Trinidad & Tobago in September 2013 – Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot!

In September 2013, I was in Trinidad for my wedding anniversary.  My last visit to Trinidad was in 2008 and I had forgotten how beautiful this island and the people are.  I love Trinidad and Tobago, always!

My husband made this trip with me and I was very curious about what his experience would be like.  He longed to go to Trinidad for many years and when we finally got there neither he nor I could believe that he was truly there.  He saw one of the places where I lived, the hospital where I was born and places where I had eaten when I lived in Trinidad.  He loved Trinidad very much and is already looking forward to going back.  His only wish is that the heat would not be as intense as it is. 

Our hotel, in the heart of Port of Spain, has a panoramic view of the ocean.  This great location also offered the best sunsets I’ve seen anywhere.  The colors that the sky takes on during dusk are mesmerizing.  My husband especially enjoyed the view from the pool, where we watched boats and ships as they sailed by.  I enjoyed the same view from the room.  We could get to all major points from this location, many of them by foot (albeit slow due to the heat), or by a short car ride.

My husband loves zoos, and we always go to the zoo in any new city we visit.  So of course, we visited the Emperor Valley Zoo at the Queen’s Park Savannah, which has a great collection of exotic animal exhibits, birds and aquatic life, including a 16-foot anaconda found in the swamps in Caroni, Trinidad.  This is currently one of the zoo’s main attractions.  We also walked around the Savannah (the world’s largest roundabout) and visited the Botanical Gardens where we saw horticulture beyond our imagination.  There were very old trees, very tall trees, brightly coloured plants and flowers, some of them strange looking and ones we had never seen before.

Walking around the capital city of Port-of-Spain brought back so many memories of my childhood.  The sights, sounds and smells were all still there as if I had never left.  The sidewalk vendors are a permanent fixture in Trinidad and tell of the entrepreneurial spirit of many Trinidadians.  They still sell many of the treats I grew up loving and realized that I still love.  My husband tried only minimal local cuisine (not risking upsetting his stomach with intense seasonings and spicy heat that he’s not used to), but I got my fill of the foods I grew up eating, that were so fresh and finger-licking good.  A popular place near the docks in Port of Spain is called the Breakfast Shed.  But, if you imagine order bacon and eggs or waffles and syrup, you can forget about it.  The Shed serves heavy duty meals that are sure to sustain you throughout the day.  It is a good place to get a true taste of the local cuisine (pepper sauce on the side).

Independence day was only a couple of weeks before we arrived in Trinidad and the city was still draped with every size of the national flag hanging from every building, street lamp, tree or pole that was in sight.  The city was beautiful to see covered in the national colours of red, white and black. It gave me a real sense of pride to be there during this time and my husband was proud to be there with me.

We did not make it to Tobago, but we hope to get there on our next trip so stay tuned for part two of this blog.

Written by Screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R) on 10/10/13. All photos taken by and are property of TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R)

Berlin in August 2013– From West to East

On this trip to Germany in August 2013, I celebrated my birthday in Berlin.  This was my first trip to this memorable city with so much to offer and lots to see and do!  My hotel was in West Berlin in the heart of Potsdamer Platz, but I ended up spending much more time on the former East side of Berlin.  With its many restaurants, bars, museums and energetic atmosphere, I could not believe this was the city with a past that was as the history books described.  It was so intriguing, that one day I walked about 4 kilometers into the former East side before realizing how far I had walked.  Berlin was captivating and I got two different but exciting views of the city, one by water and by land. 

 Berlin’s greets you with its past “in your face!”  Reminders and remnants of the Berlin Wall are everywhere.  Museums also display pieces of Berlin’s history.  Just walking along the street is filled with information and invitations to view the city’s past.  Staying in the heart of Berlin at Potzdamer Platz allowed easy access to all vantage points, attractions, bars and restaurants.  Through all the excitement, I found Berlin to have a laid back atmosphere.

There is so much ground to cover of the city’s past before you can even begin to enjoy Berlin’s present, which makes Berlin this very diverse city a great place for history buffs.  As I crossed the Brandenburg Gate freely from West to East, I was reminded of the time when this was not possible for Germans and felt almost transported back into the past.  I imagined the East side before the Wall was torn down.  I also imagined how people who lived on the former East went about their daily lives, knowing just over the Wall were relatives and friends from whom they were forcibly separated.  There is a cobblestoned path throughout Berlin, which follows the exact path of where the Wall once stood, and following this path puts into perspective the dramatic division of Berlin.

 The city’s historic reminders pulled me in.  I walked past the Tears Palast, which was the last station where loved ones on the West side said goodbye to those who were going to the East side.  I did a boat ride on the River Spree and saw the city palace and Berliner Dom, which is about 100 years old.  I also spent the day at the Berlin zoo, which is the biggest zoo in Europe.  And it was easy to see why Berlin is the greenest city in Europe and the greenest capital city in the world.

Berlin today is very modern and is under heavy construction.  There are restaurants, bars and trendy lounges, cafes, stores and shopping malls springing up everywhere.  In addition, some of Berlin’s original buildings which were damaged during war were also under restoration construction.  Sad that many of those original buildings were completely destroyed.

Berlin is a very diverse city, both in race and cuisine.  People from all around the world work in Berlin and the food is also representative of this diversity.  I found Indian food, Thai food, French food, Italian food and of course German food in Berlin.  I had dinner inside the amazing Sony Center and watched the light show at night.  It was pretty cool to see.  I walked along the famous Unter den Linden Strasse, went to KaDeWe, a huge shopping center in Berlin with endless floors of merchandise.  I took a photo at Checkpoint Charlie, visited the Reichstag, saw the famed TV Tower, the Rote Rathaus, the DDR Museum.

I sailed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office building, which is known as the Washing Machine and the other German politicians office building, which is known as the Ironing Board.

I jumped on a “hop on hop off” tour bus to get a feel for the city, but mostly to see where all of the monuments and attractions were located.  I was then able to go back and find them on my own schedule.  While wandering through Berlin you will be sure to encounter the Berlin buddy bears, which are scattered throughout the city and are the Ambassadors for the city.

All in all, my Berlin experience was amazing.  I was excited to visit this city but was not sure about what to expect.  I can affirmatively say that my travel experience was greatly enhanced by a visit to this city.

 

Written by Screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R) on 10/9/13. All photos taken by and are property of TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R)