St. Paul's Catacombs, Rabat Malta

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the St. Paul's Catacombs in Rabat.


These underground roman cemeteries are dated to be used up until the 4th century AD. Since the roman law at the time, prohibited burials within the city, these are found on the outskirt of the capital of Malta at the time; Mdina.

The name of the these catacombs derives from the widely known story which relates to St Paul's Grotto. As such, these catacombs are a great example of Maltese underground architecture as well as it represents the earliest evidence of Christianity in Malta.

The site itself consists of two large areas, with a good number of burial chambers. During a talk with one of the curators, I was told that there were more than 30 underground burial chambers.

Find below some additional images taken by me of the catacombs:

St Paul's Catacombs, Rabat Malta

Should you be interested to visit, the opening hours are 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday.
Tickets cost €5.00 for adults, and €3.50 for youths

How to get there
- By Public Transport: From Valletta Routes 51, 52. From Bugibba Route X3 (Airport Route). The catacombs are situated in St. Agatha Street which is a narrow street running through much of the town’s core. Follow the signs to St. Paul’s Catacombs.
- By self-drive car: Drive towards Rabat and park close to the Domus Romana. The St. Paul’s Catacombs are around 5 minutes away by walk.

Medieval Mdina Festival

Every year in Malta, on a weekend in April, the town called Mdina, transforms itself into a Medieval town.

Built on the highest spot on Malta, Mdina has great views over the island. It is a well preserved medieval town with narrow winding streets, lined with tall limestone houses. It takes you back in time... when people's lives were so much different from today...

...And with this in mind, Malta re-lives the past for one weekend every year...

This year, for the first time, I have participated as a re-enactor. I dressed up as a peasant, with the Anakron Living History group. We had our own spot in the Mdina square, and we were cooking Medieval food as well as selling wine.
 

*No make-up was allowed during re-enactment.

 Might I say, that I loved this experience, and I urge you all to attend next year. It is an event for all the family, where battles are conjured again, and medieval music is echoed throughout the city.

During this festival, all museums in Mdina also have special prices.

For more information visit: www.medievalmdina.eu
All photos in this blog entry are mine, except the portrait which was taken by Jimmy Borg.
Should you like to share any of your photography work or videos, kindly leave them in the comments below.

Back in Malta

For those of you who did not know, I am now back in Malta. Whether if it is for good, or for a long while, I do not know yet.

As such, I have decided to try and keep this blog alive. Instead of writing about my adventure in England, I will now write about things in Malta, about Malta, events, my photography and writing; whatever I can think of...

Do feel free to drop by and give me topics or areas you'd like me to explore.

I will leave you with a panorama of the lovely Sliema... Almost on a daily basis I get to walk the promenade on my way to work... Lovely view, isn't it?

Steffi
xxx

Sun or Rain - Only God knows when.

So, 

One of the main reasons I left Malta, and decided to live in the U.K. is due to the fact that in Malta we get approximately 5 months of Summer -  starting end of April and lasts until around mid September. 

Though summer is nice, it's very humid and sweaty in Malta; with a temperature averaging 35 Degrees Celsius and during heatwaves, over 40. Though in the offices or at home, it's nice and cool thanks to airconditioning and fans, as soon as you go outside it feels like you just walked into an oven. 

In contrast to this, summer in the UK has been horrible this year. In the past month, I can hardly remember any days rain-free. Even though it is a nice change to summer as I know it, I’d rather have last year’s English summer. I think summer here will have the highest rainfall since record.

Hoping August will bring more sun to this summer-less island...

A day in lovely Gozo

During my last visit to Malta, less than a month ago, I took Mark for the first time to Gozo. For those who never heard of Gozo, this is the sister island of Malta. It was mid-June, and the temperature on the islands is around 25 Degrees Celcius; Sunny, with the occassional breeze. Gozo is smaller than Malta, and is less populated and it tends to be more quiet, and greener.

I think that the perfect time to visit Malta is either in June or in September, when the weather is good and yet not too hot and humid.

