Westwards

Great Walks in New Zealand: The Tongariro Northern Circuit

Mt Ngaurupoe or Mt Doom in the Tongariro National Park

When we started our three-day hike in the Tongariro National Park, we were not sure what to expect, but we were prepared to meet many people, as it is one of the most well-known tracks on the Northern Island. And we were prepared to meet even more people on the one day we shared partly with the popular “Tongariro Crossing” day trip.

„A thousand people per day do the Tongariro crossing.“ „Too many for my taste, but I‘m used to New Zealand tramps where you meet nobody the whole day.“ „Oh, it wasn‘t so bad, we had expected more.“ - were some of the statements we had heard before.

View of Mt. Ruapehu

Day 1: Whakapapa Village – Oturere Hut.

27 km, 1061 m up, 810 m down

The volcanic cone of Mt Ngauruhoe is looming over the heath when we approach the Tongariro visitor centre in Whakapapa Village in the morning light. We have decided to do the Tongariro Northern Circuit anti-clockwise, and thus against the current, as it were. Our first day to Waihohonu Hut being not so hard, we start not too early. The path first slopes gradually up to the saddle between Mt Ngauruhoe and the mighty snow-capped Mt Ruapehu. A few day-trippers head out in our direction, towards the clear Tama Lakes or the Taranaki waterfall.

 

Tama Lakes

Later in the day, we meet occasional hikers with some more luggage coming from the huts in the park. Before 3 pm, we are already at the historic Waihohonu Hut, where travellers since 1904 alighted from their stage coaches while doing the “Grand Tour” of New Zealand.

The hut warden at the neighbouring new Waihohonu Hut advises us that we might change our camping reservation (which we had made months ago because even the campsites in the National Park are so restricted) to the next hut if we wanted to continue. It is such a nice day that it feels too early to stop here – so we continue to Oturere Hut. The path turns out far more demanding than the first hours: up through overgrown forest, and then down through overgrown forest. And again up, and then up and down for a while in an ever more lonely and volcanic landscape. We arrive after everybody else, at around 7 pm, at the Oturere Hut, but are glad that we added these three hours to our schedule for today, and that we won’t have to do it tomorrow.

Day 2: Oturere Hut – Mangatepopo Hut

14 km, 570 m up, 740 m down

The next day is the steepest and highest part of the trail, hiking to the Emerald Lakes and over the Red Crater. This part of the trail is called the “Tongariro Crossing”, and is advertised all over New Zealand’s North Island as a must-do day hike. It is very likely the most popular day-hike in the whole country. Tourists are shuttled in the morning to the starting point at Mangatepopo, and picked up 6 to 10 hours later at the other end, at a much lower altitude. Nobody ever does the day hike in the opposite direction, it seems, with 400 m or so more to climb. From our last hut on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, however, it is actually not that many altitude meters – once we have reached the brilliantly coloured Emerald Lakes, we only have less than 200 m of altitude to the top of the Red Crater.

Day hikers on the Tongariro Crossing

This is where we encounter the day hikers, even though it is already midday and most must already have passed. Resting at the Lakes and trudging up the steep volcanic sand to the crater, we meet several hundred hikers going in the opposite direction – some of them in sneakers and struggling with the difficult terrain. “How much longer is it to the official end of the “Crossing”? About 20 minutes will do?”, an exhausted-looking youngster asks us. From the top of the Red Crater, we can see the trail of day hikers extending northwards past another lake and into the next valley. Maybe 3 or 4 hours more for the exhausted hiker...

Beyond the summit, we are alone again in the grey and barren landscape of recently erupted volcanoes. Mt Ngauruhoe is again right next to us, clearly visible on another spectacularly pleasant day. It has played a role in the Lord of the Rings movies, but is impressive enough on its own. The walk down to Mangatepopo is long, but easy, as the path is prepared for the masses of day-hikers: wooden boards and staircases most of the way, some toilet blocks lower down in the valley. Again, we are among the last to arrive at the hut.

Day 3: Mangatepopo-Whakapapa Village

10 km, 290 m up, 350 m down

Today we can really have a lazy start, for whereas everybody else is heading for the volcanic slopes of the Red Crater (with many other hikers), we are only crossing some foothills to return to Whakapapa Village. In the first 5 minutes of our hike we meet about 100 people who are just coming from the drop-off point and eager to start their Tongariro Crossing day hike. But soon we turn into a different trail and are almost alone for the rest of the morning. 5 pairs of hikers are walking in the opposite direction, and Mt Ruapehu is standing in front of us. Mt Ngauruhoe is in clouds today – we were lucky to have such good views on the volcano for the past two days.

When we dip into a forest and hear Chinese chatter, we know we are nearing Whakapapa Village, the end of our three-day Tongariro trail. People in shorts are walking towards the Taranaki Waterfall. Then a group of perhaps 30 young people in flip-flops, carrying towels, rugby balls and packets of crisps are pushing past us. Ten minutes later we arrive in the village and see the Kiwi Experience backpacker bus that apparently carried the group to their picnic trip in the mountains.

