Westwards

Hiking the Mullerthal Trail in Luxemburg during Corona times

Luxembourg is such a small country that you are tempted to think it consists only of the City of Luxembourg. But of course there's also countryside, and in the countryside there is a long-distance hiking trail we have set our eyes on. "You walk in several circles around the small town of Echternach, in a somewhat mountainous area with lots of rolling fields.” Sounds strange? But it's supposed to be a beautiful trail with impressive rock formations.

This being Luxembourg, the trail is also well-organised with a lot of information online, including details on currently closed tracks and suggestions for walking stages using (free!) public transport. A perfect first excursion into a foreign country after the long Corona restrictions – we think. Equipped with hiking gear, tent and walking sticks we board a train for Luxembourg, but because of rail repairs and a replacement bus service we arrive in the area only in the afternoon. So we decide to get off the bus a little before the starting point in Echternach and skip the first part of today's hike. A wise decision, as the trail turns out more strenuous than we had anticipated, with rather a lot of ups and downs. That night on the campsite on the river Sûre we meet a young Belgian couple who have already strained their knees from their hurried descent into Born.

The next day the trail leaves the frontier river and returns through solemn hills and woods to Echternach, where we can buy some food and sip a glass of white wine in a café on the market place. So far, the trail is well-routed on foot-paths and through reasonably pleasant landscape and beech forests. The altitude differences are enough to make it good training for the mountains later this year – but it's not exactly exciting and would in normal, non-Corona years be second choice.

On day three, however, we start on the next circle, called Round 2 on the map, encompassing two day hikes from Echternach to Mullerthal and back (and then there's Round 3 beyond Mullerthal). This is the heart of the Mullerthal trail, we realise: For a whole day, we walk in mossy canyons, on craggy mountain slopes and among large fairy-tale boulders. After an already strenuous but exciting walk to Scheidgen, a sign points along the road and through wheat fields to Consdorf. Strait over the plateau it would be only 3 km to our goal for today, but we dip down into those enchanted canyons, follow streams and rock formations in weird zigzags. Never mind, the signposting is excellent and a couple of kilometres before reaching Consdorf the number of visitors visibly increases. The leaflets had promised us extraordinary rock formations and narrow caves in this area and warned to take a flashlight.

"Hey, does the official trail nowadays skip the exciting narrow passages? Like, for safety reasons?" When a small and promising-looking path leads upwards into the rocks, we follow it instead of the wider promenade down by the stream. Yes, that's the path to the caves, an oncoming party tells us. And indeed, the rock passages are impressive. You can walk on top of some rock turrets, and it's all very picturesque. But flashlights? Another fellow hiker assures us that she has been to really dark caves before, they must be somewhere around here. Finally we spot a crack in the rock wall with a path leading in and steeply down. There is no name painted on it (as there was sometimes on other famous rocks in the area), but it looks right.

Our headlamps would have needed new batteries – the cave is really quite dark and very narrow. With a backpack, it is impossible to turn round and sometimes we get slightly stuck between the walls and in the corners. After a few turns, we emerge onto a different path and now see the sign, "Kuelscheier," and an instruction to walk only in one direction (not the one we had taken). On our way to Consdorf we then pass another two nearly as narrow rock passages, “Deiwepëtz” and “Rittergang”.

This type of canyon with fabulous rock formations continues until a small waterfall near Mullerthal, where we turn into Round 3 the next morning. The crowds disperse, and th e path turns less inspiring. In fact, the stage between Mullerthal and Larochette is the most boring of the whole trail although the village of Larochette is quite cute with a lively market square, French-looking houses and a towering castle ruin. There's even a few cafés, otherwise a rarity on the trail and a food truck where we have sugary crepes.

From there towards Beaufort we pass some pleasant forests and many raspberrie bushes, but apart from the small castle of Beaufort there isn't much excitement on this stage, either.

The canyons and mossy rocks continue again between Beaufort and Mullerthal – along the small streams of Haupeschbach and Halerbaach, we meet nobody, and even the road is far away. The old mill of Mullerthal is a tourist destination with restaurant, but we hope for a nice café in Berdorf. Now back on the second half of Round 2, we leave the crowds again and walk through steep boulders and enchanted rock walls. There are several restaurants in Berdorf, but they smell of canteen food and don't have outdoor seating – so we skip the break and eat the last few cookies on a bench. By the time we reach the so-called wolves' gorge near Echternach, we are ready to battle the wolves for food …

During our hike on the Mullerthal trail, Luxembourg has just been placed on Germany's Covid-19 travel warning list, due to a rising number of cases. So instead of our planned extra day in Luxembourg City at the end of the trip, we decide to use that day to walk the remaining stretch of the first hiking day, from Echternach to Rosport.

Back in Berlin, we had to alert the health authorities about our trip and to quarantine for 14 days. Luckily we could get out of this earlier after a negative Covid-19 test.

How to walk the Mullerthal Trail

The trail revolves around Echternach, which is accessible by bus from Wasserbillig (on the train line between Luxembourg City and Trier in Germany). All public transport in Luxembourg is free.

The normal schedule for 112 km of rather mountainous hiking is 6 full days. If you don't want to carry more than a day pack, it is easy to walk all stages as day trips from one base (most conveniently Echternach or Mullerthal), but there are hotels and pensions as well as many campsites along the way. However, there are few supermarkets or shops in the villages, and drinking water is also rarely available during the day. The trail is perfectly maintained with regard to signposting, rest areas and the condition of the trail.

