3 day leisure trip to Germany (The Mossel Valley)

21 June, 2017 | Travel guides | 13 seen

This is a round up post about our latest travel to Germany, at the end of May 2017. Our trip started at Dortmund airport, were we got a nice Nissan X-trail rental car from Hertz (about EUR 250 for 4 days).

Although I've traveled to Germany countless times in the past, this is just third recap featured on blog, in fact about 2 years ago we made a similar trip to Germany but extended it it by visiting the Netherlands, see: My Germany and The Netherlands Travel Guide, also I briefly visited Berlin last Summer between layovers to 7 day trip to Spain

This trip was interesting because of this time instead of choosing hotel rooms we opted for apartments, though it costs about twice to have a lovely apartment as a hotel room, I now have pretty ambivalent feelings regarding apartments. We got two really amazing apartments, but there was one that almost ruined our trip. 

Anyhow - this time more castles and lovely views from the Mossel Valley in Germany.

Postcards from Germany

20 June, 2017 | | 25 seen

Welcome to another Piece of Life postcards from series. In today's article - Germany. We traveled to Germany for about 3 days at the end of May 2017. 

I was not at all in photography this time, but still managed to capture some cool sceneries.

Sunset in Gudenberg, Germany

One of rare HDR's I made during this trip. Folks interested in such an interesting architecture, make sure you plan your travels to the region of Hesse in Germany,

Porta Nigra in Trier

My first trip to this place happened back in 2005 and it was nice to rediscover this place again in 2017. See more: Porta Nigra in Trier

Burg Eltz in Germany

Cochem Castle

The Mossel Valley near Cochem in Germany

Hotel Monopol in Gelsenkirchen, Germany

18 June, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 16 seen

This 3-star hotel offers comfortable accommodation in Gelsenkirchen's northern Buer district. It is 3 km from the Veltins Arena and 1 km from Gelsenkirchen-Buer Nord train station. 

Hotel Monopol was our last accommodations while in Germany for a short few day trip, unfortunately I was not in the photography mood and didn't made much photos in the past days and almost forgot to photograph this hotel. In fact I captured just the entrance doors for this place. 

Hotel Monopol

The tastefully furnished rooms at the Hotel Monopol are all equipped with cable TV and a safe. Wi-Fi is also available.

A full breakfast buffet is served each morning at Hotel Monopol. There are several restaurants and cafes within 15 minutes' of the hotel.

The hotel provides an ideal base for exploring the old mining town of Gelsenkirchen and the Ruhr Area. Many exhibition centres are a short drive away.

The Löchterheide heath is just a 10 minute walk away. Gelsenkirchen city centre is 8 km from the Monopol. 

Haus Daniela Superior Apartment in Cochem, Germany

17 June, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 13 seen

I now have pretty ambivalent feelings regarding booking apartments instead of hotel rooms. Despite my feelings, Haus Daniela was a really nice stay in Cochem. For this spacious apartment we paid about EUR 200 for a one night stay, but it featured 3 bedrooms, a huge outdoor terrace with an electrical grill and very well equipped kitchen.

Offering free WiFi and a sun terrace, Haus Daniela Superior is set in Cochem. Cochem Castle is 400 m away. Free private parking is available on site.

Haus Daniela apartment in Cochem 

You can play table tennis at the property, and the area is popular for cycling and fishing. The nearest airport is Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, 23 km from Haus Daniela Superior. 

Flat screen TV

Kitchen at Haus Daniela apartment

Rose Cottage in Udler, Germany

16 June, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 8 seen

Featuring free WiFi and garden views, Rose Cottage is a holiday home, situated in Udler. It provides free private parking.

We booked this place on booking.com for a one night stay during our few day leisure trip in Germany, sadly there are few good words I can use to describe our stay here. As this place is one of the few that actually kind of ruined our holidays. Anyhow let's start with positive - the rental property is decent, a lot of plastic roses, but hey it's decent. I haven't been to the UK, but I got feeling that indoor style at house is something British. So far, so good.

About negative: First, rental owners (they seemed like a married couple to me) didn't see too happy seeing us arriving at 9PM - the owner even complained that it doesn't makes him happy, I kindly replied, hey guests uses booking.com just for one reason - to book and arrive anytime right?!

Next what followed was rather joke than reality, despite the price we paid (EUR 148) included cleaning fee already (about EUR 70), the landlord lady asked us to clean up after ourselves and sort our garbage - by putting one kind in green bin, second in blue bin e.t.c. I told her, look lady we have already paid cleaning up fee, which IMHO is still a lot, and I don't find it reasonable to sort our garbage. The lady started to get very nervous, told me some bulsh*t how things works in Germany. I started to find it funny and asked should I clean the shower, maybe I should clean WC? What about laundry? 

