Jubilee Year

A Jubilee Year is a special year declared by the Pope, which usually happens every 25 years. It is a time, when Catholics are encouraged to reflect, go to confession, receive communion and pray for the Pope. Doing these things with the right intentions allows the believers to receive an unconditional indulgence - basically a spiritual reset. And as a part of this tradition is walking through the so-called "Holy Doors".

Well, I am not a Catholic, but receiving at least a piece of indulgence by walking through the "Holy Doors" could be a good opportunity for me, because it is 2025 and I am in Rome.

There are four Holy Doors in Rome, which are opening only in Jubilee Years. And one of them is in St. Peters Basilica.

I am staying in the very center of Rome, so the way to Vatican on foot would take only 30 minutes.

Surprisingly, there is no long queue at this time on the square. So, I was quite fast near the church.

The camera is on, and I am ready to record the moment, when all my sins are forgiven immediately (or some of them).

So, I successfully passed through the Holy Door, left behind sin and entered a renewed life of grace.

It is Sunday, and there is a special mess at this time, where cardinals take part, but there is no Pope here.

The Pope is going to pray at 12 pm, from a window in the Apostolic Palace (second window from the right on the top floor). Typically it lasts around 15–20 minutes and includes the pope’s message, the Marian prayer, the blessing and sometimes a short greeting to pilgrims. Of course, I could not miss this chance to hear the voice of the Pope Leo XIV.

After Vatican I am going back to the Rome city centre. With visiting all remarkable places there. Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Monument to Victor Emmanuel II and Pantheon.

Finally, back home. It is the right time to relax a bit after such a long walking and drink some coffee!

The most iconic method of brewing coffee in Italian homes is undoubtedly with using a Moka pot. Of course, I have it in my rented apartment.

And here is a short instruction how to make perfect coffee:

1. Add water. Fill the bottom chamber of the Moka pot with cold water up to the safety valve.
2. Add coffee. Fill the filter basket with ground coffee; level it off but don’t press it down.
3. Assemble the Moka pot. Screw the top and bottom parts together tightly.
4. Heat it up. Place the Moka pot on medium heat; leave the lid open at first so you can watch the coffee rise.
5. Wait for the magic.The water in the bottom will heat up, creating pressure that pushes the water through the coffee grounds and into the top chamber.
6. Listen carefully. When you hear a gurgling sound, the coffee is almost done; remove it from heat right away to avoid burning it.
7. Cool the Moka. Cool a bit the bottom of the Moka with the cold water from the faucet.
8. Stir and serve. Stir the coffee in the top chamber with a spoon for even flavor; then pour into small cups.

Still, there is some time for evening strolling around Rome. It is only 30 degrees outside, so it must be a good evening.

I hope, I would not need to wait for another 25 years to visit Rome again.

Pardubice, Horse Racing

The Great Pardubice Steeplechase was first held in 1874. Since then, it has become one of the oldest and most prestigious steeplechase horse races in Europe. The race covers a distance of around 6.9 kilometers, and it demands both stamina and jumping ability from the participating horses.

So, I came to this event quite unexpectedly. My colleague had a spare ticket there. It was a unique chance to obtain a new experience for me.

People are coming here not only to watch horses, but also to earn money on betting. I do not know how others were choosing their favourites, but I paid attention to the horses' names and numbers :-) I had many bets and sometimes my strategy worked, but at the end I was in minus.

While watching horse races I felt a range of emotions, including excitement, anticipation, adrenaline, because I could witness the competition and the speed of the horses, and I also felt sorry for them, when they fall down or did not finish.

It is absolutely thrilling to have a bet and to see if your horse finished the first. To be more relaxed about losing money I would recommend to drink beer and eat some sausages.

Before the main race you can watch the participants one more time and decide for yourself, who might become a winner. My favourite was number 4, Lodgian Whistle. He was one of the leaders during the race, but unfortunately, the last 100 metres before finish he got tired and took only the 6th place.

Horse racing in Pardubice turned out to be the amazing experience for me, I have lost money on betting (all in all, around 500 crowns), but I was extremely excited. Next year I would love to repeat it.

Europe, The City of Bicycles

We are relocating to Amsterdam with Flixbus. The road takes about 40 minutes.

The final stop is at the bus station, which is located on the suburbs of the city. So, we had to cover 5 kilometres on foot to get to our new place of residence. Nice walking, but it was a little bit tiresome, taking into account our heavy backpacks, loaded with the Belgian chocolate.

When we were passing by the central station we felt the strong smell of cannabis. And this smell followed us all the time, because people are burning on every street corner. I think, Amsterdam will be always associated with this unpleasant odour.

So, our first point of destination is the boat hotel, which is moored in the dock Oosterdok. Honestly speaking, it was the only affordable type of accommodation in Amsterdam for these days, in terms of money and proximity to the city centre.

To tell the truth, it was the smallest room I have stayed in so far. What's more, it was shared with my friend, and, literally, there were only 1.7 square metres per one person. Cramped, damp and dark. At least we had a decent breakfast included.

Anyways, we are here not to stay at the hotel, but to explore the city. And having left our backpacks we went for the introductory walk.

It is a well known fact that tulips are one of the recognizable symbols of Holland. Though, few people know, that originally tulips were cultivated in the Ottoman Empire, and were imported into Holland only in the sixteenth century. However, these days, Holland is called as "flower shop of the world" quite deservedly.

There are so many bright flowers on the local markets of Amsterdam, so I wished to buy them all and to bring home. One of such markets is called Bloemenmarket, and it is located on the floating platform of the Single canal.

Nevertheless, I have not bought any bulb, because there is a strong opinion that it is extremely difficult to grow tulips from Holland's markets in Russia. At least, I would prefer not to get disappointed about my gardening skills.

Honestly speaking, I have not experienced "the love at first sight" with Amsterdam. Actually, I liked the Hague more. The reason is that the Hague is not so crowded with tourists, it is quiet there, and you may find there everything, what people are usually looking for in Amsterdam. For example, in the Hague there are the same canals, the same bridges and the same red-light district, not to mention coffeeshops with more affordable prices. Probably, the only thing, which would make me visit Amsterdam once more, is the Van Gogh museum.

Of course, we tried to enter the Van Gogh museum as soon as we arrived, but a security guard, advanced in information technologies, told us that "the tickets must be purchased in a cloud above us". In other words, we should have bought a ticket on the Internet for the specific time, because there are so many tourists who would like to see the masterpieces of the great artist.

Unfortunately, another museum, which was also worth visiting, was inaccessible as well. Simply, we were late. The museum is called Rijksmuseum, and its working hours are from 9am till 7pm.

As compensation for the failed attempts to learn the art, we set off for the night excursion around the district of red lights. I still have the conflicting impressions from those streets, illuminated by red lamps. Actually, it was both curious and disgraceful.

And one more amusing thing about Amsterdam for today. It is estimated that there are approximately 881 thousand bicycles in Amsterdam. However, the more ridiculous fact is that many bikes quite often end their lives being thrown into a canal.