El viaje

After my small post museum hyperventilation it was time for less demanding entertainment. The botanical garden was just the place.

As the weather changes very quickly here , you always have to be prepared with warmer clothes or some sort of rain protection. I gave Lu a bit of shit for looking like a leader of a bike gang, but she smiled it off with one of her irresistible Lu smiles.

So into the the rainy park we went.

The premises are rather big and this being the botanical gardens of Bogotá, you are being bombarded with all kinds of imaginable plants.

The indoor part was less interesting to us since the majority of the plants are tropical and are exactly the one we have just been surrounded with for the last 3 months.

But there is a part at the end which was nice since you got to see plants that we all use often but do not really know all too much about. Like

Then there is obviously the bonkers section which i also thoroughly enjoyed.

Or a baby piña maybe ?

Gotta love it! Anyways, on the way out there was a massive rose garden with hundreds of different kinds. I loved it especially with the palm backdrop.

And after a quick stroll through the close by Bolívar park.

We had to head back into our Quarter for a rather absurd lunch. We love good ramen and just saw this place on the map, no other research done , we were rather surprised.

Ramen was so so as far as Ramen goes… but this was more about the neon bling…

Now to Lus and mine personal highlight of Bogotá, Ziad.

Ziad is a guy that i know from way back when in Munich. I met the dude at a gas station there at 4am while buying Schrobenhausener asparagus. (yes, you can buy this wonderful thing at gas stations in Munich). He came at me claiming that he can make excellent asparagus soup so we shared the following morning hours chatting, cooking and hashing away. Solid foundation for a a friendship i would say. I was very excited to meet him again after many years.

Born in Nice (France) he spend some years in Munich , i dont know much about the rest… but moved to Bogotá around 9 years ago with his Colombian wife and his two kids.

He has an exceptionally interesting face, kind eyes, is super witty, thus has good humor and every conversation with him ,is everything, but boring.

You will always see him on a skateboard, he makes music and special effects in the film industry for tiny movies like the latest Matrix or similarly small productions and is a nerd in every way.

Lu and i really like him and the only thing we are sorry about is that we could only spend one evening with him since he is a busy little bee.

It felt good hearing what a veteran in this country had to say about its culture, its people ,his latest project, working and raising kids in a city like Bogotá.

Him being a native French speaker only underlines his charm.

Ziad being our last important stop in Bogota, it was time to move on.

We hope to see you again soon bro!