What you need to know before heading out on the Tongariro Northern Circuit

The Tongariro Northern Circuit is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks – so in season hut and camping reservations are essential. We hiked at the beginning of February and huts as well as camping facilities were booked solid. Camping facilities at the Oturere Hut were somewhat wider than the few places that could officially be booked, so in reality it was not quite so restricted – but at Mangatepopo Hut it would be difficult to find space for an extra tent. You have to bring your own food, pots, and plates, but even campers can use the gas stoves in the kitchen.

And yes, there is a certain risks of earthquakes and volcano outbreaks. Write your name and where you are heading next into the “intentions book” in the huts – for all kinds of emergencies and for curious fellow hikers.

This was our year in travels 2018

Visit to a desert village in Uzbekistan: Eski Dungala

As always, we had a busy year – with not as much travelling as we might have wished, but still good.

January/ February

We started the year with a short sightseeing trip to Brussels with Isa's mother. It was the first time that we went on a trip together and we had a lot of fun visiting art museums, eating Belgian fries (double-fried and thus less oily) and chocolates, drinking beer and admiring the numerous murals. In fact we all liked it so much that we have already scheduled another trip to Antwerp for 2019.

Kinkie & Cozy mural in Brussels

February/March

At the end of January we left for a four week backpacking trip to Western Africa flying in and out at Lome/ Togo. We travelled loop through Togo, Benin, Southern Burkina Faso and back to Togo. Prepared for a tough journey, we were surprised how easily we got around and how relaxed we felt.

Togo, and especially Lome, was surprising: very laid-back with white beaches and a good pub culture, too. Visiting the Wolds House in Agbodrafo greatly added to our knowledge and understanding of the slave trade from West Africa.

Tranquil beach in the capital – Lome in Togo is a backpacker's insider tip

Benin was our favourite travel destination of the three countries. There were remarkable places for sightseeing, the transportation system was good, and we also liked the food. We even did a safari in the Pendjari National Park in Northern Benin.

On a boat ride on lake Ganvie in Benin

Burkina Faso on the other hand was a bit tiresome – and Natascha suffered from a cold, which in combination with the dry harmattan wind led to frequent nose bleeding. Most impressive were Sindou Peaks and our visit to a Fetish master.

The Sindou Peaks in Burkina Faso are UNESCO World Heritage

On the way back from the Westafrica travel we had a long stopover in Lisbon and visited Sintra.

Top sightseeing highlight Sintra in Portugal, without the tourist crowds

March/ April

From the end of March we both worked as travel tour guides in Japan during the cherry blossom season. And we managed to start early for a relaxed sightseeing week without guests in Kyoto.

Sightseeing Highlight: The beautiful gardens of Kyoto

May/ June

Almost no travel at all – due to family matters we spent a lot of time in Munich – only managed a weekend sightseeing trip to Bologna from Munich by bus.

Romantic streets in Bologna on a sightseeing weekend

July

In July we travelled to Uzbekistan to update our Dumont Guidebook. As the tourist visa allows only for a maximum length of four weeks we were quite in a hurry to check all the tourist places. But we also went to some sightseeing spots new to us, like the shores of the Aral Sea.

Summer expedition to the shores of the Aral Sea

August

Originally we thought about hiking in the Alps in summer – but decided to stay at home in Berlin, just meeting friends and taking it slow.

Giant kites in the traveller capital of Berlin

September-November

September to November were dedicated to work: Isa writing up the Uzbekistan travel guidebook and several other assignments at home; Natascha tour-guiding in Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizstan and Kazakhstan) and in Japan. We managed to squeeze in five days in Thessaloniki/ Greece, though.

Church of Agios Dimitros in Thessaloniki

December

In late November we left for 3 1/2 weeks of research for the new edition of our Dumont Egypt guide book, returning to Berlin just before Christmas. And this was the last trip for 2018. 

Egypt's top sightseeing: the Pyramids of Giza

We wish you all a very happy 2019 full of travels!

Dressing up in the Royal Palaces in Seoul

Heavy rain has set in when we reach the Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace in Seoul. A family dressed in the formal garb of Korean nobility is seeking shelter under the eaves of the palace. The traditional dress of the Yangban, a Korean noble or court official, consists of the characteristic hat traditionally made from horsehair with a bamboo frame (the rental ones are made from plastic...). The women wear hanbok, the Korean skirt that begins directly under the breast and bulges down with a lot of fabric. Some of them are holding umbrellas, and nearly all are holding smartphones to take family photos in the palace surroundings.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of five Royal Palaces in Seoul, originally built in the 14^th century but repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. The latest round of rebuilding is still going on, as about 80% of the palace buildings were systematically destroyed by the Japanese occupation forces in the early 20^th century. The Japanese even built their own government building in the place of the former palace. Now the Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the top tourist attractions in Seoul, and not only Koreans but also busloads of South-Asian tourists rent royal costumes for their walk around the premises.

When we walk the palace grounds in the pouring rain, we are surprised to see most buildings labelled as "1860s", although they are built with concrete and we are quite sure that some of them didn't exist when we first visited more than 25 years ago.

