Luxembourg meets the World
One of the most beautiful things to do at the Christmastime is visiting many Christmas markets. I could go to 100 Christmas markets and still have the desire to visit thousand more. Since I can remember, I always loved to visit Christmas markets, but I think this comes with the Western Europe traditions.
Zakynthos is a small Greek island located in the Ionian Sea. With only 410 square km and 123 coastline, it is a well known tourist destination. The Venetians gave a nickname to the island during their occupation, „The flower of the East“.
In 1953, Zakynthos was rocked by a serie of earthquakes, which destroyed a huge part of the island. Only three buildings were not destroyed in Zakynthos City. In 2006, the western part of the island got hit by an enormous forest fire. 8 years after the fire, we could still see the leftovers of this fire.
When I decide going to Zakynthos, I immediately fell in love with the Hotel Strada Marina, but when I saw the price, I knew that I’m going to stay there. Let me tell you why.
The Hotel Strada Marina***
This hotel is located in the city center of Zakynthos just in front of the port. Even if its located so near to the sea traffic, you don’t hear the noise of it. As I entered the hotel, I immediately recognized the kindness of their employees. They try to help you wherever they can for planning your trips.
The Room
Superior Double Room with Sea View
I really loved our room. It was clean and you had a lot of space. The best thing about it was the view over the port. The only thing which was not perfect were the beds. The mattress was really hard. If you’re not used to this, it can be difficult for you to sleep. But for me, this was just a detail, as I can sleep wherever I am.
Roof garden
My favorite place in the hotel was definitely the roof garden with its bar. I loved it to sit there and enjoy the amazing view over the sea. The barkeeper was really nice and mixed delicious cocktails.
Food
We only had breakfast in the hotel, but it was delicious. Something the Greek really can do, is cooking! You just can’t resist their food. Even if you’re full, you just keep on eating, because it tastes soooo good.
Price
Ok, let’s be honest, the price was deciding! I couldn’t believe it, until I got the bill. We paid 343€ for 7 days in the Superior Double Room with Sea View including breakfast.
The Location
As Zakynthos isn’t a big island, you can visit everything by car. So the Hotel Strada Marina was an excellent start point for every activity. BUT you have to rent a car. The public transport in Zakynthos is not so developed as in other European cities. When you’ve hired a car, you’re completely free to visit as much as you can.
Prices for a Classic Room start at 66 € per night (in the high season)
Last week, a journalist of the luxembourgish press asked some bloggers to present their blog in order to get an article in the newspaper „Lëtzerbuerger Journal„. He picked the best ones to be published. Here is the link to the whole story in the Journal.
Lucky me! My blog presentation was published in the newspaper! I was so happy. It was the first time that my travel blog was mentioned in a newspaper. Perhaps it’s only the start of something big – who knows.
Here is the translation in English:
„Most people only have their job or money in their mind and completely forget about the other side of life. Referred to the motto „travel is the only thing you buy, that makes you richer“, I want to show that traveling is a lot more than only lying on the beach. Traveling means discovering new cultures, food and people. Furthermore, it is a way to find yourself, to broaden one’s horizon and finally to get another view of things“.
I’m really sorry for those of you who don’t understand German. Basically it is a description of what it is to be a blogger.
I hope that it won’t be my last publication or presentation in a newspaper, because this means a lot to me and is a kind of motivation to keep on blogging.
My first time in Amsterdam, and I really enjoyed it. This city is really special, not only that the people are more open and relax, but also that you smell very often pot. Before my trip to Amsterdam, I thought that those where just prejudices, but indeed, you notice that weed is not prohibited there. But I think that this belongs also to the charm of the city.
Grachten of Amsterdam
Those are really the town’s landmark. Basically, these are artificially built water canals. You just can’t miss them when you’re in Amsterdam, because they are everywhere, in every single corner you can see them.
Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House is not a typical touristic sight, but something that goes deeper. As it is an historical building which shows the destiny of a person and it is very emotional. But it is an absolut must do, but in another way. For those of you who don’t know who Anne Frank was, it was a jewish girl who lived during the WW2 and hided herself and her family in a backroom of a house in Amsterdam.
Oude Kerk – Old Church
Koninklijk Paleis – Royal Palace
The Royal Palace is located on the same Place as the Peek and Cloppenburg (a big fashion store) and the Mme Tussaud’s. It is the official location of the Dutch royal family in the capital.
Red-light district
This was something really unusual for me. As a Christian, I was a little bit shocked about the fact that the „ladies“ where standing right next to a church. So basically, you don’t have the typical street prostitution like in other countries, but you have facilities with windows where the ladies are presenting and selling themselves. It’s like window shopping.
Flower market
I know, this is typical for the Netherlands. But I love it! I love the flowers in the Netherlands. Their flower market is a row full with different stands who sell all sorts of flowers especially tulips and souvenirs. It’s really difficult to opt for something, because there’s such a huge amount of flowers.
Heineken Experience
It’s absolutely worth it, even if you’re not a beer lover 😉 For more informations, go and check my post about the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam.
Coffee Shop
I have to admit, that I didn’t went to a Coffee Shop. First, I had not that much time, because I was only on a day trip in Amsterdam and second, I didn’t know how to react in a coffee shop. Perhaps, it sounds a little bit weird, but since I don’t smoke, I really didn’t know what I shall do in such a Coffee Shop. If you’ve been already in one, tell me how it was. So that I know if I will enter it the next time.
