Category: Europe

Prague Travelogue: The One Week Experience

Post author By Niekartistiek
Post date March 12, 2020
No Comments on Prague Travelogue: The One Week Experience

Prague

Prague is an one of a kind kind of city. You can find this mesmerizing capital in the heart of Czech Republic. It’s not a too crowded travel destination, often easily overlooked while booking. I’d never been before, but I wished I’d discover it sooner! Prague is definetaly one of Europe’s hidden gems – a must visit for fellow travelers!

This post will focus on the things to see, what to do & where to go for a bite or two.

What to see

Prague (or “Praha” as the locals call it) is filled with breathtaking architecture. Especially when walking downtown Praha you can just stroll around and be amazed by your suroundings.

Get off the beaten track and on the cobblestone streets. For whoever has a soft spot for co-excisting architectural styles: Prague is the place to go. A personal re-occuring favorite of mine is the Rococo (late Baroque with french elements). It goes so well with the Renaisance & Gothic styles that this city has to offer as well. For those of you who like Moorish Revival, Romanesque or an Emperial style, Prague has that covered too.

Old Town Square – Clock Tower

The Old Town Square is not only resident for the local food market, but also attracts a lot of travellers to see the Astronomical Clock Tower. Legend has it that the people thought the tower was so beautiful, they blinded the clockmaster who constructed it in order to disable him to ever make something that beautiful again. Talk about a juicy folklore story!

Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock Tower

St. Vitus Cathedral

A trip to Prague isn’t complete without taking a look up close towards the oldest burcht of Europe.

St. Vital Cathedral

Karlov Most (Charles Bridge)

Prague is probably know most for it’s famous bridge. Fun fact, did you know that the name of the Bridge changes due to what langues pronounces it? For example, the locals call it Karlov Most, in English it’s know as Charles Bridge and in Dutch we call it Karels Brug. What’s it called in your language? Let me know in the comments!

Karluv Most (St. Charles Bridge)

What to Do

Museum of Senses

While in Prague you should definitely hit up the Museum of Senses! It’s fun, colourful & full of mindbending tricks. Had a lot of fun there!

Museum of Senses

DOX Museum

The DOX Museum is a place you should go to if you’re into modern architecture. It wasn’t my favourite part of this trip, but if it’s your cup of tea you could definitely visit.

DOX

DOX

DOX

Trdelni’k

When planning your trip to Prague, you can’t miss the mention of their Trdelni’k! It’s a typical Czech treat straight from the chimney, filled with chocolate! Wish I had one right now..

Getting Around

Getting around this city is easy. They have an amazing metro & tram network throughout the whole city. Even tho we stayed at the Plus Hostel (which was at the outer corner of the city) we managed to get easily & pretty fast in the city centre where all the buzz & the fuzz was happening. The tickets are pretty cheap and the easiest thing to do is to get a combination ticket for a couple of days, so you can just hop on and off the metro / tram system day & night.

Cheers to the weekend!

In our neigbourhood there was a fun Poolcafe with games, drinks & lots of pooltables. Our group had quite the fun there!

Karlijn & Cuba Libre

Club Epic

This place was pretty… epic! This place really ticks off all the boxes for a propper club night.

Club Epic

Beer Tour

The Czech are known for their beer consumption. A pubcrawl & beertour is the best way to get to know fellow travelers & to try the local drafts, such as GREEN BEER. So as the locals say, Na Zdravi! (Cheers!)

Beer Tour

Where to eat / Drink

I’ll not bore you guys with a list of ALL the places I’ve eaten this week. But I coudn’t resist recommending the highlights of the Praha cuisine!

Mistral Cafe

My absolute favourite restaurant throughout this trip has to be the Mistral Cafe. We shared 3 vegetarian dishes here and they are definitely the best I’ve eaten on this trip. Furthermore, this place looks amazing! Your surrounded by plants – what else do you need?

Fat Cat

The name alone makes you stop your stroll & take a look inside. This burger bar serves quality burgers for the verrrrrry hungry traveler (the burgers are HUGE). Bon Apetit!

Twenty 7

This cute little bar has a daily changing menu. I was fortunate enough to try their fresh Gnocci! The ambiance here is great and perfect for an afternoon filled with coffee and more.

Phill’s Corner

Another cute bistro is Phill’s Corner. It has a fresh interior & food to die for. If you’re up for it, take a look at their daily pies. They are irresistible!

Haru Sushi & Asian Restaurant

Coconut Shrimp Curry. Do I need to say more?

Prague has a special place in my heart (& as you could see, in my tummy as well). A week well spent! What are your takeaways from your (upcoming) trip to Praha? Let me know!

Europe The Netherlands

Amsterdam Travelogue: the one day experience

Post author By Niekartistiek
Post date November 13, 2017
36 Comments on Amsterdam Travelogue: the one day experience

I found my way back to Amsterdam! I had the most amazing experience, a day full of favourite spots – which I’m about to share with you!

After we dropped our luggage at the hotel we went for a stroll towards the Nassaukade. This is one of the locations where you can rent a Mokumboat! We started from the Singelgracht & sailed our boat over the Amsterdam canals. I had never seen Amsterdam from its canals before, and it is so lovely. When in Amsterdam, make sure you’ll discover it from this point of view.

