Wordless Wednesday: Chestnut season in Lisbon

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Fado, the Portuguese Blues

Some people might say you have never really been to Portugal if you have not spend at least one evening listening to the local version of blues music. The Portuguese simply call it Fado.

It is pretty easy to find it in a random Lisbon café. Most of them are in the traditional fado quarter of Alfama and also Bairro Alto. Good places in both of those neighborhoods are usually pretty pricey - to find a more economical alternative, your best bet is to get a taxi out to the suburbs.
Surprisingly fado is not very common in other parts of the country (with the exception of the city of Coimbra).

It is pretty easy to find a place to get a taste of it, but getting a taste of the top notch performance is another thing. Cafés with present and potential future fado stars are usually reserved for fado connoisseurs, willing to pay 100 euros and more for the real thing. Usually food is also included in such deals, but do not expect too much - music is what you pay for.

If you ask me, as a first time visitor you will not be able to appreciate the difference between a really good, five star fado performance and a good touristy one. However, genuine local atmosphere could mean all the difference to some... in the end - the choice is yours.

If you are lucky you can also get a taste of the real thing for just a fraction of the price. The hostel we were staying in (Lisbon Destination Hostel), happened to have such a deal on their "menu" one night. You could get into one of the best fado cafés for a modest 10 euros.
Of course there was a catch - the hostel made a deal for a small group of their guests to arrive late and get a place near the bar (other guests were seated at proper tables). Also only tapas were included instead of a full dinner. If you do not mind being treated as a second-class guest and catch a strange glance or two from other guests every now and then, the whole idea might turn out just fine.

I think I could have actually enjoyed the performance in spite of everything if there were two or three of us. Unfortunately our group that night consisted of a dozen people and the place was already pretty crowded when we arrived. There was literally no way for all of us to squeeze next to the bar.

After a while the whole situation simply felt too awkward and some of us simply decided to leave the place. The hostel did not complicate a bit and gave us a full refund.

I actually could not say I do not recommend this whole thing but I definitely suggest you inquire about details. We were simply not told about the whole deal in advance and found it too far from our expectations.

However strange (or for some even unpleasant) this fado experience turned out to be, I liked the music. So afterwards I decided to at least buy a CD with some best of fado music.

I found a perfect place in the middle of a street on my way to the famous Elevador Santa Justa one morning (look for tips about that in one of the following posts).
There was an old car parked in the middle of a street, serving as a vending spot for fado CDs. The guy inside this little "music shop" was really knowledgeable and played music performed by a few different fadistas (i.e. fado singers) so I could choose my favorite. I chose Ana Moura and I really like her after I listened to the CD for a couple of times. Great stuff!

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Attractions of Belém, Lisbon

Belém is the part of Lisbon I liked the most. Many of the most popular city's tourist attractions are situated there.
Jerónimos Monastery, Torre de Belém and the Discoveries Monument are just a few of the things that can all be found there.

Even if you do not intend to actually visit any of them, it is well worth taking a walk around this neighborhood and at least take a look at those magnificent buildings from the outside.

Especially Jerónimos Monastery blew me away - the building literary stretches for half a kilometer into distance. The front and inside details are all equally stunning. It is really hard to imagine enormous fortune spent on it (and that was just a portion of what trade with the Orient brought to Vasco da Gama and his men).
The church within the monastery is among others also the resting place of Vasco da Gama.
Besides great ornamental details on literary every step and an extensive presentation of building's history alongside other major events in the country and the world, there is not all that much to see inside.

The story goes Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer before departing on their expedition to the Orient in 1497 there. Then there was only a hermitage in disrepair, but they promised to build a monastery if they make it back. The building project was funded with money obtained from a 5% tax on commerce from Africa and the Orient, equivalent to 70 kilograms (150 lb) of gold per year.

The task of residing monks for centuries was to provide spiritual assistance to navigators and sailors who departed from the nearby beach to discover the world.

If you actually decide to see some of those attractions from the inside you can even do it for free if you follow this tip. Like some other attractions in Lisbon also these offer free entrance on Sundays until 14:00. If do not get there on a Sunday you can expect the following entrance fees:

• Jerónimos Monastery - 6 euros
• Belem Tower - 5 euros
• Discoveries Monument - 2,5 euros

I found both - Jerónimos Monastery and Torre de Belém very interesting and well worth spending a Sunday morning there. The 52 meter high point of view is what you get if you go inside the Discoveries Monument. We decided to skip it.