More infos:

https://www.mullerthal-trail.lu/en

Note: We paid for the whole trip by ourselves and are not sponsored in any way to write this post.

Five days of kayaking on the German Amazonas – the Peene River

“Westerly winds and some showers, too cool for early July”. The weather forecast for our week of paddling along the Peene River in Northern Germany was not too favourable. But it means we will be paddling downriver, as Heiko at the kayak rental explains: The river's surface elevation in Verchen, at the start of our tour, is just 24 cm higher than at its end about 80 km away in Anklam. "The Peene is the only river in Europe that actually changes its direction with easterly winds and flows away from the sea." Local PR agents call the river Peene the "Amazonas of the North" – this may be a bit of an exaggeration, but large parts of the river are a nature sanctuary and we expect to see a lot of animals.

The only inn along the first stage of the five-day tour is closed today, so we make do with a snack in Verchen and start off from the banks of Lake Kummerow. After a few hundred meters across the lake, we turn into the River Peene, pass a few wooden decks and quays and then float between high reeds. Paddling is easy, with a light wind blowing steadily from behind us. Although there are two other kayakers not so far from us, within minutes of leaving the lake behind we feel enclosed in a muted world. Just the lapping and slapping of the paddles in the water and the water on the boat, the chirping of small birds somewhere in the reed. Getting into the rhythm of paddling takes a while, but it is very calming and relaxing. During the afternoon, the wind freshens up, however, and although it is just speeding us up from behind we are glad when we reach the rest area at Trittelwitz.

The rest area is very rustic and basic with a pit toilet and a muddy bathing spot where local boys come by to swim. A pair of cranes land across the river while we pitch our tent, and later we also take a refreshing dip between algae and water lilies.

The sign says "no lifeguard"

The next day we come through Demmin, one of several small towns we will pass during the next days. We forego the walk around town in favour of a visit to the local bakery that several people had already recommended (and rightly so). Afterwards, the cloudy weather turns into rain, but with a rain jacket and splashguard it is rather cozy, not least because the slow-flowing river is not cooler than an average swimming pool. Today, there are even fewer day trippers on small motorboats than usually (larger boats are forbidden), and apart from a handful of fellow kayakers on the "Amazonas" tour, we are alone with ducks and herons. High above us, we can spot eagles occasionally.

The whole river valley of the Peene has been turned into a nature reserve after Germany's unification in 1990, following decades of drainage and land reclamation in the marshy wetlands. Every now and again, we pass the entrance to dead-end canals, where peat was cut until the 20^th century.

On the third day, nearly everyone on the 5-day kayak trip (which is generally timed for Monday to Friday by the rental companies) is heading for the campsite at Gützkow because there are a few other places where you are allowed to disembark, but nowhere to camp. But although we end up meeting nearly two dozen fellow paddlers in the evening, the day on the river is quite charming and quiet, passing along forests and at eye-level with swans and cormorants. We don't see any beavers, however, although the river is supposed to be swarming with them. "There aren't so many animals at all," complains a Saxonian paddler, "we had expected much more wildlife".

Wildlife, in our experience, has a knack for turning up in our tent. And indeed the next morning, when we pull back the splash guards from the heap in our camp entrance, a high shriek pierces the air. A small bat had selected that pile as a resting place.

The last two paddling stages are not very long, and we arrive in Stolpe in the early afternoon. Having pitched the tent we have a fabulous piece of cake and good coffee on the terrace of the Stolper Fährkrug, the best (and most expensive) restaurant along the route, and then decide to paddle downriver to Menzlin and back for an excursion. The small harbour of Menzlin was a trading post of Vikings in the 9^th century, and boat-shaped stone settings still mark Viking graves.

On the final day there is enough time in the morning to visit the nature reserve's visitor centre in Stolpe before paddling the last couple of kilometres to Anklam, where we are picked up at noon. And just before the town at the mouth of the Peene River we finally see a beaver swimming next to us. And then a kingfisher, too.

What you need to know to paddle the Peene River:

This tour was from Verchen to Anklam, about 80 km. You could go on behind Anklam for another day or so, before the river gets really wide and more unpredictable. However the rental companies don't do pick-ups there.

We rented the kayak for five days from Abenteuer Peenetal in Verchen. The rental fee included kayak, paddles, life vest, splash guards and packsacks as well as the pick-up in Anklam. The kayak was fine, although not high-end, and equipped with a steering rudder.

Even for absolute beginners the Peene should be fine to paddle, as there are no currents or eddies at all. If you happen to have headwind the kayaking might be more exhausting, but five days seem plenty of time for the total distance, and the rental companies would also pick you up along the route.

We camped all four nights and brought our own camping gear. Due to Corona the showers on the campsites were closed, but we could have a bath in the river now and then. There are also some B&Bs and hotels along the river where you could stay, but you would have to make a reservation at those.

Note: We paid for the kayak rental by ourselves and are not sponsored in any way for this article.

