SCHUEBERFOUER

Today we'd like to share some pictures from the "Schueberfouer" or "Fouer" which is the biggest fun fair in Luxembourg! It takes place from end of August to mid-September :)

St. Aegidi Keller

WWW | Poststrasse 20 ; Bad Reichenhall (Germany)

Location

It's actually really easy to find. We were just walking around Bad Reichenhall (on the most visited street) and we found it. It's in a cellar, old and simply beautiful! 

Looks

As you can see from the picture above it's quite old and traditional. It's like time stood still in this place and we personally adore this. Now if you don't like the looks of it, don't be discouraged cause the food is actually really good :)

Food

The food is self made and you can definitely taste that! We had Gnocchi al burro e salvia (so with butter & sage) and boy was that good! They also sell a lot of wine - which we don't drink - but we heard from other people that it's exquisite as well!

Service

We have a person sitting in a wheel chair with us and everyone was nice and helpful. They directly tried to find us a better place so the wheel chair could fit at the table as well. They're very friendly and even made a few jokes with us!

Conclusion

The only thing we didn't like is that you don't get a lot of food for your money. You know when you order take out and you get a whole box full of Gnocchi? Well here you got 10 for the same price. 10 Gnocchi or course. Yes it was good but is it really worth it? We don't know. It is an amazing place nonetheless and we are sure you can spend some good nights over there! :)

Bella Napoli

WWW | Viale Aurora 144; Bibione (Italy)

Location

It's situated directly on the most visited streets in Bibione. 

Looks

Everything looks and feels totally cluttered. You can already see from the pictures above how the seating situation is, it's hard to even move. Plus they only have those hard wooden benches outside which aren't comfortable. They could at least put some pillows on it :)

Food
I ordered one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time: aglio, olio e pepperocino. You can't do a lot wrong with this, however Bella Napoli messed it up. First off the garlic was burned and it smelled / tasted horrible. Plus it should be spicy given the fact you have jalapeno in it and it tasted pretty normal. And last but not least it was only lukewarm. 

Service
We waited for ever to get our food / desert / bill. Plus the staff seemed very unorganized. We've got asked 3 times if we'd like to order but we already did. Weird.

Conclusion

We didn't like the atmosphere at all. The food wasn't good either AND it's too expensive for what it actually is. We can not recommend it at all :(

Avalon Hotel

WWW | Bahnhofplatz 13 ; Bad Reichenhall (Germany)

Location

Not too far from Salzburg and if your traveling by train, the train station is right across the street. It's perfect for a short stay like we did. 

Hotel

Like already stated it right next to the train station which doesn't cost a lot of trouble. The hotel itself is big, clean and simply beautiful. The entrance looks antique what I personally absolutely adore. The dining area is quite modern and gives you a nice panorama view.

Rooms

The rooms have everything you need: a shower / bath tub, phone, tv and hair dryer. They also have wireless internet and if you don't have your own computer you can use the one at the lobby. Now up to the room we had: we had a nice sitting area with huge pillows which was perfect for spending an relaxing evening. There were some huge cons as well. The bed was really uncomfortable and we found it hard to sleep. Then we had no shutters so the room itself was pretty bright (even with curtains) since we had a room right in front the train station. I don't think we even slept 3 hours. Unfortunately.

Food

The "Avalon Hotel" actually doesn't have its own restaurant so we had to search the city for a good one. But we had breakfast so we can tell you a bit about that. The view is absolutely stunning thanks to a roof balcony. It's bright, open and really relaxing. The coffee / breakfast itself was just okay. They didn't had a lot to choose from but I think you can work with the stuff they had.

Service
The staff is nice and friendly. They were really helpful when it came to find a good restaurant. We can't thank them enough :)

Notes
If you have someone in a wheel chair with you, everything could become a bit difficult. They do actually have an elevator but it's really small and we had some problems with it. What we liked was the parking: they have an underground garage (which you have to pay for) in which your car is absolutely safe since you need a key to get access to it.

Conclusion

It's actually quite nice if you have a short stay. The people are nice and I'm sure if you have a better room than we did you can definitely enjoy it.

