Marrakech

"A visit to Marrakech was a great shock to me.

The city taught me colour." 

- Yves Saint-Lauret

We spent a week exploring Marrakech with my best friend in the beginning of february 2017.

We did not plan the trip at all in advance, it was a full surprise for me. 

 Rugias friend is going to see a tinder match there, and wanted Rugia to go with her. Rugia again, didn't want to be a third wheel, so she invited me. Less than two weeks after that, we were on our way. 

It turned out to be a good choice for Rugia, since her friend didn't spend any time with us, and only stayed in shady airbnb apartments. Us? We booked a nice hotel.

 

We flew to Casablanca and spent a day there. 

They told us at the hotel, that we shouldn't go outside when it's dark, since it is too dangerous for girls.

We did not like the idea of spending every night inside, so we took a train the next day to Marrakech. The train took almost 3,5h and cost about 20€. 

 

Mostly we walked around the city, our hotel was not too far away from the town and the bazaar.

A couple of times we took a horse carriage ride around the city, but it was so crowded, we decided that walking is a better option.

We were really lucky with the weather, as always. It was mostly sunny and extremely warm, only one night was rainy. 

 

It was not full season yet, so not too many other tourists.

From the hotel they arranged a few tours just for us. 

  

They took us to Setti Fatma waterfalls, and also knew some of the locals who took us for a hike on the mountain.    We had a private guide, who hiked with us and told us about the aboriginal village on the mountain side.

The trail was definitely not easy, so it was a good thing to have a guide. 

We encountered a lot of cafes, souvenir shops and even people selling fruits along the way. 

Some parts of the trail was very rocky uphill that we had to climb using not only our feet but our hands as well. 

                        

Note to self! Bring hiking boots for mountain trips.

Next day we went to a half day tour to a camel farm.

They showed us how to take care of the camels, and we took a camelride.  

 Most of the evenings we spent walking around the city and the bazaar.

The bazaar was endless, and Marrakech is know for it. Anything you could think of, you can find there. 

Even monkeys. 

It was always crowded, but not too much.

People are really nice and friendly, but many of the hotels are really shady. 

You need to walk small alleys with no street lights, until you find the hotel door.

We checked one hotel with good reviews online and took a taxi close by, walked the rest. 

It was super creepy, just a big black door like any of the others, and nobody opened even we knocked. We decided not to go there and took a really nice hotel little further away, as I mentioned in the beginning.

                

  

I would definitely go again. We are already planning our next trip to Morocco.

Habibi or Habibti ?

"Believe you can, and you're halfway there"

-Theodore Roosevelt

This post is about one glorious city, with the worlds highest skyscraper. 

Clean city with rich and healthy people.

Dubai

I spent a week exploring it with my best friend
in the beginning of September 2018.

I broke my ankle just before the trip,
so we moved around with taxis.
And a wheelchair.

 I was not upset about all the missing activities we could have done, since the company I had made everything feel extraordinary.

A special thanks to Roya for wanting to be there even though we didn't have much to do.

   Still we were able to do at least something.

We took a sightseeing bus around the capital city, Abu Dhabi.
 
We visited the magnificent
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. 

Also we visited Marina Mall,
and saw the world’s most expensive
hotel, Emirates Palace.

In Dubai, we did a lot of shopping.

Dinner cruise was also one of the things we were able to do.

 

The cruise took off from the 

 Dubai Marina, and took us close to the Emirates Palace. 

It got so dark very early, but the one thing I could never get tired of, is the city lights from the sea.

As a tradition with this girl,
we were supposed to take a trip to the desert with a 4WD and ride with camels, but we were not able to go because of the accident before the vacation.

During my working months in Finnish Lapland, I met two amazing girls from Dubai.

So when I was planning my trip there, of course I did let them know I was coming and we arranged a small get-together over a lunch.

 

We had a really good time, as always. 

We spent a lot of time at the pool, sunbathing and swimming. 

Atleast the weather was really good, a little bit too hot, but sunny all the time.

 

Me, Myself & Prague

 "Prague changes like a precious stone to reflect the weather, 

the time of the day and the season of the year"

- Christian  Norberg-Schulz

 Definitely one of the most beautiful citys I have ever seen.

Each corner of a street was somehow different than the other.

City full of red roofs, castles and glorius buildings. 

  I visited Prague in the end of September 2018, for a long weekend. Less than a month after we were in Dubai. 

 My ankle was still in a cast, but I was able to walk already. I also used a lot of the trams and busses, they were really easy and cheap choice!

From the airport I took a taxi to the city, it takes about an hour, and costs 20-30€.

I went sightseeing with a tram number 22 on most of the days. There is a lot to see and you can easily hop off whenever. Also number 9 is good for sightseeing.

Number 22 goes trough the city and continues to Mala Strana and all the way up to the Castle of Prague. 

This tram also stops on the famous Charles Square.

 

On the way you will eventually reach the National Theather, which you will recognize by its golden rooftop. 

It will go over the Vlatava River on the way to Újezd. Take your camera out and be prepared to memorize the view of the river with the Prague Castle on the back.

The tram will take you to Malostranská. 

If you want to visit the Castle or St. Vitus Cathedra, you will hop off here and start your upward journey.

You can also wait a couple of stops, and the tram will take you up to Pražský hrad, where you can walk down to the castle. 

I walked up from Malostranská to the castle, and it was worth it.
The views of the city got prettier and prettier the higher I got. There is also a possibility to rent scooters, but with a broken ankle I decided that walking is a safe choice.

To get to the castle lands, you will need to go through security control. 

You will see the castle guards and soldiers with real guns standing still outside the castle and patrolling on the lands, if you are lucky you can see the shift change.

I walked down to Malostranská through the castle wine yards. Which I can highly recommend!

I was not so lucky with the weather this time. It was sunny when I flew there, and sunny when I left. In between it was chilly and rainy. Stormy even I could say. 

 Thankfully the trams took me around so well!

I was supposed to take the Cable car up to Petrin Hill on my last day, but it got stormy (surprise..) just when I got off the tram. With my casted leg and walking sticks, I couldn't walk in the rain so I took the next tram back to the old town and went shopping instead.

In case you are interested, you can get there with the tram 22 and hop off on Újezd. The stairs with the falling men are just behind the tram stop. 

There is a small climb up the hill, but apparently the Cable car is just around the corner. 

I spent there 4 days, and for me it was just enough time to explore the city.

I would definitely go again. 

It was worth every second and even though I got to see a lot, I feel like it wasn't even half of what the city has.

 

Hopefully next time I'm able to go without breaking any bones just before..