Top things to see and to do in Cluj-Napoca, the heart of Transylvania

April 06, 2025 by Miquel in Europe

A recent aviation conference, Aviation-Event CLJ 2025, hosted by Avram Iancu Cluj International Airport, provided me an ideal opportunity to set foot in Romania for the very first time.

And what can I say? It totally surpassed my expectations!

Cluj-Napoca turned out to be a truly hidden hem (in fact, increasingly less hidden, since airlines are connecting the city to an increasing number of destinations throughout Europe and beyond), with a rather pleasant, tidy, beautiful and very walkable city center.

In this post I will share what I think are the top things to see and to do in Cluj-Napoca, the city that has come to be known as the “heart” of Transylvania.

To be clear, this was a short stay, but Cluj-Napoca’s historical center is not huge, so you can get a good grasp of the place in a couple of days, which is the amount of time I spent sightseeing in Cluj.

A walk through the old town of Cluj

Cluj-Napoca is an ancient city. In fact, the second part of its name, “Napoca”, which was added in the post-war years, is a reference to its past as a Roman colony.

Romania takes big pride in its Roman heritage (starting by the name of the country itself!). In fact, the fortified Roman city of Napoca was one of the northermost Roman outposts in this part of Europe, almost at the limits of the Roman province of Dacia.

But, this is only part of the story, because, like many places in this part of Eastern Europe, borders have changed frequently in this part of Europe and populations and languages have mixed, with different linguistic and national groups often living side by side for centuries.

This is also the case of Cluj. For long time the city was part of the historical kingdom of Hungary (with some prominent Hungarian kings being actually born in the city). It later became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and, finally, joined the independent state of Romania.

An obelisk marking the visit to the city of Cluj of Austrian Emperor Francis I in the early 19th C.

In addition to the Romanian-speaking population, which today is the vast majority, Cluj, like the rest of Transylvania, has also a sizable Hungarian-speaking minority and, until WW2 it had also substantial, Jewish and German-speaking (Saxon) populations too.

This diverse cultural mix is reflected in the fact that the city has three names. In addition to its Romanian name Cluj, the city has also been known historically as Kolozsvar (Hungarian), Klausenburg (German) and Claudiopolis (Latin).

Likewise, the center of Cluj has historically been dotted by churches of different confessions (Roman Catholic, Romanian Greek Catholic, Romanian Orthodox and Protestant) in addition to synagogues (most of the Jewish heritage was, sadly, lost during WW2, when the local community was deported and killed by the Nazis).

We had the privilege to be guided around the center of Cluj by Catalin, of Cluj Guided Tours, who helped us understand the many nuances and rather complex history of this city and the different peoples that have shaped its past.

The present-day historical center of Cluj corresponds roughly with what used to be within the walled perimeter of the city, but fortifications were torn down by the Austrians in the 18th C. so only a couple of towers remain in place.

The city center has a handful of pedestrianised cobbled streets of the sort you find in many of the cities across what used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Fortunately, and unlike in other cities in this part of Europe, this area hasn’t been overtly taken over (at least not yet!) by Irish pubs and souvenir shops!

One of the key points in the old town is this whitewashed house depicted in the picture above (in fact, as our guide explained to us, it is the amalgamation of three different houses), where one of the greatest Hungarian kings, Matthias Corvinus, was born in the 15th C. A plate by the door marks this event.

It is said that the king later granted a long-lasting tax exemption to the inn where he was born.

Equally interesting is the adjacent and somehow “newer” part of town, which contains most of the 18th and 19th C. buildings, kept in perfect condition, together with a handful of broad avenues and commercial streets.

It is here where we find another of the city’s singular monuments, the Monument of the Signers of the Transylvanian Memorandum, which alludes to an episode in the late 19th C., in which Romanians living within what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire petitioned the emperor in Vienna for equal rights as a national minority.

The Church of Saint Michael, Cluj

The center of gravity of Cluj is Unirii Square, a wide open space which contains two of the city’s landmarks: Saint Michael’s Church and the monument to Mathias Corvinus, the aforementioned king of Hungary.

Besides its monumental appareance, flanked by grand buildings on pretty much all sides, Unirii Square acts also as a nexus between different parts of the city center: the old town, the commercial area and the university area, and it sees a constant flux of people.

The Church of Saint Michael is a rather remarkable and beautiful building, with plenty of light coming in through its stained glass windows.

The church was originally much more extensively decorated, but most of this decor was either smashed or covered during a period, in the 16th C. when it was taken over by Protestants. It later returned to the Roman Catholic Church and some of those artistic elements were restored to some extent, like some of the frescoes you can see in the picture below. The elaborately carved wooden lectern was also preserved.

Cluj is a university city

Another element that makes contemporary Cluj stand out is its university activity. About one in four of the city’s inhabitants is a student!

This has also helped Cluj become a center of knowledge-based industries in Romania, such as IT and pharma, although many of the major faculties are actually located around the old town, for example in the area depicted below (the style of which reminded me of Italy somehow!).

What to see in modern Cluj

It is not all about the old town in Cluj. The more modern bits of the center are not devoid of interest.

It is worth walking to Avram Iancu Square to see the Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral, which it is actually quite recent (for the standards of the rest of the city) and was completed in 1933. The square is named after local national hero Avram Iancu (the same who gives name to the airport!), who campaigned for the rights of Romanians within the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19th Century. Iancu has also a statue in the middle of the square.

Opposite the cathedral there are a number of remarkable ornate buildings form the same period, including the Romanian Opera House (there is another opera house in Cluj, the Hungarian one!).

Also, not far from there are the works of the new Greek Catholic cathedral, which, apparently, have been ongoing for a rather long period of time, to the point that our guide compared them to Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, not a far-fetched comparison!

Throughout the center you can also find quite a few remarkable buildings, most of them built sometime in the late 19th or early 20th C. periods.

Cluj has also its fair share of Communist-era brutalist buildings, although most of them are in the outskirts of the city (you see quite a few of them on the way from the center to the airport).

The river Someșul Mic (with its adjacent canals) flows through the very center of Cluj, just north of the historical center.

This is not a large river, but it offers some sights from atop its bridges and it is also flanked by some green recreational areas, such as Cluj’s Central Park, which shall see shortly.

Walking through Cluj’s Central Park

Cluj’s Central Park (“Parcul Central”), a broad and elongated, recreational area next to the old town, is a rather remarkable space.

It is was given this recreational function already in the 19th C. and it has the look and feel of the urban gardens of that era (it has some pavilions dating back to those times, which are now waterside restaurants and cafés).

The Central Park has preserved its original structure, with three parallel tracks running through it. The central one was for carriages, while the two lateral ones were for people riding horses and walking, respectively. They were separated by greenery and small irrigation ditches joined by these cute little wooden bridges you can see in the pictures.

At opposite ends of the park you find two other Cluj landmarks.

On the west side are the stadium and sports pavilion (both quite large for a city of this size). Next to the stadium there is also an open air fair of traditional Transylvanian products.

At the other end, where the park meets the old town, there is this monument (below) dedicated to all those that opposed the Communist dictatorship. Notice the broken shackles and the fractured hammer and sickle, pretty strong symbolism here!

Grabbing some food on the go in Cluj

Since I was having all my meals at the conference I was attending, the gastronomic section is going to be quite limited this time.

However, I would like to share the coordinates of a small bakery where I stopped to have a bite during my sightseeing walk.

If you are just looking to eat something light and rest a bit while on the go, you can’t go wrong with this one!

Community Foods Bakery

Strada Regele Ferdinand 3

Cluj-Napoca 400110

Where to get the best views of Cluj

For a bird’s view of central Cluj you would need to climb up to Centatuia Hill, which overlooks the old town across the river. The most straightforward way to get there is to just walk uphill from the center, it’s a bit steep but, if you are in ok shape should not take more than 15-20min.

The Austro-Hungarians built a fortress on top of this hill (partly replacing the old city walls as a defensive stronghold), but almost nothing remains today of that.

On this spot, later on, the Communist regime built the “Transylvania Hotel”, which was later renamed as “Belvedere Hotel” because of the hill-top views.

This was the hotel of reference in Cluj during that era and it is still open to this day as a hotel, although today its interior today looks a bit like time-travel to the 1970s

Where to stay in Cluj

Here is the hotel recommendation for Cluj-Napoca:

Radisson Blu Hotel, Cluj

Aleea Stadionului 1

Cluj-Napoca 400372

This was the venue of the Aviation-Event conference and it was a rather pleasant stay.

The hotel is very modern and it has a nice location, at the western end of the Central Park, just opposite the stadium. Service was impeccable throughout.

48 hours in La Rochelle, Île de Ré and Rochefort: what to do and what to see

March 16, 2025 by Miquel in Europe

The history and fortunes of the French historical port of La Rochelle and its adjacent island, l’Île de Ré, are intrinsically tied to the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, the whole Charente Maritime region, where both are located, has always leaned on the sea as a source of wealth and activity. This extends, as well, to the nearby, also historical town, of Rochefort, which, while laying quite a few miles inland on the river Charente, was for centuries a major French navy base.

What follows is an account of my brief, two-day visit to this region and the places that I visited. By no means do I claim it to be the most exhaustive and comprehensive guide you can find on this region, but it presents a few ideas about interesting places you can visit if you have a car (important!) and a rather time-constrained schedule, as it was my case.

One particular aspect which you will find, perhaps missing to a large degree is gastronomy, since I prioritized sightseeing (and being on the move) to sitting down to have a proper meal. But I must say, that, having seen what I saw, I wouldn’t mind going back some day, with more time (and a larger budget!) to tick this box too!

So, here’s my short chronicle of my trip to La Rochelle, Île de Ré and Rochefort…

A walk through La Rochelle: the Vieux Port and the Old Town

La Rochelle has a truly majestic old port, with two stone towers giving access to its historical basin. This is, after all, a city which has played a key role in many episodes of the history of France. Since La Rochelle was a protestant bastion it played an important role in the French wars of religion in the 16th C. and it was, later on, besieged by royal forces led by the famous Cardinal Richelieu when he was combatting the Huguenot revolts in France in the 17th C.

It was also from La Rochelle through which most trade and immigration towards “New France” (Nouvelle France), that is, present day Québec, was conducted. So, the city’s trade networks extended across the Atlantic and onwards to many other ports throughout Europe.

Last but not least, La Rochelle was also a major German submarine (U-Boat) base during WW2 and there are some remarkable sites linked to that period.

Unfortunately, the impressive U-Boat bunkers at La Pallice (which were so solid that it was not possible to demolish them after the war) are off visits, since they are within the industrial port complex, although in summer it is possible to get close from the seaside if you book one of the organized boat tours of the port.

So, visitors interested in that episode of WW2 history that took place in La Rochelle have to make do with a visit to the, somehow misleadingly named “U-Boat Bunker”. It is advertised this way, and while it is true that it is a bunker and that it is linked to the U-Boat activities in the city, it is, actually, a much smaller facility which was built downtown to protect the valuable submarine commanders during air raids. I am sure it is also quite interesting to visit, but, unfortunately, at the time of my visit it was closed, so this is one of the things I will have to leave for my next time in the city. If you wish to learn more about it, though, you can have a look at it here.

My hotel (more on this further below) was quite close to the main train station and the historical center, so I went for a walk along the historical quays and the old town, which was quite nice, since it was a sunny, although quite cold, afternoon.

Went for a night walk, as well…

Overall, La Rochelle is a very tidy and clean city and the area next to the quays was truly lively and packed with people walking around and also sitting at the numerous cafés and restaurants.

The area on the far side of the basin from the old town is also not devoid of charms, there is an large aquarium and a maritime museum (which, like in the case of the bunker, could not visit do to timing) and a few interesting historical ships docked alongside.

