flip-flops and backpack

" Zinnerne Hochzeitstag" celebrating our 6th year wedding anniversary

2011-11-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

>

moin moin everyone!

sorry for the long silence, missing the blogosphere so much! but here i am back in the circle but this is just a short post, dedicated to my family and friends who greeted us on our 6th year wedding anniversary :) Thank you so much from our hearts... and to my TSS Sisters especially thank you guys! :) for being there with us for the last six years :) you ladies are the best! :)

Michael and me are nature lovers, for the past two years we had been not so lucky with the weather in November., but this year we are having until now good weather :) this year, Michael and me went to Rheinhardswald in Northern Hessen.

We really had a wonderful time wandering in the nature, Rheinhardswald or Urwald Sababurg is known to be " Märchenland" or fairy tale land :) no doubt about it! :) being in the forest of Urwald Sababurg is enchanting! :) we wander and wander until our bones and feet and back aches :) you can really be lost in this jungle :)

we also visited Höxter and Einbeck, beautiful cities! with magnificent timbered houses. Then coming back home to Wolfenbüttel, we are welcomed by thick foggy roads, and cold! but we said it's ok, we had enjoyed our stay in Rheinhardswald ( weekend get away) celebrating our 6th year wedding anniversary :)

again, thank you everyone for the warm greetings! :) and please watch out for my entry in our trip to Paris :) and the continuation of our travel adventure in Turkey, ( i will post in the salitype society) thank you and God Bless us all...

just here... at home...

2011-07-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

moin moin everyone! :)

it's summer again! it's been quite a long time since the last time i blogged here in my flip - flops and backpack, after travelling to Turkey and some places in Europe like Austria, France and Switzerland, Michael and me decided to stay at home this summer, and enjoy the season together with my in laws :) but in September we'll be travelling again, where? we don't know yet.

here are some of my summer photos at home in our " klein aber fein" ( small but fine) balkon :) hope you guys are enjoying the season too :) let's enjoy summer while it's here! :)

" A Life without Love... is like a year without summer....." Swedish Proverb.

flip - flops and backpack goes to Turkey!

2011-04-24T02:41:00.000-07:00

moin moin everyone!

so sorry for my long silence.. been missing so much the blogosphere! would like to thank you all my fellow bloggers for your time visiting flip - flops and backpack and our site The Salitype Society :)

i will just make this short, Michael my husband and me are travelling again and this time to Turkey, so excited! ;) happy easter everyone! and goodbye again for a while! :) see you in May! muah!

watch out Turkey! here
comes flip - flops and backpack! :)

little winter flowers

2011-02-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

" Let us love winter for it is the spring of genius "

By: Pietro Aretino

" Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in Autumn "

By: Marche Blumenberg

" flowers are the sweetest things God ever made... and forgot to put soul into..." By: Henry Beecher

Belated Merry Christmas and A Blessed 2011!

2011-01-03T02:59:00.000-08:00

sorry for my long silence everyone, i hope my greetings is not yet too late :) wishing you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year!!!! :)

" May this holidays bring you peace, love, hope and happiness.. to carry throughout the year..."

with love from us here in Wolfenbüttel,

M&M

Pont di Avignon

2010-11-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

do you know the song " Sur le Pont d' Avignon"? come sing with me! ;)

Sur le Pont d' Avignon

Sur le pont d' Avignon

L' on y danse, l'on y danse

Sur le pont d' Avignon
L' on y danse tous en rond

Les beaux messieurs font comm ca

Et puis encore comm ca

( please search in google or wikipedia for the complete lyric of the song)

M&M's 5th Year Wedding Anniversary

2010-11-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

" We are all a little weird... and life's a little weird... and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible to ours... we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it LOVE..." Author Unknown

last 4th of November, we celebrated our 5th Year Wedding Anniversary :) i think there's not much words needed... nor a long love story to tell... we have each other, and that's the most important... :) Happy 5th Year Anniversary M&M! :) and so... our journey continues....

Bonjour! from Provence! :)

2010-10-19T01:48:00.000-07:00

the meditteraenean sea in Camargue

snail ;) cooked in olive oil, garlic, onions and secret herbst from the Elsacer cook ;) lecker! ;)

pottery shop in Sufflenheim

wild white horse in wetlands of Camargue

ricefields in Camargue

village of Le Baux

breathtaking view on our way to Le Baux

Tarascon castle

"Val des Fees" ( valley of the fairies) in Rousillon

at the main square of Palais des Papes in Avignon

Pont di Avignon

Amphitheater in Nimes

Pont du Gard

River Gard in pont du Gard

Antique Theater in Orange

Ardeche is famous for it's fascinating landscape

Perouges is the first city we visited in Provence

grapes from kaiserstuhl

vineyard terraces in Kaiserstuhl

"Fachwerkhäuser" in Burkheim

Bonjour! :) Yes, i'm back! ;) flip - flops and backpack is back! ;) how's my fellow bloggers? hope everyone is doing fine, two weeks ago we came back from our trip to Provence in France. Two weeks travelling in Provence is not enough, but at least within that time we visited some amazing places.

let me just share to you guys some photos of each places we visited, and watch out for more photos and stories, can't blog so often now because of too many reasons, and one more thing we are leaving again end of this month to go to Budapest, Hungary to celebrate our 5th Year Wedding Anniversary :) so, this post will be like my comeback post, so guys hope you enjoy viewing the photos and enjoy the fun in the world of blogging! :) and please! watch out for my entry about our trip in Camargue in our site in Salitype Society. God Bless you all....

Bonjour! and Merci!

2010-08-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

i miss my flip-flops and backpack...

it's been a while, been missing a lot in the world of blogging, but maybe not really i am also posting sometimes in our group in Salitype Society, please if you have time visit our site, http://www.salitypesociety.org/ thank you.

and i just want to thank you everyone for greeting my MIL Mutti and Michael on their birthday last August 20th and 21st, my friends in Salitype and my family and friends in Philippines, thank you so much...

Michael and me will be travelling again, this time to France, in Provence. Michael said it's beautiful there, of course i'm excited! ;)

i'll be seeing you all again in October, have fun blogging and i wish you all a wonderful weekend! so everyone... " Au revoir "! for a while...

3rd place for DE!

2010-07-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

Herzlichen Gluckwünsch Jungs! Ihr habt sehr gut gemacht! und Danke schön für eine wunderschön spiel! Willkommen zurück zu Hause!! :)

und Danke schön Süd Afrika für eine tolle Weltmeisterschaft 2010!!! :)

just a quick post everyone, Deutschland won the 3rd place in this 2010 FIFA World Cup!! :) had a great time watching the games! We are so proud of you "Jungs"!

endlich summer

2010-06-20T08:02:00.001-07:00

i miss blogging! sorry for my long silence everyone, just been busy for the past weeks about important family matters, but i brought you some beautiful flowers :) yes, summer is here at long last ! :) enjoy viewing guys i'll try to post again some more.

have a wonderful week everyone! :)

Our Philippines: Camiguin Island

2010-05-20T03:43:00.000-07:00

" Camiguin Island, the island of your imagination"....

natural cold spring

of course, eating in a banana leaves with the family was great! :)

there's no other sun set like in Philippines ;)

"Badjao" are people living in a small fishing boats, taken in Cagayan de Oro

leaving the island, goodbye! see you again!

White Island is one of the high lights in Camiguin, it is a paradise for divers

Two months holiday in my homeland is finished, i'm back now here in Wolfenbüttel, my second homeland :) to be with my family both in Cavite and Camiguin was wonderful, " there's no place like home" as they say. My eldest son Romar is now graduate in college in Computer Science, he made us all so proud and happy specially me and Michael :) again to my son Romar, Congratulations! :)

I grew-up in Niog, Bacoor, Cavite, just a few kilometers away from Manila. But unfortunately, i didn't had a chance and time to explore my hometown, and we are far away from everything like beaches and nature, so no pics from there. Anyway, i had some photos from Camiguin Island our second home in Philippines. I only lived there for 1 year but fall in love in this small island as i fisrt saw it. I'm proud to say in this small but beautiful island is where my children and nieces grew up.

In our group in Salitype Society, we are doing this "Our Philippines" meme and me as a Filipina is proudly presenting to you Camiguin Island for "Our Philippines".

Please visit http://www.salitypesociety.com/ for more pictures of Camiguin Island, thank you.

Danke Mutti

2010-05-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

hallöchen everyone! :)

yes, i'm back :) two months holiday in my homeland, Philippines is over, my life is back to normal again, as a normal housewife and etc.

would like to greet every amazing mommy in the world a belated happy mother's day! :) especially to my nanay vangie and to my mother in -law mutti marga :) you two are the best moms in the world! we love you... thank you for everything....

this red rose is for us all mothers, and welcomeback to me! ;)

"my bestfriend" and me alone...

2010-03-10T04:47:00.000-08:00

my backpack is "my bestfriend" in travelling, this backpack is already more than six years old, and together we had been into many places and of course with my hubby-bi Michael ;) in every country that we went i stitch a flag of the country on my backpack, and hubby says it's like a "trophy" for a traveler like me ;) can you tell which flag is missing?

the Lorbeer (it suppose to be olive leaves) are from Mutti, she always give us this leaves as a beliefs or tradition from the bible that any one who's going or traveling, this leaves will keep the traveler safe on his journey.

this will be my last post for the month, Michael will drive me to Frankfurt on Saturday, i will see you all after two months..... have a wonderful day to everyone and have fun blogging, hope to "see" you all again ;)

er.. sorry guys if my backpack is bit dirty... never washed it for six years hehe ;) and don't ask me where's my flip-flops... i'm wearing it right now ;)

*hugs* to all muaahhh!!!! ;)
maricar

Camiguin Island

2010-03-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

Camiguin Island - a small island in the Northern Mindanao, with four volcanoes (officially, but they say there are seven volcanoes in the island) you can get there through Cagayan de Oro by bus and then take the ferry to Balinguan or Benoni. From Manila you can take the plane like Cebu Pacific or through ships like Super Ferry.

i don't have so much pictures of the high lights of the Island, maybe when i come back from Philippines in May i'll have more photos. This beautiful Island is for us our second home, next to Cavite, my children grew up here living with my mother for more than 15 years, and they speak the local language more or less,

and finally i can eat again with them in the banana leaves ;) no spoons, no knifes just with the hand ;) a traditional way of every Filipinos when the family are all together :)

i'll see this wonderful island again... very soon... can't wait anymore ;)

the shell house

2010-03-03T02:11:00.000-08:00

we only stayed for a while in this city somewhere in Denmark, the city is dead but the shell house is interesting and unique, have you ever seen a house like this?

