Paradise for two (part 2)
It takes a long time to get here – but it’s worth it. Firstly, no one will find you here. Secondly, together you can see what you will not see anywhere else. And as you know, joint experiences bring together. Perhaps in many, many years you will tell your grandchildren that their grandfather made you an offer on the other side of the Earth – and they will envy.
Cradle Mountain and Ku-Ring-Gai Nature Reserves
Rosa Kamenev, owner of the concept store Cara & Co
There are such rare places in life and people so dear to your heart who need to be connected at all costs. For me, this place has become a wildlife reserve in southern Australia, Cradle Mountain. You will not get lost – fly from Moscow to Melbourne, after a 24-hour flight to Melbourne, transfer to the domestic flight to Hobart (1.5 hours), then rent a car, and after 3.5 hours you will find yourself in a nature reserve on the shore of Lake St. Clair (www.lakesidestclair.com.au). On the way to your “hunting lodge” (you can only hunt with photo weapons there) along the road you will definitely see small kangaroos (wallabies), and marsupial spotted martens (quolls), in the morning you will be awakened by an Australian laughing bird (kookaburra), but nothing can prepare you for the beauty of dawn over Lake St. Clair. In the distant unreality, Moscow remains with traffic jams and traffic cops characteristic of it, here nature and infinity are further Antarctica. You can climb Mount Rufus (one of the basalt peaks around the lake), have a picnic for two on an abandoned pier by the lake, go to a pub on the sidelines at the entrance to the reserve in the evening, fall asleep to the sound of cicadas or crackling firewood … You can ride all over Tasmania and get to the Gates to Hell (the beginning of the harbor, where they drove the worst of the worst criminals exiled to Sydney). And returning to your “hunting lodge” and renting a canoe boat, go down to the Utkonos Bay and after a 20-minute rowing on the lake, where, besides you, there will not be a single person, you can see a real platypus – although for me this meeting became “iconic”. Because in the same year, my companion and I broke up …. So think carefully – will you want to see the platypus after my story? However, I still consider this wonderful reserve the most romantic place on earth!
Another great place is Cottage Point, located in the Ku-Ring-Gai National Wildlife Refuge. Cottage Point is Sydney’s smallest area. You can reach, swim or fly on a sea plane (the so-called “flying boat”).
Cottage Point is located on the banks of the river called Hawkesbury, it flows into the Pacific Ocean. Salt water is in the river, all the sea is found in it – including crocodiles, but there are no sharks there, so they will not succeed in spoiling you on March 8th. Unlike Tasmania, there is no sensation of the edge of the Earth, but the sensation of paradise on Earth arises instantly. Judging by the latest census, only 196 people live here, but they have their own zip code, the nearest (Anglican) church is 3 kilometers away, and they also dream of building a synagogue. The two here are not bored. You can rent a yacht or hike through the hills and ride through the reserve, climb the highest point of viewing West Head, from which the whole of northern Sydney is visible, or go fishing …
But most importantly, do not forget the clothes for “after five”, as Cottage Point has one of Sydney’s most famous restaurants – Cottage Point Inn (www.cottagepointinn.com.au). In the 70s there was a boathouse for boats on the site of the restaurant, and now it is one of Sydney’s most elegant restaurants. The restaurant has one “hat” (the prestigious restaurant award of Australia), and the food and view, especially from the “deck” – the veranda of the restaurant, are unforgettable! And note – a table must be booked in advance.
Germany
If you believe the statistics kept by pedantic Germans from the German National Committee for Tourism, Russians like to travel to the country of castles and beer: for example, in 2009 our brother-tourist spent more than 1.3 million nights in hotels and campsites in this country. Why do we love Germany? Because it is very different. And that is why it is worth to come here together – for the weekend, for a week and even for a month. We guarantee – it will not be boring!
Bremen: Gluwain and Baths
Polina Markova, journalist
For a trip to Bremen, we chose the most suitable time – the week before Christmas, when Christmas markets are walking all over Germany and the air is filled with aromas of gingerbread, honey, cinnamon, hot wine and coffee. So walking around the city is a pleasure not only for the eyes, but also for the rest of the senses immediately. Why such walks are dangerous – you forget about all diets. And in general, pretty quickly you start to think that fresh bread, Bavarian sausage with mustard, fried cheese and marzipan bun are the most healthy food, because not kilograms but strength and energy are added from it, the mood rises and even the color improves faces.