The constant rebuilding and reinvention of Korean history is probably one reason why only another one of the five Royal Palaces in Seoul has made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage list: Changdeokgung was originally built in the 15^th century as a secondary palace. But when a Japanese invasion at the end of the 16^th century left the town and its palaces devastated, this one was the first the Korean kings rebuilt. They then proceeded to use Changdeokgung as the main Royal Palace for the next 200 years, and some members of the Royal Family even continued to live there until 1989.

The large throne hall with its ceremonial court is quite impressive – stone markers show on the courtyard where officials with the court ranks one or two should stand during ceremonies. Lower ranks were apparently not so much in attendance – there's fewer space allotted to them.

Behind the Changdeokgung throne hall, there are smaller buildings where the daily work of the government was done, and a residential building for the Korean king which was rebuilt after a fire in 1917, with electricity and some Western-style furniture. Nevertheless, many of the buildings in this palace appear to be quite old and look like from a different time, even those intended for the king's concubines that were in use until the 1980s. They all feature beautiful woodwork, especially in the latticed windows and doors, but also the banisters and eaves.

The whole Changdeokgung palace complex was built not on a large flat area like most palaces, but at the foot of a hill with some slopes. Thus, the halls are not arranged in one clear pattern but in accordance with the surrounding landscape and the topography, culminating in a pleasant stroll garden, the so-called "secret garden".

Even in this palace, however, we notice a whole area of densely arranged administrative buildings that were newly built in 2005 but made to resemble old buildings, and a number of the main buildings have modern and concrete elements that are not acknowledged in the information panels, so we always wonder what of this is old, what part is restored according to confirmed original plans, and which of the buildings are just a modern fantasy of what the Korean government currently wants their own country's history to look like.

Is it worth visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul?

Both palaces are impressive and popular with tourists. History buffs can skip the newly rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace, but it is good for photos. And although we have some concerns with the historical accuracy of the UNESCO rated Changdeokgung Palace, the buildings are beautiful and the design is stunning. On the whole, we liked the solemnity of the ancestor shrine, Jongmyo more, but the Korean Royal Palaces are more visually attractive.

How to travel to Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung Palace

Both Royal Palaces are in the centre of Seoul and close to metro stations. It is easily possible to walk between them (and also to Jongmyo Shrine).

NB: Our 10-day travel to Korea was not sponsored or supported in any way; all expenses were paid for by ourselves.

A visit to bulbous hills in the Gyeongju Historic Areas

The group of grassy, strangely globular hills in Gyeongju looks like an oversized playground but without slides and climbing frames. It is a rather unique sight, which we immediately remember from when we first visited the Royal Tumulus Park on a previous journey in 1992. Meanwhile, the Gyeongju Historic Areas have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list and we have come back to have another look.

On our journey on the fast KTX Train from Busan, we had a taste of the Korean high-tech shift in the past 25 years: We had reserved seats, but the train conductor never looked at our tickets. He just walked past, looking at his tablet and comparing which seats should be taken and which were supposed to be free. No need to disturb the passengers if everything appeared in order. Later we found out that an even more developed system worked when travelling on highway buses.

From the Gyeongju Train Station, we were quickly shuttled to the central sightseeing area on a local bus, and proceeded to explore the Royal tombs and some other historically important and UNESCO-listed areas. The route recommended by the tourist office was about 6 km. Many travellers rented bicycles, but as we had nearly the whole day we decided to walk – which worked out fine for us.

Until the 1970s, the tumulus tombs were still overgrown with grass and untouched – although it was obvious that the hills contained important tombs, the archaeologists were reluctant to open the tombs of previous kings. When they did eventually, they found a wall painting of a flying horse and golden crowns from the Silla period (around 6^th c AD). The Cheonmachong Tomb is now open for visitors, with a small exhibition of replicas from this find.

The sightseeing route then leads us to an ancient astronomical tower – a small stone structure from which you wouldn't see any star in South Korea's bright night sky today – to some more tumulus tombs, and to an old Confucian Temple near the Woljeonggyo bridge. This section is rather a relaxed countryside walk without amazing highlights. We cross the huge excavation site of the Wolseong Fortress – there's not a trace of fortress buildings to be seen, but a bunch of Korean archaeologists we meet assure us that they are going to discover more foundations and figure out where the actual castle was. They seem rather confident that there will be a reconstructed fortress here in a few more years.

For some more visual stimulation we make a detour to Anapji, a garden around Wolji Pond. Between Lotus flowers and fields, a number of open pavilions (now called the Eastern Palace, or Donggung) are strewn around a meandering pond. This makes for a nice stroll garden and some good views, although we are, as often during our Korea trip, not sure how much of this is really old and original.

One of the highlights of our sightseeing day in Gyeongju is the National Museum at the edge of town: There's much more to it than the golden crowns from the Royal tombs, but also a lot more golden grave goods, intricately decorated 5^th century pottery, and fantastic Buddhist statues. We also like the bird-shaped vessels from 3^rd century burials – they were used in the funeral rites, and presumably the deceased then hoped to fly to heaven with them.

Are the Gyeongju Historic sites worth visiting?

Definitely yes! The strangely shaped tombs are really unique and it is fascinating to imagine the old Silla culture thriving during the 1st - 10th century. It might be a good idea to start with the National Museum though, in order to acquire sufficient historical background for your walk.

