Illustration by Pep Boatella pepboatella.com

Panenka, a soccer magazine anyone can read, transports us to other countries through their passion for the sport. This time they take us to the German capital where they show us their perfect eleven, both for those places related to the football game and for those touristic places.

SPORTING ELEVEN

1 Olympiastadion | Scenario where Jesse Owens gave four Olympic slapping to Adolf Hitler . It is worth just for this.
2 Alte Pumpe | A statue recalls here the old and charming Hertha stadium before the division of the city in August 1961.
3 Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark |One ‘national’ stadium -that of the GDR, which was next to an international border- the Wall.
4 Alten Försterei | Fans of Union, Eastern rebel team, collectively and selflessly renewed this stadium of Bundesliga 2.
5 Dynamo | Miiss its past as a regime’s club. Instead of communist bureaucrats, now neo-Nazi fans support it at 9th Division.
6 Karl-Marx-Allee | On Good bye Lenin the reunified city celebrates 90′s Football World Championship in this avenue of Stalinist architecture.
7 Hanne am Zoo | Run by a Hertha and Bayern’s former central defender, this bar was here until it closed in 2010. One of the references for lots of football fans
8 Puerta de Brandeburgo | Every May hosts a massive party to mark the end of the German Cup (DFB Pokal).
9 Columna de la Victoria | The first thing that crossed the 40,000 participants in the Berlin Marathon, ideal for brand.
10 Germania 1888 | It proclaims the oldest football club in Germany. He has not done much in the past 125 years. Just survive.
11 Charlottenburg | Bourgeois neighborhood where Jerome Boateng grew.However, Kevin-Prince matured in Wedding, far more screwed.

TOURISTIC ELEVEN

A Potsdamer Platz |No Man’s Land during the Cold War, is now the city center. Houses the Berlinale in February.
B Unterwelt | World War II devastated 50% of the city. On this metro station you will visit one claustrophobic shelter.
C Alexanderplatz | The television tower, the tallest building in Berlin and fleeting vestige of the strength of the GDR in the 70s.
D Normanstrasse | Another memory of that country that no longer exists is the headquarters of the Stasi: it scares as much as Life of the others.
E Friedrichshain | Techno clubs at night and indie markets during the day. It is the youngest district in the youngest capital of Europe.
F Wansee | Who says that Berlin has no beach? In summer, the lake Wannsee are crammed, though green water no invite to swim.
G Carnaval de las Culturas | In May, the city explodes with the color and warmth of the multiethnic Carnival. Winter is over.
H Kreuzberg | A neighborhood that seems Istanbul, and holds a pretty cheap food market on Thursdays .
I Tempelhof | Old airport that nurtured Berliners during the 1948 air blockade decreed by Stalin.
J Club der Visionäre | Drink summer nights relaxed in this bar’s garden, in a bend of the Spree.
K PrenzlauerBerg | Frenchified streets full of small cafes and designer shops. More cool, impossible.Ilustración de Pep Boatella pepboatella.com

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here! 

In Belgium, beer is undoubtedly a quintessential beverage, something the people of Mechelen – just over 20 kilometres from Brussels – are well aware of. Citizens of this Flemish town have had enough with beer being regarded as a male prerogative, prompting them to launch a guide entitled, Beer in women’s hands,which stresses the historical and current role of women in the making of this elixir.

This Mechlinian project features recommendations on both tours of the city to visit historic sites and craft breweries and pointers to tasting the best local beers combined with typical dishes. A good example of this are bapas (snacks paired with a beer) and food pairing (creative combinations of beer with local dishes). All these options have one goal – to banish the myth that beer is not a woman’s drink and to dispel the belief that they prefer wine (and white wine at that) or light, fruity beers.

Another option in the guide is to cycle from Het Anker brewery, the oldest in Flanders, originally run by Beguines, nuns of a lay religious order who lived mainly in Mechelen and Louvain. This is where Golden Carolus is brewed – thus called after Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, who was brought up in this city – as is the brand named Lucifer, which tops the rankings of the best beers in the world.

Another suggestion in the guide is to have an aperitif in St Rumbold’s Tower, one of the major tourist landmarks in Mechelen. After the effort of climbing the more than 500 steps to the top of the tower, a beer is just what you need to quench your thirst as you take in the views of the city. St Rumbold’s Tower, nearly 100 metres tall, houses two famous carillons with 49 bells. It is worth mentioning that Mechelen is renowned for its Royal Carillon School, where many carillonneurs from all over the world have come to learn the secrets of this instrument.

The guide also recommends going on a multicultural, historical walk with tastings included. The itinerary takes you through the city’s central square, the Grote Markt, site of one of Mechelen’s three city halls, and of the unusual statue known as the Opsinjoor, depicting a man pulling a doll around on a sheet, considered the city’s mascot. Other landmarks on the route include the Palace of Margaret of Austria, Charles V’s aunt and governor of the Netherlands in the 16th century, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, originally a Jesuit church, the Church of Our Lady across the river Dijle, which features works by Rubens, and the Palace of Margaret of York, the residence of the Bishop of Kamerrijk (Cambrai) when he was in Mechelen.

A final recommendation for Mechelen is a visit to the Dossin Casern, an erstwhile transit camp converted into a museum and documentation centre on the Holocaust and human rights. From 1942 to 1944 it was used by the Nazis as a transit camp where over 25,000 Belgian Jews and gypsies were detained before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Mechelen is an ideal spot for sightseeing on a day trip from Brussels, as it is easily reached by train. Check out our flights to the Belgium capital here.

