Kashgar, China: A Vital Oasis on the Silk Road Both Then & Now
So far on our Silk Road journey, the historical evidence of the oasis towns’ roles in the past was there if you went looking amid the modernity – in Dunhuang if you went to the Mogao Caves; in Turpan if you went to the ruins; in Urumqi if you…closed your eyes and imagined it. In Kashgar, however, you’re immediately transported to the ancient times of the Silk Road at its peak just by stepping foot in the city bounds. As soon as we got off the train, we knew this place was special, considered the pinnacle of a Silk Road exploration today for dern good reason. Given how dusty and old-fashioned and straight out of the history books it is, my fondness for Kashgar is surprising to say the least (I hate dust!). But when you see how unique a town it is, how deftly it combines the cultures that converge geographically at its location at the crossroads of central Asia, it’s easy to understand why I loved it.
Related Posts
Gozo, Malta: Lots to See and Enjoy Besides the Azure Window (RIP)
Last summer, Husband and I spent a lovely vacation all over Malta, a tiny country with many beautiful sights and at least one very amazing Eurovision song. It’s just below Sicily and to the east of Tunisia so, unfortunately, it’s often overlooked when people plan vacations to the area and choose the more well-known places. They/you shouldn’t, because Malta is a wonderful spot for a holiday. It offers a calmer, smaller experience than the more famous places in the area but with natural beauty and charm and (most importantly when coming from Britain) warmth. I wrote about Valletta, the capital, a while back and I’ll be writing about all the different places we saw eventually, but today I want to talk about Gozo, the even tinier island just to the northeast of the main island. Gozo was probably our favorite part of Malta. It had stunning natural beauty and interesting archaeological sites. The seemingly endless dirt ‘roads’ and desert-like atmosphere made it seem like we were discovering new land, which is a hard feeling to have in Europe.
Despite its size, Gozo has a lot to offer travelers. We spent two days on Gozo, arriving via the ferry from the main island. You don’t have to pay to go to Gozo – you pay for the round-trip on the return journey. Very efficient! During the short time, we drove our rental car all over tarnation with Siri telling us atrocious things to do like make a left turn into a café and then drive down a pedestrian pathway full of tables and benches. (We did not do those things.) So, if you go, note that Malta is like the most civilized, settled place in the world that global positioning systems just do NOT understand. Those drives included trips to the beach, another beach, another beautiful beach, archaeological sites, and more.
One of our favorite sights was the Azure Window, a natural stone formation at the coast that somehow, through the power of nature, formed a kind of square above the insanely violent, crashing waves of the Mediterranean Sea, which I never knew could be so ferocious and intense. So, this brings me to today’s most serious self-beratement as I realize that hot damn I need to be more punctual with my blog posts (I still have a 2.5 year backlog) – because of the news coming out of Gozo a few weeks ago that that shockingly violent sea finally caused what the Maltese had been dreading, the fall of the Azure Window. Ecological reports during recent years have stated that this destruction would be inevitable and that there was no manmade engineering feat that could save it. A particularly bad storm was the final act that brought it down, but it was going to happen soon anyway. It’s devastating for the Maltese people to have one of their most beautiful sights and an important part of their culture gone in a flash. As travelers, it’s a reminder to us that you can’t expect the world to stay the same until you’re ready to see it. We were lucky that we up and decided to go to Malta last year, as it was generally a random decision based on ‘this sounds like a nice place’. If we had thought eh maybe next summer, we would have missed this experience. The world keeps changing in all kinds of ways, and if you want to do or see something, it won’t wait for you.
Luckily for those of you who haven’t been to Malta, the country and Gozo itself still has a lot to offer. It’s a shame that you won’t get to see the Azure Window, but there’s still plenty to see and plenty reason to go.
