Toulouse

So what's the city like? The French call it "La Ville Rose". But to me, it seemed always more orange, than pink. The buildings are built of a reddish stone or bricks and even the new business buildings keep onto that style. With its bricks, it reminds of the industrial British cities like Manchester.

What to see there? Is it very touristic?

The most important monument is undoubtedly the town hall built in the 1750's—"Le Capitol". If you walk on the Stree of Alsace-Lorraine, you notice a clock with a clock face divided in 24 instead of the classic 12 segments. Garonne, on of the four big French rivers flows through the city and shapes its form and character. Unlike in many other European cities, where the riverfront is the most touristic area, the riverside in Toulouse is quite calm. It's not as shiny and reconstructed as in Bordeaux, for example. In Toulouse, this is the place of picnics, talking, eating and drinking on a grass in front of the river. Especially in the late spring, it is full of students. Toulouse is not a city for tourists, it is a city of student parties. And of course, as a student city, it is relatively empty during the summer.

The Capitol

A special clock. Still not as special as the one in Brno ;)

Garonne riverside with Pont Neuf in the background.
If you need to know something about France: The oldest bridge
in the city is always called "The New Bridge"

Canal du Midi, an artificial waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean sea, built in the 17th century, is another significant element of the city. It is used everyday by lots of runners and bikers. It's pretty, but walking there during a summer night is a bit scary, because of the big amount of rats that live on the slopes and eat out of the garbage cans. And for some reason, you can always find lots of hookers around there after dark, half of which are male transvestites.

The size of the city and its future

Even though Toulouse is the fourth biggest city in France, you don't have that feeling when you are in the center. The buildings of the historic core are rather small. On the other hand, the city with its suburbs spans over a big area. The city is the fastest growing city in France and in several decades, in can overtake Marseilles and Lyon and become the second biggest after Paris, if the rates of growth remain constant. It's a French and European center of aeronautics. If you want to piss off a Toulousain, you just tell him that if you took away Airbus and the universities, there would be about 10 inhabitants left in the city. But you cannot make them angry with that, because they would agree, laughing. Airbus creates a lot of jobs here. Toulouse is the only construction site of Airbus, where they produce the giant A380.

Canal du Midi

The Bridge "St. Pierre"

The surroundings

You can go to "Cité d'Espace"—an amusement park dedicated to space. Just after an hour and half of driving, you get to Carcassonne—an amazing castle-town that inspired the famous board game. Its towers are impressive. On the top of that, everything is close. You want to surf? There is Biarritz at the Atlantic coast. You want to swim in a warm sea without big waves? Narbonne and Perpignan on the Mediterranean await you. You want to ski? Pyrenees are two hours from there. You are into wine and beautiful villages? Go for a trip to Périgord for a weekend.

There are some places that are good to visit. Like Paris. And then cities, which don't lie on the top of your "to see" lists, but might be better places to live or study.

1. My first appartement. It looked like a house of the Addams Family (its inhabitants were equally creepy, but less nice), I left after a week

2. My second apprtement—a studio. Was cool, but expensive

3. The third and final appartement. Cool flatmates.

C. The Capitol
S. Escalier de St. Pierre—place where the beer is cheep and drinking people below the age of 19 abundant

P. Prarier des Filtres—cool for picnics. Lots of concerts in the summer
L. Huge, beautiful library
N. Jean Jaurès—main night life zone, bars, clubs... 

Image sources:
http://www.ensiacet.fr/fr/vie-etudiante/vie-a-toulouse.html
http://www.isae.fr/en/node/1641
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toulouse_Horloge_24_heures_pour_Wikimedia_Commons.jpg

Porto—A Beauty on Douro

Here is one look-back post, which I didn't manage to publish sooner. It's about the city where I spent the last 6 months: Porto.

So what makes this city so attractive? So far, I encountered two types of cities: Business cities (good job opportunities, rush life-style) and student cities (great atmosphere, easy to find an accomodation) and Porto is definitely a student city.

