Cooking Class at Cafe Clock

Yep, another food post. But it is also a culture post. Mr. Glamper found this cooking class and signed us up in advance. These classes are held at (I think) the three cafe locations: Fes, Chefchaouen, and Marrakech. The cafes are owned by a Brit named Michael who fell in love with Morocco on his first visit in 2006. They get their name from the water clock that is near the Fes cafe.

This clock was built in the 1300s and is waiting to be rennovated.

We had also eaten at Cafe Clock in Chefchaouen. Both cafes have a hip vibe and often have musicians drumming away.

But not in the morning. We found people were not particularly early risers.

Our fantastic teacher sat with us and the other couple to instruct us to choose the same three items: appetizer, main, dessert. The other couple was from Rome, and although the woman did not speak any English, her husband spoke some, and we used a lot of Google Translate.

After writing down our shopping list in Arabic (right to left), we went outside to the market. She told us about each butcher and what they specialized in. We chose lots of veggies, and we looked at the spice shop.

We students served as sous chefs, chopping, stirring, etc. We had thought she was going to buy a live chicken, as one does, but she said that was time-consuming, so she pulled a prepared chicken out of the fridge. Just like a cooking show.

After all the cooking, we enjoyed: soup and eggplant appetizers, chicken tajine, and macaroons with strawberries for dessert. While we ate, our teacher asked us what we want to know about culture in Morocco.

We loved our time here and would recommend it to anyone!

More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.

Volubilis: Ancient Roman City

Those Romans, they were everywhere! Being in Fes for three days, we knew we wanted to take one day trip. If you know me, you know the prospect of seeing another bunch of rocks was high on my list.

Mr. Glamper spent an inordinate amount of time looking for the right tour and came up with one. We met our guide just outside the medina where the cars can go. He was punctual, and we were surprised and pleased to find out that he was our private guide. The drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site is about 90 minutes, and along the way, we stopped at this overview to take photos. It was also a break for our driver to have a cigarette.

Once at the site, the guide asked if I had a hat. Nope. So he gave me an umbrella to use, which I appreciated. Having seen a number of Roman ruins, we kind of knew what to look for, so we didn’t hire a guide at the site. Our guide sat at the little cafe and told us to take our time.

The site has been half-excavated and restored in many places.

The Basilica

There must have been 15-20 beautifully preserved (or renovated) mosaics. This one depicts Medusa in the lower right-hand corner.

This article said that while the Romans built this city in the 3rd C BC, they were gone by 285. Many other groups occupied Volubilius over the years.

We saw many stork nests on our travels through the country..

I think the idea way to visit a site like this is to visit it first, go home and read about it while you are not standing around, and then return. It’s that returning part that’s difficult.

We met our guide after we wandered the whole site. He was sitting with his other guide friends. We said we could have a coffee before we left, and we sat in the shade and enjoyed the view.

More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.

Traditional Moroccan Food

This is always one of my favorite kind of posts to research. As we were planning our trip I have imagines of tajines with lots of spices. Some well-meaning friends warned me about not only not drinking the tap water, but also almost anything else. Armed with some Pepto tablets, we were undeterred.

Along the roadways, we saw many stalls selling the clay pots. It was easier to a picture in the market in the medina.

I often chose a tajine when we went out to eat, as I knew I would not have another one in a long time. Mr. Glamper enjoyed a vegetarian tajine.

Some restaurants only sell a complete meal for about $15. This includes a large number of side dishes.

There is also a dessert. We had fruit a few times, and a caramel flan another.

Maybe our favorites were breakfast. A scrambled egg made flat, various breads and a pancake that was fried onto which you drizzled honey or marmalade. We also had some cucumbers and green peppers. We had orange juice and goat cheese and the famous mint tea. At our first riad (pictured below), we were given coffee. At our second, just tea, as they said coffee was something to be had later.

Breakfast with a view

So we got a Moroccan coffee later, and we were hooked. The espresso is mixed with many spices and has a great flavor.

I am happy to report that our stomachs did not object to anything we ate.

After a large breakfast (later in the morning because the markets don’t open until 8) and a large main meal at 2 in the afternoon, we were rarely hungry for dinner.

Fes

I have to say that I am overwhelmed thinking about writing this post. How can I possibly talk about this ancient imperial city, founded in the 700s, with its 1.5 million inhabitants, and whose medina is UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Of course I can’t cover very much at all, but I will attempt to tantalize you with a few photos and stories. Here is the video I watched to get me excited about hiring a private tour guide. Rick Steves has always said that a private guide will make you appreciate your experience. I felt as though we were a little out of our comfort zone, so we asked the hosts at our Fes riad if they could send us somebody tomorrow. “What time?” they asked. “How about 10:00?” They agreed that that was a perfect time.

Overview of part of the medina

At 10:00, a smartly-dressed young man showed up to pick us up. He said that he was a volunteer guide, and any tip we gave him, we would donate to the widows and orphans (we came to hear that phrase a lot).

For four hours, we wandered alleyways and walked through markets (souks). I was especially interested to see the world’s oldest university. The al-Qarawiyyin mosque-religious school / college was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 with an associated school, or madrasa, which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. It was incorporated into Morocco’s modern state university system in 1963.

As non-Muslims, we may not enter, but we can peek inside.