***NB: Our 10-day visit to Korea was not sponsored or supported in any way; all expenses were paid for by ourselves. ***

Warm autumn days in Thessaloniki

Young men in formal robes stand in front of gleaming golden walls and porticoes. Above them, wings of the Archangels can be seen. The mosaics of Thessaloniki's ancient Rotunda are included in the UNESCO World Heritage “Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika,” and rightly so.

In terms of sightseeing, we always try to eat our cake as soon as possible – that is: not to save the highlights for the end but to go immediately and see the things on top of our wish list. Decades of travelling have taught us that unexpected changes of plan can occur …. So on our first day in Thessaloniki, as soon as we have checked in, we walk down into the town and enter the Rotunda.

30 m high and round, it is a sturdy building from antiquity – the Roman Emperor Galerius had it built in the 4^th century, perhaps as a mausoleum for himself. Galerius was a strict persecutor of Christians for most of his life – but soon after, the Empire became Christian and quickly, Galerius' Rotunda was turned into a splendid Christian church. The golden mosaics in the cupola and on some arches are still partly preserved and still magnificent. In 1591, the building became a mosque and was fitted with a free-standing minaret. After all that back-and-forth, today it is a non-religious historical site.

Over the next few days, we seek out many more churches, archaeological excavations from the Roman period such as the excavated Roman Forum, and walk along the remnants of the sturdy city walls. Yet five days are not enough to see all the Palaeochristian and Byzantine sites on the UNESCO list and everything else we thought we would like to see in Thessaloniki. Especially as we spent the better part of two days on excursions travelling into the nearby countryside (see our previous post, "Philipp's II tomb in Vergina/Greece").

The second big item on our sightseeing wish list of "cakes" was the Byzantine Museum. Thessaloniki was from the start one of the most important cities in the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Empire, and there are a lot of early Christian objects on display: The marble columns and huge stone sarcophaguses look quite Roman to us. In the early years, the burial rules were apparently quite lax – short of cremation, the early Christians could do everything as in heathen times, including extravagant grave goods, painted tombs and funeral banquets.

Later on, the style shifted to the typical Byzantine mosaics and frescoes, and painted wooden icons of saints and holy martyrs we had never heard of. This even increased after the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople in1453 and ended the Byzantine Empire. Church authorities then promised every martyr for the Christian belief the same status as the traditional saints. In those days, martyrdom was quite easily accomplished, so it became rather popular for Christian losers to run out into the street and insult Islam in public. Muslim authorities at times were rather annoyed that they had to behead all those people in order to prove their authority.

In the Archaeological Museum (another sightseeing highlight), we especially liked the stylish bowls from the Island of Chios, and the statues of the Egyptian gods the Romans started to worship in the later years of the Empire. At least in Makedonia, there was also a custom of putting spells written on a strip of metal into the tombs, which reminds us of the Book of the Dead in Egypt. But we also noticed with delight some details like the profession of "flatterer" at formal banquets, the manufacturer's name on stones for slingshots, or the sales contract for a little slave girl written on a huge stone slab certainly heavier than the girl.

Oh, and then of course, the cakes themselves. Both guidebooks we used for our travel to Thessaloniki had a special section on the best confectioners in town, with suggestions on how to incorporate several of them into a day walk. So we sampled our way through Trigonas (cream-filled triangles) at Stratos, Tsoureki (yeast loaves with sweet fillings and a chocolate icing) at Terkenlis bakery, and variously filled Koulouri (sesame rings – similar to Turkish Simit).

Strong Greek coffee goes quite well with all of this.

And when the weather returned to summer on our last evening of the journey, we even did a short boat cruise along the coastline of Thessaloniki.

Notice: Our trip to Thessaloniki was organised and paid for entirely by ourselves, we do not have any association with the sites and shops mentioned or depicted above, and we did not receive any sponsoring.

We used two travel guidebooks and one history book:

DuMont Reise-Taschenbuch Chalkidikí & Thessaloníki. 2017.
Lonely Planet Greece. 2018 (we had the previous edition).
Mark Mazower: Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews. 2005

Philipp's II tomb in Vergina/Greece: Tracking down the father of Alexander the Great

Eagerly we stare at the winding road and the fields around us with occasional houses, rushing to the exit at the sight of a sidewalk and a restaurant sign. Road signs have been pointing to the UNESCO-designated Vergina Archaeological Site for at least two kilometres now, and we are keen to get off the bus in order to visit the Makedonian royal tombs. Alexander the Great must have been here before us we think. But, "Not yet, not yet", the bus driver and several locals in the bus hold us back. Finally, at a deserted road corner seemingly in the middle of nowhere, we are allowed to get off the bus. "This way up to the royal tomb!"

Indeed, it is only 50 metres or so to the entrance of an inconspicuous garden with a ticket office. Inside the gate, there is only a large green hill with a ramp leading down into it as in an underground car park. We haven't seen any tourists yet – the parking and souvenir stalls are on the opposite site of this road, it turns out later.

The hill in the countryside of Vergina had always looked man-made – in the 5^th century BC the kings of Makedonia resided in this village, and although they were not particularly powerful, the archaeologists expected to find some tombs of nobles or even kings in the tumulus. In 1977, they came across a stone chamber filled with expensive weapons and grave goods – among them golden greaves of different length. They turned out to belong to a king who had one shorter leg: Philipp II of Makedonia.

