus that has more leg-room and you should also check the position of the toilet before selecting a seat to avoid unwelcome smells.

Couchurfingand meeting locals

• On this trip Craig and Linda enjoyed staying with locals through Couchsurfing.org – even though their options were more limited as they were travelling in a group.
• They combined this with staying in hostels which also gave them a break from speaking Spanish and an opportunity to catch up on the work for their Indie Travel Podcast site, as they also earn a living through the website.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Other Indie Travel Podcasts on South America

147 How to catch a bus in Chile and Peru
154 South American travel: Peru and Bolivia
155 – South American Travel: Chile, Argenina and Uruguay

Photo Credits: All photos by Craig and Linda and can be seen on their Mars-Hill Flickr site

More South American stories to enjoy

Relax and enjoy the cool lifestyle of Bahia in Brazil
Historic cities, natural beauty and a warm welcome in Colombia
03 Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest – Podcast Episode 3

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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In my travel podcast series,  I have a podcast interview with Dixe Wills, author of the Tiny Campsites guide, we discuss the benefits of slow travel and the things that make the campsites in this guide so special. You can read my review of the Tiny Campsite guide and hear Dixe’s tips and resources for those who want to travel in an environmentally friendly way. Like the Tiny Campsites Guide, this interview is guaranteed to leave you wanting to pack your tent and get out to enjoy these quirky and characterful campsites, handpicked by Dixe and all under one acre in size.

To download the Tiny Campsites and eco-travel podcast, right click here [mp3] 43 mins

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Piel Island from Tiny Campsite

I met Dixe when we were both camping at Trericket Mill and Dixe was cycling around Wales to research his Tiny Campsites guide. We discuss how he got into travel writing when he was wondering how to pay the mortgage and on the spur of the moment wrote to the Guardian Newspaper travel editor to pitch an article on Wild Camping. However Dixe suggests that aspiring travel writers should take a reality check, as most freelancers barely make a living from travel writing and he claims to live on the LILO principle – Low Income,Low Outgoings.

We discuss how Dixe decided not to travel by plane any more after he had lived in Guatemala and after many transatlantic flights decided that the impact on the environment was too great – now he travels by train, public transport, on foot or by bike. Dixe finds that travelling slowly enhances his experience of travel as he spots different places from the train he might like to visit in the future and when walking or cycling appreciates the small details around him as well as connecting with local people and culture. He quotes the Arab saying that your soul only travels at the speed of a camel, which is why travelling too fast leaves you disorientated and gives you jet lag.

Resources

Dixe recommends the following resources to plan his travel by train and other public transport;

• Seat61.com – a website to help you plan train travel worldwide, named after the founder’s favourite seat on the Eurostar train. The site offers advice and information on planning different routes, train operators and the cheapest way to book your ticket.
• Transportdirect.info – for planning travel by public transport in the UK giving door to door information on what transport to use to get to your destination.
• Tourism websites – Dixe recommends using local or regional tourism websites for the destinations you want to visit as they often give useful information on how to get there.

Middle Ninfa from Tiny Campsite

Favourite places

We discuss favourite places that Dixe has visited that are off the beaten track but can be reached by public transport and he recommends;

• Herefordshire and Shropshire in England which have beautiful countryside for walking such as the Long Mynd Hills but unknown as tourist destinations – mainly because they have very few motorways running through them.
• The Cévennes in France is a large area of National Park with a small population as well as beautiful old stone villages – it was visited by Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote a book called Travels with a Donkey through the Cévennes. Dixe travelled to the Cévennes by taking the Eurostar from London to Paris and then the train on to the Cévennes region.
• West Sweden – Dixe will soon be visiting the lake district of West Sweden called Dalsland , which he plans to reach via Denmark on a combination of ferries and sleeper trains.