Freilichtmuseum Klockenhagen

2010-03-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

Klockenhagen, Mecklenburg - continuation from our trip in Meck Pom. That was around spring time last year, after visiting Schwerin we went to this open -air museum, it's not the first time that we visited a museum like this, it's interesting because they show how the people live or the way they live on that time.

They have also a restaurant, and they have a traditional sausage made from a wild pig and it's surprisingly tasted good, my first time to eat meat of a wild pig. There are also garden and some old machinery that was used by the farmers in that time, some animals and most that surprised me was the pee pots museum :) my first time to see a piss pots displayed on the wall ( they are clean ) and the wind mill is also still looking good although it was really old.

The traditional farmer's houses are also beautiful, the houses are called Reetdach or thatched roof i find them really wonderful.

Luxembourg

2010-02-26T03:09:00.000-08:00

Luxembourg - was my first Europe trip outside Germany, it is a small country about 2600 square kilometers but "big" in History in the heart of Western Europe. Aside of being the center of business, international banks, and considered the richest country in Europe it is also rich in nature, that i will post next,

you can see on the photos the following are: St. Michael's cathedral, The town hall of Luxembourg and the monument of the Duke of Luxembourg Wilhelms II.

Trier

2010-02-23T03:09:00.000-08:00

Trier - the oldest city in Germany, founded in 16 BC and is along the banks of Die Mosel ( River Moselle) that was May 2006 when we went there after visiting some places like Andernach, Koblenz, Nittel and other places around.

In the photos are the ancient Amphitheater, The Public baths ( Thermae) built by Constantine The great , the Cathedral of Trier ( one of the World's heritage sites ) and Porta Nigra, all built by the Roman Empire 2000 years ago.

if you want to know more about Trier please visit wikipedia.

Penang Island

2010-02-22T02:41:00.000-08:00

Penang Island - 25.11.2006 after a very long 22 hours train trip from Bangkok to Butterworth, finally we reached Penang Island, took the ferry from Butterworth for 10 minutes. Next day we made a trip around the town and some factories, chocolate and tin factories. We also visited the Burmese/ Thai temple. Then straight to Batu - Ferringe beach to have lunch, then after we went to the Snake Temple, watched the show and got scared in this big snake ;) they say it's kind of Anaconda and not to mention the King Cobra.

Le Phe Falls

2010-02-18T01:36:00.000-08:00

Done Det - 06.12.2005 from Don Khong together with other backpackers, Australian and English couples we sailed for two hours with the small boat and reached Don Det. It's a small island very peaceful and calm, life of the people is so simple, i like it. There's a bridge connecting the two island built by the French.

We found a guest house, Paradise Guest House, located along the river of Mekong, very clean and run by a family and nice Lao couple, i can only remember the name of the woman her name is "Lam".

Le Phe Falls - is the main attraction in the island, for the local Lao people it's called Somphanit Falls. We went biking looking around the whole island, and going to the falls, and to the temple and one historical train built by the French.

Again another unforgettable travel experience.

Sihanoukville

2010-02-16T04:15:00.000-08:00

Serendipity beach- Michael and me went two times in Cambodia and every time we are in Cambodia we never missed to visit and spent at least three to four days in Serendipity beach in Sihanoukville, just relax and doing nothing.... there's a restaurant/bar there called "The Yellow Monkey" and they got the best "Amok" mixed sea foods with coconut milk and chillies ;) (sorry no picture)

did i need to say... i miss the beach? it's freezing here and they say it will snow again next week :(

good thing is my back is getting better now :)

thanks to all my Salitype Family :) thanks guys for all your e mails and messages in Fb :) http://www.salitypesociety.blogspot.com/ really rocks! :) and to all my blogging friends... this one is for you guys ;) keep blogging! and have a wonderful week everyone :)

Siena

2010-02-10T07:04:00.001-08:00

Siena - is one of Italy's most enchanting cities, founded by the son of Remus and said to be of Etruscan origin in 1st century B.C.

i love the Duomo di Siena, it was begun in 1196 and finished and completed in 1215, the Duomo is no doubt one of the most enchanting buildings in Italy.

flip-flops and backpack is coming home

2010-02-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

" there's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again "

by: Margareth Elizabeth Sangster

this is just a quick post guys... can't use the computer for a long time i am having problems at my back kind of nerve problems at the lower back, they call here "Hexenschuss" or in English "Lumbago" wrong move then it feels like tearing my back a part! :( my doctor gave me one shot and it's feels better now than the last few days.

Anyway so excited about coming home ;) got my plane ticket and will fly on march 14 ;) it's been more than two years since the last time i am home and there are good reasons... no, wonderful reasons to come home ;)

my eldest son Romar will graduate in College ( Computer Science) and my niece Julie Ann ( Business Management) too, my niece Mary Rose will graduate in High school with First Honorable mention and Janine my niece Julie Ann's daughter will graduate in Kindergarten with Second Honorable mention and not to mention so many awards that she will receive ;)

Congratulations! to my son and my nieces! you made me and Michael so proud :) We are so happy and proud of all of you... I'll see you all soon... :) We love you. Wonderful reasons to come home :)

update: i was chatting with my mother and niece in Camiguin, just want to correct that my niece Janine is the 1st honor and not second :) she bit her classmate in the test with a perfect score! :) woooo!!! wooo!! way to go Janine ;)

Frederiksborg Castle

2010-02-05T04:13:00.000-08:00

Frederiksborg Castle - from Helsingor (o with the slash) looking over Sweden, after looking around the city we went to see the famous castle in Hillerod, the main attraction for the tourists in Hillerod, Denmark (o with a slash) the majestic castle was built between 16th to 17th century now a national museum, is the magnificent Frederiksborg Slot.

after walking around in the garden of the castle we went to visit Fredericksborg castle, it was raining and cold that time, but still it's worth it, then we leave the place on the same day going to Kalundborg, we took the ferry from there and went to Aarhus.

have a majestic weekend everyone!

Memphis and Saqqara

2010-02-02T02:33:00.000-08:00

Memphis - was believe to be the ancient capital of Egypt, but with the rise of Cairo it became the work yard for the new city, Cairo. There is theories that it is built by the great architect Imhotep, it was already a sea of ruins from fourth century A.D. The "Bent Pyramid" is famous because it is the best preserved in the necropolis. (see third photo) the first two photos are the "Red Pyramids"

Saqqara - 30 kilometer south from Cairo, there are about more than 100 pyramids standing there before, but now only some pyramids are can be seen like the "Zoser's Pyramid"or "Stepped Pyramid", it is said to be the ancient burial for the ancient Egyptians that time. The Saqqara Pyramids are said to be 500 years older than Giza Pyramids.

Torre Pendente di Pisa

2010-01-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

Pisa, Toscana - The Leaning Tower- as we enter the old gate of the complex, there we saw the world's famous Leaning Tower the Pisa bell tower, it is beautiful made of white marble, it continues to lean by an average of 1 mm a year and the Italians don't want to do anything to make it straight for there will be a great mistake if they do. Unfortunately, the tower is closed since 1990 for the tourists so we are just content taking photos of it outside.

Baptesterium - a very unique round structure, made of white marble said to be built from 1153 and finally completed in the 14th century.

Duomo - or Pisa Cathedral built in 1064, it is made of black and white marble and some dark green and cream marble, facing the leaning tower, the door is made of bronze but originally it has wooden door but destroyed in fire in 1596.

did i need to say i enjoyed posing with the Pisa Tower? ;)

have you heard about "ancient skyscrapers"? if you are interested visit http://www.salitypesociety.com/ just search for the category travelogue, thank you so much.

Pompeii

2010-01-26T03:03:00.000-08:00

Naples - 23.05.2007 after staying one night somewhere around San Marino, we drove to Pompeii about 250 kilometers driving to cross- over to the western coast of Italy. In the camping we met a nice German couple who told us about Pompeii, they say it's a must see place in Italy, and they are right. Pompeii is really an interesting place to visit.

Pompeii - or Pompei was buried when the volcano "Vesuvio" errupted in 79 A.D. This volcano is they say the most active and the most dangerous volcano in Europe. You can see on the photos the ancient Amphitheater, the bakery, house of the small fountain, the ancient road, and some victims of the Vesuvio erruption. It is amazing and fascinating to see all these from 2000 years.

if you want to know more about Pompeii please visit wikipedia

"Great Waves" of Skagen

2010-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Denmark's Northcape - " Kattegat meets Skagerrak " means Baltic sea meets North sea.

i posted about the sand dunes in Skagen before a few months ago, and i said i will post about the city, but let me share to you first the "Great Waves" of Skagen or Denmark ;)

have you ever been to a Northcape? i did! at the very high up in the North of Denmark at the very end of Skagen we went there to see this "Great Waves". I know it's not like the northernmost point of Europe, the North Cape 71° 10' 21'' N, our friends from Köln with his 13 year old daughter and his wife from Sweden went there and some friends, they just sent us a post card from there, they made it. That would be easy for us to go there because Sweden is not so far from Norway ;)

ok back to Skagen, it was so cold that day, windy but we are lucky the sun shines and the sky is clear, the water is so cold with the temperature of 10°C and not good for swimming of course, and it's also not good for swimmers because of the dangerous current of the waves, on our way back to the parking lot we saw this cute little yellow bird ;)

maybe someday... i will see the North Cape... someday... ;)

*the photo of me with the church is also part of our trip there, they call it "tilsandede kirke" or church buried in the sand thousands of years ago, it reminds me of the church tower in Bicol, Philippines.

