Museum of Light

The Museo de la Luz is exciting, interesting and very interactive. And between you and me, I think it's the coolest museum I've ever been to. Seriously. To be honest, at the very beginning I didn't even think the museum sounded particularly cool or interesting and I only went in because I saw a few interesting photos online. But that it would be SO cool, that I - although I really never! Do that – would read through texts with interest and turn into a little child on the playground. I really didn't expect that. But peops, there's a glass ball with an electricity ball inside. And a disc that you can put your hand on and then light interacts with your hand. And then there's a kind of round disc on which different colours are projected and if you stand in front of the colours, you can make funny figures in staggered versions - in colour! Then there are mirrors of all kinds - I had sooo fat legs :D - , different light stuff to experiment with, a very thought-provoking hologram of our planet and how it bursts into fire - no kidding. And... so many other cool things. Apart from the glass ballnwith the electricity ball and the game with the different colours, my absolute highlight was the thermal imaging camera. Have you ever stood in front of one of these things and watched yourself? It's great fun and now I finally know why my nose always turns red so quickly in winter or when I have a cold and why it reacts so sensitively to the sun. It literally was the only red-coloured thing in my face and everything else was yellow! :D I really enjoyed myself in front of that thing. I to my own surprise spent my entire day in there and even came back again because I wasn't finished. That's how good the museum was. And that's an absolute ‘first’ for me. I've never had it before and I haven't had it since. I really had the time of my life in there. :D Go or not? Yes please please yes. The museum is really.... It’s just great! Of course the sights outside like Reforma, Zócalo, cathedral etc are more important in this sense, but oh my god this museum is really fun :D And I think kids would have a really good time in there too :D

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Markets in the Center of Mexico City

Markets or stalls and Mexico are... I honestly don't think they can exist without each other. In Mexico, there's always something being sold on every corner - even if it's just tamales from cute old grannies who wants to earn a little (extra) money. Of course, it's no different in Mexico City. And so you are constantly walking into or past a market somewhere. For my part, for example, apart from maybe two or three markets - because they were known for something specific - I didn't visit a single one on purpose, but simply ran into them unexpectedly and thought it was so cool that I either took photos straight away or came back later. This particular market, which is actually more or less connected and certainly doesn't have its own name, is right in the centre. I couldn't tell you exactly if I tried. I simply really don't know. All I know is that I was walking down a street and when I passed a staircase that led into an alley I saw the covered book stalls. As I'm a bookworm and, to be honest, you don't necessarily find books everywhere on markets, I thought it was great to have finally found lots of books in a pile and had a look around. And no, unfortunately I didn't buy any books. It however wasn't because there were no books, but simply because of a ‘book-buying ban’ that I imposed on myself before the trip. I'm a big bookworm, but books are heavy and take up space. Extremely unfavourable when you're backpacking. Hence the ‘ban’. And if I like a book, I just want to keep it. Doubly unfavourable when you're backpacking :D Go or not? If you find it :D

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Reforma and Streets in the Center of Mexico City

The street Reforma - in Spanish Calle Reforma - is basically just called Reforma. And the reason why I treat it separately from the rest of Mexico's streets in the centre is because it simply stands on it’s own. A bit like Madero, the shopping mile of Mexico City. If you walk down Reforma, you'll quickly notice a few things. It's very clean, very wide, relatively... I always call it pompous or chic and also lined with beautiful and tall buildings, super expensive hotels and, to be honest, I think most roundabouts within a street in Mexico City. At least in the centre. To be honest, the street is a real beauty and a bit like the flagship street of Mexico City. Of course, Mexico City in general is a really beautiful city in many places, but Calle Reforma is the icing on the cake with an exclamation mark :D As you stroll down the Reforma, you will pass skyscrapers, the best and most expensive hotels, restaurants, cafés, art projects and - at the roundabout directly before the centre - of course large and imposing statues as well as skyscrapers. And the Àngel de la Independencia as well as the Fuente de la Diana Cazadora are both basically sights on the Reforma - by the way, definitely! Worth a visit in sunny weather. Great photospot! My personal highlight, apart from the Àngel de la Independendia, was definitely the stock exchange house - as I always called it - where I used to run along when jogging and which always showed me the exchange rate of all possible countries. That way I always knew how much the peso was worth compared to the euro :D It wasn't intentional but it was still very funny :D The other streets in the centre of Mexico are of course also really interesting and cool. My personal potpourri was created by simply walking around, letting myself go and simply immersing myself in the centre. That's how I found the monkey in front of the centre - really cool! - the Porrúa library and its cool wall paintings and also buildings, graffitis, the bicycles, as well as China Town - although China Town I found to be pretty poor. I only took one picture of it and that was of the entrance. And I was behind the gate. So if there are no other photos, there wasn't too much to see. But well, I may just be picky :D Go or not? Reforma saaaaafe! And I would also check out the streets in the centre of Mexico City. There's so much to see and you'll stumble across all sorts of things. So just do it! 😊