Dixe told me how he came to write the Tiny Campsites book when was cycling across Devon looking for a campsite to stay the night and could only find a large commercial site, but luckily spotted a small camping sign that led him to a small campsite on a farm. He looked for a guide to help him find other similar tiny campsites and realised that, as there wasn’t anything available, he would have to write his own. Over the years he had visited or had recommendations for many delightful tiny campsites and in order to research the book he cycled all over the UK to visit all 75 campsites in the book and more to select the best ones to include.

Park Farm from Tiny Campsite

Park Farmfrom Tiny Campsite

Although there are a wide range of Tiny campsites from farms to back gardens to pubs and museum gardens, the thing that unifies them all is the charm, character and beautiful locations or just an indefinable something that makes you want to go and camp there, as Dixe put it ”a little bit of heaven”. Although I am slightly put off camping by the changeable British weather, Dixe has found that crazy weather can be found anywhere and he recommends June and September as beautiful times to camp, with more settled weather than the July and August.

We discuss the trend towards more unusual or luxurious camping experiences from yurts, to campsites like Broad Meadow House in Cornwall where in addition to the normal camping area, there are a couple of permanent tents with beds and B & B facilities where a delicious breakfast can be delivered to your tent in the morning.

I asked Dixe for some favourite campsites from the book and his suggestions were;

• Great for families – Park Farm in Kildale, with fantastic views and walking and a camping barn on the same site where you can dry off if the weather is unkind.
• Fantastic Views – Middle Ninfa Farm with only 4 pitches, two of them beside a croquet lawn and amazing views over the Usk valley
• Coastal adventure – Piel Island in Cumbria – which can be reached by ferry or by walking at low tide with a ruined castle to explore and a pub where the landlord is known as the ‘King of Piel Island’

You can find more information about the Tiny Campsites guide at www.tinycampsites.co.uk and the book is widely available priced at £10.95 in your local bookshop or from the internet book sellers.

By the way, I featured Dixe and the Tiny Campsite guide because I love his travel philosophy and writing and not because of any financial inducement although I was previously given a copy of the guide to give away in my review.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Other camping articles to enjoy

Camping in sunshine and showers – on the Gower in Wales
Tiny Campsites guide of Great Britain by Dixe Wills – review and giveaway
Camping at Cala Gonone – in Sardinia

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Podcast 09 in my travel podcast series – In this podcast I talk to my friend Wendy about her recent visit to Ghana to work with the Atiamah Charitable trust.  The charity is based in Bristol, England where Wendy lives and was started by a Bristol student doing voluntary work when she came across Atiamah, a 4 year old aids orphan whose parents had died. On her return to England she was determined to do something to help the people of this community in Ghana and started the charity named after this little girl.

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Wendy has her hair braided in Wiaga, Ghana

The Atiamah Charitable Trust started working with aids sufferers in North West Ghana but now supports a number of community projects for agriculture, health and education. Wendy first visited the village of Wiaga in 2008 with her teenage son and on this second visit was going to see how some of the projects were developing and to buy livestock and equipment for the agricultural project.

Boys on donkeys in Wiaga, Ghana

Schoolchildren in Wiaga, Ghana

On this trip, Wendy travelled with another volunteer, flying into Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso which was closer to the area of northern Ghana than flying into the capital of Ghanan, Accra, and travelled by road to Wiaga where she stayed for a couple of weeks.

Boy with goat in Wiaga, Ghana

Village houses in Wiaga, Ghana

I hope you enjoy the slideshow below which is designed to accompany the podcast

Shownotes

In the podcast we talk about;

• The moving story of how the charity was founded and named after a 4 year old Aids orphan, Atiamah.
• Wendy’s journey from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and her first impressions of Ghana and the people she met there.
• The different projects that the Atiamah Charitable Trust was supporting such a providing donkeys, goats and carts for poorer families within the community, books and resources for a library, sports equipment for local schools.
• The work Wendy was able to do as a medical doctor, setting up simple disease prevention projects such as the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure.
• The work being done with womens’ groups who are responsible for childcare, education and agricultural work and future projects such as soap making with shea nut oil.
• Why Wendy wanted to get involved in this project as a doctor, to practice some of her basic medical training and how she felt she could personally make a difference.
• The rewards from a personal perspective of doing voluntary work and getting involved in small overseas charities like the Atiamah Charitable Trust
• For more information about the Atiamah trust, visit their website at www.atiamah.com
• Music on the podcast was Venus as a Girl by Andy McGee on Musicalley.com
• You can find another interesting podcast interview about volunteer work and travelling in Ghana on The Amateur Traveler from Lillie Marshall of AroundtheworldL.com
• All photos are by Wendy Harding and can be viewed on my Flickr site here

