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Best time to visit Costa Rica and Panama – avoid the rain season!

29. November 2018 4 Kommentare

Best time to visit Costa Rica and Panama – avoid the rain saison!

This will be a very open blog post about my experience in Central America in the rainy season. You definitely want to find the best time to visit Costa Rica and Panama and it should definitely not be the rain season.

I visited Costa Rica in October and Panama in November and would love to share my insights on the rain season here with you now.

To start off, when I booked the trip I stupidly enough didn’t research the weather beforehand. This turned out to be a big mistake. I spent 1.5 month traveling through Panama and Costa Rica and literally had rain every single day. I think we got like three afternoons of sunshine in total. The rest it was just pouring rain.

Oh and put aside your concept of rain because I am sure it not nearly describes how much rain you can actually take. When it rains it doesn’t just drizzle a bit, it seriously rains cats and dogs for hours.

The difficult thing is that you cant really trust the weather report. There are so many microclimates and it can change so fast and so much. The weather is very unpredictable and this makes it extremely difficult to plan trips and activities. Every single time we wanted to go out and do an activity we were surprised by a humongous amount of water ruining pretty much everything we had planned. This made it quite hard to enjoy the trip, because I always felt like I would only get half of the experience. Sometimes it would rain all morning and would be nicer in the afternoon and then the next day it would be exactly the opposite.

In Costa Rica we also got quite a bit of fog. So combine rain and fog and you have the perfect weather to do absolutely nothing outside. I remember this one time we wanted to see volcano Poas which has the biggest crater of the world. We were standing centimeters away from the crater and did not see anything because of the rain and fog. It’s like I have never been there. Really sad.

Now looking back I think I actually kind of fell into a slight rain depression. I am a person who simply needs sunshine and sunlight to be fully happy. Imagine going 1.5 month without a proper day of sun. It made me really sad, cranky and disappointed!

One more thing I simply need to add as it also bothered me a lot traveling through Costa Rica and Panama. I just couldn’t get my head wrapped around how crazy expensive they were. Especially Costa Rica. I mean that fact alone would be fine if the quality of life, infrastructure and public transport availability would match the price levels. Unfortunately that was not the case. Besides the fact that it was dirty almost everywhere it was also difficult to get from A to B, I was missing a lot of the tradition cuisine (couldn’t find much more besides beans, rica and plantain) and couldn’t find any really nice restaurants to go to. As a food blogger the national cuisine is always super important to me and I just couldn’t find many traditional dishes or inviting restaurants. Most of them had plastic chairs, plastic banners, loud music and neon lights.

I know this sounds all very negative and there were obviously also some benefits from the rain. Everything was sooo extremely green and beautiful. You will find any shade of green you can imagine and the entire country is blossoming and flourishing. Another positive thing I need to add is that it never gets cold. It is still going to be so much warmer than Europe – even with the rain.

We got one afternoon without clouds and the sunset was simply magical. I believe I might have also just been really unlucky with the weather. Nevertheless, it simply does rain a lot during that time of the year.

I also quickly wanted to share my highlights of the trip if you ever consider going to Panama and Costa Rica yourself:

San Blas Islands: These are little indigenous islands in the Caribbean about 2.5 hours outside of Panama City. Beautiful blue water – if the sun is out (which wasn’t the case when we were there). You are hosted by local Kuna people and do boat trips everyday to tiny little islands.
Bocas del Toro: A group of islands right by the Costa Rican border. I can recommend Playa Estrella as you will be seeing so many star fish in the water.
Panama Canal: I was really impressed by the Panama Canal. My tip: go to the restaurant Atlantic & Pacific for dinner around 4.30pm. Like this you can avoid the expensive visitor center and still see the ships passing through from the terrace of the restaurant.
Rincon de la Vieja: This is a volcano in Costa Rica we went to. Even though we didn’t see the actual volcano because of the fog, the hiking trail was stunning and so interesting to see all the boiling and bubbling waters everywhere.
Buena Vista Lodge: this is a big adventure lodge in the rain forest north of Costa Rica. We went horse riding there, zip lining and visited beautiful volcanic hot springs.
Escalante: this is a nice neighborhood in San Jose filled with cute restaurant. It was the only place in Costa Rica I found restaurants that I actually wanted to go to and spend my money.

So to summarize October and November are the worst months to visit those countries. Therefore the best time to visit Costa Rica and Panama is after those months. They start getting much more sun in December. From December to April its dry season. Still with occasional rain every once in a while, but much much better than if you were to go in the autumn.

I met many travelers throughout the weeks and most of them had the same experience. Others got really lucky with the weather and got some good days of sunshine. I guess it just really depends on luck over there in the rain season.

Sorry for this quite negative blog post on the best time to visit Costa Rica – but it only reflects my experience there. So better an honest post than if I would tell you everything was amazing and you being disappointed if you end up going in October or November to these countries. If you want to read a more upbeat blog post about a place I actually love I recommend you check out my Tulum food guide and my Riviera maya travel tips. Here is also my Instagram for more travel inspo!

xoxo,

Travel

Riviera Maya photo spots and travel tips

27. November 2018 7 Kommentare

After two road trips through the Riviera Maya I would like to share my highlights here with you. It is such a magical and wonderful place to visit. In this blog post you will find the best Riviera Maya photo spots and travel tips to give you the best experience possible there.

Each paragraph of the blog post talks about one of my travel highlights there always giving away the best photo spots in the end, so you can stay assured to leave with the best Instagram photos possible 😉

Tulum

Tulum is a separate little world, nothing like you will have ever seen before. Away from the loud party city Cancun with its fancy hotels you will find a lot of eco tourism here. Everything has this very specific nature & hipster vibe. There are candles literally everywhere and each place looks like out of a fairy tale. They have a concept of creating true sustainability, thats why they take care of all the details from the materials of the constructions to the ingredients of the food prepared in the restaurants.

The main town of Tulum is basically just one main street with a couple of nice restaurants and bars. The real deal is the hotel zone. This is where you find all the well-known Instagram hotels and super hip food places. Make sure to visit my blog post on food in Tulum, where I am sharing all my favorite food spots.

