Xplor

MAY 2013

A contemporary magazinge for urban travellers and explorers

Berlin City Breaks:

Seychelles by the sea shore

Fishing for your supper’s pretty tasty – when you’re on a sexy speedboat in the Indian Ocean

Total Guide: North Africa

Deserts and designer hotels, pyramids and plunge pools… whatever your scene, fromMorocco to Egypt, there’s a holiday for you

Brilliant new budget city breaks. Strangebut-true safaris. Luxury flights for less. Affordable private islands. Put your feet up and pick the perfect new (year) getaway…

UK £3.80

Hottest holiday ideas 2013

CREDITS EDITOR ABIGAIL CHISMAN MANAGING EDITOR ELEANOR WATKIN DEPUTY EDITOR ALEXANDRA SALAMAN SENIOR DESIGNER STUART O’BRIEN SENIOR PICTURE EDITOR NICOLE FRANKEL ASSISTANT PICTURE EDITOR DURGA DEVI TALUKDAR TECHNICAL DIRECTOR DAVE COHEN SENIOR DEVELOPER DAVID ASBURY DEVELOPERS MATT JONES, STEVEN MARX ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR SERENA PRIVETT DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE TRAVEL ADVERTISING NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JENNY COSSONS SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER RACHEL REIDY SALES EXECUTIVE CHARLOTTE LAIDLOW ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS ASSISTANT CARLY FREEDMAN COMMERCIAL DESIGNER SEIJA CHOWDHURY ADDITIONAL CREDITS CONDENET.UK EDITORIAL TEAM Maria Milano, Executive Editor, CondéNet Dolly Jones, Editor Ally Pyle, Features Writer Charlotte Duck, Mobile Features Writer Emma Lundin, Production Assistant CONDENET.UK DESIGN TEAM Christa Laubscher, Head of Design PRESIDENT OF NEW BUSINESS Sue Douglas PA TO PRESIDENT OF NEW BUSINESS Emily Gifford-Taylor

On the cover Photographer: Jess Pritchard Location: Fernsehturm (Berlin’s TV Tower)

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Contents REGULARS

FEATURES

6.

48. Seychelles by the sea shore

Way to go

Chiang Mai hots up; walking boots tried & tested; club-class flights reach new heights

12. City Breaks: Berlin

Berlin possesses a rich and fascinating history as well as a vibrant cultural heritage. Recognizing the unique value of its traditions it has managed to maintain its magic and charm.

26. Rest assured: Istanbul

In Turkey’s former capital we’ve got sleep-ins both classic and modern – all fit for a sultan

28. Take me there

Snowy Florence, sunny South Africa and twinkly northern Norway – enjoy the view

34. Winter walks to lovely pubs

Warm beer tastes much better after a cold country walk. We’ve got six of the best…

41. Smart traveller

How to: bag a great round-the-world ticket; buy the perfect digital camera; get the most from the sales in London, Paris and New York

120. Behind the pictures

Travel photography? Glamorous?

Not when you’re knee-deep in bat droppings…

125. Weekend kits

Quick getaway? Sorted with our tear-outand-go guides. This month: Amsterdam, classic and contemporary; Buenos Aires round the clock; and sunny winter Cyprus

147. Subscriptions

Get a year’s worth of Xplor Magazine at an even nicer price!

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Fishing for your supper’s pretty tasty – when you’re on a sexy speedboat in the Indian Ocean

52. Total Guide: North Africa

Deserts and designer hotels, pyramids and plunge pools… whatever your scene, from Morocco to Egypt, there’s a holiday for you

86. Another Antigua

It’s one of the Caribbean’s most popular paradises – but there’s a quieter side too: a fantasy island of untouched reefs, friendly fish and remote, romantic beaches

98. Dragons of Indonesia

It could be a boy’s-own adventure yarn or a Hollywood movie. But this voyage to a lost island full of flesh-eating lizards is all too real…

107. Hottest holiday ideas 2013

Brilliant new budget city breaks.

Strange but- true safaris. Luxury flights for less. Affordable private islands. Put your feet up and pick the perfect new (year) getaway…

162. Celebrity travel

Rupert Everett on hitching (private-jet) lifts with Julia Roberts – and slumming

OVER TO YOU 13. Readers’ letters and photos Find an envelope – and win fabulous prizes

140. Travel club

Fabulous prizes and 20 per cent off at Habitat!

