A new way of travelling - or why we love Gidsy

If you always really wanted to know what it's like to live in Berlin you should pay one new website a visit: Gidsy. We came across this site a couple of weeks ago and found the idea behind it outstanding and very unique. Just like Berlin itself. We must have missed all the big press around the starting of Gidsy, and all the Woohoos for the fact that a certain American actor named Ashton Kutcher put some of his money into the project. What the heck, we don't care. All what counts is the brilliant idea.


So what does Gidsy offer? A long story short: it offers fun, experience, knowledge and a good time. It offers a real taste of life in a big city. Berlin is one of them and with Gidsy you will understand the city's beat much better.

Whether it is "Figure Running" where the competition is not about the speed or the distance, but all about about drawing. No, you are not spraying while you run, but with your mobile advice you leave a certain track on the virtual map and if you are good in figure running;  the track will lead to a figure. Maybe a smiling face. Or a dog. You can book  directly through Gidsy. Hilarious. And by the way: of course, there is already an APP for that!


Or if you want to celebrate the birthday of a friend in a pub but you are fed up with all those chic Mitte guys, hanging around there, staring out the windows, no one is smilling; make sure to get some fun and call the "Kneipenchor". That means "pub choir". 30 Boys and Girls, Damen und Herren meeting every week and sing songs of Phoenix, Jay Z, Abba, Münchener Freiheit and Beach Boys. It´s seriously fun. And you can hire them through Gidsy.

Or you just loooove tacos? But until now didn't find the right place in Berlin to get decent one? Well, maybe Gidsy will rescue you. Because from March 6th on, there will be Taco Tuesday! Too bad we will attend a blogger Travel Massive in Berlin that evening. But if you are free that night, stop by an expert in making authentic Tex-Mex spreads! Natalie grew up in Texas & California, a fact that made her confident in her taco crafting & teaching abilities.Through Gidsy you can meet at her apartment and she will teach you how to cook an assortment of tacos including but not limited to the following: chicken tacos, fish tacos, vegetarian tacos, taco salad, beef tacos & breakfast tacos.Sounds fun? But wait, there is even more: you might even wear sombreros!!!


There are many many more really unique adventures to find a Gidsy, On their page you will also find funny adventures in NYC, San Francisco, Amsterdam and London! So folks, now you understand why we love Gidsy. So y'all: happy gidsying!

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Gourmet's paradise: Alsace

Alsace has always been a mediator between two worlds: Germany and France. Of course, the region is part of the Grande Nation, but above all, most Alsatians understand themselves as Alsatians. Not only the landscape, the architecture and the history of this region is impressive, also the cuisine of this region is pure wonder. Alsace is the gourmet's paradise per se.

Hardly any other regional cuisine of France is so in tune with the changing seasons and the traditional hunting season. In addition, the nations of Switzerland, Germany and France have strongly influenced the preferences. The Michelin-star density is so high that you can already speak of a Milky Way.

Among the most famous dishes: the famous Munster cheese, the Alsace ring cake Gugelhupf, of course the (Paté en) foie gras, the local sausages, a hearty stew called Baeckeoffe, the choucroute Asalcienne, cooked in Riesling Sauerkraut with various ingredients. The matching Alsatian wines fill whole books ... Voilá.

If you prefer rural places to stay in, a little road movie from farm to farm (Ferme Auberge) will be you choice. Those little inns give you the best insight to the daily live in the countryside of Alsace. Many farmers produce their own vegetables and fruits in their garden.  The kitchen is hearty, honest, and would some even would deserves star recognition.Nevertheless, there are some really nice upscale hotels and restaurants, and our journey begins in the northern part:

Saverne is a small town with a stunning history. The monumental Rohan Castel is the main attraction. Like many cities in the region, Saverne is very enchanting. Old half-timbered houses from the 16th and 17th Century nestle amidst tranquil medieval alleys. In one of these buildings, the most famous “Taverne Katz” is at home, a place for  foodies. Owner Suzy Schmitt offers a wide range of regional specialties like Baeckeoffe with sauerkraut and duck-liver pate.

If the stunning views of the countryside won’t knock you off your feet, then the fine cuisine of Le Clos de la Garenne will do. The rooms are intimate and cozy, but far from corny or old-fashioned. The service is very friendly and makes you feel at ease. Breakfast is unbelievable; from homemade jam to fresh bread- expect an amazing offer. The restaurant is top notch and not cheap, but the food is worth every single cent. The chef cooks with regional, finest ingredients and at a very high level. The menus are priced 35-70 €.