Visiting the hotels at Tulum beach

Here are some hotels you should go and check out for a unique experience. You don’t need to stay at them in order to have a look. We always pretended to want to eat something at the restaurant and walked right through. They are all super fancy and have amazing picture places. You definitely have to be a certain kind of person to stay at these places. Although every hotel offers extreme luxury and fancy cabanas you get this hippie eco vibe everywhere. We were interested and googled the prices of some hotels on the main hotel street of Tulum. Most start around 600 euros per night.

Photo spots:

Any of these hotel will offer some of the best Riviera Maya photo spots. The resorts are all beautifully designed and you will find something cool and new in every single one of them.

Delek – is strongly focused around the concept of sustainability which is reflected in the construction style and the menu choices in the restaurant.They have a super nice beach are with big beach beds. http://www.delektulum.com/
The Nest – is celebrating simplicity within its hotel and fits right in with the other eco hotels on the beach. The private villas and bungalows are all styled individually and the beach bed area looked so cosy. https://nesttulum.com/
Beach Tulum – I have only seen this one from outside, but it fascinated me with all the lights and candles. Would have checked it out from inside if there had been more time.
Azulik – no wifi, no electricity, the entire hotel is a piece of art. You can visit the restaurant and art gallery
Be Tulum – went through this hotel on the first hotel to get to the beach. They have a really nice pool we used for some photos. The beach bar also looked absolutely fantastic.

In Tulum you will also find old Maya ruins directly at the beach. The white old stones in contrast with the stunning clear blue water is a must see. Highly recommend you go early in the morning, as it can get super hot otherwise.

Cenotes

A must see at the Riviera Maya are the Cenotes. These are beautiful sinkholes, resulting from the collapse of limestone now exposing groundwater underneath. Back in the days most of them were sacred spaces for the Mayas. Their crystal clear water is breath taking. There are may different types, from open Cenotes to caves. We visited four different ones this time and one last year, each unique in their own way.

Cenotes are definitely included in my list of best Riviera Maya photo spots! Here are all the ones we went to:

Crsitallino: 30 pesos entry, beautiful open pool with a little cave for snorkeling
Cenote Azul: 120 pesos entry, open Cenote where you can jump from a little cliff
Gran Cenote: 180 pesos entry, most famous one, cute little turtles there and beautiful blue water
Ik Kil: 5$ entry – go in the morning to avoid the tour buses, most impressive Cenote I have seen
Suytun: 70 pesos entry – go in the afternoon to avoid crowds. complete cave and super epic scenery

Chichen Itza

These old Maya ruins are one of the seven world wonders. They were constructed 600 years BC and are very well maintained. I have seen some Asztek ruins in Mexico City and the Maya ruins are quite different in the way they are built and the stones that were used. We enjoyed our time there a lot as it is simply fascinating to walk around and absorb the stories the buildings tell.

Photo spot:

Right in front of the main pyramid you should take one of those hand holding looking back photos. Not sure if there is a specific name for that? It is a great shot though 🙂

Holbox – day trip to paradise

Holbox has to be on my list for best Riviera Maya photo spots. This is a magical little island we came to for one night. Drive to Chiquilá and take the ferry to the island. You can leave the car in one of the many supervised parking lots. We stayed in this super cute hostel where we slept in hammocks for the night. This was the budget version though and you can obviously find more comfortable accomodation on the island, but the hammocks were a once in a lifetime experience!
The water on Holbox is so blue it seems almost unreal. Punta Mosquitos and Punta Coco have the best beaches. Downtown Holbox is also perfect for a nice dinner. They have so many stunning restaurants and we couldn’t choose where to go first!

Photo spot:

At Punta Mosquitos you find a beautiful beach with hammocks in the water reading the word “Holbox”. Each hammock pole has one letter. It looks so cool. Overlooking this beach you find a bar with a rooftop pool. I honestly have to admit I forgot the name, but when you are there you certainly will see it.

Cozumel – beach pictures!

Cozumel is an island right in front of Playa del Carmen. You will need to take a ferry which takes 30 minutes and is extremely nauseating. On the way there so many people will try to sell you stuff. They are all trying to rip you off by selling you cars for a day because they say taxi rides are crazy expensive on the island. Don’t do any of that. Just buy your ferry ticket at the main counter in front of the harbor (Fast Ferry). We paid around 10$ each way. Once you get there you can walk around downtown a bit and then take a taxi to one of the beaches. To Playa Azul where we have been to the last two times we paid 90 pesos in total, so really cheap. I have heard Palancar should be super nice, but I have never been there before.

Photo spot: Cozumel is surely one of the best Riviera Maya photo spots simply because of the gorgeous beaches you will find there. What I love about Cozumel and especially Playa Azul is how crystal clear and blue the water is. Absolutely perfect for beach pictures.

Playa del Carmen – dinner in the city

This is a quite busy city and we always only passed through the main street close to the beach for dinner. It is bustling with people and you will find a lot of cool restaurant. We went to a place called 100% natural and were amazed by the healthy food choices and nice atmosphere. In the main street you will also find so many different ice cream shops. The best ice cream was at Aldo (Ferrero, Cookies and Kinder Bueno), but we also found spectacular ice cream in the shape of roses where every peddle would be a flavor of your choice. The place was called Amorino.

Bacalar – the lagoon of seven colors

Certainly the most beautiful lagoon I have ever seen and one of the best Riviera Maya photo spots. The lake in Bacalar spreads out with its crystal clear blue water in different shades that give you the impression you are looking at the Caribbean ocean. I can recommend this awesome healthy place there called: Mango and Chile. Their protein smoothies are incredible. Bacalar is much more quiet than all the other places mentioned above. You still get much more of an authentic Mexican experience than anywhere else in the touristic areas.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and it was helpful to plan your trip. I am certain you will love it there and the Riviera Maya photo spots are simply amazing. If you are going to visit Tulum you should have a look at my more detailed food guide on the best restaurants in Tulum.

In case you have more questions feel free to contact me directly on IG or leave a comment here and I will respond right away.

xoxo,

Travel

Tulum Restaurant Guide – food & Instagram spots!

25. November 2018 6 Kommentare

After having been to Tulum two times and having sampled my way through all kinds of different restaurants, bars and healthy places I feel like I simply need to share my favorite food spots with you. Here you find a Tulum restaurant guide so you can have the best experience possible in this wonderful town!

