There are two kinds of people – those who’ll go to a market to buy fish and those who won’t. Markets (especially fish markets) can be stinky, and many of us would rather go to the supermarket. We love markets not only because of the great photo opportunities, but because this where the real deal happens. Sassoon Docks is one of the largest fish markets in the city and for us, it was just the right spot to go to. Turns out that the Sassoon Docks is also one of the oldest docks in Mumbai (142 years), and one of the few docks in the city open to the public.

Where Modern And Traditional Lives Cross.

The entrance looks like the gateway of a fortress, but we knew we were at the right spot when the salty whiff of the ocean and the scent of fish greeted us from afar. More and more people shoving large boxes of fish crossed our path and we knew that we were getting closer. What we didn’t know then is that the Sassoon Docks just recently got a funky street-art turnover called Sassoon Dock Art Project as part of the St+art Mumbai 2017 Urban Art Festival. Despite its historical value and with Mumbai’s try to escape its fishy roots, this place has rather been avoided by Mumbaikars. Like the docks, the memory of Mumbai’s Koli past is all but wiped clear.

The Sassoon Dog is hard to miss when walking along the Sassoon Docks in Mumbai.

Koli women are crucial to the running of the fishing trade at the Sassoon Docks and multiple installations and paintings are built around them.

St+art India is dedicated to making art public, taking it out from niche spaces of galleries and museums and the Sassoon Docks in Mumbai where just the right spot to shed light on this historic party of the city again.

Home Of The Koli People.

The Sassoon Dock in Mumbai is home to the city’s traditional Koli fishing community. The Koli people are an ethnic Indian group native to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana states. It’s believed that the Koli people are Mumbai’s original inhabitants and whose goddess Mumbadevi lends her name to the city. The communities have thrived in the hidden quarters of the city, the koliwadas, which essentially means “a home that opens to the sea“. Much of the art here represents the lived realities of the Koli community – its people, their trade and its smell.

The art project started on November 11 and will run until December 30, 2017. Whether the Sassoon Docks will still be visited as frequently after, is unclear. After all, all the art in the world can’t make the notorious smell, the endless heat and the piercing noise – which are a few reasons people have not come here before – go away.

This has been our second visit to Sassoon Docks and tourists are still a rare sight here. The art installation has brought some upwind, yet only the eager and especially smell-resistent make it all the way to the end of the docks.

Currently, about 1,500 trawlers operate at the Sassoon Docks, bringing in around 20 tonnes of fish every day.

Once you reach the Sassoon Docks, at least 500 people are packed on to a partially-covered chunk of jetty, boats bobbing alongside.

A typical day at Sassoon Docks begins at 5 am when the fresh catch is brought in from the sea.

Over 150.000 people depend on the Sassoon Docks for their livelihood.

Men push loaded handcarts through the crowds at Sassoon Docks as they yell for people to get out of the way.

Despite the fact that most tourist wouldn’t buy fish at Sassoon Docks, women holding tubs full of fish will still ask you.

The docks were built in 1875 by the merchant, Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, a prominent member of the Bombay Jewish community.

Where there’s fresh fish, there needs to be crushed ice. While fish is unloaded off the boats, tons of ice is crushed to keep the fish fresh at the Sassoon Docks.

There are so many ice-trucks on Sassoon Docks, that counting them would be impossible.

In addition to the jetty, the Sassoon Docks house a series of warehouses where the Koli fisherwomen shell prawns with staggering ability.

The sheer variety of fish on offer at Sassoon Docks is mind-blowing: red snapper, tuna, octopus, baby sharks, cuttlefish, blue crabs and stingray are some of the fish you can expect to find here.

Initially, the Sassoon Docks serviced the cotton trade as the Sassoon family were cotton merchants. It was after the decline of the Indian cotton industry that fishing became the main activity here.

The Sassoon Docks are ‘wet’ docks, which means it allows boats to enter at all times because the water level remains the same regardless of the tide.

The list of my 10 favourite coffeehouses in Vienna is in no particular order. I like all of them equality – it just depends where I am or what mood I’m in.

1. phil

The phil was the first one of its kind in Vienna. Today there are several coffee shops that offer food, drinks, shopping and culture all in one. The phil served as a role model and has become a real institution. Almost everything can be bought and most of the books and magazines here have been put together by the customers themselves. It’s a great place to sit for hours while listening to some great tunes.

