Hello Glasgow | Edinburgh

Finally another travel blog from me. Hopefully this year I can travel as much as last year and so far so good. I really like travelling to different places on my birthday, since I barely celebrate my birthday. I think making memories on those days are far more precious than a big birthday party with lots of acquaintances. Except when you are at the your big 30 or 35 and so on. I am halfway this year with the big 33! So nothing special for me expect making lovely memories.

So this birthday weekend we went to Scotland. Never been to any place in Scotland before. We went to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Our flight was from London to Glasgow. It did not take too long and also easy to go from the airport to the city centre. We were in Scotland from Saturday morning till Monday evening, so almost 3 full days.

First day we stayed in Glasgow. The second day we went from early in the morning till night in Edinburgh and on Monday we had a whole day in Glasgow before we went back to London.

Like last blog I am going to tell you what we saw, where we ate and where we slept in both cities. Also some pros and cons If I can think of any. Hopefully this can be useful to anyone who is going to these wonderful cities.

What did we see in Glasgow in 2 days

With the hop on – hop off bus you can see a lot and it’s only 14 pounds. You will see all the high lights from the East End till the West End to the city centre.

  • George square
  • Riverside Museum – free admission
  • Kelvin grove Art Gallery and Museum – free admission (amazing if you love art like me. There’s a Salvador Dali painting in this Museum – a must see)
  • Buchanan shopping street
  • Sauchiehall street with restaurants
What did we see in Edinburgh in 1 day

Also in Edinburgh we took the hop on – hop off bus just to see the highlights and we used it as a transportation bus that took us to a lot of places. Price for this bus was 15 pounds per ticket valid the whole day till around 5 PM.

We started from Charing Cross station in Glasgow to Edinburgh Waverly station. Right in front of the station (Market Street) you got a small alley going up to the streets. In between you have the smallest pub from Edinburgh called halfway house.

  • Giles’ cathedral
  • National Gallery of Scotland – free admission
  • Edinburgh castle
  • National monument of Scotland (on a hill with a beautiful view of Edinburgh)

You can buy real nice cashmere scarves in a lot of shops in Edinburgh (I regret a bit I didn’t get one)

Where did we eat in Glasgow (1 to 5 stars   5* is super delicious)

I am only going to mention the nicest food we ate. Of course we ate more, but too be honest I already forgot about it… because it was just junk food or something small.

The only place I remember and it was really tasty is Café Andaluz on the corner of North Court. A bit expansive but really delicious and special.

Where did we eat in Edinburgh (1 to 5 stars   5* is super delicious)

In Edinburgh we had a really nice Scottish breakfast/lunch. I don’t remember the name of this café, but it’s on the top of the alley from the station to the market street. (Halfway house pub is in the middle of the staircase) Sorry guys, you have to be there then you will find it.

This lunch kept me going till the evening because it had a bit of haggis. This was really heavy on the stomach. I couldn’t eat some dinner in the evening because of it.  It is typical Scottish dish I really wanted to try and it’s not as bad as it looks.

Where did we sleep

We only slept in Glasgow at the Ibis hotel. Great location in the centre. Great staff and clean room. Free Wi-Fi. We didn’t take breakfast at the hotel because it is lot easier just to go out and find a nice café to have breakfast at. Easy check in and out.

  • Hotel ibis Glasgow City Centre ***
  • 220 W Regent St, Glasgow G2 4DQ, UK.
  • +44 141 619 9000
  • From Charing Cross rail station to Edinburgh Waverly rail station +/- £25,-. Take approximately sixty minutes.
Advantage:

Both cities were beautiful, but if this would be the first time to Scotland for you, I would say try Edinburgh first. The castle and all the buildings are just beautiful to see. Because it’s on a hill you will have lots of great views on the city. Glasgow is in that way less impressive but in Glasgow I really liked the museums, especially the Kelvin grove art gallery and museum. I love art and I like that it’s for free. Makes it accessible for everyone. Oh and you can pay with pounds, so easy peasy if you from the UK.

Disadvantage:

Not a lot of disadvantage to be honest. Maybe the weather, much much colder than in London or the Netherlands. But with the right clothes you will be just fine.

Sorry for my inconsistency, I try to work on the blog more often for you guys. My goal is to blog once a week but as you have seen, I am still working on this.

