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Archive for the 'on tour' Category

San Cristobal and above the clouds

Published on August 10, 2010 in mexico, on tour, photo and story. 0 Comments

Road to Tuxtla

above the clouds

For security reasons we changed the route from Oaxaca to Queretaro. Since we heard from a taxi driver in San Cristobal that we’ve got very lucky that we didn’t get robbed and/or shot by rebels, we weren’t so keen about driving through the jungle for another 600km anymore. ;)

San Cristobal

San Cristobal itself was pretty nice even though it’s one of the poorest regions in Mexico. We made a trip to a nearby village with a very special church. Sadly it was forbidden to take pictures inside the church and they already have killed people who tried to. So I was convinced to not take pictures. :D

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The "speical" Church

If you enter the church, the first thing you notice is the smell and the fir needles on the floor. These needles are covering the whole floor and of course they are responsible for the smell. There are no chairs or benches, but a lot of  glass cabinets at the wall. In these cabinets there are puppets from saints. In front of the cabinets there are big tables which are almost completely covered by candles. Though its a catholic church, it was a pretty esoteric experience.

lunch time

above the skies

On our way to Tuxtla (to get onto the highway to Queretaro) we drove across the mountains and actually above the cloud line. Was pretty cool to get through the fog to the blue skies aboce.

by Matt

King of the hill!

Published on July 22, 2010 in mexico, on tour, photo and story. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan

After a modest driving time we arrived in Teotihuacan which is close to Mexico city and was the former home to the Teotihuacans and afterwards to the Aztecs. While the first tribe built these awesome pyramids the Aztecs used it later after it has been abandoned. The most possible theory is that the natural resource have been used up and either the Teotihuacans moved away or they simply died.

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by Matt

Something about timing

Published on July 22, 2010 in mexico, on tour and story. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

MEXICO

Today we received a call from Hector’s mum about an incident which had happened in his neighborhood. Drug dealers had been fighting drug dealers once more, but this time close to his house. The fight lasted for a long time and you can count on many victims.

To hold the police back from interfering they “closed” the neighborhood with big trailers. So the streets were blocked and the poplice had problems to get to the fighting rivals.

Lucky us we are far away.

by Matt

“Montezuma’s Revenge” still pending

Published on July 21, 2010 in mexico, on tour, photo and story. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Queretaro Acueducto

Queretaro Acueducto

First thing to do was to rent the car for the second half of the trip. After a long time we lost standing around and waiting for the car to be shown up we finally could check it out. It’s a VW GOL, never heard of it. By this time we finally signed the contract and moved forward. Next stop was an Indian pyramid in Queretaro. Though it is a small one it was pretty impressive to see one for the first time.

Pyramid of El Pueblito

Pyramid of El Pueblito

We took the free tour and a guide showed us around for about almost a hour. Sadly we couldn’t get up, because they have no money to build a secure stairway. We asked if there is there is a way to donate money or for them to get money from the government, but the answer was unsatisfying honest: “The government gives a sh*t. And there is nobody to manage the money from donations.”

Church of San Francisco

Church of San Francisco

The second part of the day we spend again walking around the old historic city center. In the night we hit an Irish pub called “Wicklow” (been there in 2008) which was somewhat disappointing. There was no trace of the typical Irish pub flair. Maybe it was fitted too much to the Mexican expectations. Anyway, after that we had an awesome street Taco again. Same place as yesterday. “Montezuma’s Revenge” still pending. :D

by Matt

Tequilatown and a big rock

Published on July 20, 2010 in mexico, on tour, photo and story. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Historic City Center

Our Hostel

We started walking around in Queretaro until we noticed that on Mondays every single sight and museum is closed. After a short discussion we decided to visit nearby villages and get some Mexican-small-town-experiences. So far so good, back to the hostel and into the car.

Tequisquiapan

Tequisquiapan

First on the tab was Tequisquiapan. A small village nearby Queretaro. It almost felt like a south European village. With all the narrow streets, the colorful houses and the many souvenir shops. Besides the little chapel in the town center there was not really a lot to see. Except for the already described city views. After we met Mario and his girlfriend, both friends of Hector, we decided to drive over to Bernal.

