Getting enlightened in Montserrat, Spain

A friend recommended me to visit Montserrat when I told him I planned to go to Barcelona.

Montserrat is a monastery (more precisely, Benedictine abbey) located in the mountains of Catalonia, out of the Barcelona city.
The scenery reminds me a little of Cinque Terre in Italy. Both located on a hilly landscape and beautiful in its own uniqueness.

Here, is also where you seek enlightenment, forgiveness and aspiration. Though I am not a Christian nor a Catholic, I enjoyed my visit to the Catalonia's religious home.

Similar to Cinque Terre, you could hike your way up or take the funicular, stopping by at the designated stations - Santa Joan and Santa Cova.

Needless to say, we took the latter option :p

We arrived at the base of Montserrat in a green train. It was new, modern and clean.

The natural shape of the Montserrat mountain is intriguing. It still stands out a midst the magnificent architecture of the abbey.

From above, we could see Catalonia right under our feet. The serenity and tranquility of the sight offered a sense of unspoken bliss and joy.
There are more mountains surrounding vicinity and humble streams of rivers.

The clear blue sky, additionally perked up the day.

The museum

The sacred place was even more captivating as twilight and night slowly making its entrance.

It is recommended to stay overnight should you want to watch sunset and sunrise from the mountains.

One of the highlights of Montserrat is its basilica.

Like any other cathedrals or churches, you may whisper your prayers and light some candles with tokens of donation.

The architecture of the building was impressive. Actually, I find most basilica and cathedrals in Europe have very extravagant architectural designs. With the technology back in those days, it is amazing how people could deliver such fine pieces of art.

We took a tour inside the basilica. Not a guided tour though. There was a mass going on but it was still opened for visitors, with the condition that we should remain silent at all times.

If memory serves me correctly, the entrance was free.

In each funicular station, there was a ticket counter, waiting place and washrooms. Taking visitors into consideration, there was also a monitor that displayed the departure and arrival time of the funicular. We noticed that the same staff was hoping on and off the funicular, servicing each station as the rail system transported passengers back and forth.

As always, find out the last departing and arrival funicular so that you do not end up stranded in any of the station.

Expect to spend at least a day in Montserrat. Two days, if you want to catch sunrise, as mentioned earlier.

Next to the museum, there was a souvenir shop that sold a variety of items, which I find rather interesting. Do check it out. If you are not a souvenir-shopping person, you may of course skip that.

If you are not a religious person, I would still recommend to go to Montserrat, at least for the surrounding scenery and perhaps, photography? Unless you are totally allergic to sacred places :p

Magically Montjuic, Barcelona

Barcelona, too, has its own version of magic fountain as in Prague.

Montjuic is actually strategically located in the city centre. Take a bus or train or metro to Placa de Espanya and from there, you could start discovering a handful of tourist spots already. They are all within walking distance.

One that you definitely shall not miss is the Montjuic fountain. As in most scenic spots, we would go there during the day and night.

Around the fountain, there is a park which you could spend a good number of hours walking and taking a peek what is there to offer. The park is situated uphill. If you are not a fan of walking, there are buses that brings tourists up and down hill at certain intervals. Do check out the bus schedule when you plan your trip, if you intend to take the bus.

Plenty of places to explore! It is indeed a huge park.

Expect to spend about a day here should you keen to visit the museum and enter into all the castles and historical buildings in the park.

We both are not particularly interested in museums (unless exceptional ones). So, we skipped that.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya or known as MNAC.

MNAC in the twilight.

During the day, some parts of the park were surprisingly quiet but the MNAC was obviously not. There were many tourists buses lining along the streets in front of the building.

As the sky was getting darker, we slowly made our way towards the Montjuic Magic Fountain. Couples and keen photographers had already picked a fine spot and had already prepared themselves for the magical moment.

We did the same.

In fact, there were many different spots or rather different altitude of height in which you could capture the view. The best is actually when the fountain is at the same level as your eye (or just slightly higher) because if you are taking the picture from the spot near MNAC (the top), you might risk having four strong pillars in your way, like below. It would be perfect if you are standing at the space between the pillars and the fountain.

If you would like to impress your partner and do not mind about any form of budget, you may also book a table for two in the restaurant across the fountain. Otherwise, you could sit along the stretch of stairs and wait for the magical moment dancing to life. In the meantime, you may also get some souvenirs in the booths or stalls there.

When there are spikes of blue lights shooting up into the sky from behind the MNAC, you know it is about to start. You can hear the deafening music and see the lightings from the busy square of Placa De Espanya.

A few shots on the magical fountain in action.

After a while, just stop taking pictures and seize the moment before you. Nothing beats what you witness with the naked eye. Anyway, it will be overly crowded and it gets annoying to setup tripod when the fountain show intensifies.