Malbork Castle (Marienburg)

2010-01-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

Marienburg - or the Malbork Castle in Poland is the high light of our travel in the country. It was named after the Saint or Patron, "St. Mary" that's why it is also called "Mary's Castle". Considered the most largest or biggest brick castle in the world, and one of the world's heritage.

As much as i adore "Fachwerkhäuser" or the traditional half-timbered houses here in DE, i find the red brick houses of Holland and in Poland fascinating and unique. And i never thought that i will see the most largest brick castle in the world... Malbork Brick Castle.

It took hours of walking inside and around the castle, there are museums inside but we are not allowed to take pictures, so most of the photos i posted here are taken outside.

if you want more informations about the castle please visit wikipedia

Emden and Leer ( last part of our trip in Ostfriesland )

2010-01-18T03:17:00.000-08:00

this is the bell tower (church) of Suurhusen

Emden - not far away from Greetsiel has about 51,000 population and is the economy and culture center of the region. The high light of our trip there was the church tower of Suurhusen just around Emden, it breaks the record of the Pisa tower ( see picture of the certificate from Guiness)

Leer - from 850 was known "LARE" with about 33,000 population is a beautiful city with fascinating houses from 17th to 18th century. Except for the last two photos from Suurhusen, all the pictures are taken in Leer.

Our trip to Ostfriesland was, i can say unique! :) " Danke schön Ostfriesland für die wunderschöne Reise! " :)

please visit http://salitypesociety.com/ for our Greetsiel trip, thank you.

the masks

2010-01-15T02:25:00.000-08:00

" the most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role... you give up your ability to feel... and in exchange... put on a mask."

By: Jim Morrison

i was cleaning when suddenly Michael's collections of masks get my attention, he bought these from his previuos travels except the one from Venice, Italy (1st photo) we bought it on our trip there.

if you were to choose to wear a mask, which one will you pick? and why?

a year older

2010-01-07T02:28:00.000-08:00

I really don't know what to post for my birthday, but since my blog is about traveling so i thought of why not post my favorite places that we visited in some of our trips.

so guys... enjoy viewing the pics and if you want you can guess which country it is ;)

i would like to thank you all my dear friends in blogging world, especially my buddies and my family in Salitype :) you guys rock! love you all mwah! :) and to all my blogging buddies, readers and followers... thank you everyone for making my site meaningful and colorful, you guys are my inspiration in writing :)

my family i love so dearly... my 3R i love you so much.... i'll see you all soon...

my husband Michael... i love so much... thank you for always being there mein Schatz... my journey in life had never been so wonderful until you came into my life.... Ich Liebe Dich...

i asked him this morning if he's going to bring home a boquet of flowers for me because it's my birthday... and he answered me... "yes lovely... i'll buy you "Blumenkohl" in English: cauliflower ;) there he goes again... with his 99% shit in the head! hayyyy... ;)

Happy Birthday To Me! ;)

"walking in a winter wonder wolfenbüttel (land) "

2010-01-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

Sunday yesterday, we went in the city to buy some of the ingredients i need for my Empanadas. My brother in law and his wife will be back soon from Norway, and we invited them for dinner.

Never seen the city like this before full and surrounded of snow! last year there was snow also but not so extreme like this, so off we go with our winter jackets and went to the city. This is the first time i saw the historical city in snow, the Fachwerkhäuser especially the Rathaus (town hall) looks more beautiful and enchanting with snow.

talking about winter wonderland? :) we made a joke to my brother in law, that they should go home now because there's more snow here now than in Norway ;) so guys.. come with me... let's take a walk in winter wonder Wolfenbüttel (land) ;)

i heard in the radio that morning... the DJ is asking a man... if how did the snow affect him... the man just simply answered... "ruhig bleiben... und Die Landschaft genießen..." in English: just stay cool.... and enjoy the landscape... :)

Happy New Year!!!

2009-12-31T04:47:00.000-08:00

as part of the show a stilltwalker

When you hear the words new year definitely the first thing will come out to your mind is fireworks. When i think about fireworks i always remember our trip to Hannover with Mutti. It was our birthday gift to her on her last years birthday. That was on the 30th of August 2008 in Hannover, we watch the 18th International Fireworks Contest.

Philippines won the third place, Denmark got the second place and France won the first place. Philippines is just few points ahead against Canada, Portugal is also one of the participants in the said contest.

Happy New Year everyone!!! :)

got to go guys, it's time to watch "Dinner for One"! *winks* :)

the count down is on! i'll see you all next year! :) mwah!

Oh Tannenbaum! Oh Tannenbaum!

2009-12-27T01:49:00.000-08:00

"oh, Tannenbaum... oh Tannenbaum... Der Weihnachtsmann geht Äpfel klauen.."

in English: " oh, Christmas tree... oh Christmas tree... Santa goes to steal apples"

Ok, Das ist nur Quatsch"! ( nonsense ) my husband use to sing this traditional Christmas song, and i thought that's the right lyrics ;) but then i just learned lately that he changed the lyrics of the song! oh, that's one of his 99% shit in the head! ;)

So, how we celebrated Christmas? Michael, me and Mutti (my mother in law) had a nice dinner together, my brother in law are in Norway with their friends, Mutti is bit sad but she said she understand them, because Michael and me are also not here on Christmas for the past few years. Michael baked goose (not whole, only breast) with fresh vegies and fruits i bought in the market a day before. It was excellent! never eat goose before, Mutti likes it also. "Danke mein Schatz für das wunderschöne Weihnachtsessen"! ;)

Like last year, Mutti read to us a verse from the Bible which tells how or why there's christmas, and then like last year, she asked me or requested that i sing a Christmas song. Ok, i can sing... i am a member of a church choir before long time ago. And yes... Mutti likes my song and it brings tears in her eyes everytime i sing, or maybe it's the spirit of Christmas.

Our Tannenbaum maybe is not so grandiuos or not so tall like the others, but it brings joy and peacefulness everytime we sit on our sofa and just staring at it (except when there's fußball). The decos are not all natural but the apples are real fresh from the market. We wanted to put real candles but because of security, we just put electric lights.

This Christmas tree will be standing here in our living room until my birthday ;) when? i won't tell you Lol! :) ok here's a clue, after three kings one day more then it's my birthday :)

From Wolfenbüttel with Love, we wish you all enjoy the rest of the holiday season and may you all have a Blessed and a Joyous New Year! :)

ok, got to go guys i have to watch out that Santa won't steal apples on our Christmas tree ;)

hope, peace, love and joy

2009-12-21T02:24:00.000-08:00

may you find all these in this time of the year.... happy 4th advents day!

reflection

2009-12-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

" the real man smiles in trouble, gathers strenght from distress, and grow brave by reflection"...

by: Thomas Paine

no white Christmas this time

2009-12-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

I know i am complaining sometimes about the cold weather here but still, when it's Christmas people are also dreaming including me, (not all ) of a white Christmas. News said there'll be snow coming this week but for sure it will be only in the higher part of Northern Germany like in Bad Harzburg.

Marienteichbaude- Harz National Park. It was the first time we went there when there's more than one meter high of snow. It was so hard to find a parking because of so many tourists and people from here are there to ski or just walking around the national park.

These photos are taken there this year, around January. With or without snow i know we will have a joyous Christmas :)

Weihnachtsmarkt, Wolfenbüttel

2009-12-14T01:48:00.000-08:00

I won't take you guys this time anywhere ;) let's stay here in Wolfenbüttel where there's a lot of actions happening! Lol! Yesterday evening hubby and me went to "Weihnachtsmarkt" it's my second time to see this Christmas tradition here, because most of the time Michael and me are out of the country travelling somewhere. My mother in law is so happy that we stay again this year with her, because like i said we are always not here in this time of the year.

What makes the city special when it's Christmas is the lights of course the decos and it makes those beautiful Fachwerkshäuser more enchanting. Just look at the photos and tell me that i'm not telling the truth ;)

Happy 3rd Advents Day everyone!

bamboo train trip

2009-12-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for this!? ;) have you heard or experienced to ride in a "bamboo train"? i did in Battambang Cambodia. So guys eat your heart out! and let's go for a ride! Lol! ;)

Yes, i had been to Cambodia two times and it always been a good trip, the country has a lot to offer not just the Angkor Wat also there are beautiful beaches like Sihanoukville and more. I love this country it leaves wonderful experiences in my mind and heart.

There are people we met before that we met again in the resort where we stayed for a week, and we are so happy to see each other again :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Phi Phi Island

2009-12-10T02:46:00.000-08:00

It's cold now here and i am dreaming.... dreaming that i am on the beach swimming, snorkeling, rolling my body in the white crystal sand of the ocean hayyy... :( so let me dream guys just for this day. I dream also that i was with Leonardo de Carpio enjoying the water in "The Beach"! Lol! hehehe ;)

me with Leonardo este! with hubby hehe ;) *winks*

ok, no more dreams! Two years ago hubby and me was in Thailand in Phi Phi Island and that time i don't know how to swim yet. We made a whole day trip to Maya Bay, including on what we paid are drinks, food, and etc. We also saw some caves, and monkey island, and then straight we go to Maya Bay. So, while the girls and everybody was enjoying swimming and snorkeling i was left alone on the boat just staring at them :( but i can swim now! teehee ;) after we came back from Thailand that year, i learn swimming and then maybe i can say i am not that good but important is i know now how to swim ;) my first experience swimming after learning was in The Red Sea in Egypt ;) now that's another story.