• Address: Grumpendorferstrasse 10-12, 1060 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Monday 5.00pm – 1.00am & Tuesday – Sunday 9.00am – 1.00am
• Website

The inside of the phil is a mixture between a café, book shop and vintage furniture shopping. © stadtbekannt

Vintage furniture inside the phil in Vienna. © stadtbekannt

In summer you can also sit outside the phil.

2. burg.ring1

The shabby-chic look of the burg.ring1 might remind you of a coffeehouse in Berlin or London – or even one of the similar looking coffee houses in the 7th district of Vienna, yet the difference is the noble address and the spaciousness. It feels like an extended living room with a house bar. A real feel-good place with yummy breakfast and the best home-made lemonade.

• Address: Burgring 1, 1010 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday 11.00am – 1.00am, Friday 11.00am – 2.00 am, Saturday 9.00am – 2.00am & Sunday 9.00am – 6.00pm
• Website

A cozy atmosphere inside the burg.ring1 in Vienna.

A cozy atmosphere inside the burg.ring1 in Vienna.

3. Kleines Café

Built by the famous Viennese architect Hermann Czech, the Kleines Café is a primary rock of the culture scene. It’s very popular, therefore overcrowded most of the time. But the wait is well worth it because the charm of this tiny café is beguiling. In summer, sit down at the Fransiskanerplatz, which is one of the most picturesque places of the inner city.

• Address: Franziskanerplatz 3, 1010 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 10.00am – 2.00am & Sunday 1.00pm – 2.00am

Kleines Café in Vienna. © stadtbekannt

Kleines Café on the Franziskanerplatz in Vienna. © stadtbekannt

4. Café Drechsler

The Drechsler has always been an institution in Vienna. In 2007, it was completely refurbish by the British star designer Sir Terence Coran. It’s still one of the most important meeting points in the scene, especially for a great breakfast after a hard night out in the town. Located right next to the Naschmarkt, this café is located in the hot spot of Vienna.

• Address: Linke Wienzeile 22, 1060 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday 8.00am – Midnight, Friday & Saturday 8.00am – 2.00am, Sunday 8.00am – Midnight
• Website

Inside the Café Drechsler in Vienna.

Inside the Café Drechsler in Vienna. © stadtbekannt

Outside the Café Drechsler in Vienna.

5. Halle

One of the two undisputed centrepiece of the Museumsquartier (apart from Café Leopold), the Halle offers lots of seating spaces, high ceilings and designer furniture. But even with all the available room, this place is packed most of the times, so be sure to make a reservation – especially on weekends. In summer, there are approx. 200 additional seats outside in the centre of the MQ.

• Address: MQ, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 10.00am – 2.00am
• Website

The Halle at the MQ in Vienna. © stadtbekannt

The Halle at the MQ in Vienna. © stadtbekannt

The Halle at the MQ in Vienna.

6. Le Bol

French living and dining right here in Vienna? It’s possible! There are a couple of French restaurant in Vienna and the Le Bol is an original. Located in a side street of Vienna’s city centre, you almost feel like in a small French town. A very authentic, small & charming coffeehouse with a great atmosphere – also due to the French speaking waiters.

• Address: Neuer Markt 14, 1010 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Daily from 8.00am, Sunday from 10.00am
• Website

The French café Le Bol in Vienna.

The French café Le Bol in Vienna.

7. Café Sperl

Café Sperl might just be the most typical coffeehouse in Vienna – plus one of the few old-school ones that is not filled with smoke or run-down. Charm, tradition and history is a great priority here. This coffeehouse is a great place to get away from your daily routine: simply sit down, drink your coffee, read the newspaper and let time fly by. The “Herr Ober” (Viennese for waiter) might have to be asked twice, but no one is really stressed here. During summer, you can sit outside and eat one of the best Apfelstrudel in the city.

• Address: Grumpendorferstraße 11, 1060 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday from 7.00am – 11.00pm & Sunday from 11.00am – 8.00pm
• Website

Inside Café Sperl in Vienna.

Inside Café Sperl in Vienna.

Outside Café Sperl in Vienna.

8. Daniel Bakery

From a Florentine bread salad and oriental antipasti, through to American Rib Eye Steak. At the Daniel Bakery you get all of that. But the bakery is not just popular with fans of international cuisine … those who love desserts & those with a sweet tooth will have lots of fun here. Listen to this: Crème brûlée, a great range of cookies, muffins, cupcakes or tasty cakes and gateaux (all homemade)…

• Address: Landstraßer Gürtel 5, 1030 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Daily from 06.30am – 1.00am (food is served until 11.00pm)
• Website

Daniel Bakery inside Hotel Daniel in Vienna.

