Free day in Tblisi

Last night ended up being a bit of a late night so we are grateful we have no early morning is planned today. We finally take advantage of the breakfast offered by the hotel.

It is a rainy day, one of many of our time in Georgia, but we plan to visit markets today and some are luckily indoors. I am not usually a big shopper but during the last couple of trips I seem to buy more souvenirs than usual. Today it is earings – I buy an unspecified number of unique pairs today. I also discover some artwork I may want to purchase on my return trip to Tbilisi. We visit the Median Bazar, a smaller underground store where all the different local tourist items can be purchased.

We finally try the wine ice cream. It is quite lovely.

The rain has halted and we walk down to dry bridge market to see what is being sold there. Dry Bridge Market is an expansive market of local art, antiques, and jewelry.

We shop until we literally drop into a cafe where we order a khachapuri and a bottle of wine that gives us a free local cheese board. We use this time to plan our evening. We attempt to see the special seven o’clock show at the clock tower but our walk takes longer than we anticipated. We catch the shortened bell at another hour instead.

We stop at the famous Caravanserai Bakery for bread for an early morning breakfast tomorrow; we have a long day scheduled in Armenia tomorrow and no time for breakfast.

Dinner is at a casual restaurant where we have to choose our seat based on where the resident dog is not sleeping. In between his naps he wakes up periodically to guard the place. Dog would occasionally run off barking at random people or cars. During outr meal a guy walks on the terrace wearing a knockoff Louis Vuitton jumpsuit asking each table for money. The dog senses bad energy and chases the man off barking. My meal is lackluster and unfortunately I think is the cause for my gastrointestinal distress for the next few days.

We have a charming walk back to our hotel to rest up for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a very long day.

Some more pictures from the day around town.

Marrakech

We arrive at Marrakech in the afternoon. The long winding drive has many on our tour exhausted but there are still some hours of daylight left today; plus there is a threat of rain the rest of our travels so it’s best to take advantage of today for seeing the city. My travel companion and I grab a taxi to the Medina. We have a struggle at first obtaining a taxi but somehow we end up in a taxi share situation where a very nice man in the passenger seat used to live in a city two hours from where we are from agrees to share a taxi with us. I missed the transaction happening but he pays for the taxi ride for us when he gets out of the cab.

We walk around the Medina expecting to watch the sunset on a terrace with a cocktail but apparently not many terraces allow alcohol so we just have a coffee and a snack and watch the sunset from the last one we try; we don’t want to miss the sunset.

We decide to go elsewhere to have a drink but on the way we get caught up in the evening excitement of the Medina. There are food stalls, musicians, games, and the regular cast of scammers out to make a buck. You definitely have to be alert but at no point do I feel unsafe while walking around. After some shopping we find a cafe terrace with a view of a side street where we relax and watch people walk by. After a drink or two we decide we want to head back but we can’t resist a detour through the souks. Shops are closing up for the night and it forces us to go back to the hotel and rest. We have a hard time finding our way out and end up down deserted alleyways since we have no sense of direction here. Luckily we are able to backtrack to the main area. We try negotiating with tuk tuk drivers on the rates that our tour guide suggested but none of them are budging so we end up agreeing to a higher rate. Perhaps our guide doesn’t realize how much inflation has affected the tuktuk community? We later realize we misinterpreted the advice. Apparently we have been lowballing tuktuk and taxi drivers all over the city. Locals are probably surprised with tourists driving such a hard bargain. In the grand scheme of things the amount we are saving is only a couple dollars. I’d just be happy we aren’t getting grossly over charged for services.

The next morning is our last group activity. We have a Moroccan cooking class at a riad in the medina. We learn how to make two types of salads and a lemon chicken tagine. We put together all the Moroccan spices or Ras el Hanout and as a group prepare our own tagine dish. I can’t wait to try these recipes on my own when I get home.

We say goodbye to our group and head on our own adventures – as much that is possible in the rain. More on that later.

Route of 1000 Kasbah

We start in Tinghir, one of the cities that is mostly populated by the Amazigh people (berber) and also along the route of 1000 kasbahs. The kasbahs are large structures that served as fortresses along this popular route but later turned into residential structures. The city is close to nearby gorges. These kasbahs held feudal lords that were in charge of surrounding lands. Tinghir is now expanding quickly due to nearby silver mines.

We drive through many oasis like towns that have mud built kasbahs during the route of 1000 kasbahs.

