The Best Place to See The Great Wall of China

Wrongly convinced that the Great Wall of China is visible from the Moon I was expecting it to be just here, in front of the car which dropped as at the base of the Wall. Overexcited and tired from the long flight, I was searching around looking for a glimpse of one of the top things to see before you die. It was hidden among the bushes another half mile up the hill. Luckily, we used the chairlift to take us to the top and even then we had to climb high, uneven steps to get on it. Once I stepped on the Great Wall I couldn’t hide my surprise at how wide it was. So wide that I could see Top Gear organizing racing on the Great Wall of China! The only problem would be the large number of watchtowers which I am sure Jeremy Clarkson would make disappear.

Once on the wall your mind starts wondering which way to go, left or right. My local guide, a very pleasant and knowledgeable Chinese specialist in hiking on the Great Wall convinced me to go to the right, towards Simatai.

It was December, one week before Christmas and luckily there was no snow in China yet. It was cold but not unbearable. The Great Wall of China was empty except for me, my guide and for one very stubborn hawker whose sales skills were developed under Mao’s strict regime where the word ‘no’ didn’t mean anything. She didn’t speak English and followed us all the way to Simatai. Occasionally, pushing one of the Great Wall of China books in front of me, usually when I sat down to relax. In the end, feeling sorry for her but also admiring her perseverance, I decided to buy a book from her. She took the money and before I could say good bye she was far behind me. Trotting in her high heels, her modern business suit and laptop bag bouncing to get back before it got dark.

I was wearing many layers, new trainers and had a new Sony camera. The weather was excellent for taking photos. The fact that I was on my own and didn’t have to wait for people to move out of shot was an added bonus!

At the beginning, the trek was easy but the further along we went from Jinshanling towards Simatai the Wall gradually diminished from wide to almost non-existent with very steep steps and with loose stones and bricks. At some point, my guide and I were discussing the possibility to leave the wall and walk alongside it until we reached Simatai. It was a good idea but the fact that you wouldn’t be able to get back up, made me instead get on my knees and hands and crawl up to the highest point of this part of the Wall – the Wangjinglou Tower. All my tiredness disappeared once we reached the Tower and saw beautiful views almost up to the outskirts of Beijing. According to my guide the main function of Wangjinglou Tower was to observe enemies in the far distance. If the enemy was on the move, the soldiers would light a fire to alert the next tower who would relay the message along.

Once you pass Wangjinglou Tower hiking gets easier. You are almost descending towards the Simatai section of the Great Wall of China and once you are there, you have the option to get a zip line over the river and get of of Simatai, or if you are wimp like I am then you can continue walking. The hiking route from Jinshanling to Simatai is about 10 km and it took me about 4 hours to complete. I didn’t have any training or any exercise before taking this hike. Bear in mind that I had lots of photo stops as the opportunity to be on your own up, there was too good to miss!

We passed 43 watchtowers and they are great places to relax and have a picnic or, as some people do, have a sleepover. If you are young at heart, I would always recommend you to stay an extra night in Beijing and do the hike on this portion of the Great Wall of China. Most tour operators take you to the Badaling section which is the closest to Beijing and the most commercialized! You don’t have a quiet moment on your own and most of your photos would be full of strangers jumping in front of the camera like flies! The second option would be the section at Mutiyunu which is very well-renovated and not as commercialized as Badaling.

For the ultimate experience, book yourself a private tour with guide and driver and do the hike from Jinshanling to Simatai - it’s closed for renovation until next year but if that fits in with your plans, all the better!

For more information regarding hiking on the Great Wall of China email expert Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com  or check our website.

