European holiday

[mazolaman]

Hi all,

Claire and I have just been on a bit of a tour of the eastern parts of Europe.

We started in Berlin,which is a city I would recommend to anyone.

The remnants of both communism and fascism are there to see,I've never been to a place where the recent history is so relevant.

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Cigar wise,I had a Bolivar regional edition Alemania Especiales no 2,which was disappointingly mild and flavourless.

A good place to buy Cubans in Berlin is the KA DE WE department store,where they have reasonable selection,well kept.

Then on to Prague,which has to be the most architecturally beautiful city I've been to.

The buildings are mainly in the Baroque style,and managed to survive Hitler and communism unscathed.

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There are a few places to buy cigars in Prague.I bought from two different shops while there.

Their names escape me,sorry,Prague is a very busy city,and quite expensive to tourists!

I bought a Bolivar gold medal,a San Christobal Murralas,and I found a Vegueros especiales no 1.

Interestingly,while bolivar re was as dull as ditchwater,the vegeuros of the same size was a really excellent cigar,not too strong but with a good heather flavour,with a bit of fruit.

then on to Vienna,which I found a little dull as a city,some fine architecture there,and some pleasant old style cafes.Perhaps a place to go for the opera or a concerto.

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While there I only discovered one cigar shop,off the main high street,where I bought a R and J torpedo,which wasn't up to much,While there I also had aHoyo torpedo LE from 2003,which was bloody good,sweet and rich,not too tight.

then on to Lubljana,in Slovenia,a beautiful small city,again which I would recommend,for the architecture and friendly folk.

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There are few to buy cigars though,and I only found one basement supermarket that had any.I bought a LGC crystales,which I have not yet smoked,(I don't even know if this is Cuban or not,anyone know?)

While in Slovenia,we trod the well worn path to Lake Bled,which like the rest of Slovenia,is beautiful.

Here I had the Bolivar gold medal,which was the cigar of the trip.

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Absolutely fantastic,rich,earthy quite oily and perfectly rolled,heaven from start to finish.I could not hope for a better cigar than this.

I hope this is of use to you if you intend to travel to any of these cities,and want to buy cigars.

I have some lovely pics,i'll stick em up when I figure out how to import them on an apple!

Cheers,Kevin.

[El Presidente]

Sounds like a fantastic holiday Kevin

Post a few photo's when you get the chance!

[mazolaman]

Now with a few photos.

Most cigar photos are on the mobile phone camera,which the apple doesn't like.

Go and buy a Bolivar gold medal........fantastic.

[str8dog]

Interesting about the Gold Medal, been considering it and sounds like it's a winner.

[Cohiba Stevie]

Excellent write up kev mate.

As soon as me and my girlfriend (also called clare lol) come back from cuba

In november, we have decided not to buy christmas presents and book a trip to stuttgart and then berlin, ive always been fascinated by german culture and my second love after cigars is german cars, so going to visit the porsche and mercedes-benz museums and factories in stuttgart and then on to berlin for cigars, good food and beer! Lol

[Habanos2000]

Nice post Kevin. I'll be heading to Germany for a couple weeks in July and will look up KaDeWe when I'm there.

[mazolaman]

Cheers for the replies.

For anyone going to Berlin,I would strongly recommend this walking tour.Not something I usually do,but we did the main sites tour,showing some fascinating sites from Berlins history(ie Hitlers bunker)and some interesting history.

The food is good,there aren't that many varieties of beer,mainly "Berliner" lager,but it's good!

You can even see the odd Trabant still going.....and there are a few near the DDR "ministry of ministries"

very Orwellian........

[thechenman]

mazolman...thanks for sharing your trip with us. Loved the pics and reading about your cigar experiences. While some of the smokes may have been disappointing, the pics tell of a fantastic getaway. I keep telling myself...one of these days I've gotta find the time to get to Europe.

[khomeinist]

Nice one Kevin.

Slovenia looks like a good call. Will have to swing through. I actually like Vienna a lot. The city center is a bit imperial but the surrounding city has a lot of cultural things going for it. I am a big fan of Jugenstil (Art Nouveau) architecture as well. Anyway. Thanks for sharing.

Patrick

[mazolaman]

Thanks for the appreciation folks.

Yep,I'm sure there's more to all these cities than the couple of days we had to look at them.

Vienna is a famous city,so when we return,I'll take a closer look.

In a way,most city centers are much the same in a way....

Lubljana was formerly under Austrian rule,so it shares some of the Art Nouveau architecture,along with a bit of Baroque etc...

Chenman...If you do make it to Europe,I'd recommend the train as a means of travel,it gives you a good feel for the land,and is clean and punctual.

And a tip to all,book train tickets through the nations own rail service,ie the German rail network etc,as this is about half the price of Rail Europe!