Next what followed was even worst - grill - luckily we were allowed to use outdoor grill, but kind owner asked me to clean up the barbecue grill without provided any tools for that. Want more? I was asked to deposit 100 EUR deposit money. I started to laugh about these people and asked what's their problem, don't they like Eastern Europeans or something? That was in a bulls eye - after such question they disappeared quickly.

Well of course I felt sad, and this evening was totally ruined. As said, house is decent, but people running it shouldn't work in hospitality. Never.

The famous grill

Rose bedroom

Kitchen

What followed next morning was a comedy. Owners arrived in the morning. My partner started to ask some questions to the landlord lady, but landlord lady refused to speak with her, instead she told me, that she feels sick and wont answer on my wife's question. I replied her, well you should stay home then, if you are sick. She get nervous again, almost screamed that she must clean up the house. Sure, sure  - lady for extra EUR 70 I would probably go to work as well.

Next I took the landlord guy to the grill, shoed how nicely clean it is, then we went trough all rooms, seems he counted sheets or something, then said ok, seems it's fine, here you go, here is your EUR 100 deposit back. I told him that I will leave pretty negative review of his place, despite that in fact I like the house, but not the attitude. He started to apologize by saying that there have been people from Dresden who have stolen their sheets and...

People from Dresden and Eastern Europe,  this places doesn't wants you to come here!

Well of course, please forgive me my sarcastic tone, but this was one of the strangest places I have stayed so far. 

Cochem Imperial castle

15 June, 2017 | Tourism objects | 17 seen

The contours of the neo-gothic building rise more than about 330 ft above the river Moselle on an outstanding hill. The silhouette of the towering hill seems to continue in the building which is topped by the slate roof of the massive keep. As for its structure, Cochem Castle belongs to the category of castles protected by height that had to be protected all around. Romanesque fragments found in the well indicate a reinforcement of the castle around 1056.

For the sake of this article, I must admit - I didn't visited castle itself, because I found more interesting to photograph such huge objects from distance. So did I do - photographed from different angles. 

Cochem Castle in Germany

Around this time or a bit earlier the core of the Romanesque square keep (17ft by 17ft) was built, its walls being up to 12ft thick. At the same time, the keep was also made higher. In the first half of the 14th century, archbishop Balduin of Trier connected the castle and the town by massive walls. Furthermore a chain was installed below the castle to form a removable toll barrier across the river.

Cochem Castle

t is generally assumed that Cochem Castle was built around the year 1000 by the palatinate count Ezzo, son and successor to palatinate count Hermann Pusilius. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1051 when Richeza, Ezzo's oldest daughter and former Queen of Poland, gave the castle to her nephew palatine count Henry I. Even when Ezzo's family ceased to be palatinate counts, Cochem remained connected to the title of the palatinate counts. Years later, in 1151, king Konrad III put an end to a dispute concerning the succession by occupying the castle with troupes. Like this, he finally took control of the castle, which became an imperial fiefdom. Thus, Cochem became an imperial castle in the time when the Staufer dynasty reigned in Germany. From this time on, imperial ministers - with the title of "Lord of the castle" - were installed to administer the castle and the surrounding properties.

Panoramic view of Cochem

Today the castle is still well-equipped with Renaissance and Baroque furniture, which was carefully collected by the Ravené family. Since 1978 the castle has been owned by the town of Cochem and is run by "Reichsburg Cochem Ltd." Cochem Castle, situated on an outstanding hill more than 100 metres above the river Moselle, is a popular tourist attraction

Eltz Castle

14 June, 2017 | Tourism objects | 19 seen

Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Bürresheim Castle (Schloss Bürresheim), Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the only castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed.

I paid here a brief visit in May 2017, during a few day trip around Germany.

The castle is surrounded on three sides by the Elzbach River, a tributary on the north side of the Moselle. It is on a 70-metre (230 ft) rock spur, on an important Roman trade route between rich farmlands and their markets. The Eltz Forest has been declared a nature reserve by Flora-Fauna-Habitat and Natura 2000

Burg Eltz in Germany

The Rübenach and Rodendorf families' homes in the castle are open to the public, while the Kempenich branch of the family uses the other third of the castle. The public is admitted seasonally, from April to October. Visitors can view the treasury, with gold, silver and porcelain artifacts and the armory of weapons and suits of armor.