One of them is the “Shtandard” a replica of a 18th C. Russian sailing ship which goes on tour regularly and that I had actually visited when it docked in Barcelona some years earlier!

I also found quite interesting a small area by the quays with small colourful houses, something which reminded me somehow of Scandinavia.

Where to stay in La Rochelle

B&B La Rochelle Centre Hotel

140 Bd Joffre, 17000 La Rochelle

https://www.hotel-bb.com/es/hotel/la-rochelle-centre

I opted for some place that offer good value, with some parking space and not far from the center, and the B&B Hotel ticked all the boxes (there are two B&Bs in La Rochelle, so make sure you check which one is yours! My navigator took me to the wrong one, which is not far away, a bit of oversight on my side!)

This is a functional hotel, do not expect luxury, but if you are looking for something modern, clean and efficient, I think the quality-price was pretty good. Staff were also very friendly.

It has a parking that costs €8 for 24h, although if there is quite a lot of parking space on the street it is located in, which is free to park in the evening from around 6pm to 9am and on Sundays, so depending on the times you need to park it may also be an option.

Where to eat in La Rochelle

Un Voyage à Damas

13 Quai de Marans, 17000 La Rochelle

As mentioned earlier, gastronomy is one of the aspects of my trip that were possibly sidelined in favour of having more time to see more sites and places. Nevertheless, I sat down for a quick dinner at a Syrian restaurant that I came across during my walk back to the hotel from the old town.

It was correct overall, you can see how they prepare the food. Service was good.

A day driving through the Île de Ré

The Île de Ré is an island located just off La Rochelle. In fact, it is not close to the mainland that it is linked by a suspension bridge (there is a toll which costs around €4 and is paid only on accessing the island, not on the way back).

So, I decided to go on a full tour of the island, all the way to its furthest point and using the northern road, which runs through the picturesque towns of La Flotte and Saint-Martin-de-Ré.

The Île de Ré seems to be an upmarket holiday destination in France, popular with French elites, a bit like the Hamptons is in the East Coast. And I can see why.

Île de Ré is a low-lying island where water is literally everywhere, not just on the ocean side, with long, open beaches, but it also has plenty of marshy areas where fine salt is harvested and oysters are grown. So, even if is not really a “wild” landscape, you always have the feeling of being close to nature. Also, the island’s few towns have, generally speaking, been remarkably well preserved and well kept and there is no shortage of interesting sites.

Pit stop at Rivedoux-Plage

Rivedoux-Place is the first village when you access the island and, while it doesn’t get mentioned in most of the online guides and other tourist information material I gathered about IÎle de Ré, I thought it was worth a mention here, since I found this place not devoid of charms.

As soon as you leave the bridge, the “island vibe” is evident, hard to describe in objective terms, but surely the feeling of being very close to the sea, which is obvious in Rivedoux, as the road soon starts tracing the contours of the coastline. At low tide present quite an interesting landscape, with the mainland bridge in the background and, even a few people venturing into the mud flats to pick up shells and other seafood.

Where to eat in Île de Ré (Rivedoux-Plage)

Perhaps my opinion of Rivedoux-Plage is also shaped by the fact that I enjoyed a great breakfast here:

Boulangerie Feuillette

126 Av. Gustave Perreau, 17940 Rivedoux-Plage

The choice of pastries and sandwiches at this place was simply mouth-watering and quality turned out to be great as well, as was the coffee and a very, very reasonable prices. Plus service was excellent (they even added a complimentary little pastry to my breakfast) and it offers a cozy environment with views to the sea. There is also some not crowded parking space next to it. I, actually, liked it so much that I stopped again in the evening in my way back.

Abbaye des Chateliers

It doesn’t take long after you leave behind Rivedoux-Plage for the many suprises that this island has in story to come into sight.

While I tried, unsuccessfully, to get a good view of the 17th C. Fort La Prée fortress (it was closed at the time of my visit), the ruins of the Abbaye des Chateliers, a 12th C. came into sight. These are located on an open field in a somewhat elevated plateau overlooking the sea.

There is a small parking space next door and some walking paths. The ruins are just the few walls standing, with some signs providing contextual information. In fact, the site is beautiful on its very own, particularly in a sunny, cold day, as it was the case, but the old derelict structure makes it rather special.

Visiting Saint Martin de Ré

The next stop was Saint-Martin-de-Ré, which is the largest town of the island, its “capital”.

The first thing that comes into sight are the imposing 17th C. ramparts, complete with a moat, and several buildings that, from the look of its, seem to still have a military function. Following the signs I got to a large outdoor parking which is on the east side of town, just outside the perimeter of the old town.

From here is a nice 2min walk to the old port following the seaside fortifications.

The center of Saint Martin de Ré didn’t disappoint! The area around the quays is perfectly well kept with the type of stone buildings and historical façades that are typical in this part of Atlantic France. I guess the sight hasn’t changed that much since the 18th C.

One interesting feature here is that the port is divided in two sections, one of them gets emptied of water in low tide, as it was the case at the time of my visit, with all boats being left literally in the mud. Another, inner part of the port, keeps its water thanks to a system to locks. This is, apparently a rather old system that has been place for centuries.

Saint-Martin-de-Ré was an important trading port in centuries past, exporting mostly salt from the island’s many marshes, as well as being the point of departure towards the penal colonies of many French prisoners, all the way until the first half of the 20th century.

The quay area is right now full of chic stores, selling fashion items and upmarket souvenirs (I really liked the nice vintage-style postcards on sale at several of the island’s shops) including a store dedicated exclusively to Tintin (the only one in France apparently!). The old town is dominated by the structure of the old medieval church (another derelict religious building!), most of which has been in ruins already from before the time of the French Revolution! (although a smaller church was built right next to it and it is active to this day).

Most of the interesting sights are along the quays, which make for an interesting walk.

There is also a tourist information center next to the parking lot, where you can get maps of the island and where I got perfect service when I went to ask for some itineraries.

Visiting Ars-en-Ré, one of France’s most beautiful villages

The next stop was Ars-en Ré, a small village located close to the island’s narrrowest point, on a narrrow strip of land with the sea on one side and a lagoon on the other one.

Ars-en-Ré is one of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France”, a network which gathers close to 200 of the most beautiful villages in France. Members of this network must have some intrinsic aesthetic qualities and must also adhere to certain conditions and standards to remain small and cute.

There are, actually two such villages on the island of Ré, the other, La Flotte, I could only pass by very quickly, since by that time it was already getting quite late.

Ars-en-Ré has a small network of pedestrianised streets lined with whitewashed houses. But the main reference point is the triangular church steeple, in the center of the village. This structure, like it was the norm in Île de Ré in the past, is painted entirely white (the lower part) and black (the tip), because it had also a role as beacon, visible from far out at sea.

Where to eat in Île de Ré (Ars-en-Ré)

Le Fournil d'Ars-en-Ré

28 Pl. Carnot, 17590 Ars-en-Ré

Yes, another bakery!

But if you don’t want to spend much time sitting down, this place has a really nice assortment of sandwhiches and pastries and it is conveniently located on the village’s main square.

Btw, Ars-en-Ré has also a small port, which doesn’t open into the sea but onto the northern lagoon. At the time of my visit this area was undergoing some public works, so it was hard to access the lagoon from here and had to drive around all the way to a place called La Patache, which is on the northern side of the island, where the lagoon meets the open sea.

Phare des Baleines

This is a place I would definitely recommend visiting if you come to Île de Ré. The lighthouse is located at the westernmost point in the island, it’s all the way to the Newfoundland from here!

Besides being rather beautiful , a sort of textbook lighthouse in its shape. It is also the tallest structure in many miles around.

It is possible to go up, although beware, it requires climbing a spiral staircase with quite a large number of steps! (no lift available). The top of the lighthouse gives you a great 360º degree view of the islands and the surrounding ocean. So, it is well worth it if you can manage.

It was extremely windy when it went up!

At the base of the lighthouse there is a small exhibit explaining lighthouse technology and the history of lighthouse building in France. Pretty simple but quite interesting.

And, last but not least, despite its small size, the souvenir shop (which is also where you buy the tickets to go up the lighthouse, has also a rather amazing bookshop dedicated to naval and maritime topics!

Once you have visited the lighthouse, I recommend taking the small path that runs along the beach, which is called “Conche des Baleines”. This is a long, sandy beach open to the ocean which you can access by flights of stairs located every certain distance.

The beach was at low tide when I visited and it was possible to walk through the wet sand dotted with podles and seaweed. A number of long stone structures protrude from the beach into the ocean. These are "écluses à poissons", or “fish-locks” and have been used by the locals for many centuries to trap and capture fish when the tide recedes. These are an element of historical heritage and it is forbidden to walk on them or trample with them in any way. There used to be almost 150 of these all over the island, but only a small number are still currently in use.

If you walk another 500m towards the north you will come across another interesting historical site, this one not so ancient: two WW2-era German bunkers.

These were built as part of the “Atlantic Wall”, which the Germans built during WW2 to prevent allied landings (which finally took place in Normandy). The bunkers are currently half destroyed, since the sand dunes that they were built over have shifted with the years and parts of the structure have fallen over and been partly covered by sand, but it is still possible to inspect them from up close.

This beach has also an additional connection to WW2: it was here that the Omaha Beach scenes of the 1962 epic movie “The Longest Day” (possibly one of the best films about the way ever made) about the D-Day landings were filmed!

The coastal path all along the coast, following roughly the top of the dune ridge, quite a pleasant walk if you have the time!

Further north is another sizable village, Les-Portes-en-Ré, which I just skipped on my drive to La Patache, which is at the point where the island’s lagoon meets the ocean. Most of the island’s salt flats are located all around the lagoon, as are also some aquaculture establishments. However, there is not much to see, since the landscape is quite flat, with only the steeple of the church at Ars-en-Ré standing in the distance, on the far side of the lagoon, as the only recognizable landmark.

The return trip was following roughly the same route, with an stop also at several of the beaches along the way. The tide was now up, which made for an interesting change!

Visiting Rochefort

Since I had to drive to Bordeaux airport on my way back, there was a chance to explore some other sites of interest in the Charente Maritime region. So, I decided to make a stop at Rochefort, which is some 40km south of La Rochelle.

This town, located on the banks of the meandering Charente river, was between the 17th and early 20th centuries, a French Navy base and arsenal and its main sight is closely connected to this naval heritage.

La Corderie Royale

This very long and narrow building was, from the 17th C. and throughout the sail ship era, an industrial facility that produced all sorts of ropes for the French navy’s sailing ships (“corde” means rope in French, so “corderie” is the place where ropes are made).

The long ropes used on sail ships had to be extended to their whole length during parts of the manufacturing process, hence the 374 meters-long structure along the banks of the river Charente!

The place lost its importance after the navy switch to thermal forms of propulsion, which means that sails and ropes were no longer needed. The Corderie Royal was then abandoned and pretty much fell apart, until some local politicians had the idea to recover it for the city in the 1970s. It was then pretty much rebuilt to its former appearance and given a new use as a museum and cultural center.

Today part of the Corderie Royal is a museum explaning the past of this building, the rope-making process (with some rope-making artisans demonstrating the process on site) and the history of Rochefort as a French Navy town. Another part of the building hosts temporary exhibitions.

Stopping at La Galaxie des Pierres Levées

I stumbled upon this place literally by chance when doing a mid-way stop on the motorway between Bordeaux and La Rochelle.

In fact, prior to seeing it, I had never heard of this place, but found it unique enough to include it in this story.

La Galaxie des Pierres Levées is a massive conceptual art installation located next to the Pierre de Crazannes rest area (“Aire de la Pierre de Crazannes”) on the A837 motorway, not far from Rochefort, actually.