Why I love Tulum

Tulum just has this incredible vibe you have to experience for yourself. Everything in Tulum is so artsy and unique. All the hotels, restaurants and bars kind of follow the same style guide. You will find a lot of wood, candles and palm leaf roofs. Some hotels adapt a digital detox concept and don’t have wifi or electricity. They have a concept of creating true sustainability, thats why they take care of all the details from the materials of the constructions to the ingredients of the food prepared in the restaurants.

Tulum is a unique place and much different than any other part of Mexico. Forget the posh and shiny hotel resorts you find in Cancun and expect a more down to earth, eco nature vibe. This is also reflected by the cuisine you find there. Tulum is packed with raw and vegan cafes and fancy designer food. I had so much fun eating and sampling my way through the food places and will tell you about my favorite spots in my Tulum restaurant guide now.

Raw Love

Raw love is a super cute beach bar that will make your heart beat faster if you are even remotely interested in nice cream bowls. I had to include Raw love in my Tulum restaurant guide for its incredible selection of superfood bowls that will convert any non vegan into a nice cream lover. They are served beautifully in coconut bowls and you can even add protein (vanilla, chocolate or hemp) to any of the yummy treats. Enjoy the bowls right by the beach and crystal clear blue water. They also have the option of turning your bowl into a smoothie for take away. What I loved is the idea of their Pharmacy shots, which are super high dosed superfood shots. Pure life elixir for your body.

Matcha Mama

Top Instagram food spot you need to go to when you are in Tulum. It is a must to take a photo with your healthy superfood smoothie on the cute white swings outside the little street stand. Even our short visit at Matcha Mama made me so happy because it is the perfect place to soak up these tropical beach vacation vibes. Fresh fruit everywhere around the shop, happy people and friendly staff. They even had wifi there which is perfect to upload that quick swing boomerang 😉
The drink menu is quite extensive and you can decide if you want either a smoothie or a bowl. I had the Mamacita smoothie which included matcha, almond milk, banana, mango and peanut butter. The smoothies are for Mexican standards pretty expensive, but definitely worth it! A smoothie is around 150 pesos (7$) and the bowls 200 pesos (10$). A definite highlight on my Tulum restaurant guide.

Ahau

Ahau is a hotel with a beach club and restaurant on the main hotel street in Tulum. After a morning workout in the jungle gym which is very close, we headed over to Ahau for breakfast. They have a generous menu of different breakfast choices ranging from Mexican to super healthy vegan food. I ordered the chocolate chia pudding in coconut milk with strawberries, banana, roasted almonds and cacao nibs. Alberto got the huevos rancheros, which is a very traditional Mexican breakfast dish and sooo delicious. They atmosphere is so chill and you have a direct view onto the beach. Certainly, my favorite breakfast location of this trip.

Gitano

This place is another world and on top of my Tulum restaurant guide list. I don’t think I have ever been to a more beautiful restaurant. We went for dinner and there were little lanterns, lights and candles everywhere. The atmosphere, style and setting was simply breath taking. The food was one of the best I had in Mexico and the waiters super nice. My Mexican room mate recommended me Gitano and we actually already wanted to go last year, but then a huge rain shower came and we stayed at home. So happy we went this time. They have such healthy options on the menu. We had sweet potato, hummus, asparagus, tuna carpaccio and pulled beef tacos. It’s not cheap for Mexican standards, but still absolutely affordable for us Europeans.

https://nesttulum.com/ — Atmosphere at Gitano

Burrito Amor

In Avenida Tulum you find the super cute Burrito Amor restaurant. It has a super laid back and chill atmosphere. We went there for lunch. The boys ordered burritos and us girls had a smoothie and a salad. Honestly I would not recommend the salad – it was super sour and small, but everything else was really good. The owners of Burrito Amor introduced a clean eating concept and thats why you will find a lot of healthy options on the menu. It is a great place if you are in or out of the city to grab a quick snack. Portions aren’t super big, but the atmosphere definitely has its charms and the vanilla bread is the best sweet bread I have ever tried.

Nü Tulum

NÜ’s goal is to make you discover the richness of the modern Mexican cuisine through flavorful and original recipes. We only walked by it several times and I admired its simplistic setting. It is quite pricy, but the dishes on their Insta and Homepage look super exquisit. NÜ is run by 7 talented Chefs and this restaurant was on top of my list. Unfortunately, not enough time to try them all. Therefore, I would highly recommend you going there and tell me if the food really was as delicious as I imagined it to be. Since we didn’t go there I also unfortunately don’t have a photo of this place.

Batey

This is a Tulum restaurant guide recommendation from the first time I visited Tulum. We went twice to this bar because we loved it so much. Batey has life music and each cocktail comes with a real sugar cane that you can nibble on. They also have this super cool old Volkswagen parked out side and spraypainted, as well as a sugar cane machine in the bar where they make fresh syrup. Again I really liked the setting an atmosphere there. It is in Tulum downtown so pretty far away from the beach & hotel area. Depending on where you stay you might need to catch a cab there. Was trying to find a picture I took last year, but unfortunately couldn’t find one – you simply have to trust me on this one 😉

Last but not least – my little sad Taco al Pastor story

When I was in Tulum last year I fell in love with this super local Pastor place. We came back so many times because the super local tacos al pastor were so good. You can imagine how excited I was to go back there this year. Literally days before getting to Tulum I was dreaming of those Tacos. Well, long story short – we spend half an hour driving up and down Tulum main street trying to find the place. We were certain we still knew perfectly well where it was located. After a while and passing the same street multiple times we could make out the building of the Pastor place. Empty, deserted. We found out the had closed the place down. You have no idea how disappointed I was for the next 15 minutes. I had been looking forward to this place for week by then. Sad story, but luckily still so much other amazing food around to make up for the loss. 😉

Tulum restaurant guide and Insta photo spots

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and if you ever go and visit you might find this Tulum restaurant guide helpful. If I had to choose one place out of all the ones I mentioned about I would strongly urge you to go and have dinner at Gitano. It is one of the most magical restaurants I have ever been to.

Regarding the best photo spots you need to take a picture at Matcha Mama on the cute swings. When you walk up that same street a bit in the direction of Tulum downtown you will find a sign that says „Follow that dream“ which is also perfect for photos. Besides that any of the stylish hotels offer plenty of photo spots (Be Tulum, Azulik, the Nest) and the Jungle Gym is also a great opportunity to get some workout photos.