When in the neighborhood you should also make a short stop at the Pastéis de Belém confectionery (on Rua de Belem 84, near the monastery) and try their delicious custard tarts. Since this place is always busy and they supposedly sell over 10.000 of these tarts every day, you can be pretty sure to get a fresh - still warm one for yourself.

I would hardly describe those custard tarts as "to die for" but I liked them, especially considering the price (just over 1 euro per tart). I also tried them on a few different locations and these were my favorite - there might actually be something about the hundred years old secret recipe. You should definitely try them.

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The Discoveries Monument, Lisbon

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What to see and do in Lisbon?

Being a capital of Portugal - once a world-class colonial superpower, says enough about this city on its own. Still today all over Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) there are many reminders of this once glorious past. Wealth flowing in from many colonies and successful spice trade with far east resulted in many magnificent buildings for us to admire today.

Strangely, despite all of that and also being very affordable, it is not as popular as many other European capital cities - unduly so if you ask me.

There would be many more magnificent buildings but unfortunately the 1755 Lisbon earthquake destroyed 85% of city's structures. Even before that time the city had quite a "ground-shaking" history.

The city itself is very old - archeological finds suggest the area was populated even before first millennium BC. Phoenician influences date back to 1200 BC but it really started to prosper during the Roman times.

Today it is a city with a population of around 550.000 within its administrative limits and over 3 million in a wider metropolitan area.

Lisbon is also called The City of Seven Hills - like many other great cities, it is built on seven hills. Rome probably being the most famous of those, the list of cities built on seven hills stretches to 60.

There are many attractions scattered among those 7 hills. We tried to visit at least some of them in our 4 days there.

These things made it onto our list:

• walks around various city districts (Alfama, Baixa, Bairro Alto, Belém, Chiado, Estrela),
• Jerónimos Monastery,
• Torre de Belém and the Discoveries Monument,
• a panoramic ride on the Tram 28,
• Castelo de Sao Jorge,
• Oceanario de Lisboa,
• Fado music experience,
• Basilica da Estrela,
• Elevador de Santa Justa,
• a trip to Sintra,
• a trip to Cabo da Roca.

There are also many great museums worth looking into (Gulbenkian Museum, National Tile Museum, National Coach Museum, etc.). In addition to those, there are also many great parks worth checking out (e.g. Parque das Nacoes) and many other interesting places. I will try to share some useful information about the most interesting attractions from the above list in the next few posts.

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Why visit Lisbon?

As I already mentioned a while ago I recently decided it was time to visit a nearby destination with at least a bit warmer climate (I announced the trip here). This was not a very challenging task, since we have recently had some periods of really low temperature in Slovenia - it dropped even below 20 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country during a couple of nights.

The destination of choice for this time was Lisbon - the capital of Portugal. We flew in from Venice.

Usually getting from any airport to a larger city center can be a bit of a challenge or at least prove to be quite an expensive thing to do. In Lisbon this is definitely not the case. Since the last stretch of subway (Metropolitano de Lisboa) was completed at the end of summer 2012 it is a really easy and cheap thing to do in Lisbon.

A one way metro ticket (to anywhere within the city) only costs €1,25 which is really affordable. The only thing you have to take care about are the metro working hours (every day from 06:30 till 01:00).
Our plane landed quite late in the evening, but we still had plenty of time to get to the hostel we were staying in.

There is one thing I should probably mention about hostels in Lisbon - there seem to be many of really good ones available at more then affordable prices. We started our search for a hostel with Hostelworld's 2012 Hoscar Awards.

As we learned there are surprisingly many Lisbon hostels on that world's top list in almost every category. We checked out feedback on a few of those and in the end chose the Lisbon Destination Hostel, which actually didn't make it to those top 10 lists. Affordable price, very positive overall feedback and top location were the things that had the most to do with our decision. In the end we were really happy with our choice - it provided everything we needed and more. I really recommend it!

Lisbon Destination Hostel is actually located inside Rossio train station. This might seem odd, but it is a magnificent old building in the very center of Lisbon. I was afraid there might be some noise and vibrations coming from trains, but we did not notice anything. A pleasant surprise really.

Apart from good accommodation we liked almost everything else about the city. It was quite affordable and there is a lot to see and do. Also food and wine was my kind of thing - I loved almost everything I tasted. The fact I love seafood definitely helped.
For more information about food and great Port wine I tasted for the first time, you will have to wait for one of my following posts.