Philipp II was the father of Alexander the Great. He was also the first important king of Makedonia, a military commander who turned a rural hinterland into a leading force in Greece. The civilised ancient Greeks with their democracies and city-states tended to look down on the Makedonians as barbarian country bumpkins who still had kings. It was Philipp who turned the Makedonian warriors into a strong army, defeated the other Greek states and became leader of the Greek forces whom he organised in a campaign against the mighty Persian Empire. Eventually, the king was killed before the start of the war, and his successor Alexander fought that great war against the Persians (very successfully so, which made Alexander famous and a god, and earned him the epithet "the Great").

Philipp's tomb, thus, was a major discovery for the archaeologists, and also a perfect opportunity for Greek nationalists to reinforce their claim on the heroic Makedonian kings. It is also a great sightseeing spot and tourist attraction.

Inside the green hill, there is no earth and rubble these days. Only the stone chambers of several tombs are untouched, the rest of the tumulus has been replaced by a tumulus-shaped museum displaying many of the most spectacular finds in glass cases.

The exhibition starts with some old tombstones of local people found in the rubble used to fill in the tumulus: These tombstones, a large panel explains with a certain excitement, are much older than Philipp's tomb, and they display Greek names (at least this is what the panel claims). So, this is proof that the Makedonians were Greek! Okay – we wouldn't have thought about it without the exclamation marks, but apparently their Greek-ness isn't undisputed if such proof is needed.

Whether Greek or not – the Makedonian graves contained some beautiful artefacts – figurines and crowns, sets of silver dishes for the funerary feast. We wonder what the "chryselephantine couch" may have been, until we realise that was a heavily decorated ivory daybed used to heap all the grave goods onto. So “chryselephantine” is ivory, the curators just didn't bother to translate the Greek word.

Inside the Royal Tumulus, we have to look twice to find the actual tomb of Philipp II, Alexander the Great's father. The stairs are hidden behind a small modern door, and they only lead down to the large, decorated gates of the ancient tomb chamber. The gates are closed, but Alexander the Great must have stood exactly here when his father was entombed. The whole site was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, since when travellers and sightseers have arrived in droves.

A few days later, we endeavour a similarly complicated excursion by public bus to Pella, the ancient Makedonian town where Alexander was born in 356 BC. Most of the remains are from a slightly later period, but the mosaics are worth seeing and the museum is quite good.

How to get to the Vergina tourist site by public transport

Our sightseeing day trip to Vergina took us several hours each way by public transport, including transport within Thessaloniki. Rush hour is between 9 am and 10 am – during that period walking is probably faster.

From Thessaloniki Makedonia Bus Station (at the far Western end of town, city bus 12 and 33), busses to Veria leave not exactly regularly, but more or less twice per hour from bus stand 20. The express bus takes one hour. Busses from Veria to Vergina take only 20 minutes or so, but they are scarcer, so it helps to plan backwards. Since they backtrack a part of the route, it is possible to get off the first bus some stations before Veria Central Bus Station in order to catch the Vergina bus if the connection is tight. The bus driver will be able to advise. We found bus timetables at https://ktelmacedonia.gr/gr/routes/tid=12  and https://www.ktel-imathias.gr/ (only in Greek).

We used the layover in Veria to visit the Byzantine Museum there.

Is Vergina worth the journey?

We are glad that we went: the exhibits at the museum are quite stunning, but it is also the sheer historical weight of the place – going back to the origin of Alexander's empire … Okay, access on public transport is somewhat complicated, but travelling with the locals is also a good experience that you would miss out on, going with organised tourist outfitters or rental cars.

***All expenses for our sightseeing trip to Thessaloniki and Vergina were paid and organised by ourselves and we did not receive any funding.***

‪A windmill in Berlin – and some more visits to mills elsewhere

The guide at the Britz Windmill tightens a rope hanging from a beam and then shows how the mechanics work to make the mill grind a little finer. "A professional miller would be able to hear and feel the wind quality, and know immediately how tight to fix the millstones," he sighs. "But here, all of us are just hobby millers. We have to check the milled flour every so often and then adjust the stones."

The historic smock mill in the South of Berlin was built by a miller called Stechhan in 1865. It was a family-run grain mill until the 1930s but was partly destroyed in World War II. For decades, nobody cared about the old mill in the suburbs of then West Berlin, until it was restored for a horticultural show in 1985.

Since then, interest in the mill has grown, and these days there is a voluntary association for the maintenance of the mill, which also offers guided tours for tourists and weddings in the mill.

"The Britz Mill is by far not the oldest or largest mill in the country," our tourist guide admits, "nor does it have a very special history or technology. But we are proud to be the only mill in Germany offering training courses for millers." Even a professional milling process technician took the course recently, just to get an idea how food technology worked in former times. The hobby millers actually use the mill to produce flour, and yes, they do bake bread from it for the visitors.