During our journey police frequently pull over tour buses to have a record of stops, seat belts, and sometimes look at the cargo. Mileage, speed, stops and more are stored on a disc that they view. This disc looks like a CD.

Ouarzazate Solar Power Station is a complex power facility that harnesses the power of sun and stores energy as heated molten salt for energy production at night. The power station provides energy for the region. It is quite impressive, I wish I could have seen a facility in person.

We get closer to the mountain range again as we can see the snow covered mountains in the distance.

Today is cold and rainy as we expected. We get a slight break in the rain when we stop to see a kasbah in Ouarzazate. We learn about the history of the building and what it is made of. The walls are a mix of straw, earth, and gypsum (or adobe).

The interior is an earth and sand plaster. The foundation is stone.

Then ceilings are made of reeds and interior rooms have tile floors and no windows for privacy.

We stop briefly at a Amazigh (Berber) pharmacy to learn some natural remedies. I buy some medicine and herbs for cooking here.

Ouarzazate used to be more of a tourist stop along the desert route but better roads have tourists choosing to stay in other towns. We are staying here tonight in a really nice hotel. Unfortunately the rain and cold have us not enjoying all the outdoor amenities the hotel has to offer. Also the constant rain has us getting soaked whenever we walk from our outdoor rooms to the main lobby. Netherless we find a lull in the rain and walk around town on our own. Commerce has come to a halt because of bad weather but we visit some souks and get in views before the rain starts up again. After some shopping we head back to our hotel and camp out in our room the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow we continue our exploration of the region and then head through the mountain pass to get to Marrakech. We are entering the last part of the tour. We must make the most of these last few days.

Casablanca

We have a mostly uneventful flight to Morocco. Flight one is on time and as planned but I slept maybe fifteen minutes the whole time due to a fidgety neighbor that would change positions every couple minutes and startle me out of any sleep I managed. Our second flight was delayed but we were getting to Casablanca so late in the day that it wasn’t going to be a productive sightseeing day anyway.

We have a driver arranged from our tour company so it’s and easy ide to our hotel except he doesn’t have bills to break our larger bills acquired at the airport ATM so he gets a very good tip. We’ve heard it’s often difficult for people to make change for the larger bills (equivalent of a little over $20 USD) so we make it a mission to use grocery stores and such to pawn off big bills as much as possible during our travels.

We checked into our hotel but soon take the elevator to take a quick look at the loud dance club happening on the hotel rooftop. Thinking we’d have a nice view of the city and a nightcap before bed we instead have the elevator open to cigarette smoke, a bouncer, and very loud thumping. We take one look at the crowd and decide sleep is a better option tonight.

Both of us sleep completely through that first night, in fact we could have kept sleeping if we didn’t have a tour scheduled in the morning. That almost never happens. Everything is great about the room except the semi-opaque bathroom walls. I mean there is some privacy but when you are sharing a room with a friend there are bathroom walls that can give you more privacy.

Breakfast at the hotel is satisfying and a great way to start the day. Turns out it is the best breakfast spread of our travels.

We arrive a day early before our scheduled tour in Casablanca because we are so used to having flights delayed or worse that we wanted to make sure we make our official tour that starts in two days. In the morning we book a day tour since our upcoming tour does not include any sightseeing in Casablanca. Casablanca like every city in Morocco started as a nomad city along the trade route that has been governed by many different peoples but became the unique city it is because of the French occupation in the 1900’s. They set out Casablanca to be its crown jewel with all its ornate art deco architecture. It was also a key port city due to its location near the oceans.

Our first stop is at the Hassan II Mosque, a large mosque dedicated to the Moroccan King Hassan II. It is the second largest Mosque in Africa and was completed in 1993. So much detail is given to the interior including the painted parts using natural colorings and cedar wood from the Atlas Mountains. It is built over water as a floating island over the Atlantic Ocean. You can only tour this with a guide and we were luckily because it is quite empty when we toured.

After the tour we drive to Corniche, the waterfront region that usually is happening with poolside fun and outdoor cafes. It is off season so there is not much going on besides families walking along the water. We also stop to get a foggy view of the mosque and watch some fishermen during low tide.

We stop briefly at the Sacred Heart Cathedral which now serves as a function hall and is no longer open to the public.

We stop at the Arab League Park but I realize later we only see a small part of the park. This large oasis in the middle of town was inaugurated in 1919 while the French were still in power.

The we go to the Square of Mohammed V, the place also known as pigeon fountain. The square is surrounded by the opera house, and many French inspired buildings. It is here that I see the art deco post office which I will briefly visit the next day.

