Ayurvedic Wellness Trip to Bad Schandau, Germany

Initially we weren't planning to go on vacation this year, as we thought we'd be busy moving house. But since it looks like our house won't be sold any time soon, we decided to go on vacation after all. Both of us were longing for quiet and relaxation so a wellness vacation sounded like an excellent plan! Via de wellness travel organisation Puur & Kuur we found a really good offer for an Ayurvedic Wellness retreat near Dresden, Germany.

We arrived in the hotel Elbresidenz on Monday 7 March, where we had to wait about 10 minutes for our room to be ready. The hotel is a composition of several buildings and contains both a regular spa as the Ayurvedic Viva Vital health center. Our room was quite nice, clean and well maintained. We were just a little disappointed that we didn't have a bathtub. The hotel itself is a bit of a maze at times, because of the way the different buildings are joined together. We then went off to the (regular) spa, with the Aurora swimmingpool, saunas, solarium and wellness center. Here I asked for a head/neck massage and was lucky enough that somebody was available. Good start of our vacation!

The Ayurvedic retreat is half board, so it includes dinner and breakfast. There are two types of Half Board at this hotel, the regular one and the Ayurvedic one. The first evening there was a little confusion among the staff as to which of the 3 restaurants was expecting us. When we finally found our table we were introduced to Ginger Water, a warm glass of water with pieces of ginger in it. This supposedly is good for your immune system. We also were served our first Ayurvedic dinner of the week. The dinners consisted mostly of: a salad as a starter, a soup, a curry dish, and a fruit platter for dessert.

Tuesday we had our first Ayurvedic treatments scheduled. The Ayurvedic center at this hotel is connect to the Siddhalepa Ayurvedic resort in Sri Lanka. We both started with a consultation with the Ayurvedic doctor to determine our "dosha" and based on that get nutrition advice and compose our meals for the rest of the week. After this we enjoyed a nice, relaxing head massage. The head massage was comparable to the kind of massage some hair dressers give you, except that this was combined with some warm oil which was poured over the head.

After the massage and much needed hair wash we went into the town of Bad Schandau for lunch and to visit the Tourist Information to determine what else we wanted to do/see while there. At the Tourist Information we purchased tickets for the amazingly cheap price of 15 euro in total that would cover the return fare for both ferry and train to Dresden for both of us! Back at the hotel after spending some time in the spa it was time for dinner. This time we were not only served the ginger water, but also special elixirs and teas, as determined by our "dosha" analysis earlier in the day. The elixirs had to be taken before dinner and before breakfast. They weren't very tasty, but we decided to go along with it and give it a try.

Wednesday was our "Dresden" day. First breakfast! The Ayurvedic guests have a special breakfast menu they can order from, next to chosing whatever you want from the extensive buffet. Unfortunately the chef was just taking a break when we wanted to order, so we had to miss out on the specialty this morning as we wanted to get to Dresden on time! After breakfast we took the small ferry across the Elbe to get to the Bad Schandau railway station. From there we got onto the train to Dresden where we arrived just before 10am. We walked from the main railway station through the Altstadt to the river Elbe. Dresden really is a very beautiful city, with some magnificent buildings! We were both very tired though, you know, the kind of tiredness you feel when you finally let go off build up stress and tensions! So rather than continueing on foot we decided to take the Stadtrundfahrt guided tour by bus. This tour isn't cheap (20 euro per person) but it gives a good insight into Dresden and its history. There are 22 stops and you can hop on/off unlimited for 1 day. After the tour we had lunch outside in the sun before heading back to the hotel and spa for some relaxation.

Unfortunately Roy had by now developed a really bad cold and wasn't feeling very well. He also decided to stop with the Ayurvedic ginger water and elixirs and some of the teas. At the same time I was feeling very good and really noticed the stress and tensions leaving my body, so I continued with the supplements.

Thursday was another relaxation day, with a full body massage and herbal steam bath. The massage was very nice and very oily :-) After the massage I was led to another room for the steam bath. This wasn't as I expected a bathtub, but a wooden capsule where you lie down on a wooden raster and a wooden capsule closes above you. Through the raster the steam rises up. Your head sticks out of the capsule, so it's only your body that is being 'steamed'. Very, very nice! After this we had lunch in one of the hotel restaurants before heading back to the spa for more relaxation, followed by dinner.