Make sure to also check the blog post on the Riviera Maya photo spots and travel places sharing my entire travel route.

xoxo,

Inspiration, Travel

EF Sprachreise in Costa Rica

17. Oktober 2018 2 Kommentare

Werbung in Kooperation mit EF Österreich.

Anfang Oktober ging es für mich ab nach Costa Rica, Playa Tamarindo für eine Woche EF Sprachreise um Spanisch zu lernen. In diesem Blogpost möchte ich euch kurz meine Eindrücke dieser unvergesslichen Woche zusammenfassen.

Organisation vorm Abflug

Schon von Anfang an war ich von der Organisation der Sprachreise begeistert. Schon im Vorhinein bekommt man Zugang zu seinem EF Konto wo man Einsicht in alle wichtigen Dinge der bevorstehenden Sprachreise hat. So sieht man zum Beispiel alle Details der Sprachschule, seine Flugzeiten, kann einen Transfer buchen und so weiter. Es gibt auch eine EF App, welche ich während der Woche sehr oft gebraucht habe. Hier sieht man in seinen Stundenplan ein und kann sich für die täglichen Aktivitäten anmelden. Man kann auch Credits hochladen mit denen man dann an bezahlten Ausflügen teilnehmen kann.

Eine Woche vor Abflug habe ich dann auch noch meine Endunterlagen mit letzten Infos zugeschickt bekommen. Hier waren noch einmal alle wichtigen Infos zusammengefasst und alle Notfallnummern vermerkt. Dies machte die Anreise zum Kinderspiel. Als ich aus dem Flughafen ging begrüßte mich schon ein netter Mann mit einem “Hola” in seinem rosa EF T-Shirt und brachte mich zur Sprachschule.

Stundenplan / Sprachniveau / Einstufung

Am ersten Tag machte ich gemeinsam mit allen anderen Schülern, welche über das Wochenende neu dazugekommen sind, einen Einstufungstest. Schriftlich und mündlich. Somit wurde mein Sprachniveau festgestellt. Ich wurde dann der Gruppe B1 zugeteilt und mir wurde demnach mein persönlicher Stundenplan erstellt.
B1 ist fortgeschritten und mir war vor allem wichtig noch einmal die Grammatik zu wiederholen, da ich nie formalen Spanischunterricht gehabt hatte sondern alles eigentlich nur vom Zuhören gelernt hatte. Ich hatte auch wirklich eine hervorragende Lehrerin, welcher man die Begeisterung des Unterrichtens richtig anmerkte.

Unterricht

Ich hatte jeden Tag Unterricht. Manchmal nur am Vormittag, manchmal am Nachmittag und auch einmal zu beiden Zeiten. Ich hatte einen General Course. Man kann aber auch Intensivkurse buchen. Hier hat man dann natürlich dementsprechend mehr Stunden. Der Stundenplan ergibt sich aus den normalen Grammatik und Spracheinheiten sowie einer Multimedia Stunde und den SPIN Kursen. SPIN Kurse sind special interest courses. Hier kann man aus verschiedenen Kategorien wie Kultur, Grammatik, Konversation, Tourismus, ect. wählen. Ich hatte mich für Kultur und Tourismus eingetragen und so waren wir für meine SPIN Klasse auf einer Bootstour und haben Wildtiere beobachtet.

Aufenthaltsdauer

Ich habe während meines Aufenthalts mit sehr vielen anderen Schülern gesprochen und der Durchschnitt verbrachte zwischen 6 Wochen und drei Monaten in der Sprachschule. Jedoch gab es auch einige die neun Monate blieben oder alle drei Monate das Land wechselten. Das fand ich besonders cool. So waren manche 3 Monate in Costa Rica und haben Spanisch gelernt, sind dann weiter gegangen nach Kanada oder Amerika um ihr Englisch aufzubessern und haben dann noch 3 Monate in Italien verbracht um mit Italienisch zu beginnen. So kann man in kurzer Zeit unglaublich viele Eindrücke eines Landes gewinnen und noch dazu die Sprache lernen!

Wunderschöne smaragdgrüne Landschaft wohin das Auge reicht

Housing

Gastfamilien

Die meisten Schüler haben bei Gastfamilien gewohnt. Das bietet sich natürlich an, um noch besser die Sprache zu lernen und einen noch engeren Kontakt zu den Einheimischen aufzubauen. Bei den Gastfamilien wurde gefrühstückt und zu Abend gegessen. Am Wochenende waren alle drei Mahlzeiten inkludiert. Da die Gastfamilien aber alle in den umliegenden Dörfern wohnten war es für ein paar Schüler schwer oft zu späterer Stunde nach Hause zu kommen. Es gab zwar ein Shuttle von der Schule, aber der fuhr immer nur einmal Morgens und einmal Abends um die Schüler zur Schule zu bringen und nach Hause zu fahren. Hatte man dazwischen Freistunden oder erst später Unterricht musste man trotzdem diesen Shuttle nehmen oder sonst einfach ein Taxi. Zum Glück hatte die Sprachschule einen tollen Gemeinschaftsbereich mit Pool, Billardtisch, kleinem Kino, Bibliothek und anderen Dingen mit welchen man seine freie Zeit verbringen konnte.

Wohnheim

Für einen Aufpreis konnte man auch in den verschiedenen Wohnheimen wohnen. Diese waren absolut fantastisch, immer mit eigenen Pool und sehr modern. Da ich nur eine Woche in der EF Sprachschule war wohnte ich in Casa Eleri, allein in einem wunderschönen Apartment mit großer Küche und tollem Ausblick. Wer etwas mehr Privatsphäre wichtig ist kann ich diese Option ans Herz legen.

Das Team vor Ort

Schon nach ein paar Tagen hatte man einen guten Überblick über das Staff Team und wusste wer für was zuständig ist. So was es ja doch ein recht klein, aber feines Team. Am ersten Tag hat uns der Direktor persönlich begrüßt und jedes Department hat sich kurz vorgestellt. Im Allgemeinen muss ich sagen, dass ich total begeistert von der Freundlichkeit und Hilfsbereitschaft des Lehrerteams war. Man sah eine richtige Begeisterung welche sie für ihren Job und den Umgang mit den Schülern aus aller Welt hatten.