Actually the only thing that did not meet my expectations was the weather. I was hoping for a dry holiday with as much sun as possible, but got mostly rain.
At least the last two days were pretty sunny. That allowed me to take at least a few nice photos.

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Which airline hobbits fly?

Obviously it is Air New Zealand! This video commercial is just one of many similar tries by New Zealand to attract more tourists with the help of popular Lord of the rings and Hobbit movies.

What’s the best way to get to Middle-earth? Fly, you fools, fly!

That is just one of cool quotes used in a video commercial for Air New Zealand. The video presents An Unexpected Safety Briefing in the most entertaining way.

Besides a good looking elf-eared attendant also many dwarves, orcs, hobbits, elves, wizards and Sauron himself can be seen on board a Boeing 777 on their way to Middle-earth. Tolkien's great-grandsons, Hobbit‘s Fili the Dwarf and even movie director Peter Jackson all appear in the commercial. Oh, and let us not forget the Gollum. Enjoy!

There is also a behind the scenes video available here.

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End of the World in Ljubljana

Ljubljana - the capital of Slovenia, has had similar Christmas lighting for a few years now. It represents planets, stars, constellations and other space objects. Besides the fact I find it really nice, some sections of it are also very appropriate for the announced end of the world.

If you have been hiding in a dark cave for the last few years, let me inform you that the end of the world was scheduled for 21st of December 2012. As you have probably noticed by now, the world is still here and internet is still up and running.

I will leave you with this photo of shooting stars in the skies over Ljubljana and an interesting quote on the end of the world topic by Richard Bach:

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.

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Soča river valley video presentation

Another video promoting (in my opinion) the most beautiful part of Slovenia has recently been released. It focuses on Soča river valley. The Emerald river really is something special and definitely deserves your attention.

Enjoy the video and feel free to ask any questions about the area that might pop up. I will gladly help you out with some local advice.

I have posted about different sports activities in these parts before - it is a perfect place for trying out various adrenaline packed activities. You can check out a post about kayaking and there is also another one about my ziplining adventure in the area.

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Dej še'n litro concert in Ljubljana

Those of you out there who are having second thoughts about visiting the capital of Slovenia during winter season do not have to worry - December is as good time as any to do it. The city streets might not be as vibrant at this time as during summer months but there are still many reasons that will definitely leave a happy smile on your face every day before turning in for the night.

Two days ago was no different as a brass band Dej še'n litro held a concert in the picturesque streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia. This was a perfect excuse to get together with a group of friends and have a good time. It was a traditional, free concert dedicated to band supporters, friends and random passers-by alike.

The band took care of everything - good mood, mulled wine, excellent music and there was even a little something for those with a sweet tooth. A perfect evening in my eyes!

Ljubljana city streets provided a perfect setting for the event with holiday season lighting already set up. The sound of brass music echoed the streets long into the cold night.

I can only imagine how much effort they had to put into this event. Even the cold (it was below minus 5 degrees Celsius!) could not stop them and the crowd from having a great time.

It has to be quite a challenge playing an instrument in those conditions. Gloves get in the way, bare fingers get stiffened by the cold and despite of all that, songs have to be played just as fast as any other time. No wonder alcoholic beverages were the preferred choice of the evening.

It seemed to me the crowd really appreciated the band's effort and cheered loud after every piece they played. I really hope the band was also happy with how the whole event turned out.
Hopefully it was not the last time they did something like this. If I get a chance to visit another performance of Dej še'n litro brass band, I will definitely try to attend. I can hardly wait!

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Nikon photo day

For the sixth time in a row Nikon Slovenia has organized an annual event for photography enthusiasts once again. Until recently Nikon was the only one of big photo names to do such a thing in a small country like Slovenia - just yesterday Canon did something similar (the event was titled You can party by Canon)! Unfortunately I could not attend - maybe next year.

Since a little bit of competition is almost always a good thing, I hope this will be one of many such events.

Nikon Day 2012 - Hot & Cool, as they named the event this year, took place 10 days ago on 30th of November in Ljubljana. Every photo lover could find something interesting there. This year's theme was cold white winter and everything that comes with it - from polar bears, to snow sports photography.

For me the definite highlights were great photo lectures by three great photographers: Florian Schulz, Marcel Lämmerhirt and Arne Hodalič (Google them - they have done lots of great work so far). Unfortunately I got to see just two of them.

Another service first 70 participants could take advantage of was Check&Clean. The team of professionals checked and cleaned one camera body and one lens per person. Such professional service was just what my equipment needed, so I embraced this opportunity with both hands. I must say they did a great job on my D7000 and my most used Nikkor lens!

