Welcome to Argentina!

Let's go! Friday 10:05 PM was finally here. Flight 510 took off towards Buenos Aires! The longest flight route in Lufthansa's range! 11490 kilometers in 13 h 50 min!

Instead of the predicted 22-23 degrees in my home country, Argentina welcomed me with 32-33 degrees. Perfect!

Upon arriving at the hostel, I saw signs everywhere - River Plate - Estudiantes! Top match in the Primera Division!

What surprised me was that the hostel offered an excursion to the game. Perfect, since it is almost impossible to get tickets outside the stadium in Argentina's big clubs.

But there was still time! So I took a stroll along the widest street in the world (!!!), the 'Avenida de 9 Julio'! Crossing it requires passing through numerous pedestrian crossings, which cannot all be crossed in one green phase.

Whoever thinks it's a boring, heavily trafficked road is wrong. There is lots of greenery and the 'Obelisco' is located between the direction lanes.

Then it was time for football! Estadio Monumental. A huge stadium! Looking like a bowl. I was very excited.

Stop!! First shock! On the bus, I suddenly heard that the game wasn't in Monumental.

Guns N' Roses performed there on Friday in front of 60,000 spectators! That's why we went to the Huracan stadium. Unbelievable in Germany.

However, it was an incredible experience. Enthusiastic! An entire stadium that joins in with the chants, jumps, and swings their hands in the air, typical of Argentinians. There were breaks in the support, but when it started again, it was intense. People, regardless of age, from 5 to 75, showed how much they love this sport and their team.

What shouldn't go unmentioned is the huge security and registration madness there! Foreign spectators like us had to give fingerprints at the entrance and Argentinean IDs were individually photographed.

Still, it was definitely an incredible start!

Some people probably think I'm crazy, but the next day there was another game that I attended. The Superclásico: San Lorenzo vs Huracan!

Those who know will say 'wow' - those who don't will say 'wtf'. 😄

The game was my personal highlight in Buenos Aires. And I wasn't disappointed. Similar atmosphere as the day before. Only this time, the home team played a strong game and sent the archrival home with a 2-0 victory (+ missed penalty and a red card for the guests)! The atmosphere was breathtaking, especially towards the end and after the final whistle. Goosebumps!

Fortunately, the city has many other great things to offer.

Many great neighborhoods, each with its own charm.

San Telmo, a neighborhood that invites you to linger in its numerous cafes, ice cream shops, panaderias, parrillas or asados!

Asado means 'grilling'! No further explanation needed!

Panaderias means bakery! Following the motto, the sweeter the better!

San Telmo also hosts a large street market every Sunday! Tango, art, antiques, and crafts! A must-visit! Not like any other ordinary market!

Or La Boca, a neighborhood within a neighborhood, which should be avoided at night! Here you can find not only the candy box - 'La Bombonera' - the home of Argentina's most famous football club, and perhaps South America's, C.A. Boca Juniors, which we were able to visit from the inside. But also many incredibly beautiful graffiti and murals!

El Caminito is a touristy street that has a lot to offer artistically! Many colorful houses, paintings, shops, but also tango dancers.

Unfortunately, it is very crowded, but still beautiful!

The colors that dominate everywhere in La Boca are yellow and blue. Which actually originated from the arrival of the Swedes in Buenos Aires.

In Recoleta, there is the extraordinary cemetery 'Cementerio de la Recoleta'! Here you can find many different mausoleums, each decorated in different styles.

A cemetery that has turned into a tourist attraction. It's a bit strange how people take selfies with graves. Definitely not a place where the dead rest in peace and quiet.

Among other things, the mausoleum of Evita Perón is located here. One of the greatest personalities of Argentina! Of course, the place where most selfies are taken.

Despite everything, it's an absolute must-visit. Truly breathtaking!

Then there is Palermo! A nightlife district that offers numerous nightclubs, clubs, restaurants, and asados.

I can't talk about the clubs and discos. But I can talk about the unusual way Argentinians party.

The evening starts at the earliest at 11 PM. But only in a restaurant, with a lavish dinner. No club opens before 2 AM! That's why the party nights last until 7 or 8 AM in the morning. Definitely too exhausting for me, since I also wanted to see the city.

It was good that the parties at the hostel already started at 9 PM. If you wanted, you could continue somewhere else afterwards.