About fifteen miles north from the center of Strasbourg, the Au Moulin de la Wantzenau is located in an old mill. The hotel restaurant has a lot to offer, not only comfortable and beautiful rooms, organic breakfast the next morning, but also a world-class cuisine for Philippe Clauss, who is owner and chef. The restaurant has been decorated in the 30s with a star - and since then always met the high expectations. The cuisine is classic French cuisine. Great menu below 50 €.

A few kilometers between Strasbourg and Colmar in Diebolsheim you will find the Ambiance Jardin. From here you can quickly and easily visit places Colmar, Obernai and the Vosges. As you may guess from the name the owner  Pierrette has a green thumb and likes plants. Ambiance Jardin offer four charming guest rooms, decorated with lots of love and revamped antiques. The breakfast is in sunny living room. A real tip!

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Abenteuer Weltreise - Die Route Teil 1

Diesen Traum hat wohl jeder einmal. Für eine Zeit ausklinken und losreisen. Einfach einen großen Zettel schreiben und all die Länder, Regionen und Städte auflisten, die man schon immer sehen wollte. Genau das machen wir gerade. Noch ist nichts in Beton gemeisselt, aber die Pläne und ein paar Wünsche stehen: einmal um die Welt.

Naja, so richtig einmal herum wird es beim ersten Mal wohl nicht werden. Wir wollen uns nämlich nur eine kurze Auszeit gönnen, aber immer ganze sechs bis sieben Monate. Zu Hause haben wir eben doch noch einige Menschen, die uns brauchen und uns nicht viel länger missen wollen. Also etwas mehr als ein halbes Jahr soll es fort gehen. 

Unsere Wunschroute führt uns vor allem nach Südostasien. Wir wollen in Indien starten und hier Teile des großen Land von Nord nach Süd erkunden. Delhi soll den Startpunkt darstellen, danach möchten wir mit dem Zug nach Agra zum Taj Mahal fahren und dann weiter durch das sagenumwobene Rajasthan reisen. In die blaue Stadt Jodhpur und ins romantisch Udaipur, wo wir etwas beginnen wollen, das wir in jedem Land wiederholen: einen Landestypischen Kochkurs, um die regionalen Speisen kennen zu lernen. Von Rajasthan wagen wir uns in den Großstadtdschungel nach Mumbai. Wer weiß, vielleicht schaffen wir es, als Statisten in einem Bollywood Film mitzuspielen? Nach Mumbai werden wir ein etwas Erholung und Ruhe brauchen - und das gibt es weiter südlich. Nicht in den Hotspots von Goa, sondern abseits vom touristischen Treiben. Wir haben da schon was schönes entdeckt. Danach möchten wir nach Kalkutta, die Stadt hat Jenke schon einmal besucht und ist seitdem fasziniert. 

Von hier soll es weiter gehen nach Malaysia, dass wir eigentlich zuerst gar nicht auf dem Schirm, bzw. unserer Wunschliste hatten, aber über das wir in der Recherche einfach nicht hingwegkamen. Kuala Lumpur soll aufregend sein, auch Penang könnte dabei sein. Von dort möchten wir nach Thailand reisen, zuerst auf eine Insel, welche steht noch nicht wirklich fest und dann mit dem Zug weiter ins pulsierende Bangkok. Zum Nudelsuppe essen. Morgens, mittags und abends. Von Nordthailand kommt man gut ins südliche Laos - ein Land, das uns beide sehr reizt und von dem wir bisher nur wenig wissen. Gerade lesen wir Bücher, Reiseführer und Blogs von Leuten, die schon einmal in Laos waren. Die kleine Hauptstadt Vientiane wollen wir besuchen und dort unseren Kochkurs machen. Land und Leute näher kennenlernen. Dann geht es auf unserer Wunschkarte wieder nach Süden, nach Kambodscha. Ein Land das schreckliche Zeiten durchgemacht hat und gerade dabei ist, wieder zu sich zu finden. Glauben wir. Wissen wir (noch) nicht. Wir wollen natürlich auch nach Siem Reap, um uns dort die Tempelanlagen von Ankor Wat anschauen. Aber nicht weil wir Angelina Jolie Fans sind, sondern weil es heisst der Ort habe eine unvergleichliche Magie. Dann soll es weiter gehen in die kambodschanische Hauptstadt, nach Phnom Penh. Die Recherche macht uns gehörig Respekt. Laut und dreckig soll es hier sein. Wir wollen uns ein eigenes Bild machen und uns hier vor allem mit der schwierigen Geschichte auseinander setzen. 