Bibione Zoo

Today we'd like to share some photos from last year's trip. We visited the Zoo close to Bibione and we had a lot of fun :) Here are a few pictures:

How to save money in: ROME

If I have learned only one thing from traveling it's this: it's expensive. So I like to go on and find some ways to save money - not when it comes to food but when it comes to finding beautiful places.

Here are a few tips for you if you're thinking about visiting Rome on a budget!

Fiumincino Aeroporto --> Rome itself

Yes you heard that right. The airport is quite a few miles aways from the city. Well you can either take a taxi / cab OR to the tricks we did and save around 50 €!

• as soon as you arrive try to find the "Leonardo da Vinci Express" which is a train that will transport you for only 8 bucks! (NOTE: that train basically drives 24/7 but depending on the time you arrive it can be full as hell. Unfortunately we had to sit on our suitcase and / or stand and there is literally no air conditioning)
• take the train to "Termini" which is - as the name states - the absolute last station so you can't miss it!
• after that you take the metro and exit whenever you have to (maybe write it down so you won't forget it!)

Fiumincino Aeroporto --> Leonardo da Vinci Hotel

This is the hotel we stayed in. It's quite a nice hotel and you really quiet since there's not a lot of traffic (don't worry we will give you a review next month!) Here's how to find the way without spending money :)

• as soon as you're at the metro station you need to take "Line A" and exit at "Lepanto"
• the street you will get out to is called "Via Giulio Cesare"
• you turn to your left and go down "Via Alessandro Farnese" wich is on the right hand
• follow "Via Alessandro Farnese" and pass two streets
• you've arrived at "Via dei Gracchi" and you hotel is directly on your left!

Rome --> Ostia Lido

One of the things I never thought would happen: being in Rome AND laying on the beach. I can't blame you if this isn't the first thing you think about when you hear "Rome"! (The following description was friendly given to us by the receptionist at our hotel :) )

• take the metro back to "Termini". This is really nice since you can arrive there no matter how far your hotel is. Just hop on the metro and you'll arrive.
• when you arrive you need to change to "Line B"
• the station you need to get out is called "Piramide"
• there will be a train waiting for you which is called "Lido Train" and you can get it every 30 minutes
• next you need to go down to "Cristoforo Colombo" and take the bus shuttle for the beach which is number 07 or 70

Just a quick tip from me: ALWAYS use sunscreen. I fell asleep on the beach - which wasn't intended - and was as red as a crab. If it's possible try to find a bit of shade!

Leonardo da Vinci Hotel --> Center of Rome a.k.a shopping heaven

This seems and sounds like a long way but I can guarantee you: you'll find some amazing buildings! 

• you get out of the hotel and follow street do your left until you arrive at a crossing
• you might have to change sides but you turn right and walk until you see the big crossing (now be careful: I am Italian myself but I can tell you - they're (mostly) horrible drivers. It's a big crossing like a said so maybe look twice)

• this is the building you should see right in front of you
• you leave it on your right and follow along the road
• what follows next is actually quite a walk: just follow the street as long until you arrive at the bridge. you can't miss it since it's always really crowded.
• cross the bridge and follow the street (you will pass a Ferrari store so you know you're still on the right way!)

• you will soon see the "Fendi" store
• the little street across is actually the so called "shopping street"
• the street you're on is "Via del Corso" and if you keep following it you will find your way to the Colosseum!

Do you have any more tips to save money in Rome? If so, let us know :)

Due Palme

WWW | via delle Costellazioni 73 ; Bibione (Italy)

Location

It's situated directly on the most visited streets in Bibione. 

Looks

Since the last time we were there (about 5 years ago) they expanded quite a lot. They have two floors with huge patios to sit. We would recommend you being early because there are always a lot of people waiting in line to get the next seat. The only con is that people don't have enough space to sit. Your mostly squished on a tiny table and it's quite hard to move.

Food
The food in general is good. The pasta is well cooked (al dente) and it's always served warm. However, depending on what sauce you chose it can easily smell and taste like instant meal. Just thinking back on the "Quattro Formaggio" gives me a stomach ache and I feel nauseous again. Also the pesto wasn't really good and it looked quite disgusting.