“The city in your ears” - an app-guided walk through Berlin

A small queue is forming outside the Berlin TV Tower while we plug in our earphones to listen to the tour guide.  "Tall and lean, tall and lean … very clean," high children's voices are singing the praise of the futuristic TV Tower that was a showpiece of socialist architecture when it was built in 1969. At 365 m height (then – it has since grown a little), it was among the highest towers in the world, and the shiny metal ball holding the revolving tower café at a height of about 200 m was visible from all over Berlin. "But the first thing proud socialist East Berliners would see when they stepped out of the elevator was –  West Berlin!," the audio guide comments. Back then, the Berlin Wall divided the city and many citizens of East Berlin dreamed of fleeing to the capitalist West.

Since we are stuck in Berlin by the Corona Virus-related travel restrictions, we have decided to explore our city. The city guide app "Stadt im Ohr" (The city in your ears) offers a guided tour through Berlin Mitte by smartphone and thus with total social distancing: As in a classical city walk, two tour guides explain the history and tell stories about the various sights. At each of the ten sightseeing spots along the walk, you can listen to a 5-minute podcast with a picture, and we are guided along the route by an interactive map as well as directions in the text.

From the TV Tower we follow the walk to St. Mary's church, one of the oldest structures in Germany's capital. In the middle ages, the original townships of Berlin and Kölln covered only this part next to the Spree River and today's Museum Island. Nowadays, the old town centre is a surprisingly empty inner city area of squares and parks, dominated by the huge Neptune Fountain.

Marx and Engels dominate the small park where the old Berlin was

Across the River Spree we move on to the – newly rebuilt but not quite finished – City Palace which replaces the old socialist Palace of the Republic, which in turn replaced the original palace of the Prussian kings. The new building is modelled on the Prussian palace but will house a number of museums: The northern part of the Spree island is already home to some of Berlin's most important museums, including the Pergamon Museum and the "New Museum", which is full of very old things, among them the famous bust of Nefertiti.

Walking over to the "Old Museum" (which isn't really that much older than the "New Museum"), we cross the Prussian Kings' Lustgarten or "pleasure garden". Originally it was the kitchen garden of the palace, we learn, and was later turned into a kind of botanical garden where tomatoes and potatoes were planted in Prussia for the first time – for their decorative flowers, not their nutritious fruits.

The walk ends near the fashionable area of Hackesche Höfe, where numerous inter-connected backyards form a maze of cafés, shops, and cultural spaces. These days with the Corona restrictions, the atmosphere is rather subdued, but it is still a nice area to have some coffee and muse over our city walk.

Digital vs. personal - Is the digitally guided tour an alternative?

Yes and no. The Stadt im Ohr tour worked quite well with two different, clearly spoken voices, dialogues and some music. On the other hand we can also keep on track and stay motivated with a guidebook text we read to each other. Also we hadn't taken into account the wind (often strong in Berlin) which our earphones weren't up to – but then of course the noise will be even more of a problem on a real guided tour when there are more than a handful of participants. A real on-site guide would also be able to answer questions or to adjust to previous knowledge of the participants – again only in a sufficiently small group. Our audio guide, for instance, explained what constitutes a gothic church...

An advantage of the podcast definitely was that you can replay parts of it or take time out for shopping or a break in between.

Overall, using a city guide app may be a good option especially if you like to independently experience the city   but don't like reading a lot. So far, most of the Stadt im Ohr guides are only available in German – we did the Mitte tour in German but there's an English version, too: https://www.stadt-im-ohr.de/en/our-tours/mitte-schritte/

We might try another one of their walks in future. The app is free, but each walk costs 9.80 €. It was easy to download although it did not work the first time we tried it ... In our opinion the walks are a good deal to explore Berlin.

Note: We paid for the download and were not sponsored in any way to write this article.

Byblos – 8000 years of civilisation and still captivating

Byblos is one of the longest continuously inhabited cities of the world. The first people to build their houses at the shore of the Mediterranean at this spot did so 8000 years ago! And remains of all ages have been found in the ground. That's the reason why Byblos has received UNESCO World Heritage status in 1984.

The most eye-catching structure of the vast archaeological site is however the crusader castle built from 1104 onwards. The big stones at the base have been in place here since the crusades, the more delicate arches built with smaller stones in the upper parts are later additions by the Mamluks, who conquered the town in 1289. The informative exhibition inside the castle is definitely worth the visit and from the top of the castle we have a stunning view over the site and the glistening blue sea behind it.

From the crusaders' castle we walk back in time along some defence ramps until we reach the Phoenicians, seafaring people who settled in Byblos around 1200 BC. Not much is left of the Phoenicians, except for several tombs of Phoenician kings. Those tombs are not more than a few unimpressive caverns in the ground but we have seen the beautiful Ahiram Sarcophagus at the National Museum in Beirut. Nearby are also the relics of a later Roman theatre which was originally much larger than what the archaeologists reconstructed after their digging.

Besides the crusader castle, what we found the most impressive structure in Byblos was the so-called „Temple of the Obelisks“. And indeed there were a lot of obelisk-shaped stones grouped together in a courtyard. It is not known how these stones, the "betyl" or "baetylus stones", were used in religious ceremonies, but some of them had niches where small statues could be placed, some of which we had also seen in the National Museum in Beirut.

Phoenician tanit amulets found in Byblos

We found the panels on site with information and pictures about the structures quite interesting and helpful to understand the history of the place. But even without reading much, the extensive area just next to the sea holds a very special atmosphere.

Should you visit Byblos?