My dad offered to drive us to Cirkewwa, and so it didn't take long until we were waiting for the Gozo ferry. Mark and I managed to find a seat outside, and so we could appreciate the views better.

When in Gozo, we visited Rabat (also known as Victoria), the capital city. I took Mark to my favourite cafe in Gozo (and Malta too!), called Cafe Jubilee. Although Cafe Jubilee is also available in Malta, the first shop was open in Gozo, and as such the owner is Gozitan. If you ever have the opportunity to go to this cafe, I suggest you try their Rikotta pastizzi, which are home-made. Their bread is also a must-try - especially the 'ftira'.

After a nice snack and chilling at the cafe, we took a bus and made our way to Marsalforn, which is one of my favourite spots in Gozo. The beach was so inviting and it was a shame we didn't have our bathing suit on! There were barely any people around...

However in the bay close to Marsalforn we encountered my biggest enemy... the Jellyfish...

It was a shame that we could only stay for a day.

I would love to live in Gozo one day. It's just so beautiful and quiet.

Malta's decline in tourism

I was looking at a few articles on the Times of Malta website today, as I try to keep in touch with what is going on in Malta and about the general current affairs.

From what I read today, and yesterday, I think I can come up with a few reasons with regarding the decrease of tourists to Malta.

The most obvious reason seems to be the recession that most of Europe is going through. Everywhere I go, people seem to be struggling to make ends meets. Even here in the UK, I came across an article which says that families are eating food even after they're expired, as well as keeping left overs in the fridge for a longer time period. Needless to say, this is happening in several other countries, even in Malta.

This brings me to the next point, which is: foreigners cannot afford to travel as much as they used to, or their budget is less than it was a few years ago. Even though Malta, in comparison to other European countries is rather cheap to live in (food, accomodation, transport), the flights to Malta are alarmingly expensive. I think this is a disadvantage which cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, since to my knowledge shops do not need to have items tagged with a price by law, some shop owners tend to take advantage of tourists. This is due to the fact that tourists would not know how much they are expected to pay for a bottle of water for instance. I have seen this happening with my own eyes, and in the past it also happened to me, even though I am local.

In a way, I am glad that less tourists are visiting Malta, because most of Malta is going through roadworks. Too many main-roads are closed down because  of this, and traffic is alarmingly worse. It is bad enough when there are no road works! I think roadworks are very repulsive, and closing down such roads during summer, which in Malta is the highest tourist peak is more or less insane. Having said that, I would also like to mention that such work on the roads creates an increase in probability when it comes to trafffic accidents. Traffic accidents involving tourists will only give Malta a bad name.

Having said all the above, I still think that Malta is a great holiday destination, especially during summer time, when the weather is pefect for the beach, when nightlife is at its best... And who can forget those marvellous historical places and the delicious food?

All Seasons in 1 Month

When living in England, one of the advantages is to live on island, yet you wouldn't endure the heat the summer brings. But it is also a known fact, that weather in the UK is very much depressing for any Mediterranean peeps living there, due to clouds and rain during the majority of the year.

This is true.

I would say that I enjoy the fact that I don't sweat like a pig 24/7 for four recurring months, but at times - not seeing the sun for weeks makes me want to go hysterical. It is not the heat that I miss, it is the opportunity of wearing summer clothes, sandals, and not carrying a jacket wherever I go.

Since the first of June, until today the 25th of June, I could say that here in Stoke we had weather from all seasons. It started off really cold with drizzle, freezing nights with temperature just above 0 degrees and hail during the days, and for the past 5 days, a heatwave with temperature of 20 to 25 degrees during the day. Last night the temperature at 1am was at 18 degrees, with no sign of breeze.  It was pretty much pointless leaving my bedroom window fully open all night. But, no mosquitos - yay! It was so warm, that I thanked my lucky stars that I do not share my house with anyone else and I could run about wearing (or not wearing!) anything I want.

Though I am complaining about the heat, I must admit that it is a lovely change to see a constantly blue sky, and wearing summer dresses. As such, I'm planning on taking advantage of the situation and visit a park this weekend :)

So, fingers crossed on this... and prepare yourselves for some blog posts with photos... Not just from this weekend, but also London and Holland.