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Sundayrun on Reforma

One of my absolute favourite fun facts and happenings in Mexico City! People do sports together here on Sundays! The Sunday run is actually to be understood quite literal here. For this event, the Reforma is being closed all the way to the city centre every Sunday morning until I think 1 or 2 pm. And then you can go inline skating, cycling, jogging, skating or whatever sporty way you want to get to or down the Reforma. And all together. I found and still find it absolutely amazing! It's a completely different feeling when you do it together. And on such a regular basis! Not to forget that the Reforma! A huge, massive monster street in Mexico - in my opinion the most beautiful street in entire Mexico City - is completely closed off so that you can jog it. Like if you don't think that's cool, I don't know :D Because of course you run past the skyscrapers and the magnificent buildings and everything. It really has something. And of course I ran with them :D Not every Sunday, I was also partying sometimes, but the times I was there were definitely worth it! 😊 Oh, and how I found out about it? By literally walking in and asking myself what the heck is going on here, why Reforma is closed and why there are suddenly cyclists, inline skaters and joggers instead of cars :D Gives the Reforma a very positive and calm atmosphere, by the way. Very fitting for a Sunday 😉 Go or not? YES! Definitely. Even if you don't want to go jogging or cycling or inline skating or anything else. Sure, it's more like standing on the sidelines and watching, but I personally think it's still worth the experience. And if you like cycling or inline skating even minimally, give yourself a jolt. It honestly is a really cool experience. Even if you theoretically are just jogging down a street :D

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Streetart Projects on Reforma

Art and the Reforma are part of the city and the cityscape of Mexico City. I myself have walked and jogged up and down this street countless times, as it led from my hostel to the city centre during my first stay in Mexico City and from my hostel to Chapultepec. Chapultepec is a huge park in Mexico City, which itself is a neighbourhood, but that in another post. Anyway, I used to go jogging here regularly for a while, which is why I always came along the Reforma towards Chapultepec. During these jogs, or on my way to the centre, I often passed art that was set up on the pavement along the Reforma. Whether it was thoughtful sculptures or installations - such as the children's shoes - which were nevertheless mostly kept in cheerful colours or something else. My personal highlight, for which I actually walked from the hostel to the Reforma - my hostel was very close to the Reforma - was the art project, where lots of hearts were set up along the Reforma. And yes, I only photographed my favourite hearts here. They were actually set up for quite a long time and it was just lovely to walk or jog past these sweet hearts with the thoughtful and beautiful pictures on them in the morning. Go or not? You have to go down the Reforma one way or another, because without it you can't say you've been to Mexico City - to my mind :D So, if you're lucky, you also see some art 😉

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Viewpoint Torre Latinoamericana

Every big city has a viewpoint from which you can see the whole city. In Mexico City, it's the Torre Latinamericana. A lift takes you up 25 floors? - Probably more - and then you have a really great view. But it costs accordingly :D Like it was actually one of the most expensive sightseeing things I ever did in Mexico City. But it's also worth it - I think. I mean I love viewpoints, so :D And tbh I did struggle concerning the price a bit :D There is one thing that Mexico City is very famous for: el Trafico. The traffic. When you're at the top of the Torre Latinoamericana, you'll understand why a little better. Just like in LA, a kind of smog bell hangs over Mexico City. Please take a look at the pictures. I was up there on a sunny! day. And it looks like it was cloudy, which it wasn't. It really wasn't. And yet there's something hanging in the air everywhere. As I knew about this, because I had been told that if I went up the Torre Latinoamericana on a cloudy day, I wouldn't be able to see anything because of the clouds and smog, I was actually really fascinated and tbh kind of shocked at how badly the view was impaired despite the actually beautiful sunshine. So if you want to go up there, do it on a cloud-free, sunny day. Trust me :D 😊 Go or not? Yes, indeed definitely. It's expensive - honestly - but the view is also just really great and the smog makes the whole thing special in a terrible and absurd way. And the shots you can get of Bella's Artes if you take a photo at the right time are simply premium! :D