Byblos is definitely worth the trip – besides the archaeological site there is a nice harbour front with restaurants and a bazaar where you can spend a few hours. History buffs should visit the National Museum in Beirut before, as many of the finds from Byblos are exhibited there.

Practicalities:

Byblos is easily reached on a day-trip from Beirut. As we were travelling around the country for almost 14 days we stayed one night at the Ocean Blue Hotel around 2 km from the historic town right at the beach (it was off-season and they offered a very good deal). On our way into town we chanced upon a small secluded surfer beach with a charming restaurant where we had coffee.

Hiking on the Western Isles – the Hebridean Way

On our way to the Outer Hebrides on the very outskirts of Europe, we look back from the Castlebay ferry onto the harbour of Oban. People are sitting outside and enjoying a rare spell of May sun – it will be the largest number of people we are to see for a while. Our destination, Castlebay, is a tiny village huddled around the harbour, with a ruined castle on an island rock in the bay, indeed. From there we walk on for two more hours over empty coastal roads to the even lonelier island of Vatersay.

Vatersay, the southernmost island of the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, is the starting point of the Hebridean Way which will lead us over all the ten Outer Hebridean Islands to the regional capital of Stornoway. Some islands are connected by causeways, like the first stage's small islands of Vatersay and Barra; others by local ferries, and the total hiking distance is about 250 km.

Early the next day we meet the two other hikers who had been with us on the ferry, but both hurry off with little luggage to reach the evening ferry leaving Barra in order to make it to their next accommodation. Especially on the southern part of the trail, accommodation options are sparse and timing the hike with the ferry departures is essential. We are less pressed for time as we have brought a comfortable tent and might camp anywhere. We even take the opportunity for a coffee break at the spectacularly situated Beach Hotel although it's not even twelve when we pass "Britain's westernmost bar". It's the only option to sit indoors for today, and in spite of relatively friendly weather the wind is relentless.

Stormy sky over a standing stone at Sgarasta (Scarista) on Harris Island

We had decided to hike, like most people do and the guidebooks recommend, from Vatersay in the south to Stornoway in the north, because that's supposed to be downwind. And that can be quite relevant for walking, considering the high wind speeds on the Hebrideans. Just this year, however, we hit a week with cold wind coming from the north. Which also means that the rain hits our faces directly ­– and it starts raining soon, and often, sometimes changing into hail.

That day we still do make it to the ferry from Barra to Eriskay, and camp on the beach near the Eriskay ferry. There even is a HOT (!) coin shower inside the ferry terminal! When we pass Eriskay village in the morning, we can stock up on food in the community store before moving on over a causeway to South Uist.

At the Eriskay causeway

After some hills and windswept, pathless moors on Barra the day before, South Uist appears almost civilised. We walk along the long, sandy beach or on agricultural paths in the Machair, a low-lying, fertile strip of land. Whenever we meet someone, they invariably stop for a chat. That happens only twice a day or so, anyway. And luckily one of them confirms that we can get water in St Mary's church a few kilometres down the road (we would have been in trouble otherwise).

Later, hiking through the magical landscape of Loch Druidibeag, we don't see any druids, but a couple of eagles above us. Later, in a different moor far away from everything, we even disturb a plump bird which we figure is one of the rare and shy cornrakes.

We are the only passengers. Rain and wind is hitting the bus, and the driver's radio is yelling "That's how we do it on the Western Isles" by Peat and Diesel (we bought it later!). We are skipping a few stages of the northern part since we don't have time for the whole Hebridean Way. For this day we were planning to walk only a particularly exposed peat bog between Laxay and Achamore. But should we really do that in this storm?  Eventually we get off anyway, then get lost in the moor for a while, get very wet and cold – but it was one of the most exciting and memorable days of a very exciting and memorable hiking trip.

Between hail showers on the moor near Achamore

In spite of the rain, the hail and the thin ice sheet on the tent at night, in spite of the constant wind and the fact that Natascha hates wind, in spite of the full day it takes to reach a larger city or an international airport, we briefly toyed with the idea of moving to the Outer Hebrides after that hike. Both the landscape and the weather are so intense and expressive that the week felt like a constant crescendo. But, of course, there must be a downside… The winters, the loneliness, and more. "I never lock my car or my house, this being such a small and close-knit community. But – you would need getting used to the fact that everybody knows everything about you, and they talk about it constantly," a local woman who gave us lift explained.

In the end we decided against the Western Isles as a living place – but we will be back for sure. Maybe even this summer, once Britain lifts the travel restrictions. 

Oban harbour, Scotland – where the ferry for the Outer Hebrides leaves

What you need to know about the Hebridean Way

Best time to hike: In theory, the Hebridean Way is walkable year-round. You will encounter strong wind and rain pretty much every time of the year. Summer is best avoided due to the midges – although some people said because of the wind they are less of a nuisance than on the mainland.

Accommodation: We took a tent and a stove and were very happy with this decision. If you have to rely on accommodation and cafés/restaurants, the hike requires a lot of planning and pre-booking.

Standing stones of Callanish, near Stornoway

Guidebooks: We used the Cicerone Hiking guide “Walking the Hebridean Way” that not only has useful maps and trail descriptions but also good information about flora and fauna. Additionally we had bought the Bradt Guide “Outer Hebrides” which gives more details about history and society on the western Isles. We used it for some days of sightseeing north of Stornoway after the hike.

Reading: If you like crime novels, try the Hebridean trilogy by Peter May.