Al Atterine Madrassa

We learned that every little neighborhood in the medina has five things: a mosque, a fountain, a Koranic School, a bakery, and a hammam. Like a Turkish or Roman bath, a hammam a public place for a good scrub. We did not try one. The bakery is not what you would think of. Every morning you make your bread and mark it with your family design. Take it to you baker where he puts it is the wood-fired oven. Come back later, and your loaves are waiting for you on the cooking rack.

Mosque and Fountain

Fes is a famous center for handcrafted items. Fine rugs, amazing pottery, leather goods and bronze items.

Apparently you have to go to the tannery on any visit. Those pools you see? Filled with pigeon poop.

We chose Fes over any other large city, as it is supposed to be the most authentic, and less touristic.

Our guide left us once at a building to enjoy it while he went off to pray for five minutes.

He also took us to a rooftop terrace restaurant and told us that in an hour a young man would appear and walk us back to our medina. It’s great to get a local recommendation for a restaurant.

More photos at glampinginswiterland’s Instagram.

Dar Sababa – Our Riad

It is popular to book a room in a riad in Morocco. This style of courtyard house has 5-8 rooms, and I think many have a rooftop terrace. Both of our riads did. Steps leading up you room can be beautiful with tiles and quite uneven, so we were quite careful every time we went up and down.

Dar Sababa entrance. – very welcoming

Upon entering, we were offered the traditional Moroccan Mint Tea. At first we refused, because after a long day of travel, we just wanted to rest in our room. Turns out that it is impolite to refuse, so they brought the tea anyway. We were glad.

Looking down the courtyard from our floor.

View from our terrace where we had.breakfast.

It was a lovely introduction to Morocco.

More photos at glampinginswtizzerland;s Instagram.

Chefchaouen: The Blue City

What a charming city Chefchaouen is, set in the Rif Mountains. it was founded in 1471 by the Berbers, an indigenous people of northern Africa. The two official languages of Morocco are Arabic and Berber. French is also spoken, so we used a lot of merci.

We spent most of our time in the medina – the old part of the city which is car-free. One can wander the medina and only get a little lost before suddenly finding yourself in a familiar corner. Why is the city blue? No one is completely sure, but the two leading theories are that the Jewish refugees who came in 1930 painted it. The other theory is that it keeps away mosquitos. In either case, it is a truly beautiful place.

Looking out over the medina

More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Intstagram.

Morocco: Getting From Here to There

On our last sabbatical, we spent a week in Istanbul. We wanted to visit somewhere very different than the other places we visited in Europe. This video made me want to go to Morocco. Mr. Glamper did an amazing amount of research and planned where to go and how to transfer between points.

Getting to our first destination, Chefchaouen, took us most of one day. Leaving our apartment in Zürich at 5:20 a.m. to catch the first bus of the day, we made it to the airport for an early morning flight to Madrid. Here we ate lunch. Knowing that we should probably not eat salads in Morocco (washed with tap water) we enjoyed our last crunchy greens for the week.

After several hours, we took a flight to Tangier, at the northern tip of Morocco. Here is a view from the airplane.

The airport in Tangier is quite small and has no ATMs. The Moroccan currency is the Dirham, and it is not possible to get any outside of the country. We were at the mercy of the money changers at the booths who take a nice cut in the transaction. We needed cash to pay the taxi driver who would take us to the bus station.

We used our credit card a few times during our week, but most small restaurants and businesses take cash.

Our driver in a Petite Taxi took us quickly to the CTM station. When we paid him the $5 fare with a $10 bill, he had to walk all around the station asking people to help break the 100 Dirham bill. Converting from Dirhams to dollars was an easy moving of the decimal one place.

We were early for the bus, so we sat in the station with locals and tourists alike. The bus left on time and two hours later we were in Chefchaouen. Google Maps led us to our hotel on foot, hiking up and up and up the hill for 25 minutes to the old town.

After dinner at a cafe recommended by our hosts, we were ready for a good sleep.

We were now in Mr. Glamper’s 28th country, my 30th, and our fifth continent.

Looking at Castles Through Train Windows

Spoiler Alert. We just got home from six days in Morocco, and I need a day to start organizing my thoughts and photos from our trip. So, for today, enjoy these three castles that I have seen through train windows.

Chateau de Oron

Festung Aarburg

Sargans Castle

St. George Abbey and Stadtkirche in Stein Am Rhein

On my third visit to Stein Am Rhein, I took these photos of the St. George Abbey. This former Benedictine monastery now houses a museum which will open next month. Perhaps I will make another trip to this painfully beautiful medieval town to see what’s behind these walls.

Right on the Rhine River

The Stadtkirche (city church) next to the monastery was built in the 12th C. During the reformation it converted to a Reformed (Protestant) church.

Are these the 12 Apostles times two? Whoever they are, I have not seen a door quite like this one before.

More photos at glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.

Fredi Thalmann Sculpture at the ETH

Ever since September, I have been waiting for the fence to come down around this building. I pass by it almost every day, as it is next to one of our tram stops.

I also wanted to make sure there were no weird shadows on it, so I snapped this shot on one of our many cloudy days.

Next to this grand staircase is this concrete sculpture.

Of course, I had to find out about it. I discovered that it was created by Fredi Thalmann, a sculptor from St. Gallen. You can see his website with other works of his here,

From what I understand, this sculpture was supposed to be removed when they renovated and created a new building for Health Sciences and Technology. However, the sign near the sculpture says that the building (on the left) is the Informationstechnologie and Elektrotechnik.

They decided to keep the sculpture, created in 1979, as a separator between the two buildings.

More photos on glampinginswitzerland’s Instagram.