Hamburg at Christmas

The best city in the world for a three day break...New York? Rio de Janeiro? Budapest? Sydney? I haven't been to any of them but I am still sure they can't match Hamburg (at Christmas). The Christmas markets are not just what makes it the best but they help.

These markets are full with great food and drink..... mmmmmmm drinking German Glühwein (mulled wine) from a mug is a good memory.

They also had the best mushrooms in the world smothered in garlic sauce, great chips and sausage which would put any other known sausage in the universe to shame. All sold from wooden huts alongside Christmas goods and eaten by tourists and locals taking shelter from the cold in cosy wooden walled corners with tables.

This also the City where The Beatles honed their skills, so they along with Liverpool gave us the greatest band ever known. The picture above was taken outside the Kaiserkellar which was one of the clubs they played in before returning to England.

If you like football then go and see Hamburg play, it cost us just £17.00 a ticket through their website before we left for Germany. For the equivalent match it would of cost to see Arsenal in London it would of cost £60.00. Fantastic supporters too, even though they were losing they were still behind their team, unheard of at an English Premier League ground from my experience. Plus no one swore in my face for no reason and told me I was ugly whilst walking down the street outside the stadium like a Newcastle supporter once did to me.

And My favorite place was the Miniature Wonderland which is the worlds largest model railway, a spectacular display over two floors of a former warehouse.

It even had an airport with planes taking off and landing.

A port with working ships

And every 15 minutes the place had a its own night time.

There is also views to be seen from the top of St Michaels Church...I haven't even gone on to talk about the warehouse district, Elb tunnel, boat trips and the excellent public transport....

The people pf Hamburg who brilliantly call themselves "Hamburgers" are great, helping you when you are lost before you even ask. Who needs a woman holding a golden torch when you have a huge great spaceship thing towering over the city, would definitely go again.

Kъсмети / Fortunes in English

Need some lucky fortunes for your New Year Bulgarian Banitsa and like us can't find any in English? Well here are some we come up with ourselves (find out what a Banitsa is at the bottom of the page)......

This is a Banitsa, a traditional Bulgarian pastry and feta cheese quiche type of food. When its eaten at new year every time you take a piece you get a rolled up paper with a Kъсмети / Fortune for the year ahead

Freddie Mercury isn't dead dead, he is sunning it up in Majorca !!

A bit late publishing this, I thought some national papers might be interested in my story but had no luck.There are big stars we thought were dead or given up living and performing in Majorca.

Who would of thought it Freddie Mercury is alive and well in Majorca, I nearly spat out a mouthful of cocktail when he ran onto the stage at our hotel. The sun is treating him well to, he is moving and performing just like the old days, and his performance by my judgment was even better than Live Aid. I know the photo below isn't that great but I assure you it was him, it said Freddie Mercury on the poster!

Then the next day I nearly drove my four wheel hire bike into a lake when I saw this outside a restaurant:

That's right the King of Pop! It couldn't of been could it? I never found out for sure, I had already bought a ticket for the hotel bingo so couldn't make it.

It gets better as the week goes on, the two girls out of ABBA anyone? And I did take the time to see them and they looked like the real deal to me. If it wasn't wouldn't you get a couple of blokes in?

                                       

Last but not least The Beatles!!!!!! except it wasn't, they were Los Beatles, just a Spanish tribute act obviously.

Mallorca Island Tour in Pictures

Pictures from the No Frills Excursions Island Tour of Mallorca we went on during a recent holiday.

They took us on a coach, boat, tram and train journey covering the west side of the island. First up was a windy coach trip through the mountains to a small port called La Calobra.

From there was a boat trip round the coast until we reached Puerto Soller

Then a short tram trip to the town of Soller

The best till last was a trip on the Orange train, so called because that's what it transported to its destination the city Parma. And the best way to travel on it is standing on the end of a carriage.

The House of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Buzludza

I spotted this place on a list of the best abandoned places in the world online. When I told Eva about it she said it was not far from her Bulgarian home town, so on our summer trip we decided to go and do some urban exploring.

It sits on top of Buzludza mountain looking like a UFO landed from space

There is a way of getting inside, and from researching on other websites it seems its meant to be a secret so i'm not going to reveal how its done. I couldn't get in myself as i'm to tall and didn't have the strength in my arms to pull myself in due to once braking my arms. But Eva could get in and this is what she saw....

I am not entirely sure what the place was used for but I am guessing they had meetings there and people conducted speeches in the middle of the arena. I do know it was built on a spot where a person of importance was killed in a battle. There are no plans to restore the place because of the cost involved and there is no love from some people for the communist history of the country.

I took a piece home with me, a corner of a letter which had fallen from the wall on the outside. I wanted to take the whole letter but it was way so heavy I could not move it, and wouldn't of fitted in my suitcase. Here it is in our kitchen in Essex....

Two Holy Days at the Rila Monastery

During my second ever trip to Bulgaria this summer we visited the Rila Monastery with which is built in the Mountains about an hour or so drive from Sofia. It is thought it was built by or for for St John Rila and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stayed in a nearby hotel but it is apparently possible to stay in the Monastery itself.

This is the rock above the cave where St John of Rila lived as a hermit in the nearby mountains and prayed for 17 years, he most probably would of sat there looking out over the trees. By the end of it all he could perform miracles and animals would approach him as his friend.

To get to the rock you have to crawl through a hole out of the cave and if you can do it you apparently have no sins. I found it pretty tough having to crawl up bending my long legs, I must of done something nearly wrong to find it such a struggle.

This is a picture of inside a little church next to the cave where St John Rilla was at one time buried. No Photos Allowed !!!! Lucky I went up through the hole before I took the picture, or i could be still stuck in there!

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is on the site where the London 2012 Olympics took place and is a good afternoon out if you know where to go. I also wanted to see if I could prove I would of won a medal in the Long Jump.

Its a vast area with lots of concrete open space and giant walks between what were the Olympic venues, and i'm talking about half an hour walks. Its really frustrating as well when you walk all the way along a path to find it blocked due to works taking place. The best place to go is at the front of the park where the orbit tower and aquatics center is as its where the water fountains and play parks are and we can act like kids

In the fountains

On a swing

 It was a shame we couldn't find a place called the view tube where you can hire bikes, it was probably 45 mins walk across some giant concrete space. Anyway here is my attempt for Long Jump gold.....

Bluebells in Norsey Woods

Eva's Decorated Eggs for Easter

Spring Morning Bicycle Commute

Hopped off my bike on the ride to the train station to take a few pictures.