Let me take you on tour through the real Netherlands and help you experience the true essence of Dutch culture for yourself.
So what does a girl do with a week in The Netherlands – well she walks, she watches, she shops, she eats, she keeps it simple. The Netherlands is one of those countries that doesn’t really require an itinerary- just being there is fun enough. So I’ll simply leave you with this video and 5 must do’s (at the end of the video).
Happy Holidays
xoxo
There is such power in nature. It’s always in motion, isn’t it? This summer, I am going to reconnect with nature by taking my daughter on nature walks. Hamburg is a beautiful, clean city, and Planten un Blomen is an even more beautiful spot right in the middle! We visited the botanical garden in April this year when the Cherry blossoms were out and were so impressed that we wanted to take our daughter again and again.
The botanic garden Park Planten un Blomen (Plants and Flowers in English) has fountains, a playground, and a rink for ice skating. The park is famous for its water-light concerts, public theater and music performances. In addition to the gardens, there is a large playground in the southern area of the park.
Absolutely recommend for people who are looking for a quiet escape right inside the city! You can relax on the many chairs or on the grass admiring the city view from the lovely park with lots of flowers, trees and plenty of water. Ideal for families with young children to enjoy fun in the water and on the playground. It’s rather big so bring plenty of time. On a sunny day, you can spend many hours here (Suggested duration: More than 3 hours).
Just a short stroll from the city Planten un Blomen is the place to relax under Mediterranean fig trees or at the Japanese teahouse. The park offers manicured flower beds, herb gardens, and vast lawns. Idyllic ponds, as well as themed gardens, are a popular time-out spot for business people and university students alike. And with access to central Hamburg, the park is never far away. 🌳🍀🚶🏻♀️
Enjoy crossing the water using the stepping stones with the ducks and turtles swimming through.
A must do to in Hamburg in order to feel the city and its spirit. Soak up the sun, have a picnic or rollerskate, relax on the chairs by the koi ponds, watch your children play, or engage in water sports with your family or enjoy ice cream or drinks in one of several spots throughout the park, or simply walk and admire. You never run out of options in the 47 hectares (116.1 acres) urban
•••Address•••
Klosterwall 8, 20095 Hamburg
_________________________________
•••Opening Hours•••
The park is open all year round and there is no entrance fee.
May ─ September 7:00 a.m. ─ 11:00 p.m.
October ─ March 7:00 a.m. ─ 8:00 p.m.
April 7:00 a.m. ─ 10:00 p.m.
***Price***
All free of charge.
Last week I went to Animal park Hagenbeck, the wildlife park in Hamburg and had a thoroughly enjoyable few hours photographing in the lovely landscaping with lots of mature trees and gardens. The best time to visit the zoo is now when the days are dry and sunny, it doesn’t rain as often and the temperature is pleasant. Plan your day with the help of a 10-day weather forecast app. Make sure to allow enough time at least 4 hours to the 19-hectare animal park with more than 1,850 animals from all continents, including one of the largest elephant herds in Europe. While enjoying a stay in the cosmopolitan city, be sure to find some time to visit the park. Those with younger travelers in tow will especially appreciate the chance to interact with newborn animals ranging from penguins to lion cubs.
With lots of snack spots and clean public toilets, with easy walking paths and numbered map one could easily spend a whole day there. They also provide wagons for kids at the counter. Parking is across the road and is €4 for 24hrs and the zoo easily accessible by U-Bahn and buses from the city.
Walk around and enjoy!
It was nice to see the quality of care given to animals, the animals look all happy and cared for. Great animal enclosures that really bring you into “their” environment. Different species are conserved in their natural habitat and there are many animals roaming freely in the park, you can get too close to them. Don’t miss the polar area where you can go in/out/down below the polar bears, penguins, and walrus, the orangutan house, the elephant freewheeling hall.
I couldn’t visit the tropical aquarium and the souvenir shop this time, so next time I visit the park I will have more to share and update.
Have been to several zoos in various countries but Hagenbeck is still one of our favorites. Make sure to bring some carrots or peanuts to feed the elephants!