Friday we wanted to see more of the environment, specifically of the National Park Sachsischer Schweiz (Saxony Switzerland). There is a historic tram, the Kirnitzschtal Bahn, that goes from Bad Schandau up to the Lichtenhainer Waterfall. Unfortunately a tree had damaged the track so we took a bus instead of the tram. The waterfall itself was a little bit disappointing, I had expected it to be much bigger and more impressive. But the area itself was really beautiful with impressive Elbstone structures, the forest, mountains, and here and there some snow and ice. In fact, the snow and ice meant that we couldn't really walk the trails, as it was simply too dangerous. We didn't want to slip on the ice and break our legs, so we stuck to walking back to Bad Schandau via the regular road, a good 2 1/2 hour walk. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, especially since we'd be driving back home the day after.

The drive back home was uneventful and we arrived safely home just before 6pm on Saturday. In general I've really enjoyed this vacation and have found it very relaxing, just what I needed! For Roy it was a different story, as he didn't 'click' with the Ayurvedic doctor and treatment. Plus he suffered from that ugly cold! But we both enjoyed the spa, the environment and time to be together without all the work pressure!

You can see more pictures taken during this trip here!

Lille, France

Last weekend it was time for the yearly weekend break with my mother. It has become a tradition that the two of us take a city trip sometime in November/December every year. We've already visited some very interesting cities, like Prague, Vienna, Chicago, Copenhagen, London etc. This year we planned to stay in The Netherlands and book a wellness weekend, when all of the sudden Lille caught our eye.

Lille was a city we had both heard of, but never really been to. It was also a city we didn't really know much about. So we decided to change that and spend our yearly weekend break there.

The drive to Lille went very smooth. It's surprisingly close to the Belgium border in the North West of France. We found our hotel quickly and were pleasantly surprised by our room which was spacious with a nice bathroom. We didn't get the view on the square we requested, but oh well. Grand Hotel Bellevue is a 3 star hotel in the middle of the city, walking distance from the tourist office, shops, cinemas and restaurants. We can thoroughly recommend it!

We arrived on Friday afternoon and after checking into the hotel we went to the tourist office to book a bus-tour of the city. We were the only 2 passengers in the mini van so had pretty much a private tour. There was a lot more to Lille than we were aware of! After the bus tour we walked to the cinema to book tickets for the movie "the imaginarium of Dr Parnassus". For movies in the original language with French subtitles, make sure you check for the acronym VO (version originale) in the movie listing. We then had dinner in one of the restaurants close to our hotel before going back to the cinema to watch the movie with Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law. Weird movie, but entertaining nevertheless!

The next day was spent with shopping. We walked over to the Centre Commerciale Euralille, a huge mall with several interesting shops! In the evening after our dinner we went to see another movie, The Box. This one (with Cameron Diaz) was also interesting and based on a scary concept...

In short, we truly enjoyed our trip to Lille. It is a beautiful city, with amazing architecture and a rich history. Definitely worth a visit!

What do Ice Age 3 and Andre Rieu have in common?

What we originally planned as a quiet and relaxing Sunday, turned out quite different! Last evening on Twitter somebody asked if anyone was interested in 2 tickets for the show of Andre Rieu. The tickets belonged to somebody else and he would have to get them first before he was able to give them to me. But... they were offered for free! The person who got them originally had won them in a lottery and didn't want any money for them. So this morning I got a message containing a picture of where the tickets were hidden (he wasn't home when we picked them up).

Due to a misunderstanding (we thought the show would start at 11:30am, but it started at 2:30pm) we were at the location way too early. But no problem, there was a movie theatre there, so we decided to go and watch a movie. Not that there is a lot of choice that early in the day... We ended up watching Ice Age 3, in 3D wearing funny glasses. What a fabulous movie! I really admire the makers for making the 3rd instalment of Ice Age still interesting and entertaining, and maybe even better than the 2 previous ones...

After the movie and a quick lunch, it was time for the show! The Amsterdam Arena was packed! There were about 30.000 people! Our seat was really high up, close to the roof of the arena. The stage is amazing, a replica of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. During the show, Andre Rieu was accompanied by several solo singers, all with amazing voices. A well known Dutch comedian (Andre van Duin) also had a couple of acts in between. During the waltzes there were both ballroom dancers and ice dancers performing above and to the two sides of the stage. The well known choir, Mastreechter Staar, accompanied Andre Rieu for several acts in the second half of the show. They are in the picture at the bottom of this blog, bearing the torches while walking to the stage. And in between all that Andre Rieu and his musicians did an amazing job as well. This is a show I can truly recommend to anyone!

