Tag: gardens

Before the Rush – Bratislava, Slovakia

It is early April in Europe. The weather is starting to warm up, but there are still hints of the bitter cold of Winter still in the air. Restaurants, cafes, and bars are struggling whether they should pull out their tables to invade the walking streets of the cities with their welcoming airs, or if they should hold off for a couple more days as they wait for the weather to pass. It would be an activity in futility though because the crowds are not yet here to take those spots and enjoy the comfort of the hospitality that the countries have to offer. They will be here in a month or so, but in the meantime, it is just practice by going through these motions.

It is early April in Europe, and it might be my favorite time to be out here. It feels like the streets in the old parts of town were created just for my delight. The locals wish to avoid the tourists, and the tourists are busy with their lives across the vast oceans. There are no crowds of people blocking my way from looking at the architecture, and I do not have to weave my way through the streets to make it to my destination, a location where I do not even know.

It is early April in Europe, and I can go into a restaurant without a reservation. Though the halls are huge and will seat many people, during the busy season, it is hard to find a place to sit down. The guidebooks all talk about how this is the best place to get local fare in an atmosphere that will make you feel like you are back in medieval times. They have wiped away the dust and are just waiting for those crowds to return, giving me the time to relax and enjoy my meal at my own leisure.

It is early April in Europe, and they have cleared away all of the snow. The lawns are starting to shirk off their brown to display the green that is hidden underneath. Trees are starting to bud, and flowers are beginning to bloom. They give life to the stark brown brick buildings surrounding them and invite people to stroll through them. The gardens will have to wait a little longer because those people have not yet shown up.

It is early April in Europe, and I am lucky to be able to travel here at this time. It feels as if the city has just woken up from a long slumber to greet me. It is still shaking the sleep from its eyes as it prepares for the mad rush that will surely come, but in the meantime, it is here for me to enjoy. I love the feeling of strolling through the town without the crowds and confusion that the summer months often offer in Europe. It is the best time to be here, and I am happy to have been able to come.

The Garden by the Sea – Hua Hin, Thailand

One of the bigger holidays in Thailand is Father’s Day. It is celebrated every year on December 5th, and it is the perfect time for a teacher to run out of town for a couple of days to recharge the batteries to make that final push through the end of the first semester. There are many places to go around Bangkok, but the one we landed on was Hua Hin, a beach resort town about a three hour drive from our school. It is a great town with some beautiful hikes, a fun bar scene downtown, and a beach that stretches out for miles. It is a weekend destination site for many people in Bangkok and I had a feeling that this weekend would not be any different considering it is a long weekend for many people due to the holiday. Little did I know that there was another reason that this weekend would make Hua Hin an even bigger destination, the Hua Hun Jazz festival. We got down here late the night before and drove to our hotel to find that cars parked all up and down the skinny streets and many people walking to the beach to go and partake in this event. We were able to catch a bit of the show last night, but were a little too tired to stay up late enough to watch the whole thing.

I am glad that this was the decision that we made because I needed the rest and it made for a beautiful day as we explored the ground of the hotel that we stayed at, the Centara Grand. Most of the time, I do not really care much about the place where we stay because it is only a place to rest my head while I get ready to take on whatever adventure awaits me the next day. But being a short weekend run, and the fact that I knew I would be spending a lot of time at the hotel while I got caught up on my grading for the end of the semester, I was very happy with the choice that Christine had made. It is right next to the beach, and has at least three pools that I have found, but there are probably more hidden in different corners of the place. There are also a couple of bars and restaurants on the grounds, not to mention one of the best breakfast buffets that I have ever run into.

My favorite part though so far has easily been the expansive gardens that surround the rooms. It is something right out of Stephen King’s The Shining as there is a topiary of wild animals carved into the trees and bushes out there. It has to be quite the feat to make sure that these plants maintain their look and there were a couple of them that were starting to grow extra limbs out of their heads and stomachs.

But for the most part, I was really impressed by the way that they maintained the garden. I only saw one person working on it while I was walking through it, and I would think that they would need more than one person to maintain this botanical zoo. But it had to have been a full time job for this individual and he must have a regular rotation to make sure that the plants never get too far our of control.

I am not usually impressed by gardens when I have come across them, but the one on the grounds of the Centara Grand really came as a surprise. I enjoyed the breeze that blew in from the ocean to cool down the temperature in Hua Hin to make it one of the more pleasant experiences I have had since moving out here. It made the perfect environment to enjoy this place, and it made this hotel a great find in Thailand. It has enough character to make it more of an experience rather than the impersonal rooms that come with most hotels I stay at. It makes it a place that I don’t mind hanging around as I enjoy my weekend away from the rat race.