After a tasty home-made breakfast on the balcony of my studio apartment in Port dAlcudia I was ready to head out for a full day of explorations. Somehow, the northern mountainous part of Mallorca has an almost magical spell on me. I had already spent the major part of my entire first week on this island in the northern Tramuntana Mountains, and I just had to go back there today.So around 9 am I headed out in my little rental car and started...more
We had thoroughly enjoyed our drive through the Tramuntana mountain region yesterday and our discoveries in the town of Sller. After a restful night of sleep I got up at 8 am and walked to the main house of our rural hotel, Finca Cas Sant, to use their Internet connection. Then it was time for an outdoor breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, surrounded by palm trees. Fresh croissants, yoghurt, home-made orange marmalade and an egg were waiting...more
Our second day in Mallorca greeted us with bright sunshine. After a restful night at Finca Son Pont, we got ready to have breakfast in this historic rural hotel. Tables were set up in the shady inner courtyard and we were going to have breakfast in the fresh air. We picked up some cereal, yoghurt, some fresh bread and locally ripened fruits and joined in the conversation with other couples who had sat down at the tables next to us. Two other couples were in town from Germany to attend a large wedding in Puigpunyent and one couple was visiting here from Holland, the second time that they were visiting Finca Son Pont.After a leisurely conversation I took some more pictures around the property and we packed our luggage, ready to head on to our next destination. We thanked Hector, the older gentleman from Argentina, who is in charge of administering the property. We both agreed that we could have handled spending some more time in the rural serenity of this impressive rural estate.Shortly before lunch we hopped into our small rental vehicle and drove the 12 kilometres back into Palma de Mallorca. Traffic on this tiny island that is populated by more than 700,000 people (and many more...more
Our second full day in Mallorca started with an early morning stroll along the Pine Walk promenade in Port de Pollena, a beautiful seafront town on the northeast side of the island. The expansive Bay of Pollena was shimmering in front of us in different hues of blue and green. Walking along the pine-fringed walkway beside attractive hotels and...more
Our location in Palma Nova on the western bay of Palma was very convenient with one exception: several of the hotel guests came home between 3 and 6 am in various states of inebriation and were hollering loudly to each other. Their incomprehensible utterings reverberated in the concrete hallways and inevitably woke me up. Just as I was ready to...more
As the late afternoon sun had come out, I was continuing my action-packed day in Prague. After a guided tour through Pragues Jewish Quarter, a savory and informative lunch in Pragues oldest kosher restaurant, followed by a tour of Municipal House, Pragues Art Nouveau masterpiece, I had just finished a boat tour on the Vltava River that gave me a completely different view of Prague from the water. Our knowledgeable captain had shared many stories about Prague and enriched us with countless historical tidbits about this fascinating city.During my last few hours in Prague I was planning to explore Mala Strana, one of the main historical areas on the west side of the river. Crossing the famous Charles Bridge, I passed by the 30 baroque religious statues that line the bridge. My stroll continued past various street artists, painters and souvenir vendors who were displaying their merchandise right on top of this historic river crossing. One of the bridges statues had attracted a large crowd of people lining up. I was wondering what the big commotion was all about, so I joined the queue myself. As I moved along I realized that everyone wanted to rub the plaques on the statue of St. John...more
One of Pragues key attractions is the Jewish Quarter, the former Jewish ghetto of the city. So on this bright, yet blustery day I strolled from my hotel on Wenceslas Square over to Old Town Square to meet my personal tour guide for the day who would...more
Always on the lookout for historical structures, I had planned a visit to another renowned Prague establishment: the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, established in 1932 at the height of Art Deco as Pragues premier hotel of that era. Martina Pavlikova from...more
On a somewhat cool and breezy day, bright sunshine woke me up and I stepped out on to the balcony of my room at the Hotel Jalta. This four-star hotel is located on Wenceslas Square, the main square of Pragues New Town district. To my left, at the top...more
My local experts Jitka Simkova, owner of Prague Walks.com, together with her colleague Karel had given me a great introduction to Old Town Prague. The day was getting late now and the air was definitely getting cooler.We had turned around in the...more
At the end of my delicious lunch at La Rotonde, the Art Deco restaurant at the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, my personal tour guide for my walking tour of Prague came to pick me up. Petra Bedlasova is a historian, artist and photographer, and she is...more
Many backpacking lovers often self assume that planning a trip to their favorite destination is a hard task that involves lots of labor and pain! These reluctant to take initiative steps guys daily visit their dream places in their...more