Porto from Torre dos Clérigos

Umbrellas in Trashbins

The presence of students is visible at the beginning of semesters, when they have their praxe. And also, they give the nightlife of Porto its atmosphere. Usually, it starts around a famous bar Piolho, or in one of the surrounding streets and then the focus of attention moves to clubs, clumped together around the neighbourhood known as Galerias.

They have a funny system of entry fees here. You don't pay at the entry, instead you receive a consumption ticket and when you buy a drink, you get a stamp. Without stamps, the neck-less guys at the entrance don't let you out.

In winter, there is a lot of windy rain, so an umbrella is a must have. But the wind is sometimes so strong that it breaks the umbrellas. So one of the symbols of Porto for me is many broken umbrellas in public trashbins, especially after a weekend.

Porto = Gotham City?

The old UNESCO protected historical part near to the river is called Baixa and its tall, narrow houses are an amazing sight. But what gets me every time is the famous bridge of Ponte Dom Luís I. Walking below its construction, I always get the feeling I am in one of the Tim Burton's fantasy movies. The dark tone of the Baixa only supports this feeling.

The style of the bridge is very different from the medieval look of Baixa, but they complement each other extraordinarily. The inhabitants of Porto weren't pussies and were not afraid to mix architectural styles (unlike recently, people from Prague with the library of J. Kaplický) and it paid off.

Ribeira—the old port

Ponte Domn Luís I. in the background

Kids often jump from the bridge for tourists' money

Cheap Center, Expensive Outskirts

Flats in the historical core are much cheaper than the ones further away. The restorations might be costly, because of the laws for monument protection. But it is not just that. There is a law limiting the rents in the centre. As a result, there centre is inhabited with people with low-end income. Right next to the cathedral, you see clothes hanging of the balconies. It gives a completely different feeling than the traditional commercialized centres (Prague, Vienna etc.), where there are only offices and shops.

Baixa

Many houses would need restoration

Micro-tourist-guide

Let's say you have only half a day for Porto. What should you see? Start from Jardim da Cordoaria, pass through Avenida dos Aliados (the most important square), walk through the old town towards Ribeira (the part adjacent to the river) and then take a historical tram that goes to Foz—a pictoresque quarter at the mouth of the river. You can have a walk under the palms, check out the lighthouses, listen to the waves and sit down in some of the many small cafes there.

If you have more time, there is a museum of modern art and gardens Serralvez, bookshop just like the one from Harry Potter, Garden of Palácio de Cristal, with its spectacular view and a big city park and a possibility to try out surfing. Come visit, it's definitely worth it ;)

Townhall

Tram to Foz

Foz

Portugal—10 Things That You Absolutely Positively Cannot Live Without Knowing

1. In the Winter, It Is Warmer Outside than Inside

Yep, I shit you not. The winters are "quite" mild, russian gas far away, electricity expensive, so they don't really use heating. Inside you have to be dressed more than outside. Outside, you have the sun and you are moving.

2. Stone Fences, Stone Fences Everywhere

Stone is probably cheap here. Portugal has mountains, so it makes sense. Everything is made of stone. I think I saw only one building here made of bricks. The dirtiest pubs have sinks made of marble. Public benches are from polished granite. Even the rural fences of the agricultural land are made of... stone.

Field-delimiting fences

3. Traffic Lights for Pedestrians Are Just a Decoration

Green means "Go", red means "Go, but hurry". I can understand why pedestrians ignore them, they seem to be really badly set and one must wait long minutes for the green light to come. Interesting enough, the cars are quite patient with them, even if they are crossing at the red light and rarely honk.

4. Student Initiation Rituals

In Portuguese, they are called praxe and they are spectacular. Google it. College freshmen have to dress up, swear, bow, fulfill tasks, be humiliated. And all of it in the streets. The organizing students take it so seriously that they usually don't let tourists make pictures of these events.

Praxe - Student initiation rituals

5. Half-portions Are More than What You Can Eat

I came to Porto, saw menus and thought: "Damn, these people are expensive, wasn't it supposed be one of the poorer EU countries?" Only later I discovered that I should look at Half-portion-prices. Half portion means a plate for one person, full portion is for two. Often, even the half portion is too much for one person to eat.