A good part is though that you can chose between a normal and a big portion. For the money you spend on it it's definitely worth it. Also you can chose if you'd like your meat being accompanied with fries, potatoes or pasta. 

Service
The staff is nice and friendly. As far as we know they understand English and German and the food is served quickly too!

Conclusion

You can get a lot of food for a few bucks. Depending on how long you stay there, the atmosphere gets better and you can definitely enjoy your stay.

Riccione

Here are just a few photos I took on our vacation 2 (!!) years ago :) I can't wait to go back to be honest :)

Kramerwirt

WWW | Wendelsteinstr. 1, 83737 Irschenberg (Germany)

Location

The guesthouse has a perfect location: It's only 500 m away from the highway directing to Irschenberg (Munich - Salzburg). It's quiet, idyllic and you rarely see car. Unfortunately we don't know how and where the shopping streets are since we only spend one night there.

Hotel

Right next to it there is a butcher shop that supplies the hotel with good and tasty meat. Internet is not a problem either. You just need to log on to a special hotel generated site and you can start. The staff is friendly and helpful - we directly felt like home. Plus everything is clean which is a high advantage.

Rooms

There are some rooms in the main building and a few in a cute house behind it. We were lucky enough to sleep in the "Guesthouse" and were able to appreciate the perfect idyll. You just had to open the window and you directly felt like you were in a different world. We had a shower, internet connection, a TV and our own desk. That's all you need if you only spend a night there like we did. HERE are some pictures from our room view :)

Food

Like already mentioned they have a butcher shop right next to them and you can definitely see that on the menu. A lot of pork (grilled, with gravy, without gravy, with noodles etc) but you can also get a "Schlachtplatte" or "Spätzle". We can highly recommend the mixed grill. Everything was tasty and the desert (Apple strudle) was amazing too!

Conclusion

We highly recommend this! If you have a long journey ahead and want a nice place to rest and spend an amazing time, Kramerwirt is the right thing to chose.

Irschenberg

Just some pictures I took last year at Irschenberg, Germany. This was the view from our room. It's so peaceful and gorgeous. And the food was amazing too ;)

Hotel Maddalena ***

WWW | viale Dante 307 ; 47838 Riccione (Rimini)

Location

The Hotel is not directly situated on the beach. You have to cross to streets until you're there. But that means you'll be quiet at night and won't be woken up by cars, vespas or the like. They way to the shopping alley is practical right in from of you: 100 meters to your left and you can start eat and shop.

Hotel

It's appointed with a pool, a bar, a play area for kids, a restaurant and of course a lounge where you can end the days with a nice expresso or a refreshing cocktail. The only thing that's actually irritating is that you can only use the internet in that said lounge. If you want to write an important mail in your room it's unfortunately not feasible.

Rooms

The rooms are equipped with a bathroom, TV and a balcony. You can brings your kids as well and if they're still young you can get a playpen for them. This year we were unfortunate and our shower was smelling really bad as we entered the room for the first time (like waste pipe and feces - could have been from the neighbor room). But after the cleaning lady paid us a visit it was gone - thank God! But also our TV was not doing great over the two weeks we stayed there: some channels we're only there for 10 mins until the sound was gone. We had to turn it off and on quite a few times.

Food / Restaurant

The restaurant looks beautiful, is big and bright. You'll get a sheet of paper where you tick off what you'd like to eat. You can choose between 3 daily menus: meat, fish and vegetarian. The food didn't please us unfortunately. The last week we stayed there, the hotel apparently planned to only serve us veal. They didn't even ask you - when it came to meat - if you'd like it rare, medium or well done. Plus there have been some weird combinations that didn't even made sense.

Pool

Right next to the Hotel there is a huge pool area with sun loungers. We never visited the pool because we thought the sea was so close to us so why not using that instead of a pool? Plus there were quite a few family with little kids and we personally don't really like the noise.

Play area

There is a tiny play area where kids can do what the like most: paint, play or watch their favorite cartoons! 

Conclusion:

It is a nice hotel where you can definitely relax. Given the fact you don't spend a lot of time there (eat, sleep and showering) we can highly recommend it :)