Text by María Jesús Tomé
Images by Turismo de Malinas

Sicily sits proudly in the Mediterranean, aware of its plentiful charms. Its cuisine is one of these. Not only is it self-supplied from its splendid larder, it provides the whole of Italy with its produce. Fresh market garden produce, fish, wines and confectionery which, although available across half the globe, taste that much better when savoured in situ. Hence, the Grand Festival of Italian Cuisine par excellence is held on this Italian island every year with the onset of summer. This year’s Cibo Nostrum will take place from 11 to 13 June. The festival sees producers displaying their wares in street stalls, while chefs and locals swarm the precincts to explore the latest offerings and share them with whoever happens to be on the island. If you’re planning on an escape to Sicily, this event will enable you to discover its culinary splendour.

Around one hundred chefs and wine merchants will be taking part in the event, for which the attendance figures continue to grow each year. If you still don’t know what it’s like to taste a good local wine at the foot of Mt Etna or to savour oily fish followed by cannoli in the formidable Taormina, be sure not to miss out on Cibo Nostrum if you want to enjoy such moments.

Over a three-day period, which will include ongoing, live culinary demonstrations, you can taste the essence of Sicilian cuisine served up on a platter. Clearly, you would need more time to discover the island more thoroughly, but Cibo Nostrum will point you in the right direction to glean the major ingredients, dishes, assortment and venues.

Must-visit restaurants include Sabir Gourmanderie, set in a priceless park on the slopes of Mt Etna, which is ideal for discovering flavours typical of the volcanic soil, and Kistè Easy Gourmet, the new eatery of chef Pietro d’Agostino in marvellous Taormina.

When in Catania, among the wine cellars with good food and the usual wine shops, we can recommend Salumeria Scollo for tasting and sampling, as well as the Etnashire wine shop on Viagrande, which also has an online store where you can order the Sicilian products of your choice. You will want to bring your suitcase back with such wines as Vigna la Miccia or Notti Stellate, a sparkling Castelluccimiano Brut or the Marsala which in Sicily pairs really well with dessert cheeses.

And, if we delve into the realm of sweet things, as that is the sort of memory you will take from the island, make a point of dropping in on the pâtisserie run by master pastry chef Corrado Assenza at Caffè Sicilia, the undisputed king of the most exquisite signature cassata (a traditional cake based on ricotta, sugar, sponge, marzipan, candied fruit and castor sugar) and cannoli (a tube-shaped confectionery filled with ricotta cream).

Book your Vueling to Catania and don’t hesitate to soak up the flavours of the island.

Text by Belén Parra of Gastronomistas.com

Lyon is an ideal city for quickly switching off from one’s daily routine and returning home with one’s batteries charged. Here, you will find everything you’re looking for, from fine cuisine to myriad musical, historical and artistic offerings.

But, before strolling through Lyon’s streets, let’s review some features that will help us come to grips with that amazing city.

Introduction

Founded by the Romans, Lyon has long been a compulsory place of passage between northern and southern Europe. Further, its privileged position at the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers and its proximity to the Alps has rendered it an essential setting over the last 2,000 years. Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998, the city breathes that blend of tradition, modernity and sophistication so endearing to tourists. The fact is you can stroll along the medieval backstreets in its old city or promenade along its luxurious boulevards; eat traditional food or shop in its boutiques.

Hub

We begin our itinerary on high. To that end, we take the funicular railway from the Vieux Lyon station and go up to Fourvière hill, the spot where the city was founded. Added to the splendid views are vestiges of the Roman Theatre and Odeon, two backdrops still used for summer art festivals. The impressive Gallo-Roman Museum, embedded in the hillside near the archaeological site, makes a compulsory visit for anyone wishing to discover the origins of the city, as well as to enjoy the sublime building which Bernard Zehrfuss designed in 1975. Still on the hillside and not far from the Roman precinct stands the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, its design inspired by Romanesque and Byzantine architecture, the perfect spot for a spiritual retreat and noteworthy for its dozens of mosaics.

After descending on the funicular, the route proceeds through Old Lyon, site of the Cathedral of St John, with its blend of Romanesque and Gothic styles. It is set in one of Europe’s best preserved medieval and Renaissance quarters which is well worth ambling through to soak up the atmosphere. It is also an ideal area for stopping off to eat in the odd bouchon, a traditional Lyonnais restaurant which has helped earn the city its international fame. Consider that Lyon is regarded as the world’s gastronomy capital, the cradle of such chefs as Paul Bocuse and Eugénie Brazier. Make sure you try the local tablier de sapeur, the quenelles, Lyonnais sausage, salade lyonnaise and onion soup. But, make sure the restaurant features the Authentique Bouchon Lyonnais label to avoid anyone pulling the wool over your eyes.

The Upshot

To work off your meal, we recommend crossing the river Saone and venturing along the Presqu’île, a peninsula formed by the confluence of the rivers Rhone and Saone. Prominent landmarks here are the Place Bellecour and Place des Terreaux, the luxury Carré d’Or district lined with boutiques, the sumptuous City Hall and the interesting Fine Arts Museum and Opéra de Lyon. The latter, designed by the acclaimed architect, Jean Nouvelle, sees a large modern structure superimposed on an older, original building – the result is a colossal artwork that will not leave you indifferent. If you check out its website, you are sure to find a show to round off your day.

Here, then, are some pointers for spending an unforgettable day in Lyon. Check out our flights here.

Text and images by Aleix Palau for ISABELYLUIS Comunicación