Vietnam Diary - What to do in Hanoi

Hey there, guys! It's been a while. I really wanted to finish my Vietnam posts this past weekend but I spent some time with my sister on Saturday and then our terrace was renovated as well. So we had to clean up yesterday because our home got a bit messy. Anyway, new week, new post!

What to do in Hanoi

The last stop of our Vietnam trip was Hanoi, the country's capital, where we stayed about three days. We had lots of time and spent most of it just chilling at our homestay, the Dreamcatcher Homestay, and doing some sightseeing. Hanoi is smaller than Ho Chi Minh (where we started our trip) so two days is really enough to see most of it. We spent our first day just walking around and exploring the city. I especially loved the old town, even though it was pretty packed and noisy. We visited the Hanoi cathedral, the Hoan Kiem Lake Park, the Dong Xuan Market, the old town and lots of narrow alleys, little shops and cafés. My favorite café was by far The Note Coffee, a cute and colorful café that is covered in sticky notes that have lovely quotes and short messages on them written by locals and travellers from all over the world. Miguel and I had a yummy matcha latte and chocolate egg coffee that were both served with a wonderful note from the staff. Of course we left a little love note too ;-)

Hanoi is a shopping paradise for those looking for some souvenirs, local food and traditional Vietnamese products. There was an abundance of stores selling Vietnamese coffee, pottery, hats, clothes and other wonderful things. We bought a beautifully painted traditional hat for our memory wall at home and some other souvenirs. I also got myself a beautiful basket bag. If you're into hardcore shopping visit the Dong Xuan Market. I personally got a bit crazy there, living a more minimalistic lifestyle I felt quite overwhelmed by all the mass consumption and millions of products offered there. Nevertheless, I think it's a great place to go for shopping fans and bargain shoppers. I simply prefer shopping at smaller stores.

At night we visited the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. We had gotten tickets earlier in the afternoon for a 7 pm show. It was really nice to sit down and lean back after a long day of walking. The show lasted for about an hour and was a fantastic and entertaining mix of traditional live music and singing accompanying the water puppets' fun performances. We were looking for an authentic and traditional experience to finish our trip and were surely not disappointed by this show!

Stay tuned, my next and last Vietnam post is coming up soon!

Enjoying a matcha latte at the Note Coffee

Vendors at Dong Xuan Market

The water puppets at the Thang Long Theater

It's a Roc Nation! Hova in the House

Hip-hop hooray! Shawn "Jay Z" Carter kicked off an jaw-dropping eight-show run to christen Brooklyn's new Barclays Center (home to the Brooklyn Nets) and I was part of it! The Grammy-winning king of hip hop playing his most famous songs in the brand new arena - how could I resist? Let me tell you this... it was cra-z! Not only the fact that thousands of people are coming together to celebrate one person's fame, also the size of the stadium was incredible!
"Hova" has undoubtedly redefined both the music industry and the American Dream which could both be seen and heard on stage. Jay Z himself told us: "You just gotta find out what you're a genius at. I don't believe that God thought: Oh, you're special. To another one: No, you're not. Everyone is good at something!" Mr. Carter himself perfectly embodies this motto for sure!
There was only one melody (okay, maybe four) that I couldn't identify with any song I heard during the last 21 years of my life... apart from that I sang my heart out to every song Jay Z performed - amongst others "99 Problems", "Clique", "On to the next one" and "Big Pimpin". The concert was overwhelming, mesmerizing and breathtaking at the same time - an unforgettable celebration of life! How often do you have the chance to witness the king of hip hop solidify his reign at Barclays Center?

Never forget the Genius - Michael Jackson, the Immortal World Tour!

There's no such words that could express what I experienced at Madison Square Garden three weeks ago - I was incredibly lucky to get invited to see the world famous Cirque du Soleil performing to the booming songs of the King of Pop... Michael Jackson!
The "Immortal World Tour" left me speechless, overwhelmed and simply amazed! Since I was a kid I grew up with Michael Jackson songs - my dad had such a big crush on his music! You can barely imagine how I freaked out when they put on my favorite songs "Beat it", "Smooth Criminal", and "They don't care about us". The amazingly talented artists performing to the world renowned songs - including pole dancers, acrobats, breakdancers, singers and guitarists - put on such a higly elaborated and diverse show which led the audience into a world of fantasy, Michael Jackson's childhood and much more - leaving us bedazzled and stunned! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 

First picture via positiv-magazin.de
Last seven pictures via haz.de

A true Spectacular

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the world renowned Radio City Music Hall!
I know Christmas is over - which is great, please note that the US citizens all go a little crazy around this time of the year- nevertheless I wanted to share these pictures with you because they're both glamorous and just beautiful!
On the day of New Year's Eve I went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with my sister and my best friend - it's one of the New Yorker classics you have to see when you live in this wonderful city! Thank god we managed to get tickets (almost last minute) because the show was just overwhelming! Seeing the famous Rockettes swing their legs was not the only fascinating part of the performance. The diversity and creativity made the show a true spectacular!
A mother and daughter searched for the perfect Christmas present and ended up playing a 3D computer game which included all guests, the stage was transformed into a nativity scene, into Santa's toy factory and into different parts of the Big Apple such as Central Park or Times Square. The Rockettes' costumes were just dazzling, all the sparkle and glitter led us into a beautiful, harmonic Christmas world - the perfect event to top the end of the season!

 

Let the show begin!

My favorite scene - Ice skating in Central Park

Santa's toy factory

The world famous Rockettes