Sufi Whirling (dancing)

2009-12-07T03:28:00.000-08:00

I'm in the mood for a dance... Lol! i've been hearing a lot about Belly Dancing in the past few days or months and i thought why not share to you guys about "Sufi Dancing"? Honestly i still have a lot to write about our last days stay in Egypt in Cairo, like the bazzars, the mosque, and etc. just give me time guys, i need time ;)

So what is Sufi dancing or whirling? all i know is it's an ancient traditional dance in Egypt. It was in a theather in Khan-al-Khalili, where we watched it, and the very good thing about is it's for free, but the sad thing is taking video or filming is not allowed :( just click the photos to enlarge and hope you enjoy viewing.

finish, i hope you enjoyed the show.

Tea Museum in Norden

2009-12-06T03:20:00.000-08:00

a fire place from 12th century

I collect tea sets it's one of my hobbies, i don't know why but i just simply fascinated by them. In Norden, Ostfriesland we visited a tea museum and it's my first time to see one. Norden is the oldest city in Ostfriesland, became a city on 13th century, with about 27 thousand population.

the sea lion babies in Norddeich

After visiting "Seehundstation" in Norddeich, where they keep all the sea lion babies without mothers, and then let them free in the ocean when they think they are strong enough and ready to be alone, we went to the tea museum in Norden.

exhibition of traditional Japanese tea ceremony

the store

the tea maker house

collections of tea sets from all over the world

the tea room

me, having traditional Ostfriesland tea inside the museum

as usual that day the weather didn't change it was even colder and stormy so good idea to visit the museum and the sea lion center, and here at home it's more or less the same, so got to go guys.... it time for "Schietwettertee" ;) in English: " shit weather tea ".

Cuxhaven and more

2009-12-04T03:05:00.000-08:00

taken in Neuharlingersiel (Nordsee)

From Bremerhaven we crossed again the River Elbe to Cuxhaven. Most of the time it was really raining so hard and windy and cold, but our journey continues because we want to see something, so we go on despite the bad weather.

All the way to Aurich, Cuxhaven, Varel until to Neuharlingersiel, that i will feature today and

then next i will post the Tea museum in Norden.

Bremerhaven, crossing River Elbe

in Cuxhaven, Alte Liebe

beautiful fishing boats in a small harbor in Neuharlingersiel

a sea gull in Neuharlingersiel harbor

a modern art in Aurich

inside the Varel Cathedral

Stade

2009-12-01T02:28:00.000-08:00

After visiting my Aunt Luvy in Hamburg, stayed there for at least two nights, we are both so happy to see each other again. She was delighted by Michael's cooking like "Rouladen" (beef). We talked about our family back in Philippines and about so many things. Then on the third day we said goodbye to her and hoping and invited her someday she'll come in Wolfenbüttel to visit us.

in the city of Glückstadt still in Hamburg

arriving in Wischhafen (harbor) it's only almost 12 in the afternoon and it's already dark

Not so far from Hamburg, a not so big city Stade, crossing the River Elbe through ferry for about 20 minutes from Glückstadt to Wischhafen we arrived in Stade. The city is beautiful with it's unique facades from 1500 to 1600 "Fachwerkhäuser" or traditional houses that is typical here in Northern Germany. Although i don't know anything about architecture i am always fascinated by these wonderful historical structures.

a pose with the "fish woman" statue ;) at my back is the "Kranmuseum"

a small canal in Stade

and more historical traditional houses in Stade

Ostfriesland DE 2009

2009-11-22T01:30:00.000-08:00

"there's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.."

by: Margareth Elizabeth Sangster

it seems so long ago since the last time i wrote, i'm back guys and this one is for all of you who are so patient to come visit my site and comment, thank you so much everyone... as they say... it's good to be home :)

hugs,
Maricar

4 years and counting

2009-11-06T00:56:00.000-08:00

flowers from Michael, that's his being romantic and serious ;)

Last Wednesday 04.11.2009 was our 4th Year Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated it just simple in a restaurant in Braunschweig, Block House (Steakhaus). Ambiance is really beautiful and of course the steak was excellent. Now comes hubby's jokes and the surprise we didn't expect.

When we are finished eating and Michael is about to pay the bill, the waitress said thank you and see you again next time, and then hubby answered to the waitress.. "no, see you next year" the waitress asked, "why next year"? then hubby answered her again, "because today is our 4th year wedding anniversary, so we'll come here again next year"! ;) so... there he goes again my husband's 99% shit in the head works again! ;) he's like this teehee ;) the nice waitress laughed and then she said... "wait, don't go yet i have a surprise for both of you". So, we waited and then after a few minutes she goes back holding in a tray two big glasses of Champagne and with a small fireworks... enough scene to get everybody's attention inside the restaurant. I said whoa! what a surprised! We said thank you to her, and the woman sitting next to our table said, "Congratulations"! we said thank you.

this is our view while having our dinner, the Staatstheater in Braunschweig about or more than 100 years old

Prost! Lovely for our 4th year anniversary! Prost! i said. Then out side, as we walk in the street going back to the parking lot, he said.. "lovely... it's a wonderful evening isn't it"? he is saying this holding my hand... and i said.. "yes, it's a wonderful evening, life is wonderful..."

This is the man i married, i travelled with, laughed with, and cried with... oh, and yes! i married also his 99% shit in the head! ;)

Look! there's "Luchs"!

2009-11-02T05:06:00.000-08:00

Sunday again, yesterday we went wandering again in Bad Harzburg. We visited this animal they call it here "Der Luchs" in English, the Lynx lynx. Their temporary home for a while is the small wild park in Harz and they are being prepared to be use to the wild life and then soon to let them be free in the wilderness. We only saw three Luchs that day, maybe there are more but hiding.

Der Luchs eats rabbits, squirrel, wild pig and more. It belong to the group of any four big sized wild cats and one of the they call here "raubtier" or predator. Sorry about the wires of the cage, but hope you'll enjoy the photos.

this is the first Luchs we saw, not sure of it's a female or male

hubby call him/her a good "schauspieler" ;) (actor)

" i won't look" pose ;)

finally, it looked at me ;)

the second one has dark brown spots and much older than the first one, and he didn't like to being photographed, he makes a huge sound like saying "don't take picture of me"! ;)

this is the youngest of the three Luchs, it's fur is more reddish

until now we are still tired from wandering, back, bones, muscles are aching from wandering, but it's worth it going up and down this 600 m high mountain, eating in the restaurant up in the hills of "Rabenklippen" it was really a good Sunday and a good and bit different way of celebrating Halloween :)

Happy Halloween to all and have a wonderful week everyone!

Abu Simbel

2009-10-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

Note: i have similar entries of this post in my old blog in friendster also titled flip-flops and backpack and in our group Salitype Society.

Abu Simbel - lies 280 kilometers away from Aswan, from the North of Sudanese border it is only 40 kilometers away. It was early in the morning when we reached Abu Simbel. We already booked for the trip in our hotel in Aswan. We are about 20 persons who made the trip, and after picking- up the all the tourists from different hotels, we finally go and drive through the desert to Abu Simbel.

Pharaoh Ramses II ruled for a long time and built a lot of monuments and temples which are still exist. On the 60's in the last century, German archeologists and engineers move the whole temple to it's present site. So it will be not under the water level of this new artificial lakes, created by the big dam of river Nile. So, we and other millions of people can still see and enjoy the sight of this magnificent temple and statues of Pharaoh Ramses II. The temple was found by chance by the Swiss Johann Ludwig Burckhardt on May 22, 1813. And the Italian Giovanni Battista Belzoni found out the upper part of a door way and the main entrance on August 1, 1871.

TEMPLE OF HATHOR - still in Abu Simbel, the smaller temple dedicated to Queen Nefertari Ramses II's beloved wife. In this temple the statues of Queen Nefertari is surprisingly equal to Ramses' statues, which is not usual because most of the statues and bas relief we saw in Egypt the wife of the Pharaohs' are small and at the back of the pharaoh holding his knees.

Our trip continues still in Aswan, after visiting Abu Simbel we went straight to Aswan Dam. I will never forget this experience, seeing these magnificent statues of Pharaoh Ramses II.

Vientiane

2009-10-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

Vientiane - 28.11.2005 and so our journey continues from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. After having a nice and very good baguette sandwich we took a "tuk-tuk" to the bus station. We got our tickets and then the bus leaves at exactly 8 in the morning.

I had vomited two times during the bus trip :( i have problems whenever the road is zig-zag. The first 10 kilometers is still ok, until we went up the mountains then i started to become dizzy :( but not only me, i saw also most of us inside the bus are having the same problem like me. Michael had no problem, he enjoyed the view of the landscape and took photos when we stopped somewhere and it was amazing!

After a very long 8 hours of bus trip we finally arrived in Vientiane. Michael my husband look for a place where we can stay and he found a very nice and clean family run guest house. For 400 Baht a day, we have a nice place to stay and to rest and relax.

The Arc de Triemphe replica, officially " Patu Xai" but the local people of Vientiane call it "Anusawali" was named after a Lao who died in pre- revolutionary wars.

Next day we look around the town, and visit the temple "Pha That Luang" a very interesting temple. There's also a statue of the King before his name is "Setthathirat" but it's under construction when we went there so no photos.

At the end of the day we had a nice bbq dinner along the Mekong River. Next day our journey continues to Savahnaket and Pakse. And i am sooo thankful! because no more zig-zag road! ;)

Königslutter, Lutterspring

2009-10-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

moin moin!

It's Sunday again yesterday, we are lucky this time with the weather. Although it's cold still it didn't rain and the sun shines so off we go. We went to Königslutter about 25 kilometers from WF, East side of Niedersachsen. Michael said there's a natural spring and the nature park is also good for a walk.

i love just looking at these stunning trees, so much joy it brings to a soul like me that loves simple things like nature...

this is what i love in Autumn the colors of the trees and leaves, it was a gift for us to have a one day at least nice weather...

and.. yes another mushroom ;) bonus i think *winks*

on our way back home, we passed by in the Wolfenbüttel's Park, just a normal day i guess but it's wonderful Sunday ;)

guys.. the flowers are for you, because you prayed for us to have a nice weather and it worked ;) thank you for the prayers everyone! :)

have a happy week everyone.