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Podcast Episode 8 in my travel podcast series takes us to the coastal city of Valencia, Spain that I visited with my family in April 2008. Hear me talking to my local Valencian friend, Angel, about the best things to enjoy as a visitor to Valencia. You can hear the dancing and folk music of Valencia, about the pyrotechnical Fallas festival that takes place in March, and about the other places to go such as the beach, Turia Gardens and Mercado Central.

Link to audio file

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Dancers in the Plaza de la Virgin

I contacted Angel through the travel networking website, Hospitality club, and he spent the day with my family, cycling with us through the Turia Gardens and to the beach where we relaxed for a while before returning the same way.

Our Hospitality Club friend from Valencia, Angel

I hope you also enjoy the slideshow below with my photos from Valencia, that you can watch while listening to the podcast.

Shownotes for Valencia in the Spring

In the podcast we covered the following;

• Meeting other travellers through the travel networking website Hospitality Club, either for accommodation, to meet for a drink or a meal or just for tips on things to see.
• The Fallas Festival that takes place in March, when different neighbourhoods of the city club together to create wooden and paper sculptures, set off fireworks and bangers, eat Paella,  parade through the streets and then set alight the sculpture at the end. The best sculptures from each year’s festival are preserved in the Fallas museum that you can visit at any time of year.
• The Mercado Central in the centre of Valencia where you can look at all the different food stalls and buy a picnic – don’t miss the fish section at the back and you can also try some tapas at the small bar in the Mercado.
• The Turia River Park where we spent the day cycling with Angel. The park was created from the bed of the river that used to run through the city but was diverted in the 50s due to flooding. You can hire bikes from several different bike shops in the centre and then ride along as far as the port and the beach.
• Going to the city beach which is a favourite place for Valencians to go at the weekend and is the best place to eat seafood or Paella in the restaurants along the boardwalk - you can cycle as we did or take the tram from the centre.
• Walking around the centre at night, especially the area around the Cathedral and the Plaza de la Virgin that is close behind it – you’ll also find plenty of nightlife in the Bario Carmen
• Visiting the modern leisure complex of the Cuidad de las Artes Y Las Ciencias or City of Arts and Sciences, where you’ll find museums, cinemas and concert halls as well as the Aquarium or Oceanographic where our kids enjoyed the Dolphin show when we were there.
• Best time to visit is spring and early summer or autumn – you’ll probably find it too hot in July and August when all the Valencians head for the coast and the beach.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Looking for a hotel in Valencia? Compare prices and book through Hotels Combined

Other Valencia Podcasts

Listen to my podcast interview about our trip to Valencia at the Amateur Traveler Podcast

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Valencia – cycling in the Turia Gardens photoset

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In Episode 7 in my travel podcast series, you”ll find an interview with travel writer and blogger, Lara Dunston who’s embarking on a year long project together with her husband, photographer Terry Carter, which they’re calling Grantourismo. They’ll be travelling the world, staying in different apartments around the world sponsored by Home-Away holiday rentals in the UK and you’ll also hear from Sarah Chambers of Home Away on why the company decided to take this approach to promoting their holiday properties.