Daniel Bakery inside Hotel Daniel in Vienna.

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

9. Café Berg

The Café Berg has been a popular breakfast spot in Vienna for quite some time. It’s also a meeting point for the local gay & lesbian scene (not only though) with the adjoining book shop Löwenherz which offers literature, music and film on the same topic. Customers are easy going and sometimes even glamorous.

• Address: Berggasse 8, 1090 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Daily from 10.00am – Midnight (Kitchen until 11.00pm)
• Website

Café Berg in Vienna.

10. Manameierei

The Manameierei is a wonderful spot in the greenery with high quality, yet simple and light food & drinks. It’s located right next to the Schwarzenbergpark, a stunningly beautiful area in the Northwest of Vienna great for excursions and walks, so make sure to have some spare time to get a seat. What I really appreciate is that the owners set a strong focus on food products, therefore most of them come from farmers in the adjoining area.

• Address: Exelbergstrasse 32, 1170 Vienna
• Opening Hours: Saturday & Sunday 9.00am – 6.00pm
• Website

The Manameierei in Vienna.

The Manameierei in Vienna. © Manameierei

… And Then Came “Xaver”.

Nothing seemed to stop us from exploring Berlin and its top sights … except wind storm “Xaver”; streets have been blocked, flights & trains cancelled and winds of up to 225km/h lashed across North-Germany. In Berlin, this meant snow-storm to the max! Looking out of our hotel room window in the morning was like a nightmare come true. But, the clock was ticking, so even the “Big Room” at the Soho House Berlin couldn’t keep us from staying in.

Wind storm “Xaver” made the first day in Berlin a bit … uncomfy. But, we kept up the spirit and simply drank lots of “Glühwein” to keep warm.

East Side Gallery – hip, but definitely too cold to get the full on experience.

A little cold, wind or snow never kept us from exploring, after all we’re Austrians! So we were off to explore hip Berlin. Starting point was the East Side Gallery along the Berlin Wall.

Street art along the Berlin Wall – East Side Gallery | “My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love”

Street art along the Berlin Wall – East Side Gallery.

Did I already mention that is was freezing!?! And I take everything back with “a little snow can’t get us down … it can!”

Berlin Mitte & Kreuzberg – Hipper.

We’re getting there; Kreuzberg was a bit disappointing to be honest. Maybe because we went there at the wrong time of the day – during the day. My friend Aurelia told me that this part of Berlin becomes famous after dark. For my kind of taste, Kreuzberg was rundown and dirty with weird looking peeps. I’m Viennese so maybe I’m just too conservative for this kind of hippness?! Possibly. Still, we found two lovely cafés is which we spent a fair amount of time (not only because of the lovely weather outside). Berlin-Mitte on the contrary was a super spot. Lovely shops, cute cafés, endless dwelling along the streets.

Kreuzberg is supposed to be one of the hippest areas in Berlin. Maybe I went there at the wrong time (?), because there was nothing that hip about it…

“Made in Berlin” is one of the hippest second hand shops in Berlin. I agree.

Urban Spree – The Hippest.

“Sunken at the forefront of the RAW maze-like compound, Urban Spree is a graffiti-laden brick and concrete self-proclaimed “(re)creative space”—but don’t let that put you off. Pretentious parentheses in the description aside, if you walk on by you’re missing out. Upstairs, an artist’s laboratory and workshop rings with buzz-words of Berlin’s urbanization: engage, interact, collaborate, fuck off Media Spree etc. With the multifaceted city itself as an inspirational source, the program of events is fittingly schizophrenic. Previous times have seen the space give a temporary home to a Flohmarkt, a short film festival, Berlin fashion week, even a Korean food night, plus all the usuals – so keep your eyes on their schedule as there’s no telling what’ll come next.”

We were lucky to come at the right time. The “Voodoo X-Mas Market” was the right place to find cool and extraordinary presents. I didn’t find any presents but treated myself to two super sweet ponchos. Urban Spree is a pretty hip place with exactly those hip kind of people I missed in other parts of Berlin.

And then we cam to “Urban Spree” in Berlin-Friedrichshain … pretty hip place.

We were lucky to be there at the right time of the year since there was an artsy “Voodoo X-Mas Market” happening.

Cool graffiti can be found outside and inside at Urban Spree.

Shoes, cloths, jewellery … cool and extraordinary presents to be found at the “Voodoo Market” (happening only once every 4 months).