Luang Prabang

2009-10-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

24.11.2005 - After our 2 days boat trip from Huay - Xai to Pakbeng Village we are finally in Laos. Michael got his visa before in Bangkok, i don't need visa because i am a Filipino. The boat trip in Mekong River was bit dangerous because of the rapids and currents. We had to stay in Pakbeng Village one night and continue the journey next day.

Laos - a very relax country the life is slow and quiet but romantic. Colonized by the French in the 1950's that's why people also speaks French aside from their local language. Baguette sandwhich is very good in Laos. They also have a very strong drinks called "Lao Lao" has about 70 to 80 percent of alcohol.

Luang Prabang - We arrived in Luang Prabang in the afternoon from Pakbeng Village. The boat trip was also exciting seeing and enjoying the view of the landscape, passed by some cave temple and saw the minorities people living in the mountain.There was a festival that day, we had been lucky to witnessed it. The temples of Luang Prabang which about 100 are under world heritage.
The photo below is the the famous and the most important temple in Luang Prabang, it's called Wat Xieng Thong. I had to wear my jacket because no sleeves blouse are not allowed inside the temple. ( er.. outside too? hehe i only forgot to take out my jacket in this picture ;)

We really enjoyed the festival, it was so colorful and far diferent from other festival i saw. Got a chance to have some photos together with the girls participated in the festival.

We had a nice two days stay in Luang Prabang, our journey continues next day to Vientianne. The bus trip to Vientianne was not so good at least for me, that will be in my next entry. The sun set in Mekong River photo was taken in our last night in Luang Prabang while having dinner.

Skagen, Denmark

2009-10-22T05:27:00.000-07:00

Skagen - one of the best and enjoyable trip we had in Denmark. Skagen is before, known as a small village and the people live in fishing. This sand dunes is about 90 meter high, and i made it climbing up there with my bare foot, you can see in the photo above i am holding my flip-flops it was easier to climb.

On the other side of the sand dunes is an ocean but be aware of this ocean because it is "tückisch" ( treacherous)!

whew! it's not easy climbing up this mountain of sand dunes but it's worth it, when i finally went to the top of it, i said.. "yes! i made it"! ;)

the lighthouse or tower is also an attraction to the tourists, half of the light tower is almost buried in the sand dunes.

We took a photo of this sheep seems like it telling us "beee! beee!!" ;) look at my back, can you see the sand dunes? did we look like we enjoyed the trip? oh, i think we did! hehe ;)

next entry i will share to you guys the city of Skagen.

self made autumn deco

2009-10-18T03:08:00.000-07:00

moin moin!

We are not so lucky these past few days with the weather, got a bit of quick snow sometimes, windy and cold. So, no outdoors pictures for you today guys. With the temperature of below 0°C i made myself busy planting in our humble balcony ;) wearing dick jackets and socks i went planting.

We bought some flowers, plants, baskets and one small sack of soil. I was surprised when i saw the price of a ready made autumn deco in the shop, one deco with flowers and some dried fruits and leaves costs almost 30 Euro! This picture below is my own self made deco. And the result is we spend only for all 10.99 Euro instead of 30 Euro for the deco (picture below) the basket cost 5.99 euro then the Alpenveilchen (Cyclamen) cost 2 euro and the Heide ( Heaths) flowers cost 3 euro, put some soil and i get 2 pieces of apple from our kitchen and walah! i have my very own autumn deco ;)

The flowers with blue and yellow colors are called Stiefmütterchen (Viola or Pansy) and they say it can survive the cold weather of winter, hmmm.. let's see ;) the flower in the shoe vase is also Cyclamen.

The glass vase with the candle is also my own self made deco, we bought the vase for 9.99 and the candle for 4 euro, one pack of deco stone cost 2 euro and the rest what's inside are all natural, one apple, dried fruit, vine leaves and some branches from Mutti's garden ;) and walah! another of my "masterpiece"? ;) *winks* if you buy this ready made it will cost double or even triple the price of the materials.

and this Marienkäfer ( Ladybeetle) i found in the leaves of the berries from Mutti's garden, got several shots whew! before i got this one, hope it's ok ;) here in DE, they say it brings luck. Guys wish us luck next week that the weather will be friendly so we could go outdoors and share to you more pics of Autumn ;)

the hubby is preparing dinner now... and this time he said it's called... "Nudelauflauf A la Michael" ;) got to go guys... to help hubby cooking (teehee) ;)

Have a happy and wonderful week everyone! ;)

hugs,
Maricar

tschüß summer, hallöchen autumn

2009-10-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

Michael is cooking our dinner and i asked what we have for dinner, he said it's called, "Michael's Fantasy" ;) i said, oh ok, sounds good! ;)

It's bit cool tonight, we got only about 17°C (inside) but today, i am so happy that i manage to clean everything. Took out our summer plants and flowers, clean the balcony, changed the table cloth on our table, and of course took pictures of some flowers that are still looking good despite the cold weather. I am surprised to see that there is still Dahlia came last week, and until now it look so beautiful, and seems like it's telling me to take picture of it for it will be the very last chance.

This flower is called Rot Kohl (red cabbage) but it's not for eating, it's only good as a deco especially this season of the year.

As i say goodbye to my summer flowers, i am also delighted as Autumn comes...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! and let's all welcome Autumn! ;)

God Bless you all.

Wandering in Harz

2009-09-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

moin moin! guys! :-)

Yesterday, Sunday in Harz National Park - We went wandering again. Michael and I always take the chance to go somewhere on weekends it doesn't matter if it's in the city or in the nature. This weekend we choose to leave the city and in to the forest.

The waterfalls is so calming make us want to stay there and just sit and stare and listen to it's sound. We also saw some mushrooms on the way, and took pictures of it of course.

Maybe it's our last chance to enjoy the good weather for this year, but maybe not... but yesterday was really a good day for us to be in the nature...

Have a wonderful week everyone.

"the city of a thousand towers"

2009-09-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

Prague - also known as "the city of a thousand towers" or "the city of spires"...

It was late in the afternoon already when we arrived to Prague. About 150 to 200 kilometers away from Hradec Kralove. It was snowing so hard and cold, we look for a place to stay, then we ended up in a tourist information office asking where we can find a nice hotel to stay for two nights. They arranged everything for us and told us how to get there, and we are lucky to find the hotel easily. After checking in and bringing our things in our room, we went to the city. The hotel is bit expensive ( 80 Euro per night ) but includes our breakfast.

We took the tram for about half an hour and then we are in the city center of Prague. It was wonderful to be in this city, everywhere you look it's beautiful. Michael my husband said, there's a famous beer brewery in Prague called U Fleku, and they have also of course good CZ food. We decided to eat there (late lunch) and also Michael can get his Pilsener beer. It was full of tourists as we enter the historical brewery restaurant. Some are totally drunk already and making trouble so the "big guys" came and took them out of the place. It was not cheap there but still the food is good and Michael was so happy to get his beer after driving a long time and happy because he don't need to drive that day. Not so far from U Fleku we walked to the Moldau River with those beautiful buildings from 19th Century.

Then suddenly, we had been in Karl's Bridge, came another strong snow storm and we hurried back to our hotel with the tram. After relaxing, we went to an Italian restaurant near the hotel. The pizza was surprisingly good. Then we are so "kaputt" (tired) we watched tv and then fall asleep. Next day is another action day... means, a lot of walking around the city.

to be continued...

Venice trip

2009-09-09T03:12:00.000-07:00

I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs,

A palace and a prison on each hand,

I saw from out of the wave of her structure's raise,

As from the strokes of the enchanter's wand,

A thousand years their cloudy wings expand,

Around me, and a dying Glory smiles,

O'er the far times, when many a subject wand,

Look'd to the winged Lion's marble pines,

Where Venice sate in state, throned on her hundred isles.

by : Lord Byron ( George Gordon Noel Byron )

Venezzia - 21/ 05/2007 - It was a long line, "lange schlange!" 10 o'clock in the morning at last the bus boat leaves. I got my video camera and Michael with our normal camera. After 100 kilometers away driving from Verona we reached Venice.

I can't believe my eyes that i am in Venice! being in Venice is such a wonderful experience. Never in my life i saw such a beautiful city, so enchanting and like they say... once you see Venice, you will fall in love with it, and we did.

Piazza San Marco - St. Mark's Square. Is the main square of Venice. I will never forget this beautiful city, the bell tower the Ponte di Rialto, and everything!

the poem by Lord Byron said it all, i've been to Venice, and i will never forget this trip in Italy. My husband and I hope someday we can go back there again... and fall in love again and again to Venice...

by: maricar

Angkor Wat

2009-08-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, Michael my husband and I got married here in Wolfenbüttel's Standesamt. That was on 4th of November 2005. But this entry is not about our wedding or maybe yes, some part of it. We decided before our wedding we will spend our honeymoon trip in some parts of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. I never been to Laos and Cambodia that time, but in Thailand we travelled before way back 2003. I was so excited because Michael said Angkor Wat is really an interesting temple. I will share our trip in Thailand and in Laos later.

After travelling in some places in Thailand and Laos, we are finally in Cambodia.

Cambodia - also called Kampuchea, with a population of about 14 million, Siem Reap is the capital city. The people are working mostly in farms and rice fields. Angkor Wat is the country's pride, for it is the world's most or best preserved temple and it became one of the Wonders of the World.

to be continued....

Bundesgartenschau 2009 in Schwerin

2009-08-13T02:14:00.000-07:00

Oh, silly me i should have describe what is Deutschland or Germany in my first post ( Braunlage) about where i live, ok lessons learned ;) (teehee) so, how can i describe Germany? It's the land of cars, sausage,bread, noodles, potatoes and beer. There are about 80 millions populations here, and the country is rich of history. But hey i am not here to tell their history, but i created a label about Germany to share to everyone my stories and photos and our trips in the country.