A very cool archaeological site we saw in the town of Xaghra was Ggantija (pronounced just kidding I have no idea), or “Giant’s Tower”, which is fun because literally all day I was singing “there are giants in the skyyyyyyyy”. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site along with other Megalithic Temples of Gozo. These towers are hella old, like dating back to 3000 BCE, older than the Egyptian pyramids and, at least according to mythology, made with less blood and suffering. The manmade religious structure is a ceremonial fertility site, which makes sense when you consider the folklore behind it: A giantess who ate nothing but broad beans (#me) had a bebbeh with a commoner, and once she birthed the baby she just carried it around and built the temples while holding it, nbd. Strong giantess sounds LEGIT. A big tall terrible lady giant sweeping the floooooor…
This site was hard to find because the GPS was wrong, as it was pretty much the entire trip. But it was worth the frustration of finding it! It’s a relatively small site, but definitely a must on Gozo.
Next, we drove to the town of Victoria to see the Citadel, or Gran Castello, which is much better than the school in South Carolina full of sexism. The Citadel is a medieval castle and fortress with fortifications dating back to 1500 BCE. Apparently it was built by the Crown of Aragon, but I think some nerds were having fun messing with Wikipedia because he’s a guy from Lord of the Rings; even I know that. We walked the maze of walkways along the ramparts as they were gallantly screaming and just kind of took it in, ya know, got sunburnt, ya know.
We also stopped in the Church of St. John the Baptist, mostly because there was a panorama view at the top. Whenever we travel, if there is a thing at the top of something, we climb it. It’s what we do. Unforch, this church didn’t have stairs up to the top (or that we could find), but it did have an elevator. The scariest lift ever. We tried to take it, but it wasn’t working, so some staffer (bishop?) came and fiddled some but then called for an electrician. We were like, naw man it’s okay, don’t worry about it, but he was like ‘no no the electrician is outside’. It was hard to discern whether the electrician was already en route to fix this elevator or whether Gozo really is that small that you’re just like, always right outside any place, but regardless, electrician came in, turned a key, and up we went to the top of the church, by ourselves, 99% sure that it wasn’t going to stay powered the whole way up. Luckily it did, and we explored the quite large roof terraces before worrying about the trip down. The best part by far was the great signage around the walkways, followed closely by the views. Oh and also there was a chair in the elevator, which I found hilarious. It’s like three stories.
The best part of Gozo was the beaches. We drove around to a few different ones one day. As luck would have it, the last beach we went to, Ramla Bay, was the best one, which sucked because we had such a short time before it started getting cold and dark, but still it was great. The red sand of this beach made me feel like I was on Mars or something but without the horribleness of being in space. There was nothing really special about the flat scenery compared to the gorgeous rocky cliffs in other parts of the island, but something about how pleasant it was, how easy it was to maneuver, and how much it was like the beaches we’re accustomed to (i.e. soft sand and an open sea) made us feel peaceful and happy.
So, even though it’s really heartbreaking that the Azure Window is gone, you shouldn’t count out a trip to Gozo because of it – there’s still plenty to do. Just think, all this is just the stuff I can remember! There are literally hundreds of photos of cool things that I just can’t identify because it takes me years to blog about things! So go and see all the things and then maybe you can help me figure out what else I saw.
Berlin City Guide: Fun Museums, Depressing Museums, & the Most Fun Activity I’ve Ever Found While Traveling
Who would have guessed that the most vegan-friendly city in Europe was the city with some of the most horrific, heartbreaking history? It sort of makes sense, that as Berlin continues to rebuild, it forges a new path with more compassion and understanding not just for all people but for all living things. Those Germans though (that one’s for millytweet).
The majority of my posts about Berlin will be about this crazy surge in veganism, but first our city guide will focus on that horrific history and the importance of paying your respects to it when in Berlin. There are some absolutely wonderful museums about World War Two that I’ll go over. Also, Berlin offers some really fun tourist attractions, including one activity that was without a doubt the most unique, crazy, and fun thing I’ve found maybe anywhere (infra).
The majority of my posts about Berlin will be about this crazy surge in veganism, but first our city guide will focus on that horrific history and the importance of paying your respects to it when in Berlin. There are some absolutely wonderful museums about World War Two that I’ll go over. Also, Berlin offers some really fun tourist attractions, including one activity that was without a doubt the most unique, crazy, and fun thing I’ve found maybe anywhere (infra).