6. Codfish

The 11. commandment of the Portuguese is: "Thou shall eat Cod". Eventhough it is an imported fish, Portuguese have probably the biggest number of recipes with Codfish. Pataniscas, bacalhau com natas and many more.

Salt-conserved cod

Bacalhau com natas

Pataniscas

7. The Smell of Eucalyptus Trees in the Morning

Eucalyptus, a non-original and invasive kind was introduced because of its fast growth and value for the wood-processing industry. Now Eucalyptus makes up a major part of Portuguese forests and gives them a specific menthol-fresh smell.

Eucalyptus, a common tree kind in Portugal

8. Friday, 9:00 PM—Time to Go Out? Relax...

11:00 PM is the time to go to the bar. 1:00 AM is the soonest when the clubs start getting full.

9. Coffe

One my friend said: "You know you are in Portugal when people are drinking coffee at 11:30 PM". But basically after every meal. The quantity is smaller than one mouthfull, but it's so strong that I need 5 minutes at least to drink it all.

Portuguese are big lovers of strong coffe

10. Partying Outside

So the following happened to me: My friends and me were trying to get through a huge number of people standing on the street with beers in their hands, until we finally came to the pub where they sell it. We bought beer and... went to sit. To the only table they had. And this only table was empty. People here just rather hang out outside, than sit inside the pubs.

Another thing worth mentioning is that even with such a huge number of drinking people, squeezed on a small place in front of a pub, I have never seen any fight. And they are so quiet. Might be because drinking of spirits doesn't have a tradition here, or because I have seen only places where university students go. But still, this experience tells me the Portuguese are really non-violent.

Portuguese nightlife

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Standard disclaimer: The observations here might be really central-europe-centric, so if you get yourself thinking "Wait, this is not unusual, here it's like that too", it might be that it's just unusual for me.

Good Night? Already Going to Sleep?

I'll take a break from the travel posts and the next one will be again linguistical.

One of the fascinating things is how different nations perceive time. Here is a small infogprahics of the greetings throughout the day in the languages I speak:

Portuguese is for me the most interesting case. They do greet each other with "Good day", but only in the morning. Then the afternoon is "tarde" (= "late"). And they strictly keep to this distinction. If you say "Bom dia" after 2 pm, they look at you very strangely. Evening greeting is "Boa noite" (= "Good night"), but they use it only after dark, i.e. a bit later than afore mentioned languages. And yes, it is a greeting :) This one is the hardest to get used to, I feel like I am sending the people to sleep already. Generally, all the portuguese greetings from the picture above can also be used when saying goodbye.

Why the difference? Well, the Portuguese do have it a bit shifted. They get up a bit later and also the best time to go out on Friday is 11 pm. That is the time of leaving for a pub, not of the subsequent way to a club. Another example: The Portuguese word for lunch is "almoço" and the breakfast does not even have a proper name of its own, it is just "pequeno almoço". On the other hand, they have a special word for late dinner.

Blue: Greewich Time, Red: Central European Time

Spain is also famous for its shifted biorythm. But there it has more reasons. Except for the heat during the noon, it is also their "wrong" time zone. Spain uses the central-european time, even though it lies way more to the west. Franco wanted to please Hitler and that is why the sun sets quite soon in Spain. Portugal is more realistic when it comes to timezones. I just need to get used to "Boa noite".

Any thoughts on this? Leave a comment.

10 Things About Hamburg And Germany, That You Can Live Without Knowing, But Are Still Fun To Read

1. Internet Connection and Cashless Payments

Germany is without questions one of the most developed countries in Europe. But still: The DSL internet is expensive and thus many people buy the USB GSM surfsticks instead. With a randomly met Romanian girl we agreed on that, that in Romania the internet connection offer is better than in Germany.

Another thing is the acceptance of classic embossed payment cards. For example, at the main train station in Hamburg, they take only one special type of card, neither VISA, nor Mastercard is accepted there. The same situation is in my nearest supermarket.