Danach machen wir einen kleinen Schlenker und reisen in Vietnam ein. Vietnam hat uns beide gepackt, obwohl wir noch nie da waren. Angies ehemaliger Filmpartner aus alten Zeiten, der Filmemacher Dietmar Ratsch hat vor etlichen Jahren dort seinen Debüt-Dokumentarfilm gedreht . Und viele faszinierende Geschichten und wundervolle Fotos aus diesem Land mitgebracht. Und natürlich seinen Film, "Eislimonade für Hong Li". Seit dem will Angie dort hin. Okay, ihr kennt uns... und seit Angie vor Jahren an einem eisig kalten Tag in New York zum ersten mal das vietnamesische Sandwich Banh Mi gegessen habe, will sie natürlich probieren, wie das in Vietnam schmeckt. Zuerst geht es nach Ho-Chi-Minh-City, besser bekannt als Saigon. Dann möchten wir mit dem Zug an der Küste von Süd nach Nord entlang tuckern, die Landschaften, durch die man dabei fährt, müssen atemberaubend schön sein. Satte Reisfelder, steile Klippen, weiße Sandstrände. In Hoi An wollen wir Halt machen. Eine Küstenstadt, die viele Touristen aufgrund ihrer schönen Architektur anzieht. Die Altstadt von Hoi An ist die einzige, die nicht im Vietnamkrieg zerstört wurde. Auch hier wollen wir einen Kochkurs belegen und uns in die Geheimnisse der vietnamesischen Küche einweihen lassen. Von Hoi An geht es dann in die vietnamesische Hauptstadt Hanoi. Wir verlassen Vietnam für einen kurzen Abstecher wieder zurück nach Laos und nehmen uns eine kleine Auszeit in Luand Prabang, in dem die Zeit stehen geblieben sein soll. Hier wollen wir kochen, die Seele baumeln lassen und wenn es das Wetter erlaubt, in einem Wasserfall baden. Der Weg soll uns danach zurückführen zu einer der spektakulärsten Sehenswürdigkeiten des Landes, in die Ha Long Bucht, ein geologisches Wunderwerk. Hier ragen knapp 2000 Kalkfelsen aus dem Wasser und wir wollen nah ran - und mieten uns für ein paar Nächte auf einem alten Boot ein.

Bis hier hin reicht schon unsere erste Planung, jetzt machen wir uns an die Details für die Weiterreise nach China und Japan. Dann sollen Korea, vielleicht die Phillippinen, dann Australien und Neuseeland folgen. Sobald wir genaueres wissen, posten wir hier die Fortsetzung der Route. Danach folgen Post zur Planung einer Weltreise, den Kosten, Tipp und Tricks. Das wird also eine richtige Reisefreunde... äh Weltreisefreunde-Reihe! Seid gespannt!

Übrigens: wenn ihr auf die hier beschriebenen Ländernamen klickt, gelant ihr auf unsere Pinterestseite, die uns hilft, unsere Ideen für die Reise zu sammeln. Schaut euch die schönen Bilder an. Vielleicht nehmt ihr euch dann auch ein Ballt und fangt an, eure eigene Weltreise zu planen.

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Welcome to our home town, welcome to Cologne!

You may know us for a while now and you may know that we live in Cologne. But do you know this city? No? Well then it's time that we introduce you to our home. Cologne is a lively city on the river Rhine, smaller than Berlin but still a city not to be missed when in Germany. It offers sights such as the UNESCO World Heritage listed cathedral and the twelve Romanesque churches, a high concentration of museums and galleries, shopping streets, old town alleys and laid back flair. The “Kölsche lifestyle” is catching – reason enough to come to Cologne!

One and a half year before moving here, I fell in love with Jenke in Cologne. That was back in 2006. As and still am working for an airline it was easy to me to hop on a flight to see him and Cologne every second week. And I took a shine to it. But I thought, OK, that guy is only showing me the good places while I am visiting. Now, after moving here and living here for four years, I am still happy in love with him and I can say I feel home. People here are very relaxed and much friendlier than people in Berlin, where I lived before. Although Cologne is a much smaller city, a lot is going on here.

Cologne offers a huge variety of accommodations, so we will only recommend a few places worth staying in. You will find 5-Star hotels here of course, but we would like to recommend hotels with a good value for money only. With Hotel Hopper this is the case. It actually offers two great hotel locations, one in the southern part of the city, one in the northern part. Still, both hotels are centrally located. I wouldn't speak of real design hotel when I think of Hopper but still the interior has some sort of a design attitude. Both hotels also have small restaurants worth visiting.