First, you know how I love finding fun street graffiti in cities. On Oranienburger Strasse, near the synagogue, we came across the well-known Tacheles Art House, which housed various kinds of artists and fun people after the Berlin wall came down. Also, ‘tacheles’ is Yiddish for ‘straight-talking’ which is hilarious. The commune is now virtually empty because a bank owned the building and evicted all the artists because obviously hordes of free-thinking people scare banks. I’m pretty sure no one knows what to do with the building now.
You wouldn’t necessary think that Berlin boasts lovely green space but it does! People were hanging out and strolling through the parks. Ahnice.
I recommend making an appointment online to visit the Reichstag so you can climb up the fun mirrored tower and have a fantastic view of the city. You have to go through security upon entering. The Reichstag is like the Parliament building; it’s where the German bundestag/parliament meets. There’s actually a meeting room in the basement under the tower, so you can see through the glass floor right onto your representatives as they vote. Something about transparency this time around.
One of our favorite museums in Berlin was, to my great surprise, about life during the Cold War and not about a dancing video game that boys I went to high school with enjoyed. The DDR Museum (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) shows what life was like in East Germany before the wall came down. The exhibition includes everything from the daily life of citizens and what they eat to and how they rebelled. It’s an interactive museum so I was never bored. You can even fake-drive an actual model of the car that East Germans could have. Like that one car they could have. It was a piece of shit to say the least. Anyway, the various corners of the museum house tremendously interesting information, including the pictured bits about the punk rock movement, how military action was jammed down children’s throats at a young age, and apparently how fun naked beach volleyball was. They also sold a cookbook of recipes that people would have made during the separation, which I don’t see anyone buying, ever.
The important museum-going place in Berlin is helpfully called Museum Island, which houses five wonderful museums, including the must-see Pergamon Museum. The Pergamon boasts the famous Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, which we bought a paper model of at the gift shop. The Pergamon altar is an enormous stone room, pretty much, and can probably hold 100 museum visitors easily. The enormous building was originally on an acropolis in the city of Pergamon in Asia Minor; it was transported from Turkey to Berlin. The altar has friezes running along the walls depicting events from the life of the founder of Pergamon, as well as the battle between the Giants and the Olympians.
The Ishtar Gate, which you probably recognize, is a freaking jaw-dropping structure that was originally a gate to the inner city of Babylon from 500s B.C., ordered into existence by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who had the unique of honor of having one of the first crazy celebrity baby names. It was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, the Babylonian version of Aphrodite. The gate in the museum is a reconstruction, but it uses the original gorgeous blue and gold glazed bricks.
The Pergamon also houses this beautiful Orpheus Mosaic:
And the museum teaches us, as all good museums should, that a popular Jewish word for an idiot or jerk is also the German word for Jews’ favorite thing.
Oh, so it is recommended in guide books to go to the top of the TV Tower to see a panorama view of the city. But it’s expensive and crowded. Instead, go to the Park Inn in Alexanderplatz and pay only a few euro to go to the roof. You get the same amazing view of the city but you get the TV Tower in your pictures! Awesome!
Crazy signs like the above were lining the staircase up to Panorama 37, and when we got there this random amazing bear was waiting for us. The bear and signs were probably the best part, because as you can see, Berlin’s skyline is not exactly beautiful, at least not in this direction. And also it was often overcast. No big deal, it’s still the greatest city, just maybe save your rooftop viewing parties for like Italy.
We passed some really literal storefronts as well, like the below left, my favorite, which doesn’t hold any information back. Also, the children’s carousel below right is super depressing.
My favorite cathedral name probably ever is Berliner Dom because it means Berlin Cathedral but sounds better. You can climb up to the top, which is my favorite cathedral-related activity, and get even more pictures of the city from on high. When we were up there, I heard someone around the bend say “Philadelphia” and I screamed “Who just said they were from Philly!” And this guy came around to us and we chatted! He lived where I worked! Such a small world, and always smaller if you are willing to yell in public.