What to see in Belgrade, Serbia

Am I the only Yugoslavian who hasn’t visited the Flower House, the resting place of the last President of Yugoslavia, Tito? I was born and brought up under liberal communism and I should be grateful to him – Tito. But I was never confirmed into Tito’s youth organisation, the Pioneers, which had an initiation ritual which was almost religious, albeit without the live animals but a kid’s soul instead, and with no mention of God, only Tito. This was when you had to confirm your commitment to your homeland, brotherhood and unity and fellow Pioneers, but a few weeks before my big day I got appendicitis and was hospitalised and never again got the chance to declare my love for my country or see the communist light. When he died I didn’t feel obliged to pay my respects to his casket or visit his tomb, even though I was constantly pestered to. I just didn’t feel the need. Then 20 years later, after exploring the EC in depth by living in various countries, a friend decided to come to Belgrade and visit Tito’s tomb. Of course the guide was me. I wanted to see if I was still Yugoslavian.  

Tito’s tomb is in the Museum of the 25th May, part of the Museum of the History of Yugoslavia, and is very close to Partisan Stadium, and at the beginning of December it was almost empty except for the coachload of visitors from Slovenia - the highest number of foreign tourists to Serbia are from Slovenia. Is this guilt or a desire to learn what they were part of for 46 years? 

The old Museum is now a large exhibition space and its current exhibition is Polish and Russian official and dissident art, called “Behind the Iron Curtain”. It is divided into 3 sections, WWII, the rebuilding of the war-torn country and happy people, and this last section had numerous portraits – farmers in the field, the naval officer with a huge medal, an ordinary, good looking woman in a blue suit with the communist star proudly pinned over her heart. The most significant work is from 1936 and shows Stalin’s name in big red letters with Lenin’s face reflecting back in the red paint. 

After the exhibition we went to see the “Flower House” and Tito’s tomb. The complex of the buildings used by Tito during his life is now his resting place. There are lots of angry people who think that Tito’s resting place should move from Belgrade to Croatia as he was Croatian and also because he damaged Serbia by dividing her into three parts, Inner Serbia, the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and the Autonomous Region of Vojvodina. There is even someone so resentful that they keep trying to sell his tomb on the Serbian version of Ebay!  

His tomb is very simple, plain white marble with his name and dates of birth and death engraved in gold. Sceptics are commenting on the absence of the red star, a symbol of communism, convinced that he was a Mason, although no one proved this yet. His tomb is positioned so that he can see the biggest working Church in Europe, St Sava. I am sure Tito didn’t want a view over a church especially when proclaiming that “Religion is the opium of the people” and went on to close down so many Orthodox churches, prosecuting priests and abolishing all religious gatherings. 

His office is filled with Ching dynasty furniture, generously given by a Slovenian family which made me wonder about the  combination of the two. But of course there are lots of unanswered questions about the communist time. There is a huge collection of batons which were used on mass relay races throughout Yugoslavia when all sorts of people would run – housewives, pioneers, workers, peasants, reformed political dissidents – and at the end present their batons to Tito at the Partisan Stadium on his birthday, 25th May. There would be a huge ceremony and half the schools and Universities in the country were closed. Did I go to any? No. My mum keeps saying that I am an antisocial person. 

Next to the Flower House there is a permanent exhibition of official gifts presented to Tito. Some are very bizarre such as the face towel, handmade and inscribed with “to dear Tito”. The art is beautiful but purpose wrong. I stayed the longest in front of a sword from XVII century brought to Sarajevo by the great great great grandchildren of Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic who got it from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The sword is beautifully worked with Arabic inscriptions described by Orhan Pamuk in his book “My Name is Red”. There a good display of national customs from different parts of the former Yugoslavia, and it was nice to see them today when we are all dressed the same jeans and leather jackets. All the exhibits have an English description and the staff are very helpful. The atmosphere is very laid back and very organised. I bought a great souvenir, Tito’s cookery book with recipes for the meals served to his famous guests, Kennedy, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lolobridga, Kissenger and so on. 

We spent a good three hours at the museum altogether.  Entry tickets are 300 dinars, about £2.50.

ReadyClickAndGo offers private day trips and sightseeing excursions throughout Serbia, with your own English-speaking local guide, car and driver. A private city tour of Belgrade with a private car, driver and English-speaking local guide is £65 per person.