Oh and do stay until the very end... it's absolutely hilarious!!!

SportSchloss Velen / Sport Castle Velen

Both my boyfriend and I have had a few stressful months work wise so several weeks ago I suggested we take a weekend break. One that should focus on rest and relaxation and spending quality time together. After a short search we decided that SportShloss Hotel Velen fit those requirements perfectly.

It's an original German castle, now in use as a hotel. They had an 'Entspanning und Erholung' relaxation offering which consisted of 2 nights in the hotel, an exclusive facial, hand treatment and aromatic massage. It also included the 2 evening meals to be taken at the hotel restaurant and the Orangerie.

When we arrived - a day later than originally planned due to my aunt's funeral - around noon our room was already available. It was a beautiful and spacious room in the main building, with the traditional high ceilings and also furbished in a traditional-looking style. The only downside of the room was really that it was quite warm, or even hot and it had no air conditioning. Even with the windows open it wouldn't cool down much as the weather outside was quite warm.

We started our break with a stroll through the village. It's a small village, with only a handful of shops and a few small supermarkets. We had lunch in the local biergarten (food was good but service could have been friendlier), bought some snacks for in the room and walked back to the castle as our first treatment was due.

Unfortunately when you go as a couple you cannot have your treatments together at the same time, as they have only one treatment cabin. So while one of us had the treatment, the other stayed at the indoor pool. The pool was nice and the water had a pleasant temperature. There are a few deck chairs with cushions to relax poolside. On the first day we had the facial and hand treatment. The facial was very nice, especially the massage aspect! The hand treatment wasn't anything special really, other than - again - the massage.

The first evening we had dinner in the Castle restaurant. For people who had booked an arrangement they had a set dinner which you couldn't change. The wine was included, which was great for me but not so great for my boyfriend who doesn't drink alcohol at all. Especially since any additional drinks were extra. But the food (and wine) was excellent! During dinner they played a game with scents. We were given 5 small vials which we had to sniff. We then had to guess the scent and write it down. We ended up with guessing 3 out of 5 correctly!

They also offer activities in and around the castle for all guests, and an activity calendar is always on display in the reception area. We got a big chuckle out of the calendar that was posted on Saturday evening. Look at the picture below and guess why!



The second day we enjoyed a walk in the area. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we bought ice cream at a local bakery which was open on Sunday's. Then it was time for our aroma massage. This too was excellent and we both really enjoyed it. Dinner that evening was in the Orangerie which was housed in one of the outbuildings on the site. This time there was some choice as it was a small buffet dinner and the food was once more excellent.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and drove up to Münster, a city about 50km away from the hotel. We walked down the old town and browsed through the stores. After lunch we decided to drive back home. All in all we had a wonderful weekend break and definitely fulfilled our need for quality time together, rest, and relaxation!

The Dalai Lama in Amsterdam

It seems ages ago since I ordered the tickets, but yesterday the day finally arrived on which I would see the Dalai Lama again, for the 2nd time in my life. The last time was in Brussels a few years ago, and I remember praising myself lucky then to have the opportunity to see him life. After all he's not the youngest person and he has suffered from several health issues. So I was very happy indeed with this 2nd opportunity to see him and listen and learn from him.

The day started early, as we (my boyfriend and I) wanted to be in Amsterdam on time to secure a good seat. We arrived well on time and after initially going to the wrong entrance (for Tibetans only) we passed the security checks and entered the main hall. The security was meant to be really tight, but we found a big problem with it which I won't elaborate on in detail here. I don't want to give the wrong people tips!

Luckily we managed to get a really good seat with an excellent view on the stage. First we started with the lesson on patience. His Holiness the Dalai Lama guided us through chapter six of Shantideva's text "A guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life".

