Welcome To The Garden Of Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

The world’s most visited cemetery opened in 1804. Père Lachaise is notable for being the first garden cemetery. Finally someone realised, that cemeteries don’t only need to be a place of sorrow, but comfort and peace.

The main attractions at Père Lachaise lie six feet under though: Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Yves Montand, Oscar Wilde, Maria Callas, Georges Bizet and many other celebrities have found their resting place here. Most visitors come here to find at least one of the mentioned graves, I didn’t care much about that. I rather enjoyed the sheer aesthetic beauty of the cemetery.

At Père Lachaise cemetery, 70.000 tombs (many of the rich and famous) form a verdant, 44-hectare sculpture garden.

The Père Lachaise cemetery takes its name from King Louis XIV’s confessor, Father François de la Chaise.

The number of bodies buried at Pere Lachaise cemetery vary widely. Anywhere from 300.000 to 1.000.000 souls are estimated.

Pere Lachaise cemetery is a major tourist attraction in Paris.

I imagine that Pere Lachaise cemetery is worth a visit anytime of the year, but during autumn this place seems even more mystical…

Pere Lachaise is laid out in numbered divisions, and the divisions are separated by roads and paths.

Plan on spending at least a couple hours at Pere Lachaise to really soak up the atmosphere and to get a sense of the place.

Grave to Valerio at Pere Lachaise: “He liked Stendhal, Pavarotti, Gamine, Pink Floyd, but when he was 29…”

Pere Lachaise was the first garden cemetery, laid out in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. It marked a shift in burial practices and rapidly became the model for similar style cemeteries throughout Europe.

Pere Lachaise is a place where the French ‘made the grave a garden’.

The cemeteries we’re used to are all (more or less) the same: tombstones either next or atop of each other (like for example the Jewish Cemetery in Prague), walkways through the various paths, smaller and larger mausoleums as well as flowers decoration one or the other grave. So when we first heard about hanging coffins high up on cliffs, it sounded quite strange, but our world is huge and packed with different customs and rituals.

From One Bus To The Next: The Normal Way Of Travelling In China.

Our last summer journey brought us to China again. We flew into Chongqing, a city that’s an experience itself not only due to it’s enormous size. We only had 10 days to explore the city and the hanging coffins southeast of Chongqing. Sounds enough, but when travelling through China, you can never be sure where to end up due to the language barrier so a time buffer is strongly advised.

From Chongqing we had to travel to Yibin. A lady at the airports tourism facility booth helped us in securing a seat on a bus the next day. Busses depart straight from the airport to many destinations near or far from Chongqing. The ticket booth and the bus station are located right next to the domestic airport (the international airport is approx. 500 meters away and it’s easy to walk there, even with luggage). There are also other bus stations in the city near the Northern and Southern train stations, but since we don’t speak Mandarine and locals outside of Beijing don’t really understand English, this was our best bet to arrive where we actually anticipated to.

Next Destination: Luobiao.

Once we got to Yibin, we had to transfer again. This meant a local trip through Yibin to get to the right bus station. You can take a taxi if you want to skip all these mini adventures, but it was fun and we got a look at Yibin at the same time. Some of our fellow passengers immediately had an idea where we were headed and directed us to the right bus. After we got to the southern outskirts of Yibin, we hopped onto our transport to Luobiao.

After approximately three hours, leaving the Yangtze River behind us, we arrived in Luobiao, in the area of Xuanguan (which means hanging coffin in Chinese). We didn’t bother with accommodation, and went with what we came across. Right next to the bus station was a hotel that had a nice room with great view and free Wi-Fi. We rested a little while and started exploring.

Some Practicalities:

• You’ll come across a hotel near the bus station for about 80 RMB per night. It’s nothing too fancy, but good enough for what one needs.
• A local market in the morning gives you all the necessary food options.
• The bus back to Yibin leaves early in the morning. And at around 9.00 am, a bus leaves to Gongxian. From here you can take another bus to Bamboo Sea another attraction in the area, but with hordes of local tourists.

In Persuit Of Ghosts: Hanging Coffings Of Luobiao.