Admission to the zoo and aquarium is €30 for adults or €21 for children ages 4 to 16. A family ticket for two adults and two children costs €85. Tickets can also be purchased separately for just the zoo (€20 for adults or €15 for children) or aquarium (€14 for adults or €10 for children).
For more information, visit https://hagenbeck.ticketfritz.de/
~xoxo
We have just returned home after celebrating our baby, Aarvi’s Half Birthday and a 3-day vacation at The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence & Spa. The 5-star Radisson Blu is located in Manama’s prestigious diplomatic area, just 5 minutes’ drive from Bahrain International Airport.
It was one week after Eid and the celebration planned was the kind that comes out of nowhere. We reached the hotel on the afternoon of Thursday and the celebration was planned for the same evening. Upon check in we were graciously greeted by the bellman who retrieved our luggage and initiated our awesome vacation. Preethi at the front desk was very helpful upon checking in to the hotel. We thought we would be unable to check into our rooms because we had arrived before time but check in was very easy, on arrival before the time stated for the room we were given a warm welcome and shown immediately to our room with minimum administration. What more could you ask for?!
The room was very comfortable and spacious, we had a quiet and picturesque view with pool and the sea. The room was beautifully maintained and housekeeping was excellent and exactly what you expect from a 5-star hotel.
Early morning picturesque view of one of the pools from 9th-floor room (this was taken the next day)
Another view from the room, just so special!
After our check in, I checked with the front desk about a blog tour of the hotel. I had then the pleasure of being introduced to Maryam, the Marketing Manager and the Assistant Food and Beverage Director, Sudeesh, who both graciously guided me on how I could make the birthday memorable. They had the celebration arranged in the hotel’s Al Fanar restaurant, the only rooftop venue on the island with a superb view of Manama’s iconic skyline and city lights.
Not just that, Maryam also personally gave me a tour of the hotel spa, pool, pool bar, fitness studio and the hotel restaurant, where I was introduced to the Restaurant Manager, Narendra, who gave me a comprehensive tour of the restaurant. One of the most eye-widening aspects of that tour was the restaurant kitchen and the huge range of great food, awesome desserts and confectioneries, bread and cakes and some of the most popular types of Dilmah Tea from Sri Lanka.
Getting a Kitchen and Food Tour with the very friendly Restaurant Manager, Narendra
Different kinds of SALADS
The never ending main course
A little discussion with the very decent Assistant Food and Beverage Director, Sudeesh
Most popular types of Dilmah Tea from Sri Lanka
The Cooking Station, Asian Cuisine
The very talented Chef Sutar, Chef de Partie
Later we wandered around the rest of the hotel, then went back to our room to relax. We had ordered a half cake for my daughter from Cakes and Bakes, my friend Lamia and Chef Prasad had arranged to drop it off at the hotel for us later in the evening.
We reached the restaurant around 9 pm, where, a very cute looking arrangement of candles, balloons, flowers, adorable tiny toy gift boxes and birthday cracker candles awaited us. We received a very warm welcome by the restaurant staff. The management struck exactly the right balance between offering warm hospitality whilst maintaining an element of privacy for guests.
She was so happy, she almost clapped.
While we sang Happy Birthday, we held LO in our arms near the cake, DH (dear husband) blew the candles out for her, then put her in her stroller & let her smoosh a portion of her cake-which she hated by the way LOL
CONGRATULATIONS to us! We survived the first six months without any complain 🙂
And then after the cake cutting and dinner, we didn’t want Aarvi to get too cranky and overtired, so we returned to our room once again to relax. We had a wonderful sleep in the very comfy beds with very comfy linens. The toiletries in the bathroom (lotion, bubble bath/gel, shampoo and conditioner) were lovely.
Range of Toiletries
Aarvi seems to be enjoying her TRU BLU moment
Next day, after a cup of delicious hot coffee and some snuggle time with my baby girl, it was time to get out of bed and head towards the pool. We were allocated a room on the ninth floor and the biggest challenge we faced was to take the elevator as my 6-month-old daughter is terrified of elevators.
