Category Archives: Our Most Favorites

City trip, Denmark, Europe, Our Most Favorites, Scandinavia, Special occasion, Weekend getaway

Smørebrød in Copenhagen with Phønix

8 September, 2015 jpcorp Leave a comment

We wanted to spend our fourth anniversary (which is a very special day to us but more on that another time) in some nice place and since we both had been to CPH separately and had occasionally talked about it, it seemed fitting to come visiting this very fashionable city together on our day. It turned out to be one of the nicest city trip we’ve made. The weather could not have been any nicer for between seasons, lots of sunshine but the air was already fresh and crisp from the autumn breeze making it the perfect weather to bike around. One funny thing did happen, a guy took a photo of us together on the bike and posted it on his facebook page. As it turned out, he was some kind of a Danish rockstar so lots of his followers started commenting and liking that picture, which, through a few or more connections, came back to our being aware of it. Bycyklen (the company of the bike we rent) even asked us if they could use that photo for their advertising purpose. Yes, we became kinda famous for a day ;-). So if you happened to see a couple (almost) dressing in white riding a white bike on any Danish website, it’s one of our special moments of this trip. Needless to say, we enjoyed every second of it.

Besides, I got to see my beloved friend Nete again after 8 long years. Yes, 8 years seem like forever at this stage of our lives but we never lost touch. Nete spent one semester abroad in Frankfurt at my university way back in 2007-2008 and lived in the same dorm as me, just a few doors from my room. We became best friends right after our first met. You know that feeling, things just “clicked” and you just knew. So we spent every single (free) minute of every day hanging out with each other, for us taking totally different classes at school (Finance for me and Literature for her). It still is one of the best summers of my undergrad years. I still have memories of us walking back from a party on our bare feet, heels in hands, then searching for left-over in our kitchen to have kind of a late supper / early breakfast at almost before going to bed at 5 am. Yes, we had tons of fun back then, we got lots of attentions too wherever we went. Me being a cute (& tiny) Asian girl and her being the hottest, most attractive (Danish) blonde in every guy’s dream. Looking back I might have just got all those attentions just because I was with her ;-).

Enough talking, here are a few snapshots J took of our trip. This for sure won’t be our last time in this super chic city.

Enjoy.

P in front of the greenhouse on a windy and chilly day — That sky…

The "Rundetaarn" (round tower) — The “Rundetaarn” (round tower)

There are no stars cases in Rundetaarn (except in the uppermost part) — There are no stairs cases in Rundetaarn (except in the uppermost part)

On a staircase inside Copenhagen city hall — Inside Copenhagen city hall

The big hall inside city hall — Inside city hall

Famous clockwork in city hall, very impressive mechanical work

A cozy side road with an interesting vintage shop

In our apartment near the city center — In our (airbnb) apartment in the city center

The Glyptothek, an art museum close to Tivoli — The Glyptothek, a very nice art museum close to Tivoli, sadly they don’t let you take photo inside, only the in foyer

Inside Frederik's church, a breathtaking dome — Inside Frederik’s church, a breathtaking dome

Behind the opera, looking towards Frederik's church — Behind the opera, looking towards Frederik’s church from the other side of the river

In front of the opera — Copenhagen Opera at sunset, this view is worth the >30min to get here on the taxi cause we missed the last boat out.

Having a spectacular dinner at Kiin Kiin restaurant - strongly recommendable!! — Spectacular dinner at Kiin Kiin restaurant – 15 nicely decorated & yummy courses over almost 4 hours. The perfect way to celebrate our day 😉

At the Royal Smushi Café, famous for their Smore Brod - unfortunately we were too early for Smore Brod :-( — At the Royal Smushi Café, famous for their Smore Brod – unfortunately we were too early for Smore Brod 🙁

Funny menu of Royal Smushi Café — The Royal Smushi Café (yes, I like to repeat their name several times in my head too 😉 )

Can't remember the name of that church - there are too many in Copenhagen — Can’t remember the name of that church – there are too many in Copenhagen

cph25 — Having a short break at the Baltic Sea on the way back to the airport

This sky doesn’t seem real, but it is. Magnificent!

Europe, Our Most Favorites, Scandinavia, Sweden, Vacation

Sweden ’14, Part 2: Nabben – our most relaxing vacation ever!

20 July, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

With fish in our belly and even more in our shopping bags we drove to Ulricehamn to the summer cottage of our friend Henrik’s family. It’s nothing luxurious, but offers the most magnificent view over the water and the exclusivity of being all alone without neighbors and having your own “beach” for skinny dipping ;-). That alone was luxury. They’re currently toring it down and rebuild the whole place so we can hardly wait to see how it becomes.