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by Matt

From 125 ST to the Flat Iron

Published on July 13, 2010 in on tour, photo, story and usa. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Heart of Harlem, 125th

Today we followed an advice to take a look at Harlem’s 125th ST which is also know as “Heart of Harlem”. We went there by, surprise surprise, subway. We got off the metro around four to five floors above ground level which was pretty cool. It reminded us of many movies. We left the station behind us and walked down the 125th…

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by Matt

“Journey’s end lies over the Brooklyn Bridge”

Published on July 12, 2010 in on tour, photo, story and usa. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Brooklyn Bridge

Lucky me this Frank Sinatra quote is not quite true, at least in our case. Walking the Brooklyn Bridge  was just the beginning of our today’s journey.

First we headed to Clark St. which is located in Brooklyn. Our plan was to walk straight to the bridge and cross over to Manhattan. But we got caught by the beautiful charm of Brooklyn and spend about two hours exploring the area near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Finally walking across the East River was a stunning experience. The view is just fantastic and the Bridge itself worth every moment we spent there.

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by Matt

[update] We have been “Top Of The Rock” today!

Published on July 11, 2010 in on tour, photo and usa. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Top Of The Rock, NY

Meaning: We entered the visitor platform of the Rockefeller Center. Also we have been at Macy’s, in the Empire State Building lobby and in a South American Pub for the football game Uruguay:Germany.

[update]

But lets start with the Rockefeller Center. After a short subway ride and the typical confusion after getting back into the light we made it to the Rockefeller Center. After paying the $21 ticket fee we have been very lucky to get almost immediately to the elevator and up to the 67th floor. I never rode such a fast elevator before. :D

From the top of the Rock the view above New York is outstanding. You get a perfect glimpse about how big the Big Apple really is. But thats easy to see on the following pictures.

Back on ground level we went to Grand Central Station. The architecture is quite nice and due to the high ceiling the room feels wide and open. Almost like freedom. Sounds cheesy but that’s what I felt over there.

After a disappointing visit at the U.N. headquarter we went to “the good burger” for New York’s best burger in 2010. It was big, meaty and delicious! Sometimes you can trust the advertisements. :D

Now it was time for the FIFA Worldcup 2010 semifinal Uruguay against Germany. I had looked up a German pub back in Germany already and we made it over there. But sadly it was full and there was a line which was almost half a block long. So we ended up in a South American bar named Esperanto. Due to the origin of the bar, we were the only ones who cheered for Germany. One Aussie and two German guys. Nice combo. :D

On our way back we managed a brief visit to the Empire State Building lobby, Macy’s (freakishly big) and the legendary Madison Square Garden.

After getting fresh we went out for some beers with our Australian friend John. I think we had been to around 4 pubs and got well drunk. Even if a round (three beers) comes up to almost $25 (with tip).

Pictures after the break.

Continue reading ‘[update] We have been “Top Of The Rock” today!’

by Matt

Around Times Square

Published on July 10, 2010 in on tour, photo and usa. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Times Square

Since we had to walk around before we could check in there has been a few shots at the awesome Times Square. Photos after the Break.

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by Matt

It’s a long way to your bed if…

Published on July 10, 2010 in on tour, story and usa. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

you book via STATravel.

We got send away from the hostel (Jazz On The Park) we booked in the first place (cause our reservation got lost) with the promise we get a 10 bed dorm with bathroom en suite in another hostel (Jazz In Town) which is part of the chain. So there would be a small upgrade there.

Before we left the first hostel (Jazz On The Park) I assured that we could stay in this room the whole time (five nights). After we arrived, another 40 min subway ride later, at our new place to be (Jazz In Town), the lady at the reception told us we only could stay one night. She just has been called a few minutes ago and we got two options: Either stay one night and change then or go to a third place (Jazz On Times Square) with the promise of an upgrade to a two bed room.

We took the second option just to arrive another half an hour later at the Jazz On Times Square to find the reception without any responsible personal. The security guy who was on watch told us to come back later in about one to one and a half hour.

After a brief visit at the Times Square and a Dunk’n Donuts we went back to the hostel. Over there was another clueless receptionist. Its just not understandable that nobody took good care of us and our booking.

In my opinion STATravel and the Jazz Hostels fucked up BIG time.

Not that we lost a few hours of precious time, no we have been send several times through the city and at every stop we had to explain the whole situation again.

Now we have a  stinky two bed room with a loud air condition right outside the window. And of course there is no air condition in our room.

by Matt