When the magical spell disappeared into the thin air, silence enveloped the space. As if everyone wasn't ready to get back to reality, people still lingered around for a while, hoping the spell would cast upon them again. 

Alas, it didn't happen.

But do not despair. In a mere 30 minutes wait, you would be enchanted once again.

Schedules of the show and opening hours can be found here.

Candles Blowing in Barcelona

Planning a birthday (or even valentines, anniversaries, etc) celebration for your partner is always not an easy assignment. It should comprise the elements of surprise, pleasure, unique, creative, and to a certain extent, budget. Try googling the web and you will get a list of ideas or suggestions.

A romantic getaway is one of them. It may not be the most creative or novice idea but I suppose what matters is, it works. No?

So, the boy was turning a year wiser in December and I decided to surprise him with a holiday. I started off searching where would be a good place to go in Europe during the cold winter of December! Since we were still in Denmark, it would be impractical to travel all the way to the East for a few days vacation.

After going through the options, Barcelona it was!

The temperature was perfect - a humble 15 degree Celsius with showers of sun in December! Plus, it was just about 3 hours flight from Copenhagen to Barcelona.

I broke the surprise to the birthday boy after all was booked, as we still needed to take leaves from our bosses. He was surprised and delighted. So, it worked! Anyway, who doesn't like a secretly planned vacation as gift?

The flight to Barcelona was a pleasant one. We started to find out how do we get to our hotel. There were information counters in the airport which we turned to for assistance. As expected, we needed to take a combination of train and bus.

In general, the transportation system in Barcelona was fairly good. The Spanish were warm and friendly too, except they might not speak much English, which then limits the extent of conversation you could exchange with them.

There were plenty of attractions in the city (Placa de Espanya, Montjuic, La Rambla, La Sagradia Familia, La Pedrera, Casa Batlló  just to name a few) and some, out of the main city. For example, the Montserrat monastery. The latter was recommended by an Argentinian friend who was living in Madrid. Since the boy is a Catholic (though not a typically religious one), he appreciated it.

Once you are in the city centre, you will not miss the famous Spanish square - Placa De Espanya. It is a major transportation hub in the city. Surrounding the square, you will find Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, The Venetian Towers, Les Arenes and the magical Montjuic fountain.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. In the night, the water fountains along the street would be lit up and water pouring out from the fountain sprinkles. 

The Venetian towers on the right.

 Les Arenes. The observatory is opened to visitors and you can see the bustling of Barcelona city from above. It is also opened during the evenings for night view.

The very busy square of the city - Placa de Espanya. Many cars were passing by the round-about and right in the middle, stood an elegant piece of architecture.

We spent quite an amount of time setting up tripod to take photos on the busy street. It was a challenge especially there were so many pedestrians walking along the streets and not to mention, tourists who were like us, trying to get some decent pictures of the famous square.

Do come back for the night view and the magical fountain of Montjuic which is right behind the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. This square and its surrounding exudes vibrancy, music and colours in the night, which should not be missed.

More about the trip in the next post.

Hungarian equation : Buda + pest = Budapest

It is definitely not an equation I made up. Budapest is the largest cities in East-Central Europe and one of the largest cities in the European Union.
The city is made of two cities - Buda and Pest and they were united in the year 1873 which then forms Hungary's capital today.

Between the two cities, Buda and Pest, lies Danube river. The longest river in the European Union.

Buda is located on a hilly landscape while Pest lies on a flatter terrain.

We were blessed with a a very good sunny weather for three days. In fact, it was too warm.

Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with Budapest after I came back from the trip and I almost forgotten that I had been there. Compared to its peer, Prague, I prefer the latter.

Nevertheless, after looking at the pictures from the 2011 trip recently, I might change my mind a little but it doesn't change the fact that I prefer Prague to Budapest.
Perhaps, it is the distance that makes the heart fonder - now that I am back in Asia.

Perhaps, it is the memory from the trip that makes the difference. We went there in a group of five and all of us now are in different parts of the world.

I recalled the first funny thing of the trip was our hotel room!
We got two rooms adjacent to each other, with both units sharing a living room. We got the bigger one since there were three of us and we let the couple to take the smaller one.
When we entered, we saw a "bed" in a very large room. There was another smaller bedroom in our unit. Immediately, we turned to the male friend (my hubby, now) and said "You are privileged to get the big room all for yourself!". It turned out the big room was the living room! Hahahaha.

That wasn't too bad, was it? And he had a private TV too!

The following morning started with the hunt for food. We went to the Central Market. It was known to sell a variety of goodies. If you would like to get some local delicacies as souvenirs, Central Market would be a good choice. It also sells all kinds of local products - cheese, meat, clothing, key chains, etc.

Central Market or Great Hall Market which is located at Fővám Tér in the 9th district. The oldest indoor market in the country. It looked like a train station to me, at first glance.

