Vienna: Grand and Elegant

Grand and elegand really are the first impressions when you arrived in Vienna, the place is like a real size museum.

Vienna is probably the only capital city in Europe where it smells more of horses than of car exhaust.

The old town is very well combined with modern places, like this one on the side of the Danube, the best place to relax after a hot day! When you get there, you feel just like on the sea side.

Or this floating swimming pool is also a great idea for hot summer days.

This one here is an ice-rink converted into a beach bar for the summer!

Bansko, Bulgaria

There's nothing like a trip to the countryside to see the real face of a country. I hop on the first Bus to Bansko, 3 hours South of Sofia, in one of the highest mountain range of Bulgaria.

I discover there a nice old village, where life is a bit more relax than in the capital...

I also found out, that like anywhere in the world, the good wines are called "Chateau"

The hotel I'm staying in is a nicely restored old house like most of the village centre. it's very rustical and my hosts are most welcoming.

From the centre, the imposing mountains are calling me, so I'm taking the chance and catching the only bus up the valley at 8.30 a.m. to ascend the second highest mountain in Bulgaria with 2915m (the highest is 11m higher, never mind, I'll keep it for next time)

Everything is very well sign-posted, with the only detail that you have to read cyrillic of course...

The walk up the summit is gorgeous, and when you go back down, don't forget to "sign" the field, so people can know you've been there (click on the 3 picture)

Funny to think that I'm higher than 99.999% of all people in Bulgaria (approximately...)

Sofia, Bulgaria

Touch down in Sofia, Friday night 11 pm, a pleasant 25°C.

Arriving to a country where you can't even read the name of the place, or the name of your hotel is quite disturbing.... It's a bit like falling back to Childhood where you had to recognise different signs...

But really, reading cyrillic is a bit like a riddle, and you quickly get used to it. Here the second word reads "express bank" (I think...)

Fortunately, some of the signs are also written in the latin alphabet, so you can slowly get use to it... This is the same building, with the other half!

The city centre of Sofia is surprisingly pleasant, with some nice tramways, which should probably belong to a museum collection for 20 years already. Wide avenues with imposing architectures, and cafes, 10's of them, with very cheap expressos (30c€)!

The centre was really empty though, and I don't know if it was too early, or because it was saturday, until I accidentaly reached the street market, full of life!

But any way, this combination of Eastern Europe with a Mediterranean feeling is really relaxing, and Bulgarians are very laid back people, making Sofia just a great place to hang around.

Heidelberg

Small excursion to Heidelberg with Chico. Of course, we took our bikes, essential mean of transportation in Germany. Make sure you remember where your park it.....

Visit of the old town, and of course the ruins of the famous castle.

The famous "philosophers' path" on the other side of the river offers great views on the town and the castle.

Helgoland: North Sea, Sun and...Seals

Helgoland is the only Germany island in the open seas. One gets there from Hamburg, or from Cuxhaven (2 hours train from Hamburg). The place is only 2 km²...

Perfect place to camp on the beach, relax and enjoy great barbecues!

The island is also a natural reserve where seals come and sunbathe on the beach. But the water was only 12°C so we didnt go for a swim with them.

That's how a happy seal looks like!