Link to audio file

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Shownotes

In the podcast we talked about;

• How Lara first got started in travel writing, working in public relations, film-making and media studies which developed into travel writing, first on a part time and later on a full time basis.
• The realities of being a travel writer - from the fun bits such as eating out in great restaurants, as well as the more mundane bits such as updating guidebook information.
• How Lara and Terry work together as a husband and wife as well as a working partnership.
• How Lara and Terry deal with the practicalities of moving all their belongings, laptops and camera equipment around the world and how they persuade airlines to waive their excess baggage charges.
• The advice Lara has for those who’d like to adopt their lifestyle as a travel writer or location independent worker.
• How Lara and Terry came up with the idea of taking a contemporary Grand Tour for a year, getting into the culture of each place and travelling more slowly and with an authentic flavour.
• What HomeAway Holiday-Rentals can offer travellers looking for holiday apartments, and how they wanted to promote the benefits of extra space and privacy and staying in local neighbourhoods.
• How Home Away wanted to tap into consumers looking for travel information online and to provide them with something that would inspire them to a different way of travelling.
• The Grantoutismo itinerary that includes Marrakesh, Spain, Paris, Montenegro, Puglia, Sardinia, Venice, Asia, Indonesia, New York, Austin Texas, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, South America, Kenya and back to Europe in January 2011.
• The trends that Lara sees in travel writing and blogging, with the recession hitting traditional media, leading to travel writers exploring new ways of working on line.
• Sarah Chamber’s view that more travel companies are promoting themselves through inspirational content on-line and will be experimenting with approaches like the Grantourismo project.
• You can follow Lara and Terry’s progress at Grantourismo and on Twitter @gran_tourismo
• You can find holiday apartments like those Lara and Terry are staying in at HomeAway Holiday-Rentals
• To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ London – around London photoset

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In Podcast Episode 6 in my travel podcast series, I’m in London for a winter weekend meeting up with friends and staying at the fabulous Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park Hotel in Knightsbridge. As I travelled with my teenage daughter you’ll hear some recommendations from friends who live in London on the things that children will enjoy, as well as suggestions from the Concierge at the Mandarin Oriental on London attractions that his guests enjoy close to the hotel.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hyde Park in London

I’ll be telling you about our Asian style dinner at the Park restaurant, the luxurious suite in which we stayed overlooking the park and our experiences shopping with teenagers in London. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe to my podcast series on I-tunes to be updated with new podcasts. If you are a subscriber to the blog you’ll already receive podcast updates as well as all my other articles.

Link to audio file

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If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Dinner in the Park Restaurant

Orangery at Kensington Palace

Show Notes

In the podcast today you’ll hear;

• Recommendations from Daisy (aged 10) and Lola (aged who live in London on things that children will enjoy. They love the Tate Modern gallery , The Sea-life Aquarium on the South Bank , The Science Museum in South Kensington, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Hyde Park and seeing shows like Sister Act, War Horse, Hairspray, Billy Elliott and Mary Poppins.
• About our Prince of Wales suite in the Mandarin Oriental which was extremely luxurious in classical English style, overlooking Hyde Park.
• Shopping for teenagers in the huge fashion store, Top Shop, at Oxford Circus.
• Admiring the hampers at the food emporium Fortnum and Masons, with a hamper for every occasion from a gift of English produce to Graduation hampers to tuck boxes to send to your children at boarding school.
• Eating in the Park Restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where they serve top class Asian food and I ate Crab Cakes and Thai Green Curry and finished with African Amber tea.
• A chat with Senior Concierge, Mike Selcuk at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel, about the things that he recommends for his international guests from the Middle East, US and the UK. He suggests the following activities;
• In Hyde Park behind the hotel you can find many activities for families, such as boating on the Serpentine lake, horseriding, feeding the ducks and the Princess Diana Memorial Playground and the Memorial Fountain.
• Across the park you’ll find Kensington Palace where some of Princess Diana’s dresses are on display and you can take tea in the Orangery.
• For shopping there’s Harrods and Harvey Nichols and further on are the three museums of South Kensington, as well as the Royal Albert Hall where you can have a tour or attend a concert.
• In the other direction is Buckingham Palace which is open in the summer when the Queen is on holiday, and where the Changing of the Guards takes place daily in summer.
• Families may enjoy the London Eye, the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London and Madame Tussauds and taking the hop on hop off bus around the sights of London.
• There is a Duck Tour which is a combination of bus and boat that goes on the river that you can take by the river near Waterloo Station and the Cabinet War rooms used by Winston Churchill in the war.
• Miko also often makes reservations for his quests to see popular shows like Oliver, Lion King, Mama Mia, Billy Elliot and the new show Legally Blonde as well as getting reservations to the top London restaurants.
• The music on the podcast today was Venus as a girl by Andy McKee and Travelogue by George Wood on MusicAlley.com
• I received a complimentary stay at the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park Hotel, in order to write an article for Kiwi Collection.com - read my review of the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London here.

