Morocco Spotlight: Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque

If you are visiting Morocco, you will probably want to get a glimpse into the beautiful mosques across the country. After all, if they tile ordinary shops so intricately, can you even imagine a place of worship?
If you are not Muslim, the only opportunity to see inside a mosque in Morocco is the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca. The good news: this is the largest mosque on the continent, and it is pretty spectacular.

Situated on 22 acres overlooking the Atlantic, our jaws immediately dropped as we stepped out of the little red petit-taxi. The grounds are amazing, with covered archways surrounding grandiose courtyards. We arrived before the mosque opened, which enabled us to get amazing views of the mosque and its reflection in the beautiful courtyard leading up to the world's tallest minaret. You can spend a good 30 minutes feeling like a professional photographer before you even get close to the mosque.

The late King Hassan II wished "Casablanca to be endowed with a large, fine building of which it can be proud until the end of time." Though Casablanca may elicit images of romance and fancy cafes, we found that King Hassan II succeeded in his plan: this mosque was truly the highlight of the city. Even in darkness, this mosque offers a sparkle to the facade of Casablanca in the form of the vivid green laser that points toward Mecca from the top of the 689' minaret. It's a very sharp reminder of the Islamic influence throughout the country, and a beautiful way to help guide worshipers during their prayers.

Inside, the details are spectacular. All of the raw materials are from Morocco with the exception of the Venetian glass chandeliers. Surprisingly, it only took six years to build, but with the contribution of over 600 artisans. That carved, wooden roof you see? It's retractable. The sparkling marble and granite floors? Heated. The roped off section? A glass floor section overlooking God's water below. It's amazing to realizing the engineering that went into the plans back in 1987. Jerry Jones should be ashamed of his boring, way-overdue retractable roof at Cowboys Stadium!

They offer one-hour English guided tours for 120 Dirham (~$12) at 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 11:00 am, and 2:00 pm every day but Friday, when tours are only offered at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm. We hopped out of bed to make the 9:00 am tour, and were extremely thankful as we watched the buses unload on our way out. The mosque, which can fit 25,000 worshipers inside and another 80,000 outside, was empty except for our tour of eight and another language tour of five. Remember that you cannot wear shoes inside mosques, so they will give you a plastic bag for you to carry your shoes with you. 

Go early, bring your camera, wear socks, and dress conservatively.  This is the highlight of a trip to Casablanca!

Skip This: Wieliczka Salt Mines in Krakow

Mine shaft to not-so-much fun

I should have listened to my first instinct: this is going to be overpriced and hokey. But when we met a well-traveled, interesting couple on our tour of Auschwitz who recommended the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour, we decided to take a leap of faith and try it out.








Here is why I recommend skipping this tourist trap:

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1. Accessibility: We had to take a private car en route to the airport, which cost a significant amount extra. Public transportation is a bear, and your other option is to earmark several hours of your day to go on a bus with a tour from your hotel. The lines are long: you have to plan in advance.
2. Cost: Not including the extra we paid for transportation to and from, this was the most expensive thing we did in Krakow. With a currency that makes prices more-than-favorable to US travelers, there is no need to fork over $25 per person for these tickets. Or $19 for the student ticket. Krakow is extremely affordable, and the cost/enjoyment ratio is low.
3. Time: This tour takes around three hours. We finished the tour in around two and a half hours, but had to wait almost 45 minutes to be escorted out of the mine. Not only did the trek out of the mine take another 15 minutes, but it dropped us off about a 1/2 mile from the main building. Unfortunately, we encountered some of the few non-English speaking Poles in this area and had a little difficulty finding our way back. 
4. Adventure factor: Perhaps this is because we just did the "Tourist Tour," but I was expecting to get somewhat of a workout as we ventured down the 800-step descent and around the 20 chambers. Comfortable shoes were absolutely not required for this tour, and frankly led to false hope!



Seven Dwarfs light show...

5. Quality of sights: All of this would be worth it if there was unique or impressive art work to be seen in the salt mines; however, we sat through not one, but two overly dramatic "shows" with a couple colored lights and loud music, and reluctantly snapped photos of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs carving, only because I was determined to get enough pictures to compensate for the extra $3 camera pass I purchased. 

Proposal in the S

A huge disclaimer on this review of the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour is I was traveling to Krakow with my husband, and we do not have to entertain any small children. But for those of you who do not need to pay $25 to see a salt carving of a fictional salt-mine proposal story, I highly recommend spending more time in the lovely city of Krakow!

Budapest Spotlight: Margaret Island (Margitsziget)

Bike-powered cars - we took the blue one!

I have a new favorite place. It's a sprawling public park in the middle of a densely packed city. There are locals basking in the sun, tourists wandering around, and quaint food vendors along the edges. Oh, and it is NOT in New York City.

Margaret Island was my favorite part of our recent trip to Budapest. It is literally an island in the middle of the Danube River with no motorized traffic except for one bus line. Instead of driving, people stroll, roller blade, bike, or take one of the bike-powered cars we ventured on for a 30-minute adventure.

Musical fountain with spectators

Sunbathers along the Danube

Unlike most city parks, Margaret Island has a wide range of entertainment options, including a Budapest thermal spa, beer gardens, 13th century ruins, restaurants, a musical fountain (think mini-Bellagio), an impressive pool facility, and jogging path. They hold an annual summer festival in the park, along with several open-air concerts. Even just walking with a Hungarian beer is a treat on a nice day on the island.

Before it became a park in 1908, Margaret Island was home to nuns and monks for hundreds of years.

Margaret was a 13th century princess whose father, King Béla IV, vowed to send her to the newly built nunnery on the island if he could fix his country, recently devastated by the Mongol invasion. Hungary was restored and Margaret was sent to the island at the ripe age of 11. You can still see her burial site on the island today.

We have seen our share of city parks in Europe, but Margaret Island offers everything you could want in a park. I highly recommend building in at least a few hours - it's an easy stopover between Buda and Pest as you cross either the Margaret Bridge on the southern tip or the Árpád Bridge at the north end. We were caught off guard by this gem in the middle of the city!