die wohngemeinschaft, Hotel (Cologne)

The popular bar "die wohngemeinschaft" has recently opened (Oct 2010) a hotel on the top floor of the same building in Cologne´s Belgian quarter. Like the distinctively furnished bar, every of the eight rooms has a unique design concept ranging from Bollywood to Mod to minimal. Each room is named after the person who supposedly lives there and whose character the room reflects. The details the designers put into creating the room reflect the love they put into the project. In fact the hotel feels homey right away thanks also to the charming and friendly staff.

We stayed in the minimal room Telma which can sleep up to 3 people. I loved the wooden elements in the room that come from local trees.





We were able to have a look at almost all rooms my favourite being the Bollywood room Manu that sleeps 4 people. I think it would be perfect to book for either Carnival or a bachelorette party.

Bathrooms are shared but big and clean. There is a cosy living room where guests can read, relax and have a cup of tea/coffee. Prices are very affordable.

Enjoy!

heart, Restaurant/Bar/Club (Munich)

There are some dates in a calender that are set in stone such as Christmas, birthdays and- Oktoberfest in Munich!

Apart from deciding when to go, with whom, in which tent the question remains what to do after the evening at Oktoberfest finishes around 11pm. This year we decided to try h-e-a-r-t, a club/restaurant/bar that just opened in May and came highly recommended. The club's name is actually only the logo of a heart, it does not have a written name.

h-e-a-r-t is located in the old stock exchange building at Lenbachplatz 2a close to Karlsplatz/Stachus. The former Deutsche Bank branch was tranformed into a very stylish bar/restaurant/club.

Upon entering coats can be checked and even the coat tags spot a cute heart.
The first room to enter is where the restaurant is located at. The light is dimmed, the colors palette is brown, golden including wooden flooring. Furniture is sleek. The atmosphere is therefore elegant and mysterious but welcoming.

A huge golden door gives access to the bar/club area which used to be a vault. I was surprised by the size of the room as the bar and the tables in the corners almost fill the room. There is no particular dance area. The ceiling is completely mirrored so the room appears larger. Also it is fun to people-watch.

The colors and materials are the same as in the restaurant. There was still a nice smell of wood from the flooring in the air when we entered early at h-e-a-r-t. Don't know how long that will stay though.

The crowd was very mixed, everybody very much enjoyed themselves and danced the night away to 80ies and 90ies mixed music. Since it was Oktoberfest the dresscode was mainly Dirndl&Lederhosen, it seemed that dressing is mixed on other occasions.

Another thing to mention are the restrooms in the basement: they are very dark, partially unisex and huge. Btw- Entry to h-e-a-r-t is free.

Enjoy!

Terme di Sirmione, Spa (Lago di Garda)

As the summer is fading away and fall is approaching I decided with some friends to take a daytrip to Lago di Garda to visit the outdoor thermal baths in Sirmione.

Sirmione is probably the nicest village on Lago di Garda, situated in the southern part of the lake. The location is quite unique as the peninsula lies about 4 km from the lakeshore. As old romans appreciated the spot already some ruins such as the Grotte di Catullo an be visited today. Another sight you will not miss is Castello Scaligero that welcomes visitors at the entrance of the Sirmione.

To reach the thermal bath Aquariva we just crossed the village following the main route. After having paid a hefty fee of almost 40 EUR for a 5-hour stay (there are no shorter options) we were handed bathrobes and electronic bracelet tickets and changed.

I was surprised to see the how few changing cabins were provided but they were clean. What I really didn´t like is the system to store your belongings. First you have to put everything into a garment bag, that is then stored away via an electronic system that reminded me of the carousels used in laundry shops. The place of storage is saved into the bracelet. For retrieval the bracelet is used again.
As the lockers for valuables are tiny my handbag didn´t event fit in so I had to squeeze it into a garment bag. When we retrieved our things it seemed easy for us to take someone else`s things if we wanted to. So I am not so sure about the system...

There are several pools, the nicest being the outdoor eternity pool. Unfortunately the water in this pool is not exactly hot thus the pool was mostly empty.



There is another big outdoor pool which is warmer.

The exceptional thing about the Aquariva is the location: it is directly on the lake. What I hence enjoyed the most was just lying on lounge chairs on the decks just above the lake and enjoying the view. (See Google Maps: 45.495189,10.603716 )

Enjoy!