Hope this blog is useful for those who are going to Scotland

 

Till next time

 

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

Hello Berlin

To everyone a happy new year.. whoohoo!  Get yourself a cup of anything you would like right now and enjoy reading some useful tips if you are passing by Berlin in the near future.

This blog is going to be a bit different. Why not?! From now on it will be just a quick overview of my experience in the city I’ve visited. This time it’s in Berlin. Mostly about the things I saw, where I have eaten and where I slept. So this time I was on a “new year’s eve” trip to Berlin with friends. Super big city, we walked a LOT and it was super COLD.

But overall a VERY NICE experience to start 2017

What did I see in Berlin
  • East side gallery  memorial Berlin WallBerlin dom
  • Checkpoint Charlie
  • Brandenburger Tor
  • Reistag – mitte
  • Alexanderplatz
  • Berlin
  • Dom
  • Fernsehturm
  • PotsdamerPlatz
  • Holocaust monument memorial
  • Gendarmenmarkt – Christmas market and get on top of one of the building to see a panorama view
  • Kurfürstendamm – mostly for shopping

We walked more than twenty km, so I must have seen more, but this is what I still could remember 🙂

Where did I eat (1 to 5 stars   5* is super delicious)

Surf and turf – Let’s Go Sylt Berlin **** (4)Kurfürstendamm 212,10719

BerlinCyclo Vietnamese restaurant *** (3) Sächsische Str. 72, 10707 Berlin

Witwe Bolte – German restaurant **** (4) Uhlandstraße 133, 10717 Berlin Try a lot of currywurst, really delicious

ZEN Restaurant – sushi *** (3) Uhlandstraße 170A, 10719 Berlin

Hasir – Turkish restaurant *****  (5) Nürnberger Str. 46, 10789 Berlin. Lamb tenderloin was amazing!Sleeping situation

Where did I sleep

Hotel Seifert Berlin am Kurfürstendamm ** (I will give it ***) Uhlandstraße 162, 10719 Berlin

Reception staff super friendly. Simple nice hotel with a very good breakfast. Tip, they don’t put small bottles of shampoo and lotions in the room. If you need any just ask at the reception. ( we found out at the checkout) There’s a bus stop nearby that is going to the train station and a metro station Uhlandstraße at walking distance.

Advantage:

Berlin is a big city, so lots to explore here.Party can be till whenever you want to close your eyes. Public transportation is 24 hours in the weekend and super cheap. But you can buy only one way tickets. Everything is easy accessible with public transportation. German food is delicious , especially the currywurst.

Disadvantage:

Cold weather around new year’s eve.It was around -3 degrees, but feels like -10 degrees.. so put on some extra layers and wear some warm shoes, sweaters and hats. You will need it!

Hope this blog is useful for those who are going to Berlin

Till next time

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

Hello Dublin

Get a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy reading this blog..

Beautiful Dublin, For just a short weekend I went to Dublin. Never been here, but what a wonderful place. I like the Christmas atmosphere and all people are friendly and easy going.

From the airport it is easy to get to the city by bus. So I took the air coach to the hotel.

I stayed at the Lansdowne Hotel, really nice cosy hotel with a bar under the hotel “the DEN bar”, busy place in the weekend.

Because we arrived really late that Friday we just went to have dinner nearby the hotel. We found a cute place called “Langkawi” a Malaysian Restaurant. Food was very delicious and not at all typical standard Asian food. If you don’t like spicy food I wouldn’t recommend this one. But I love it and also the wine is pretty good here.  They had a nice assortment of  different wine.

The next day we went for a walk to the city and we did some sightseeing. We walked from our hotel to the city centre, Crafton street. From there we walked all the way to the Guinness storehouse. Guinness is one of my favourite beers, so I had to see this. The storehouse is a bit touristy but a nice way to get to know the Guinness history. At the end of the tour you get a free pint of  Guinness. In the restaurant you can also try the Guinness stew and it is delicious.

Nice way to end the evening is to go to a pub.

Our Taxi driver told us all pubs are typically Irish, but the one on the temple bar are more for tourist. So just go to the ones you see on your way to experience the typical Irish pub atmosphere.. Fortunately a taxi is not so expensive in this city, so if you are tired after the pub, it’s easy to just take a taxi back to the hotel.