For more information please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

Tara

A Serbians second home, the kafana

 

The English have pubs, the French their cafes, Italians their ice cream parlours, the Greek Tavernas and we, Serbians, have Kafanas or second homes as we spend more time there than at home. The word Kafana is derived from the Turkish kahvehane (“coffee house”) which is in turn derived from the Persian term qahveh-khaneh and the first kafana in Serbia was opened by the Turks in the part of Belgrade called Dorcol, in 1522, at the start of their 400 year occupation of the Balkans.

 

Kafanas are a cult for Serbian people and any self-respecting Serb has kafana or two. Maybe three depending on what your average Serbian citizen needs one for at any given time in his social life.In the past a kafana always had red or blue checked tablecloths and tin ashtrays but today many kafanas masquerade as restaurants or cafes or even clubs, but at heart they are simply a kafana. So there is a kafana for a social gathering which includes lots of alcohol interspersed with breaks for tasty food, loud live folk music, with smashed glases on the floor and dancing on the tables.

There are kafanas near the office where all the office games and intrigue take place, always described however as ‘business meetings’.  There are a few kafanas which are always full even though there is never any live music or good food, but which still live on their reputation as a haunt for long-ago heroes or intellectuals who would freely discuss politics during the communist era when there was no reliable information except what could be gleaned in such places – nowadays people still go there to be seen and to gossip. And there is a new breed of family kafanas where there is no live music only a kids’ garden in the back, and very good food! 

 

You know you have succeeded in life if the waiter of your kafana knows you by name, your favourite table has a reserved sign on it just for you and when you get your favourite drink served before you even take your jacket off. If you are well known and short of money you can drink and eat free and pay when you get money.  You waiter is your best friend and confidant as he knows where you are and never tells anybody. Not even your other half.

 

If you are coming to Belgrade you must explore a bohemian part of town called Skadarlija where live music and good food last until the early hours. The most famous kafana here is Tri Sesira (the three hats) but there are many others, such as the Dva Jelena ( Two stags ), Ima Dana and the famous Znak Pitanja (the question mark, the kafana with no name). This is in an old traditional house, typically Serbian, very rustic, with laid-back service and good food.

 

A small tip for foreigners going to a kafana with Serbians – your host will never allow you to pay for dinner or drinks, so don’t even try to pay. Just raise your glass, look at your host and shout cheers – ZIVELI!!!!! 

For more information about Serbia and private dat trips in Serbia please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

Tara

Mountain hideway near Belgrade, Serbia

Another weekend of very warm weather in Belgrade for this time of year (November and it’s 20 C) brought a huge number of people out to visit Avala, a mountain and National Park 16 km from Belgrade.

Avala was part of my upbringing. I would visit at least once a year, mostly with my family – we had vast numbers of relations who’d visit us in the city, and we’d run out of ideas where to take them and always end up doing a day trip to Avala, sometimes with a picnic in one of the many hidden spots on the mountain, sometimes having lunch in the restaurant in Avala Tower. At school there were day trips to Avala for every pupil to learn about the Monument to the Unknown Hero and as a university student I had some field work there, learning everything about the geomorphology of Avala and orienteering in the forest.  

The reason for the huge number of visitors last weekend is the newly opened Avala Tower, one of Belgrade’s landmarks, which has been restored and reopened in April this year after the NATO bombing of in 1999 which wrecked it. The original construction started in 1961 and finished in 1963 and at the top was an enclosed observation deck from which you could see as far as Belgrade and it was one of the city’s main tourist attractions. Today the old glory of the Avala Tower is restored and the views are even more magnificent. The only setback is that the restaurant hasn’t been opened yet, but there is a nearby hotel, the Avala, with nice rooms and restaurant, and a small cafe at the foot of the tower itself. Food here is very good and affordable. 