Social Activities

Die Sprachschule vor Ort hat jeden Tag Aktivitäten für die Schüler organisiert für welche man sich anmelden konnte. Diese waren zum Teil gratis und für andere musste man einen kleinen Betrag zahlen. So waren wir zum Beispiel am Montag auf einen Welcome Drink eingeladen, gingen am Dienstag zusammen auf einem Berg den Sonnenuntergang ansehen und am Freitag hatte ich mich für Surfen angemeldet. Es gab aber auch Volleyball, Fußball und andere Dinge welche ich in der kurzen Zeit in Playa Tamarindo nicht wahrgenommen habe.
Am Wochenende organisiert die Sprachschule immer eine Reise. Das ist total praktisch, da alles für einen geplant wird. Vom Transport, zur Verpflegung und Übernachtung. Auf diese Weise hat man wirklich auf eine sehr unkomplizierte Weise die Möglichkeit sehr viel vom Land zu sehen. Jedes Monat gibt es sogar eine internationale Reise. In der Woche bevor ich kam waren sie in Mexiko und im nächsten Monat gibt es einen Trip nach Panama. Langeweile ist hier also fehl am Platz!

EF hat für mich dann auch andere Aktivitäten abseits von den wöchentlich geplanten organisiert. Die Schüler können einfach in das Activity Office gehen und bekommen hier super Infos was es in der Umgebung zu machen gibt. So erfüllte ich mir zum Beispiel den Traum von einem Ausritt am Strand.

Darüber hinaus habe ich auch bei einer Quad Tour mitgemacht, wo wir für 2 Stunden durch den Regenwald gebraust sind. Wir sind durch richtig große Wasserlacken gefahren, haben Affen gesehen und waren auf einem wunderschönen verlassenen Strand.

Costa Rica

Generell würde ich euch raten nicht in der Regenzeit nach Costa Rica für eine Sprachreise zu fahren. Oktober und November sind hier die meisten Regentage und bei mir wurden leider einige Aktivitäten abgesagt aufgrund der starken Regenfälle.
Das Land an sich ist wirklich wunderschön. Die Landschaft einfach tropisch traumhaft. Smaragdgrüne Regenwälder soweit das Auge reicht. Die Menschen sind unglaublich freundlich und ganz anders als in Mexiko habe ich mich hier auch total sicher gefühlt.
Wer die Natur lieb ist hier auch richtig aufgehoben. Es gibt so viele atemberaubende Möglichkeiten die Regenwälder, Strände und Vulkane zu besichtigen.
Was mich etwas überrascht hat waren allerdings die Preise. Hier ist doch vieles deutlich teurer als in Österreich. Als günstige Reisedestination sollte Costa Rica also nicht gesehen werden.

Resumé

Eine Sprachreise mit EF ist wirklich eine außergewöhnlich gute Möglichkeit das Land und die Sprache auf einmal kennen zu lernen.Durch verschiedenste Aktivitäten findet man auch total schnell Anschluss zu den anderen Schülern und lernt somit Freunde von der ganzen Welt kennen.

Glaubt mir ich habe mittlerweile schon in 6 verschiedenen Ländern für eine längere Zeit gelebt und gemerkt wie sehr einem solche Aufenthalte prägen, stärken machen und sich die eigenen Persönlichkeit weiterentwickelt. Für mich sind das Erfahrung und Erlebnisse die so unglaublich viel wert sind und die einem niemand wieder wegnehmen kann.

Wer nun Lust auf eine Sprachreise mit EF bekommen hat kann gerne hier auf der Webseite noch nach mehr detaillierten Infos suchen.

Hier noch ein paar FAQ für euch:

Wie alt muss man sein?

Eigentlich kann man die EF Sprachreisen Reisen ab 10 Jahren machen. Da ist man dann in einer Gruppe mit Kursleiter unterwegs. Eine Reise wie alleine in ein Sprachcamp ist ab 16 Jahren möglich.

Kann man auch ohne Vorkenntnisse eine Sprachreise bei EF machen?

Ja natürlich. Ganz viele Mitschüler die ich kennen gelernt habe sind ohne jegliche Sprachkenntnisse ins Land gekommen. Man startet dann im Anfängerlevel und sieht schon nach kurzer Zeit einen großen Lernfortschritt.

Wie viel kostet eine Sprachreise nach Costa Rica?

Das kommt darauf an wie lange man verreisen möchte. Ab 1000€ (2 Wochen Kurs inklusive Unterkunft, Verpflegung und Unterricht) Weitere Infos unter: www.ef.com/ils/destinations/costa-rica/playa-tamarindo/

Wie lange dauert eine Sprachreise?

Das kommt ganz auf dich selber an. Ich habe Leute kennen gelernt die blieben nur 4 Wochen und andere 9 Monate. Man kann den Zeitraum selbst bestimmten. Je länger man bleibt desto größer natürlich der Lernerfolg. Ich denke aber dass es erst ab 4 Wochen Sinn macht. Bei mir war eine Woche natürlich nur zum hinein schnuppern, aber eindeutig zu kurz.

Wann kann ich mit der Sprachreise beginnen?

An jedem Montag – das ganze Jahr 🙂

An welchen Destinationen gibt es EF Sprachschulen?

Also EF hat Destination überall auf der Welt verstreut. Das heißt für euch natürlich eine super Auswahl um das richtige Land zu finden. Ganz genau sind es 50 Sprachschulen in 16 Ländern.

Ich bin kein Schüler oder Student mehr, kann ich trotzdem einen Sprachkurs mit EF machen?

Aber natürlich. Ich bin selbst auch weder Schüler noch Student, sondern arbeite schon. EF bietet auch für Erwachsene (ab 25 Jahren), Berufstätige und Führungskräfte unterschiedliche Sprachkurse an – am besten ihr informiert euch dazu hier.

Wie viele Schüler sind in einem Kurs?

Ich fand es wirklich toll wie klein die Gruppen waren. In meiner Klasse waren vielleicht 15 Leute. So bekam wirklich jeder genug Zeit seinen Betrag in der Klasse zu teilen, auf Fragen antworten zu können und oft auf Spanisch zu kommunizieren.

Wie lerne ich in der fremden Stadt Leute kennen?