I am now living here for 4 years and so far, got the chance to explore some part of the country. My husband wants that i fill my Deutschland's map with a black dots ;) means... he wants to show me what is his country has and for the last 4 years i think i've seen many, already ;) ok, i posted already about where i live here, Wolfenbüttel in my group in Salitype, maybe i will post another here about Wolfenbüttel later.

I want to share to you guys today about Schwerin. We went there last May of this year. They had what they called Bundesgartenschau 2009 in Schwerin of course. It's my first time to see so much beautiful flowers! and Schwerin's castle is simply breathtaking. Mecklenburg Vorpommern, (in short Meck-Pom) is the state, and Schwerin is the capital city.

It was my husband's surprise for me on Mother's Day ;) he didn't tell me about this normally we talk about where we are going or what to see when we travel, but that day he kept his secret with a smile ;) and he told me to wear my dress with flower designs because he said it will fit on the place where we're going.

"Guten Tag!" Willkommen in Meck-Pom :)

Good day! Welcome to Meck-Pom

spring is almost finish and der Raps (Canola flowers) are everywhere

perfect weather for a road trip ;)

Meck-pom is famous for it's beautiful alleys

in front of Schwerin's castle

at my back is the Schweriner Schloß (castle)

a pose in a modern art of "future garden" ;)

to be continued...

Olomouc CZ

2009-08-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

Note: this entry is lifted from my old blog in friendster, also entitled flip-flops and backpack, a continuation of our trip to Czech Republic, March 2008.

(continuation from Kromeriz)

Next day we had been lucky this time with the weather. It was cold but at least sunny. Soon we are in OLOMOUC. We first visited the cathedral and monastery. The cathedral is called Wenzelsdom. In the city center on the main square is the Town Hall with Astronomical Clock. Also there is Pestsäule or world heritage monument. They built this monument to comemorate the victims of Plague in medieval ages in Europe.

a monument to remember the victims of plague from medieval age

the town hall with Astronomical clock

So we hit the road again after Olomouc, to reach HRADECH KRALOVE. We found at the again beautiful main square a Italian Hotel to stay for a night. As we look around the city center, it was dawn already and the sky was really colorful behind the towers of the town. Of course we took the chance to take pictures. And our dinner we had in another good Czech restaurant, with Knödel of course finished that good day.

Summer is here ;)

2009-08-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

On with my flip-flops and sunglasses...

No thick jackets, no shawl no winter boots, wow! Summer is here ;)

One thing i like in Summer here are those beautiful flowers, they are simply wonderful. Got some pictures here from our small but fine balkon which turned into a "little jungle" when summer comes ;)

here we sit and enjoy the weather ;)

and here also we make bbq with some friends or just the two of us ;)

Fuchsia (pronounced /ˈfjuːʃə/ FEW-shə) is a genus of flowering plants, mostly shrubs, and can grow long shoots, which were identified by Charles Plumier in the late-17th century, and named by Plumier in 1703 after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566).[1] The English name fuchsias is frequently misspelled "fuschias".

Geranium is a genus of 422 species of flowering annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as the cranesbills. It is found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region. These attractive flowers will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged. Propagation is by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.

Impatiens (pronounced /ɪmˈpeɪʃənz/)[1] is a genus of about 850–1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and tropics. Together with the puzzling Hydrocera triflora, this genus makes up the family Balsaminaceae. Such a situation is highly unusual, and phylogenetic studies might reveal that Impatiens needs to be split up; some of its species might be closer to Hydrocera than to their presumed congeners.

Petunia is a trumpet shaped, widely-cultivated genus of flowering plants of South American origin, in the family Solanaceae. The popular flower got its name from French, which took the word petun 'tobacco' from a Tupi-Guarani language. Most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids (Petunia x hybrida)[1].

our tomatoes ;) soon to be tomato salad ;)

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants. The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremony, as well as decorative purposes,[1] and the long woody stem of one variety was used for small pipes.

in this photo you can see the deco sun and moon we bought it in Italy in a terracota shop in San Gimignano

this plant is still a puzzle to me maybe somebody knows what 's it's name?

in the evening hubby and me spend most of our time here, talk about anything until midnight ;) with the lamp on from Thailand ;)

summer is here ;) what a lovely gift from above! have a wonderful summer everyone! ;)

Note: informations about the flowers are from Wikipedia.

All photos are taken in Wolfenbüttel, Germany by: maricar

Gladiolus

2009-08-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

The genus Gladiolus contains about 260 species, of which 250 are native to sub-Saharan Africa, mostly South Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa. The species vary from very small to the spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce.
These attractive, perennial herbs are semihardy in temperate climates. They grow from rounded, symmetrical corms, that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics.
Their stems are generally unbranched, producing 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved leaves, enclosed in a sheath. The lowest leaf is shortened to a cataphyll. The leaf blades can be plane or cruciform in cross section.
The fragrant flower spikes are large and one-sided, with secund, bisexual flowers, each subtended by 2 leathery, green bracts. The sepals and the petals are almost identical in appearance, and are termed tepals. They are united at their base into a tube-shaped structure. The dorsal tepal is the largest, arching over the three stamens. The outer three tepals are narrower. The perianth is funnel-shaped, with the stamens attached to its base. The style has three filiform, spoon-shaped branches, each expanding towards the apex.
The ovary is 3-locular with oblong or globose capsules, containing many, winged brown, longitudinally dehiscent seeds. In their center must be noticeable the specific pellet like structure which is the real seed without the fine coat. In some seeds this structure is wrinkled and with black color. These seeds are unable to germinate.
These flowers are variously colored, pink to reddish or light purple with white, contrasting markings, or white to cream or orange to red.
The South African species were originally pollinated by long-tongued anthrophorine bees, but some changes in the pollination system have occurred, allowing pollination by sunbirds, noctuid and sphingid moths, long-tongued flies and several others. In the temperate zones of Europe many of the hybrid large flowering sorts of gladiolas can be pollinated by small well-known wasps. Actually, They are not very good pollinators because of the large flowers of the plants and the small size of the wasps. Another insect in this zone which can try some of the nectar of the gladioli is the best-known European Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum which usually pollinates many famous garden flowers like Petunia, Zinnia, Dianthus and others.

informations are from Wikipedia, photos are taken in Wolfenbüttel, Germany by: Maricar

The Netherlands trip August 2006

2009-07-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Three years ago we made a trip to Holland or The Netherlands. My second trip outside Germany in Europe (first was in Luxembourg).

THE NETHERLANDS - the land of tulips,"pannenkoek" (pan cakes), milk, cheese, windmills, wooden shoes and porcellain, and a very long history, discoverers and traders which made the country rich. The land of famous artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt and many more. Holland is also famous with "Grachten" ( canal and moving bridges).

DELFT - It was in August 2006, we are not so lucky with the weather that year. Holland is not so far from Wolfenbüttel, it was about 4 to 5 hours driving. We arrived in Delft in the afternoon, and we found a nice nature camping site ( 4 star camping site) and built our tent under an apple tree. We had a nice dinner in the camping's restaurant ( too tired to cook our food because we had been to other places in Germany before). At night, sometimes we woke up because apples are keep falling on our tent ;) and in the morning we woke up with the birds singing and by ducks' " quack! quack!", rabbits running around and goats eating the apples which fell down last night ;) real nature camping! ;)

Next day, after we had our breakfast we went to the city of Delft. Through the alleys and canals with bridges, and dark red brickstone houses we came to an old historical church from 1500's. It's called "Nieuve Kerk" or new church. Nearby we came to the big main square with the town hall on one side, the old church opposite and on the other sides beautiful merchants buildings from the 1500's now housing shops and restaurants.

MADURODAM IN DEN HAAG - a miniature of Holland, just a few kilometers away from Delft. It was raining that day when we arrived. So many tourists from all over the world and especially with children are there.

Italy trip May- June 2007

2009-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Two years ago we wanted to go to Italy. Michael was there before and i was wondering what is Italy? So, Michael said it's hard to say. He said Italy is everything you want and also not what you want. It's one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in Europe if not in the world. We only had two weeks and we really saw and experienced a lot.

So, still what to expect in Italy? It has culture in many ways, like excellent pizza and pasta, wine, then unique places like Venice, Napoli, Rome, Firenze, etc. and beautiful landscape like in Toscana or the lakes at the foot of the Alps and volcanoes too, history from three thousand years ago, and until today ( ancient ruins and Ferrari). Italy is also the home of famous genius artists and scientists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo and many more.

Buongiorno! or Ciao!

Welcome to Lago di Garda!

After driving about one thousand kilometers from the North of Germany we arrived in Torri del Benaco, at the Lake Garda. We found a camping near the town, and after building our tent we look around this small historical town, with a castle, promenate on the lake, and nice old town and harbor.

In the evening we had a nice dinner in a restaurant on stilts in Lake Garda. I had fresh fish from the lake and Michael had his pizza a la Lago di Garda. And of course 1 liter of house wine ;) We slept in our small tent under the olive trees, with birds singing and because we are so tired, we said "Bouna Notte"! ;)

Next day, i woke up with the birds singing and in Michael's "Buongiorno Lovely!" and i said wow! we are really in Italy ;) We packed our stuff and (no breakfast, restaurants are still closed) drove along Lake Garda to Bardolino. It's not so far from Torri. There at the harbor a restaurant, they served us excellent Italian coffee and sandwhich for breakfast. We looked around the town with marble black and white pavements, and yachts in the harbor.

Next place and the last we visited in Lago di Garda is the town of Lazise. Of course it has a big castle, small harbor and old town everywhere you look it's really nice and romantic. Leaving the lake we drove all the way to Verona, about 100 kilometers away from Garda.