In case you have missed it, my motto is ‘Celebrate Life!’ – our day in Amsterdam was no exception. Somewhere sailing the Jordaan we had a marvelous lunch & popped a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut . Could this day get any better?

How about yup. After cruising the Amstel, IJ & many more canals (all while pointing out famous Amsterdam buildings) our first stop was at the W Lounge . In the W Hotel Amsterdam on its penthouse floor you’ll be sure to have a stunning view of the city as well.

After drinking one glass of wine we continued discovering the city by foot. We stumbled upon this amazing record shop Maxwell Records. I couldn’t be more delighted, combining this city trip with my vinyl records obsession. Win!

One of my absolute favorite spots of this day was at the Hoxton. How couldn’t it be? The whole vibe is such a relieve, so cozy and – frankly speaking – a hipster paradise. I beg your pardon, but I’m kind of a sucker for that sort of vibe. We ordered one of our favorite Dutch treats – bitterballen – & a burger slider with a bottle of wine. This place gave us the opportunity to lean back while we enjoyed our beverages & had some really good conversations.

Hoxton – Bitterballen & Slider

More walking through the city and gazing upon great historical buildings we decided we still had room left for dinner – I know, how? De Hallen is just the foodie hotspot to go. It is quite unique for Amsterdam, an international indoor food market, often referred to as the ‘Foodhallen’. We wandered around in this loft-like space where there are so many options. It is the best way to discover the very best of Amsterdam’s culinary scene.

We chose a burger from The Butcher – which was so extremely good. You eat while sitting at shared tables – I’m in love with this concept! People from all over the world come here – tourists & locals – to enjoy these bites & discover new things.

After so many consumptions I was glad we took a twilight stroll. We walked through the Vondelpark and enjoyed the sound of the city that was slowly waking up for the night to begin.

Since we were in Amsterdam for just one day we really wanted to live it to the fullest. Our day wasn’t over yet. We went to the Conservatorium Hotel where we enjoyed a G&T – that was so delicious. Let me rephrase that, it is definitely the best Gin & tonic I’ve had so far! I had the Monkey 47 with blackberries and oh my it was so good. The venue is an eye-catcher as well. Violins dangling from the air & all these odd artifacts are displayed around you.

The last walk we took brought us to the Bilderberg Jan Luyken Hotel where we stayed the night. Since we could walk from here to all the spots we’ve seen that day, it definitely has a perfect location. The staff is great, very friendly and funny – had some great convo’s during a “Dark ‘n Stormy” cocktail at their bar. Afterwards a midnight spa session to really relax after this day of discovering and seeing new places.

What I loved most about the hotel is its building. Typical Dutch & when in Amsterdam a total must to stay at a place like this. You can tell it used to be 3 different houses that are now connected. The old stairs & interior are hinting ages back – which gives it a very delicate, graceful but mostly stunning vibe.

I wished I could have stayed longer – Amsterdam has so much more to offer & discover! But waking up the next day & flying back to the Caribbean ain’t that bad either.

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Europe Events Hungary Lifestyle Travel

10 reasons why you must go to Sziget Festival

Post author By Niekartistiek
Post date May 27, 2017
20 Comments on 10 reasons why you must go to Sziget Festival

Sziget. A 7 day utopia for music & art lovers. One hell of a festival you can not miss. I could list a thousand reasons why this festival is amazing, but lets first start with these 10:

1. The Line – Up

Sziget is known for getting a lot of major artist on their stages. With 7 (!) days to fill, you’ll see a lifetime of favorite artists. I was lucky enough spot Blink 182, The 1975, Queens of the Stone Age, Imagine Dragons, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Bastille, Lily Allen, Bombay Bicycle Club, OutKast, The Kooks, Calvin Harris… and so many more! In 7 days there are a lot of artist you can enjoy. Every year they’re growing with an even better line-up.

Outkast performing “Hey Ya”

The amazing thing about Sziget’s line-up is its variety. With so many different stages, they provide for everyone’s taste. From local Hungarian folklore music to Rock & Modern music. There was a Singer&Songwriter stage, Classical & Jazz Stage, Europe Stage, Blues/Irish Stage, African-Latin Stage, Worldstage & so on. You name it, they provided a stage for it.

My Sziget tip on this is to go wander around. Don’t mainly stay at the Main Stage but try to discover new artist at the other stages. So many talented artists!

2. Location

In the heart of Budapest, in the Danube River, this festival is located on it’s own island. Jep, you’re on an whole festival island in the middle of one of Europe’s most interesting cities. This screams for opportunities.

Do take a Sziget city pass so you can discover the beauty of Budapest itself. Not only for it’s historical architecture, but also for its monumental bathing houses. With the City pass you’ll get free entrance to at least one.

3. The Vibe

With Sziget Szitizens there is nothing but good and friendly vibes. With hundreds of thousands of people on this festival island, all coming together to have the best time of their lives.