Man findet aufgrund der vielen von EF organisierten Aktivitäten super schnell neue Freunde. Auch im Wohnheim ist immer etwas los und man sitzt Abends zusammen, kocht oder chillt beim Pool. Ich habe sogar schon beim Flughafentransfer zum Sprachcamp andere Mitschüler kennen gelernt.

Gibt es Unterkünfte, die von EF in den Städten zur Verfügung gestellt werden?

Ja, EF hat bei jeder Destination Wohnheime, Gastfamilien oder Hotels.

Falls ihr noch ganz spezielle Fragen zu meiner Sprachreise nach Costa Rica, Playa Tamarindo habt könnt ihr mir jederzeit einfach eine Email oder DM auf Instagram schreiben!

xoxo,

Breakfast, Healthy Food, Travel, Vegan Food

AdeZ und Frühstück

12. Juli 2018 Ein Kommentar

Ende Mai war ich in Mailand für den großen Produktlaunch von AdeZ – vegane Drinks auf Pflanzenbasis, ohne Zuckerzusatz.*Werbung*
Viele haben bestimmt in letzter Zeit die Plakate der neuen Produkte in der Stadt gesehen und die schönen Flaschen vielleicht sogar schon im Supermarktregal entdeckt. Als stolzer AdeZ Ambassador habe ich heute das große Vergnügen euch die Produkte ein bisschen näher vorzustellen und ein herrlich saisonales Frühstücksrezept mit euch zu teilen!

AdeZ Pflanzendrinks

5 AdeZ Drinks in Österreich

Das exklusive Launch-Event in Mailand fand in einer italienischen Villa statt. Hier begab man sich auf eine Reise durch die verschiedenen Räume in welchen jeweils ein Produkt vorgestellt wurde. In Österreich sind im Moment Rockin’ Rice, Surprising Soy und Amazing Almond erhältlich, sowie die kleinen On-the-go Drinks. Diese handlichen 250ml Drinks sind in den Geschmäckern „Outstanding Oat Strawberry & Banana” sowie “Amazing Almond Mango & AdeZ_AT_Family_ Passionfruit“ erhältlich. Outstanding Oat Strawberry & Banana” hat den Haferdrink als Basis und “Amazing Almond Mango & Passionfruit“ den Mandeldrink. Beide sind mit leckerem Fruchtsaft/-püree verfeinert. Ich verwende die on-the-go Drinks gerne als Snack für Zwischendurch wenn der kleine Hunger aufkommt.

Perfekt zum Frühstück

Dieser Blogpost widmet sich vor allem meiner Frühstücksliebe. Für mich ist Frühstück die meist zelebrierte Mahlzeit des Tages und hier sind die Produkte von AdeZ eine wahre Bereicherung. Ich habe schon seit langem aufgehört normale Milch zu trinken und greife seit Jahren auf alternative Pflanzendrinks zurück. Hier nehme ich natürlich immer die zuckerfreien Varianten. Jedoch muss ich auch ganz ehrlich anmerken, dass ein zuckerfreier Mandeldrink oder Sojadrink einfach nur halb so gut schmeckt wie die zuckerhaltigen Alternativen, die natürlich auch weitaus mehr Kalorien haben. AdeZ vereint nun beide mir wichtigen Aspekte. Die Drinks sind nämlich ohne zugesetzten Zucker, schmecken aber trotzdem durch das natürliche Stevia leicht süß! Bezüglich dem Stevia muss ich auch sagen, dass ich total positiv überrascht war, da es überhaupt nicht künstlich oder bitter schmeckt, wie man es sonst bei manchen Produkten kennt. Diese süße Tatsache macht die Produkte natürlich perfekt für jegliche Frühstückskreationen. Man spart sich also den extra Zucker, Honig oder was ihr sonst so zum Süßen verwenden würdet. Porridge, Waffeln, Pancakes und Chia Pudding bekommen so ganz von selbst einen dezent süßen Geschmack! Außerdem sind die AdeZ Plain Drinks (Rockin’ Rice, Surprising Soy & Amazing Almond) laktosefrei und enthalten Kalzium, Vitamin D und B12.

Mit AdeZ kann man die selben wichtigen Vitamine und Mineralstoffe aufnehmen wie durch Milch. AdeZ enthält nämlich genau denselben Gehalt an Kalzium wie Kuhmilch. Super geeignet also für eine vegane Ernährung. Adez Rice Drink

PlantbottleTM für weniger Müll

Etwas tolles muss ich euch jetzt noch bezüglich der Flasche erzählen. Ich stehe ja Plastikflaschen unglaublich kritisch gegenüber und setze im Moment alles daran meinen eigenen Plastikmüll so gut es geht zu reduzieren. Die Flasche von AdeZ ist eine PlantBottleTM. Sie besteht bis zu 30% aus pflanzlichem Material und ist zu 100% recyclebar! Die PlantBottleTM ist umweltfreundlicher als Tetrapack. Kein extra Plastikmüll also 🙂

Marillenparfait

In den nächsten Monaten möchte ich euch alle Pflanzendrinks vorstellen und leckere Rezepte für euch damit kreieren. Heute starten wir mit Surprising Soy – dem Sojadrink von AdeZ. Mit

seinem super natürlichen und cremigen Geschmack ist er viel milder als die meisten Alternativen die ich kenne.

Hierfür habe ich speziell ein saisonales Rezept entwickelt. Wie ihr vielleicht wisst ist bei mir in der Wachau gerade Marillenzeit und unsere Bäume biegen sich vom Gewicht der süßen Früchte. Ein super Anlass um ganz regional ein leckeres Frühstücksrezept zu zaubern. Ich habe auch darauf geachtet, dass es wirklich einfach zu machen ist, damit es wirklich jeder nachmachen kann.

Ich zeige euch heute ein Marillenparfait, welches aus drei einfachen Teilen besteht. Das ganze dauert etwa 10 Minuten zum Zubereiten und schmeckt absolut herrlich!