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On the cover

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The facts about

Berlin

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The facts about Berlin

Why go B

erlin is a fascinating city and a monument of living history. The Berlin Wall was dismantled in 1989, but the East and West district of the city still show signs of the political, cultural and physical divide that existed for almost 30 years. There is plenty to see - from graffiti covered remnants of the wall itself to Hitler’s bunker and the new Jewish synagogue centre. Berlin is by no means stifled by its extraordinary past - it is hurtling headfirst into the future with hip bars attracting a trendy young crowd in the Mitte and Charlottenburg districts. Excellent luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants ensure its chic European status.

What to do

BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS • HITLER’S BUNKER

Berlin’s troublesome past has led to the city becoming the master of reinvention.

Where Paris and London are full of heroic statues, Berlin stands fairly empty. It is difficult, although not impossible, to find a single one of Bismarck, Germany’s founding father, in the city. But, the most thorough amnesiac lapse concerns Hitler. Where is his bunker? Hitler’s chancellery was a huge compound between Wilhelmstrasse and Ebertstrasse, and the bunker is hidden here, beneath the overgrown mound close to An der Kolonnade. Unmarked and out of bounds, this is where Hitler led Germany during the last disastrous weeks of the war, where he married Eva Braun, and committed suicide alongside the Goebbels.

Along with many historic sites in Berlin, this one certainly exudes a sense of evil. It is worth going, even if the search is more satisfying than the snapshot.

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• REICHSTAG AND THE GERMAN Varieté is the place to be. It is probably the closest you can get to Hollywood’s BUNDESTAG Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin (00 49 30 2270; www.bundestag.de).

Of all the architectural experiments in Berlin, the glass dome of Norman Foster’s restored Reichstag is the one that works best. Intended to symbolise a new, democratic Germany, its stroke of genius is to let light into a building famous for its negative associations. The dome has views out to thte Brandenburg Gate and down in the direction of the debating chamber.

Cabaret, Christopher Isherwood’s vision of pre-war Berlin - without the Nazis of course.

Go early to snatch table near the stage. A typical bill could include an eccentrically dressed but witty band, a couple of silent but famously lesbian acrobats performing on ropes dangling in the middle of the audience, stand-up comics who you don’t have to speak German

Previous page Parliament building Above Altes museum Right Berlin Cathedral

• THE WALL AND THE EAST SIDE GALLERY Mühlenstrasse, Berlin. The biggest slice of the notorious Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery, can be found on Mühlenstrasse.

The wall was painted by artist interpreting the events on November 9, 1989 when the Die Mauer came down. Some of the paintings are quite witty - the strongest image being that of former Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev giving his East German counterpart Erich Honecker a deep, passionate kiss. The East Side Gallery is suffering the effects of less skilled graffiti artists, but it is still well worth a visit.

CABARETS

• CHAMALEON VARIETE Rosenthaler Strasse 40/41, 10178 Berlin (00 49 30 4000 5930; www.chamaeleonberlin.de).

If your idea of a good time is having a young woman (who might actually be a man) balancing on your already unstable table, wiggling her preternaturally long green tongue in your face, Chamäleon

WHERE TO STAY

Arcotel Velvet

Oranienburger Strasse 52, 10117 Berlin (00 49 30 2787 530) For a taste of affordable Teutonic style, stay at the Arcotel Velvet. The 85 suites and rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, curtains printed with famous faces and carpets showing the map of Europe. The hotel has a restaurant, gourmet Lutter & Wegner Wein & Feinkost, run by Josef Laggner, and a comfortable bar, the Velvet Lounge.

£ Price rating: 0/5

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to understand, and someone with a strong singing voice and plenty of visual humour.

Outside, in the interlocking courtyards of Hackesche Höfe, the night bubbles long after the cabaret is over.

CITY VIEWS

• FERNSEHTURM

that from the Fernsehturm. Getting there is a long hike too - best take the No 100 bus.

Open daily.

CONCERTS

• BERLIN PHILHARMONIC

Alexanderplatz, Berlin (www.berlinerfernsehturm.de).

Herbert-von-Karajan Strasse 1, 10785 Berlin (00 49 30 2548 80; www.berliner-philharmoniker.de).

The Fernsehturm (television tower) on Alexanderplatz is known in the popular idiom as the ‘tele-asparagus’. The view from the rotating restaurant at the top is regarded as the best in town, but prepare yourself for long queues and food that matches the spectacle only in the sense that both make you feel queasy. Open until midnight.