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Compare prices and book hotels in London through Hotels Combined

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ London – hotels photoset

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In Podcast Episode 5 in my travel podcast series, I’m taking you to Lisbon where I took a weekend break in November with my husband. In the podcast you’ll hear about the gorgeous boutique hotel where we stayed, our sightseeing at the Monastery of Jerónimos and Castelo de Sao Jorge, the delicious local specialities we tried, the mournful Fado music we heard and our chat with Sergio, a local designer who gave us an insider’s view of Lisbon. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe to my podcast series on I-tunes to be updated with new podcasts (if you are a subscriber to the blog you’ll also receive podcast updates as well as all my other articles)

To download the Weekend in Lisbon podcast, right click here 39 min [mp3]

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Meeting Marco and Sergio in Lisbon through Hospitality Club

I hope you also enjoy the slideshow which is designed to accompany the Podcast;

Shownotes

In the podcast you’ll hear about the weekend we spent in Lisbon in late November 2009 including;

• How we easily and cheaply got from the airport into the city centre using the aerobus service
• A description of the welcoming boutique hotel Heritage Av. Liberdade, where we stayed for 2 nights
• The dinner we ate at Casa do Alentejo a restaurant set in a Moorish Mansion that serves as a Cultural Centre for the Alentejo Region of Portugal
• Our breakfast at the hotel of local specialities like Pasteis de Nata, air-dried ham and local cheese with a slice of quince preserve, with exotic teas served from an old apothecary’s counter
• Why you should wear your most comfortable shoes when visiting Lisbon and the Elevadors that will help save your aching legs
• Our visit to the Monastery of Jeronimus and the nearby Monument to the Discoveries commemorating those who sailed from Lisbon to the Indies and Africa
• The delicious custard tarts called Pasteis de Belem that you can buy at the famous cake shop near the Monastery
• The Catelo de Sao Jorge perched on the top of the hill with a view over the roofs of Lisbon and the River Tegus, although as it was raining we couldn’t see as much of the view as we would have liked!
• Meeting local designer Sergio and his partner Marco for tea in their appartment near the castle and their recommendations on what to see in and around Lisbon.
• Our evening out in the Fado restaurant where we enjoyed the music but found the meal a little disappointing and had to have a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on the way home to make up for it.
• Our Sunday morning visit to the church of Sao Domingo where the walls are still blackened from a fire in the 1950s in contrast to some of the other highly decorated churches you find in Lisbon
• You can subscribe to all my podcasts on I-tunes
• The signature music was Venus as a Girl by Andy McKee on MusicAlley.com
• All other music was recorded in Lisbon

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Other recent Podcasts

04 Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets
03 Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest
02 My Istria Travel Diary
01 Family Travel with Hospitality Club

Looking for a hotel in Lisbon? Compare prices and book through Hotels Combined

Lisbon Resources

• Visit Lisboa – Official Tourism Website
• Go Lisbon Blog – I found lots of useful articles on things to do in Lisbon
• On this trip we stayed at the gorgeous luxury boutique Hotel Heritage Av. Liberdade, which was ideally located for sightseeing
• On this trip I used the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Top 10 travel guide to Lisbon which is a pocket sized guide that’s ideal for sightseeing if you’re there for a short time – read my review here
• Podcast – Hostelworld Podcast – Only in Lisbon
• Podcast – Guardian Unlimited Podcast – Lisbon

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Lisbon photoset

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In my Podcast 04 in my travel podcast series, I’m taking you to the Christmas Markets in Munich getting into the festive spirit, with snow on the ground, German carol singers and the smell of gingerbread in the air. You’ll hear about my visit to the Residenz Palace, the market we found in it’s courtyards, the ethnic, alternative Tollwood Winter Festival and all the Bavarian food and drinking specialities we tried while we were there.