Indeed, the technology of the smock mill itself is not very old – invented in the Netherlands in the 16th century, only the upper part of the mill had to move with the wind. Before that, with the earlier post mills, the miller (and his family) had to turn around the whole mill building whenever the wind changed direction. That wasn't a very convenient system and so post mills are relatively rare – in the course of our travels we have come across several old post mills a few years ago on a cycling tour along the Elbe River.

Historical windmill in Castro Marim, Algarve Coast, Portugal

Interestingly, most of the windmills we have seen (mostly travelling in the Northern part of Germany, or on windy islands and coasts) seem to have been used to mill grains.

A water wheel (noria) in Hama, Syria

In more mountainous areas (but also some others), water mills were more popular – and these were often used for all kinds of technologies such as forging and sawing, grinding and polishing, or just fetching water. Water energy was more consistently available, so professions who needed constant energy preferred to travel to and settle in areas where they could build watermills.

The mill in Schwerin was used to polish marble fixtures for the local palace

Have you visited a working windmill, perhaps accessible for sightseeing? And which do you like more, windmills, or watermills?

***Note: We did not receive payment or sponsoring for this article from any of the above mentioned places.***

Ancestor Worship at Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul

10 am on a blistering hot summer day in Seoul. Our Korean tourist guide arrives with a battery-powered handheld fan tucked into her belt. She is very professional about her sightseeing tour to Jongmyo Shrine and admonishes the travellers in her group:

"Jongmyo is the memorial shrine for the Royal Ancestors of the Yi Dynasty of Korea. It is still a place of worship: no loud noise or undue behaviour! Please stay on the marked paths!"

More than 100 years after the fall of the dynasty, the descendants of those Korean kings still regularly hold Confucian memorial services for their ancestors. This longstanding tradition of complicated rites has been named a UNESCO intangible heritage in 2008 and also made Jongmyo Shrine a UNESCO world heritage site. It is also the reason why Jongmyo is probably the most solemn and tranquil place in the 20-million megalopolis of Seoul. Visitors are only allowed in on guided tours.

Our sightseeing tour starts at Hyangdaecheong, a small building complex exclusively used for the preparation of the rituals: The ancestors' souls would get offerings consisting of a whole banquet of dishes. These days, a recreated model of such a memorial buffet is displayed in the kitchen and pantry block for the benefit of curious tourists.

There was also a separate courtyard (Jaegung) for the king and crown prince to change into special ritual robes for the event. For ritual (and perhaps also literal) cleansing they would also take a bath in this place, only a few steps from the main shrine.  The layout of all these buildings was dictated by complicated geomantic rules (feng shui): East of the palace, but before the mountains, and so on. "They even had to add a small man-made hill in the Southern part of the precincts to get it right", our guide claims.

Finally, we reach Jeongjeon itself, the large shrine for the royal ancestors – that is, for their souls: The ashes are buried in a different location. The centre of Jongmyo Shrine is a very long building with wings extending to the sides, consisting of 19 chambers all opening to the front yard. Each chamber is for a different royal ancestor –the first shrine established in 1395 for the first king's immediate forebears was later extended to both sides as the dynasty continued. The Yi Dynasty turned out rather long-lived – it ruled Korea until 1910 (then as "emperors") and when space got scarce at the Jeongjeon main building, the kings even built a smaller shrine (Yeongnyeongjeon) somewhat to the side.

Everyone still wanted to be honoured in the main shrine, however, so the new appendix became a kind of second-rate shrine: Kings who had ruled only briefly, and those very first ancestors who had not yet been kings were moved to the less important Yeongnyeongjeon. The last to be enshrined with the second league was Yi Un, Crown Prince without a kingdom, who only died in 1970. Confucianism, we learn, is very competitive even in death. The kings were probably used to constant rankings, as our resolute guide explains: They were supposed to continue studying the old scriptures for all their life. During their reign as well as posthumously they were awarded scholarly titles for their achievements (complete with certificates and seals).

The main shrine's courtyard is rather similar to other Confucian palaces and buildings we have seen, from the Imperial Palace in Beijing to the restored Shuri-jo Royal Palace in Naha/Okinawa. The stone platform in front of the ancestral chambers used to have fittings to add sun shades, and markers for the different ranks of officials who had to line up for the rites. Shortly after a king's death, such rituals had to be conducted quite often, but there are some ceremonies that are to be held even after many years.

Similar to Jongmyo Shrine: Shuri-jo Palace in Okinawa (Japan)

Obviously, guided tours would not be held when rituals are under way, so all the royal cubicles in the ancestral shrine were closed to ensure the royal ancestors' privacy and solitude.

But as soon as we leave the Jongmyo Shrine compound, we are propelled back into the noise and tourist activity of central Seoul – Jongmyo Shrine is within walking distance from Seoul tourist attractions such as Insadong pedestrian street and Gyeongbokgung Palace with their international travellers.

***All expenses for our trip to Seoul were paid and organised by ourselves and we did not receive any funding.***

Bukhara – our sightseeing highlights from numerous travels over the last 14 years

We visited Uzbekistan for the first time in 2004, but we had been dreaming about travelling there since 1992 when we accidentally laid hands on an Intourist sightseeing brochure about the country. And it turned out the monuments, such as the Kalon Minaret in Bukhara and the Registan in Samarkand, were even more awesome than we had imagined. Since then, we have returned many times on private trips, research journeys for our travel guide book "DuMont Reise-Handbuch Usbekistan" (in German), and as tour guides for German tour groups.

