Christmas Market in Bonn

 While I was planning my December trip to Germany, I didn't know that I'm about to visit some of the most beautiful Christmas Markets in Europe. December turned out to be one of the the most exciting months of this year to me, and definitely colored by German culture and history. After 11 days in Bonn, I continued the "Christmas Journey" in Brasov, Romania, where I spent five days, and which is one of the cities that were colonized by Germans in 13th century. That explains why the architecture of Brasov has a lot of similarities with the one whom I have encountered in Germany, which has unexpectedly prolonged my journey through German culture.

It was my first time in Germany, and I can briefly say that it was a really unique experience. It did meet my expectations and pretty much coincided with the picture I had in my head. From the system point of view, very well organized, sharp, exclusive and cold. And not only because It's December. On the other hand, that is not something that I could say for the Christmas Markets. I like how the Germans place a lot of attention to periods of holidays and the fact that you can truly feel the holiday spirit. Even two weeks afterwards, I can feel the moment through these colorful pictures, and I truly hope that it can covey it to the readers. I hope that you will enjoy!

The atmosphere on the Christmas Market in Bonn slightly differs in different parts of the day. Mainly during the day, you can see older people who pass through narrow passages between Christmas decorated, "small holiday houses", taking their moment to enjoy a cap of mulled wine. And that is what I was also doing. The nights are reserved for the young population, and those who feel that way. Although, "night life" in Bonn is not something that residents could brag about, even though the city has a university and a lot of young people. All the happenings and the crowd at the market stops already at 22h in the evening. Fortunately, by that time, the atmosphere is very wonderful and colored with holiday mood.

This is the first in a series of posts about the Germany through my perspective. In some of the next posts, I will try to convey my impressions on the Christmas market in Cologne, and share photos of Bonn from the way that I have I experienced it. I hope that you enjoyed the fragments of Bonn Christmas Market observed through my lens. To whichever part of the world you are, I hope that you are enjoying the holidays! :)

The Streets of Bucharest

There are not a lot of places in the world which would make you feel like home from the first moments spent there. Bucharest is one of them, at least from my perspective and 5-day experience. Its unobtrusiveness and ease will bring you a sense of belonging from the start, with the need to just enjoy it with no expectations. 

Last week, I've had a chance to visit the capital and largest city of Romania. According to unofficial data, in Bucharest lives more than 3 million people, which makes it the sixth-largest City in European Union. 

In period between two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite, earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris". And this is the first thing you would notice once you step on the Bucharest territory. 

The idea of this post is to convey the beauty of Bucharest from my point of view. To me, it is a throwback to wonderful time spent in this city, and to you maybe a sneak peek of what you could expect to see if you decide to visit it. I hope you will enjoy it!

There are many prejudices related to Romania and marks that communism has left on this country. And this may be one of the reasons why Bucharest isn't (yet) one of the mainstream touristic destinations.  But the fact is that people don't have an idea what they're missing! 

Wonderful architecture, long and wide streets and passages, amazing nightlife and friendly locals are just a few of the reasons why you should visit Bucharest. 

Bucharest is a heaven for hipsters, and recently I've heard that it has been pronounced as a new hipsters capital in the Europe. I could not swear in the veracity of this information, but in this blog post you can read more about which places to visit when you are in Bucharest.