Tangier

Now ill move on to Africa and exactly to the most northern of all African cities, and the closest one to mainland Europe – Tangier.

Tangier is known for its very rich history due to the historical presence of many civilizations and cultures, Tangier was founded in the early 5th century BC by Carthaginian colonists, the city was ruled by many civilizations such as Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisids, Fatimids, Caliphate of Cordoba, Maghrawa and many others, Morocco reintegrated the city of Tangier in 1956.

Kasbah

As any Moroccan town, the Kasbah (old quarters) is almost a mandatory visit if you are interested in feeling "the life" of the city and being close to the locals.
The Grand Socco

It is also worth to see the Grand and Petit Socco (markets) without forgetting about the most known café Hafa. The café is in a steep hillside and shaded by trees and shrubs known for its mint tea, a Tangier special brew. From the terrace of Café Hafa you can sip tea and enjoy stunning views over the strait of Gibraltar.

Café Hafa

Tangier is a very popular tourist destination not only for its rich history but also for it’s a location between the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic Ocean which make a very good place for those who like to enjoy the sun and the beach, where you can spend the day sunbathing enjoy the water and watch little soccer games or the incredible gymnastics beach athletes performances.

Tangier beach

If you still hestitate or would like to see more, take a look at this video showing Tangier:


Budapest

If you are in Hungary, you can not forget about capital of this country - Budapest.

History of Budapest begins when the Celts founded the city Ak-Ink on the Danaube river, which was taken by the Romans, who named it Aquincum and became the main city of Lower Pannonia. The ancestors of Hungarians, Magyars arrived in the territory in the 9th century, but their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241-42. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of right Buda and Óbuda with Pest (Buda-Pest).


Today Budapest is regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with multiple places on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you will be in Budapest you can not miss:
  • Buda Castle - is one of the most famous and most visited sights of Budapest.
  • Millennium Underground Railway - the second oldest underground in the world!
  • The Houses of Parliament - neo-Gothic building contains amongst other things the Hungarian Crown Jewels
  • Thermal Baths - Budapest is also known as the City of Spas.
  • and other places and buildings from World Heritage Sites list like River Danube embankments, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and others.




Good idea is to combine sightseeing in Budapest with spending few days at Balaton Lake. :)

Morocco

Morocco is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 32 million. Its capital is Rabat.

I and my friends spent in Morocco 7 days. We started our journey in Tangier.
Tangier didn't look like tipical Morocoo city. This is kind of European city with a large amount of hotels and pubs.


Then we visited Fes. It is a city whit the biggest medina - is typically walled, contains many narrow and maze-like streets. Unfortunatelly one Arab guy persude me to buy the carpet :D. There we spent almost 2 days.

Our next destination was desert.



On the desert I spent the greatest time. There we have a lot of fun and adventure.
  • travel with 4x4 jeep through the desert
  • Camels travel to berber's village
  • the night on the desert
  • sunrise on the desert


We didn't have oportunity and time to try ski on the desert. But next time we have to try!! ;)



Next we also visited Marrakech. We spent there one day on walking and sightseeing. Then we came back to Tangier were we have our flight to Spain.

Gibraltar - the last British colony in Europe

Gibraltar is the place that is visited by many tourists from Spain. I also hope that I will have some time to see it. There are several really interesting thing about this city, related to the history as well as to the places we can see there.
The Rock of Gibraltar
Where is it?
Gibraltar is the city and the port, situated on the south coast of the Iberian Peninsula at the Mediterranean Sea. Most of this area is covered by a Gibraltar Rock, that is 4,8km lenght and 427m high. The area of Gibraltar is only 6,5 square kilometers and it's the most populated territory in the world where in one km² live 4,3 thousands of inhabitants.

History - don't worry, just few sentences;)
The fortress was built by the Arabs and conquered by Spain in 1462. Since 1714 under the peace of Utrecht, Spain had to pass the peninsula to Great Britain and in 1830 Gibraltar became the official colony of Great Britain. So the official language there is English, but many people can speak fluently also Spanish.

What is so interesting in this city?
Gibraltar became the place where I want to go, so I read many information about it. Now I would like to present some facts that I remembered because of their originality;)

Gibraltar has no natural resources so there are limits in freshwater. In rock-hewn reservoirs the water, that later is used for consumable aims, is stored.

Gibraltar is the only place in Europe where you can meet free-living Barbary Macaques monkeys. They are considered to be the top tourist attraction. Many tourists take photos with them. Nevertheless, one should bear in mind that they can steal our property, a mobile phone or a handbag.
Monkey in Gibraltar

Really interesting is also the airport in Gibraltar. The runway crosses the road, so for the taking off or landing time of the aeroplane, the barriers (like at rail crossing) are closed.
Gibraltar airport

One of the main tourist attractions is a labyrinth of tunnels and caves. Nowadays the biggest one - St. Michael’s Cave became the concert hall for thousand people due to its natural acoustic properties.

It is also worth to mention about Strait of Gibraltar. It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. The Strait’s narrowest point counts 14 kilometres width and 300 metres depth.

Virtual Tour

Balaton Lake

The largest lake of Central Europe is located in Hungary. A long time ago I spent few days there to see the eclipse of the sun (in 1999), but then nobody heard about digital cameras so I can't paste my photos here. ;-)


Balaton is located in Transdanubia region and sometimes called "Hungarian Sea". Lake is long at 77 kilometers and wide at 14 kilometers, covers an area of 592 km2 (Balaton was about twice larger than at the present before 1863, when Sio-canal was opened and connected Balaton with Danaube river). Balaton is not deep, average depth is 3.2 m and maximum depth is 12.2 m. The best time to vacation at Lake Balaton is the period from June to August. Then, the average water temperature is 25 °C.


The major resorts around the lake are Siófok, Keszthely and Balatonfüred. Siófok is also called "Summer Capital of Hungary". On the northern shore of Balaton is located Tihany peninsula with Tirana hill, which offer a beautiful view of the entire lake. In the vicinity of Balaton Lake are well known hot spring. One of the most famous is in Heviz, where the water temperature in geyser reaches 38 degrees!

Hot springs in Heviz

Do not forget about Hungarian inn, where you can try typical Hungarian dishes.