As we are slowly approaching the end of the year and holiday season that I absolutely love, I’m reminiscing my last proper vacation I had in December 2019. It was one of the trips I randomly booked (because that’s just who I am) and I’m really glad it happened. I mean, who would even assume holidays would be on hold in 2020. So I hopped on a plane, for another adventure…
Kako se priblizavamo kraju godine i sezoni praznika koju prosto obozavam, prisecam se svog poslednjeg pravog odmora iz decembra 2019.godine. To je bio jedan od onih putovanja koje sam neplanski bukirala u poslednjem trenutku (jer to sam ja) i zaista sam srecna da se dogodio. Ko bi mogao i da pomisli da ce putovanja da budu “na cekanju” ove godine. Ali tada se moglo uskociti u avion i bez razmisljanja otici u novu avanturu…
All I wanted on this trip is to get into that cozy wintery mood. You know – visiting Christmas markets, drinking mulled wine, eating roasted chestnuts, and at the end of the day taking a nice hot bubble bath before snuggling up in bed to watch Christmas movies. You get me, right? I’m all about getting into that Christmas spirit I cannot really feel in Dubai. And it’s one of the things I’m looking forward every single year.
To, first of all, feel welcomed with a huge Christmas tree (just like the ones in movies) and on top of that to really enjoy my stay and get into that cozy vibe, I chose probably the most fascinating hotel in their capital city Baku – Fairmont (well known as Flame towers). Honestly, never have I felt so welcomed in any hotel. Their staff was just amazing. I stayed in a luxurious room with an incredible view of the city and Caspian Sea view right from the bathtub. I think pictures say more than the words would ever describe. Oh, and please, remind me not to leave out that one important thing out of my hunt for an apartment – bathtub.
Sve sto sam zelela na ovom putovanju jeste da osetim malo zime i uzivam u praznicnoj atmosferi. Znate ono – da obidjem Bozicne pijace, pijem kuvano vino, grickam przeno kestenje, i na kraju dana uskocim u toplu kadu pre nego sto se ususkam u krevet uz Bozicne filmove. Znate na sta mislim, zar ne? Ja sam jedna od onih koja se raduje zimskim praznicima koje bas i ne mogu da dozivim na pravi nacin u Dubaiju na +25 stepeni. Zato svake zime brze-bolje odletim u neke hladnije krajeve, pa makar to bilo na svega 5 dana.
Da se pre svega osecam dobrodoslom sa velikom novogodisnjom jelkom (bas kao iz filmova) i da na to uzivam u svom odmoru i osetim malo praznicne atmosfere, odabrala sam po svemu sudeci najfascinantniji hotel u glavnom gradu Azerbejdzana (Baku) – a to je Fairmont hotel, poznatiji kao “Plamene kule“. Iskreno, nikada se ni u jednom hotelu do sada nisam osecala toliko dobrodoslom. Njihovo osoblje je zaista bilo predivno. Odsela sam u luksuznoj sobi sa neverovatnim pogledom na grad sa jedne strane i na Kaspijsko more direktno iz kade. Mislim da slike govore vise nego reci. I molim vas, podsetite me da ne izostavim jednu jako bitnu stvar u mojoj sledecoj potraznji stana – kadu.
Holy Moly… I’m a sucker for Christmas Markets, so you can only imagine the excitement I got when I saw this one called “Cold hands, warm heart”. I mean, visiting them is a MUST whenever and wherever I’m traveling in December. They immediately put me in a great mood. The only thing I struggled a bit was finding mulled wine, until I stumbled across “Paris Bistro”. And you can guess the end of the story… Just don’t judge – it’s that time of the year when I’m not considered a raging alcoholic for consuming my body weight in mulled wine. I’m just being festive, that’s all. Ho ho ho…
Oooo da… Shvatili ste da obozavam Bozicne pijace, stoga mozete samo da zamislite tu srecu kada sam ugledala ovu koja se zove “Hladne ruke, toplo srce”. Obilazak istih je pod obavezno kad god i gde god putovala u sred decembra. Ne znam za vas, ali mene istog trenutka mnogo razvesele. Jedino sto sam imala maleni problem u potraznji kuvanog vina koji nije dostupan na pijacama, verovatno iz razloga jer je Azerbejdzan muslimanska drzava. Medjutim, pronasla sam ga u jednom preslatkom kaficu “Paris Bistro”, a ostatak price vec mozete da pogodite… Bila sam im redovan gost. I ne, nisam alkoholicar, samo uzivam u zimskoj idili, to je sve. Ho ho ho…
Also, couldn’t help but indulge in delicious Azerbaijan dishes. They indeed reminded me of Georgian cuisine. And if I tell you that I came back from Georgia with couple of pounds extra, you’d understand why I went through pretty much the same in Baku. But how I like to say: vacation calories don’t count. So, you better write down these restaurants I highly recommend visiting in Baku: Fisincan cafe, Central Baku, definitely Paris Bistro (not only because of their mulled wine, but delicious crepes too) and Qaynana restaurant for the best kebabs in town.
Takodje, nisam mogla a da se prosto ne davim u preukusnoj hrani koja me mnogo podseca na Gruzijsku. A ako vam kazem da sam se iz Gruzije vratila sa par kilograma vise, shvaticete zasto sam prosla skoro pa kroz isto i po povratku iz Azerbejdzana. Ali kako ja to volim da kazem samoj sebi: Odmor ne broji kalorije. Tako da bolje zapisite sledece restorane koje vam toplo preporucujem: Fisincan cafe, Central Baku, definitivno Paris Bistro (i ne samo zbog kuvanog vina, vec i zbog divnih palacinki) i Qaynana restaurant za najbolje kebabe (iliti cevape) u gradu.
They say a brief walk shortly after eating is a quick way to burn those calories. Even though I didn’t care about them – because #vacation, I still wanted to stroll around the city and explore. Old City Baku was on top of the list, followed by Little Venice that for sure looks way prettier in spring or summer time, then Carpet museum, Maiden Tower and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center…
Kazu da je kratka setnja ubrzo posle jela brz nacin za sagorevanje kalorija. I iako u tom trenutku nisam marila za iste (jer jelte, ja sam na odmoru), ipak sam skitala gradom jer sam zelela sto vise toga da obidjem i upoznam malo bolje grad Baku. Stari grad je bio prvi na listi, a zatim su se tu nasli i Mala Venecija (koja sigurno da lepse izgleda na prolece ili leto), kao i Muzej tepiha, Devojacka kula i Kulturni Centar Heydar Aliyev…
I’m really glad I had this opportunity to visit this lovely city of Baku. Couldn’t even imagine what year was in front of them (in every sense of the word). Btw, this is just the beginning of my travel series through which I will try to record all of my trips (previous and hopefully the following ones soon), because it’s indeed something that really makes me happy. Until the next post – stay healthy and don’t forget to smile.
S, xx.
Zaista mi je drago da sam imala priliku da obidjem ovaj divan grad Baku, ni ne sluteci tada kakva ih godina ceka (u svakom smislu te reci). Ovo je inace samo pocetak mojih postova kroz koje cu se truditi da zabelezim svoja putovanja (kako prethodna, tako nadam se i sva naredna), jer je nesto sto me posebno raduje. Do narednog posta – budite mi zdravi i nasmejani.
S, xx.