Steffi xxx

What's the point?

I have just returned from Holland last night and I'm trying to get back into the whole mood and routine of work and rainy weekends. The weather in the UK has been wetter these past weeks, than during the actual winter, although less cold. I don't mind this weather when I don't have any plans, but as of late, I've been making plans only to see them ruined by rain and mud.

But this is not what I wanted to talk about today...


My question today is, what's the point of life?



We work for the most part of our lives.... becoming slaves of desks, factories and what not... only to have a few days a year of pure pleasure. And the rest is just a struggle to make ends meet, with bills, cleaning, cooking, health recovery and relationship drama. And when we are old enough to stop working... We're just too old to do much with our lives, other than sitting on our asses watching TV or reminiscing about our past... What's more, technology further distracts us from what life and human comfort is all about.



We shut down to the real world, and live in a virtual, non-existent world...



I don't know about you, but this is not the kind of life I wanna lead... But unfortunately things are so imposed on us, that there's nothing we can do. Being out of touch technology wise and financially, will only destroy us further... and ironically, screws us further as we will look like complete idiots in other people's faces...

Day 2: St. Patrick's Day!

So, day two in Malta was St. Patrick's day. The sun shining as always, and barely any wind.

Mark and I woke up not as early as planned, however we managed to follow all the plans we had. Or rather, all the plans I made.

First task was to go to the supermarket which is approximately 5mins away from my parent's house. We bought a few ingredients Mark needed for this epic dessert he does, and in additional to that, I bought a lot of Twistees, Tastees, Crix (peanut flavour), galletti and Kinnie to stock up in the UK.

When the dessert was nicely done and put in the fridge, we made our way out to Floriana. There we went to see a Model's Exhibition which was rather good. But then my expectations weren't too high. There were a number of Warhammer models painted, as well as scenes from the World War, planes, ships and the sort.

After eating a few pastizzi in Valletta, we made our way to Msida, where we visited the Forbidden Power shop for some geeky moments and then relaxed a bit in the Msida Marina. For me, it meant, taking a couple of photos of the surroundings. For Mark, it meant sitting down on a bench and enjoying the sun (and the annoying pigeons).

Later on in the night, we also went to Paceville to celebrate St. Patrick's the way it should be.

All the people!

We didn't get home until it was around 5am.

Day 1: Sun-kissed Malta

It is true, what they say... That absence makes the heart grows fonder.

St. Julians, Malta

Last week, my boyfriend and I visited Malta, after not being there for over 5 months. The least I can say is that I was plenty excited of being in sun-kissed Malta, of sitting on the shore watching the waves play and tease each other, of seeing my family and friends once more.

We didn’t have a terrible winter in the UK, and Spring has been sunny, partially cloudy, but I yearned for those bright blue skies and a little breeze. Being in the UK,  all I see is canals and lakes, which I do love.  But I missed that salty smell the sea brings to the plate.

First day in Malta, Mark and I spent it in St. Julian’s, being lazy at the beach. I’ve tasted Cisk XS again, and I have to say, that nothing tastes better in the sun. No, not even ice cream! We’ve also been to the cinema  and watched Intruders. I do believe that it was a low-budget movie, but we both enjoyed it and I’d suggest it to anyone in the mood for a thriller movie. For those of you who are interested in knowing who starred in this one, the main actors are Clive Owen and Carice van Houten (apparently a rather famous Dutch actress).

Later on in the day we also met Carly for a drink. Being the eve of St. Patrick’s Day,  I celebrated it by drinking a pint of the beloved Guinness. And for those who are wondering, no I am  not an alcoholic, but I do love beer. And wine. And Jagermeister. And Jack Daniels.

Stay tuned for more updates and photos from our long weekend in Malta!

What I miss the most...

If you ask me, what I miss the most from Malta, I would answer without hesitation that it's the food. You would probably be in awe and assume I'm heartless. Why don't I miss my family, and my friends the most?

Well, I could answer that in a heartbeat. The people I care about and love, I stay in touch with as much as possible, and furthermore they know that whenever they want, they could always come visit me.