Probably the hardest place to visit was the Topographie Des Terrors, the museum that shows, without holding anything back, what happened to all the various groups and people whom the Nazis persecuted in Berlin from 1933 to 1945. I learned so much I didn’t know about what happened to sick and injured people in various types of hospitals, including children with disabilities. It’s all really depressing and I couldn’t finish all the exhibits because it was just so difficult. But it’s really informative and I think it’s really important to go there. I appreciated that the exhibits didn’t mince any words.
Right outside the indoor Topography of Terror museum is the remnants of the Berlin Wall, which has been converted to an exhibit showing more depressing information relating to the postwar era.
I definitely recommend that you go and spend ample time both inside the museum and reading all the information along the wall. But, you must plan to do something really happy afterwards.
LIKE TRAP BERLIN!!!
LIKE TRAP BERLIN!!!
We found Trap Berlin through TripAdvisor, because it was either the #1 or #2 recommended activity in all of Berlin. What is this random thing, you ask? It is a small room set up as a puzzle you have to solve before a bomb goes off. No joke. You and 2-3 friends book a time, and you go to a small room at the back of a café (information here) , in which six or so dark safes are stacked, locked, unmarked, and very little else is in the room. Aaaaand, GO! The clock starts and you have 40 minutes not only to start unlocking the safes SOMEHOW, but to use whatever you see to create clues and solutions. For instance, there is a small globe outside the safes to begin with. That’s necessary for finding one of the combinations. No joke. It’s legit crazy, so super stressful, and you have no idea what kinds of skills will be helpful. They say about 50% of participants actually diffuse the bomb (if they even find it – it’s in one of the safes. We didn’t locate it until very late in the game). My husband and I did it with our famous vegan friend Not Josh, so we had three fairly intelligent professionals with varying skills and abilities working together and it still felt like we were absolutely going crazy!
I can’t even really describe what you do and how many intricate and complicated steps there are, but it was SO fun. It was really the most fun thing I’ve ever done in a foreign city I think! AND WE WON! YAYYYY! Seriously, if you go to Berlin, you HAVE to do it. The people in charge said they changed the setup every so often so I hope I am not spoiling too much by sharing these pictures. Even if you do remember what you see, it’s totally not going to help you solve anything anyway.
|
We also love going to the opera when we visit other cities, and the Berlin Opera did not disappoint. We saw one of my favorite works: Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore”, or in German “Der Liebestrank” which is not quite as lovely a title. The Deutsche Oper Berlin was a lovely venue and the company was incredibly talented. It was just fabulous. My favorite things about it were a) it was still performed in Italian thank the f-ing gods (when we saw “Rigoletto” in Vienna, they did it in German. It was horrendous. MEINE TOCTERRRRRR!) and b) while the audience clearly loved the performance, there was no automatic standing ovation like in America. Nice!
As for the Berlin metro system, it’s pretty solid. I wasn’t blown away by German technology and/or precision, as I fully expected to be, but I wasn’t disappointed either. The standout of the public transport experience was of course the sign at right. Beware of tricksters! That’s good advice no matter where you are or what you are doing.
We also tried to go to Schloss Charlottenburg, the grand palace, but of course it was closed the day we went. No matter, the vast, beautiful gardens were open for strolling and stroll we did. We could have easily gotten lost in these many acres of ponds, bridges, paths, trees, and of course flowers. Luckily we didn’t.
There’s so much more we did and saw, like the controversial (in construction) Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a visit to the synagogue that was destroyed during the war and is now a wartime museum, a walking tour that included the site of Hitler’s bunker, and many strolls on Unter den Linden boulevard. You must really do all of the war-related tourism, and in return there’s so much fun stuff to do as well! Berlin really offers a great deal in terms of honoring the past and enjoying the present.
We stayed at the Mandala Hotel in Potsdamer Platz, a very nice hotel in a great location that I recommend.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week we will look at FOOD in Berlin! Yay!