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Plaza Tecnopolis

Plaza Tecnopolis is a market where you can find absolutely everything that has anything to do with technology. So mobile phones, cables, cameras, memory cards, headphones, stereo systems, speakers.... The only thing I didn't see were bigger things like fridges or televisions, but I wouldn't put my hand in the fire that they don't have that. Because Mexican markets always have everything. Really. I don't know if you can tell – I though suspect you can :D - that I find Mexican markets absolutely fascinating. Honestly. We just don't have anything like that in Europe. You go to a market and there's simply EVERYTHING you could ever need, look for or find. And in a price range from cheap af to (from a local perspective) overpriced (although this probably only affects tourists, who are often tried to get higher prices from 😉). And of course from cheap stuff and basically trash to really good quality. To be honest, I'm always a bit cautious when it comes to technology. With the Plaza Tecnolplis, for example, I wouldn't necessarily spend anything or particularly much on an SD card. Or headphones. Not to mention a camera or something. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating place because you can really get everything. I remember I bought an affordable SD card and headphones on chance. Both worked. The headphones didn't last forever and the SD card was used more as a replacement, but they both did their job. My tip: try them out on site. This is not a guarantee, but among the jumble of headphones there, I also did find some that were already broken so it’s worth a try. You can rule out a total fail before you buy. And in my case, I was actually there precisely because of these two things. So I thought “Let’s just give it a try” :D Go or not go? I... yes tbh. As I said, I found the Plaza Tecnopolis very interesting and extremely fascinating. There are a thousand aisles, it's busy everywhere, the shops over and undercut each other in terms of prices and it's all chaos, but at the same time it's somehow organised. You either get on with it or you don't, but I think it's worth making the effort to simply get to know this completely different system. 😊

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Shopping Mile Madero

Like every big city, Mexico City also has a shopping mile. In Mexico City it is called ‘Calle Madero’. It leads from Bellas Artes down towards Zócalo and the cathedral and is packed with all kinds of shops. From jewellery to shoes to clothes to.... Everything really. What I find most characteristic about Madero is that it has a very American or European flavour. Meaning I found all kinds of shops here that I would also find in a European shopping centre or with just a few more American brands. All in all, it's very international and, to be honest, not local or Mexican at all. Well now, Mexico City is a major international city, which you can see and notice - even if you're “in Mexico”. Nevertheless, it made me a little sad because I had hoped to find something somewhere that I would not find at Neumark in Cologne. At the same time, it also shows that this ‘second or third world countries are so different’ nonsense is real bullshit. At least when you're travelling in big cities. And so I went shopping in Mexico City at Pull&Bear, H&M and Zara. The style is slightly different, of course, but on the whole it's excatly the same thing. So, if you want to shop almost like at home, this is your place to be. Go or not? Well, walking down the Madero is nice. :D It's a sun-drenched street during the day, when it's sunny, you can see the Torre Latinoamericana from a certain point onwards and see street artists, people who become statues for a small tip and so on. Basically the shopping mile of a big city with a Mexican flavour. I liked it. Only the shops could have surprised me a bit more for my taste 😊

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Market Plaza de la Solidaridad

The market on the Plaza de la Solidaridad is a market that I have – like for real - passed every single time I walked to the centre. I think it was even the first market in Mexico City that I randomly walked past. I didn't even notice it at first, but after walking the same route from my hostel to the centre again and again and again, I realised at some point - funnily enough, when the market wasn't set up - that this market actually seems to exist almost 24/7. I hardly know this square without a market. Like for real. I was quite perplexed to see it without a market and then promptly walked across it for the first time. Funnily enough, that was also the moment when I decided to take photos of the market and deliberately walk across it. Some things you just don't see until they're suddenly gone :D A little fun fact: I – to be honest – don't even really know if the market has a name. It's just in the Plaza de la Solidaridad right in the centre - I looked it up on Google Maps - and that's what I called it. :D However, it actually extends to the corner of the square and the entrance to the metro station and ends at the park of Bellas Artes. I found out when I walked across it. Go or not go? There really are a lot of markets in Mexico City. You can walk across it, but in my opinion it's a street market like any other. So if you're walking past it anyway, why not, but otherwise it’s not necessary 😉

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