There were also countless opportunities to test your own or new Nikon photo equipment on models in studio conditions. There was an interesting studio set with a group of models posing for many photographers lined up to take a shot or two.

Good work Nikon Slovenia! I am already looking forward to visiting the next year's event.

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Wordless Wednesday: Cabo da Roca Lighthouse

Greetings from Cabo da Roca, Portugal - the westernmost point of continental Europe!

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Day trip to Zagreb

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to take a day trip to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Since it is the largest city of a neighboring country it is actually pretty strange I have never visited it before.
I am not counting a couple of times going through or flying from the nearby airport.

Since I arrived quite early I was a bit worried about getting to a scheduled meeting on time due to the morning rush hour. City traffic in Zagreb can definitely be quite challenging. Besides cars there are also trams and buses rushing through busy streets.
Even for a seasoned driver like me this could have proved to be too much of a challenge. At this point I just have to thank my Android powered mobile navigation for getting me to the desired destination on time without a sweat. In times like this it really is a handy tool.

I found a nice seafood restaurant where I treated myself with a great lunch and a good glass of local white wine. Gastro Mare restaurant (on the second floor of a modern building at Trg Petra Peradovića 6) is not cheap but offers great quality sea food. I definitely recommend it.
Unfortunately after a good and relaxed meal I did not have much time left for other things I would love to check out. A short stroll I did around the center was hardly enough to really see the city. I did however get to feel the vibe.

I must say the city center had a really nice and lively feel to it, with all the people walking around on a Thursday morning.

Many cafes with outside tables gave away there is probably quite a lot of action also in the evening. Sadly I could not stay long enough to check whether my predictions were correct.
Similarly there was also not enough time to visit a local museum or two.

With all of that in mind I will definitely return sooner or later to have a deeper look into this charming and lively city.

These few photos were taken near the main city square. Ban Jelačić - a Croatian hero, is watching over the crowds of people from his saddle high above.

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Akordika group through my lens

Every summer for the last few years there is an interesting festival held in the Slovenian town of Idrija. It is called "Četrtki na placu", which literally translates into "Thursdays on the square".
The stage set on the main town square makes a great venue for events like this. Hopefully there will be even more of them in the future years.

Every year this small festival features different bands, vocal groups and even a theater group or two. So on every Thursday evening in July and August mostly local crowd gathers to listen to event.
If you ever happen to be in the neighborhood during that period, you should definitely check it out. The entrance is free of charge.

Often there is also something on the stage well worth a look. These photos are from a pleasant August evening I spent with a group Akordika. A guy I know plays trombone for them so it was an even more interesting performance from my point of view.

They advertise themselves as Musical theatre performers - a group of 10 talented people who perform popular musical theatre pieces.

Apart from top notch musicians, there is also a group of three dancers adding another dimension to their performances. They mostly perform pieces from various musicals, but also have many other great scores up their sleeves.

They do a great job and I really recommend you check them out if you ever get a chance.

I promised to send them a couple of photos and since some quite nice ones turned out I thought to also share them with you. I hope you like them.

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Wordless Wednesday: Canoe on Planinsko jezero

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Rain storms hit Slovenia

The last few weeks weather was not too kind to travellers around Slovenia. There were some really nice and sunny days in between the rain storms but when it was raining it was next to impossible to do anything outside.

One weekend ago we had loads of rain for the second time in a couple of weeks in Slovenia. In some areas it did not stop pouring throughout the whole weekend. I am talking serious rainfall - both times up to 250 millimeters of rain in 48 hours (that is just under 10 inches or 250 liters per square meter)!

For the most unfortunate parts of the country this meant the amount of rain in two weeks topped the cumulative rainfall of the past 9 months.

I do not know what is to blame but climate changes definitely come to mind. We could have witnessed quite a lot of these extreme weather situations in the last years. It seems like there are more and more every year and they range from extreme cold winter months to scorching hot summer periods and from summer drought to autumn floods.

Obviously there were quite a few problems with flooding in the last weeks but fortunately we made it through without any serious problems. A few of the nearby roads were temporary closed and a few basements flooded. As the last photo shows, some roads were literally disappearing into water even a week after.

In some parts of Slovenia they were not so lucky - many homes and some industrial buildings were completely flooded and ruined by the water.

I took a few shots when it was raining near the town of Idrija (the first two photos) and another bunch a week later when water in some parts was still draining after a whole week without rain. The last three photos were taken at Planinsko polje which turns from a grass field to a lake a couple times per year due to extensive rainfall.