As it was already evening, we didn’t venture far out, but the town looked promising, with the strange feeling of being in persuit of ghosts. So early next morning we were on our way to check out these mysterious hanging coffins. The lush valleys and cool mists of southwestern Sichuan province is truly astonishing: beautiful rice paddies, small farm houses, the most friendly people working their crops and only now and then you hear a truck passing by. We didn’t come across any western tourists and even Chinese tourists are a rare sight. This part of the world does not only seem far away from civilisation, but it actually is.

The hanging coffins of the Bo people, a Chinese ethnic minority, have puzzled historians for generations. Nailed into the cliffs high above the farmland, hundreds of wooden coffins keep silent watch over the valleys below. Over the years, several coffins have fallen down, but you get a good impression on how many must have once hung there by counting all the holes carved into the mountains. The Bo tribe was exterminated in the days of the Ming Dynasty and these coffins are the only relict. It seems obvious that little now is known of them, who they were, or how they lived.

The hanging coffins are really interesting, but what fascinated us even more was the atmosphere and feeling we had when wandering through the rice paddies, as well as the hospitality of the local people. We definitely left Luobiao with a big smile.

We started wandering along the path to the first set of hanging coffins and then further up into a huge cave with ruined structures inside it. The view from up here was breathtaking!

The handing coffins were a unique burial custom of the Bo people was carried out to prevent the dead bodies from being eaten by wild animals and was also believed to be a way for the soul of the deceased to gain an eternal blessing.

If you enjoy peace and quite, then the area of Luobiao is the right sport for you. Here you can truly disconnect from the outer world and experience nature at its best.

The hanging coffins are interesting no doubt, but the experiences we had with the local people, as well as the atmosphere and nature of the Luobiao area deserves just as much attention!

The hanging coffin was a widespread form of burial in ancient southwest China, but the practice ended with the mysterious disappearance of the Bo People.

Luobiao is located in a small river valley with some of the most impressive vegetation we’ve come across.

Some believe the hanging coffins of the Bo people must have been lowered down with ropes from the top of the mountain. Some think the coffins had been put in place using wooden stakes inserted into the cliff face to be used as artificial climbing aids. Others believe that scaling ladders or timber scaffolds were used. However, investigators have failed to find even a single stake hole.

The market in Luobiao offers everything you expect from a market in China: live animals, fresh fruits and vegetables and lots of street vendors.

Off we go.

Last June, some guys asked us if we would transport their luggage by car, while they cycled through Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic for a few days.

All We Had To Do Was:

1. Be at the cyclers planned accommodation the night before their arrival.
2. Pick up their luggage in the morning after they started their route for the day.

So this would have given us plenty of time to see the area. Therefore, we immediately took the chance (after all we were being paid for a nice long weekend) and left on a sunny Friday afternoon towards the Hungarian border.

Hungary.

The landscape around Sopron is pretty interesting. The South of Lake Neusiedl is sparsely populated and you get the impression the animals are taking over. You’ll find lots of camp grounds in the villages along the road lots of “Spa Towns” with artesian water. We set up our tent at a quiet corner of an otherwise huge camp ground, mainly packed with German holidaymakers in their RV’s.

One of the best things we love about Hungary is that it’s easy to drive “off road”, and since we were on our way with a Toyota RAV4, we tried to drive as much as possible on little dirt tracks, avoiding any villages and main roads. It’s so much fun once you are used to the bumpiness. Of course, a compass or a GPS should be on board so that you can’t get lost.

Anyway, we drove further North and after picking some strawberries in a “pick it yourself” strawberry field we passed Györ, and continued towards the Slovakian border. There at the border (it wasn’t a real border any more thanks to the European Union) we crossed the bridge across the Danube river.

Landscape South of Lake Neusiedl in Hunary.

Going off road in Hungary.

Going off road in Hungary.

Slovakia.

As we already did in Hungary, we continued driving on little country lanes towards Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia. This was our chance to finally visit Bratislava … but we simply passed through because we wanted to be in the countryside again. Just North of Bratislava the “Little Carpathian Mountain Range” begins. You’ll drive up a long and winding road – a real motor bikers delight – and at the highest point of the road are some rest houses & some mountain huts. In winter it’s a lovely skiing area with few (but fun) ski slopes. As this was one of the meeting points of our cyclers, we needed to settle down. We found a room in one of the mountain huts in the middle of the forest. It was dirt cheap with a yummy breakfast in the morning.
Further North through Slovakia, along the Austrian border, are beautiful little lakes in the beautiful riparian meadowland. Of course depending that the weather is nice and sunny. We passed a few little villages and noticed a few old men on motorbikes obviously with a few drinks (Slibovitz maybe…) too many. We were really lucky to avoid an accident with one of these guys. Police over there are .. well not as what you would expect them to be. So just be aware when you drive by car in Slovakia.