The sight is quite impressive (and a bit weird, tbh!) and it consists of a huge number of megaliths laid out in an open field.

The Galaxie des Pierres Levées (which would translate as “the galaxy of standing stones”) represents the five continents, represented by five megaliths at its center. From there, several arms stretch out in spiral, each with hundreds of sculpted megaliths. Apparently there are several artists, from different parts of the world, working on the stones each year. When completed it will have a total of 365 stones.

But this is not some strange archaeological site. It is in fact an installation, devised by an artist called Alain Tenenbaum. It started to take shape in 2005 and is expected to be completed by 2060. The site opened to visitors in 2023 (free entrance, just walk in) and new stones are being added on a yearly basis.

I wonder what archaeologists of the future will make of this!

Things to see in Bulgaria: Plovdiv and the Buzludzha Monument

February 04, 2025 by Miquel in Europe

A recent winter trip to Bulgaria (to attend the Aviation-Event SOF 24 aviation conference) offered the me chance to venture beyond the capital, Sofia, and explore the central part of the country as well.

My itinerary included a morning visit Plovdiv, which is Bulgaria’s second city, as well as a drive to the Shipka area, at the foot of the Balkan Mountain Range that crosses the country from West to East. The latter has quite a few things going for it.

In fact, the main reason for me to drive all the way to Shipka was the possibility of finally visiting the Buzludzha Monument (“Паметник на Бузлуджа”), one of the most eye-catching Communist-era buildings in Eastern Europe. Its truly unique and bizarre architecture is quite a thing, particularly if visited on a foggy, cold day, as it was the case!

But there are other interesting to see and to do around Shipka, starting by the amazing landscapes, and continuing with the beautiful golden-domed Orthodox churches and Ancient Thracian tombs that are found all over part of Bulgaria.

By the way, a note on logistics: Plovdiv and Shipka are not very distant from each other, but it’s at least a good 2-3 hours from either of them to Sofia and another 1.5h drive between Plovdiv and Shipka. So, if you intend to see both I highly recommend an overnight stay in the area.

A morning in Plovidv, what to do and what to see

Located in a plain in Central Bulgaria, Plovdiv is a very old city, one of the oldest in Europe, in fact.

This area was populated by the Thracians, an Ancient people, which gave to History the famous Spartacus, leader of the largest ever slave revolt against Rome (and depicted in several movies and TV series, the best of which possibly Stanley Kubrik’s, shot in 1960 and. with Kirk Douglas playing the main Spartacus role).

With Ancient Trace being located at a major cross-roads of the Ancient World, at the intersection of the routes linking the Balkans, Asia Minor (present day Turkey) and the Greek World, the city that, in due time, would become Plovdiv, saw quite a few comings and goings.

A big part of the heritage you can now find in the city dates back to the Roman period, when the city was known as “Philippopolis” (which evolved until getting to the present name, Plovdiv).

During our short walk through Plovdiv we could see some of those Ancient remains and also some relatively more recent, but also interesting, parts of the old town with buildings that date back to the Bulgarian “Revival Period” of the 19th C. This historical period, which gave origin to a specific type of architecture and aesthetic, is called this way because it is when Bulgarians started to assert their own national and cultural identity under the Ottoman domination.

Worth mentioning that during our Plovdiv excursion our guide was Lubomir Botev, of Traventuria, who provided excellent indications and explanations throughout the trip.

Visiting the Roman mosaics of Plovdiv

One of the archaeological highlights of Plovdiv are the late Roman mosaics at the site of the Ancient Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis.

These mosaics are now preserved under a roof and there is a relatively new museum building which explains their history, but, unfortunately, it was not always like this. For decades these mosaics were not particularly well kept, particularly during Bulgaria’s chaotic 1990s, and they suffered some damage and even theft.

Fortunately this seems to have been solved now and the mosaics are currently exhibited within a rather impressive setup. As the name implies, the museum is located at the site of the city’s late Roman and Byzantine basilica, which was a major civic and, later, religious building, hence the richness of its decoration.

Most of these mosaics contain references to religious concepts and themes, even if many of them are in the form or rather cute animals and birds. As the excursion’s guide told us, some of them seem designed so that each spectator can more or less come up with its own version or interpretation of what they want to tell us.

As it is common in many ancient sites, the Episcopal Basilica of Plovdiv was modified and transformed several times throughout history and you can see the different layers of mosaics, which in some places are several feet thick.

Overall the current museum makes a great job of telling the story of the place and it is even fitted with some fancy hologram tech that allows you to “interact” with some of the figures that appear depicted in the mosaics. Definitely a must visit in Plovdiv.

A boutique hotel on top of the old Roman baths

Villa Flavia Heritage Boutique Hotel

ul. "Otets Paisiy" 13

4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

https://villaflaviahotel.com

But the mosaics at the Episcopal Basilica Museum is not the only ancient site you can see from up close in Plovdiv. In fact, most of the Roman and Byzantine city is embedded in the modern town, or rather underneath it.

An example of this is Villa Flavia, a modern boutique hotel which happens to be right on top of Plovdiv’s old Roman baths.

When the site where the hotel now stands was being developed, workers uncovered the remains of the old Roman baths, so the solution was to integrate them into the structure of the hotel, which, in fact has made of this feature a unique sign of identity and differentiation.

When you come into the hotel’s small lobby, the first thing you come across is a round hole on the ground covered with a glass you can walk over. This is a window onto the archaeological layer of the hotel, which can also be visited downstairs.

Walk one floor down and you get to see some of the structures of the old Roman baths, such as the hypocaust, which were the chambers through which hot air was let through it order to heat the bathing area.

The hotel has also a lovely courtyard decorated with Roman-style columns, it’s a pitty that it was such a rainy day! So, now you know, if you are looking for a rather unique and nice place to stay in the historical part of Plovdiv, this is a good option to check!

From Roman ruins to the Bulgarian Revival period

Our walk through central Plovdiv continued, next, towards another highlight of the ancient city: the amphitheatre.

While there are quite a few old Roman amphitheatres out there, this facility was a must for every self-respecting Roman city, the one in Plovdiv has the particularity of being truly enmeshed into the urban fabric. In fact, the Roman amphitheatre of Plovdiv is located right in the middle of one of city’s main commercial streets.

Bulgarian Revival-style Architecture in Plovdiv

But not everything to see in Plovdiv dates back to the Roman times!

A large part of the old town is made of the relatively more recent, but also pretty charming cobbled streets lined with houses dating back to the Bulgarian revival architecture period.

This is a style that became popular in the 19th C. as Bulgarians started to assert their wish of independence from the Ottoman Empire. This is a part of the city that gives a truly Balkan feel to Plovdiv.

Several of these houses, most of which used to belong to prominent trading families of Plovdiv, can be visited. We visited one of them: Hindliyan House.

Built in the 1830s, this blue-painted house was the home and business HQ of Stepan Hindliyan, a Plovdiv merchant of Eastern origins.

The trading community of Plovdiv had many international connections and this shows in the decor and features of the house.

Although the predominant style is local, it contains also several international references and had some features that were considered incredibly advanced at the time, such as a marble bathroom.

This house, which is not huge and can be seen in about half an hour, is very well preserved and it offers an interesting glimpse into the lifestyle of the affluent classes of old Plovdiv.

On the road to the Buzludzha Monument: things to see in Shipka

About 1.5h drive north of Plovdiv you come across the Central Balkan Mountains, which run west to east across a large swath of Bulgaria. Right at the foot of these mountains you find the rather picturesque district of Shipka.

The town of Shipka is at the southern end of one of the main mountain passes connecting the northern part of Bulgaria, that is the part of the country that lies on the north side of the mountain range, to the central and southern plains where Plovdiv is located.

In fact, the drive itself is quite a sightseeing experience, since this is a relatively rural part of the country and goes through some beautiful landscapes.

The road is reasonably good and it is also dotted with some remarkable roadside monuments erected during the Communist times. Some of them look a bit run down nowadays, but they make for a rather awe-inspiring sight, particularly in the Winter light. Quite an appetizer ahead of my visit to the Buzludzhda Monument, which was the primary reason I had come all the way to this part of Bulgaria.

Visiting the Buzludzha Monument

In the outskirts of the town of Shipka is one of the weirdest structures produced by the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The Buzludzha Monument was built on top of the peak of the same name at an altitude of around 1,400m. It is a huge concrete, some say UFO-shaped, building that was designed to be a sort of meeting point for high ranking officers of the Bulgarian Communist Party.

The Buzludzha Monument never saw much use, because the Iron Curtain fell in 1989 and the Communist dictatorial regimes of Eastern Regime collapsed with it. So, it soon fell into disrepair and, in fact, it is no longer possible to access the interior, where there are some large mosaics and other decor from that era.

Because of its really unique shape and location, the Buzludzha Monument has since become a sort of iconic archaeological site which draws a constant stream of visitors interested in that period of European history.

In fact, I was even a bit surprised to find several other visitors there, some from places as far as The Netherlands, since the previous day it had been snowing heavily in Sofia, Plovdiv and other parts of Bulgaria and the weather was still unstable enough that I had serious doubts about making the attempt to reach the summit. In fact, aside from the last 200m, which were at the edge of the clouds and in rather icy conditions, the rest of the road turned out to be clean of snow and in good conditions.

The place is truly impressive, even if a bit frightening, particularly in the challenging weather conditions that I came across, but this made the whole place a lot more scenic.

The grand hall indoors can’t be visited, though, so you will need to check online to see how it looks like!

It was necessary to walk with a lot of caution, since some surfaces around the monument were iced over.

So, at the time of my visit (in early December 2024) what you can do is basically walk all around the monument. There is a car park at the foot of the stairs that lead to the monument and from there there is a concrete platform that allows you to walk along the edge of the mountain and make a 360º circle around it.

There is little else to see (although I am sure that there are some urban explorers that have managed to break into it).

The Buzludzha Monument is atop a densely forested mountain area.

The road to access it from the side of Shipka (there is another route coming from the north side of the range) has quite a lot of turns, but it is rather wide and in good condition.

When I set out for the monument I was not sure whether it would be open all the way to the top, due to the winter conditions, but it turned out to be clean of snow.

There are also some buildings (I think one of them is a hotel and a restaurant) quite close to the monument, they seemed to be open, although I didn’t stop to check. Other than that there is no other service infrastructure between the plains and the summit.

How to get to the Buzludzha Monument from Sofia?

I had to do quite a bit of research before deciding to visit the Buzludzha Monument, so here are some of my impressions on the logistics of getting there. I know there are some agencies that offer guided tours to the monument, but I have no experience with those, so I would comment on how to get there on your own.

First of all: can you visit the Buzludzha Monument as a day trip from Sofia? Yes, I did that. BUT be warned that it is a rather long trip if done in one day!

Also, I would forget about going there in public transportation. You would need a car (or taxi) anyway for the last stretch of the road, so it is best to rent a car if you have this option and want to go on your own.