Adez Recipe

Hier das Rezept:

Zutaten:
150ml AdeZ Surprising Soy
30g Haferflocken
1 Messerspitze Zimt
30g Xylit ( alternativ 1 EL Honig oder Agaven Dicksaft) 100g Marillen
100g griechisches Joghurt
20g Toasted Granola

Zubereitung:

AdeZ Surprising Soy aufkochen und mit den Haferflocken verrühren bis ein fester Brei entsteht. Zimt unterrühren. Das Joghurt mit Xylit vermischen und beiseite stellen. Die Marillen klein schneiden und in ein leeres Glas füllen. Die Haferflockenmasse nun darüber leeren und mit griechisches Joghurt auffüllen. Mit weiteren Marillen und dem toasted Granola dekorieren.

Apricot breakfast recipe

Wenn ihr das Rezept selbst ausprobiert tagt doch @adezaustria. Vielleicht werdet ihr damit auf der Instagramseite gerepostet 🙂

Xoxo,

Travel

The perfect weekend in Budapest – healthy food & photo spots

27. März 2018 Keine Kommentare

Budapest – what a marvelous city

Are you looking for the perfect weekend in Budapest? Well then this blogpost ist right for you!

In February and March I got the chance to live in the wonderful city of Budapest. Before moving there I certainly never gave much thought to watch actually worth visiting there. It turns out Budapest became one of my favorite cities in the world. I love the epic buildings everywhere, the beautiful river and bridges, the old cable cars, trendy coffee places and incredibly delicious and cheap food.

Since a lot of you have been asking me for recommendations I wanted to summarize everything for you and share my favorite spots in the city with you. I also included the best picture spots that Budapest has to offer in my opinion. If you only have a weekend and you do everything on this list I promise you this is your key to the perfect weekend in Budapest and the best city trip you ever took!

UPDATE: Scroll all the way down for my lastest summer tips!

Day 1 – Friday afternoon

Dinner – Drum Cafe

Once you arrive in Budapest you are probably hungry for some good local food. I recommend the Drum Cafe. You will find the traditional Langosh & Gulash there. I also love their Gualsh soup that comes in the cutest mug ever! You will be blown away by how cheap this place is. As this place is extremely popular make sure to go quite early, as it can get quite packed and you might have to wait a while since they don’t take any reservations.

360 Bar Budapest

To get a first nice glance at the city go up to this gorgeous rooftop bar called 360 bar. They view you get over Budapest is breathtaking. In the wintertime they put up little, cosy igloo bubbles. I believe in the summer time you can just chill outside with some nice music as well. Treat yourself with some nice cocktail. (btw I had a hot chocolate there and it was not very good) and enjoy the view.

Day 2 – Saturday

Breakfast – Vintage Garden

If I had to pick one favorite restaurant it would be this one. Vintage Garden is heaven for every blogger. They have the most amazing decoration, which they switch up according to events and seasons. When I was there they had a whole Valentines setup and a couple of weeks later you felt like witnessing the Japanese cherry blossom festival. Going there is a real experience.

Photo tip: They always set up a super cute photo spot right in the restaurant where you can take pictures.

Once you leave Vintage garden make sure to stop by the little bakery called ‚The Sweet‚ right next door. They make super cute unicorn macarons and adorable little cookies. Their cakes are also to die for!

After breakfast – Deák Ferenc square

You can walk from Vintage garden to Deák. This is a major intersection and transport junction in Budapest. You will also find the Budapest Eye there where you could take a ride if you want (I personally haven’t done it so I don’t know if it is worth it). Walk around the fashion street and downtown area. There is some great shopping here and I found a lot of stores that we don’t have in Austria for example.

Kürtőskalács or chimney cake

Slowly make your way back to the Deák metro station. If you feel the tiniest bit of hunger by now you need to try one of the traditional chimney cakes in the metro station. The stand will say the crazy difficult Hungarian word: kürtőskalács. They are sooooo good. They are only 300 forint, which is like one euro and come in all wonderful flavors – cinammon is the classic and best one in my opinion.

Széchenyi thermal bath and park

Now get into the yellow metro line and go until the Széchenyi stop. This is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Its water is supplied by two thermal springs. Alone the building is simply beautiful to look at. You can enter and have a look at the open pools through two windows. It’s nice for a little sneak peek if you are not planning to go in yourself, but still want to see what it looks like.

Photo tip: When you exist walk a little to the left and you will find some beautiful stars where you can take awesome pics.

Vajdahunyad Castle

After having looked at the thermal spa make your way across the park to the Vajdahunyad Castle. It was built in 1896 and I promise you will be fascinated by it. Simply walking around it makes you feel like you went back in time.

Photo tip: At the back of the castle you will find a beautiful yellow bridge. If you move far back enough with the camera you will get the perfect picture of the bridge and the castle in the background.

Heroes Square

The Vajdahunyad Castle is in very close waling distance to the Hösök tér. The hero square is one of the major squares in Budapest. It is a really impressing place. You will find a very iconic statue complex featuring important Hungarian national leaders.

Photo tip: It is a great picture spot, so make sure to get a nice photo of yourself there. It is usually quite crowded so if you want to get one without any people I recommend weekday mornings.

Cafe Frei

After all the walking you will probably want to sit down for a nice coffee. Only a couple minutes walking from the Hero Square you will find the perfect place to rest your feet. The founder of Cafe Frei travelled around the world to bring the most exquisit coffee creations together into one place. The drink menu is incredibly broad and it is so much fun looking at all the 70 coffee options from the different continents and countries. They have everything reaching from a cherry-lychee cappuccino coming from Tokyo to a Guatemalan hazelnut latte. Even though I usually don’t like and drink coffee I had such a good time at this café and their creations are amazing!

Great Market Hall

Getting back into the metro, make your way back to the city center and jump into the tram 49 in the direction of the great market hall. This is a big restored neogothic hall for traders with grocery produce. You will find a lot of traditional paprika and Palinka there to take home for friends and family.

Evening – Csendes Vintage Bar

The great market hall is only two stops away from the hipster bar Csendes. I believe they have a couple of snack there so it will be nice for a light dinner. Also, they have a very interesting interior design thats super hipster. The real reason I want you to go there is the CHEESECAKE! Ahh I kid you not I went back several times to eat it again. It is literally on e of the two best cakes I ever had in my life. So you need to order the salted caramel white chocolate cake there. 🙂

Going out – Fogas

Budapest is filled with crazy cool bars and night clubs. A special recommendation is Fogas. The party area is huge and I can’t even count how many different floors they have dedicated to different music. Literally everyone will find something they like at Fogas. I would advice you to go a bit earlier as this can get a bit crowded later and you don’t want to stand in line for very long.