A village called Zmov grew up at the top of the mountain in the Middle Ages, and when the Ottomans invaded in 1442, they took it  over and built a fortress which they named Havale (meaning shelter) to oppose Belgrade’s Kalamegdan fortress which could be seen in the distance. In 1934 by order of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, the village of Zmov was bulldozed to make way for the Monument to the Unknown Hero, an anonymous Serbian soldier from WWI. Marked only by the dates 1912-1918, the monument also commemorates those lost in the Balkan Wars (1912–1913). The monument was created by the well-known Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic in the form of a mausoleum with 8 female figures, each representing a woman from a different historical region of Yugoslavia.

 On the way to Avala there is a Monument to the Soviet War Veterans, the members of a Russian military delegation who died in an airplane crash on their way to Belgrade for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade in WWII, October 20, 1944 – it was the Red Army who liberated Yugoslavia. And at the top of Mount Avala there is also a Memorial Park dedicated to the victims of WWII – so the whole mountain is steeped in the history of Yugoslavia and it is a very significant place to us. 

If you are staying in Belgrade we would definitely recommend a visit to Mount Avala or even an overnight stay there as there are plenty of opportunities for walking, trekking, cycling or simply enjoying the stunning views.

For more information about Serbia please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or visit our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

Day Trip to Oplenac, Serbia

The Hill of Royal Splendor

An unusually warm day in November in Belgrade gave me the excuse to take a day trip to a small town in central Serbia, called Topola. I had always wanted to go and visit this charming town to see its church of St George which is the mausoleum of the Serbian Royal Family, Karadjordjevic. The five-domed church was built in the style known as Serbian–Byzantium, a sort of oriental gothic style, between 1910 and 1930, by King Peter I who was a grandson of the founder of the royal family who led the Serbs in an uprising against the Ottoman Empire that had controlled the Balkans for centuries. The revolution was successful, the Ottomans were booted out and in 1811 Karadjordje was confirmed as the lawful ruler of Serbia and his heirs after him. At St George’s Church four of Serbia’s kings and 18 members of the Karadjordje dynasty are buried in the crypt, their tombs made of onyx from Decani in Kosovo, and representing the pearl of Serbia’s cultural and historical heritage.

The most important characteristic of church is the mosaic that covers much of the interior walls, made from Murano glass from Venice. I loved the huge candelabra which is made of melted weapons from the Battle of Kajmackalan in WWI and in the shape of the medieval crown of Serbia but upside down, symbolising Serbia’s mourning at the loss of their country at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
Entry tickets are 300 Serbian Dinars which is around GBP2.5 or Euro 3. The price includes entrance to St George’s Church (the curator is happy to give you lots of information in English), King Peter’s house (a small summer villa built in 1912 for his own use and today a museum), the villa of King Alexander I and Queen Mary (closed to visitors at the moment) and entry to the tower and Church of Our Blessed Lady of Karadjordje Town, dating from 1811-1813.
If you have time you may visit the royal winery at the foot of Oplenac Hill. Every year in Topola since 1963, on the 2nd weekend in October, the traditional Oplenac Vintage takes place.
By car from Belgrade is around 3 hours each way, through picturesque countryside. But please be aware that the roads are potholed and road signs are very poor in Serbia – most of the time there are no signs at all, and if you are lucky enough to find any they are in Cyrillic. But on the upside, there are lots of traditional Serbian restaurants known as “kafana” which serve wonderfully hearty, freshly cooked food and the average price is a modest GBP15 for a three course meal including drinks. We recommend MB Kafana.

For more information about a Private Day Trip to Oplenac and Topola or any place in Serbia please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or visit our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

How to get around Beijing?

by Bus

Until recently you had to speak Chinese in order to use a bus in Beijing, but Chinese Tourism have introduced a Yiktong Card which means “one card pass” in Chinese. It is similar to the Oyster Card used by TfL in London, Singapore’s EZ-Link, and Hong Kong’s Octopus card, and is like a credit card for travel that you ‘top up’ as you use it. In order to get a Yiktong card you need to pay a deposit of RMB20 plus RMB100 for the travel itself and you can top this up at subway stations, railway stations, most post offices and big supermarkets in Beijing. When you leave, you get your deposit back. 

