Kat´s Truth About Travelling

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Querétaro

Querétaro is a small city close to Mexico City towards the north of Mexico. Originally I had never planned to visit Querétaro, but then I accidentally found out about the Pena de Bernal – close to Querétaro –  and thought it to be worth a visit. As the Pena de Bernal is a hike and I always try to get as close as possible to the point from where the hike starts, I decided to visit Querétaro. And well that’s how I found this small, realy cute city, that does have quiet some nice corners. Otherwise I would’ve definitely overseen it which would have been a shame. Also the Viewpoint Cuatro Palos, which is really beautiful, I would have missed. So… Querétaro is one of these places, that I for my personal luck found randomly and that I definitely recommend for a quick visit. Let alone because of the most unique café I’ve ever been to: Café Diktatur 😀 (You really have to go there)

Apart from here everything about Querétaro

Highlights

Streets

Café Diktatur

Town Hall

Aqueduct

Viewpoint Quatro Palos

Park Avenida Universidad

Pena de Bernal

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QUERÉTARO

Highlights

Café Diktatur

A very special café

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Aqueduct

An arquitectonic beauty with a view

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Quatro Palos

A wonderful hike with a gorgeous view

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Pena de Bernal

A slightly different rock

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Streets

Basic information

What: Streets of Querétaro
Where: in the centre of Querétaro
Opening hours: 24/7
Fee: free of charge
Website: just go with the flow 😊

Querétaro is a small, pretty, sweet and quiet town north of Mexico City.
I actually only made a stopover because I had read about the Pena de Bernal – a kind of rock in the centre of Bernal with a great view that you can climb up. And as the Pena de Bernal is kind of a day trip from Querétaro, I thought a day in Querétaro and a bit of wandering around wouldn’t hurt.
It turned out that Querétaro is beautiful! Really beautiful, in fact. Very quiet, but still lively, totally cute, very clean and even has a few cool things to look at on top 😊
The streets are all very peaceful, there’s a Querétaro nameplate in the centre that’s – for the name – really long :D, a beautiful old town, lovely parks and yes…. It’s not big, but still worth a visit 😊

Go or not? With plenty of time yes. Also because the Pena de Bernal is really worth it in my opinion and if you’re already staying overnight in Querétaro you can as well just arrive a little earlier and see the city of Querétaro. If you don’t have much time, I think there are cooler and sweeter little towns north of Mexico City that have even more charm (e.g. Guanajuato). However, if you don’t have the time to drive up to Guanajuato from Mexico City, Querétaro is another option. So it really depends purely on the time you have 😊

Café Diktatur

Basic information

What: Café Diktatur
Where: in the centre of Querétaro
Opening hours: 9.00 – 02.30 (every day)
Fee: depending on how much you order, but everything for the same price 😀
Website: just go there 😉😊

The name may be a little off-putting, but the concept behind this café is…. It really is one of a kind and absolutely unique. Because everything costs the same in this café.

But let’s start at the beginning. The café was recommended to me by someone from my hostel. Normally I always cook for myself, but if I’m only staying one or two nights and there’s no time to go to the supermarket or it’s just really far away, then I sometimes eat out – and in Mexico it’s on top of that usually really cheap. But I wasn’t expecting something as cool as the Café Diktatur 😀
First of all, the interior: the café is furnished in a cosy vintage style, with slightly dimmed lighting and a cosy yet lively atmosphere. There’s a corridor with lots of open books on the wall and really not a millimetre to spare, as well as one or two corners with other special things. Apart from that, the vibe of knowledge, revolution and simply something being different hangs over everything. When you read the menu, you immediately notice that there are no prices on it. At the beginning of each menu, as well as on a statement, that hangs in the wall, there is an explanation of the café upholding the principle that everyone and everything should be able to afford to eat and that it should be a basic law of humanity. And then there is the price on the first page of the menu. And that is synonymous for everything. Absolutely everything. No matter whether you order a cocktail, a burger, a soft drink, a pizza, dessert or anything else. Everything has exactly the same price. A) great idea, b) I’ve never seen it before, c) how did they come up with it and d) why isn’t this concept more common around the world?
Regarding the actual realization of the concept: of course it makes a few things more expensive (soft drinks, for example), but at the same time makes food very affordable.
As you might notice: I’m a true fan of the café. Like for real. And the food and everything I tried there was really good. Like not premium, but good. And the bill came in a kind of science book, which you then opened and saw the bill. Like honestly the concept was a hit from start to finish.
Go or not? I know how stupid this sounds, but I would go back to Querétaro just for this café because I loved the concept, the atmosphere and everything together. I mean, everything costs the same. You have to come up with an idea like that in first place and then on top successfully realise it. And it also makes it easier to do the maths. Absolutely brilliant honestly! 😀 😊