At around 9 am we reached the pool. When we reached the pool, it was partially crowded while some people occupied the pool bar. Diplomat Radisson offers 4 elegant swimming pools.
Gaurav’s leisurely swim
Kontiki, the pool bar
The pools were very nicely designed and the scenery was quite tropical. Women can also enjoy their own indoor pool at the luxurious spa and wellness center. There is a large gym, spa and treatment rooms for men next to the pool. I didn’t get time to use the gym; however, my husband did. After a workout in the fully equipped fitness center, he managed to get the requested photos for me.
After swimming, it was time for the husband to babysit, while I went to get a tour of the spa and wellness center of the hotel facility.
Women’s locker room/sauna
Indoor jacuzzi room… I absolutely love the modern style of this. I wish the one in my apartment was the same
Many different types of Spas
The hotel’s Zen-style spa is an Asian-inspired retreat that includes separate men’s and women’s facilities along with 15 treatment rooms for massages, facials and aroma baths. At the spa, attention has been applied to every detail. For example, the massage benches in the treatment rooms have a bowl of flowers placed underneath the head hole so that you face these rather than just the floor during your treatment.
Getting to know the face and body product selection
The spa offers an extensive menu of facial and body treatments performed with the highest-quality products, including PHYTOMER.
Naturally Flavored Detox Water, not only do these fruit-infused waters taste great, but they’re also fantastic for health!
After spending quality time at the spa, I headed over for the Friday brunch at Al Fanar. For those who do not know, the ‘Friday Brunch’ is very popular with ex-pats working in the Middle East and most good hotels and restaurants have one. This was my first visit to this brunch.
Guests could enjoy a wide selection of international buffets and cooking stations and choose from the many specialty corners, including Italian fare, seafood, Asian cuisine, grills, a carving station, a dessert corner, drinks and a Mojito station.
At Brunch, Restaurant Manager, Narendra had arranged for me to take a tour of the kitchen and meet the top team of chefs behind all the fantastic and creative 5-Star dishes. Meeting the exceptional chefs was one of the most overwhelming experiences that made my stay a positive and pleasant experience.
The exceptional Chefs
Top team of chefs behind all the fantastic and creative 5-Star dishes
The brunch started at 12.00 and finished spot on 15.00hrs.
The very beautiful Karina with her band The “High Times” Drums – Tim, Bass – Max, Guitar – Alex (Doing an interview with them soon)
The youngest fans from Netherlands
Guests enjoying their afternoon time with their loved ones accompanied by delicious food and drinks
Arrived back in the room for a short rest and then that evening we decided to have an early dinner, that permitted a leisurely evening by the pool and Kontiki Pool Bar.
Pool view from Kontiki Pool Bar
The restaurant has a killer vibe and some of the most stylish pan-Asian cuisine in town, it’s the food that really makes this restaurant a standout. The crab cakes and soups are very good and highly recommended.
The very creative Edward adding finishing touches to my drink
After a wonderful evening and the perfect tropical dinner, we decided to call it a night. We had breakfast the next morning and checked out around 11:30 am.
I have stayed at the Radisson Blu chain in India and Dubai, UAE, and have never been disappointed. The service, food and accommodations are well worth the price and the properties are beautifully maintained. For people wishing to visit Bahrain, I would highly recommend a stay at Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence & Spa in Manama and believe you too will enjoy their magnanimous hospitality.
Special thanks to Maryam, Karen, Sudeesh, Narendra & Edward for making our stay a memorable one, right from the check-in to the check-out it was just no hassles!!! Appreciate all the help. Awesome staff only enhanced our stay.
Love love love!
Sanchali
Note: Some important details about The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence & Spa.
Tel: +973 17 525251
Fax: +973 17 533870
Email: reservations.bahrain@radissonblu.com
Tel: +973 17 525267
Fax: +973 17 531633
Email: sales.diplomat@radissonblu.com
Facebook The.Diplomat.Radisson.Blu
Photography By Sanchali 