There are basically three ways to get to the Buzludzha Monument by car from Sofia:

From the northern side of the mountain range (route E772 and then via Gabrovo). I can’t comment on this one, since I didn’t do it, but I heard from Bulgarian people with knowledge of the matter that it is better to avoid this option, particularly in Winter, and it is best to get there through the south side.
Taking the A1 motorway (Bulgaria’s main highway) towards Plovdiv and then take the exit northwards towards Route 64 and connecting with E871, and then head east and then north to Shipka. This is probably the fastest and most comfortable way to get to the Buzludzha Monument from Sofia. It is a bit longer in total number of kilometres, but the A1 Highway is well maintained and convenient to drive through. The roads between Plovdiv and Shipka and one lane on each direction, but they run through mostly flat or slightly hilly ground, and are in a decent condition, so it is a relatively nice drive.
From Shipka to the Buzludzha Monument there are two mountain roads. I took the most southerly one, which runs from a spot halfway between Shipka and Kazanlak. It turned out to be a much better road that I expected from the way it looks in the map. It zigzags up the mountain, but it is actually quite wide and in good condition.
Some online reviews point out at potholes, and while there are some, they are very manageable. I also read that there may be snow in Winter and I would certainly expect that in very snowy days, since it goes up to 1,400m and winters in this part of Europe are cold, but when I visited in December it was clean despite the previous days having snowed a bit. In this regard, there’s an app called LIMA, which provides real time updates on the state of Bulgaria’s roads.
Finally, there is another way to reach the Buzludzha Monument from Sofia, also from the south side, and this is taking E871 all the way. I did that on my way back to the capital. The road is ok, but it is a two lane road and it goes through the middle of many villages, so it is rather slow. It is possibly more scenic, since it runs all along the southern edge of the mountain range. It runs mostly through flat ground, but it also traverses a couple of mountain passes, these are not too high (they are not on the main mountain range), but I encountered some snow when driving through in early December. So, unless you like this type of driving, the most straightforward way to do this trip is to stick to the A1 motorway as much as possible.

Exploring the lands of the Ancient Thracians

And from the Communists, to Ancient times, because this part of Bulgaria is one of the richest in terms of archaeological remains from the Thracian civilization.

Around the IV C. BC and until the Roman domination, these lands were ruled by Thracian kings that built their tumulus-type tombs in these plains.

The landscape around Shipka is dotted with these burial mounds that resemble little artificial hills. Many of these have been excavated and researched and today some of them can be visited.

Since I had little time, I opted to visit the one that is known as the “Tomb of Seuthes III”, which is just off the main road next to the entrance to the town of Shipka.

This particular Thracian royal tomb has a little visitors’ center. Entry is free. Since it was quite late in the day and kind of off season, there was no one around at the time of my visit other than a lady, the very welcoming curator of the small museum.

The site can be seen quite quickly because, to be honest, it is rather small, but it is quite interesting to be able to see what’s inside these mounds. The state of preservation of the monumental structures that were found inside of the mound was also pretty remarkable. There is also a small exhibit providing a bit of contextual historical information about the Thracians and the archaeological research that has been conducted at the site.

Quite an interesting, generally underreported, topic and a good starting point for further reading at home!

Visiting the Shipka Memorial Church

Shipka is also a place of religious significance, since it has the Shipka Memorial Church and the adjacent monastery. So, the visit could not be complete without stopping briefly to visit the former.

The Shipka Memorial Church is an Orthodox church which was built at the turn of the 19th C. (it opened in 1902) in the Russian style.

This choice of style is, in fact, not random, since the church commemorates the joint fight of Bulgarians and Russians against the Ottomans in the war of 1877-78, which brought about the independence of Bulgaria.

Shipka, in particular, was the setting of some of the key battles of that war. In fact, no less than four battles (!) were fought for the control of the Shipka Pass, which links the north and south sides of the Balkan Mountains. This was a major strategic location that was successfully defended by a joint Russian-Bulgarian force.

The church is quite beautiful inside. Again, due to how late it was in the day, there seemed to be no one around at the time of my visit.

And, after Shipka, it was a nearly 3 hour drive all the way to Sofia. I couldn’t end this post without a picture of the awe-inspiring landscapes of this part of Bulgaria!

In the footsteps of Napoleon on the island of Elba

September 29, 2024 by Miquel in Europe, Cruises

Arriving to Elba on the Windstar Wind Surf

There is a tiny island off the coast of Tuscany where Napoleon Bonaparte was king for less than a year.

This short period of time, however, was more than enough to leave its imprint and more than two centuries later, the name of Elba appears inextricably linked to that of the emperor of the French and there are, indeed, quite a few sites on the island connected to this historical figure.

But you would be wrong to assume that Napoleon is all that the island of Elba has to offer!

In fact, even without the Napoleonic stuff, Elba is an amazing destination on its own right just on account of its natural and historical heritage. We had the chance to visit recently in the month of July (perfect summer weather!) and, while we spent less than 12 hours on it, I can say that it was one of the highlight stops of our Windstar Cruises sailing around the Western Mediterranean.

So, let’s see what awaits the visitor in Portoferraio, the capital of Elba!

By the way, please, note that, while Elba is relatively small, this post covers only a tiny part of it, there are also a couple of other notable settlements, like Porto Azurro, numerous beaches and some mountainous areas (which get to a height of more than 1,000 meters). So, I would not rule out another visit in the future!

What to do and what to see in Portoferraio, Elba

Our visit started in the port of Portoferraio, where our ship, Windstar Wind Surf, arrived in the early hours of the morning.

If you asked some generative AI to draw some postcard-perfect picture of a picturesque Italian Mediterranean historical port city, it would possibly come up with something similar to Portoferraio!

And the first one to greet us literally off the ship’s gangway was…Napoleon himself! as well as Cosimo de Medici, because, while the Buonaparte gets most of the attention nowadays, the island of Elba is also linked to another of the great names of European history, the Medicis, which controlled the island for some time in the 16th C.

As far as the public space is concerned, though, Napoleon is all over the place, with this effigy and other associated symbology being ubiquitous in Portoferraio.

The cruise dock was just within walking distance of the historical center of Portoferraio, so just a quick and pleasant stroll away from the main sights.

Portoferraio is located at the tip of a rocky cape at one edge of a bay on the central-northern shore of the island. The port and the old town are surrounded by a line of small ridges that give it a semi-circular shape, not unlike some sort of theater auditorium which leans towards the sea.

Adding to the natural defense provided by the hills, on the land side Portoferraio is enclosed by the walls of Forte Falcone, the hilltop fortress that dominates the old town.

So, given our limited time onshore, we skipped the shops and cafés around Piazza Cavour, the most commercial area, located right next to the quays, and opted to walk uphill across the old town towards Palazzina dei Mulini, which was Napoleon’s residence during this stay on Elba (he used also another mansion on the mountain side of the island as a summer residence).

This was not just out of interest for Napoleonic history, but also quite practical, since the museum-residence is located on the far side of the old town and the way there offers a chance to walk right through the center of town and also get some nice views from its upper side.

It gets uphill very quickly in Portoferraio. The whole town is built on the slopes of a hill and, as soon as you get a couple of streets off the main commercial street it’s all small narrow streets, sometimes turning literally into stairs due to the steepness.

If you are looking for the “Mediterrannean vibe”, though, you will find plenty here!

So, a few hundred steps later we made it to Napoleon’s palace or, shall we say “villa” or “residence” since its proportions are not out of tune with the place.

To our surprise, though, we found out that it only opens at 2pm!

This proved to be a blessing in disguise, because we, then, decided to explore the nearby beach, called Spiaggia delle Viste (or “Beach of the sights”) and we were not disappointed!

The beach, a little cove with steep cliffs on both sides, is located just underneath Napoleon’s residence and it is accessed through a which you can access through a ramp just meters away from the museum entrance.

The beach was not crowded at all despite its proximity to the urban center, the cliffs and the exuberant vegetation gives it a protected feel. Also, the water was crystalline and a tad warm. Warning: it is a rocky beach, so it is full of pebbles, which I personally like, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea!

By the way, what is this?! is the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Squadron still keep an eye on the Buonaparte, lest he escapes and wreaks havoc in Europe again?!

Where to eat in Portoferraio, Elba

Ristorante Le Viste, https://www.ristoranteleviste.com

The only structure on the beach is the restaurant Le Viste, where we had lunch.

While not super cheap, Le Viste turned out to be a great place to have something to eat or to drink while enjoying the pristine waters of the Le Viste beach.

In our case, it was just right to get some shelter from the midday sun after bathing, change clothes and have some light meal and refreshments before heading for the museum in the early afternoon.

Visiting the Palazzina dei Mulini - Napoleon’s museum and villa on Elba

So, after our second attempt and about half an hour of queueing under the sun (yep, apparently we were not the only Napoleonic-histroy buffs in town that day!), we got into the Palazzina dei Mulini.

The residence itself is not too big (particularly if considering it housed not just the Emperor but part of his family and retinue).

It is a two-floor villa, and has been restored to how it may have looked like during the few months that Bonaparte lived here.

Note the neoclassical, Empire-style furniture throughout (although apparently Napoleon preferred to sleep in his own simple military campaign bed, even when indoors!)

I’d say the best of Palazzina dei Mulini are its gardens, which are quite something, though, pretty pleasant and with great views of the Mediterranean sea.

This place may have felt too small for a man that aspired to rule most of Europe, but in and by itself, Palazzina dei Mulini would make for an awesome summer residence!

The Napoleonic heritage on Elba

It may have been a short lived reign (although Bonaparte, in its usual hyperactive drive, implemented quite sweeping political and economic reforms on the island) but Elbans do certainly remember Napoleon.

It is simply not possible to walk around Portoferraio without stumbling upon references to Napoleon right and left. I have tried to collect here some of them.

There are other sites in Portoferraio that are very closely linked to Napoleon, such as the Theater of the Vigilanti, which is a former church that Bonaparte transformed into a small-scale opera house, or a cultural center (named after a local Napoleonic officer, De Laugier), which hosts exhibits about the Emperor. Since our ship’s departure time was 6pm, we didn’t have that much time left, though.

So, we just skipped those and opted for another walk around the historical center of Portoferraio on our way back to the ship. Here are some of the snaps we took along the way.

So, this short but intense trip to Elba ended where it started, in the docks, that once saw Napoleon and a small number of followers embarking for France and the period that has come to be known as the “100 Days” before he was again beaten at Waterloo…

But this is a story behind the scope of this post, which just aimed to pinpoint and showcase some of the very interesting sights on Elba and the activities you can do there, even in a short time.

I think Elba is a perfect example of underrated destination. While it is not short of historical and natural charms, it rarely gets mentioned among the places that deserve a visit in this part of Italy.

My theory is that the small stretch of water that separates it from the mainland makes it too much of an effort to get to for the many tourists that have, in any case, their hands full with plenty of other interesting places in the Tuscan mainland. Nevertheless, it is a destination that I recommend very much visiting. In this regard, cruises like Windstar’s are a perfect way to get there.

By the way, to see where this amazing Mediterranean journey took us next, check out our comprehensive review of the Windstar Cruises Wind Surf!

Around the Mediterranean in style on Windstar Cruises Wind Surf

August 17, 2024 by Miquel in Europe, Cruises

Cruise ships come in all shapes and sizes, but only a few of them are able to provide something akin to the super-yacht experience.

We are not just talking about a matter of scale (although this matters quite a lot too!) but of an entire philosophy that permeates every element of the experience. This is in addition to the truly unique wow factor that comes from sailing on one of only a handful of sail-powered cruise ships out there.

This is why, the moment the opportunity came up to sail the Mediterranean onboard Windstar Cruises Wind Surf, we didn’t think it twice!

What follows is our account of an unforgettable journey sailing through the incredibly blue waters of the Western Mediterranean, from Civitavecchia, near Rome, to Palamós, in the heart of the Catalan Costa Brava (you will find the itinerary on Windstar Cruises website as “Yachtman’s Harbors of the Rivieras”.

Keep reading for a detailed review of how the Windstar Cruises experience is like!

The journey was courtesy of Windstar Cruises. Opinions are all our own.

The Ship

The ship which took us on this Mediterranean journey, “Wind Surf” is one of only two ships of its kind ever built (the other being “Club Med 2”, which operates for the eponymous French tour-operator).