In the afternoon we attended the public lecture about 'The power of compassion in turbulent times'. It was quite funny that the Dalai Lama had to ask the translator what the title of the lecture was. He explained this by saying that no matter what the title of any of his lecture is, the content is always pretty much the same. The difference between the lesson in the morning and the public lecture in the afternoon was huge! The morning was more complex and really did require (some) background knowledge in Buddhist beliefs. The afternoon session was much lighter. It also included a question and answer session. One of the biggest learnings I got out of the afternoon session was that forgiveness doesn't mean that you should not help the person you're forgiving to correct the actions that led to the need to forgive them to start with. In other words, forgive, but don't forget and help the other person so (s)he won't make the same mistake again.

We also attended the evening lecture by Sogyal Rinpoche. It was the first time I met this very impressive Buddhist teacher. His lecture was also very interesting, but unfortunately by this time I was so tired that I had trouble concentrating on what he was saying. But I will definitely attend his lectures again in the future!

All in all it was a very intensive day, a great experience, and a day I will remember and cherish for a long time!

The picture below was taken when the Dalai Lama accepted an Amsterdam baseball cap and sunglasses as a gift from somebody and put them on immediately :-)

Swan Lake

Saturday evening we went to a performance of the "Swan Lake" ballet, by the Tatarstan Ballet/Opera group. To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed...

Somehow I didn't feel absorbed into it, like I normally am when the performance is good. There were a few good dancers, including the jester (a role I had not seen in the swan lake before), and the Princess. The Prince however, was a disappointment. There was also a very long break between the third and fourth act, which was confusing to the audience, especially since the lights in the theatre went on. People were wondering if the performance was finished.

The other surprising thing was the end of the performance, when only a selection of the group came on stage for the applause. Several of the players never even appeared. Yesterday (Sunday) evening, they showed the swan lake ballet with the choreography of Noureyev on Mezzo TV, and the contrast couldn't have been bigger.

I don't think I'll visit a performance by the Tatarstan group again...

Absolutely Fantastic Show

Last night we went to see the revised (Dutch) version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I had already seen the original version in the UK many years ago. I remembered it as an OK-ish show, mainly aimed at kids. My boyfriend hadn't seen the show yet, so when it was announced as playing in our local theatre we decided to get tickets for it.
At that time we didn't even know yet, that the show's main role of Joseph would be cast as part of a tv-series: the search for Joseph. But when we found out, we also started to follow the show. Neither of our favorites won (I voted for John and my boyfriend voted for Roy), so we didn't have our favorite Joseph to look forward to. But the winner of the show, Freek Bartels, played an excellent Joseph last night.

The entire show was truly fantastic. The décor had changed for the better from the original play. The role of the children was also smaller, although there were still some in it. Several of the contestants of the show 'The Search for Joseph' had a role in the actual show as well and also did a great job. The costumes were good, the lyrics had been translated into Dutch in a good way and the show was a good combination of different music styles, humor, and entertainment.

I thoroughly recommend it! My favorite of this theatre season so far!

Frankfurt

As some of you know, my mother and I take a weekend break every year around the beginning of December. We've been to many different places, and this year we decided to go to Frankfurt, Germany. Rather than flying, we opted to take the fast-speed ICE Train from Aachen to Frankfurt.

We arrived last Thursday, to discover that the hotel was on the edge of both the business/finance district and the red light district. But the hotel itself was fine, we just decided not to head out on the streets surrounding it late at night :-)

Frankfurt had not changed that much from the many times I'd been there to deliver training in the past. It's still one huge building site, with lots of shops, bars and restaurants. We also went to the English language cinema a couple of times. Now that had changed quite a lot, and not for the better... The movies showing were still in the original language, and not dubbed in German. But the theatre itself was very poorly maintained... There was hardly a chair whose seat wasn't slashed for example.

We saw 'The Women' and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. The first movie is one I would recommend. Interesting feature is that there is not a single man in the movie. Neither were there any men in the theatre when we went to see it. The second movie has some good special effects, but the story is very poor. It comes down to an alien invasion, wanting to save the earth from us bad human beings that treat it (the earth) so badly. But by saying that we REALLY REALLY can change, the human race is saved. Blech. I have nothing against the green movement, but this was making it ridiculous in my opinion.

The shopping was very fruitful though, and both my mother and I came home with some nice clothes for ourselves and our loved ones. The home coming was even more special because my boyfriend had decided to join my dad in picking us up from the railway station. I hadn't expected to see him again until today, so it was a very special surprise to see him on Sunday already.

