Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Sometimes when I’m abroad and overwhelmed by the unusual life around me, by the different climate and the unfamiliar world surrounding me I’m looking for a safe harbor. For something well known, where I know how to act and where everything feels under control. That is most often an international chain, a coffee bar like Starbucks. People tend to laugh about this, but I’m not worried to admit that even I need to get accustomed to the situation.
Continue reading “The Gringo Café”
A simple coffee bar at the sea, close to the Sibeliuksen puisto of Helsinki. Located in a small shed which is 120 years old, with many seats outside. Offering coffee and other drinks, small dishes, vegan and gluten-free options. A quite place with a fireplace and no alcohol. Get here to relax at the shore, to fry sausages on open fire or to rent a canoe, a rowing boat or a SUP.
Continue reading “Café Regatta”
Sladki, that’s the Bulgarian word for sweets. And the best sladki you can get at one of the branches of 100 Grama Sladki (100g of sweets). The pâtisserie has different locations across София and at each of them you can buy delicious cake, pastries and other sweets. These places are also coffee bars and you can enjoy your sladki with a coffee directly at the source.
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You can find different nice places to enjoy life at the riverside of the Leine in Hannover, Germany. The oldest beer garden of the city is the Dornröschen (the ‘Sleeping Beauty‘, founded in 1875), close to the Herrenhäuser Gärten (the Großer Garten and the Georgengarten). In the 19th century different factories were founded in the city quarter Linden on the other side of the river. Workers settled there and came over by ferry boat to have fun in the evenings and to dance.
Continue reading “Sleeping beauty”
There are endless good options to have a nice breakfast in Frankfurt, Germany. But if you’re looking for a plain, non-touristy coffee bar aside from the busy city centre you might like the Café Crumble. It is located not far away from the Bockenheimer Warte and offers seats inside and outside in a small backyard. The Crumble is a cosy place which offers a small but good range of breakfast: from vegetarian to sea fruit, from sweet to Greek.
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When it is getting hot outside the people in Kassel, Germany, gather on both sides of the river Fulda running through the city. The Fulda is used for swimming and all kinds of watersports and bathing in the river has a very long tradition. In earlier times there were Flußbadeanstalten – supervised places dedicated to swimming in the river. One of them is today the Auebad, the largest indoor and outdoor pool of the city. Another one you will automatically see when moving close to the Orangerie and the Spitzhacke: the Kurbad Jungborn which is today a museum and a coffee bar.
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It is a little bit aside and a little bit hidden: the Café Hemer in the southern part of Göttingen, near the Leinekanal. And this little bit of remoteness makes the coffee bar a wonderful place with great coffee, delicious cake and most often a free table if you decide to just get there spontaneously.
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It is one of the most relaxed places in Bremen, Germany: the Café Sand located next to the river Weser. Only some meters afar you can relax in the sun at the Weserstrand or walk some meters further on to the Werdersee. The coffee bar offers seats indoor and outdoor, is a self-service bar and the food is simple – but it is a very good place to hang out and enjoy the sunshine. It can be found in the southeast of the city centre on the other side of the river.
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I love cat cafés and this one I just discovered by the incident: the Café Katzentempel at Leipzig, Germany. In fact, it is a branch of a cat café chain with different locations throughout Germany – I didn’t even know that something like this exists. Also, it is the largest cat café I’ve seen so far and there are so many different cats living there that it was a real pleasure to watch them play around. The Katzentempel is next to the Grassi museum and not far from the Gewandhaus and opera.
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The Armenian quarter of بيروت, Lebanon is well-known for its good bars and restaurants. It is located in the former Christian East of the city and you can easily reach the road called Armenia from Martyr’s square and the city centre. Close to the St. Nicholas Stairs (linking Armenia with the Sursock art museum and often used for art exhibitions) you will find Aaliyah’s books – one of the cosiest places of the Lebanese capital.
Continue reading “Aaliyah’s books”