These two sibling ships happen to be also the two largest active sailing ships in the world (by length) and have quite some story behind…

Both ships were ordered by Windstar Cruises from a French shipyard in the late 1980s, but ownership changes at Windstar at the time put the project at risk. This is when Club Med stepped in. The French company took over the two ships and, upon completion, put them in service with the names “Club Med 1” and “Club Med 2”.

In 1998, Windstar Cruises was finally able to acquire one of the two, “Club Med 1”, and add it to its fleet after giving it its current name: “Wind Surf”.

At 14,700 tons and 617 ft (188m) of length, Wind Surf is small by the standards of a cruise industry that has got used to launching ever larger ships, but this is the whole point.

Wind Surf’s most eye-catching feature, the one that captures the attention (and the imagination!) of people onshore wherever it turns up is, of course, its superstructure, with five 67.5-meter-high masts and the accompanying rigging.

To be clear, Wind Surf is a hybrid, which is is mostly propelled by diesel engines. Wind, however, plays a key role, not just when it comes to helping propel the ship, but also in confering it a rather unique personality.

When making full use of wind power, Wind Surf propulsion is assisted by 7 triangular sails. These are rolled out through a full automated mechanism every day as the ships gets underway.

Wind Surf can carry up to 342 passengers and a crew of around 210. A passenger to crew ratio which gives you an idea of the type of personalized service Windstar Cruises strives to provide.

The ship has a total of six decks. There are 150 staterooms on decks 2 and 3 and 18 ocean view suites on deck 5. Those looking for an even more exclusive experience have a choice of 2 deluxe ocean view bridge suites and…wait for it…an “Officer’s Suite” which is located within the officer's quarters!

Most of the ship’s common areas are on Deck 4.

Here you find the reception, which is on duty 24/7, the excursions counter, a shop, a library, some workspaces, and a large lounge area (where some of the live entertainment and the pre-excursion briefings take place) with its own indoors café, as well as one of the ships’ restaurants, “Amphora” (more on food and drink onboard shortly!)

Before we proceed further, a note here about the elegant but unpretentious, no-nonsense decor style found throughout the ship, which we quite liked. It definitely adds to the authenticity of the overall experience.

The dominant pastel and wood-like tones inside and white-washed outside, both with touches of deep blue, do also a great job in setting the maritime yacht-like atmosphere.

On a schooner-like ship like Wind Surf, a big part of the action happens outside, whether it’s at the poolside terrace and bar, eating outdoors at the Veranda restaurant or simply sunbathing or walking along the decks while contemplating the Mediterranean coastline.

In this regard, one of the ship’s focal points is astern: the poolside area.

Wind Surf has a small pool, which, while not large enough to swim in it, is ideal to relax as you float and let the motion of the ship swing you around. There are two other adjacent warm-water hydro-massage tubs which provide great views of the landscape around.

Sun beds and a bar, which will prepare pretty much whichever cocktail you fancy on the spot, complete this particularly popular section of the ship.

Those of you that like to enjoy the sea breeze will be happy to know that there are two other partly open decks, 5 & 6, that allow you to walk the whole length of the ship, a full 360 degrees.

Deck 5 is, astern, quite similar in structure to the pool deck and located right above it, but instead of the pools, it has a larger bar with some indoor space that becomes the ship’s focal point late in the evening, when it usually hosts live music shows.

Also on Deck 5, but indoors and amidship, you find the Spa (more of this later) and, closer to the ship’s bow, the bridge. In this regard, We were positively surprised by the friendliness of the captain and crew, who showed us around when we happened to walk by.

By the way, in case you were wondering this is what the bridge of Wind Surf looks like!

Keep going up and you get to Deck 6 (the top one). Here you can get really, really close to the rigging and it is the best spot from where to watch the unfurling of the sails. This takes place every evening to the sound of some really epic music by Greek composer Vangelis.

It is pretty amazing to watch how, thanks to the automated mechanism, it takes only a few minutes for all seven sails to be rolled out.

It is also on this deck, on the bow side, that you find Wind Surf’s other restaurants: Veranda/Candles (partly outdoors) and Stella (which is fully indoors).

This deck, particularly the platform right above the ship’s bow, is a great place to enjoy the actual sailing sensation.

The state rooms

As mentioned earlier, there are different types of cabins, the vast majority of them are state rooms and all of our comments refer to this type of accommodation.

Our state room was on Deck 3, but I think they are all pretty similar regardless of the deck you are in.

You can move up and down the different decks either through the stairs or by using the lift. We used the former option most of the time, since distances within the ship are always short and it can be much faster to just walk than wait for the lift.

So, without further ado, let’s get into the room to see how they look like…

State rooms are 188 sq ft (17.46 sq m) and are fitted with a queen size bed and an ensuite bathroom.

I was very positively impressed by a number of tiny details in the room.

Let’s start by the Queen Size bed, which, we can attest, is truly comfortable. It’s got good natural light, but also lamps and a couple of reading lights. There’s a flat screen TV with a DVD player as well (tbh, we didn’t use it at all, since we seldom watch TV, but some may find it useful to know that it’s there).

But, do you what’s the one thing that we really, really liked? The two round portholes!

Yes, I am aware that nowadays most cruise ships have balconies, and these are cool, but…portholes? That give you the feeling to be sleeping onboard a real ship! And, you know what? If you like balconies, I’ve got news for you…pretty much the whole three upper-most decks of Wind Surf are, in essence, a large interconnected balcony, with plenty of space to sit down, lay down or sunbathe.

More stuff: there is plenty of space for storage, there’s a whole cupboard and a large amount of drawers and shelves, so we never felt the space was tight.

There is also a desk, which comes in very handy to shift through the trip’s papers and is also stocked with some fresh fruit.

Then some of the usual amenities: a safe, a mini-bar, hair-dryer, etc. There are also robes available.

Another pleasant suprise is that there are also universal electricity plugs (since Windstar Cruises is an American company and most passengers are from the US, I had brought a US-EU adapter, but it turned out not to be necessary!).

The bathroom is about as big as it can be in this kind of setting, but pretty well fitted.

It’s got a spacious sink top. It must have a really efficient air circulation mechanism because things, like wet swimming suits, dry really fast, despite the confined space.

Also, the shower is really nice, powerful! (perfect to rinse the salt out and freshen up after a water sports session at the marina).

There is also a set of L’Occitane toiletries.

The restaurants

One aspect of the Wind Surf experience we particularly enjoyed was food and drink.

Let’s start by saying that all meals are included in any of the four restaurants onboard, which is great. Also, regardless of each of the restaurants offering a somehow different type of experience (some elements, like the wine list were common to all, though), the food was really great in all of them.

There are four (in fact, three, if you count Veranda and Candles as one) restaurants onboard Wind Surf:

Veranda, which is on the top deck, partly outdoors, and is the only place open for buffet breakfast and lunch
Candles, which is, basically, Veranda but turned into an à-la-carte, reservation-required restaurant in the evenings
Amphora, which is the largest of the ship’s restaurants and located on the main deck
Stella Bistro, on the top deck indoors, specializes in French cuisine and it is, possibly, the poshest of the lot.

One important thing to bear in mind, though, is that while Veranda and Amphora work on a first-come-first-served basis, Stella Bistro and Candles, require advance reservation and our advice is to book early in the trip because they fill in really fast!

And, btw, Windstar Cruises has a partnership with the James Beard Foundation, a non-profit organization based in the US which aims to elevate the culinary arts. Some of the dishes onboard have the James Beard Foundation stamp.

Shortly below we will proceed to offer a glimpse of each of them.

Next a word about the ships’ bars. There are three of them, two astern, on decks 4 (poolside) and 5, and one indoors at the ship’s Lounge.

It’s important to note that, while all meals and non-alcoholic drinks are included for all passengers, it is not the case for wine and other alcohol drinks (and this includes the meals you have at restaurants).

If you are on an all-inclusive package, you get all drinks, no matter which one, by-the-glass. Otherwise you need to purchase your drinks individually or buy one of the day packages.

Whether you drink or not, is your decision, now, if you do, it may be a good idea to make sure your package includes drinks, since Wind Surf is stocked with a good wine cellar (at this point, special mention gotes to head sommelier Eleonora, which provided great recommendations throughout the trip!) and their staff can really prepare nice cocktails!

So, as promised, let’s go have a look at each of the restaurants. During our trip we had a chance to try all of them at least once and here is a summary of our experience.

Please note that the menu may vary with time and route!

Veranda

This is the most casual of the lot. As the name implies, it is located (partly) outdoors, on the top deck, although it does have space indoors too.

This is the only place to have breakfast and lunch, mostly from a buffet with both cold and warm dishes, although you can order some things à-la-carte too.

The buffet offers pretty much the same basic choices daily, although with some variations. The à-la-carte offering varies a bit every day, particularly when it comes to items such as fish.

Some of the food is prepared outside, where there is an open grill.

We would say the main thing with Veranda is choosing the right table for the time of the day in order not to get too much direct sun, since not all tables have cover. If in the Mediterranean in the middle of the summer it can get really hot already quite early in the morning!

Below are some snapshots of our meals at Veranda, to give you an idea.

Candles

Location-wise, Candles is the same as Veranda, but in the evening it becomes an à-la-carte restaurant and advance reservation is required.

We particularly enjoyed the fish dishes here!

Amphora

This is the everyday restaurant for dinner when onboard. You don’t need an advance reservation, you just show up and wait to be seated (which, at least in our case, was always immediately, since the place is rather big!), which makes it often the “default” option for dinner.

However, don’t let this casual approach mislead you, Amphora is a proper sit-down restaurant offering a pretty good quality experience, both in terms of food, service and atmosphere.

If anything, it gets, perhaps, a bit less of natural light than the other venues, mostly due to the fact that is located one deck down.

We had dinner a few times at Amphora, so here is a collection of images of what we had.

Amphora Meal 1:

Amphora Meal 2:

We particularly liked this Californian Cabernet Sauvignon (thanks for the recommendation to sommelier Eleonora!)

Amphora Meal 3:

Stella

This is possibly the most “upmarket” of all of Wind Surf’s restaurants.

French Parisian Bistro

It requires reservation and we advise it you do it early in the trip. We left it for our second day and it was actually quite hard to find a spot, although staff made a good effort to finally accommodate us!

It is located on the top deck, right next to Veranda/Candles, but inside and closer to the ship’s bow.

Really nice layout and a bit more airy and with more natural light than Amphora.

The food was also excellent. Which one we like the most? It’s hard to say and I’d say it comes down to the specific dishes. The wine list was the same for both restaurants and here I must add a special mention to the Wind Surf’s sommelier in chief, Eleonora, which was a nice and very insightful guide in our choice of wines throughout the whole week (she shuttles between the different restaurants).

Amenities

So what else can you expect onboard a Windstar cruise. In this section we have tried to summarize several other aspects of the experience.

The fact is that, even on such a relatively small ship, there is so much to do that ultimately you have to be selective. What we describe here is what we did and it is just a cross-section of what is available.

Onboard Wifi

Wind Surf is equipped with SpaceX Starlink satellite connectivity, which provides fast and reliable internet everywhere, also when on the high seas.

Take into account, though, that, just as with the drinks allowance, access to Starlink depends on the package you are on. In any case, it can be purchased separately.

The onboard Starlink pass gives access to one device at a time, although it can be switched between devices depending on what you need the connectivity for.

Bear in mind that, if you have an EU mobile phone with a data plan, you may get internet access while on port and close to shore (thanks to the EU’s roaming directive), but as soon as the ship sets sail, you will need to log into the ship’s satellite network to get reliable connectivity.

Whether you have Starlink access or not, all passengers have access to a number of websites (these includes the Windstar Cruises as well as many major airlines and other travel-related resources. It also gives access to a digital media kiosk which gives access to several major media outlets.