Last July, we did another four week research trip for the guide book's new edition and still found new favourite places, both for sightseeing and enjoyment. And now we feel it is time to share our list of personal highlights in the UNESCO World Heritage site Bukhara from years of travel:

Tourist sights

The whole old town of Bukhara is basically an open-air museum and you can spend hour after hour just strolling around. If you are in for shopping you will find fabrics, carpets, ceramics, miniatures, hand-made knives and so on: To get a fair price, you have to haggle fiercely! As for the tourist must-sees, every travel guide book lists them – but having seen them all, we recommend especially the Mausoleum of the Samanides and the Kalon minaret.

Mausoleum of the Samanides

The Mausoleum of the Samanides, dating from around 900, is one of the oldest Islamic mausoleums in the whole world (building pompous tombs was not considered proper in early Islam). Almost cubic, it is quite small and, at first sight, plain – without the glazed tiles so common in Uzbek architecture. But the brick patterns and the harmonious proportions are superb. Inside there are always pilgrims and you can join into their prayers for Ismail Samani, who is buried here. We like it for the architectural beauty, the setting in a park, and for the fact that it is not only a tourist spot but also a living pilgrims' site.

Kalon Minarett

Like the Samanid mausoleum, the Kalon Minaret is made of bricks and also very old: The 12^th century Kalon Minaret with its height of over 45 m was such an engineering feat that Genghis Khan who destroyed most of Bukhara at the beginning of the 13^th century in his raids, left it standing . Today you can only admire it from below, but when we travelled Uzbekistan in 2004, on our first visit to Bukhara, we could still climb up the narrow dark spiral staircase.

At the Zindan, the old citadel prison, there's a small postcard shop where we bought a black and white photo of the partially destroyed minaret after the Soviet victory in 1920: Soldiers of the Red Army riding in front of the Kalon minaret on one of the elephants from the private zoo of the last Emir of Bukhara.

Hoja Zaynuddin Mosque

Not many tourists visit this community mosque in the alleys of the old town, but we love the beautiful 16^th century interior with intricate patterns on the tiles and kundal paintings. Unlike many tourist places in Bukhara, Hoja Zaynuddin Mosque is not over-restored and not full of souvenir stalls, but an operating place of worship. Moreover it has a tranquil, pleasant atmosphere and is surrounded by a carved summer mosque and a garden. Entrance is free; do not visit during prayer times.

Paikent

Silk Road history is one of the reasons we were fascinated by Uzbekistan in the first place. Up until the 8^th century, Sogdian traders who travelled all over the neighbouring countries were the beneficiaries of the Silk Road trade. Paikent was one of their main towns. There are only ruins left of Paikent, but the town is excavated and can be visited. Paikent is more accessible than Varakhsha, another silk-road town in the area, and the finds in the on-site museum bring the city alive.

Food and accommodation

Beer garden behind Bolo Hauz

Our favourite place to chill in the centre of Bukhara is the open air beer garden behind the Bolo Hauz mosque. The beer from the tap is fresh, most customers are locals and for carnivores there is shashlik, too. 

Dilkor Laghman Center

While food within the touristy old town is average at best, there are some real finds if you venture a bit further. The Dilkor Laghman Center in the fifth micro-rayon is the new big thing: a huge hall serving yummy Uighur noodles in spicy broth. They have also a good variety of fresh salads (brought to the table to choose from) and beer from the tap.
Address: Corner of Pindastgir Street/ Alisher Navoi Street, 5th Mikro-rayon, Monday to Saturday 10-22 h. A taxi from the old town should cost around 5000 Som.

Old Buchara

Bukhara has an enormous range of accommodation options, but only a fraction of them are old and authentic, comfortable, and well-run. A new one we highly recommend is the small Hotel Old Buchara, run by a very friendly Tajik family.  Their breakfast is great – at least for vegetarians.

Minzifa

Minzifa was one of the first Boutique hotels in Bukhara and is still one of the best for mid-range travellers. Their rooms are so comfortable and decorated with traditional textiles, wall paintings, and carvings that you feel instantly at home. Again - we especially like the breakfast (with a lot of fresh fruit)

Komil

Another longstanding place and excellent choice in the old town is Komil. Komil's is situated in an old Jewish merchant's home with restored rooms that are fitted with new bathrooms. The dining room still has an ancient feel and oozes atmosphere.

Other things we like in Bukhara

We do admire the glorious visitors' toilet in the Summer Palace. It is at the end of the premises behind the pool and the harem building.

What we also like is the small bread bakery near Ulug Beg Madrasa close to the tourist spots. 

As elsewhere in Uzbekistan, we always appreciate the decorative flower beds from basil and Thai basil which also smell good. Practically nobody in Uzbekistan uses basil as a seasoning.

What a hilarious experience to discover a working, although very, very slow Wifi in city bus No. 8! And that was even two years ago!

Our most impressive experience this year was when the dragon staffing the cashier for the citadel suddenly told us the correct price in 2018 – after years of haggling with her inflated demands whenever foreign travellers showed up. It is 15 000 Sum per person (as of July 2018). 

