Zoélie and the girls in Cyprus

The girls, Annick, Ingrid and Zoélie invited us for a week to Cyprus, so that we could both spend some time with Zoélie, Thomas' daughter. Ingrid is currently working for three years with the European Commission in the northern part of Cyprus, and based in north Nicosia.  

So, flying with low air fare company Ryan Bus (oops, sorry, that's Ryan Air, it's just that the plane feels more like a bus), we were off for Cyprus, country n°60 on my list.
To be honest, I had very few expectations. I always thought of Cyprus more as a mass-tourist destination, with images of filled up beaches and all in resorts. True, there is that side, but since we stayed with the girls in Nicosia (capital) and in the low season, it gave us an opportunity to quietly discover, and also to appreciate the tourist 'must sees' without having the feeling of being part of a herd of sheep.

And Cyprus does have a lot to offer, such as history:

Ruins from the Antiquity

The statues were beheaded by the Christians, cause perceived as paganry

Of course, the beaches. Though it was Janaury and the temperature was hoovering around the 15-20°, we still persisted in spending an afternoon at the beach, though none of us worked up the courage to swim (or even to try out the temperature of the water).

But surprisingly, there was also snow, and even a place where one can ski. Unfortunately it was closed the day we went, so we hiked through the snow instead but it was amazing to spend one day at the beach, and the next one contemplating skiing.

Certain places are literally littered with architecture and churches/mosques:

One of the most interesting aspects of Cyprus to me was definitely to witness the separation. The 1/3 of the north of the island is dominated by the Turkish Cypriots, backed up (also military) by Turkey (no surprise), the 2/3 south by the Greek Cypriots. Separating them is a Green Line, a buffer between the two parts which, even if they are not officially at war, still have a lot of tension between them. Of course, the situation is so complex I can't even begin to summarize it here, but it was fascinating to see certain aspects of this division and the consequences it had on daily life (especially considering our own little Belgium sometimes talks about separating)... 

 Then some other things that took up much of our time:

Coffee and restaurants. This one at Gloria Jean.

Playing with Annick's iPhone.

And of course, for me, this holiday was the perfect opportunity to explore my latest toy: my picture camera Panasonix G10. What better moment to play around with settings, try and decipher the manual and just keep snapping away. I must admit, the first day and first couple of pictures I was a bit sceptical, but now I'm completely won over. Am sure I still have discovered and used only 20% of the settings, applications and possibilities, but it's a start. 

 And yes, at least I had some willing subjects to photograph.

But of course, our main attraction was Zoélie! Now just turned two, she's really a toddler, understands almost everything though still doesn't talk much (which makes the occasional 'maman' and yes, 'papa' even more endearing). In the morning she would attend kindergarten, while Annick and ourselves would hang out at the house - me often hunting or applying for jobs. Then she would come with us on afternoon excursions and set the pace. So we got a lot of time to interact with her, playing, singing songs (the wheels on the bus go round), squeezing her, watching Bumba (thanks Loïc, for the tip), feeding her, and yes, Thomas even changed her diapers (once).

Zoélie at the beach. See you soon again!

All in all, a great and relaxing holiday. Thanks so much for the girls to invite us and show us around! We also made sure to always leave certain things not seen, so we would have an excuse to go back... 

Saint Petersburg

For two nights and three days, we went about exploring that city of city, Saint Petersburg.
We flew from Moscow to Saint Petersburg (2h, 40Euro) and stayed with a CouchSurfing host allowing us to stay 30 minutes by metro from the centre. Saint Petersburg is definitely very beautiful, with churches and historical buildings at every street corner.

The statue of Peter the Great, made by Catherine II, in front of St Isaac church

Our host had hours that didn't always coincide with ours though, and since we depended on him to get into the apartment, it meant waiting till he was awake before leaving (one morning only at 12), and till he was back before being able to get out of the Russian cold (10pm one night and 11pm the next). Not that ideal, especially since it also meant we didn't get to interact that much.   

St Isaac across the frozen Neva river. 

Though light was only there from 10am till 4pm, it was some good light and beautiful clouds. Saint Petersburg in winter makes me wish I had a better camera.

Back of the Winter Palace, with Hermitage.

 The walking around in the cold combined with the not always great nights were starting to get to us though. We had to regularly duck into cafes or shops to warm up and it does affect your motivation to discover a city to feel like you have to struggle through it.

St Peter-and-Paul fortress.

 St Pete seems to be all about the gold and the churches, with domes and crosses everywhere.

The Hermitage with a sound and light show on the evening of our arrival

Train ride back from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Can you make out Thomas inside the wagon?

Another thing on my to-do-list-before-I-die: taking the sleeper train in Russia. Okay, it isn't the Transsiberian, but it was already a nice experience to travel the 10h back from St Pete to Moscow by train, sharing the carriage with about 50 other Russians (we took platzkart, the 3rd and cheapest section). Still pretty decent beds, and I'm sure I would have slept fine, if the hours hadn't been a bit shitty (leaving at 7pm, getting into Moscow at 3h42 - and yes, despite our hopes, it was punctual).