Minutes later at a different stone circle in Callanish, the next storm is arriving

Our Quest for Northern Lights in Norway

The Norwegian domestic flight arrives late in the evening in the small town of Alta. After disembarking the plane, we walk through some door and suddenly find ourselves in the lobby of the cute Northern Lights Airport Alta, where the sole baggage carousel already starts moving. Indeed, we had wondered whether the timing of the airport bus – about 15 minutes after landing – was a weird coincidence or quite sensible. Yet we don't even need it as our Airbnb host has offered to pick us up.

On the ride into town we gasp at the piles of snow lining the road. Even for Alta this is unusual, our host Morten explains: the warm weather that plagues Europe's ski resorts with rain has brought more snow in Northern Norway. In most years it is too cold for heavy snowfall up here in the far North.

But we are not in Alta for winter sports – it's the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) that we are after.

The next morning we explore the town centre with its modern Northern Lights Cathedral, a quite stunning building with interesting architectural details. We also visit the informative Northern Lights exhibition in the basement. The mysterious green lights, we read, are caused by so-called solar winds – a stream of particles bringing sun plasma from the sun's corona and  hitting the Earth's magnetic field. The phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis or "Northern Dawn" has been witnessed and described by locals for centuries, but scientific research only began in the 19^th century.

In the evening we join a specialised tour to "chase the Northern Lights".

This night  we are the only customers and our guide happens to be German, so we practically get a private tour. On most nights, we learn in the introduction, the Northern Lights don't really dance visibly in the sky like a huge colourful lightshow (as on the pictures you may have seen). But when there is auroral activity and the sky is clear, it is often possible to spot those lights as a green shimmer in the sky. Taking photos with a long exposure will make the green lights more visible: "Those photos are what you see on social media", our guide Sarah explains. "Images on Instagram are probably the main reason why tourist numbers to Alta are exploding".

Although we brought thermal wear, warm boots and padded jackets for our Norway winter holiday, we are fitted with an extra set of winter overalls and boots – to put on top of all our other clothing! We feel (and look) like the Michelin Tyre Man when we stumble to the minibus.

Today, the Northern Lights are not quite visible from within town. Sarah, who has consulted several Northern Lights forecasts on the Internet, drives us to a nearby hill that is often a good spot for seeing the Northern Lights. But today there is a slight fog. At least there are no clouds, Sarah comments cheerfully; otherwise we might have to drive hundreds of kilometres in our quest to see the Northern Lights.

Half an hour later, we descend a narrow track through knee-deep snow towards a lake. Beyond the lake, a hint of green is visible in the sky, like a very faint rainbow. And yes, on the camera it turns out a little more green: it's a Northern Light! Over the next two hours or so, the shimmering green is sometimes a bit more visible, sometimes less, while the temperature moves towards -20 °C. Most of the time it is very cold and very dark – but somehow that's also charming. Christa, Isa's 81-year-old mother, stumbles into the snow once, but we can help her up. And Sarah has brought  hot chocolate and cake to keep our spirits up.

Natascha tries a sun salutation in the snow – just because Northern Lights Yoga seems trendy ­– and quickly decides that Northern Lights Aerobics might be more viable.

During next two nights we keep looking for the Northern Lights in the sky above and around Alta, but don't see any again. So, professional help in that chase is apparently quite sensible unless you are lucky enough to hit a day with strong solar winds.

The next day, we join a brief tour with reindeer sleds and chat with Mikkel, a Sami herder, in his tent. It is called a lavvu and made from wooden poles and textiles.

In Norway, only the Sami minority are allowed to own reindeers in the first place. They usually start building up their personal herd from childhood, and still follow very traditional lifestyles. Nevertheless, Mikkel says, he's glad that they have smartphones and motor sleds these days, unlike fellow reindeer herders he's met in Siberia …

Natascha also tries her hand at dogsledding and finds that it's not that difficult as long as the dogs just follow in the track of the group leader. But steering a pack of dogs through the snow-covered forest? That might require a little more training …

Have you seen the Northern Lights or are you planning a trip to chase them? Let us know in the comments!

Note: We were not sponsored in any way or received money or other benefits for and during our trip to Alta. All expenses were fully paid by ourselves.

Some more photos from a previous winter trip to Norway (in 2005) can be found here:

www.westwards.de/photos/norway_200503

Total sightseeing in St. Petersburg

St Isaac's Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia

"That way to the Malachite Room!" The elderly museum attendant is helpfully pointing down the corridor – when we seem to be lost in the maze of St Petersburg's Winter Palace. It is 10.40 AM: the Hermitage Museum has just opened, and we have already hurried past the most famous room in the palace with its green Malachite columns, stopping briefly for a photo.

It is the Silk Road section that we are looking for and we are planning to spend as many hours there as we like. Luckily, the attendant lady knows her museum well and can advise us about left and right turns and finally, steps down to about 20 rooms of Central Asian treasures. And treasures there are!

The Red Hall murals from Varakhsha (Uzbekistan)

We have been dreaming about a visit to the St. Petersburg Hermitage for years. Whatever archaeological site or a museum we visited in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, or Turkmenistan, for work or privately, the most spectacular objects and wall paintings – were almost always said to be in the Hermitage in St Petersburg.

