August 22, 2008
On our recent trip to Berlin, I’ve noticed that most of their historic and important structures are undergoing renovations. One of which is the Alte National Galerie. It’s good that they maintain these architectural icons of the city coz some of them are really in bad shape. But visiting the Charlottenburg Palace, its right wing was quite a disappointment to us especially that we rested on one of the benches there and the view wasn’t that appealing. On that side, there’s a wide open space with grasses but there was lack of plants and flowers. It’s summer time and there are many pretty flowers that they could have adorned that specific space to make it attractive. It badly calls for a landscaping job!
The right wing of Charlottenburg Palace
I’m not sure if in Germany they have this online directory listing of different services, but in the US, clients can easily locate landscapers with the help of Clicksmart directory. They have a comprehensive listing of all landscapers throughout the country. Should one need a dallas landscaping or Raleigh landscaping, all they do is browse by state and Clicksmart will locate one for them. It’s a good way to quickly find help when you need one.
Anyway, we still enjoyed our visit to Berlin and I was personally awed by their wide sidewalks especially in the tourists’ areas, which we don’t have in Prague.
Posted in Europe 
2 Comments »
August 19, 2008
We passed by Humboldt University last month and saw what seemed like a flea market for books. We found out they were selling old books at low prices. We could have bought some, but the problem is, the books were in Deutsch. They were probably old stocks from the university’s library.
These pictures were taken a month ago:
And this one was from the weekend: 
*Humboldt University in the city’s oldest university founded back in 1810 by by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt . It used to be named as the University of Berlin and was later on changed to several other names: Frederick William University and Universität unter den Linden and finally it was named in honor of its founder.
The statue of Wilhelm von Humboldt
Posted in Europe, travel 2 Comments »
August 18, 2008
I took this photo on our weekend trip yesterday. Can you guess where this is?
Let’s make it easy by giving out a clue. It’s somewhere in Europe. :) It might not be a top tourist interest in this country but when you’re a hungry traveler and needs to be fed badly, this stall is exactly where you’ll find what you need - FOOD!
Posted in food trip, photos 9 Comments »
August 11, 2008
Planning and preparation is as always an essential element in the success of any endeavor including a trip. I’ve been traveling a lot lately with family and I can say that half of it weren’t maximized to its fullest because we didn’t plan ahead. Because of that, we missed several important destinations and sites to see and visit. Traveling on a limited time can also badly affect the whole trip as we always have to hurry from one place to another, without really relishing the place and its beauty or history.
Because we plan to go back to Berlin within this month, I am looking for travel websites where I can get travel information on the place we’re visiting. One site that I am currently looking at is GeckoGo. It is still a new travel site but the people running it are experienced travelers who have traveled to many continents in the world and have the passion to share their interesting travel stories. In fact, anybody can join their network of travelers by signing up for a free account and viola! You get to share your stories and the places you’ve visited too. From what I’ve read so far, the members are having a great deal of fun in this site.
Anyway, I’ve done my research assignment and thanks to GeckGo’s travel tips from their members, I now have an important information at hand; from Caitlyn sharing on the free walking tours in Berlin meeting in Pariser Platz every day. It would have been better if she mentioned what time they meet but the nice thing with GeckGo is that, it allows me to send a message to Caitlyn, thus I can ask her my question. That is, if I sign up with them.
Posted in travel essentials, travel tips 2 Comments »
August 11, 2008
In three weeks he had traveled over 10,000 km. He stopped more than 100 cars, three times he slept using his bedroll, ten times he was invited by someone to stay overnight and eight times he used hotel accommodation - but never more expensive than 25 USD. Other expenses included about 400 USD for visa fees, 1000 USD for flight ticket Beijing - Prague and 1000 USD pocket money.
And guess what? He won the ‘bet’!
On Wednesday late night he arrived in Beijing, two days ahead of schedule. But surprisingly he didn’t attend the grand opening of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008. He was more interested in the Sunday soccer match of his favourite team back in Czech Republic.
Related posts:
Hitchhiking from Prague to Beijing
Update on Tomas’ hitchhiking from Prague to Beijing
Posted in travel 3 Comments »
August 6, 2008
I used to enjoy going to Uganda because the work isn’t as demanding as when I am in Prague. But lately, it’s been a chaos here. Everything seems to get messed up. I spend a lot of effort only to have my work sabotaged by the “others” who don’t know what they’re supposed to do except screw up my work. I spent my weekend fixing a mistake they did a month ago! Anyway, another day and I’m out of here!
A retreat from work is what I want for the next couple of days. How about taking one of those Princess Cruises? With its famed reputation as the “love boat” I’m bound to experience a top notch service and pampering. I playfully searched for a European cruise and what came up was a 10 night Northern Europe cruise departing from Copenhagen and another for a 12 night Europe cruise departing from Rome.
a view of Copenhagen
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Europe, travel 2 Comments »
August 6, 2008
facade of Golf Course Hotel Kampala
My two week stay in Kampala will end this week. As I have written before, the room rates in Kampala Serena is quite expensive that’s we changed hotel and chose one which costs less. This time I’m staying in Golf Course Hotel. It’s a four star with 120 rooms (with suites too), and a rotating restaurant that offers a scenic view of the city.
Here’s what my room and bathroom looks like:
Posted in Africa, photos No Comments »
August 5, 2008
Is it possible? If you’ve been following my blog, then you have probably read about this friend of mine whose hitch hiking from Prague to Beijing. It’s not that he doesn’t have money but it’s his assignment from work. But it gives a good idea for travelers who are short on money and can’t afford expensive trips, why not hitch hike? If Tomas did it, I bet you can make it too.
But if you’re not the adventurous type, then you can get payday advances to shoulder your trip. There are plenty of lending companies that offer this kind of service for people who needs money, one of which is the Epayday in UK. Their instant approval payday loans and cash advances are attracting many borrowers because it is quick and easy.
Posted in travel, travel tips No Comments »
August 4, 2008
If you ever see this guy on the road, please give him a ride.
Just a quick update as I am very busy with work. Tomas has already arrived in China on July 30. His last update was when he was in Yinchuan, a city on the yellow river. According to him, Yinchuan to Beijing isn’t very far, about 1000 kilometres more and he’ll be in the capital city for the Beijing Olympics! By now he’s on his way to Beijing.
For those interested to read on his travels, here’s the link: http://cestovani.idnes.cz/stopem-do-pekingu-0m0-/igsvet.asp?y=igsvet/stop.htm . Unfortunately it’s in Czech. 
If you visit the site, on the top there’s a small map of Eurasia where you can see the progress of his trip indicated with flags.
Posted in travel 3 Comments »
July 28, 2008
Where is he now?
My soccer mate Tomas works for a local newspaper here in Prague. This guy has got some really weird assignments. Last time he was a metrosexual; he dressed like one, acted like one and even joined the same circle. This time his assignment is tough, he has to hitchhike all the way from Prague to Beijing in time for the Olympics.
Breakfast in Kazakhstan desert.
At this moment he is somewhere in the desert of Kazakhstan. In 11 days he managed to travel about 5500 kilometres, riding with more than 40 different drivers. He tasted various exotic food, drank lots of local drinks and made plenty of new interesting friends that he most probably will never meet and see again. But according to his reports he is enjoying it a lot and his main target - to be in Beijing just in time when the Olympic games start - is no longer a priority.
Posted in travel 8 Comments »
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