It’s a week lasting festival, what might explain the more relaxing vibe. People really take their time to relax, to chill and I think – in comparison with shorter festivals – that’s the reason why the vibe is so much more relaxed. Everybody tries to experience the smaller bits that the festival has to offer.

My friend Pia knowing exactly how to execute the relaxing part

4. The Food

Don’t be afraid you’ll starve at Sziget: they provide amazing food trucks. It’s like a whole food truck festival of it’s own and it is yummy. Whatever you want, Sziget has it. Rows of food trucks, tents, and stalls which are selling basically everything you can wish for and a lot of traditional Hungarian dishes as well. There are so many and such diverse food options.

Try some of the local trucks as well. One of my favorite discoveries was an oil baked kind of bread, with garlic butter and cheese. These things are to die for! You’ll never discover new things if you don’t explore the more ‘exotic’ foodtrucks 😉

5. Art Festival

Sziget offers much more than music. There are so many extra art amenities at Sziget.. so many exciting things to do! I could list all of them but then this post would never end. Here are my favorites:

First you have the Art Zone – a huge grass area with different sculptures and booths. Also a lot things to do. There is sculpture making, body painting and stencil spray, yoga, many interesting art classes and things with strange names which make them so much more interesting to try!

The Before I die wall – This should be a common one. It’s basically a huge chalk wall with the words “Before I Die…” where you can write your dreams, hopes or anything you still wish to achieve. It’s always inspiring to read what others wish to accomplish, to read one’s ambitions & to laugh at the jokes some people make with it.

When writing about art at this festival, I can not leave Cirque de Sziget out. It’s an outdoor and indoor circus at Sziget, each with its own line-up of quirky and interesting acts. Mixed between acrobatics & comedy where people have been dressed in a funny way and a lot of participation from the audience.

The Ability Park – here you could experience what it is like to have disabilities. Drawing sayings literally – like it’s raining cat’s & dogs, drawing literally a sky that pours cats & dogs – doing obstacles blindfolded and a few other insanely creative ways to discover what it is like to live with disabilities.

The Luminarium was probably my favorite artistic place to be on the whole festival. It’s an enormous geometric installation where you can go inside. Basically it was a huge inflatable sculpture that uses natural light to create very calming mood as you wander through all the rooms inside. Very beautiful & with lots of colors. It gives you the idea of walking on the inside of a big air balloon. It’s the perfect place to wander around in thoughts as well. The fact that the whole attraction needed to be experienced barefoot helped a bit too. The Luminarium has traveled all around Europe as an art insulation that thousands of people have visited already.

The Luminarium

6. Chill Zone

This is the one spot I discovered Chai Tea Latte, and now I’m hooked. This area had all sorts of colorful sheets draped around the top area. With pillows all laying spread over the floor this was a spot to go to when you wanted to relax & chill out. Most Szitizens came here to take a nap or just mainly relax majorly while listening to the calming music.

This area also had a lineup of DJ’s spinning mostly deep house, and had bars and some places to get food.

Each night there was a sweet campfire at chill zone – beach side – with different artists playing around the fire. Wonderful and ultimate enjoyable.

Chill Zone Chillings

7. International Friends

People who come to Sziget Festival are from all over the world. It is amazing how easily you make new friends and learn about all these different cultures! One of my favorite things about festivals is the coming together of so many nationalities through music. There are so many extraordinary people. With a varied crowd – no age limit – so young & old people could come and enjoy the festival.

The majority of the crowd lays probably between 18-40 year . There was a huge Dutch population, but people really came from everywhere.

Even Santa was at the party

8. Theme Parties

Every night at 7PM there was a ‘special party’ at the main stage. It started off with a bubble party. They passed bubbles out to the whole crowd to blow. Next day there was a flag party, where they gave out thousands of Sziget flags and also encouraged people to bring their own. I still have my blue Sziget flag as a token of this amazing experience. There was a confetti party where everyone had confetti poppers, a color party where all different colors of color powder were passed out – what a mess that gave in combination with the rain and the mud, but worth it – , a maraca party with little maraca shakers in the whole crowd, and a glow stick and laser party.

These parties give a real unique twist to the Main Stage area, and a way for everyone to unite even more.

9. Ambiance

Sziget wouldn’t be a proper festival if it weren’t for it’s decorations. A lot has already been given away with the Art Zone & Chill Zone of course, but to be honest everywhere you looked you saw a piece of finishing touch. Or just some weird things totally out of place that for a crazy reason still worked out.

Like colorful umbrellas in the sky

10. The Whole Experience

Go enjoy yourself on this Island of Freedom. One of the reasons Sziget has such a great experience is that it’s a completely self-contained festival. You can camp on the festival grounds, meaning you can spend the entire week at Sziget without leaving – Altho I still encourage you to visit Budapest at least once during your visit – . This really gives the venue a feeling of community.

Go explore new music of genres you might never heard of before! Try all the crazy art workshops! Go on full Szitizen mode and see how many stamps you can collect in you Sziget Passport – you can collect stamps with different activities – and become a fully resident of the Sziget Community. Enjoy all food stations & enjoy all of the possibilities the Festival has to offer.

Enjoy, Explore, Discover this wonderful Festival..

& Celebrate life!