However, when it comes to Maltese food, until a couple of weeks ago, it was impossible for me to enjoy it, unless I am in Malta. It is true, I do visit Malta almost every other month... But sometimes the cravings are too much to bare. My mission impossible started one evening, when my friend David mentioned pastizzi. I realised that I couldn't take it any longer, and as such I had to do something about it.

I searched and search, and when I was about to give up, I came across a website with an interview with Alan Camilleri; a guy who lives in Manchester and who has his own shop, selling traditional Maltese food and drinks. I figured, I could be on a train from Stoke to Manchester in 50minutes. But to my astonishment, Alan delivers around the UK once every month, for a maximum fee of £12.50.

That very moment, I placed an order, and last week it was delivered to my house. I spent quite a lot of money to make up for the delivery cost, and I'm sure this wouldn't be the last purchase. Alan has been very helpful, even provided me with cooking instructions for the 'hobza tal-Malti' (traditional Maltese bread). The photo in this article, of the pastizzi, are from this very order. 

I have never thought that I would be enjoying the traditional Maltese pastizzi and tea here in the UK!

Place an order here: Mediterranean Pastry, and if you actually make an order after reading this brief review, please do let me know. :-)

Malta: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

For those of you foreigners, who think that I’m missing out because I’m not living in Malta anymore, I thought i’d give you a bit of a feel of what Maltese people are really like. Stick to living in Malta, not visiting the country for a couple of days or weeks, and you will see what I mean.

The Good

You can get all the help you need

Are you lost? Do you need an extra 5 cents for your bus ride? Most people are ready to help – to give you directions and answer your questions; to take a photo of you and your loved one next to a historical monument. We do believe that the tourists are a big part of the island’s revenue, so we all learned at some point in our life to be well-mannered and pleasant to those who provide us jobs.

Too hot, weather – Beach times and night life!

Although shade is out of question in summer, there are plenty of beaches to cool off in. You find ice-cream vans in every street corner and pubs and bars opening early in the morning, or afternoon, and close at around 5am in the morning! If you are a music lover and/or a drunk, you will love it here! If you’re 17 years of age, you can drink as much as you want, as long as you don’t drive! And if you drive, it’s usually not a problem.... police are most of the time home and sleeping with their wives at 5am anyway!

The use of the English language

Kids are taught English in-line with Maltese at a very early age in their life, usually ranging between 3 to 6. Most of the pensioners can also hold a decent conversation in English, which means that wherever you go, you are never going to be alone. Traffic signs and directions are also in English and usually helpful (unless vandalised).

Food Delicacies

Food in Malta, is possibly one of the best things you will ever experience. Being in the  Mediterranean and an island, the variety of dishes is extensive. Pizza, pasta, fish, salads, chicken, rabbit, horse meat... Anything you want... And when comparing prices to other countries, it is very affordable. Food is one of the things I miss. In the UK, you need to pay a lot of money to get food half as decent as the ones you get in restaurants in the Maltese Islands. And traditional food, sweets and liquors are to die for!

 
Free High-Level Education

The Maltese children have the opportunity to go to school up to university level, without paying a cent. The level of education is very good in most of the towns. If the teen decides on going to a technical college instead of to the university, one has to pay for the diploma, however the price is at a maximum of 1,000 Euros for the whole course which when compared to foreign institutions, it is a very good price. When I was studying at the University of Hertfordshire, I was paying £1,000 for every module, and I was studying online. So I didn't even have the benefit of a physical university, library and tuition!

History
For all you history fanatics, Malta is the place to be. With the number of wars the island has participated in, and with the different governors from different countries we had, you can find so many buildings and museums to view and drool over. Looking at the language itself, you can see for yourself the influence history had on it. Our language is based on arabic, italian, french and lately English.

The Bad

Politic Parties Fanatics

Come local council elections or the general elections, and people will start wearing blue or red (never both!). These are the colours of the two main political parties in Malta. Before we know it, we start fighting for our own political party, as if they are paying us for our loyalty and determination! In Malta, political fanatics, are equivalent to football fanatics in the UK, those fans who never miss a game, who go abroad to support their team etc. 

People DIE for their party here. I am not even joking; a local study was made and issued on one of the local newspapers on January 1^st, 2012 (The Sunday Times). Medical specialists have confirmed that elections in Malta are harmful to our health, especially in the heart region.

Worshipping the Village Feast

Is it summer yet? In Malta, there’s at least one feast every week in summer. Mind you, the village feast usually takes a whole week of celebration, and the next Monday we have what is known as ‘Xalata’ (phonetically: sha-la-ta`). Xalata is about getting up early, prepare some sandwiches, wearing your swimming suit and on top of that the colour chosen to represent your saint and go to the beach... usually screaming, loud music, booze and traffic are involved.

In the bigger towns, there are usually more than one feast, and so, as part of the celebration during the week, the saint supporters go to the other side of town to scream out their lungs, about how their feast is better and so is their saint!
Having said that, I'm quite in favour of such rituals as feasts are considered to be a cultural thing tourists are interested in.

She’s on holiday, make her pay more

A lot of idiots in shops treat tourists maliciously and claim it is alright to do so because they are on holiday and they afford it. Little do they know, that taking advantage of tourists will only results in them not coming back!

The Ugly

Religious Obsessions

Born and bred in Malta, is usually a detriment in terms of religion. We cannot choose for ourselves whether we should follow any religion or lead our own way in life. When a Maltese citizen is a couple of days (or weeks) old, he is baptised. The Roman Catholic religion claims him and there is no turning back! At the age of 5, we have to go to Museum and religion classes apart from the Sunday masses. If you’re lucky enough, you’re registered to what is know as a ‘church school’ and you can benefit of a mass every day, apart from your teachers most likely being priests.

Close-mindedness

Walking hand in hand with religion, the Maltese people are close-minded and most of the time scandalous. Are you pregnant and not in a marriage? You are doomed! I’m not saying that it’s the ideal situation,as I do believe that children are better off born in a loving, married relationship. But two wrongs, don’t make a right... So why make a single mother feel miserable. Just help her, support her! Another example of closemindedness which I had to deal with on a daily basis is, the idea of: ‘if you listen to heavy metal you are a satanist’ and ‘if you were leather or pvc you are a whore’. When will the people in Malta learn to not judge a book by its cover?

Living in Malta, can’t speak Maltese

Apart from Maltese taking advantage of tourists, the foreigners who actually decide on moving here, tend to have their own issues and abuse from the Maltese. First and foremost, if you are etnically different (not caucasian), you might have trouble in renting in Malta. Agents tend to find it easier to rent a place to someone who looks ‘normal’, and is not coloured. If you can’t speak Maltese, people sometimes take advantage and misinterprate what you said as to make more money. Cases of which, I know plenty as I have lots of foreign friends living in Malta.

How much Maltese are you?

Having lived in Malta, for the first 23 years of my life, I have to admit that I share some of these characterisics. The lack of things to do, drive you towards doing things you never thought of doing and most of the time, without even realising. Although I don’t reckon taking advantage of anyone as I’m too kindhearted for my own good, I do tend to take part in the whole political party craziness. The idea of a general election taking place if the government fails to agree on things next week, gives me a new reason of getting excited. Oh and I miss eating pastizzi!

Share your experiences here, and if you think I'm being too controversial, just add on to my list. I don't mind being challenged, and I'm always up for discussions.

So, do you wanna move to the UK?

To be honest, I thought it would be much more complicated to move to the UK, but thanks to the European Union, things are rather easy.