The fantastic MotelOne hotel will be opened its doors not until end of 2012, but once this is up and running, I would highly recommend this as you won't get a better deal! Also, always check Airbnb and 9flats for Cologne offer, you will be surprised about those fab deals!

What to do in Cologne: a visit to the cathedral, a World Heritage, is a must. Even if you are not into religion (I am not), at least the architecture will leave you stunning. The Gothic Church was built between 1248 and 1880! Climbing its stairs to the top will get you gasping for air as there is no elevator and you will have to climb 533 steps, but the view is worth it.

You should also try to visit at least some of the 13 Roman churches of Cologne as the city can look back on a long roman history. Good thing in Cologne, everything is quite nearby. So when coming from the Cathedral, you can combine sightseeing also with shopping and wander the streets of the city center. If the weather is good you could jump on a boat for a sightseeing tour on the River Rhine. Those shorts rides will give you a nice view on the city center and also on the new harbor in the southern part if the city with its massive modern buildings. Fashion from regional designers and unique shops off the beaten track can be found in the Belgium Quarter, we you will find the most hip cafés and bars as well.

A very romantic sight to see is this: the lovers bridge aka Hohenzollern Bridge directly behind the cathedral. Here you’ll find thousands of padlocks that have been attached to the bridge by couples hoping for endless luck for their love. Isn’t that romantic? You can do the same with your sweetheart and don't forget to throw the keys into the river Rhine and seal it all with a kiss.

Cologne is very multicultural in a very good way. Lots of Italians live here, France and Belgium are closed and of course this all has its impact on the cuisine. Great - if you are a foodie!

Cologne's regional cuisine is very hearty, most of the typical places where the other tourists will go to do not really offer a decent quality. There is one exception, "Jakob Fertig" . On my first visit I had initially thought that this should be a joke. Just by the looks from the outside, the "Fertig" just seems like a typical local pub from the 70s; quite ugly. The same old appearance inside: simple wooden benches, a tiled floor, dark ambience. Nomen est omen, I thought and doubted strongly my boyfriend’s taste, who swore the food would be great. And yes, it was! The "Fertig" focuses on a mixture of the local and French Cuisine. I have to stay I was particularly impressed with the meat dishes. They even have a very typical hearty dish called "Himmel an Äd" , but also fine scallops. They serve Knuckles ("Hämschen"), but also Foie Gras. The service is always friendly and jovial. The only problem is that they have no reservations. So come early.

Right next to Fertig you will find Formula Uno, a small typical Italian bar where Carmello serves the best espresso in town with a real thick crema and a very fine taste. This is because Carmello and his team know their old Espresso machine inside out, and they treat it like a lady! In the morning, as a matter of principle, the first ten cups will get thrown away because the machine is not yet up to its perfect temperature! Si si ... In addition, Carmello is always good for a joke. There is no better.

Now that you have ended you evening like this you surely want to get the best Italian food !Then we know the best place to go to: Marcellino pane et vino - our favorite Italian restaurant. The affectionate Marcello and his wife Daria do the best to welcome you and make you feel home. Marcello's Mama is the Chef and knows how to cook. The fish is always fresh, the meat is "a point" and juicy and every vegetable is perfect cooked and seasoned. I have rarely eaten delicious cauliflower, here I do all the time and love it! Marcello also offers a great wine selection. Reservations? Yes please!

Another place you won't make it to without a well-planned reservation is Sweet Sushi. This is the best place to get sushi in town. Even in Japan, we did not eat better. At the first visit we thought to have landed in an offshoot of the brilliant Kuchi in Berlin, because the menu is pretty much identical. Whatever the case may be, the food here is just as good. It offers unusual sushi specialties, called extreme sushi - and all sorts of other tasty dishes from Asian jars. Sweet Sushi is ALWAYS packed and of course even if you have a reservation, it might happen that you spend a few more minutes waiting because the previous guests have found such a pleasure in the food that they re-order again. Just like we do - over and over again.

For breakfast, why not got to Paris? France in this case is the fab Epicerie Boucherie."Just like God in France" is the motto of owner David Boucherie since he opened about four years ago. In this charming Epicerie you can buy everything you would need for a typical French picnic, the best salamis, wonderful cheese and yummy bread. But especially in summer, try to get a table outside, have a breakfast and a fresh juice and watch all the people passing by. David also serves a small selection of home cooked lunch and dinner in the night.  It might happen that he sings when he is really happy. Très très français. C'est bon! Nous t 'aimons, David!

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