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If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

The Christmas Market in the Residenz Courtyard in Munich

This was a weekend visit that I took with my parents and our visit was ideal to get us into the Christmas spirit, but all too short to really explore the city of Munich. I’d love to return in the summer when the air won’t be so chilly and I could see something of the parks and lakes near Munich and the alpine scenery of Bavaria. I hope you enjoy the slideshow of photos from the trip which is designed to accompany the podcast.

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In my travel podcast series, I have a podcast interview about the rainforests of Ecuador you’ll hear how to enjoy how to enjoy your rainforest experience, as well as the many other diverse areas of of the country, the Avenue of the Volcanoes, the Indian markets, and the beaches of Manabi province where you can see migrating whales.

To download Ecuador and the rainforest podcast, right click here 30 min [mp3]

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive
 

Heather Cowper and Luis Hernandez at the World Travel Market

While I was at the World Travel Market recently, I met up with my friend from Ecuador, Luis Hernandez who was part of the Ecuador country stand, promoting his travel business and Cuyabeno Lodge. When I visited Ecuador with two friends two years ago, we spent an amazing week travelling by canoe down the Rio Bobonaza and stopping at the Rainforest Community at Sarayaku for a few days, all of which was organised by Luis and he also accompanied us.

Luis Hernandez with Sr Guarlingez at Sarayaku

Rainforest Community at Sarayaku in Ecuador

Luckily Luis had made the journey before, so he knew the local communities and also had military connections which smoothed our journey through the lower river military zone near Peru considerably. Luis had also been elected as a member of the Ecuadorian Congress, just before our trip and so he was the man the rainforest communities wanted to meet, to put across their point of view and speak in the schools to their students.

I thought Luis with both his military jungle experience and knowledge as a tour operator and guide would be a great person to talk to about the best of Ecuador. I hope you enjoy the interview.

Show notes

In this interview with Luis Hernandez we discussed;

• The Cuyabeno Lodge in Ecuador; where it is, how you get there, the type of accommodation and what you would do while you are there
• The steps the Cuyabeno lodge take to be eco-friendly, such as using solar energy, using biodegradable products and recycling waste, as well as employing local people or transport by canoe and guides.
• The variety of Flora and Fauna you can find at Cuyabeno Reserve and lagoon, such as birds, plants, flowers, river turtles, cayman and even pink dolphins
• How to deal with a snake, cayman or anaconda if you should meet one in the forest
• The equipment that you might need in order to be comfortable in the jungle, such as wellington boots, hat, suncream, insect repellant, torch and what health advice Luis gives to his visitors.
• The problems in Ecuador with oil exploration and logging and how supporting tourism in the rainforest areas will put money into the local economy and prevent the destruction of the rainforest.
• Other areas of Ecuador to visit, such as the mountainous Andean area of the Avenue of the Volcanoes where you can hike and walk on the volcanoes of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo staying in old haciendas.
• The Indian markets of Otavalo on Saturdays and Saquisili on Thursdays
• On the coastal area, Luiz recommends the south of Manabi province which has the Machalilla national park and the beach of  Canoa in the north and Isla de las Plata where you can see migrating whales in July and August.
• The political situation in Ecuador which is generally calm and stable – although the factions within the government may dispute among themselves, the situation for tourists is calm. The government is also creating a good network of roads and infrastructure, which makes it easy for visitors to get around.
• The music on the podcast was Venus as a Girl by Andy McGee on Musicalley.com