Spa & Fitness

Wind Surf has also its own onboard spa, which offers a broad selection of treatment. These must be booked in advance and are paid separately.

In my case, I opted to undergo a postural and walking assessment, conducted by one of the onboard spa specialists. This included a postural evaluation, an analysis of the feet position when walking and a 40-minute session to practice some exercises for postural health.

While technically booked at the spa, this was done at the onboard gym.

This gym is relatively small (the right size for the ship, since it was never crowded), but well equipped with fitness machines, weights and other equipment. It also has lots of natural light, since it is located on the top deck.

Shows, music and entertainment

Shows and other social functions take place pretty much daily during the trip, usually in the evenings.

Dont’t expect, however, the sort of large theater-like spectacles you find on large cruise ships. On Windstar everything is much more intimate.

This is the case of the live music performance that takes place every night at the Deck 4 bar, for example.

We also enjoyed a Pub Quiz evening, brilliantly conducted by PJ, a South African crew member that acts as the ship’s master of ceremonies.

Other occasions that provided an opportunity to meet personally the crew and other fellow passengers were an evening drink with the captain, a thematic evening dedicated to learning about Polynesia (a part of the world where Windstar Cruises has quite a lot of activity) and a star-gazing meeting at the bridge at night, with the guidance of Wind Surf’s captain and other officers.

There was also a show evening at the Lounge in which several members of the crew performed several dances from their countries of origin as well as some humoristic sketches, everything conducted again by the very talented PJ!

This account wouldn’t be complete without a mention to two other special, and rather tasty!, treats that we got to enjoy in the perfect weather of the Cote d’Azur:

One was the ice-cream evening by the pool - no further ado needed.

The second, and on a much, much larger scale, was the outdoor dinner-barbequeue that all passengers were invited to join while the ship was anchored of Cannes.

Massive amounts of super-fresh food was cooked and served on deck in a casual, festive atmosphere. The evening was also amenized by live music. Below is a collection of pictures from that evening to give you an idea of the scale of it all.

And if we are talking about the “soft” aspects of the experience, we would also like to highlight the level of attention and service from the ship’s crew, particularly from the crew member assigned to take care of our state room (thanks Raysid!), which kept leaving small nice details for us to find when coming back from shore! Here’s a small sample :)

Excursions

An integral part of every cruise experience are, of course, the shore excursions and Windstar is no exception!

In this regard, the relatively small size of Wind Surf becomes a big plus, because it allows it to call at the smaller ports no other cruises are able to enter or, simply, dock offshore and offer a combination of excursions and water sports (both are feasible if you time your shore visits well!).

At every stop, usually 4-5 shore excursions are offered, with different intensity and duration (from 2 to 8 hours). Unless you are on an all-inclusive package excursions are contracted separately, with prices ranging from some $60 for things like a walking tour of Cannes to something like $250-300 for longer outings, which in some cases included wine tastings and other activities.

It is recommended to book in advance because spots are limited and the most popular excursions fill up fast. Assembly is usually at around 8-8.30am.

Those going on shore excursions have access to quite a lot of prep info, starting with a briefing the day before at the ship’s lounge, which provides not just practical tips, but also some cultural and historical context about each destination. You also get a one pager delivered to your room (these resources can also be accessed digitally on the ship’s portal)

When Wind Surf anchors off-shore, such as at Portofino, Montecarlo, Cannes and Sanary-sur-Mer, the ship’s auxiliary launches are used to shuttle passengers to and from shore (there is always a small Windstar branded tent onshore by the embarkation/disembarkation point).

This, in my opinion, gives to this type of smaller cruises and extra allure!

We went to shore at all the ports or towns that Wind Surf stoped at, although we only took one organized excursion, during our Cannes stop to the nearby town of Antibes.

A group of some 20-30 of us left Cannes in a bus together with a local guide, who showed us around the old town of Antibes (which has Ancient Greek origins and is one of the oldest cities in Southern France).

Our program was roughly as follows:

8.15am Assembly and transfer by launch to the port of Cannes

9am Bus to Antibes (which is some 15 miles distant)

9.30 to 12.30 Guided tour of Old Antibes, a relatively small but charming little seaside town, complete with a castle and a lively fresh food market. The tour included also an a taste of absinthe at a local historical bar.

13.00 Back onboard

Our Itinerary: Civitavecchia (Rome) to Palamós

While the purpose of this post is to describe the experience onboard Wind Surf, the itinerary and choice of ports is, of course, is also an essential element of the journey.

Sailing in the Mediterranean is synonymous with landscape and history overload, so we provide here just an outline of each, and have decided to describe each of them in a series of separate posts.

Portoferraio, Elba
A beautiful little island, the largest of the Tuscan archipelago, and renowned for being the first place of exile of Napoleon Bonaparte. While it is certainly a must for Napoleonic-era buffs, there is a lot more than Bonaparte on Elba, including a picturesque steep old town and some amazing beaches.
You can read our story about Elba here.
Portofino (and Cinque Terre)
A postcard-perfect colourful seaside hamlet which encapsulates the essence of the “poshest” Italian Riviera. It is also a stepping stone to explore other beautiful spots along the Ligurian coast, even the somehow distant, but still pretty accessible by public transport, Cinque Terre.
Montecarlo
A European classic, the world’s second smallest country and a billionaire’s lair. Getting into Montecarlo from the sea is quite the experience!
Cannes (Antibes)
Cannes is famous because of its connection to the world of cinema and, while we gave the modern city a pass, it is also a hub to explore other locations along the Côte d’Azur (as we did visiting nearby Antibes).
Sanary-sur-Mer
This was quite a discovery! I must confess I hadn’t heard of this small, colourful seaside town before, but it fit the program perfectly. Just the right size for a mid-morning visit, stroll along the pleasant quais, climb the town’s old tower and do some shopping around.
Palamós
The largest port in the Catalan Costa Brava. While the town of Palamós is nothing to write home about (it was aesthetically destroyed by 1970s architecture). It is a hub to visit some beautiful spots in the area, such as the medieval villages of Pals and Peratallada or some of the nearby coves and beaches. We actually ended our cruise here, since we had planned to stay a few more days in the Costa Brava area and it made more sense logistically to skip the last night of the cruise.
Barcelona
Not much to add here! One of Europe’s great cities and one we are not neutral about, since we call it home!

Each of these places has a charm of its own, but we would say that what remains constant is the awe that the presence of Wind Surf generated among those watching it from afar!

Water sports at the Wind Surf marina

We have left for the last what is, in our opinion, one of the highlights of a Mediterranean cruise on Wind Surf: the marina.

When the ship is at anchor, weather permitting, the area astern of deck 2 becomes a water sports platform from 10am to 12pm and from 1pm to around 4-5pm.

Forget about material things. This is what true luxury is about!

Whether you are into active water sports, such as kayaking or paddle surf, or you just wish to chill out on an inflatable platform within sight of iconic landmarks like the Montecarlo skyline, the Wind Surf marina has you sorted! Just show up an enjoy. Towels and equipment are provided.

There are, of course, some limitations, such as, not venturing further than some 100m from the ship, but overall, it is pure bliss!

So, in summary, what’s our overall impression of Windstar’s Wind Surf cruise?

We’ve got some experience with cruises, including some high end ones on relatively small ships, and Windstar’s is certainly unlike any other cruise we’ve been on.

It is not about the, let’s say, “classic”, more material, idea of luxury, although on this account Windstar also scores high (particularly on the culinary front!), but about being able to do things that are accessible if on a small ship: water sports at some of the most exclusive spots on the Cote d’Azur, accessing small ports, star-gazing in the company of an experienced sea captain and so on…

Also, the uniqueness of Wind Surf. Granted, sails only provide part of the propulsion, but, still, it is nice to sail on such a majestic ship. There is something special about watching the coast fade in the distance from the wooden deck as the sail unfurl: the feeling of connection to the sea and to thousands of years of maritime history.

48 hours in Chisinau, Moldova - what to do and what to see

June 22, 2024 by Miquel in Europe

Moldova is, perhaps, one of the most less well known destinations in Europe.

Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova has faced its fair share of challenges since becoming independent in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

In addition to a fragile economy, the war in neighbouring Ukraine has added to Moldova’s already complicated geopolitical situation. A slice of Moldovan territory has, for the last three decades, been controlled not by the country’s internationally recognized government, but by a separatist entity backed by Russia, resulting in a chronified source of tension.

Nevertheless at the time of writing these lines, and despite these lingering problems, Moldova is looking at the future with some renewed optimism after having received EU candidate status. Enhanced air connectivity, currently provided both by local airlines like Flyone and pan-European low cost carrier Wizz Air and with perspectives to keep growing, as participants in the 2024 Aviation-Event can attest, is also helping develop the tourism industry in Moldova, still small but with plenty of potential.

The fact is that all these geopolitical issues fade in the background when visiting Chisinau, particularly if the weather is nice, like it was the case during this trip!

Arriving to Chisinau

Before jumping onto the Moldovan capital’s main attractions, a couple of visual treats for aviation enthusiasts!

Btw, Chisinau airport is rather pleasant and built at a rather human scale. It appears to have been refurbished at some point in the last few years, since its rather functional and modern inside.

It is also quite close to the city center (a 15-20min drive).

What to see in central Chisinau

Let’s start by saying that there isn’t one major, iconic landmark in Chisinau.

Don’t expect to find a Tour Eiffel or Big Ben here. Rather than seeking to take a picture with one iconic sight, I’d say the most interesting thing to do is to walk and look around. Chisinau is not big and you can easily walk pretty much around the whole of the city center, which has an interesting mix of neoclassic, local and Soviet-style architecture.

The streets and urban space in general and kept tidy and clean throughout and, what’s more, the urban layout, with orthogonal and rather broad avenues dotted with some green areas dotted with multiple fountains makes for quite a pleasant walk when the weather is nice.

Most of the sights are located within 500m of the central square, Cathedral Square (“Parcul Catedralei”): the triumphal arch and the statue to Stephan the Great, a 15th C. Moldovan king, which, btw, appears on the country’s bank notes (get some if you have the chance, they make for an interesting souvenir because they look rather unique!) and, the Orthodox Cathedral, of course.

It is also in this area where you find the major business and government business as well as many shops and restaurants.

Btw, there is no metro in Chisinau, so most public transportation relies on buses and trolleybuses, but you won’t need any of these if you just stay in this area of the center, since it is very walkable.

One curiosity that caught my eye: on Cathedral Square there are some displays that show…the newspapers of the day (both in Romanian and Russian)! I ignore what is the origin of this and whether it still makes sense in the internet ear, but it is rather interesting to see it, like a relic of another time!

Another remarkable things: there are lots of figurative bronze statues around Chisinau, many of them with casual, everyday scenes. I have tried to collect them in this post. In my opinion, they fit really well in a urban decor that includes also other more Soviet styles.

Not to be missed: best viewpoint in Chisinau

A singular building that I’d recommend visiting is the Chisinau City History Museum, which is located in a tower on a gentle hillside about 10min walk from the central square. Even if it is not that tall in absolute terms, the museum is relatively higher than most of its surroundings, so the tower provides one of the best viewpoints over mostly low-lying Chisinau. There is a panoramic, 360-degree, terrace at the top.

Bonus point: on the day of my visit entrance was free (although I think the fee is quite low anyways!)

The museum itself is rather small (the structure of the building means that the exhibition rooms are spread over several floors) and exhibits are laid out in a rather old fashioned way. Signage is in Romanian, so hard to read much (although speakers of Latin-based languages may be able to roughly understand some of it), but it gives you a feel of the history of the place and the different eras it went through over the last few centuries, when Moldova was at the crossroads of three large empires: Russia, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian.