• STAATSOPER

• SIEGESSAULE

Grosser Stern, Strasse des 17. Juni 10, Berlin.

The golden, winged statue on top of the Siegessäule - the column celebrating victories over Denmark, Austria and France in the 19th-century - is called ‘Golden Else’ after a famous pub landlady. If you can manage the 285 steps to the top, the view on a clear day is probably even better than

Above Gemaldegalerie Right Berlin Philharmonic

Led by Sir Simon Rattle since 2002, the Berlin Philharmonic is one of the best orchestras in Europe. The repertoire is exiting and varied, and tickets can be booked in advance.

Unter den Linden 5-7, 10117 Berlin (00 49 30 2035 4555; www.staatsoper-berlin.de).

One of the oldest orchestras in the world, the Staatoper Kapelle dates back to 1570 and has been the musical home of many great musicians and composers, including Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Led today by Daniel Barenboim, make sure you catch the conductor in concert, especially one where he simultaneously plays the piano and conducts.

WHERE TO STAY

Hecker’s Hotel Berlin Grolmanstrasse 35, 10623 Berlin (00 49 30 88 900)

A classic boutique hotel situated in the fashionable Charlottenburg about 100 metres off the Kurfürstendamm artery, Hecker’s is near restaurants, galleries and shops. It is popular with shy celebrities.

£££ Price rating: 3/5

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The facts about Berlin

MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES There are numerous museums to visit - pick up the Berlin Card booklet in the helpful tourist office on Potsdamer Platz for details.

• CENTRUM JUDAICUM NEUE SYNAGOGE

Oranienburger Strasse 28-30, 10117 Berlin (00 49 30 88028 300; www.cjudaicum.de).

Gemäldegalerie. Just a short walk from the Philharmonie, it is an attractive modern building that never lets its collection down with bad lighting or crowded exposition.

Dürer and Holbein the Younger are among the German artists; the Dutch and Flemish collections are strong on Van Dyck, Rubens, Frans Hals and, of course, Rembrandt. In the Italian section, the gallery is most proud of its Caravaggios, although there are two interesting Madonnas by Botticelli and works by Raphael and Titian. A world-class gallery.

Open Tue-Sun.

The Centrum Judaicum is attempting to restore the connections between Berliners and the Jews, who once exercised such a strong influence over city life. The museum’s • MAUERMUSEUM HAUS AM CHECKPOINT CHARLIE many exhibitions illustrate this thoroughly.

Open Sun-Thu and early on Fri. Friedrichstrasse 43-44, 10969 Berlin • GEMALDEGALERIE (00 49 30 2537 250; www.mauermuseum.de).

Kulturforum Potsdamer Platz, Matthäikirchplatz, The Haus am Checkpoint Charlie is a 10785 Berlin (00 49 30 2662 951; remarkable museum. It is easy to forget www.smb.spk-berlin.de). the extraordinary risks taken by those Admire old master paintings, Madonnas who wanted to escape Communist East from north and south, Vermeer’s expert Germany, and though the museum has rendering of light, Rubens’ flesh and various its flaws (it is cramped and the exhibitions versions of heaven and hell at the sometimes lack a proper historical

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context), its false-bottomed cars, detailed photographs of escape tunnels, improvised balloons and aircraft form part of the story of the divided city. Open daily.

• PERGAMONMUSEUM Bodestrasse 1-3, 10178 Berlin (00 49 30 2090 5577; www.smb.spk-berlin.de).

The Pergamonmuseum lies on Museum Island, between the river and the Spree Canal: reaching it is like crossing a moat to enter a fortress. Inside, the major exhibit is the spectacular Pergamon Altar, dedicated to Zeus and Athena and dating from 180160BC. This was one of many pieces looted

by German archaeologists in the Middle East at the beginning of the 20th-century and the museum was designed specifically to accommodate it. Its collection was hidden in salt mines and bombproof cellars during World War II, but some items were destroyed and others seized by the Red Army. A few have been returned since the German Reunification. Open Tue-Sun.

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The facts about Berlin

Where to eat The restaurant scene in Berlin has seen an incredible transformation in recent years, and almost every style of cooking can now be found there.

NB it is advisable to book for weekend evenings.

tarragon jus and dôme from sole and lobster with crèpes jus, is served in sumptuous historic surroundings.