Resources

Cuyabeno Lodge and Neotropic Turis – Travel company in Ecuador the organises tours throughout Ecuador as well as to Cuyabeno Lodge
Sarayaku Rainforest Community that we visited on my trip to Ecuador
Ecuador Tourism website
See all my Ecuador Photos on Flickr
Read all my Ecuador articles
To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

Read Related Posts
A Politician in the Rainforest
Internet in the Rainforest in Sarayaku in Ecuador
A Wika tatoo in Ecuador

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Ecuador – river journey photoset

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In my Podcast Edisode 2 in my travel podcast series, I’m taking you to Istria in Croatia with an audio diary of the four days I spent there with my family. You’ll hear about the Plava Laguna resort where we stayed, the cycling, swimming and sailing that’s available in this area as well as the fortified medieval hill towns and old coastal towns of Porec and Rovinj which we explored and the local specialities such as truffles and seafood.

To download Istria Travel Diary podcast, right click here 19 min [mp3]

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Basilic of Eurphrasius in Porec, Croatia

If you enjoy this podcast, do take a look at my other articles, photos and videos for more detail of the things we saw. There’s so much to enjoy in Istria and as a self-contained region it seems to have something for everything, whether it’s swimming, sport, relaxation, heritage or the gourmet experience. I hope you also enjoy the slide show below that’s designed to accompany the podcast and covers the places I talk about in the podcast.

Show notes

Istria Tourism website
Istria Gourmet website
Istria Bike website
All my photos of Istria on Flickr
Read all my Istria articles
Video of Plava Laguna Resort
To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

- Music on this podcast was Venus as a girl by Andy Mckee on Music Alley
- I was hosted on this 4 day trip by the Istrian Tourist board to blog about the things I saw in Istria

Compare prices and book hotels in Porec through Hotels Combined

Other articles about Istria

Cycling by the sea in Istria
On the hunt for the Istrian truffle in Croatia
A room with a view – staying at Plava Laguna Resort in Istria

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Croatia – Istria Porec photoset

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In my travel podcast series, I hope you enjoy my first podcast about Family Travel with Hospitality Club. In this podcast, I interview my Serbian guests, Irena and her daughter Andrijana, from Serbia, about their experiences travelling in England and staying with hosts they met through Hospitality Club.

Link to audio file

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out all my other Travel Podcasts in my Podcast Archive

Heather with Hospitality club guests, Irena and Andijana from Serbia

I met my guests through the social networking website, Hospitality Club, which connects travellers who can offer each other free accommodation, help and advice when travelling. What was particularly interesting was that Irena had no qualms about travelling with her daughter in England, staying in the homes of strangers who she had met through Hospitality Club. They’d both had a very positive experience, which enabled them to travel cheaply but also enhanced their experience by making friends with locals who could show them a side of England that was a little different to the normal tourist experience.

Show notes

In the interview with my Serbian guests Irena and Andrijana we discussed;

• What Hospitality Club is and how you use it
• What reservations Irena’s friends might have had about travelling this way
• What steps Irena had taken to carefully select hosts that could provide a safe an enjoyable experience for herself and her daughter
• The advantages of this way of travel both financial and in enhanced experience
• The places in England they had visited and what they’d especially enjoyed
• Their advice for other parents thinking of travelling with children through Hospitality Club
• Music on this podcast was Venus as a Girl by Andy McKee at Musicalley

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Resources

• Website of Hospitality Club – A free network of people around the world who offer free accommodation, advice and help when they are travelling
• Website of Couchsurfing – another website that similarly connects travellers looking for free advice and accommodation.
• Going Local Travel – a website by travel writer Vicky Baker for travellers who want to travel local and break off track. Vicky travelled around South America staying with hosts she contacted through social networking websites and wrote about her experience in the Travel Section of the Guardian Newspaper

Other related articles

Meet the locals in Valencia
A visitor from Riga
Bollywood nights at the One stop Thali Cafe in Bristol

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