For the next few days meteorologists are predicting strong rainfall again. I hope this time forecasts are not correct and it will not be so bad...

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17th Ljubljana marathon in snow

Yesterday was the day of the 17th Ljubljana marathon. The last Sunday in October has been reserved for this event in the Slovenian capital for quite some time.

Yesterday's weather conditions however, were not something one would wish for. After a night of torrential downpour temperatures dropped to zero Celsius and rain turned to snow all over Slovenia. We woke up into the first white morning this season! Luckily I had anticipated this and changed to winter tires just a couple of days ago.

As I expected, all this did not turn M. away from participating - hardly anything is an obstacle for her when it comes to running.

After a usual morning routine we made our way to Ljubljana. On our way we drove through some areas with quite a lot of snow - at one point there was even a fallen tree partly blocking the road.

Once we reached Ljubljana things looked a little better but still far from perfect. After I dropped M. off for a warmup I met up with a couple of friends. Together we went to the start line and cheered to the crowd of eager runners. On our way there were running-late runners whooshing by us all the time. Obviously not everyone was expecting winter road conditions.

With live music and snow falling down on the excited crowd, the air was buzzing with energy. Group performing on the stage set over the start line was a great choice - the percussion extravaganza group The Stroj made even my heart jump!
There were also many other bands playing at multiple points around the track, helping runners' spirits to stay high throughout the whole experience.

We chose to retreat to a nice bar nearby for a quick drink. After our quick warming up session we proceeded to the finish line.

Some participants obviously did not take the event too seriously - many were dressed up in funny costumes. My personal favorite were a group of Paleolithic runners - with beards, wooden clubs and some even in flip-flops!
We watched the Ethiopian runner Shiferaw Berhanu win the 42 kilometer event (and a check for €15.000,00) in the time of 2:09,40. An excellent time in given conditions.

Because of a lack of practice in the last two months, M. was not so very sure what her expectations and target time should be. In the end everything worked out more then fine and she easily finished her second half-marathon with a personal best of 2 hours 4 minutes and 57 seconds. Congratulations!

Despite far from perfect conditions, 16.441 runners competed in various events in the two days of the event. Although this year's record number of registrations (25.686 runners from 41 countries) seemed enough to break last year's record in participation, they came roughly 2.000 participants short.
I think with the weather we have had, this was a formidable achievement as well. Big thumbs up to all the runners who took up this challenge!

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Wordless Wednesday: Fishermen at Sunset

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How to escape bad weather?

Many of my faithful readers know I live in Slovenia. When people hear about it for the first time many imagine a cold country somewhere in the the middle of former Soviet Union.

In fact it is a small country in the very middle of Europe. Slovenia is tucked among its larger neighbors: Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. As with some other things, it also seems like this little diverse county adopted some climate characteristics from every one of those neighboring countries.

No matter how sunny and hot it might get during the summer on that little stretch of Slovenia's Adriatic coast, the hills get freaking cold during the winter months. It is not unusual for temperatures to drop below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) for a week or two in January or February.

As much as I love skiing and the book&TV series where they keep repeating that "winter is coming", I am not too fond of cold, cold winter. That said it should be obvious I try to escape damp, cold weather every winter for at least a week or so.
This year I am already planing an escape trip to Portugal - more specifically Lisbon.
As we are expecting temperatures around zero Centigrade and below at the end of November in Slovenia, we are looking forward to 15 degrees and hopefully less rain in Lisbon. I hope everything works out.

This time we are going as a group of 7 friends. I wish it would turn out to be very much like two years ago when we visited Berlin. Well, actually I am hoping for a little less snow and a lot more sunshine.

Airplane tickets and hostel rooms are already booked. So far it seems like this is going to be a very affordable trip. Both - low budget airline tickets and 4 days of hostel expenses added up to under 130 EUR per person. A bargain if you ask me!

A friend living in UK also wanted to join us but something else came up - he will be going on a Maldives Holiday instead. He found a really good deal through an online flight search engine. It searches for flights from UK to all parts of the world and includes both budget and conventional airlines - a very useful tool indeed.

Nowadays it is not all that hard to get a good deal for a flight. Since we won't be flying from UK we could not use the handy search tool mentioned above, but in the end we found very affordable EasyJet tickets from Venice to Lisbon.
I am really looking forward to this trip. This year I can hardly wait for the cold to come... Just to get away from it for a while, of course.

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