Previous page Berlin night scene Above Restaurant 44 Right Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer

• RESTAURANT E.T.A. HOFFMANN

Yorckstrasse 83, 10965 Berlin (00 49 30 7809 8809; www.restaurant-e-t-a-hoffmann.de).

Located in bohemian Kreuzberg, where anarchists smashed up fashionable restaurants and convertibles some years Hohenzollerndamm 92, ago, E. T. A. Hoffmann is a splendid but 14199 Berlin pricey restaurant. The rolls are home-baked, (00 49 30 8959 6922; the chicken comes in a yoghurt sauce www.wiener-conditorei.de). with coriander and shiitake, the crayfish is The Wiener Conditorei Caffeehaus in leafy served with goat’s quark and fresh apple Roseneck froths over with cheek-pecking jelly, and the veal with pumpkin-filled ravioli. actresses and fast-talking playwrights Open Tue-Sat. tucking into custard-filled pastries. The mirrors in the room allow you to survey the crowd discreetly. Tables are close • THEODOR TUCHER together; perfume is heavy and the service Pariser Platz 6a, is motherly.

10117 Berlin (00 49 30 2248 9464/9639; www.thementeam.de).

• FISCHERS FRITZ

• WIENER CONDITOREI CAFFEEHAUS

Charlottenstraße 49, 10117 Berlin (00 30 2033 6363; www.fischersfritzberlin.com).

A few yards from the Brandenburg Gate, Theodor Tucher is a combined bookshop and restaurant. The owners want it to resemble a book-lined library in a country house, but it actually feels more like a Located in Gendarmenmarkt in the Regent Berlin Hotel, Fischers Fritz has been university library with cooking smells. Even so, the food is good, and the crème brûlée awarded two Michelin stars for its seafood and fish specialities. Chef Christian Lohse’s cannot be missed. Tucking your nose in a book will distract you from the slightly luxurious food, for example sauté of rabbit, flurried service. snails and gambas with artichokes and

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WHERE TO STAY WHERE TO STAY

Savoy Hotel

Fasanenstrasse 9-10, 10623 Berlin (00 49 30 3110 30) The Savoy Hotel is a favourite with the film crowd, and not only during the Berlin Film Festival in February. The lure is the smell of leather, malt whisky and fat Havanas in its wood-panelled bar, largely unchanged since the 1930s.

Hemingway once came to Berlin for a reading but was too drunk to remember anything. The Savoy would have been his kind of place.

££ Price rating: 0/5

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Useful Information - Berlin

Useful Information

B

erlin has a temperate continental climate. Seasons are usually well defined, with July and August the hottest months (28-30° C, 8286° F) and December and January the coldest, when temperatures may fall to –15° C or just +5° F. Average sunshine from April to September is in excess of eight hours a day.

When to go

How to get there Public Transport

Berlin’s climate is typical for continental AIRPORT Europe, and very variable. Go between May Berlin has two airports, Berlin International and October to experience the city during Airport in Tegel, located 8km northwest of its most reliable weather period. The Film the city, and Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Festival is a popular annual event Schönefeld, 24km outside Berlin in February. (www.berlin-airport.de).

AIRLINES FROM THE UK Air Berlin (0870 738 8880; www.airberlin.com) British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) Lufthansa (0845 773 7747; www.lufthansa.com) easyJet (0905 821 0905; www.easyjet.com)

There are plenty of taxis and taxi stands in Berlin and, if you are travelling a short distance in a group of three or more, taxis can be cheaper than buses. The best radio-taxi services are Funktaxi (00 49 30 26 1020; www.funktaxi-berlin.de) and Taxifunk (00 49 30 44 3322; www.taxi443322.de).

There are also bicycle rickshaw services in the shopping areas, offering a convenient and environmentally friendly way of getting

Ryanair (0906 270 5656; www.ryanair.com)

RECOMMENDED READING Sorrows of Young Werther by JW

von Goethe is arguably the first great tragic novel of European literature.

For a comical look at German life, read Mark Twain’s A Tramp Abroad.

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TOURIST INFO

VISIT BERLIN At Hauptbahnhof (main train station), Neues Kranzler Eck (near the Zoo and Ku’damm), at Brandenburger Tor, and in the Alexa shopping centre near Alexanderplatz, Berlin (00 49 30 250 025; www.berlin-tourist-information.de).

Berlin Tourism Marketing has a number of information centres in the city where you can buy discount cards for museums. It also runs a phone service called Berlin-info on 00 49 30 250 025. Open daily.

Below Spandau station Right Eleven hotel

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