Review: Hotel Malika Chiva

We stayed two nights at the Malika Chiva.

General appearance

The hotel is build in a oriental style but is not very old. The designers emphasized the local style in the lobby and all the rooms. Passing the lobby, you reach a kind of atrium around which the rooms are arranged on two floors. Sitting areas, big chess play and souvenir showcasing invite the tourist to linger.

Location

Hotel Malika Chiva is situated directly opposite the Western Entrance Gate to the old city. On foot you can do all the sightseeing that you like and also visit the local bazaar.

Rooms

The rooms were clean, spacious and very bright. Unfortunately, our view was out the back. The bathroom featured even a bathtub.

Breakfast

Breakfast was served in the restaurant and consisted of the usuals: sausage, vegetables, jam, bread, ...

The staff in the dining hall was not very attentive and you were faster serving yourself.

Other

Wifi was available in the lobby and there was a computer at the reception for guests to use. If you used it for more than 15 min, you have to pay for it. The reception people will also help you with money exchange.

Chiva - once capital of Chorezm

At four a.m. we had breakfast to catch an early morning flight to Urgench. At the Tashkent Domestic Terminal we had to queue up behind Mecca returnees whom we met again at our destination and who all carried holy water in 5 l bottles.

Hotel Chiva (formerly a medressa)

Our plane was a small Antonov 24 and we were served twice juices and water from the only flight attendant on board. In Urgench, we were greeted by Lena (our German speaking guide) and Igor (our Russian speaking driver for the whole trip). They took us to Chiva that is 35 km away.

Map of Chiva's Old Town

We settled into the Malika Chiva hotel and then went for a sightseeing tour with Lena to all the interesting places in the old city. In the 19th century the reigning khan was very rich and the town was the capital of the khanate Chorezm, so there was a lot of construction of religious and worldly building where formerly only houses had been.

Kalta Minor (the unfinished minarett - you could see into the harem, so it was not completed and access was forbidden by the khan - even today!)

Now there live only 4,000 people in the old town and it is overwhelmingly full of medressas, mosques, minaretts and two palaces.

View on Chiva from above

We enjoyed our first Uzbekan meals here in different restaurants tasting plov, manty, shashlik, shyot ashi and many more.

shyot ashi - special dish of Chiva

In the evening, we enjoyed wondering among the sights, taking pictures and negotiating with the local souvenir sales people.

A medressa by night - here lived and learned the students.

After two days, we got ready for our trip through the desert by buying fruits and nuts at the local market.

That's not what we bought, but it made an amazing picture!

Review: Hotel Uzbekistan

Within 3 weeks we stayed 3 times at Hotel Uzbekistan.

Amir Timur Maydoni with his statue, on the left Hotel Uzbekistan - on the right a modern congress hall

General apperance

The Hotel Uzbekistan was build during Soviet times to host the foreign travellers and still shows off its splendor. The architecture is a mix of European and Oriental style. It has 17 floors, a restaurant on the top floor, a bar and coffee shop on the ground floor as well as gym.

Location

The hotel is right at the Amir Timur Maydoni and just 10 km from airport and 7 from the railway station. Outside on the right is the Metro station that gives you access to the rest of the town. If you are looking for some cheaper restaurants, walk the street left or right from the hotel to the next intersection and then look out.

Rooms

I had a single room and Inka and Andreas a double room. Basically both rooms offered a double bed, but mine was smaller and offered just a chair and desk, while the other also had armchairs and couch table.

single

The rooms were clean, nicely decorated with Uzbek cloth. The bathroom featured a shower, only the towels were sometimes a it worn.

double

Breakfast

Four times we were served a buffet style breakfast with a lot of choice from fruit to sausage, including a cook preparing eggs at request.

Once we were leaving early, so they served us in the lobby a prepared breakfast at 4:15 am.

Other

The hotel offered official money exchange but due to the rate we did not take advance of it.

Instead we used their safe deposit for our money.

In the lobby, there was also free wifi without password and a lot of seating areas to host the internet junkies.

A bit behind the scenees, you could find a souvenir shops and several ATMs that only gave Dollars.