Bus fares range from RMB1-5 according to the route and whether the bus has air conditioning or not.

There are  many different bus lines and they are categorised by number: the city lines are buses 1 to 122, night buses are 201 to 212, suburban lines are 300 to 949, air-conditioned buses begin with number 8, double-decker buses begin with the Chinese letter – Te which means special.

Little secret tips:

• If you decide to use public transport to visit the Great Wall of China look for  buses which start with the number 9. For example, to go to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu go to Dongzhimen Bus Terminal and get bus 916 which takes you directly there

There four main bus terminals in Beijing:

Deshengmen Bus Terminal  – buses to the Juyongguan and Badaling sections of the Great Wall, and Kangxi Grassland. The fare is RMB8-12. 

Dongzhimen Bus Terminal – buses for the Mutianyu, Simitai and Jinshaling sections of the Great Wall. Only bus 936 which operates during the peak tourist season runs directly to the Mutianyu Great Wall, buses for the other sections, 916, 980, 918Z, stop before there and you need to transfer to a minibus. The bus fare is RMB10-16. 

Pingguoyuan Bus Terminal – buses 929 and 931 go to the Jietaisi, Tanzhesi and Chuandixiacun Temples, and the fares are RMB15-20. 

Beijing Railway Station Bus Terminal – 938 bus to Epoch City in Xianghe, fare RMB10. 

Tianqiao Bus Terminal – bus 917 to Hancunhe village, fare RMB10

For more information how to book a Private Day Trip in Beijing on foot, by bus, tube, or by bycle with local guide  please check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com or email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

Where is Europe?

 

A few years ago we went for a long weekend to Morocco and as a  responsible traveller we arranged insurance which clearly stated that Morocco is in Europe. Then we went to Slovenia which was referred as the most progressive country of Eastern Europe. Of course the Slovenians were not impressed being positioned in Eastern Europe when they are clearly ’an Alpine country bordering Italy and Austria ’.

Here in the UK they refer to Europe as a continent. “We are going to the continent for a holiday” means two weeks in Provence.

So where are the borders of Europe? And does a single Europe exist? Or are there   Eastern, Western, Scandinavian, Balkan, Alpine, Central, South Eastern Europe …And this divide is valid only if you are coming from the Western Hemisphere. If you are flying from China then Eastern Europe is Germany, Holland, UK, France!

The most significant eastern border of Europe was established by the Swedish geographer and cartographer von Strahlenberg  as lying in the Ural Mountains. But that border is not in accordance with the EC divide which has members of the EC, non members of the EC and prospective candidates. As someone who comes from Eastern Europe, from a country which is not a member of the EC and a long way from  even becoming a candidate,  I find it very difficult to explain to people when they ask me where I come from. Sometimes I make a terrible mistake saying “the former Yugoslavia” and we end up talking about the Iron Curtain in Europe when there was a clear divide based on political systems. We were communist and the rest of Europe capitalist. Then in accordance with political preferences the United States and Western Europe established the NATO alliance and later the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe established the Warsaw Pact. I felt for the Germans being divided into East and West but also divided into NATO and the Warsaw pact. Then after forty four years Germany was reunited, after the symbolic fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the maps of Eastern Europe were redrawn once more.

I think only the Europeans define themselves so much by division - mainly by geography but usually by wars  - while the rest of the world see us just as  ’ Europe’ .There are various descriptions of Europe’s boundaries, some some sources include territories that other sources do not include in Europe.  

For example, Cyprus is close to Turkey but is often considered part of Europe and is a member state of the EU. For Western Europeans, Eastern Europe is Bulgaria but for the Bulgarians themselves Turkey is Eastern Europe as far as the Bosporus Straits, but for Western Europe Turkey is not Europe at all. Lots of people think that Malta belongs to Africa .Would you say Finland was in Europe or Scandinavia? Or is Bosnia in the Balkans or Europe? When you search for your next holiday please have a look at which countries  are really ‘Europe’.  The travel industry is the biggest culprit for dividing Europe. Usually by price.