There were simply too much choices which made it difficult to just settle on one. In such cases, it is a blessing if you travel in a larger group. You can then order all the food that makes your mouth watered and share them.
Hungarian Goulash (soup or stew of meat and vegetables) is highly recommended. I didn't have it because it was made of beef.

Try to be there early. Otherwise, you will face challenge in getting a table. 
As I was searching for a table for five, I couldn't help but noticed this beautiful thing on the table.

It was a hand-made table candle! Economic and creative.

After spending some time in the Central Market, we took a canal tour along the Danube river before exploring the tourist attractions in the city. During the canal tour, the guide would point out to you what were all the buildings lying along the river. 

We had a good walk in Buda on one day and Pest in another.

The Parliament. The first, taken from the canal tour and the second, after alighted from the boat.

Next building that caught our attention while we were in the boat was the Fishermen's Bastion.

The architecture was beautiful and it is located on a hilly terrain. Next to the Bastion, is the Mathias Church. It was under maintenance when we were there but it was still opened for mass and visitors.

Fishermen's Bastion

Mathias Church

View of the Chain Bridge, Parliament, St Basilica's Church and Buda city from above the hill. The view was spectacular up there. We took a break from walking, simply staring into the clear blue sky and enjoying the breeze kissing our cheeks.

Apart from the Fishermen's Bastion and the Mathias Church, the Buda Castle was also located nearby. All within walking distance.

There was some event going on outside the Buda Castle. It was crowded and stalls selling food and beers were sighted. A pint of cold beer was ideal for such a hot weather. Especially, we had done quite some walking.

The bottom right in the picture is the Buda Castle Funicular.

We also took picture of the Chain Bridge during different time of the day - mid day, late afternoon and night. It was beautiful. Pictures taken at different angles yield varying results, especially the accompanying building varies depending where you take them from.

Next attraction in the list was the St. Basilica's church and the Heroes Square, which were located in the Pest city.

Heroes Square

St. Basilica's Church

Comparing Buda and Pest, I prefer Buda as the landscape and scenery was more beautiful.

Out of curiosity, I requested to go to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath, which was one of the highlights in the city. It was a traditional bath which was introduced during the Turkish occupation 600 years ago.

The colour of the building was absolutely striking, and it complemented the cheerful sunny weather on that day.

Széchenyi Thermal Bath

The crowd was definitely enjoying themselves in the bath. What is better than soaking in a cool weather in such a hot weather, isn't it?

Getting around Budapest was fairly convenient. There were buses, trains, and trams. Or you may do the most traditional way, walking.

This city was vibrant during summer and in terms of food, there were many varieties. Budapest would make a good place for culinary trips, though most people would choose Italy. Shopping could also be an option for the ladies, especially during summer, when sales were practically every where!

If my memory serves me correctly, most transactions in restaurant, hotels, and shops were done using the local currency - Forint. However, some places do accept Euros.

By the end of this post, all memories of the trip started to flow back into my mind. It probably wasn't the best trip I have had but it was good enough for a short getaway.

Like I said earlier, it is the company that makes a vacation worthwhile and memorable.

Don't you think so?

Soto Kudus Kencana

There is never a time when you will be deprived of food in Jakarta. Eatery outlets are basically at every corner - from luxurious to down right economic ones.

If you happen to be in Indonesia, you should not miss Soto. It is a common dish among the locals and varies according to regional locations. Basically, it is a traditional soup that is usually eaten with rice. If you prefer a slight tangy flavour in your soup, squeeze a small slice of lime into the soto before serving.

Soto Kudus originates from a placed called Kudus, Jawa Tengah (mid Java island). Hence, the name. Kencana, is just the "name" of the shop we went to.

The soup contains chicken, bean sprouts, fried garlic, an coriander. The mixture of these ingredients gives a very aromatic flavour to the soup. It is tasty. I do believe, however, MSG is also an ingredient in the soup because I felt quite thirsty after the meal.

You may request the soup and the rice to be served separately or have both in the same bowl (the locals called it "campur", which simply means mix or combine).
I notice that if you ask them to separate the rice and the soup, the rice portion is larger. Otherwise, you will have to order a good 2 to 3 bowls of soto campur, depending on your appetite. Hubby eats at least 2 bowls and he still have room for another.

The interesting part of eating Soto is that there are many finger food being offered as side dish. You pay based on what you take from the table.

The usual ones are:

Tauhu isi (stuffed bean curd), perkedel jagung/kentang(fried mashed sweet corns or potatoes or also known as potato or corn frikandel/frikadel in Dutch. In Danish, frikadeller) as depicted in the top left picture;

Stewed quail eggs in skewer, fish balls in skewer and clams in skewer as depicted in the top right picture;

Tempe (different types of tempe), Fried cow brains and fried bean curds as depicted in the bottom left picture.

Notice how small the bowl is? It just takes about 4 to 5 spoonful of rice with the soup and the bowl is already empty.