Tashkent - Start of our Silk Road Journey

After a five hour flight from Riga we landed early morning in Tashkent - the capital of Uzbekistan. It took about two hours for all the procedures deboarding, transfer to terminal, pass control, luggage claim and customs check to meet our driver outside the hotel. He took us to Hotel Usbekistan where we went directly to sleep.

We met at 9 am for breakfast and then I returned to sleep before we met our guide in the lobby at 1 pm.

At first, we visited the Old Town with mosques, mausoleums and medressas (islam schools). One museum housed qu'rans from different times with one dating back to the 8th century.

Then we passed through Chorzu Bazaar where you can buy groceries, clothes and much more.

In the Museum of Applied Arts, we learned about Uzbek clothing, decoration, wood carving, ceramic and painting. In the clothing section, we found the first signs of the ancient Silk Road and learnt the difference between Atlas (100% silk) and Adrass (50% silk/ 50% cotton).

In the late afternoon, we explored the metro which has some nice stations on the national topics of cotton, space and a national poet. Unfortunately, photographing was forbidden like in St. Petersburg as the Metro is also used as atomic shelter.

To find a decent place for dinner proved to be quite an odyssey as in close surrounding of the hotel there are no restaurants and we had to walk quite a bit and had to settle for an Italian place for our first Uzbek evening. But the food was good and we did not spend all our money on it.

Riga - capital of Latvia

Two days ago, we arrived from sunny Munich to rainy Riga, but we were thankful for some regular summer days before heading to the heat of the desert.

In the evening, we strolled around the old city looking for food which we found in a Latvian fast food chain called Lido.

Later we looked for drinks and passed by a lot of interesting little bars before entering the Kiwi bar (a recommendation from our hostel).

Next morning we started our real sightseeing tour after a late breakfast - by bus and on foot.

Blackheads` House

Central Market in old Zeppelin hangars

Parks around the centre

Art Deco - Riga is famous for having more than 200 houses in this style:

View from Stalin`s birthday cake (Academy of Sciences) on Riga

Today, we visited the Open air museum with old houses from all over Latvia.

Now we will leave for the airport to fly to Uzbekistan.

Wedding #5: Oliver & Anja

This weekend, another of my cousins got married - this time in Markkleeberg near Leipzig, where we went to the same school.

The wedding took place in the Martin Luther Church that I had to paint in art class:). It was a nice ceremony with a lovely couple.

Later on, we moved to the AGRA area and partied at the Park Restaurant. At the same site, my oldest cousin Guido celebrated his wedding in 1989.

My cousin Guido with my oncle Manfred and all the rest of the Sper family.

The family reunion for the wedding gave us the possibility to retake a photo from our childhood - a picture of all cousins:

Now: Guido, Eva, Conny (missing), Oliver, Juliane, Christiane, Victor

Then: my brother Victor was not yet born, Christiane, Juliane, Oliver, Conny, Eva, Guido

At the same site, another 3 weddings were celebrated at the same time and for one a light show was organised, but we all enjoyed it.

Between two dance sessions, Anja and Oliver did the last official part of the evening - they cut the wedding cake that was really delicious.

1

Hofbräuhaus, Munich

Living in Munich for four years now, I should have visited all the highlights but I am still missing out on some of the spots.

Thanks to Arianna who just came in on Saturday for a quick stop I can now tick off another one:

She, her boyfriend and me went to the famous Hofbräuhaus - the famous brewery house that was founded in 1589.

We sat outside on the terrace as it was a warm evening. There we enjoyed German food and German beer.

Rhine Cruise 2011

Another summer, another Rhine cruise. Even tough the weather was not quite perfect and being part of the organization team meant a lot of work, it was again a wonderful event. And even more so as I could contribute with my efforts to the results.

On Friday evening, we started off with a presentation and a wine tasting. As you know me, I did not drink any, but asked other people for their opinion to order some bottles.

Saturday morning we headed with the ship up and down the river Rhine. More than 100 alumni, AIESECers and kids boarded and enjoyed half a day of fun, food and friends.

In the afternoon, we returned to the castle for more presentations and workshops. Later we filled our stomachs with food from the barbecue. The following party lasted till the dawn of Sunday.

We were greeted by sunshine on the terrace before we bided farewell to each other.