2. Quality of Services

I was prepared that the services will be better. But it doesn't cease to amaze me how much better, compared to the countries I had lived in. One example for all: Here, the first time in a gym is for free, so that you can try it out. I did that. When I was done, I went to the showers quite late and showed up at the cash desk 23:05, five minutes after closing time. I wanted to ask a few questions, so I was mentally prepared for somebody impatiently waiting at the door. The assistant was still at the desk and she explained me everything I wanted to know, gave me fliers, and told me that if I have more questions, I can write an email. Wow.

3. You Need to Pay for the Whole Year

Yes, the first time is for free, but then, here you cannot simply walk into a gym and pay for one entry. In most of them you cannot even pay for a month. Three months is a minimum, most of the gyms prefer one year membership. And it's not only the gyms, where this tendency can be seen.

4. Past

Remnants of the cathedral of St. Nikolai,
destroyed during the Operation Gomorrha

Germans are taught from the little age that the years 1933-1945 were the darkest part of their history. One Australian guy told me, how he appreciates how the Germans coped with their past, in comparison with, for example, Japan, where politicians still visit the graves of the war criminals. I agree. And I must add that I am sorry that Slovakia is not there yet. There are still so many Slovaks that say how Slovakia prospered during the war. In Germany, not a single human being mentioned that Silesia is theirs, or similar bullshit.

5. Finding an Apartment in Hamburg

I heard stories about people that have been looking for a flat in Hamburg for a year. Well, it's hard to find a flat here. The reasons:

1. More and more come to live to Hamburg and the construction rate of new buildings cannot match the speed of moving in
2. Right now, the prices grow, so the landowners wait and postpone entering long-term contracts
3. Because of price speculations, there is a huge number of empty flats, intended to be instantly sold
4. Hamburg is not really a student-city, so the landlords are not used to big demand for short-term accommodation

6. Huge Windows

Hambur buildings

Huge parts of Hamburg were destroyed during the World War II so one can find modern-looking buildings directly in the historical centre (not talking about the fact that there is 6 lane road through it). Most of these buildings have huge windows, they should probably get as much light during the winter dark days as possible. And also: The offices are located often directly at the first floor, so people working there are kind of like in a ZOO. A lot of working places in Hamburg are lot "open space" like.

7. Prejudice: German Girls Are Ugly

Certainly not. I don't know who made this myth up, but the girls here are pretty, just like everywhere else.

8. Food

Currywurst is a traditional fast-food. Looks terrible, tastes great! And generally lots of Wurst (sausages) are eaten here. Except for that and fish-sandwiches I did not find here anything really new for me, because the German and the Czech/Slovak cuisines are very similar. Cabbage, pork, potatoes, dumplings... And the beer is kind of too alcoholic for me, so now I buy the alcohol-free version. A nonalcoholic drink that you can find here in every pub is Apfelschorle - it tastes like an Apple blended in water. Not worth the money.

A fast food dish that I laugh at every time is a big boiled potato with salty whipped cream. Yes, just a potato. For 3 euros :)

Currywurst

9. Prejudice: Germans Are Detached and Cold

My closest friends here are either from Couchsurfing.com or programmers. Both groups a bad sample to examine this prejudice. The first group of people is always more open, than the general population, the second always a bit more introvert (or at least at my workplace it is so). 

However, I kind of use people on the train in order to get speaking practice, so I was able to test this myth there. The only difference is the beginning. The Germans do not start speaking to you first. There is a smaller chance that you meet and old lady that automatically starts telling you her life story, than, let's say, in Romania. But if I tried to open a conversation, in half of the cases, the dialog flew on naturally. So I would say, it is pretty much the same as in Czech Republic/Slovakia. Myth busted.

10. Prejudice: Germans Follow the Rules

Well, it depends. They do separate the trash and I am telling you, the rules for separating are quite complicated here. On the other hand, a lot of people ignore the smoking ban on the train stations, Czechs seem to me more respectful in this area.

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Tu sum it up, Germany seems to me like a cleaner, richer and politer Slovakia. Many things are similar. New Year's Eve is here caller Silvester too, the Christmas presents are brought by Christkind (although Weihnachtsmann/Santa Claus is a fierce competition). Romania was a bit different. Different religion, different food. It is interesting to be able to see these differences.