A lake in Slovakia.

The people of Slovakia are still very religious.

Asparagus harvest in Slovakia.

Czech Republic.

After crossing the border, we immediately made our way to Mikulov. It’s a beautiful old town with a long history and therefore you’ll come across lots of interesting buildings and a very nice Jewish Cemetery. A huge town party was in full swing when we arrived and the main square was packed of dancers and market stalls. This sort of entertainment always has a commercial background. We accidentally drove up to the main square and were stopped by the police immediately. No argument helped, the police had no mercy and collected a 40 € fine … but first we had to find an ATM machine to get some Czech Koronas. Btw: The police in Czech Republic is well known for ripping off foreigners, so again, we aware.

We continued on empty country tracks towards Znojmo, straightforward paved single lane roads along the Austrian border. You’ll pass some observation towers & bunkers from the cold war abandoned in the countryside. After Znojmo, we crossed the border to Austria and continued out way home.

Mikulov city in Czech Republic.

The Jewish cemetery in Mikulov, Czech Republic.

As you can see, within four days, you can easily have the chance of visiting 3 – 5 countries and its people. This is definitely something we really enjoy about Central Europa and a rather small home country like Austria :)

We were a group of four friends who started exploring some unknown corners of our home city at 11.00 am. We managed to visit 7 Viennese monuments in a single day … you can imagine that we were completely exhausted afterwards :)

Paulinenwarte.

First we drove up to Türkenschanzpark in 18th district to climb up “Paulinenwarte”. It’s a just recently renovated outlook, built by Paul Metternich in 1888. The view was great but a light net (to keep the doves away) disturbed the view.

Paulinenwarte in the Türkenschanzpark, Vienna.

The Türkenschanzpark is a great spot to relax in Vienna.

Another monument in the Türkenschanzpark, Vienna.

Zacherlfabrik.

Next stop was the “Zacherlfabrik” in the 19th district. It’s an old-oriental looking building that was once an insecticide factory.  Nowadays, one part of the building  is used for concerts and events and the other part is rented out. It must be really nice to live there with a great backyard and silence in the middle of a busy city.

The oriental facade of the Zacherfabrik in Vienna.

The oriental facade of the Zacherfabrik in Vienna

The back side facade of the Zacherlfabrik in Vienna.

Strudelhofstiege.

Then we drove to “Strudelhofstiege”, which is a stairway in the 9th district. There you really realize that Vienna can be hilly in certain parts :) The staircase opened its gates in 1910 and is a fine example of Art Deco.

Strudelhofstiege in Vienna, Austria.

Strudelhofstiege in Vienna, Austria.

Jüdischer Friedhof Seegasse.

Continuing, we made a halt at the Jewish cemetery in Seegasse. You have to pass a senior-citizen home to get in and the windows of this building face the cemetery … I don’t know what the seniors are thinking about the view, when they move in there. Not sure I would appreciate it.

Jüdischer Friedhof Seegasse in Vienna, Austria.

Krankenhaus St. Elisabeth – Apotheke.

After the cemetery we continued to the “Kaiserin Elisabeth pharmacy”, which is located in the same named hospital. This is a real beautiful Baroque pharmacy all made of wood, carved by an unknown craftsman. It’s one of the most best-preserved Baroque pharmacies in Europe.

Krankenhaus St. Elisabeth Apotheke in Vienna.

Krankenhaus St. Elisabeth Apotheke in Vienna.

The backyard of Krankenhaus St. Elisabeth in Vienna.

Hotel Daniel in Wien – ehemals Hoffmann La-Roche.