Below is the view: as mentioned earlier, there are no major landmark or iconic sights, but you get a feel of the place and the dimensions of the city.

Park and Lake Vale Morilor

Continuing the walking route, right across the road from the museum is Chisinau’s largest park, the “Parcul Valea Morilor”, which has a large pond (with the same name as the park) at its center.

This whole section of Chisinau is full of educational institutions and university faculties built in a style that would be instantly recognizable to anyone that has traveled in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet space.

As mentioned above Lake Valea Morilor is at the center of the adjacent park, although located at a slightly lower level than the surrounding hills, so this provided urban planners with the opportunity to build some monumental flights of stairs connecting the lake to the city.

Among these are the “Cascade Stairs”, which consist of a series of stepped mounumental neoclassical fountains that would not be out of place at any of Europe’s royal palaces.

Lake Valea Morilor is, actually, an artificial reservoir. A number of trails make for good jogging or walking along its shores. There were also a number of people fishing and quite a few aquatic birds around. The lake itself is not huge, but in relation to the size of the city it is quite a landmark!

Again, the street statue thing. This one is possibly quite recent. It sets the vibe.

Original architecture in Chisinau

Another singular building found on the way between the Vale KMorilor Park and Cathedral Square is the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History of Moldova, built in a sort of “Oriental” style in the late 19th C. It is the oldest museum in Moldova and, throughout its history it has changed its name and the focus of its exhibits several times, in tune with the political changes that have taken place in the country.

And to close the architectural chapter of this post, with a couple of other buildings that caught my eye because of the original shape or decor. One of them is the Chisinau circus, an obvious example of Communist-era architecture showing its age, the other, a mural in the city center (if you look with attention, you will find the former within the latter!).

Visiting the Cricova Winery

But, perhaps, Moldova’s top attraction are its wineries!

I had the chance to visit the Cricova winery, which is located just a few miles outside Chisinau.

Moldova was the main wine producer in the whole of the Soviet Union and, to this day, wine-making remains a flagship industry for the country, with the Cricova winery being the top winery.

In fact, a visit to the Cricova winery is sort of a must if you come to Chisinau. Proof of that is the VIP picture gallery on display at the winery, which is pretty much a who is who of global business and politics of the last few decades.

This map shows the extent of Cricova’s underground cellars.

What’s rather unique with the Cricova winery is that most of it is, actually, underground!

We were told, and I guess this is more legend than fact, that at some point in the past, it was forbidden to make wine in Moldova, but some monks kept the tradition in some caves in this region, hence the, literal, underground wine-making tradition.

The Cricova winery is a proper underground city with many km of tunnels, so, after watching a short film about the history of the place, visitors move in these electric vehicles that are a cross between a train and a golf cart.

If you have ever been to a winery, these images will be familiar to you.

In addition to the rooms dedicated to wine-making proper, visitors can also see a number of other areas within Cricova’s underground facilities, such as dining rooms (the winery hosts events regularly, including the one I was attending on this occasion!) with a rather unique decor, and even a chapel!

Eating Moldovan specialities

The visit to the Cricova winery provided also the opportunity to taste some local specialities, such as “Sarmale”, which is a sort of cabbage dumpling filled with rice and meat, which was served inside a stuffed inside a red pepper (left side picture). We also got some fried carp fish served alongside a polenta-type corn-based cake (right side picture), all together with Cricova wines and “Divin”, which is a sort of brandy made with the local grapes.

Where to stay in Chisinau

Park City Hotel

Strada Eugen Doga 2A

Chișinău, Moldova

http://www.citypark.md

This turned out to be a pretty good place to stay! It is a 4-star hotel operated by a local company. It is located right in the center of the city, on a pedestrian street adjacent to the main square.

It is located on a high-rise (for Chisinau standards) and the upper floors have some views.

The room was rather large, spotlessly clean and modernly furnished. Good, fast internet as well.

The breakfast was ok, nothing to write home about, but correct.

Short trip to Lithuania: exploring Vilnius and Trakai

May 19, 2024 by Miquel in Europe

Lithuania is, perhaps, the least well known of the three Baltic countries.

While Riga has a relatively well connected airport and Tallinn is just a stone’s throw from Helsinki, Lithuania really requires a trip on its very own.

And this is something I had the chance to do not long ago. The experience did not disappoint and I will share some of the impressions in this mostly-visual post.

Vilnius, the old town

Vilnius’ historical center is not huge, but very walkable (as you can see here, many of its streets are cobbled) and photogenic.

Also, it is not exactly flat, the old town has a bit of an incline converging on the city’s cathedral square (this is one of two major squares in Vilnius’ old city, the other being Town Hall square, at the opposite end of the historical center).

Cathedral square is, thus, the center of gravity of the city, but this is not your typical old town central square. For a starter, it is not right in the middle of the old town, but at its edge, acting as a nexus between the narrow, cobbled streets of the old town, the straight commercial streets of the modern city and a major forested park.

Cathedral square is also dominated by a relatively high (for a urban environment) and steep hill, at which top are the vestiges of Gediminas Castle, and criss-crossed by two rivers, the Vilnia and the Neris.

The cathedral is also quite unique in that, unlike those in other Central and Eastern European cities, it is built in neoclassical style, with its clock tower separate and in front of the main building.

Next to it is the former palace of the Dukes of Lithuania, which ruled a powerful state in the late Middle Ages and early modern era, which stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Nowadays this building complex houses several museums and temporary exhibitions.

But the one thing you should do if you come to Vilnius is climb up to Gediminas Tower for the best views of the city.

There is a small funicular that will get you there from the museums next to the cathedral, but health and weather permit, I recommend walking (there is a track from the back of hill that starts next to the Vilnia river embakment). It is a bit steep at times, but a nice walk (also cobbled!).

It was quite cold, but the views were absolutely worth it!

I stumbled upon a ceremony in which new Lithuanian army officers were sworn in. Here’s the band, which played the national anthem and other marches.

Walking around the old town you can notice that a lot of effort and investment has gone into restoration works. The results are certainly paying off and most of the city is now postcard-material, although when getting into some side streets it is still possible to see a fair number of derelict buildings (I guess a bit of imperfection adds some authenticity to the ensemble too!).

Although today it is overwhelmingly Lithuanian, Vilnius had historically been quite a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city, with significant Polish, Jewish and Russian populations as well. According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, at the turn of the 19th C., Jews were the largest population group in Vilnius, followed by the Poles.

Vilnius is also a city of churches. Interestingly and, rather uniquely, I think, for this part of Europe, most of these churches are built in an Italianate style.

Apparently in the 16-17 C. Jesuits, many from Italy, had a strong influence in Lithuania, which was the last European country to convert to Christianity and, to this day, remains strongly Catholic.

Was it not for the typically Northern European winter weather, you may be forgiven for thinking you are in Italy. The Baroque facades, the decorations and colours of many of Vilnius’ churches make you feel like it at times!

Modern Vilnius

There is also a modern Vilnius, which spreads on both banks of the Neris river. Most of the commercial activity is in the area adjacent to the old town, with many shops, restaurants and cafés located along Gediminas Avenue and Vilnius street.

A business district with some mini-skyscrapers has sprung on the north bank of the Neris, although I am not sure there is much to do there unless you have work to do there, the best views are from the other bank.

It is also possible to walk or cycle along the Neris embankment. I am sure it makes for great outdoors recreation in the summer, but at the time of my visit if was rather cold!

The memory of the 50 years of Soviet occupation, between 1940 and 1990, are very present, even more so after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in 2022.

The Soviets ruled Lithuania and the other Baltic countries with an iron hand and deported tens of thousands of Lithuanians to Siberia in terrible conditions. Many of them never came back.

Excursion to Trakai

Trakai is, possibly, one of the easiest out-of-town excursions you can do from central Tallinn if your schedule is time-constrained.

Trakai is one of Lithuania’s most historical towns. It is located some 25 km west of Vilnius at the center of the Trakai Historical National Park.

For a period of time in the 14th and 15th Centuries, Trakai, with its two imposing castles, acted as a de facto capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. That was just at a very important moment in the history of the country, right as it was adopting Christianity and increasing its contacts with other European kingdoms.

Another interesting aspect of Trakai’s history is that it was home to a community of Karaim, that is Turkic-speaking Jews from Crimea (also known as Karaite Jews), which were settled in the area by the Grand Duke of Lithuania in the Middle Ages and preserved their language and cultural and religious traditions through the following centuries.

Getting to Trakai from Vilnius is easy, there are trains running pretty much every 30 minutes or so. The station is located in the outskirts of the village, though, and you need to take either a bus or a taxi or just walk the couple of kilometers to the castle, which is what I actually did.

What to see in Trakai?

The Island Castle, of course. This is the best preserved of two castles on Trakai and, as it name implies, it is located on an island, which is in middle of a lake.

The whole of Trakai is actually located on a narrow isthmus that protrudes into the lake and to get to the Island Castle you need to pass a series of bridges and another smaller island. A bit like in the fairy tales!

At the time of my visit, in fact, could possibly have walked straight away since the lake was frozen solid with ice.

There is another castle on the adjacent Peninsula, although it is partly in ruins.

In fact, the Island Castle, which was built in the 13th and 14th Centuries, also fell into disrepair and by the 19th Century was mostly in ruins too.

However, its was thoroughly restored in the mid-20the Century and today can be visited more or less in what would have been the original state.

The castle is made of red brick. It has an interior courtyard around which there are several museum rooms where the story of the castle and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commowealth are explained.

The visit continues in the upper section of the castle, which towers over the rest of the grounds. Here there is another, more narrow, central courtyard, surrounded by high walls. Here it is possible to continue learning about the history of the castle through the exhibits in the different rooms.

The rest of Trakai is not without its charm. Besides the ruins of the other castle, which I did not visit, there is promenade that takes you from the castle to the station and which is dotted by long lying wooden houses.

This is clearly a spot that gets its fair share of tourists (many of them local from what I could tell) and the areas next to the castle are full of souvenir shops and some bars.

I guess in the summer time, the lake makes for some great recreation and there is, in fact, a footpath the runs along the lake shore.

It took me about 30 minutes to walk, at a good pace, but not particularly fast, from the castle to the station.

Tasting Lithuanian food in Vilnius

Restaurant Bernelių Užeiga

Pilies g.10, Vilnius

https://berneliuuzeiga.lt

Ok, this is a bit touristy in its appearance (including the staff wearing traditional dress!), but I was taken here by some Lithuanian colleagues, so the food is really the real deal.

I am aware that “pink soup” is one of Lithuania’s signature dishes and Lithuanians take great pride in it, featuring it even in their postal stamps. But pink soup is a summer speciality, and here is was winter and rather cold, so went for something more earthy, instead!

Started with what is considered a very typical snack in Lithuania, which is basically crumbs of fried rye bread eaten together with melted cheese and a touch of garlic and butter.

Then tried “cepelinai”, which are a sort of potato dumplings (their consistency is a bit reminiscent to that of gnocchi) that are eaten together with butter or sour cream with some crispy onions on top.

They are typically filled with meat, although I think there are other fillings as well.

Cruise Report: on the Norwegian Encore maiden voyage

October 23, 2023 by Miquel in Europe, Cruises

Exploring a state-of-the-art cruise ship during its inaugural sailing

Cruise on MSC Meraviglia

May 14, 2023 by Miquel in Europe, Cruises

Quality cruising at scale

The blossoming of the fruit trees in Aitona

March 19, 2023 by Miquel in Europe

What if I told you there’s a place in Europe where it’s possible to see a similar ephemeral phenomenon for a few weeks towards the end of Winter?