And I bought some super sweet ponchos…

The “Voodoo Market” at Urban Spree was definitely a highlight during our Berlin trip.

So, is Berlin as hip as everyone thinks?

Well, in my opinion, Berlin has done a great job promoting itself as the hippest city in Europe. But is it really the hippest? I personally don’t think so (please don’t hate me my Berlin friends). I really enjoyed the days in the German capital and had great experiences with brilliant photo opportunities, but I missed the flair & charm that other European cities offer. Maybe I’m spoiled with Vienna on this, but I think if you want more than just partying (which I have to admit is pretty darn awesome!), Berlin is just as ordinary as any other city. And then again, I’ll be back in summer, when I’m not affected by minus degrees and layers of cloths, to give it another go.

What do you think?

I’ve been to London a couple of times already, nevertheless I see myself as the typical tourist; I’m still shocked with supermarket prices, I still find driving in a red double-decker bus totally cool, I have no idea how to re-load my Oyster card and I still find the underground system complete frightening…

Still, London is one of the greatest mega cities with an amazingly diverse culture scene. Including the outer suburbs, it’s one of the largest capitals in the world, therefore visiting for a weekend can give you a real headache, when thinking of all the things you’d like to do. Well, you just gotta lower your sights; relax and slow down a little. You need to realise that you won’t be able to see it all.

I’d like to give you a couple of tips (from tourist to tourist) for a great London experience:

Drop the tube and just walk: As I said, I think the underground in London is frightening. Sure, it’s also one of the most extensive and frequent underground systems in the world, but you’ll experience so much more just by strolling around. Of course it always depend where you are and were you want to go, but as a tourist, you’ll (mostly) stick around the main attractions anyway.

Stay off the main roads: As it is in every city, the main roads are always packed with people and traffic. This can be nerve racking, so stroll around the side streets and I guarantee that you’ll come across some great little shops, cafés, buildings, parks and so on. One of the best things about London are all the different neighbourhoods and how quickly you can move between areas of very different types.

Don’t stress: As said before, you won’t be able to see every bit of London. Rather than rushing from one sight tot he next, take your time to enjoy London’s neighbourhoods, because there’s nothing worse than being stressed on vacation.

Be a tourist: Don’t be embarrassed if you want to go to “touristy” things … that’s totally cool. During my first visit to London, I actually felt more touristy than ever before (partly because I’ve also never seen to many tourist on one spot in any other city before) and I didn’t like it at all. But during my second and third visit, I realised that it’s fine and even Londoners like doing touristy things from time to time.

Check out Where to Stay in London: The Ultimate Sightseeing Guide to complete your London experience.

If you start exploring the area just a little North of Shamian Island (Shamian itself has kept its beauty from the past – only the White Swan Hotel is a more modern building), you’ll walk through a very old part of this city. Of course it’s also interrupted with new buildings, but a lot of the area still has its original charm with “gated” communities. Beside bicycles and electric motorbikes, only pedestrians can be seen here, because the roads and walkways are too narrow for cars.

A city within the city.

Inside such a gated area, you’ll come across lots of vibrant outdoor activities all day long: Elderly residents meet in the street to play a game of Majong, others work out on gymnastic apparatuses and neighbours meet up in front of ones apartment. Washing is hung up in the street, while kids play soccer in some corners and old grannies walk along hand-in-hand in their pyjamas. Every area also has its own ‘shopping centre’ – its actually more like a market area, with all sorts of different stalls. You’ll find everything a Chinese family needs; from household goods, food, live poultry and fish, an adjoining post office, a hairdresser and a tea shop … and sometimes even a gambling shop, where you can play the lottery for example.

The local life here is very peaceful, while the hustle and bustle from the streets outside has no effect within the gates. At least this is what it looked like to us. We’ve never been into one of these flats though. Most probably they’re a bit crammed and small, but the residents still seem to enjoy their lives in the old quarters of Guangzhou.

Walking through the old quarter of Guangzhou is really peaceful and a nice change to the otherwise super busy city.

A typical apartment block in Guangzhou.

A typical apartment building in Guangzhou.

Bicycles are the best way to get around the old quarters in Guangzhou.

Women selling goods at a market in Guangzhou.

Walking along the old quarter in Guangzhou is really relaxing and makes you feel like you’re in a small village out in the countryside.

Many Chinese use a bicycle to get around the side streets of Guangzhou.

Fresh chicken – ready for the pot – at Huayuan market in Guangzhou.

Walking along a side street in the old quarter of Guangzhou.

A group of people playing Mahjong in Guangzhou.