VERONA - the city of opera, of Romeo and Juliet. They say Shakespeares story the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet happened here (?) and the picture below they say is Juliet's balcony. If it's real or not nobody knows. A lot of tourists from all over the world are there, including some Flipinos. After visiting Juliet's balcony, we walked around the old town with small alleys, churches, historical houses also "Romeo's house", and came to the river Adige, this part of Verona is the home of rich people. On the other side, hills and villages are connected by ancient bridges.

We found a restaurant near the river Adige, with the best Lasagne we ate in Italy! mmm! Magnifico! ;) we walked back through the old town with nice alleys, some old churches to the big main square, where there is also the ancient Roman Amphitheater ( when we had been there it was under reconstructions). Where they make the world famous Opera Festival of Verona.

So, on the high way with a lot of traffic we came there in the middle of the harbor area, and we are lost! it took some time until we found a camping in this unique city.... Venezia. That was the very busy day, and we cooked our dinner that night and Michael got his wine.

Czech Republic March 2008

2009-07-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

This entry is from my old blog also titled flip-flops and backpack in Friendster. All photos are taken by me and my husband Michael. Texts are all written by me.

We planned to go to Czech Republic around Easter, and we thought it's just beginning of Spring so we could go Camping. But just a day before we started, the Winter came with a lot of snow and temperature below zero. The whole season of winter was warm, so we had not been so lucky with the weather and so the whole trip become more expensive because we had to stay in Hotels. Anyway we enjoyed the whole trip, although it's not our "way of travelling" (staying in Pension Houses or Hotels) but we didn't have other choice because it's so cold

Up along river Elbe we drove direction to Czech Republic. But first we tried to see some landscape in Elbsandsteingebirge with a flat table mountains with spectacular views and rocks. But there was too much snow so small roads had been unpassable. Still nice for taking pictures. Crossing into the Czech Republic you hardly noticed because it's EU member now. Although they are EU member, they still don't have the Euro, so we change some euro into Kroner (Crowns). The river Elbe in German is called Labe in Czech, the spring is in this country. Through small towns villages, over hills our first place to stay and see was Kutna Hora.

Kutna Hora is situated above a deep river valley. We found near the main square a nice hotel named U Vlasskeho dvora. Like this hotel and others later we found out that staying in a hotel CZ is not so cheap anymore like it used to be. Still food is very good and inexpensive. In Kutna Hora, we walked around in the old town with historical houses and illuminated churches and palaces. There's a very original pub in town called Pivnice Dacicky, where they serve their homemade beer and typical CZ's food. In CZ they have the best beer in the world ( according to hubby ;). Not only Plzner and Budweiser are very good - also the locally brewed beers are even better. They don't have only good beer but also their famous homemade dumplings or Knödel. Mmmhh lecker! masarap! but you need a lot of sauce with it. Then with a full stomach we went back to our place and on our way there's strong snow storm

Next day we looked around the city again took pictures of St. Barbara Church it was built 1388-1565, almost 200 yrs. to finish this huge church, also the medieval fountains and buildings. Kutna Hora is a nice small town to visit. Hardly anybody goes there.

Next place we planned to visit on that day is Jihlava. We thought we can make it quickly because it was not so far away. We choose the high-way Praha-Brno. After only a few kilometers we got stucked in a traffic jam. That was not only a traffic jam as we found out, it was because of the worst accident that ever happened in CZ. We saw totally wrecked cars, buses and trucks being towed away by the rescue teams, ambulances and firebrigades came to help the victims. As we heared later fortunately nobody died. The whole day we spent on this high way and to get some food and drinks i had to walk in the middle of the high way in deep snow through the standing three lanes cars and trucks from all over Europe to a 2 km away rest area. Only late in the evening we arrived in Jihlava. We found this 4 star Grand Hotel in the center. And near by we ate in a very good CZ- restaurant another typical meal with Garlic Soup, Goulasch and Knödel and of course for Michael, local beer. Although we didn't do much on that day, we felt so kaputt so we sleep well in our "luxury hotel".

Next day we looked around in the center of Jihlava. The big main square with historical buildings is really nice. So is the cathedral and the only remaining city gate. It's ok to looked around there but on that main square there is this ugly building of a supermarket from socialist times and a bus station. So better we went over snowed- in small roads to the beautiful small town of TELC. From the parking to our left a lake with ducks, to our right an old castle with museum now we entered the town to a big medieval city gate.

a few meters we reached this great center square with all these beautiful historical pediment buildings of which each has a different shape of facade. Because of another snow storm we walked safely under the arcades to reach the fountain and cathedral. Telc is really worth to visit if somebody who will come to CZ. Because of bad weather we did'nt go to Brno, but on small streets then to KROMERIZ.

Denmark trip June, 2008

2009-07-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

Note: this entry is lifted from my old blog in friendster also titled flip-flops and backpack.

13.06.2008 Yes! we are ready! for 10 days holidays in Denmark. First we went to Northern German State of Schleswig- Holstein to see the historical towns of Mölln, Ratzeburg and Lübeck. We spend one night in Grömitz at the Balticsea. Next morning we went to Puttgarden on the Island of Fehmarn to catch the Scandlines Ferry to Roedby in Denmark. We crossed some islands and bridges of the Danish islands to go to the island of Moen. In this island they have a spectacular limestone cliffs, about 100 m high, it was beautiful! Going up there through the natural forest was really wunderbar!

Then we went to Copenhagen the capital of Denmark, 1/3 of the population living there. We stayed on a nice camping with restaurants, hot shower, (with high-tech toilettes) and because Denmark is not cheap! we cooked our own food ( like we did many times after). Next day started with heavy rain and we took the railway to the center. The rest of the day was very cold and windy but sunny, even I got sunburnt!There's so much to see in Copenhagen. We just saw some high lights like, Town hall, historical fountain, churches, castles of the King and Queen Amalienborg. At the waterfront we saw the symbol of Copenhagen, the famous "Little Mermaid". Busloads of tourists from all over the world and us there. At the historical and old port of Nyhavn i eat my first Poelser, Lecker! typical Danish food. It's a hot- dog with different sauces, sweet pickles and crispy onions. Walking to the Royal gardens with a castle, we came back near the railway station. Of course we didn't forget to visit Tivoli, it was fun! with many rides and attractions, but we didn't see the illumination of Tivoli, because in summer it's always daylight there.

to be continued...

One Sunday in Braunlage

2009-07-26T11:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we went to a nature park in Braunlage just an hour away from where we live,Wolfenbüttel. I had been asking hubby for a nice place to go where we can go mushrooms and butterfly hunting and of course to enjoy the nature itself. I am a nature lover and i thank God for these wonderful creatures that HE given us to enjoy and realize how beautiul life is with them. I hope you enjoy viewing the pics, there will be not much of words in this entry because i honestly don't know the names of these butterflies and mushrooms, except for the "Fingerhut" and ducks and gold fish in the park.

at the "Kurpark" gold fishes and ducks enjoying the good weather...

i chased this butterfly i didn't give up until i got it in my camera ;)

the park is surrounded with these beautiful flowers...

and more flowers....

and more flowers...

the first wild mushrooms we found...

this butterfly didn't give me ahard time, it stays there like it was sleeping ;)

the second wild mushrooms we found going back...

we call it here "Fingerhut" or in english Digitalis. All i know about this flower is it's beautiful and it's poisonous.

the last wild mushrooms we found and we don't know if it's eatable or not...

ASWAN, EGYPT

2009-07-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

This entry is from my old blog in friendster also name flip - flops and backpack. This is where our journey in Egypt begins, in Aswan.

Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian once noted: " Concerning Egypt, I will now speak at lenght, because nowhere are there so many marvelous things, nor in the world besides are there to be seen so many things of unspeakable greatness..." ( from the Lonely Planet )

Come with me and join us in our adventure in Egypt. Ride a camel with me, sail with us with the Felucca, visit and be captivated by four thousand year old monuments and we will show you the "secrets" of some ancient tomb , enjoy the beauty of the under water world by snorkelling in the red sea, make a real desert safari and see the life of about twenty five million people city of Cairo.

ASWAN - is Egypt's southernmost city, a gateway to Africa, Michael and me call it the Verona ( in Italy) of Egypt. The river Nile and the beautiful mountains and sand dunes makes it romantic and it was also considered the popular winter place. For the Egyptians it is warmer than in Cairo or Alexandria. Aswan is located on the East Bank of river Nile. The city is busy with big Bazar open day and night and also restaurants, markets while the other side is just desert with tombs and sand dunes and mountains. The best thing to do when you're in Aswan is to sail a Felucca and watch the sun set over the hills and islands in the river Nile. That's what we did ;)

By sailing a Felucca, you must really bargain hard with the owner or sailor, because when they know you are a tourist they really ripped you off with the price. Finally, we found a nice old Egyptian guy and we agreed with the price, 50 EP for two hours. We sailed around the islands and enjoyed the view of the city Aswan and wait for the sun to set but it's bit cloudly that day but still we enjoyed it ;) It was a wonderful experience sailing the Felucca which sails with the wind and the current of the river. That's how the ancient Egyptian did and also today. Next morning we woke up 3 o' clock in the morning and had breakfast in the hotel. Our mini van came after a few minutes and then off we go. In a convoy of buses we waited for almost an hour and finally, we go.

The White and Black Desert, Bahariyya Oasis, Egypt

2009-07-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

( continuation from our trip in Giza Pyramids in Cairo )

Next morning still in Cairo, very early we took the taxi to the bus station, again no breakfast! But we got the front seats in the bus for about 9 hours of travelling to Bahariyya Oasis. We had booked already in our pension our trip to Bahariyya, that was quite wise, because in Bahariyya it costs more to see what we will see. All included in what we paid are, the camp (hotel) food, transport and the tour guide and the trip to the White and Black desert.