Day 3 – Sunday

Breakfast – Szimpla Farmers Market

Happy third day in Budapest. For the last day on your perfect weekend in Budapest I want you to experience something very special. The local night club Szimpla kert will turn into a farmers market Sunday mornings. It is so worth seeing as local farmers are selling fresh bread, cheese and other produce. A fun way to walk around and soak in the vintage flair at Szimpla. Szimpla is one of the famous ruin bars. It is also a great party location if you have another night to go out in Budapest.

Danube River Walk and Parliament

Take the bus 105 to Széchenyi István tér and walk down to the riverside. Right there you find a beautiful look onto the Buda castle and the chain bridge. Another perfect picture spot. Once you have your perfect pic move along upwards in the direction of the parliament. After a couple of minutes you will find an important historic spot of the city. „Shoes by the Danube“ remind of the cruel past the city has to face during the second World War.

Hungarian Parliament

If you continue walking you will see the magnificent white parliament building on your right side. This is most definitely one of the most fascinating buildings I have ever seen. I recommend you walk along the entire parliament building on the river side.

Photo tip: Take a picture on one of the big stairs. There are always security guards watching – but they don’t mind people talking pictures on the stairs.

Once you have a good picture circle around the parliament to also see the front of it and the beautiful entrance area. Right there you will find the metro that you should take to get to the other side of the river. Take it one stop and you will get a great view of the entire parliament from the other side.

Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman Bastion

Now take one of the yellow trams for two stops in the direction of the chain bridge. At the bottom of the hill you will find a funicular that takes you right to the top of the castle. I recommend you walking though. It is maybe a 10 minutes walk and you can see more of the city and also save that money. Now you are in the Buda part, which is the old part of the town. You can easily walk from the Buda castle to the Matthias church and the Fisherman Bastion. There you will find a beautiful view as well. Once you have seen everything you can make your way downstairs again and walk over the chain bridge to the Pest side of town where you can continue with a little relax break.

Afternoon – Nassapolya

This was one of my favorite vegan places in Budapest. Perfect for a nice afternoon tea break. Actually you should turn it into a hot chocolate break. They make the best flavored hot chocolate themselves right there in the shop. It is their secret recipe and really worth trying. Also, they have a huge selection of different, amazing vegan cakes. Once you are all charged up let’s hit the streets of Budapest again.

Gellert Hill

This is a wonderful afternoon activity, especially on a sunny day. They tram will drop you right at the bottom of the hill. It is only a short hike up the little mountain. On the way you will also find the cave church. Surely worth having a quick peek insight it. All the way on top of the Gellert hill you will find the Citadella, which was built in 1851 under Habsburg rule after the Hungarian Uprising. It is a really cool statue and fascinating to look at.

Photo tip: There is a breathtaking view over the two city parts Buda and Pest.

Dinner – Mazel Tov

Your second dinner choice should lead you to this super stylish middle Eastern restaurant. The interior design is breathtaking. Mazel Tov is for its amazing atmosphere comparably quite cheap and the food is delicious. They will serve you amazing falafel, sweet potato fries and Shakshuka. This is a great spot to end your perfect weekend in Budapest.

By now you should have reached Sunday night and probably tired from all the awesome things you have done and seen today! Time to head back to your hotel and relax!

This was hopefully the best weekend in Budapest you could possibly have. If you have a couple more days in this magical city I can also recommend you to go to:

Rudas spa (rooftop whirlpool overlooking the whole city)
Kiosk (super trendy restaurant, amazing lunch offer, 3 course meal for only 9 euros!)
Zoska (very cute breakfast setting)
For Sale Pub (sticky notes everywhere, definitely an experience)
Frici Papa (traditional Hungarian food, so cheap)

Summer Update June 2018

After being back for a weekend in Budapest I have more amazing insider tips to give you especially for the summer months that you should not miss out on!

Ice Cream: you will find the best ice cream at „The Sweet“ right next to Vintage Garden, which is also one of my favorite restaurants. As already mentioned above The Sweet makes the cutest cookies, macarons and delicious cakes. Now in the summer they also make their own ice cream and it is heavenly delicious! I can recommend salted caramel 🙂
Sugar Free Ice Cream: A healthy option for ice cream offers the „Hisztéria Cremeria„. It is vegan and sugar-free, which makes it the perfect light afternoon snack.
Free Boat Ride on the Danube: During weekdays you can use your public transport ticket to take a boat all the way up to Margaret Island. On weekends you pay 750 forints (about 2 euros). It stops by the chain bridge and right in front of the parliament.
Beautiful view: Visiting the basilica of Budapest should be definitely on your list of things to do in the city. But did you know that you could go up to the final floor for just 2 euros and enjoy an amazing view? No? Well, I didn’t know either, but it is such an awesome experience. You get a 360 degree view around the basilica down on beautiful Budapest!

Summer Update July 2020

After hitting all my favorite spots from this blog post on my last weekend in Budapest I managed to try some of the brand new cafes that opened recently in the city. My new favourites or summer 2020 are:

Franziska Café: This one is actually on the Buda side of the city in a more quiet area. It is so popular right now. Everything is organic and so instagrammable! The perfect spot if you are looking for healthy food in Budapest. It’s also such a blogger hotspot. So you will surely see some foodies instagramming their beautiful dishes. Make sure to reserve a table since it is the spot to be right now.
Cloe Café: this one just opened the week before we visited it. It’s brand new and if you love pink it’s where you need to go. Cloe makes you feel like being inside a designer boutique. Everything is so stylish and classy. We had the best salty caramel pistachio brownie cake there. It was so good we even ordered a second slice of it. This spot needs to be on your list for the perfect weekend in Budapest.
Lupa Beach: if you came to Budapest with the car make sure to check out Lupa lake a little outside of the city. It’s such a chill place to spend a summer day. They have a wakeboard lift and we had so much fun wakeboarding the whole day.

I really hope you enjoyed this blogpost and if you do end up going to spend a weekend in Budapest please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked some of the things you have seen there. I hope you will have the perfect weekend in Budapest!

Check out these food guides for other cities:

Vegan food in Rome
Best healthy food in Bali
Best cafés in Taipei

xoxo,

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