Frieze of musicians from Ayrtam near Termiz, Uzbekistan

Early November is not exactly a pleasant time to travel to St Petersburg, one of the northernmost Russian cities. We arrive from the airport at night in a cold drizzle. Natalya, who knows very few English words but is expert at explaining things in simple Russian, shows us into our rented flat near Nevsky Boulevard.

Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood

During the next days we work our way through our list of St. Petersburg must-sees: The Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood with its art deco murals is an impressive start, even though the colourful onion domes suffer from the rainy weather and some scaffolding. For the Russian Museum next door we have to queue for over an hour in the cold, but the paintings (and some decorative arts) are worth it.

Not only did we then spend a full day in the Hermitage Museum – after several hours among the treasures of Nisa, Bactria and Toprak Qala, from Varakhsha and Penjikent, we could still at least glimpse into the main galleries with their amazing collections of European paintings.

The (separate) Hermitage Storage Facility was an absolute highlight of the trip. With a collection of approximately 3 Mio items, the Hermitage Museum belongs to the largest museums in the world – and not even the huge Winter Palace can accommodate all those treasures, let alone make them accessible. The new storage facilities built over the last decades (and more are to come!) combine scientifically adequate storage rooms with restoration workshops and at least some opportunities for visitors to see objects that are not on permanent display. Luckily we could arrange a guided tour in English on the spot (usually you should pre-arrange these tours), and it was quite marvellous. We particularly liked the door of Gur Emir Mausoleum in Samarkand, the Russian icons, and the Tsarist coaches and sledges.

"Last Supper" by Andrey Filippov in St Petersburg's Erarta Museum of Modern Art

With so much to see and little time, we combined two museums for modern art in one day: the Marble Palace – built by Catherine the Great for one of her lovers – today houses a collection of (Western) modern art donated by German art patron Peter Ludwig. The afternoon was barely enough for the Russian modern art at the Erarta Museum – you could easily spend the whole day there and delve into Russian contemporary art, which is not so often seen outside of Russia.

St Isaac's Cathedral

In between, we visited a number of other museums, some historical places, the major churches and convents such as the Alexander Nevsky Monastery with its graveyards of famous artists, the Smolny Cathedral and St. Isaak's Cathedral, had Georgian and Dagestani (!) food, and walked around the city to discover a couple of bronze statues of Lenin and Marx …

Statue of Lenin at Finland Station

Six days in winter was by far not enough to explore the wonders of St. Petersburg in spite of our total commitment. We will have to come back …

Note: We were not sponsored in any way or received money or other benefits for and during our trip to St. Petersburg. All expenses were fully paid by ourselves.

Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station

Travelling up and down in Eritrea

Ten days in one of the least visited countries of the world.

Fiat Taglieri Building in Asmara

Getting the Visa for Eritrea was less tiresome than we had imagined, not least because we had allowed a couple of months for this task. The embassy staff crowded around us excitedly when we showed up in person to ask for a tourist Visa: "We had 900 Visa applications last year! Can you write a guidebook about our beautiful country?!" Never mind that they forgot to pass on the application at first…… But repeated phone calls did the trick and we finally could pick up our visa.

Tank graveyard in Asmara

Once in the capital Asmara, getting the necessary travel permits and arranging a car for an excursion on the last day proved somewhat more difficult. We did this in the wrong order: by the second day we had received the permits for excursions to Massawa and Keren on public transport, and fixed a deal for a car on the final day. With the car's number plate we could now apply for that last permit – but all our previous permits had to be submitted in the original for another day or so. Only an "exceptional exception" (after some discussions) made it possible to receive all permits before we started out for Massawa.

"You can reserve a seat on the bus the day before", the ambassador had advised us, but perhaps mixed that up with German bus stations. After an hour's wait for more passengers our crowded minibus winds down the spectacular, if potholed, road to Massawa, 2300 m lower on the coast. An Ottoman trading town on an island (linked by a dam), the historic old town was heavily bombed during the independence war but retains at least remnants of those beautiful Ottoman and Egyptian-period houses with arched doorways and shaded arcades. Some of the houses were restored, reinforced and reconstructed after an earthquake in the 1920s, but the recent damage incurred during the independence war has not been repaired. In spite of this, people are living in some rooms of the crumbling buildings. We were planning to explore the alleys but soon end up lazily sipping tea in a café with outdoor seating on the main square.

This might be the oldest mosque in the world

The next day we visit the local museum and get a tour to Massawa's potentially most important relic: the Sahaba Shrine is a small open mosque oriented towards Jerusalem rather than to Mekka – if this was indeed, as archaeologists think, built in 615 by early followers of Muhammad including the prophet's daughter Ruqayyah, who were fleeing persecution from Mohammed's opponents, it might very well be the oldest extant mosque in the world.

The next morning the queue for buses back to Asmara is long: hundreds of small bags snake a long line around the bus station marking the position of their owners, but no bus has even arrived. An hour later, we have bought a place near the front of that queue from professional queuers, and been handed a plastic card as a pre-reservation. By the time the bus arrives, a new queue has been formed and rearranged, and eventually we are lined up at the door based on queue position and neediness: disabled people and clueless foreigners may board first, strict order is maintained. Half an hour later the bus is on its way to the Highlands and to the capital Asmara.

Waiting for the bus in various forms – there are different rules and procedures for large public buses and private minibuses – takes up some time on the other excursions, too. We do a day trip to Decemhare, a small town built by the Italians, were 1940s buildings with an Italian Art Deco feel line the street.