The ride on the public bus was quite boring. First through the suburbs of Cairo then hours and
hours through the flat and stony desert. In the afternoon we reached Bahariyya Oasis. But even this was interesting for me to see the beautiful landscape of desert and some desert plants on the way. In Bahariyya bus station, everything went fine, there our service is waiting for us. The owner of the resort or camp is so nice and friendly. After introducing ourselves he brought us to the camp, quite far from the "city". The camp is called, Sahara Camp. It was beautiful! i never seen oasis in my life, the location of the camp is half way on a hill over looking the palm trees of Bahariyya Oaisis.

A boy served us cold water and juice and a nice meal. it was about 4 o'clock already in the afternoon. In the garden the view of the oasis is breathtaking. They showed us our small and cute "nipa hut bungalow". After the good meal we walked through the desert up to the hill to see the sunset. It's worth waiting up in the hills for he sunset, because it was really wonderful. It's getting dark very quickly and in the evening they served us a delicious Bedouin meal in the garden of the camp and they even had beer for Michael, we paid extra of course and also my coke. That was just the beginning of exciting Bahariyya and around. And for us a normal travelling day

A little bit later when we got our strength back, we climbed up the hill behind our camp, to have an overlook view of the oasis. It was around 6 o'clock as the sun is about to set, it was wonderful to see how the color of the hills and the oasis change, it was breathtaking! of course we took picture of the sunset. Back in our camp, there waiting for us a romantic Bedouin dinner in the garden of the camp. It was quite cool that time because it's winter in Egypt and it's in the desert. Next day is the beginning of our desert safari to the Black and White Desert, and i mean real desert safari.

We had been ready with all our important stuff for our trip in the desert. Specially cameras and video cameras. Our group was composed with two Koreans, one Canadian, Michael and me the driver and the boy named Mustafa. Our Toyota 4x4 was loaded by them on the roof and inside with all the equipments, food and water for our overnight stay in the desert. Off we go on the good high way which connects the Oasises in Egypt. On the road again. In the middle of nowhere we stopped for lunch break where they served us a very nice traditional Bedouin meal.

Our first destination was the Crystal Mountain, part of White Desert National Park. Actually it's only a hill of natural crystals. The shiny crystals and the reddish, fine sand makes it an unusual sight. We left the highway and speeded through the desert until suddenly we came to a steep kind of small cliff and we stopped for the view of the hills and the barren flat desert below. After taking pictures, we went back to our Toyota and our driver drove down speeding through the sand. It was very steep and we are all got scared a bit, but it's part and also fun of the trip. ;)

After a few kilometers, suddenly the color and the landscape changed. No more red or brown stony desert it's all white and the first weird sculptures created by nature appeared in front of us and along the track. Now we really are in the White Desert. In several places we stopped and took photos of these amazing cream landscape. You can use your imagination and fantasy to create names for these bizarre shapes, like mushrooms, monkeys, turtles, chicken, muffins, camels and more. In Egypt you might expect more ancient culture but it also offers some unique natural sights. Later afternoon our driver found a place to built up our camp for the night. While he and the boy built our camp, we walked around in the desert to look further for more other rock formations. We remembered our camp was built near a rock looks like a turtle so we know our way back. ;) With the sun going down the colors of the rocks and the desert changed from white to pink and red... it was breathtaking! And after the sunset it becomes white again against the dark blue sky... we are speechless! or we can only say WOW! ;)

We came back to our camp which became really a nice camp which the Egyptian boy made with the wind- shade, made from colorful traditional Bedouin blankets. They put matrasses for the night and pillows for us. Our driver started and his boy to make fire for cooking our dinner, and also to keep us warm because after sunset in the desert it becomes really cold, the temperature is almost 0°C. They cooked "lecker" (delicious) Bedouin food with bbq chicken, vegetables with local herbs, rice. And for dessert we had fresh oranges from Bahariyya. Suddenly there's an animal coming from the desert: the desert fox looking for food. Because we are not the first ones who made camping there. Quite shy but not really " he " came near to us. Our driver said it's not dangerous and there also no snakes or scorpions around. ( really?) - we are lucky we didn't experience. The fox got his share.

After dinner our driver called his friends shouting from other camps nearby and they all came. A group of Egyptians and two Japanese girls and their guides came to join us at our camping fire. They bring their traditional drums and everybody was singing. They told us that it is a Bedouin's tradition to gather all people or tourists in one place. They play their drums and started singing their Bedouin songs. And then everybody, from all different countries contributed a song. When it's my turn, I sang a Filipino traditional song... believe it or not... I sang " Bahay- Kubo" ;), and accompanied with the drums from our Bedouin friends. Everybody loved it and I got a lot of applause. That night with the Bedouin and international campers in the middle of the Sahara Desert is an unforgettable experience. When the fire is almost finished, everybody went to sleep. We went to our sleeping place and we covered ourselves with those heavy, thick and warm blankets made from camel wool. We are lucky we had only half moon. So we can see the stars. It was wonderful! We slept so well in our " million star hotel" ;)

Next morning Michael is the first to wake and get up. Now comes the real human desert life experience... ( no pictures ) there's a rule that in the desert you have to protect the nature. We are also part of it and aware of it. So our "human manure" (waste ) and toilet paper should be burnt. We digged a hole in the desert and burnt all. That was our "other experience" in the desert that I will never forget in my life. So, off we go picture taking again, walking around the white desert far away from our camp. Meanwhile our driver and the boy prepared our breakfast. Our breakfast was Egyptian tea and traditional bread with fig jam and cheese and some oranges. After the boys packed everything and we went on the "road" again, actually a track in the desert until we reached the highway to Bahariyya. Going back there we stopped in the" Black Desert". We climbed a hill to have an overlook to mountains and dark terrane area. Still it was a good sight but not so spectacular like the White Desert. We had been speeding back then to Bahariyya Town bought some fruits before we came back to our camp in Sahara Camp. In the afternoon it was good to relax in the garden and drink beer for Michael, Coke for me. We are so tired from a long trip but so happy!

Next day, our last day in Bahariyya Oasis. We packed our things to go back to Cairo in the afternoon, and we got ready for our around Bahariyya trip after breakfast. Our driver took us first to Date Palm Plantations, and also to vegetables fields and all irrigated by natural spring from Bahariyya Oasis. We saw the normal simple farm life of the local people. We went to a big salt lake which is not so far from the Pyramid Mountain. From there, the Pyramid Mountain we can overlook almost the whole oasis. Speeding up and down the sanddunes we came to a Bedouin Village where they feed and raised oasis camel. And then we drove up to the desert plateau, up there the landscape is dark and it looks like on the moon. Then we went to a view point at the "English Man's House" at the edge of the cliff over looking the oasis. Going down the plateau was really an adventure to us, and we are thankful that we came back safely in our camp.

We loaded our backpacks in the car and say goodbye and thank you to the owner and the people of the camp, they had been really nice to us. They brought us in the bus station, and we wait until the bus goes. While waiting we bought some cookies, water, and fruits for our 350 kilometers bus ride back to Cairo.

Shukran Bahariyya! (shukran-thank you) for all the beautiful memories that we will never forget. That's our trip to Bahariyya Oasis, hope you enjoyed our journey in this unique part of Egypt.

The long bus ride was not so exciting, big part of it was getting stuck in traffic jams of Cairo, what a difference to the quiet desert life in Bahariyya coming back in this mega city. Back in Cairo again, it worked out with our reservations for our hotel room, and then we had a nice dinner at the Felfela restaurant.

Giza Pyramids, Cairo

2009-07-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

We woke up very early to catch the bus to Bahariyya, Oasis. Without any breakfast we went straight to the bus station. In that time of the day Cairo is quiet. So the taxi driver even went the wrong way through one way streets to be faster. Michael stands in the line to buy the tickets and i was watching for our backpacks. Seven o' clock the bus should leave, but then they told him it's all full. At least we got the tickets for the next day. Ok, so we went by taxi back to our pension and stayed another night and got our breakfast and our room again. So, what to do then? I told Michael why not visit now the Giza Pyramids, and he said ok, good idea! ;) but how like Michael is, because he was there before - even it was 1985 and with his mother - we went like them because he knows that there is cheap transport. For only 50 Piasta ( half EP ) each we took the local bus to the Pyramids. That's part of the trip, and later Egyptians told us, "wow! well done"! ;) After a local long bus trip we arrived in Giza. Many touts are offering us tour guide with the camel or donkeys but we said no, we walk.

After we got our tickets we walked up to the plateau where the Pyramids, the last remains of the seven wonders of the ancient world are standing. WOW! i felt so small standing near the Giza Pyramids! The first pyramid we came to was Cheops, actually the biggest and the youngest of the three pyramids of Giza, about only 5000 years old. The next to the biggest is Pharaoh's Chefron pyramid. It's top is still preserved with the granite after almost 5000 years. The smallest of the three pyramids is Pharaoh's Meneken pyramid.

We walked through the desert to a hill over looking all the three amazing pyramids of Giza. Some tourists came with the camel and we "rented" just to have pictures with camel and the pyramids. Good for the Egyptian guy, it's extra income for him ;)

From the plateau of Giza we had a view of modern city of Cairo, but we wanted to see the world's most famous statue, the Sphinx. Nobody knows who made it and for waht purpose, and how old it is, "sure it's older than the pyramids of Giza". But it's there and this statue will gives a feeling of unknown and eternity. It's simply amazing and mystical like magic. When you stand there and see it, you will feel it.

The whole day we spent there our time without lunch or anything, so in the evening to a taxi ride we went to the subway station. There Michael and me took the metro or lrt of a subway where only women are allowed to ride, but we didn't know it so we just jump in in the train and a woman told us in a friendly way that it's only for women. They know we are tourists and we just say sorry. And then we went out to Tarhiya square and had our Egyptian tea in our favorite local tea and sheesha shop.

We had a nice dinner in a typical Egyptian restaurant and sleep early because next day it will be "real action"! means travelling a long... long... way! through the desert. So, that's our trip to the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx, my childhood dreams came true.... to see the pyramids and the sphinx. I have been there, and i will never forget this.