And of course we have to visit the Kalon Complex after nightfall at least once during each visit. The Kalon mosque is always open and you might be able to sneak in for a while. Otherwise you can just sit on the open area and dream of the Orient and the old Silk Road. Easy if you have the stars and the moon above you.

Note: We did not receive payment or sponsoring for this article from any of the above mentioned places. We make our living by writing travel guidebooks, travel content and by our work as tour guides. The blog is independent and we do not generate any money out of it. But – we appreciate your feedback!

A trip to the shores of the Aral Sea (in Uzbekistan)

How to swim in a dying sea

The water is shallow, and the ground covered with soft mud. Wading through it, we sink into it with a slurping sound, sometimes up to our knees. And finally, about 30 m into the shallow water, we are able to lie down and drift. But swimming is still not possible: Because of the high concentration of salt, arms and legs bounce out of the water as soon as we try to make some swimming stroke, and we only end splashing ourselves (and our fellow-travellers) with salt water.

The Aral Sea is actually an undrained inland lake, which is why all the water coming into the lake evaporates at some point, leaving behind lots of salts and minerals. Just like the Dead Sea, the remaining water in the Aral Sea has a very high salinity, and that's why human bodies don't sink into the water so much.

The salty water is also the reason why no fish can survive in the lake (and not a lot of other animals, either). But the Aral Sea is not only dead, but also dying: The enormous lake used to be about the size of Ireland. Massive irrigation and the diversion of water from the two rivers replenishing the lake – Amudarya and Syrdarya – led to a shrinking of the surface over the course of the 20^th century. By now, there are only two small arms of the former lake left, with a total surface of about a tenth the original size.

To reach the water, we have to take a tour from the regional capital Nukus, sharing the cost of a 4WD with other travellers to cross the desert now covering the former sea bed. Even when the Aral Sea was still a prospering fishery location it was surrounded by the Karakum and Kizilkum deserts, but roads led along the delta of the Amudarya River to towns at the seashore. Nowadays, the river bed is dry, and we follow sand pists along the Ustyurt Plateau on the western shore of the former lake. Below us, occasional saltwater ponds dot the desert which has been given a new name: Aralkum, the Aral Desert.

Along the journey we come by the site of a former labour camp, where Tsarist Russia sent prisoners to work in the fishery industry.

Apart from a ruined factory building, the orthodox Christian graves are all that remains. Elsewhere, we pass a nomadic cemetery overgrown with wild thyme, with a mix of Arabic inscriptions and shamanist runes and totem signs – the local population is Muslim in name, but many pre-Islamic customs are still common practice.

Eventually, a large body of water comes into view, more than 300 km from Nukus. Two yurt camps have been installed not far from the edge of the water, but first our drivers stop a little distance from the lake, occupying themselves with the cars (for privacy, presumably), while the tourists strip and head into the water.

As we happened to arrive in Nukus in a heat wave even in terms of Uzbek summer, the Aral Sea felt pleasant and refreshing although it had almost bathtub temperature – quite the spa experience. Afterwards, we had a (quite water-saving) hand-pump shower in the tourist yurt camp where we spent one night.

The next day, we took a different route along the dry bottom of the former sea bed, arriving at Moynak, a former sea shore town, at lunch time. The old port town is famous for its cemetery of ships – fishing trawlers that were stranded when the water disappeared. The rusty boats (those that haven't been pilfered for scrap metal) are lined up near the Aral Sea Monument, as a memento to the doomed Sea. They are now a major tourist attraction.

How to take a tour:

We went on a Two-day/one-night trip with Ayimtour in Nukus, which included 4xe4 transport, accommodation in one of the yurt camps, and food. The tourist camp has only opened recently and was very clean and comfortable and the food was really tasty. We are vegetarians and that did not pose any problems. Additional costs were some entrance fees, but formal sightseeing is rather limited. Ayimtour tries to match your visit with other tourist to share the costs. Have a look at their website: www.ayimtour.com.

If you start your trip from Nukus you will need accommodation before and perhaps after the tour. Most travellers will stay at one of the Jipek Joly Hotels that work with Ayim Tours. A decent and cheaper alternative is the Art Hotel (Turtkul Prospekt,behind Restaurant Versal, +998 61 222 46 46). 

However you have to make your way to Nukus first. Another possibility is to take a tour from Khiva. Especially if you are looking for other travellers to share the costs it might be easier to find someone in Khiva. In that case the tour operator sends you by normal car to Nukus, where you change to a jeep. Surprisingly, some of the sightseeing tours from Khiva are slightly cheaper in spite of the longer distance. You will have two very long days, but on the other hand also save the costs of getting to and from Nukus. You can organize your trip in Khiva for instance via the Tourist Information Office, Hotel Old Khiva, or Hotel Silk Road.

***We paid the full price of the tour ourselves (170 $ p/P) and we did not receive any sponsoring from Ayimtours (our group got invited to a vegetarian dinner after the tour, though).*

If you are interested in off-the-beaten track travel destinations in Uzbekistan, check out our posts about an old Soviet solar furnace at Paikent (near Tashkent) and a visit to two forgotten Silk Road towns near Buchara.