The region around Lleida, the capital of Western Catalonia, are famous for their fruit-growing agriculture. On the plains and rolling hills of the Segrià county, the fruit orchards extend as far as the eye can see, just that, unlike in Japan, here it is not cherry trees, but mainly peaches and pears that you get to see.

The result is equally, if not more, spectacular, although it had long remained somehow far from the public imagination.

The blossoming of the cherry trees, or “sakura”, is one of the most well known images of Japan and it draws people from all over the world.

This is starting to change now, with the introduction, by local authorities and businesses of fruit tourism products and activities, together with the accompanying marketing materials, signage and the like.

Remember, this is a very seasonal phenomenon, starting in late February or early March and lasting for 2-3 weeks. The exact dates to experience it at its height may vary a bit every year, so it is best to check with Aitona’s town council or with the local tourism organization.

At the heart of the fruit tourism experience are a couple of large estates that open their doors to tourists around these dates. Only organized groups are allowed in and on certain times during the weekends, since these are private commercial farms where all sorts of normal working activities are taking place.

The pink of the blossoming peach trees is the dominating colour, but far from being the only one. White (of pear trees, I think, but I am not an expert!) and green of other crops been grown in adjacent fields make for a truly multi-colour mosaic.

The water from the nearby Segre river, which flows between its source near Llívia, in the Pyrenees, and the Ebro river, makes possible this intensive agriculture in the lower Segrià basin.

This is particularly evident in the fruit growing estates where this blooming takes place.

They are traversed by a network of canals and hydraulic works, including the small reservoir of Utxesa, which divert some of the waters of the Segre river and use them to generate hydropower and water the crops.

Bonus track: archaeological sites - the Iberian settlement of Gebut (Soses)

Even if the flat lands of Western Catalonia are, generally speaking, a rather dry, steppe area, wherever there is water, civilization flourishes, and this has been the case here for many thousands of years.

One of the key campaigns of the Roman civil war between Caesar and Pompey was fought in this area (over control of the Segre passes and the nearby city of Ilerda, modern day Lleida). When that happened, this area was populated by an Iberian tribe called the Ilergetes and the vestiges of some of their settlements are found all over the area near Aitona.

The road between Aitona and Lleida runs along a series of low, semi-desertic hills (as soon as you get a few hundreds of meters from the river or irrigation works, the dryness of the area becomes again apparent!), and on top of one of them (located next to the town of Soses), it is possible to visit the ancient Iberian settlement of Gebut. To judge by the dimensions of the excavated area, this was possibly of a rather sizable settlement for the standards of the time (there are several other smaller archaeological sites in the area, such as the Poblat de la Genó, near the fruit orchards).

There is no museum or visitor’s center as such, although it is easily accessible from the road and there is a small parking where you can leave the car and then visit the ruins on foot. At the time of my visit I was the only visitor, but there was a member of the town’s service staff doing maintenance work and he kindly showed me around.

There is some signage that lets you get an idea of what was going on here around VII-VI C. BC, although there is still much to be uncovered here.

Archaeologists continue working on the site and making new findings, such as a defensive wall that possibly measured around 5 meters of height.

There is still so much that is not fully known about the Iberian civilization and lots of archaeological sites have been identified all over Catalonia that are still waiting to get proper love from archaeologists and the public alike!

48h in Iceland in winter: what to do and what to see

February 06, 2023 by Miquel in Europe

Iceland has become a very popular tourist destination in recent years and there are very good reasons for that. The list of natural wonders one can admire in Iceland is so long that a requires quite a few days to enjoy it thoroughly and it is well beyond the scope of this post.

Many people visiting Iceland, though, have relatively short time to make the most of their visit. This is particularly true of the many transit passengers traveling between Europe and America that get the chance to explore the country’s natural wonders.

In my case, it’s the national airline Icelandair that flew me there, giving me the chance to enjoy the amazing Saga Premium class, which I reviewed here.

I decided to make this, rather short, trip to Iceland after receiving an invitation to visit the bi-annual Icelandair Mid-Atlantic Tradeshow. It was great that, despite the intense professional programme, there was also some time for sightseeing in and outside Reykjavik.

What follows is my report and my recommendations for time-pressed first time visitors to Iceland!

Iceland Golden Ring Tour

This is a classic itinerary that can be day in a day (even half a day if hard pressed) starting and returning to Reykjavik. In fact, we did it during the month of January, when the Icelandic days are terribly short (it is dark until past 10am and again at around 4pm or so), nevertheless we managed to see quite a lot. Of course, we were in the hands of Reykjavik Excursions and a great guide, Albert, which, in addition to making the most out of our time to show us around and sharing the most interesting facts about each location we visited, he also kept us well entertained with its great Icelandic sense of humor!

Geysir geothermal area

This was our first stop, perfectly timed when the sun was already out. The Geysir area is know because, as the name indicates, this is an area where there is volcanic activity very close to the surface. Here you can admire the geyser that gives its name to the place, but also other boiling water springs.

The area is very easily accessible from the road, via a short walking path (in winter is advisable to bring warm clothing and waterproof shoes, though, since the soil can get really wet and damp!)

In recent years a large visitor’s center and a high end hotel have opened right next to the geysers area.

Here below is the geyser, which people congregate around to watch. I am not sure what is the frequency of the explosions, we had to wait only for about 5 minutes until one came up. Apparently it really depends on how much pressure the steam builds up underground.

Gullfoss Waterfall

This waterfall on the Hvítá river is a rather majestic sight.

The Gullfoss Waterfalls are actually two waterfalls in one. The top one is 11 meters tall, the lower one, 21. There are also two ways to approach it, the higher and lower one. We took the lower one, from where this picture is taken, which is very accessible by road.

Our guide told us that this waterfall was saved from being tamed and fitted with hydroelectric facilities in the early 20th century thanks to the constant fight of Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the young daughter of a local farmer Tómas Tómasson, who pretty much devoted her life to preserving this amazing landscape. At some point she even threatened to throw herself to the waterfall if the plans of the British developers went ahead. She persevered and she won and today the waterfalls are protected natural heritage.

If you are looking for a quintessentially Icelandic sight, this is it!

Friðheimar greenhouses

Is it possible to cultivate tomatoes and fruits commercially near the Arctic circle?

Yes! provided you have access to plenty of geothermal power. This is what drives this truly interesting agricultural and gastronomical business pretty much in the middle of the Arctic wilderness.

A couple of entrepreneurs from Reykjavik bought this farm in the 1990s with the idea to breed Icelandic horses here. They soon realized that the place offered other possibilities too!

Coming inside the Friðheimar greenhouse is like landing on another planet, particularly if, like us, you do so on a dark, cold winter day.

When you pass the door you come into a lush and warm, exuberant environment. You could as well be in the tropics!

What makes this place so interesting, though, is that Friðheimar is not just a greenhouse, but a gastronomic destination in its own right. Here you can eat surrounded by greenery, but, what’s more, you can learn the fascinating story of this place and how the family that owns it has been developing it using, mainly, the organically grown tomatoes that they harvest year-round.

Cherry tomatoes are the star here, but there are many other crops, such as aromatic basil, cucumbers or other vegetables and even fruits.

People learn here about the cultivation process, which includes organic, non-agressive pest control methods, and pollinization through the use of (imported) bees.

The menu is all based on local ingredients, with the tomato being, again, the star. Even the drinks have tomato as the base ingredient (there’s even tomato beer!)

There is also a shop where you can buy all sort of products made with the locally grown tomato, from sauce to jam. They also distribute it in supermarkets and shops throughout Iceland.

Oh, and the horse-breeding project was not abandoned. It is also well and thriving and visitors can also enjoy horse shows!

The whole concept of Friðheimar reminded me a bit of that of Mooma, in Catalonia, which I wrote about here, just that instead of apples this one is built around tomatoes.

Efstidalur II Dairy farm

Not far from Friðheimar, we made a pit stop at this dairy farm that is famous in Iceland because of its ice-cream.

This is not km.0 ice-cream, but pretty much “metre.0” ice-cream since the cow shed is literally integrated with the ice-cream shop, to the point that you are only separated by a thin glass window!

Also quite amazing to think that Icelandic cows produce enough milk to supply each inhabitant of this country with more than a litre of milk per day year-round!

Fontana Spa and Lake Laugarvatn

This is an ideal place to enjoy the thermal water of Iceland.

Located next to Lake Laugarvatn, this place has offered, for nearly 100 years, the possibility of bathing in hot springs. Volcanic activity here is close to the surface and, in some places, you just have to dig a few centimetres for boiling water to bubble to the surface.

At Fontana Spa you can bathe in a series of swimming pools with water at different temperatures, or spend some time in the sauna (the structure on the left of the picture) and alternate it with bathing in the icy waters of the lake!

But the other things this place is famous for is the geothermal bakery. Here they bake rye bread by digging a hole in the ground next to the thermal water springs.

The bread mix is left buried underground in a pot for it to bake overnight in the warm lava-heated ground, which acts as a natural oven a. 24h later, it gets dug out and immediately chilled in the waters of lake Laugarvatn and voilà! you have some delicious bread!

The next step is to try it and see whether it has baked as expected! From what we were told, there is some variability in how the bread gets cooked, since the natural heat is not always equally distributed throughout the ground at all times, so the flavour and consistency of the bread can vary considerably from one batch to the next.

Happy to report that we were lucky with the bread and it turned out to have an almost perfect consistency and a taste on par.

Even better if you eat the bread together with the locally-made organic butter and smoked trout from lake Laugarvatn.

We were actually told that when Gordon Ramsay visited this place, he was totally blown away by the flavours and immediately requested to go see the trout smoke house, which is located on the opposite shore of the lake, with a view to selling it in his restaurants in the US.

And, then, back to Reykjavik! (the traditional Golden Ring tour includes also a visit to the Þingvellir National Park, but we were short of time, so drove straight to the capital. Here are some of the landscapes we passed through before it became again dark.

Things to do and see in Reykjavik

Downtown Reyjkjavik

As you may imagine, Reykjavik is not a huge city, plus it is also considerably spread out, so the center is quite tiny. Nevertheless it is quite pleasant to walk through, even in a chilly winter day. Here are a couple of pics that give you a feel of the place.

You can see here, in the background, the contemporary glass-and-steel architecture of the Harpa concert hall (more about this singular building further down this text).

Hallgrímskirkja

This church is, perhaps, the most well known man-made landmark in Reykjavik and in the whole of Iceland.

Construction of this 74m-high Lutheran church started in the 1940s, but it was not considered finished until 1986! It was built in a modern style, with stylized, clean lines, that has turned it into one of the symbols of the country.

The church is on top of a small hill overlooking the center of the city and, in front of it, there is this statue of Leif Ericsson, the viking leader that is said to have been the first European to set foot in the Americas.

Harpa Concert Hall

I had the chance to get inside this building, not because of a concert, but because I attended an event that took place here.

While I don’t consider myself an expert in modern architecture, I quite liked the way it is designed, very modern but also quite spacious and functional (like most buildings in Iceland, a lot of care goes into great design!)

Whales of Iceland

This is an interesting museum about the sealife, and very particularly whales, that live in Icelandic waters.

Here you will find some 21 different whale replicas built at scale, with plenty of information about how they live and communicate. The museum offers also some sailing tours to go see the real thing (it is conveniently located in one of the city wharves).

I would have like to have had more time to go through all the collections properly!

Iceland Flyover

Located right next to Whales of Iceland, this is a totally recommended experience!

If you don’t have time to explore the nature of Iceland (or even if you do!), this is a thrilling full-motion movie that will make you feel as you were flying over the most spectacular natural spots of Iceland.

There is a bit of a short introductory story-telling part (with audiovisual animation) and then you move onto the circular cinema theatre, fasten your seatbelt and prepare for a truly immersive experience that will make your head spin!