TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

These pictures were taken last year on the 1st of September. A new month just kicks in, bringing autumn closer, but on this 1st day of September, the weather was warm as a summer's day in Cologne. My plan after work was to visit this food market a reader told me about. I love it when readers of my blog give me suggestions of new places, events and even food to try. Keep it coming please! =) So after work, I searched for this food market which is only open on Thursdays, which starts in the afternoon until late in the evening. However, for some reason, I could not find it. I did not bother asking anyone as well. I can be moody sometimes so I am giving that as a valid excuse. Nevertheless, I was a bit disappointed and thought that perhaps, for some important reason, they have cancelled the market for this particular week. But a few days later I realised that I went to the wrong square. The market should be on Rudolfplatz and not Neumarkt! Had I walked 3 more blocks I would ...

The city of Cologne is not the prettiest in the country, I must admit. It is also not the city with many trendy and stylish cafes that you can easily find on the streets. You better go to Berlin for this. My direct train from Cologne (Germany) to Utrecht (Netherlands) is going after 19:14 and I have an hour and a half to kill time. So the day before this trip, I searched online and found the Funkhaus Bar Café Restaurant on Wallrafplatz which is very near the train station (Koln Hauptbahnhof) and the Cologne Cathedral. It is basically just a stone’s throw away; a quick 4-minute walk to the train station passing via the cathedral. Because I did not want to miss my train, I settled to eat here. But more importantly, the ambiance and design looked pretty much up my alley. I love visiting cafes, bars, and restaurants with beautiful and cosy interior designs. The more stylish, unique, and catchy they are, the better. The location of Wallrafplatz on the map of Cologne: Cologne i...

I will be missing this area of Amsterdam... The pictures in this blog post gallery were taken last year late summer and early autumn during an afternoon stroll in the borough of Westerpark. Just to give you an idea, Amsterdam is divided into several boroughs. Most tourists prefer to stay and go around in the Centrum only (and a part of Oud-Zuid which is where the Museumplein is located), never really venturing out to other neighbourhoods in the city. Sometimes I do see a few tourists in Westerpark, looking very helpless and lost, as they poured over a map of Amsterdam trying to figure out where they were. Because the buildings in Amsterdam look very similar to each other, it can be confusing. A friend of mine visiting once told me that because of this she does not want to walk around Amsterdam on her own as every section is the same as the other. Maybe it can be intimidating for first-timers and the not very savvy travellers, and may need a bit of time getting the hang of it....