We also visit the rather colourful Saturday market, but otherwise there's little to do.

The same goes for Keren, one of Eritrea's largest towns at a medium altitude (about 1600 m) with a very pleasant climate. A commercial hub for the North of the country, Keren has extensive souks, a large open market in the dry riverbed, and a busy livestock market on the outskirts on Mondays. It is the only place in Eritrea except for the Asmara permit office where we see other tourists, most of them in small groups. It is also the only place in Eritrea were begging schoolchildren with their greetings of "Money!" and "10 Nakfa!" are a hassle and at times even aggressive.

The archaeological site of Qohaito

On our last day in Eritrea, we spend hours on the long, winding, and ill-maintained road towards the Southern border with Ethiopia. The archaeological site of Qohaito belongs to pre-Aksumite and Aksumite civilisations with remains that are well over 2000 years old. This high plateau of 2600 m was an important trading post between the Red Sea harbour of Adulis and the (now Ethiopian) town of Aksum – but  the lack of archaeologists and funds (not to speak of the wars that have made the region inaccessible for much of the past decades) means that not much has been excavated and studied so far. Only a few columns of temples and, later, Christian churches, rise from the desert ground. The view from the plateau towards the coast is quite spectacular, however.

Our highlight of this trip was seeing the prehistoric cave paintings on the cliff below, accessible from the ancient footpath that has been linking Qohaito to the Red Sea coast for several thousand years.

In between all these excursions we always had to go back to Asmara and had time to relax in this restful little capital with palms and a night sky full of dreamy stars, hundreds of sleepy cafés, dozens of Modernist colonial buildings such as cinemas and a swimming pool – and not a single working traffic light, as far as we could make out (there were traffic lights though…).

Altogether we enjoyed our time in Eritrea, but found that 10 to 14 days was enough time in the country. Most other travellers we met spent only 2 to 4 days there, mostly in Asmara. We would suggest a bit more time for arranging permits and getting a feel for the vibe and the pace of the country.

Have you ever been to Eritrea or are you thinking about travelling there? Tell us more in the comments.

How to get to, and travel in, Eritrea

We applied for the tourist Visa at the embassy in Berlin, which took a few weeks, but was (with a German passport) not difficult at all.

We flew with Emirates via Dubai, but there are also a number of flights to Ethiopia, Egypt and very few other destinations. Flights to and from Asmara appear to be cancelled or postponed regularly due to fog (our return flight was).

We stayed in midrange hotels (around 50 € per double room, without prior reservation), all with a proper hotel atmosphere, reception desk, restaurant, and running water, but not necessarily hot water and not quite European standard: Sunshine in Asmara (hot water, breakfast included, good service, very friendly); Red Sea in Massawa (no hot water, breakfast not included, friendly, interesting architecture); Costina in Keren (hot water, breakfast included, quite unfriendly).

Apart from the car with driver we arranged for Qohaito, we travelled around Eritrea on public buses, which was cheap but time-consuming.

Fata, the traditional Eritrean dish made of bread, chilli paste, and tomatoes.

Eritrea was not a culinary revelation and most locals don't eat out, but we could get fatta (bread in tomato sauce) and pasta as well as decent coffee; in most places we treated the tap water with Micropur pills – bottled water is very expensive.

Note: We were not sponsored in any way or received money or other benefits for and during our trip to Eritrea. All expenses were fully paid by ourselves.

Visiting the Roman temples in Baalbek during the revolution

On a Lebanese mountain slope close to the Syrian border, the monumental temple complex at Baalbek is one of the largest remaining Roman structures in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. On a winter day during the Lebanese revolution with very few other visitors, it was a stunning site to visit.

Old men in overcoats are warming themselves at the gas stove when we arrive at the iconic Hotel Palmyra in Baalbek. It's the oldest hotel in town, and even the German Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed here when he visited the Holy Land back in 1898. The charming grand lobby appears rather unchanged since then.

We have come to Baalbek using several minibuses from Beirut. It was already noon by the time we arrived and we are eager to explore the famous Baalbek we can already see opposite the hotel entrance. But first, we search the tiny village of Baalbek for some food – eventually ending up with an espresso and an Ülker chocolate bar at a kiosk. Another customer orders two hot teas, lengthily deliberating: "Umm, no, no black tea, I think I would prefer the lemon verbena herb tea". Which happens to be on the top shelf and quite difficult to reach for the elderly vendor …

Just behind the temple entrance some flights of stairs lead to the main buildings – the huge Roman temple was built on the site of ancient settlements, the remains of which were already rising several meters above the ground.

Great Courtyard of the temple of Baalbek

It takes us quite a while just to explore the propylaea and the courtyards – all around are carved columns and niches, and the main courtyard alone, with remains of huge altars and wash basins, is about the size of a football field.

The Roman temple of Jupiter in Baalbek

Finally, a further flight of stairs goes up to the main temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus, where some impressive 20 m high columns are still left standing. The temple was so strongly built and stood so high above the valley that later Islamic dynasties used it as a fortress, adding moats and further fortifications.

Memorial plaque for the visit of the German Emperor Wilhelm II

Next to the Jupiter temple, another temple is even better preserved, with the walls of the cella surrounded by enormous columns. Inside this so-called Temple of Bacchus, there's a memorial plaque which Sultan Abdul-Hamid II had made to commemorate the German emperor's visit – Wilhelm II was so impressed by the ruins that he contributed large amounts of money and manpower to their excavation.