What do you think where are they – the borders of Europe? My email is Tara@ReadyClcickAndGo.com or leave comment here.

A day in Sapa 

 

 

We’d booked a guide and car and driver to take us around Sapa for the day-and-a-half we were spending there, and they picked us up mid-morning for a walk to one of the minority villages where the Red Dao and Black Hmong people live. As we got out of the car, there was a group of a dozen or so colourfully-dressed women from the village with baskets on their backs. They surrounded us and told us pleasantly that if they walked with us, we should buy something from them, which sounded fair enough and I agreed. Three of the women allocated themselves to me therefore, shooed away their rivals and set off with us cheerfully, asking questions and chatting in what little English they knew. They did not say Manchester United when I said where I came from (which virtually everybody else in the world does), so I amended my reply to England which they had heard of. The path was initially a concrete track – the local council had thought that foreigners coming to Sapa to hike in the hills might find the concrete more appealing to walk on than a real mountain track. It drizzled for much of the day, and the guide did not actually say before we set off that the walk was going to take 3 ½ hours, so I was rather dispirited when we stopped for a little sit down as I was really tired, to find out that we were only nearly half-way there. I looked at the three Red Dao village girls who were amiably waiting for us to continue, felt guilty at taking up their whole day on an unnecessary walk, shared out the biscuits my guide had brought for us, and set off again. 

The walk was not particularly difficult, on more or less flat terrain but pretty despite the drizzle, with rice terraces and mountains, the odd fellow-walkers, a girl with buffalo, and we went into a farmhouse where two girls were softening a roll of material with an ancient wooden contraption they stood on and rolled with a pumping motion of their feet. There was a hole for a fireplace in the ground, sacks of rice, corn and chillies piled on the earth floor, some puppies and a TV, and the girls looked tired. The village we ended up in was little more than one lane lined with shops selling snacks and water for the tourists who arrive, exhausted, here. One of my Red Dao girls pointed up a hill and said they lived 2 kilometres further on, and I was amazed by their lack of fatigue when I had been fit to drop for a couple of hours. By the time my guide sat me down in a plastic garden chair I was therefore in no state to resist their salesmanship which consisted of them selecting from their baskets what I should buy – a wall-hanging, a pair of matching cushion covers and a scarf, one from each of them – and telling me what I should pay. One of the girls did say, “I say price, you say price” but this prompt to bargain passed me by at the time. I struggled feebly to convert the hundreds of thousands of dong they mentioned into sterling in my head but could only manage the vaguest figure that I still knew was over the odds, but handed over the cash virtually without a murmer, much to their surprise. My guide was slightly disgusted with my profligacy, but scooped me up into the.car before I could do any more shopping and took me to a hot little café for pumpkin soup and ginger tea. 

Half a day in Sapa   

The next day I knew I was in for another walk, but counted on it being shorter. It was indeed shorter, only 1 ½ hours, but all uphill on a concrete path with no shade and in really hot, humid weather. We drove for half an hour to a village in a valley with local radio screaming out from a loudspeaker, and where the guide took me to Mr Lan’s house for a cup of tea. Mr Lan had built an upstairs storey on his house where he had made a dormitory for overnight visitors, he had to just ask the village elders for permission to do so. They made all the men of the village there help build it, and in return, Mr Lan had to throw daily dinner parties for them – no money changed hands. It sounded like a jolly good system. Anyway, we trudged uphill, my guide picked leaves and crushed them with his fingers and put them under my nose until I recognised the smell as coriander or lemongrass or whatever. There were tiny piglets and chicks, geese, kittens, cocky dogs, a baby buffalo, and peasants of all ages from the village at the top, all striding along with a stamina that comes from daily necessity. It was not enjoyable at all, but was too embarrassed to tell the guide I wanted to turn back, and hoped that the next day I might enjoy it in retrospect. Two small village kids at the top took my empty water bottles and bashed them up happily whilst their mother clearly wondered why I was so red-faced and sweaty, and breathed so noisily. The guide took me to another farmhouse in the village – they just say hello and can we come in – and again, it was just a large wooden barn but with electricity. It was lunchtime and the family were eating bowls of rice together at a low table, and paid us little attention. The village was poor and ramshakle like the ones yesterday, not charmingly rustic as the tourist guidebooks imply, and I felt like an intruder. We walked back down to the car and climbed gratefully back in. 