Picture below: business/finance district by night

Giethoorn

Last weekend's dance contest was in Steenwijk, a town in the North East of The Netherlands. This is quite a long way from where I live, so we decided to make a weekend break out of it. This also gave us the opportunity to visit Giethoorn, a really cute, pitoresk village where no cars are allowed. All transport is done by boat, bike or your own feet. The weather wasn't very nice, there was a slight drizzle and it was quite cold. But in spite of that we both really enjoyed our walk and boat trip through the village (see picture below).

The dance contest was interesting... There were only 7 couples for our competition class. So they decided to let all 7 couples dance two finals. Normally there are only 6 couples in a final and normally there is only one final round. Anyway, we danced two of them and ended up in second place of the competition. The skill level in this competition is very high, so I'm actually really proud with a second place! This time I kept all limbs intact, although I did manage to break the prize about 5 minutes after receiving it... Nothing a little glue can't fix though! We have a little break from competition dancing now, as our next contest isn't until the 17th of January. But no worries, plenty to talk about until then!

A rising star...

Yesterday, after an intensive private dancing lesson where we learned a really cool move in the Walz, we went to the theatre. This time we had booked a performance by Maria Fernandes, a Fado singer.

Earlier in the week I read in the local paper that she was a local girl, and to be honest my expectations weren't very high. But boy, was I mistaken! She has a wonderful voice and if I had't known better I would have sworn that she was from Portugal itself.

I was thus impressed that I bought her CD after the performance, which she signed for me. Maria Fernandes is definitely somebody whose career I will follow, and I certainly won't hesitate to book another ticket when she performs here again!

You can find more information about Maria and her performance schedule on her website.

Spirit of the Dance

Thursday evening we went to see the dance show "Spirit of the Dance" in our local theatre. This Irish dance show, based on the original Irish dance show with Michael Flatley, had been on my list of things-I-want-to-see for a long time, so my expectations were high!

The show is definitely worth seeing! The light effects are amazing and the choreography is very well done. The dancing wasn't superb, but good enough. I certainly couldn't have done better ;-)

We spoke to the driver of the dancers during the break and he told us that this group, about 25 people out of the total of 350 members of the Spirit of the Dance team, was the youngest group of all touring groups. They had their last performance for the season in The Netherlands yesterday, but are still touring other countries!

Today I can put on my dancing shoes for another competition. I don't think we're going to win prizes in this one, it's a tough one, with really good dancers. But it will be good practice anyway, and one day we will make it to the nr. 1 spot there as well! Just watch this space! ;-)

Avoiding the winter blues

It's only October and we just went through a few very springlike days... I don't really suffer from the winter blues like some people do, but I do appreciate a bit of sunshine and vitamine D during the winter months.

So I've started looking at brochures with sunny beaches, exotic places and allowed my mind to wander for a bit... However... I also need to replace my central heating unit, and the chimney of my fire place is 'leaking' as well. So no dinero for a luxury exotic vacation... We know when we want to go, and we know that we like quiet, authentic places, not too touristy, nice climate, offering a good mix of culture and relaxation and a bit of action when we feel like it...

Right now I have my eyes on Morocco, but it could just as well turn out to be Malta, Malaga or Madeira. And no, it doesn't have to start with an 'M' ;-) Suggestions are welcome of course!

Efteling

Today my boyfriend and I went to the Efteling (a themed amusement park for those of you who don't know it). It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the temperature was very nice, almost springlike. Since most people are at work and the kids in school on a weekday, there were almost no lines/queues for any of the rides. The most we had to wait was about 10 minutes, for the newest ride: the Flying Dutchman. And it was most definitely worth the wait! This must have been my 8th or 9th trip to the Efteling, and I simply do not get bored with the place.... The Dreamflight is awe-inspiring, with its fairies, trolls, planetcities.... The fairy tale forest remains cute, the pirana ride made me look as if I hadn't made it to the bathroom in time, the bobsleigh ride, fata morgana, vogel Rok.... all of them a great experience! Maybe the fast rides aren't as cool as the ones you experience in Disneyland or Six Flags, but the care the Efteling has taken in its themes is clearly visible and it remains one of my favorite theme parks in the world! Go see if if you can!

(Pictures below are from the Dreamflight (Droomvlucht) ride)