And then it was already Sunday, the day we went home. Boohoo! I have to say a short weekend isn’t enough to see Dublin. Definitively going back!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

 

Hotel: Lansdowne Hotel

Restaurant: Langkawi

Food: Guinness stew

Sight seeing: Guinness storehouse

Shopping area: Around Crafton street

Pub:   All pubs are typical Irish

Hello Indonesia | What to do in Java & Bali | Part 2

Some interesting information for nice restaurants and things to see in Jakarta, Jogjakarta or Bali.

 

JAKARTA

Hotel:

  • Kosenda hotel  : Address: Jl. KH Wahid Hasyim No. 127, Tanah Abang, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10240, Indonesia Telephone: +62 21 31936868

Taxi:

  • Blue Bird taxi or UBER both reliable companies

Bar and Restaurant:

  • Sky bar & restaurant : Address: 56th Floor Jln. Menara | 56th Floor, Menara BCA, Jakarta 11610, Indonesia Telefoonnummer: 622123586996
  • Pondok Laguna : Jl. Batu Tulis Raya no. 45, Jakarta 10120, Indonesia +62 21 3459991
  • Mandarin Oriental Hotel : Jl. MH Thamrin

Sight seeing: 

  • Flea market : Address: Jln. Surabaya,  Jakarta 10310, Indonesia 
 JOGJAKARTA

Hotel:  

  • Neo Awana hotel : (okay room but a bit of ants in the bathroom only and couldn’t close the shower curtain properly, bed and rest of the room were nice, also swimming pool available, breakfast nothing special, we only had one day breakfast in hotel) Nice hotel manager Ade Amrita, front Office Manager , Jl. Mayjen. Sutoyo no. 52 Yogyakarta T: +62-274-4580-111 M: +62-85-878-268-568 E: AwanaFOM@NeoHotels.com / www.NeoHotels.com

Taxi:

  • Normal taxi just check and ask to put the meter on

Bar and Restaurant:

  • The Westlake restoAddress: Jalan Ring Road Barat, Bedog, Trihanggo, Kec. Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia +62 817-0030-001

Hospital:

  • Rumah Sakit JIH Jogjakarta International Hospital Address: Jalan Ring Road Utara No. 160, Condong Catur, Depok, Jl. Ring Road Utara, Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia Telephone:+62 274 4463535

Sight seeing: 

  • Borobudur  & Prambanan
  • Malioboro street 
  • Fruit and spices market 
  • Becak
  • Batik stores
  • Wayang dolls factory
 BALI

Hotel:

  • Sadara Boutique Beach Resort Bali : Address: Jl. Pratama, Tanjung Benoa, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80363, Indonesia

Taxi:

  • Driver Junov (mail me if you would like his contact information)(He will drive you the whole day and will bring you to a lot of places. Really nice guy. Around 600.000 rupiah per day)
  • UBER is cheaper than Blue Bird taxi.

Bar and Restaurant:

  • Warung Laota : Hong Kong porridge & seafood steam specialist www.warunglaota.com Open 24/7
  • Ibu Oka in Ubud (famous for babi guling) : Jalan Tegal Sari No. 2, Ubud, Indonesia
  • IIga warung – Mas Ubud Bali : Dares: No., Jl. Raya Mas No.167, Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia
  • La Favela (bar restaurant and nice disco club) : Address: Jl. Kayu Aya No. 177X, Seminyak, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, and Bali 80561, Indonesia
  • Tokyo Skipjack– Seminyak (great steaks + nice staff) Address: Jalan Kayu Cendana No. 1, Seminyak, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
  • Lilla Pantai : Jl. Duyung (Sanur Beach street walk), Sanur   +62 821 4457 9142

Sight seeing: 

  • Batuan Temple Address: Jl. Raya Batuan, Batuan, Sukawati, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80582, Indonesia www.baligoldentour.com
  • Pura Tanah Lot
  • Pura Tirta Empul
  • Gunung Kawi
  • The village Tampaksiring near Bangli
  • Gunung Batur
  • Batur Natural Hot Spring
  • Coffee Luwak (coffee plantation)
  • Rice terraces (everywhere)
  • Barong dance http://www.balitourism.nl/barong.htm
  • A lot of craftsmanship
  • Ubud Monkey Forest : Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali 80571, Indonesia

There is  still much more to do and to see in Indonesia, but unfortunately we were just two weeks in this beautiful country

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja