Hello Taipei!

Taipei is the metropolis of Taiwan and here all the threads come together. The city is interesting, but there is also a lot to discover in the surrounding area. So we set off. With the metro you can quickly reach the valley station of a cable car that winds its way up the mountain slopes for almost 5 km. Once you arrive at the top, you theoretically have a great view of the city (we had clouds, rain and thunderstorms). There are many tea plantations on the slopes, the real reason for our excursion. Unfortunately, we had to keep it short as it was pouring. There was enough time for green tea ice cream and a little hike. Then we had to take a small bus back to the valley because the cable car was no longer running due to the thunderstorm. Could have gone better.

Of course, in Taipei, you haven't been there if you haven't visited Taipei 101. Still the eighth tallest building in the world (508 m), still the fastest elevator in the world (over 60 km/h), a peculiar architectural style and all this built in an earthquake zone. But of course, the Taiwanese have also taken this into account. At a height of 380 m, a 42-ton ball hangs on eight huge steel cables in the building, which acts as a pendulum and absorbs vibrations and balances movements. This makes the hearts of engineers and structural engineers beat faster.

During our explorations of the city, we crossed enormous shopping streets, quiet Confucius temples and colorful night markets where you can even eat snake. Spending money is made easy in Taipei.

On the day of our departure, we had some time left and decided to go to the zoo. We looked at exactly two species - koala bears and pandas. Cute little creatures!! We could have watched them for hours. They don't do much. Eat and sleep. Both creatures are unfortunately endangered, especially the panda. The already quite tiny habitat is simply being destroyed further... Stupid humans...