The new hotel “Daniel” was on our way to the final destination, the “Favoritner Wasserturm”. This hotel is in the former “Hofmann La Roche building close to the “Belvedere” on Landstrasser Gürtel. It’s not really a typical monument yet but what’s great about the hotel is the innovative new concept; the rooms are minimalistic furnished though with everything one might need. The ceiling is unfinished but the thought behind it was to show the story of the building. The lobby looks like a living room, which makes it really cozy. Overall, a great concept with a very moderate room price from 92 to 115 € per room per night.

The hanging boat on the facade of Hotel Daniel in Vienna, Austria.

In the lobby of Hotel Daniel in Vienna, Austria.

In the lobby of Hotel Daniel in Vienna, Austria.

Wasserturm Favoriten.

Our final destination was the Wasserturm Favoriten – another highlight of the day. The weather that autumn Sunday was very nice and clear, so the view was stunning. You could see far to the distance and we even realized that Vienna has some pretty impressive skyscrapers :)

Wasserturm Favoriten in Vienna, Austria.

A clear city view of Vienna, Austria.

A clear city view of Vienna, Austria.

A clear city view of Vienna, Austria.

The Old Towns Spare is one of the most visited places in Prague. No wonder. You’ll not only find the scary looking Gothic Tyn Church there but also the world famous Astronomical Clock. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. Before leaving for Prague, my mum told me that my great great grandfather was one of the few people who knew how to repair this clock and therefore was one of the even fewer people who got his hands dirty repairing it…Pretty cool huh?

Old Town Hall Tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

Astronomical Clock in Prague, Czech Republic.

Tyn Church at night in Prague, Czech Republic.

2. Prague Castle.

Of course one of the biggest attractions is the Prague Castle with St. Vitus Church and the Golden Lane. It is the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Prague was so tightly bound to what we call Western Europe today, that in the 17^th century it was enough to through two catholic town councils and a secretary out of the Prague Castle to start a war; a war that would last 30 years and seized almost all of Europe…

The view of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral from Petrin Tower.

Walking around the Prague Castle will leave you all alone in certain parts.

The walls of Prague Castle.

St. Vitus Cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the Czech Republic..

The Cathedral of St. Vitus had a tremendous influence on the development of Late Gothic style characteristic for Central Europe.

The Golden Lane inside the Prague Castle dates from the 15th Century and has a beautiful, olden world quaintness about it. It comprises 11 historic houses, inside which period scenes have been created to show the life of the artisans who once worked, ate, drank and slept in them.

The name “Golden lane” inside Prague Castle is connected with 16th century alchemists, who had to look there, according to legends, for a reaction to produce gold.

3. Petřín.

Petřín is a hill in the center of Prague with an Eiffel Tower like tower on top. From up there, you have a stunning 360° view of the city. Sooo worth seeing!

Petrin tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

The view over Prague from Petrin Tower.

Railway up to Petrin in Prague, Czech Republic.

4. (John) Lennon Wall.

To be honest, we didn’t plan on visiting the John Lennon Wall. We heard about it, yet it didn’t capture our attention. We reached the wall by accidents when walking through the side alley near Charles Bridge – and we were not disappointed. It once was a regular wall, but since the early 1980’s it was continuously filled with John Lennon inspired graffiti. Why? Well, in 1988 Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time. This led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described (ironically) as “Lennonism”. What’s so great abut this place is that it constantly undergoes change because people still paint/write on the wall.

John Lennon wall in Prague, Czech Republic.

Lover’s locks near the John Lennon wall in Prague, Czech Republic.

5. The Old Jewish Cemetery.

The Old Jewish cemetery in Prague truly fascinated me; It’s one of the most well known cemeteries in Europe because of the way the tombstones are arranged. Even though the entry isn’t cheap, it’s worth every single cent. A huge must see!

Inside the museum of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The thing you need to know before is that I’m usually not the kind of tourist who runs from one attraction to the next but when I’m visiting a new place, I’d like to see at least some of the famous sights. And well, Prague has many famous (and more important: impressive & beautiful) sights! One of these was the Old Jewish Cemetery. Ever since I saw photos of the wildly arranged (or not so arranged) tombstones, I knew this was a total must-see! And since our hotel was only around the corner, it would also be our first stop on day 1…

The Old Jewish Cemetery (obviously) lies in the Jewish quarter of Prague (which is named Josefov) and is one of the most well known in all of Europe. No wonder: There are about 12.000 tombstones with more than 100.000 people buried there. Doesn’t quite add up, right? Due to the lack of space, the dead were interred in layers and this is why it looks so … crowded.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The heavy military presence continued throughout the entire way to Kohima. Every few hundred meters the road was flanked by really good looking Indian soldiers (sometimes on strategic little hills sitting behind walls made of sandbags). Everything seemed so serene; the road winded along upwards to Kohima but obviously there are tensions in the area. A movement for an independent Nagaland is silently active and occasionally some home-made bombs explode or some influential people are killed… For me as a traveller there didn’t seem to be any danger around, though the presence of the army told me differently.

