DUMBO, Brooklyn NY

The title may sound weird to you and you’re wondering – what is DUMBO? Well, it stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, and it’s an area in Brooklyn where I used to live for half a year. I’d just like to give you an idea what it’s like to live in that area and would recommend checking it out if you ever go to New York, as most tourists never get to experience it, missing out on something really great.

The best way to get there is to just cross the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side and there you are.

Strolling around is this neighborhood is especially nice during the weekend since the locals are also out in the streets, which makes it lively but not as crowded as Manhattan.

And the flea markets, which are of the extraordinary kind with quite interesting stuff to find, take place on Saturdays and Sundays. To describe what it looks like there – I’d say it’s kind of trashy, but stylish at the same time, it's just got character...

If you’re looking for something to eat, go to Bubby’s, they offer some great brunch – huge portions btw – and the view of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges is spectacular. Afterwards, you can take a walk in the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, so enjoy!

"Dutch Pancakes"

While taking a nice walk around Amsterdam you will probably see some signs for "Dutch Pancakes" also called "pannenkoek". If you get any chance to visit Amsterdam you should definitely try one of those pannenkoek in the Pancake Bakery.

The Pancake Bakery is a very nice little Pancakehouse where I got one of the best dutch Pancakes I had in Amsterdam. It has an open kitchen and a great menu with a lot of different choices. You can get sweet Pancakes with e.g. banana and nutella, caramel and ice cream, syrup/sugar... but also savoury Pancakes with e.g. bacon and cheese, chicken, ham and mushrooms and so on for an affordable price. It's located directly in the center of Amsterdam at Prinsengracht 191. I really can't wait to go there again and I hope you will enjoy your pannenkoek there as much as I did. www.pancake.nl/

Marbella

Marbella-Sun-Beach-nice people.
The summer feeling in Marbella is great.
In downtown you will find shops with clothes, shoes,... in all price categories.
The best way to get too Puerto Banus is the ship from the sport ship harbor. For a round trip ticket you pay 15 €.
A good restaurant in Marbella is the Freiduria La Venus, there you will find locals and not only tourists. It is a simple but nice restaurant. The adress is PTO. Deportivo, Club Maritimo Local 3.
For a lounger on the beach you must pay 5 € per day. The positive thing is that the beach is a public one therefore you can lie where you want.
I can reommend Marbella to everybody who wants fun and sun.

From Canterbury to London

Last weekend I visited my sister who is studying in Canterbury. She lives together with 4 other students in the heart of Canterbury. The city is fantastic. There are Pubs all over the place, where you can drink delicious beer and Cider. For people who like sightseeing the Canterbury Cathedral is defiantly worth a visit. On Saturday morning we took the car of one of my sister’s housemates and went on a trip to London. The weather was lovely which was perfect for our planed tour through central London. We went shopping at Oxford Street and also passed by China town. In the afternoon we went to see the show ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. The leading actress was Anna Friel from the TV series ‘Pushing Daisies’. At Sunday we revisited china town and had lunch in one of the many Chinese Restaurants. It was really yummy. Canterbury and London are truly recommendable.

Weekend Trip to Groningen

2600 km, 24 hours of driving through half europe... one customs control on the Autobahn, one broken bike, one broken camera, shitty weather but a great weekend out in Groningen!

By now people must have noticed that I'm really into road tripping.
Two weeks ago, I went to Groningen with a friend to meet up with some friends which had been
on Exchange with us in Macau, China!

When people think about The Netherlands most likely cities like Amsterdam or Maastricht will
come to their mind.

Groningen situated in the north-western corner of country, just 20km off the North Sea, is really worth a visit though.
So what does make Groningen special? 185000 people live in Groningen of which well over 50000 are students making Groningen THE student city of The Netherlands. Thus you can imagine Groningen offers a vibrant nightlife. Personally I can recommend the VERA club which is situated in the heart of the city. Apart from that the historic city center is always worth a visit, offering beautiful sites like the Martini tower which is the landmark of Groningen as well.

So that's been the Groningen 2009 road-trip review.
But stay tuned, soon to come:

How (not) to spend too much money on a weekend-trip to Paris &
and another exclusive reviw on a 3 day Berlin trip.

Cheers Patrik

L'Atelier des Crêpes - Reims

What would France be without the ultimate pancake (fr. crêpe) experience?

If you happen to be in Reims, go to L’Atelier des Crêpes, it’s located in the city center, but not a touristy place, the atmosphere is great there because it’s small and cosy. I have been there with my two wonderful roommates Hanna and Melanie for our goodbye dinner – although we have had sushi before – so you can imagine how good they are if we were even craving them on a full stomach!

It is located 65, rue Chanzy, they also have a homepage: http://www.atelier-des-crepes.com/

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

My first impression of Jerez was the traffic and the one-way roads.

It's crazy :-). I was happy to have the time to drive through ths beautiful city with the small alleys in the downtown. Near the downtown I found the Sandeman Bodega and I decided to visit it because if you are in Jerez you must visit a Bodega, to try different Sherry's. At Sandeman you have the possibility to get a guided tour through the Bodega and after the tour Sandeman provides a degustation of their Sherry's. You get the guided tour in English, Spanish, German and French.

Near the Bodega you will find the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and the Museo de Enganches.

For more information about Sandeman check out their homepage: www.sandeman.eu