We stop at the Church of Notre Dame of Lourdes. There is a service going on so we only look inside quickly and decide to come back tomorrow during our self tour.

We visit the old Medina but we don’t actually shop today but just look around the area. We visit the surrounding neighborhood. Many of the buildings here are run down.

We view the large port under construction. The current king, Mohammed VI, is making an effort to expand the port for tourism and cruise ships and yachts.

Last on our tour we visit a spice place where we learn about spices and some of their other oils and natural remedies. I end up buying a thing or two there. It is before I learn the art of bargaining so I am sure I am getting ripped off.

Our tour is over and our guide recommends a restaurant near our hotel. It isn’t the most amazing meal but at least we are trying some new things. My friend who is mostly vegetarian is finding the vegetarian versions of dishes not as full of flavor as she likes. My chicken dish is bland as well. I am discovering that Moroccan dishes don’t add much salt and leave it to the individual to salt to taste. I am so used to everything everywhere being too salty for me so its definitely a change.

After lunch we visit the old souq. We walk down to the old Medina. We enter in a section that looks like it caters more to locals. Turns out there are very few tourists at all in the market, perhaps because there are no cruise ships in town today. We meet lots of cats along the way.

We stop briefly in an old riad converted into a nice restaurant in the heart of the Medina. It’s where we want to eat later but we never find our way back here on this trip.

We walk down a passage way that is decorated with random items. We watch some kids kick a ball around. It appears to be a pop up art installation in the middle of a residential street.

After our visit to the old Medina we walk under the United Nations Square and do an Art Deco tour of our own. When the French occupied Morocco they wanted to have Casablanca to be its showpiece. There are many cool Art Deco buildings that unfortunately are not all well maintained.

Street snails. I regret not trying them.

We finish the evening with dinner and a visit to a couple of rooftop bars near our hotel where we have nice views of part of the city.

The next morning we only plan to be out for a little while to visit a couple places we missed the day before but we end up spending the entire day out before meeting our tour in the evening. More on that next.

Berlin slow days

I have many days scheduled in Berlin and it is timed perfectly because I am pretty burned out on traveling. Originally I thought I would do day trips from Berlin but instead I want to take this time leisurely. This will be the last time during my travels I’ll have time to relax. I fly home in a month and the final weeks are very rushed.

So I plan just a few things a day in Berlin for now. Today I take my time leaving the hotel especially because there is rain. I start with a nice Vietnamese lunch.

I head down to the art deco shopping complex called Hackesche Hofe and wander in and out of some stores. I buy a couple small bottles of local alcohol and some weird marshmallow candies that remind me of circus peanuts from my childhood.

Nearby at the alternative art alley Haus Schwarzenberg I wait for the very weird MonsterKabinett to open so I can buy tickets for their show. While I wait I head to a nearby bar where I get in trouble for taking pictures. Apparently there is a sign up front and they are very adamant about it. It’s a cool bar, just don’t take any pictures unless you want to get scolded like a little child. The drink is pretty strong so that’s a bonus.

Finally they start selling tickets for MonsterKabinett and a mime-looking guy (minus the makeup) gathers us up for our tour. He is animated and takes us down to a basement art gallery slash performance location and interacts with weird looking robots. This is all choreographed to loud and strange music. The finale is a monster robot rock concert in a mirrored room. It isn’t that expensive so if you like weird stuff I say go. There are no pictures inside, many break the rules of course – I didn’t because I didn’t want to be scolded again. You’ll probably not forget the experience for a while since it’s so bizarre. I have a photo below from their website.

I take some more pictures of the area and find a nice Italian restaurant where I devour some really good truffle pasta.

I waited to the last minute to try to get tickets to the Pergamon museum, one of the nightly recommended museums in Berlin. Unfortunately they are all sold out for the day I want to go. What is available is tickets to Das Pergamon Panarama, also highly recommended. The Pergamon museum is a museum of the city in Turkey that was excavated and moved to a a museum in Berlin (one of the few times they actually had permission to do so). It is a fascinating exhibit in that it is fairly well preserved. Most of the museum is undergoing a major renovation and some major exhibits are unable at this time. Seeing the Panorama version seems like a good alternative. There are some parts of the Pergamon in this museum like statues and some of the walls but the appeal is the immersive Panorama art created by Yadegar Asisi. The beautiful colors and sounds show live during a day in the city. You watch as the art goes from day to night to day again.