Tips to have the smoothest move possible:

1. Decide on a couple of locations you are willing to move to (check house/apartment prices, travelling connections, the town's history such as robberies, murders and other unpleasantries)
2. Start looking for jobs online. There are plenty of websites to look at, and if you have office or iGaming experience, you are more likely to make your  dreams come true!
3. Expect job interviews to be done through a phone call or a video call. They might ask you to fly over for the final interview. Take advantage of such situations as you will be able to see where you'll be living should you get offered the job.
4. Once offered the job, make sure they give you a reasonable amount of days to pack, say goodbyes, find a place to live and actually move.
5. Bare in mind, that unless you share an apartment or a house with other people, it might be difficult to get the internet, telephone and TV line. It took me over a month as I had no financial history in the UK. Same goes to a mobile phone contract. The easiest thing to do until you're sorted is to buy a SIM and choose the Pay as You Go tarrif.
6. The company you start working for should help you to get the work permit and also to open a bank account. You should ask for reference letters to help you sort these things out quicker. I had a bank account after around 2 weeks in the UK, and the work permit took a litttle longer, because I had to wait for two weeks for the interview. 
7. Once you have the work permit, look for your local NHS and register yourself. This is handy as you will then be able to visit the clinic and book doctor appointments. A good thing here is, that medicines are free or cheaper than in Malta (if you're a working citizen).

Anything else you want to know? 

Leave me a comment, and I will update this article accordingly :-)

The first night

Although I was looking forward to moving to the UK, I must admit that during the last few days in Malta, I was terrified and slightly dreading it. Even though I had enough of everything the island had to offer, and I can say that my motivation in living in Malta was gone, I wasn't sure I can handle a life in a town I've never been before, where I knew no one.

Excited and terrified at the same time, I went to the airport, on the plane, flew for 3.5 hours and landed when the clock striked 9pm. A guy with a banner with my name on, greeted me at Manchester's Airport and then we started our way to Stoke, right to the Moat House Hotel. This is where I spent the first night. I remember, it was cold, yet cosy. The receptionist was very welcoming, gave me tons of coupons for free internet, which sorted out most of my night, as I was too excited to sleep.

Moat Hotel / View from Hotel / English Breakfast the next morning.

The next morning, a taxi took me to my place in Porthill. I was really happy with it, but I had no towels, no pillows, no nothing except furniture, glasses and utensils. Having no internet on my phone or at my place, I walked out of the house aimlessly until I found High Street from were I purchased some groceries and a towel. I was so glad that I took my fleece with me to the UK. And that was my first night in Porthill, sorted.

My house / Porthill / First Lunch

Meet the Gal.

The plan was, to start off a blog the first week I move to the UK, but back then, I had no idea of all the procedures that needed to be handled in order for me to have internet in my house, and a telephone line. But all's well that ends well...

Meet the girl, behind the blog: Steffi.

Red Haired

Well, I would never say that I'm a stereotypical girl from Malta, because I'm not. I might be rather shy, I might be too nice, or too good to people... but I don't consider me as one of the traditional Maltese girls. I don't listen to hiphop or dance music; I listen to rock, metal, gothic and industrial. I don't follow fashion, but create my own style. I'm not sun-kissed skinned but rather pale for a Mediterranean girl; I actually despise hot weather! I've had my hair dyed black, brown, red, blue and even with golden streaks! I'm a geek, love memes and other internet puns; I'm a programmer and as they call me: an SQL Goddess. Some people tend to label me as a rock/geek-chick, but in the long run, I tend to label myself as unique. I am my own person.

My dream of parting Malta and move to the UK has been lurking in my mind since I can remember. Having travelled to the UK since the age of 6, and being more amused by parks, mountains, forests, lakes and the general greenery, I knew that Malta, beaches and drunken night outs weren't the kind of life I wanted to lead.

And so, at the age of 23, roughly mid January 2011, I decided that I wanted to start a new life, leave the country for good, live with like-minded (or, openminded) people; where looks didn't matter, where people cared enough, but could leave you at peace, minding their own business. 

Red & Blue Hair

As such, I decided to look at various locations, and I knew that as tempting as it is to go live in London, I should probably stay away, as I didn't want to share a house, I wanted my own house with yard. I wanted to live near cities, but far enough to enjoy the parks and quiet. After much deliberation, I applied to the one iGaming job I could find (in my expertise), which wasn't in London and near the Peak District. The next day I got an interview... By end of March, I was looking for a house, and making my final arrangements....

It all felt like an illusion, or a dream... But on the 12th of May, 2011, I landed in the land of the Brits... and the journey started....