Hup Holland hup 🇳🇱

8 May 20198 May 2019Leave a comment

Hi guys,

After a few months at home I decided to go on a small midweek trip to Holland with my owners. As it is the first of may, workers day, we decided to take a rest from work and drive a few hundred km to the north to visit one of the flattest countries of the world: the Netherlands!

On our first day we went to Lisse. There is one of the biggest flowers park of the world, the Keukenhof. Millions of mainly tulips decorate the walkways trough the park.

In the evening we drove to Haarlem, not to se the Globetrotters (that’s me 😂😂😂), but to admire the realy nice town center with its waterways and old buildings and windmills from ancient times.

After admiring the sunset at Zandvoord on the beach yesterday evening, today we are in Den Haag. Unfortunately it is raining a lot this morning. But that doesn’t mattet.

Driemanspolder Ondermolen

After Keukenhof, Zandvoort and Den Haag, on our last day in Holland we went to Gouda. Yes, the town where the famous dutch cheese is from. Well, it was realy worth it. A very nice little town, with an old port made like a museum, with old ships, old docks, old small houses, a functionning windmill etc. Very worth a visit. And if you go on thursday, there is even a cheesemarket on the village marketplace.

After visiting Gouda we drove to Gent in Belgium, where we spent our last night. Well, it was not right in Gent, as we have already been many times there, but we reserved a room at the Auberge du Pêcheur in Sint-Martens-Latem (Deurle), a suburb of Gent.

A realy nice and very pet friendly hotel worth a stay. They have several buildings with rooms, a main building with rooms, a bar, an a real good restaurant. In the restaurant, pets are allowed! They are lying on the river Lys with an own dock for small boats.

On saturday morning, after the breakfast and a nice trip to the Netherlands and Belgium, we finaly drove home back to Luxembourg.

Travel to Cuba

11 January 201623 February 2016Leave a comment

In memory of my stolen cousin Packo

In December 2015, I went to Cuba. What a wonderful country. So many old cars, buildings. And plenty of nice people. To enter Cuba, I needed a travel autorization from the Cuban Embassy. Although they asked 60€ for that paper, nobody looked at it at the airport when I arrived in Havana. But we had to pass by the airport veterinary. He checked my pet passport and my rabies vaccination. Then he filled out a document and told us that we do need that document when leaving. What he did not tell us, was that that document was only valid for 2 weeks! But we stayed nearly 3 weeks. They nearly didn’t let me leave Cuba. After a few minutes of discussions, I finaly was cleared to check in to our flight back. If you go to to Cuba, there is no major problem getting in, but remeber that you have to go to see an official veterinary (they will give you an address) before leaving the country if you stay for more than two weeks.
I had to do a blood test before going to Cuba proving that my anti-rabies vaccination is effective. That test is called a rabies antibody test. This test is necessary to be able to re-enter the EU (that test is neither necessary for a trip to the US nor is it necessary to reenter the EU after a trip to the US). The result has a lifetime validity if I respect the rabies vaccination deadlines.

guarding my home

on the 5th avenue

in the Port of Havana

the epic Hotel Nacional

at the Malécon

In Cuba, pets are normaly not allowed in hotels and restaurants, or lets say, they are still not accustomed to see travellers coming with their pets. In the Hotel Nacional, the Occidental Miramar, the 5ta Avenida although I was allowed to enter the lobby. Some hotels say on their internet page that they are pet friendly, but emails sent to ask for confirmation keep unanswered. If you plan a trip to Cuba with your dog, it would be wise to rent Casa Particulares instead of trying to find a hotel that accepts pets. Generaly Cubans are dog friendly people, therefore it should be easier to find a pet frienfly Casa Particular than a hotel room. But as many things are changing in Cuba, I think they will accept me too sooner or later in the hotels. I am crazy to get a coloured wristband to be able to eat and drink all I can in an All Inclusive Resort…

In the lobby of the hotel Memories Miramar (former Occidental Miramar)

…at the beach in Santa Maria del Este…

Province Pinar del Rio

Travel to Miami

6 October 201522 February 2016Leave a comment

In september 2015, my owners wanted to assist the concert of Marc Anthony in Miami. Of course, I immediately told them that the trip would not be without me! First we had to prepare my travel documents. My european passport had to be ok with all the vaccines, especially the rabies vaccination. Than, my place had to be reserved on the plane. I had a very small space under the seat in front of my owner’s seat. It was not cheap (200€ each way) but ok. Arriving in Florida, they only checked my rabies vaccination, an than I was cleared to enter the US.

I like to ride my bike

Drinkin’ a cold fresh Mojito…

A present I received at our Hotel, the Mandarin Oriental Miami

We stayed a few nights at the Mandarin Oriental Miami, a wonderful dog friendly hotel in Brickel (but not very cheap…). There is a fee of 250$ (100$ refundable) that had to be payed to the hotel at the reception for cleaning the room after my stay. I was not allowed to enter the hotels restaurants.

In Miami I was allowed to stay at the terrace of the Hard Rock Cafe at Bayside. I even could have entered the Hard Rock if my owners would not have forgotten my passport at the hotel. So remember to have it always with you. Doing so, maybe some restaurants will open there doors for you.

I had to be kept on leash at any time in public spaces. And my owners had to keep the city clean, if you understand what I mean.

Trip to Ghent, Bruges and Blankenberge on the Belgian Coast

17 August 201522 February 2016Leave a comment

In August 2015, I made a short trip to the Belgian province East Flandern and the Belgian Coast. We stayed at Ghent and visited Bruges and Blankenberge. The hotel in Ghent was realy nice and realy dog-friendly. It was the hotel Astoria, a nice 3Star hotel near the railways station.

the Gravensteen Castle in Ghent

City center of Ghent

canals in Bruges, the Venice of Belgium

We also passed an afternoon at the beach in Blankenberge. Realy nice for running and lying in the sand. As the tides are realy impressive here, there is so much space on the beach at low tide, but the water gets back realy quick at high tide.