Monastery of Maria Engelport

13 June, 2017 | Churches and Monasteries | 35 seen

The monastery of Maria Engelport (Kloster Maria Engelport) is located on the edge of the Hunsrück in the Flaumbach Valley near Treis-Karden, Germany. 

We made here a briefly stop while traveling by car around these parts of Germany, it was overcast day, I was not in the mood for photography, just made some quick shots.

Kloster Maria Engelport

The following written is a rough translation from German using automatic Google translate:

The monastery was founded around 1220 by the knight Emelrich of Monreal and settled by Cistercians from the monastery Kumbd. Due to lack of economic support from the founding family, the monastery was soon abandoned. A second foundation was made in 1262 by Philipp von Wildenburg and his wife Irmgard von Braunshorn . The couple settled the new foundation with three of their daughters and other Dominicans from a Ardennes monastery. They changed to the Premonstratensian Order on August 28, 1272, and on October 2, 1275, were placed under the supervision of the abbot of Kloster Sayn . From there, with a brief exception (1617-1672, the Prior from Rommersdorf), there was always a prior and, in addition, a chaplain in Engelport.

Kloster Maria Engelport

The monastery became a training center for brothers' missionaries in the German colony of German South-West Africa ( Namibia ). After the First World War , it served, among other things, the Novitiate for the German Province of the Order Community until the 1960s. Well-known oblates, such as the patriots Friedrich Lorenz and Engelbert Rehling , persecuted by the National Socialists, or Bishop Rudolf Maria Koppmann , the long-standing Apostolic Vicar of Windhoek, were introduced into the Order.

Kloster Maria Engelport

Planing a trip to Greece: How to get a Prepaid SIM Card with Internet

12 June, 2017 | Travel guides | 16 seen

I traveled to Greece for about 2 weeks in June 2017, our final destination was island of Crete. One of the reasons I was looking for prepaid sim card in Greece is simple - for navigation (Google maps helps a lot).

From my previous experience with dealing with different sim cards in multiple European countries I already knew, it shouldn't be a problem to get one in Greece.

Planing a Trip to Spain: How to Get a Prepaid SIM Card in Spain

I planned to purchase whatever operators SIm card with broad coverage at Athens airport. Unfortunately when there I forgot to do that, and bought one after a couple of hours near Acropolis metro station from a guy selling Vodafone Sim Cards (just for the information, there was another guy selling WIND sim-cards)

I paid EUR 15 and got sim card (actually two, though never used second one) with 10GB internet limit on it. For a savvy tech guy like me 10GB is not much, but as I was on vacation and only reason I was looking for a sim card with internet was just for navigation 10GB is more than enough. Most hotels in Greece offers high speed Wi-Fi.

The SIM card guy from Vodafone took a picture with his phone of my passport, set up an agreement and less than in 15 minutes I was all setup. 

Now, the first stress test for mobile internet in Greece I set in Crete, during my stay there I cannot complain about coverage at all, as most of the times it was a 4G internet. 

I really like the fact that Vodafone Greece can be topped up using Paypal from a single either mobile webpage or application.

About Vodafone Greece

Vodafone Greece is a member of Vodafone Group Plc, one of the world’s leaders in telecommunications, with a strong presence in the country’s mobile, fixed and internet market. As a visionary and expert telecommunications provider, Vodafone continues to invest in digital infrastructure, credibly support the needs of its consumers and business customers, and actively contribute to the country’s economic and social development. In its 23 years of operation in Greece, Vodafone has been driving the market forward and contributing to innovation, having invested more than 1.5 billion euros in the last seven years.

Porta Nigra in Trier

11 June, 2017 | Tourism objects | 55 seen

The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I first visited Trier and in particular Porta Nigra back in 2005, when arrived here from neighboring Luxembourg. My latest trip to the Porta Nigra was in May 2017, during a few day trip in Germany.

The Porta Nigra in Trier Germany

The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier. It serves as an entrance to town.

Porta Nigra

The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. It also has crowning cornice and parapet on its top.

The gate is today closed to cars, but stands right next to one of the main streets of Trier. In addition to the general pollution, the exhaust fumes of the passing cars have been damaging the stones for decades. Generally, however, the Porta Nigra is still in remarkable condition.

The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors. In summer, guided tours are also offered by an actor dressed up as and portraying a centurion (a Roman army officer) in full armour.

New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, is named after the city of Trier, Germany, and New Trier's logo depicts the Porta Nigra. New Trier Logo

Weekend trip to Telavi (Georgia) and Vicinty

10 June, 2017 | Travel guides | 8 seen

This is a short recap article about our latest trip to the region of Kakheti in Western Georgia, during a weekend trip we stayed in a lovely Chataeu Mere hotel near Telavi and explored the nearby vicinity.