Reina, Nightclub (Istanbul)

Had a wonderful night at Reina nightclub. This is a really elegant nightclub on the European side of this city that never sleeps. It is directly on Bosporus just underneath one of the bridges that connect the European and Asian part of the city. The club is mostly open-air reminding me a lot of Beirut's sky bar. Sadly curtains are pulled on all large windows facing Bosporus, so after approx. midnight the view onto the opposite shore is gone.

Enjoy!

Buchheim Collection, Museum (Munich)

Summer in Munich is fabulous because of the close distance to the lakes. Actually kind of similar to Milano. The largest and most famous lake is Starnbergersee.

One of my favorite buildings on the lake is the Museum of Imagination hosting the Buchheim Collection. This has been my third visit to the museum. There is usually quite a lot of expressionism (Blauer Reiter Movement) and some special exhibition.

What I like the most though is the building. It was designed by Behnisch Architekten an internationally renowned German practice. The Museum is located right on the lakeside. It is very contemporary without being cold as there is a lot of wood and green.



Due to the perfect lake location Behnisch Architekten planned a beautiful dock where visitors can step outside and enjoy the panoramic view of the lake and the Alps (about 2 hour drive).



Enjoy!

Lido di Lenno, Beachclub (Lago di Como)

I very much enjoy time at Lago di Como as I perceive it as the nicest and most elegant lake in Northern Italy being not as frequented by tourists as Lago Maggiore and Garda.

I was surprised how hard it is to find a nice place to relax on the shore of the lake and maybe swim a bit. It took me quite some time and a local to do so. Then I found Lido di Lenno which is a beautiful beachclub cum restaurant cum nightclub close to the town of Lenno more or less on the opposite shore of Bellagio.

Lido di Lenno is located at the end of the bay in Via Comoedia 1, a little hidden to be honest. Kind of an artifical beach was set up outside including deckchairs and lake-access to make for a proper beach club. During high season it is wise to book in advance I found out.

At night Lido di Lenno transforms into a club, where it seemed mostly people from Lago di Como area are celebrating: a wild mix of ages and people.

Enjoy!

Princi, Bakery (Milan)

Finding a good baker is not an easy task if you are a serious bread-lover. However in Milano this is fairly easy: just head to one of the 4 Princi branches located mainly in and around Brera district.

Princi bakes according to traditional recipes and always fresh which is probably the reason why everything there tastes amazing. My absolute favourite is the olive bread. This bread acually is the reason why I started to like green olives. There is some delicious baguette-style dough wrapped around hundreds of delicious, salty olives whose taste just explodes in your mouth.



All Princi branches are also nicely designed, but the one at Piazza 25 Aprile is the most beautiful as you can watch the bread baking and the fire is integrated into the store architecture. Since this branch is conveniently located just off Corso Como where many of Milano's nightclubs are, this Princi is actually open until very early in the morning (post-clubbing-olive-bread-emergencies)...

Enjoy!

Il Gattopardo, Nightclub (Milan)

Gattopardo guarantees a night to remember. This medium-sized club is located in Sempione area in Via Piero delle Francesca 47 on the two floors of an amazing old church.

If it weren't for the serious (but very friendly) bouncers, the roped entrance and the crowd one would assume it is still a church from outside. Luckily for all parylovers the old church was turned into a club in 2001 and has been ever since.

Thursday night is my favourite night at Gattopardo attracting a crowd that's mature but loves to party hard. Entrance is free but dressing up is recommended- it is Milano after all.

As the evening progresses ladies are allowed to dance on the bars and yes- they always do. A live sax player and an trapeze artist take turns performing every other week. As most clubs in Milano it closes around 2:30 on weekdays.



Enjoy!

Gold, Restaurant (Milan)

In Milano every designer has a place to experience the brand such as a bar, restaurant or nightclub.

Dolce & Gabbana opened in 2007 their "concept restaurant" Gold, being in line with their overall brand identity. The restaurant has 3 areas: bar, bistrot and restaurant.

The interior design is just drop-dead gorgeous. There is of course a lot of gold but nicely put next to natural stone material such as marble and also crystal/glass and leather. Service is one of the best I have experienced in Milano.
I have dined only in the bistrot section so far but loved the food. The menu is made up of mainly Italian dishes and won't leave you hungry.



Check out the bathrooms as they are the most glamourous in Milano being golden with marble.

Enjoy!