Information tip:

• A good source for Nagaland information is the Nagaland Post.

We passed a bad accident along the way; a truck didn’t make it around a curve and said hello to a step divine (we assume he drove too fast). The area smelled badly of petrol, so we only took a quick look and then drove off before the thing was going to explode. Also it’s pineapple season in summer and along the road were lots of pineapple vendors and we’ve never tasted better pineapples than here. The fields of pineapples looked really beautiful planted along step hills. Some other food stalls sold fresh herbs & fruits like basil, oregano, tiny bananas and passion fruits. It’s a good in-between snack for this long drive.

It’s a 5-hour-drive up to Kohima and the temperature was getting a bit cooler. We were welcomed me with a heavy shower and another police checkpoint – “Passport number, visa number, where you come from, where you go to?” same old bla bla bla.

Anyway, our hotel was a bit Spartan but well situated near the main road and the WWII cemetery. It was the Battle of Kohima where British and Indian soldiers fought alongside to stop the Japanese invasion in 1944. The war cemetery is the final resting ground for 1.400 brave soldiers who lost their young lives there. Today it’s a place where loving couples walk around or students sit in the sun and study. A quiet place in an otherwise bustling little city…

Kohima is a town perched on a few hills. It’s a bit stretched out and you can walk for hours. It’s an important trading point for all the small farmers who live in the area and as far as we noticed, everybody is really friendly. Our black headscarfs helped a lot though because we were not immediately picked out as foreigners.

Market Life.

The market was a heaven for strange food and lots of grubs, frogs, different insects and freshwater fish were on display. Of course, as I started to walk around I was curiously looked at by many people plus every policeman directing the traffic, so I bought a black scarf to wrap my blond hair into to be a little less recognizable as a foreigner.

Travelling Around Kohima.

There are various bus and taxi stations, depending on the direction you wish to travel. We decided to continue to Imphal, the capital of Manipur. We decide on a shared taxi this time, to keep the costs down. It was a bit of a discussion with which car we should travel. We didn’t find out why, but we assume some taxi drivers knew, that with a foreigner in the car there will be delays along the way due to the checkpoints. One taxi driver was finally convinced when we told him that we’d buy three seats so we could take pictures on the right and left side when driving. The trip to Imphal passed through an impressive area, but this adventure will have to wait for another post.

More Nagaland Stories.

Travelling Nagaland: Part 1 – Getting There.

Travelling Nagaland: Part 2 – Impressions Of Dimapur.

Travelling Nagaland: Part 3 – Kohima & Surroundings.

The town of Kohima is located on the top of a high ridge and the town serpentines along the top of the mountain ranges as is typical of most Naga settlements.

Nagaland also known as the Switzerland of Asia is a breath-taking beautiful place. The people are very friendly and warm hearted. And Kohima is definitely a place well worth visiting!

In 1944 during World War II the Battle of Kohima along with the simultaneous Battle of Imphal was the turning point in the Burma Campaign. For the first time in South-East Asia the Japanese lost the initiative to the Allies which they then retained until the end of the war. Kohima has a large cemetery for the Allied war dead maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The cemetery lies on the slopes of Garrison Hill, in what was once the Deputy Commissioner’s tennis court which was the scene of intense fighting, the Battle of the Tennis Court.

These market women in Kohima really seemed to enjoy themselves.

The market in Kohima was a real colourful experience.

The market in Kohima offers all sort of interesting things to look at.

Frogs are just one of the strange things found at the markets in Kohima.

The strangest thing in Kohima was the piping. Lots of water pipes border the streets, sometimes with outlandish connections; the same applies for electric wiring but that’s more common all over Asia.

Bus transportation from Kohima to anywhere in India.