But I am still enjoying both walks immensely in retrospect! 

For more information please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our webiste at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com 

   

Beer Festivals Tour

                                                                                                                   

On  the rare times when I meet up with my friends to discuss boring chores , husbands ex and present, boyfriends, his kids, our kids,  pets, mothers in law, George Osborne’s  austerity (is that the new in-word?) budget and England’s shameful defeat by the Germans, of course we get drunk. My friends get drunk mostly on ladies’ drinks: wine, G&T, occasional cocktails, very rarely on plain spirits. I get drunk on beer. I am a simple soul in love with the hop. All my relationships, marriages, divorces, bad decisions and occasional good ones were witnessed by hops. Not hopes but hops!

I imagine I suddenly win the lottery - not all six numbers but five  -  or I get made redundant and get redundancy pay – and am suddenly flush with money. What would I do?

I would go on a beer tour. 

My first beer festival could only start after 20^th January. After celebrating a Catholic Christmas, (25^th December), New Year (31^st December), Serbian Orthodox Christmas (7^th January), Serbian New Year (14^th January) and my mum’s family’s Saint Day, St  Jovan, (20^th January), I would be ready to begin my beer odyssey. 

The first one I would visit would be near my current adobe which is in the UK, in Buckinghamshire,  and the closest beer festival is one which takes place in Cambridge between 21 and 23 January.  They are even asking for volunteers which is tempting. If you’re not totally incapacitated you can do some sightseeing, as Cambridge is a well known University City.

Then I would make a little break to get my liver back to normal. Between 4^th and 6^th February I would attend the Pendle beer festival in Colne, Lancashire. Still England. They like their beer and I knew which country to choose when decided to move out of mine! The Pendle Beer Festival is very interesting because this year the theme was “Down on the Farm” with all the beer given the name of animals and birds. This festival is held for the benefit for the local hospital! There is not much to see beyond the festival but your money spent on beer is going to good causes. 

As March approaches I would like to get some spring sunshine and would go to Florida for their annual Beer Festival which takes place in Tampa on the 6^th March.  If you don’t want to do any sightseeing or make any contributions to society you can go for a swim. Make sure you are not drunk! 

April is Easter and that’s a very good reason to attend a beer festival. This month you can continue from Tampa in Florida to Chicago and attend a beer festival with a very posh title: Craft Brewers Conference and Brewexpo of America.  Among the drinking activities this beer festival includes a World Beer Cup competition!

If you are in the USA during May you should head for the American Craft Beer Week   This Festival is a chance to sign a Declaration of Beer Independence. 

After two long months in the USA I would move to Japan and instead of drinking sake I would go to the Great Beer Festival in Tokyo which took place 5-6^th June this year.  Also try to visit the Meiji shrine, you won’t regret it. You can take a bullet train from Tokyo and continue to Osaka for the Beer Festival there which takes place in July.

Summer months are beer festival months and there are so many of them.  I think we, beer lovers, should have July as World Beer Month, WBM! From Japan you can go back to the UK and pick one of the zillions of beer festivals which take place during this month or head to a new, recently independent country in Eastern Europe, MACEDONIA, for a beer festival which takes place in Prilep. Or try one of the biggest Nordic BEER Festivals which takes place in Estonia.  The website is in Estonian only but I am sure you can recognise word ber in Estonian which means beer.

You can head to Malta for the Farson Great Beer Festival and local Cisk beer.

During August I would go to the BELGRADE Beer Festival   not just because they have the best beer in the world but purely for sentimental reasons, as I was born in Belgrade. The local brew called Jelen is cheap but recommended for hard core labourers.  The word for beer in Serbian is pivo but is the same in all the ex-republics of the former Yugoslavia. Saying pivo, you actually speak six different languages!

