church

Day 3 – Lebanon Tour

Posted on March 25, 2018

Kimono is come from the Greek word himona, is mean winter.

Today was a big one. We had booked a day tour yesterday, and set out nice and early this morning, eager to venture outside of Beirut and see more of the country. Our first destination was the ancient city of Byblos.

Byblos

Byblos is the oldest city in Lebanon, dating back to 6000 BC. It has been invaded and conquered many times over the years, and the result is a mix of ruins and excavated structures from many different civilisations.

We explored the fortress, walked around the main site, learned about its history, and got to venture down a tunnel where a huge sarcophagus had previously been buried for a king.

Outside of the main archaeological site, there were a few picturesque streets with markets and shops surrounding. We didn’t get too long there, but may return another day.

Unfortunately during this time, Zara got progressively more ill. Zade’s a good brother though.

Jeita Grotto

After Byblos, our next stop was at Jeita Grotto. This is two large caves, an upper cave and a lower one, which is naturally formed, millions of years old, and features some amazing stalactites/stalagmites, all formed purely by water and time.

Much to my dismay, no photography was allowed inside the caves. You’ll have to just use Google for that I’m afraid.

They were really amazing though. The upper caves had a path you could walk through, which led to an area I would liken to the Mines of Moria. Huge, deep pits, and openings far above too, with distant lights showing the depth of the caves. There were crazy formations and shapes formed by the water over the many many years (the water is rich in calcium, and it drips, slowly building up and forming these bizarre solids – roughly 1cm is added per century).

The lower caves were fairly similar, though you had to take a boat to see them, as there is somewhat of a lake below. It was a nice peaceful glide through, once again though, no photos.

Outside the caves, we had a short journey to our final destination, Harissa.

Harissa

Harissa is way up in the mountains, and had a few things to see. Firstly, there was the big basilica constructed there, which is shaped like a Cedar tree when you look at it from above (again, Google will have to prove this one). It is fairly modern, but still quite nice, inside and out.

Just behind this, is Our Lady of Lebanon, which is a large statue of Mary which faces out over Beirut. There is also a great panoramic view of Lebanon from up there, though it was a very foggy day, so it was a struggle to get clear photos. There were also a few Cedar trees up here, which were cool to see.

The final stop for our tour was a nearby restaurant for some well-deserved lunch. Lebanese meze and mixed grill – classic. From there, we journeyed back to our hotel, tired and ready to rest. Tomorrow we leave Beirut for Tripoli, but might be stopping at some sights on the way, we’ll see.

Right now it’s currently only 9pm and I’m struggling to stay awake… what has this place done to me…

Day 25 – Zagreb

Posted on July 21, 2017

We’ve had one yes, but what about second breakfast?

Our hotel has a buffet breakfast included, so we didn’t have to worry about that. After we ate, we got ready to head out and just started exploring the local area. There is pretty good signage around pointing out the various museums and other landmarks around, of which there appears to be a lot.

We walked down to the nearby square, where there was a market and a folklore festival of sorts happening, with a stage set up and performances by a range of different groups from various countries. They played instruments, sang and danced in traditional fashion.

After listening for a while, we walked around some more before needing a break from the intense heat (well over 30 degrees), so we stopped into a place we came across called Tolkien’s House. There were some LoTR references around and on the menu, but it turned out to be a pretty shallow use of the name.

We had a nice cold drink though and a chance to rest, before continuing on and getting to a large cathedral. There were also some interesting old walls and buildings around the church.

From there, we walked back to the hotel, stopping into a supermarket to get water and a few supplies. After a rest, we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner which was a short walk away. We ordered some bread and a pizza as a starter to share, as they were quite cheap.

When they were brought out, we realised how big the portions were. We actually didn’t finish them, as we needed to save room for our mains. Speaking of which, those came out and were huge too. Everything was so good though, and we did our best to get through it all. Was way too full to try the dessert unfortunately, but we may go back another day to try some new dishes.

After dinner, we headed back to the main square, as the folklore concert was supposed to continue from 7pm, and lo, it was in full swing when we arrived. We watched a couple of the performances (from Iraq, then Macedonia) before calling it a night. I got mostly videos of the performances, so not many photos to share.

Tomorrow we’ll likely check out all the museums and galleries in the area.

Day 22 – Prague

Posted on July 18, 2017

Han shot first.

A solo mission today, to Prague castle once more, as promised. The castle grounds are larger than I thought, so it was great to have enough time to walk around and see the different areas.

I revisited the South Garden and took some photos of the city below. It’s a great garden, which has amazing views of the city down the entire length.

I also found my way to the Royal Garden on the opposite side, which was much larger, and way less crowded. Hardly anyone was there, and it was quiet. A very calming, peaceful place.

After exploring those, I did a quick visit inside the enormous St Vita church. You had to pay to go properly go inside, but there was an area you could walk into inside which was free. Oh and this thing is huge. Like, crazy huge. Just an enormous structure. Quite a sight to behold.

At this point, the heat and constant walking was tiring me and I was hungry, so I started the long trek back to meet with the others and get some food. We ended up eating at the same Japanese place again and had another solid meal, before heading back to the apartment for the night.

Day 21 – Prague

Posted on July 17, 2017

What can you see, on the horizon?

Let me preface with: no camera today. Sometimes you just need a break from the extra weight of a camera/bag and a chance to experience the day without worrying about photos. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Our day began in the usual fashion at the apartment, before we headed out to visit Prague Castle, stopping into a church on the way. We didn’t realise how big the castle was though and how many different things there were to see inside.

We spent some time just walking around, checking out the buildings, churches, gardens and panoramic views the castle offered. I’m probably going to go back there tomorrow with my camera and spend the day exploring it properly, as the others want to do some shopping.

After that, we trekked back towards our apartment, and went to find some dinner. There was a highly recommended burger place near our apartment, so we walked there and it surely did live up to the reviews. Delicious burger, good atmosphere/music and pretty good prices.

We then had a short rest at the apartment before going to a nearby gallery which was hosting a concert we had booked tickets for in the morning. It was a Czech guitar duo, who had arranged and performed various classical songs in a small venue. Was a nice way to end the night.

Photos and details about the castle to come tomorrow.

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