Osaka-Shi Postcard

Amazing and very interesting day in Osaka-She. Arrived last night from Sapporo and spent the whole day wandering about Osaka. 

This year is 400th Anniversay of the Siege of Osaka and destruction of the Osaka Castle so it was perfect timing to visit. 

Here are the few photos to accompany today's day. 

We had an amazing opportunity to watch a very atmospheric Kendo practice within the Shogunate of Oska Castle. 

 

Minatomachi and Shellfish Museum

Not far away from Niseko is Shiribetsu Cape and place called Minatomachi, just on the coast where river Shiribetsu joins Sea of Japan.. 

Quaint little fishing village where you can enjoy long beautiful beaches and have Zen moments with the sounds of the sea and birds. 

As one would expect there are a few fishmongers who are selling just about every living creature that swims, crawls and burrows in the surrounding sea.  They were drying fish in the open air or inside with a help of a few electric fans. 

Brief stop at the Shellfish Museum where we saw the clam shell that weights 194kg. 

It should be mentioned they sell very tasty home made ice-cream. 

Driving along the coast we came across the abandoned Raiden Hotspring Hotel with breathtaking views. Going around we managed to see inside of a derelict onsen, for sure at some point it looked amazing. What was interesting is that you could still see shampoo bottles, bathing stools sitting around as if somebody just shut the doors and left. 

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These are not toys, they are Japanese cakes

You mught be deceived by the looks, no they are not toys, they are delicious Japanese cakes!

Hokkaido Melon cake

Hokkaido is very famous for great produce, milk products are amazing and cakes are very delicious. This is an amazing local Hokkaido Melon cake. 

Sunny Hirafu 2014 03 12

What a beautiful sky here in Hirafu. We have been promised new snow later in the day so night riding should be good. The mountain is pretty much empty, not many people are left, only Japanese locals and a few seasonaires. 

Love love sand

Japanese love for food is just amazing and these lovely sandwiches go well with green tea. There is a huge choice of food that we've never seen or tried so here we come.  

It's snowing in Niseko

It's been snowing since last night. It's cosy and quiet here in Hirafu.

So far.. Köln Cologne, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Baden Baden

After we left rainy Netherlands the first stop was Köln or Cologne as we know it in English, very busy and touristy city.  We had a few hours there mingling with locals, had an 'eis' - ice cream, walked in front of their famous cathedral and on banks of the river Rhine.  We saw interesting buildings while driving over the old bridge and than we headed towards beautiful Wiesbaden.

 

Wiesbaden was very warm and busy, pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the city.  We parked the car at Hessian State Theatre and had a nice walk through the crowded park towards the city centre.  

Our next destination was Heidelberg, romantic city with a beautiful castle on top which was very impressive.
Karlsruhe was the next city we visited, the birth place of Karl Benz, the famous car inventor.  Have to say, small German cities are really charming in their own right. 

Arrived to Baden Baden late at night, had a rally nice walk through the deserted city centre which we liked so much that we had to come back tomorrow to see it properly.  It was raining all day tomorrow but the city was still pretty. 

We didn't have internet for days so could not update earlier.  We arrived to Ulm on Friday night on the 20th of July and had a great time staying at our old friends house.   The photos will be uploaded as soon as we can. 
Ulm deserves a separate post so stay tuned.

The view from our hotel window in Landgraaf

What do you expect to see through your hotel room window? Certainly not this!

We are in a beautiful hotel "Landgoed Overste Hof" on a lovely lake which was built on the farm, its still a working farm but only with a few animals left.  

Very charming place and great for having a break from a big city like London (which I still consider the best city in the world).

Today I had a very enjoyable an hour long run around a lake and surrounding woods.  While running I passed by a few fellow runners and cyclists and all of them were greeting me with "hoy".  Nice!

Tomorrow we will be heading towards Germany, leaving this beautiful country. One doesn't actually see the borders, only sings informing you that you're in a "different country". Amazing, isn't it?

Stay tuned!

Breakfast at Landgoed Overste Hof Langdraaf

Having breakfast while it's raining heavily outside, it's quite enjoyable.
Very nice view but it would be great if we can go out cycling, It's Netherlands after all.
We're here until tomorrow so not much time left to see the area.