We did this trip as indie travelers, first booked a hotel room, then contacted the hotel and asked for transfer service from our Tbilisi apartment to the hotel (and back). For such transfer, we paid GEL 70 (one way).

Once at the hotel (which cost us about EUR 300 for a 3-day stay) we ordered a local taxi service and hired him to take us to some cool local places, for GEL 50 we were taken to the Town of Telavi and Lopota lake. which in fact is quite enough for a slow weekend trip. Our total budget for such kind of luxury, but the independent trip was about EUR 400. 

Peter's Market in Liepaja

9 June, 2017 | Shopping Venues | 12 seen

Peter's market is centrally located on Kuršu street in Liepāja, Latvia. There are more than 200 sales outlets. It's the largest market in Liepaja and second largest in Latvia (after Riga Central market). 

Make sure to visit Peter's market once in Liepāja. Although not so impressive than those in Philadelphia, Barcelona or Riga, it's still quite interesting place. I believe over the time Peter's market has potential to become one of the most visited tourism attractions in Liepāja.

Peter's market in Liepāja

We come here to buy some plants for our rural country house. Lovely selection of many flowers.

Liepāja Peter's market

Sunset hotel in Jurmala

8 June, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 10 seen

I now have a great selection of Jurmala hotels, in todays article the latest addition - Hotel Sunset on Pilsonu street in Jurmala. When traveling to or from Riga and looking for a cheap stay I prefer Jurmala (as it's close to Riga) or some suburbs in Riga. Although some might think Jurmala is an expensive city  in fact - it's not. For a decent hotel room in Jurmala you could easly find value deals for about EUR 40. 

That's how we booked Sunset Hotel in Jurmala.

Hotel Sunset in Jurmala

There is a signboard saying - For Sale. If you are looking for investments in the Baltics, might be an interesting option.

This property is 4 minutes walk from the beach. Only a 2-minute walk from the sea, the Sunset Hotel is located in the heart of Jurmala, just a few steps from the main pedestrian street and 5 minutes walking distance from the Dzintari Concert Hall. It offers comfort rooms with free WiFi and a private bathroom.

Small room at Hotel Sunset in Jurmala

Yes our queen size bed took all the room, indeed the room we get was tiny, but for a one night stay - excellent.

Each room at the Sunset is air-conditioned and comes with a seating area and satellite TV. There is also a fridge.

Housed in a UNESCO listed building, Sunset Hotel is situated only a 5-minute walk from a minibus stop and a 15- to 20-minute drive from Riga Airport.

Drupal 8 Minor upgrade using Putty SSH Terminal

7 June, 2017 | Drupal Development | 11 seen

In this article I'll shed some light on how easy it is to perform a minor Drupal 8 upgrade between versions using free Putty SSH terminal and just a few lines of code. 

I assume your Drupal is configured under a VPS (take Linode, for example) and your installation path is /srv/www/

See: How to upgrade Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 - Process , Upgrading Drupal 7 (minor upgrade)

Drupal security updates

By accessing available updates page (admin/reports/updates/update) we can easy update modules by just clicking update button, but if you are asked to update Drupal version a manual operation is asked

Update Drupal 8 core

Now, open Putty, enter your username and password (make sure you login with root privileges). Make sure you change tourgeorgia.eu to your actual domain name

Now visit /update.php page and make final updates. I there is no errors or issues displayed you should be fine and successfully updated your Drupal version to the latest. 

Postcards from Telavi

6 June, 2017 | | 4 seen

It was on an overcast day, we decided to leave our cozy room at Chateau Mere hotel and go explore Telavi. I've been to Telavi several times, and I always thought there is nothing much to see, except the Telavi market or try khinkali at Kafe - Bari Zodiako. Turns out I was wrong - Telavi has to offer much more.

At hotel reception desk we asked for a city taxi to arrive and pick us up and just drive and explore nearby vicinity. The result - Telavi is really cool small town, without doubts I'm looking to return and explore more.

Central square in Telavi

Despite an overcast day I managed to capture a lovely panoramic photography at central Telavi square (next to the musem)

Park in Telavi

What a lovely observation point. Not to speak about interesting formations in the park - rocks and hipster style chairs.

Monument and tree

Frankly speaking before post processing these images I felt pretty sceptical about the result. Turns out even in overcast days you can capture interesting scenes.

Bridge in Telavi

Lines and shapes, grey and green. Lovely, tranquil mood from Telavi,