There are many more neighborhoods, each with different characteristics and their own charm, but it takes more time to visit them all.

Buenos Aires has much more to offer than just steaks and red wine!

For example, empanadas, which some people might already know! Stuffed pastries mainly with ground beef, but also with ham/cheese or turkey. Medialunas, which are a type of croissant, only better, more filling, and with sugar on top. Or 'Dulche de Leche'! A milk cream, similar to caramel, that comes in many different variations, such as spreads, ice cream, chocolate,...! You can only love it!

In the evenings, we usually went out with 4-5 people from the hostel to a restaurant or asados. The quality of the steaks is incredibly good. But the side dishes are also impressive. My absolute favorite, and I wasn't alone in this in our evening group, was definitely 'Las Cabras' in Palermo. An asado where mainly Porteños, the locals, go to eat. Which is always a good sign.

A huge steak with many different delicious side dishes, such as sweet potato puree, fried cheese, salads, and 2 glasses of wine plus a glass of water for around 15 €. The same with an 800 gram T-bone steak for only 20 €.

In general, Buenos Aires is quite expensive, but when it comes to meat, it's absolutely unbeatable!

My first accommodation, 'Milhouse Hipo Hostel' - a very popular hostel - party hostel, but not in a way that you can't find peace and quiet anywhere.

Many Irish, Dutch, Americans, but also many Germans! The main language is English, of course. It was advantageous that some people spoke Spanish and made things a lot easier when we were out together. For example, translating the menu or asking for directions! English-speaking Argentinians are actually quite rare.

The hostel also offers guided city tours, such as a biking tour or a daily walking tour, alternating to different neighborhoods, but I found them too expensive. Especially since there are points in the city where guides offer free walking tours. A free city tour! At the end, a donation can be made according to one's own discretion.

Two colorful groups from different nations. One in Spanish and one in English.

My group consisted of about 40 people, of which probably half were from Germany. Mostly solo travelers! Which made it easy to strike up conversations.

Definitely a great way to get to know the city.

A perfect start in a city that I imagined to be more gloomy. Met many people with interesting stories and life experiences.

Just seeing a tango show remained elusive to me. But I don't see it as dramatic, even though everyone spoke positively about it.

Next stop, Mendoza! A city in western Argentina, near the border with Chile. The city is located at the foot of the Andes and is only a few kilometers away from the highest mountain in South America, 'Aconcagua'!

It has about the same population as Trier.

It is also known for its excellent wines. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most famous grape varieties in Argentina's largest wine-growing region!

One of the many wine tours offered here is a must! The residents of the hostel raved about it!

Together with Joachim, a Norwegian, I decided to take a bus tour offered by the hostel!

Unfortunately, the wrong choice! The whole thing was more of a sales event than a wine tasting! While there were some good wines to taste, we also visited an olive oil and chocolate factory! They tried to sell all sorts of products!

A bike tour or renting a bike and exploring the wineries on your own would have been a better choice.

Our mistake, as we didn't do enough research beforehand. Hindsight is always 20/20! So in the evening, we just had more wine.

In the evenings at the hostel, we spent time in a group with 2 Swiss, a Norwegian, an Israeli, and an Argentine. Since the hostel had a grill area, we bought plenty of meat from the butcher, and the Argentine prepared an asado!

A day without meat? Without beef? Unimaginable in Argentina!

What makes the city such a beautiful place is the scenery. The mountains west of the city are partly still covered in snow. And a trip there is a must!

We (the Norwegian, Israeli, and I) decided to go to a lake in Potrerillos! 1.5 hours by bus without any other tourists. The place, in the middle of nowhere, has maybe 10 houses. During the time we spent at the lake, we maybe encountered 10 people, but three times as many dogs.

Funny enough, one of them was a Chilean, who was cycling with all of his luggage and had been sitting by the lake meditating for 6 hours in the blazing sun! A strange person! But he really wanted to take a photo with us!

Due to the glacial water, the lake has a perceived temperature of around 16 degrees. Really damn cold. But with temperatures around 30 degrees and all the kilometers we walked, it was a perfect cooling-off!

Mendoza is my last stop before continuing by bus to Chile! The first stop is the colorful port city of Valparaiso, which is one of the most beautiful cities in South America!

I'm excited.

Goodnight friends!