Needless to say, it was THE most relaxing vacation we’ve ever had. Somehow the water, the trees and wood around had an instant calming effect on us that we immediately felt relaxed upon arriving. We barbecued in the garden and enjoyed our dinner outside while the sun was setting every night (usually around 9 or 10pm). We jumped into the refreshing water first thing in the morning and last thing at the end of the day. We spent the day lounging around, reading books on the hammock, hiking a little, and eating a tons ;-). Since the cottage was on the other side of the river, going groceries shopping meant hopping on the motor boat and headed to town. Sweden is a very beautiful country, one of the most beautiful in fact, but they are doomed with very long winters and hence very short summers. Even in the middle of summer time, it could still get cold and rainy occasionally so you can’t really depend on it. Fortunately, we were blessed with 28-30°C every single day with very pleasant breezes in the evening. We couldn’t ask for anything more.

nabben02 — “Nabben” the name of the cottage given by its owner

nabben08 — The water pump – crystal clear and cold water you can immediately drink from the dwell (50m deep)

nabben10 — Our favourite place in the shadow

nabben03 — There must have been some heavy rain shortly before we arrived

nabben04 — Job done: poured out the water and cleaned the boat

nabben12 — Playing card games on the front porch

nabben16 — A look at Nabben out of the boat

Beach, Foods Foods Foods, Our Most Favorites, Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’14, Part 2: Umngazi River – our kind of paradise

28 March, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

When I saw some pictures of the Umngazi River Bungalows & Spa the first time while planning our trip, I knew we had to make a stop here. It was a long drive from Drakensberg, not in terms of distance but in terms of time because of the very curvy mountain highways across Kwazulu-Natal province. The resort is nicely located at the Umngazi River Mouth where it meets the Pacific ocean, very secluded from the rest of the crowds along the coast around Durban. It is the oldest beach resort in South Africa dating back to 1906. The staffs were friendly and attentive, the foods were beyond delicious, and they had the most amazing home-made chilly sauce I’ve ever tried, and I tried pretty much everything(!). Do you know any resort where the chef went around every night asking every guest if they were happy with their meals? This is that kind of place. The rooms are on the modest, eco-friendly side so nothing really luxurious, but decent and clean. What they lack in luxury they more than make up for it with this view…

and this Spa…

Spa at it's best. 2 hour program with massage, bath, champagne and a priceless view — Spa at it’s best and a million-dollar view. We spent one entire afternoon here, first with a two-hour couple massage & facial then who-knows-how-long in this tub afterwards. Champagne in the afternoon is always a good idea ;-). We slept like babies that night.

and the exclusive beach of course . At low tide, you can cross the river on foot to reach the beach. Other than that there’s a small ferry taking you to the other side anytime you want. All you have to do is go to the port and ring the bell.

Beach day — Often we had the whole beach for us all alone

View from the ferry boat that carries you across the river to the beach — View of the entire resort from the ferry that carries you across the river to the beach. I still miss this view every now and then.

That's the flag to raise when you're looking for (another) drink at the pool - great service all over the place — No more shouting for hotel staff, just raise the flag and they’ll be at your service

Horseback riding is a so-called community event, organised by the local people living nearby — Horseback riding organised by the local people living in the area, one of the many activities offered by the resort

Looks like John Wayne - almost.... — My John Wayne 😉

Sunset Umngazi river tour, watching fish eagles — Umngazi river sunset tour, watching fish eagles

Playing dart after dinner. I have to admit, the dart right in the middle was hers..... — Playing dart after dinner. I have to admit, the dart right in the middle was her’s…..

During the 5 days there we didn’t get on the car once. We spent our time going for long walks on the beach, horse-back riding with the local kids, taking the sunset tour along the river, reading some in the library (yes, they built a library from books left by hotel guest, which I think is a genius idea), and the rest of the time lounging around the pool and bar area. It was exactly what we needed after the long winter in Europe. It was so relaxing that we were really sad to leave.

Writing this from today perspective (19.02.2016) we’re kind of ready to move on from South Africa cause we’ve “been there and seen it all”, at lease those places we wanted to see, but this is the only place that’d probably make us come back someday.

Au Revoir

On the way to our next destination. A funny shop in some village in Kwazulu-Natal. — In some village in Kwazulu-Natal on our way to the North. We couldn’t have said it any better so Have a Ding Dong Day!

Our Most Favorites, Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’13, Part 4: Kgalagadi Park

12 September, 2013 jpcorp Leave a comment

Kgalagadi Park is one of the largest SANParks (South African National Parks) and the only one comprising two National Parks across border, a smaller part in South Africa and the bigger rest in Botswana. The name Kgalagadi means “place of thirst” in the local language because it is located within the Kalahari desert. We were so eager to get here that we forgot our camera bag at the Molopo Lodge where we stopped for lunch on the way. Only when we arrived in the Park did we realise it was missing. PANIC! Luckily, the lodge owner was so nice and kept it safe for us so the only thing we lost was the two-hour round trip. Phew! A pretty small price to pay.

As it turned out, that wasn’t the only mistake we made for this part of the trip. Firstly, we were pretty late with our planning so all the wilderness camps further north in the park were already fully booked by the time we enquired. We were forced to stay in Twee Rivieren Camp for all the three nights we were there, which was really unfortunate. The best way to explore a Safari, for us, is to stay one night a each camp and move on the next day so that you don’t have to drive the same road twice. Besides, the wilderness camps are much more adventurous and interesting because they lie deep in the park with lots of opportunities for game watching at sunset and during the night. The second mistake was our choice of transportation. You really need an SUV for a park like Kgalagadi to be able to go off-road deep into the Park to look for the most interesting animals. Our sedan shamefully failed as we tried to cross a small sand dune. Our third mistake, luckily our last, was the shortage of time of our schedule. We could have easily spent the whole week in this park because we both liked it so much. The pleasant weather in the desert during Spring time, the excitement when spotting a new specie we hadn’t yet known, the enormity of the Park, its color, its smell. We loved absolutely everything we saw and enjoyed every minute of the trip. When we left we already knew it wasn’t our last time there.