 After Belgrade I would fly to Beijing and get a train to  Qingdao for the  famous Beer Festival in CHINA which takes place in August.  The factory was set up in 1903 by German settlers in this part of China. The beer which they produce is called Tsingdao which tastes  very good and it’s widely available in China. Next to the factory there is a museum which is well worth a  visit. Qingdao is a very interesting city to visit as there is a lot of German architecture still standing, such as the residence of the German ambassador and the Catholic Church.

September I would spend in Brussels not because there is much to see in Brussels but to attend the Belgian Beer Festival, and get connected to Stella , my favourite beer.

October I would spend in Germany for the world’s largest beer festival. But I heard the same expression (world’s largest) in China as well.

November would be reserved for a Beer festival closer to home, Manchester

And December I would relax at home getting ready for Christmas. Of course with a few Stellas.

Eco Lodge in Serbia

 

We all talk about saving the planet but how many of us really do something? We occasionally recycle. Only because our councils imposes such a huge fines that we have to. We still curse supermarkets for such a waste of wrapping and packaging on food but we still drive to the supermarkets to get the same food. We still fly out of convenience and pay for our “sins” by signing away a certain amount of money on the booking form to ‘offset’ our flight. And still feeling guilty we try hard to get an ‘eco-friendly’ five star hotel in the middle of nowhere.

My last holiday, just in between the BA strikes and the volcano eruption, was spent in a National Park in Serbia. Yes, they do have national parks. We looked for ‘eco’, comfort, nature, history, a spa and we came across “Ranch Platan” which is located on one hectare of the Fruska Gora National Park at 280 m above sea level. We booked our apartments by email as the option of taking payment over the internet in Serbia is not possible yet. The very friendly email “voice” was happy for us to pay on arrival. Now how many of you booked a hotel without paying at least a deposit not to mention the full amount four weeks before arrival ? Here at Ranch Platan they go to basic hospitality rule – trust!

The friendly voice behind the whole idea of an ‘eco ranch’ in Serbia belongs to a lady called Vesna who greeted us personally on arrival and even then she wasn’t bothered about money as her first and utmost motivation is her guest! Nothing exists on that ranch except YOU and YOUR HOLIDAY!

She took us to our well-decorated cottage, one of six, each with its own entrance, balcony, fireplace, kitchen, bathroom, and loft with double bed. But something they don’t  advertise and it is included as free of charge is fresh air, peace, tranquillity, views. Yes you do have WiFi as well if you are that desperate on your holiday.

The ranch doesn’t include breakfast but your cottage does have cooking facilities. You do get basic ingredients like coffee, tea, sugar, salt, oil, sweets and a bottle of local wine. You can bring a bag of pasta and some eggs. You don’t need more as most days you spend sightseeing around the 17 nearby monasteries, and there are big maps of the region on display at the Ranch. The owners, very friendly city couple who decided to change way of life and bought a land few years ago, are on standby in the house which is located at the Ranch itself for any information regarding area.

If you are tired and just want to chill out go and see Vesna’s husband, a pleasant, quiet man with a huge movie collection. Once you are in the lodge you can light a fire in the kamin  and enjoy tranquillity of the place.  Or just walk above your lodge to nearby view point for amazing country side views and ozone saturated fresh air. Also  there is a spa in  the village of Vrdnik and the treatments are cheap – a basic massage is around £15 per person and the spa is only 600m from Ranch Platan.  You can also play basketball, volleyball, table tennis or badminton on a little court on the edge of the ranch, or simply walk to the Tower of Vrdnik, a Roman castle about 4km away – the doctors at the Spa recommend it!

After few days in this amazing place you will come back invigorated and wishing you could stay longer.

Please check their website at http://rancplatan.com/smestajen.htm even you are not planning to go there. This is a new breed of hotels, new “Eco” Serbia which you need to learn about.