To this day, German archaeologists are active on the various Baalbek archaeological sites. They also set up a very informative museum in the basement rooms of the Jupiter Temple, displaying more finds, old photographs and a lot of background information.

The Roman temple of Jupiter in Baalbek

By the time we are back in the Palmyra hotel, the event that all those old men (and very few women) had been attending has ended. Most are still in the hotel lobby discussing important issues – it seems. So, what was it about? "Oh, how do you say that in English," a greying gentleman ponders. “You know, about our uprising!”

How to get to Baalbek on public transport from Beirut

From our hotel in Hamra (Beirut) we took a public bus (1000 LBP) to the Kola bus station. From there we went by minibus to Chtoura where we changed into another minibus to Baalbek. From Kola the journey took about two hours and cost 10,000 LBP per person (around 6 €).

Accommodation in Baalbek

Nearly original 19th century bathroom in the Palmyra Hotel

If you have an early start you can easily visit the ruins of Baalbek as a day trip from Beirut even on public transport. We enjoyed our one-night stay at the famous Palmyra Hotel in Baalbek (no hot water and a somewhat unreliable heating and electricity system, though). This way we could visit other sights in the region the next day.

Note: We were not sponsored in any way or received money or other benefits for and during our trip to Lebanon. All expenses were fully paid by ourselves.

2019: Our year in travel

2019 started out quite busy travelwise and slowed down a bit between the end of August and the beginning of November. Altogether we visited nine countries, two of them – New Zealand and Lebanon – for the first time.

January: Belgium

We launched the year with a short visit to Antwerp with Isa’s family. It was our first time in this small Belgian town and we would give a 3 out of 5 for the sightseeing, but we enjoyed the family time with waffles, fries and beer.

January/ February: Qatar/New Zealand

At the end of January we left for a long-planned trip to New Zealand. Six years earlier, we had already booked tickets and made a lot of reservations, but had to cancel the whole trip due to a knee surgery. This time we made it to the other side of the world with only one missed flight and a 24 hour layover in Doha/Qatar. For one month we explored New Zealand’s North Island by rental car. Read about the highlights of this trip here. Although we thoroughly enjoyed the hiking and paddling as well as the good coffee and pastries, we remain baffled by the hype about New Zealand. Nature there is beautiful, but not overwhelming, and a lot of places were quite crowded.

March/ April: Japan

March and April, as always, were blocked by tour guiding work in Japan during the cherry blossom season.

May: Scotland

May seems to be the perfect season for Scotland. It is already a little bit warmer (although we had some nights with freezing temperatures) and there are no midges yet. We hiked a part of the wonderful Hebridean Way, which covers a distance of 156 miles over 10 islands on the Outer Hebrides.

After that we met up with friends for one intensive week of whisky tasting on the island of Islay.

June: Germany

June 2019 we spent mostly in Germany writing and researching guidebooks and preparing research trips. Our only brief diversion was a paragliding introductory course in Stubai Valley/Tyrol.

July: Japan

In July we went to Kyoto to do research for our new Kyoto guidebook that is going to be published in spring 2020. After two weeks of visiting Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and ancient tombs we flew to Hokkaido in Northern Japan for some hiking.

As on previous trips to Hokkaido, the weather was quite rainy but we managed to climb another two of Japan’s “100 famous mountains” (hyakumeizan), among other things. And we saw some brown bears at the Shiretoko National Park.

August: Tyrol

After only a few days in Berlin, we left again for Tyrol/ Austria – the new edition of our Tyrol guidebook needed some in depth research. We had a fun-filled month with hiking, climbing and a lot of good food. We even tried stand-up-paddling and Forest Bathing (shinrinyoku). At the end of August Natascha tore her meniscus again and had to have knee surgery in Tyrol.

September to November: mostly Berlin

We stayed most of the time in Berlin writing: Our new guidebook about Kyoto and Osaka had to be written from scratch, and we also worked on the relaunch of our Tyrol guidebook. Isa went for two weeks of tour guiding work to Japan, while Natascha was busy in Berlin with physical rehab for the knee.

November: St. Petersburg

We did however squeeze in a short trip to St. Petersburg at the beginning of November. Piter (as the locals say) has been on our wish list for some time, and Russia in general is a destination we want to visit more, not least because we have been learning Russian for years. The city met all our expectations – despite the frosty winter temperatures that made even walking around a challenge. Wonderful museums, beautiful buildings, yummy food – and lots of Lenin statues!

December: Lebanon, Belgium (again) and Netherlands

After such a long time staying home, the urge to travel struck us again in December. We had planned our trip to Lebanon early. When the Lebanese revolution started in October we wavered but then decided to go anyway. Although there were still some protests and street barricades, we managed to visit a great deal of this small country. The Roman ruins were superb and the people very friendly and helpful. We were a little bit disappointed by the food that has such a good reputation, but for vegetarians it was a lot of hummus and falafel.

After spending Christmas in Cologne we went to Belgium for the second time this year to see the newly opened Africa Museum in Brussels and some other sights. We finished this trip with one night in Rotterdam, enjoying a wonderful Indonesian rice table and a harbour cruise through Europe’s largest harbour (among other things).