Town Hall

Basic information

What: Town hall
Where: in the centre of Querétaro
Opening hours: 8 am to 5 pm (Mon-Thu) & 8 am to 3 pm (Fri), closed on weekends
Fee: free (I think)
Website: just go there 😊

The town hall of Querétaro is a red building in Querétaro, which stands majestically by the historic centre. Right next to it is a statue of an indigenous person, which I think looks quite impressive.
Inside there is a museum which is okay, but nothing special. However, there is an archway in the museum that is so low that it might have reached up to my chest? In whichever case, it was really low and I, who normally never has to duck my head, had to duck my head quite a bit.
Apart from that, there are lots of arches in the courtyard, as well as on a second floor. It’s really peaceful and beautiful here and as I love taking photos of arches, I went a bit crazy – just a bit 😉

Go or not? As it’s not really a long visit, why not. Like you can just go in if you’re strolling through the centre of Querétaro anyway. Unless you’re the kind of person who reads through everything in museums. Then it might take a bit longer 😀

Aqueduct

Basic information

What: Aqueduct
Where: Querétaro
Opening hours: 24/7, but go with sunshine and in the morning or in the afternoon before sunset
Fee: free of charge
Website: just go there 😊

There is a really beautiful, cool and fat monument in Querétaro: the aqueduct. This is a whole long continuous line/wall of archways that runs through Querétaro. Really very cool.
And of course there is also a viewpoint here, which you can reach via a staircase, from where you have a really nice view of Querétaro itself as well as the aqueduct, which then slowly gets smaller on the horizon and merges with the city.
There is also a small church at the viewpoint and if you walk away from the viewpoint, you will come back to the centre of Querétaro via streets, squares and beautiful buildings.
Go or not? Yes, definitely. For me personally, the aqueduct together with the Café Diktatur in Querétaro itself was my absolute highlight 😊

Viewpoint Cuatro Palos

Basic information

What: Viewpoint Cuatro Palos of the Sierra Gorda
Where: Day trip from Querétaro
Opening hours: 24/7, I would still arrive early – simply because otherwise it gets too hot and you want to be back in Querétaro before sunset
Fee: free of charge
Website: https://www.alltrails.com/de/route/mexico/queretaro/mirador-cuatro-palos (help for the route if you have the app)

Cuatro Palos is a viewpoint of the Sierra Gorda near Querétaro. You can get there either by car and then on foot or by bus, which will drop you off at the entrance to the hiking trail. However, as there are not necessarily many parking options at the entrance to the hiking trail, I would recommend taking the bus.
The hiking trail itself is actually really beautiful. At the beginning, you walk a little more in the shade and under or between trees and at midwalk plus later you pass a lot of smaller individual huts made of stone or clay. And, of course, this part is also less shady and with more sunshine and really beautiful views of the landscape.
At some point, you walk past signs for campsites and just know that it’s not far from there anymore. 
As soon as you reach the sign for ‘Cuatro Palos’, a narrow and relatively steep path leads past uninhabited huts and grass to the top, where you then walk in like a kind of arc way towards the viewpoint. In the way you can already mostly see the view. Yet when you arrive to the viewpoint, the view is better 😊
Once you arrive at the viewpoint, it lies before you in beautiful, bright sunshine and invites you to sit down, linger and enjoy the view. I also went exploring a bit back then and discovered swings on trees, which I personally thought were really cool. You also have to walk through a forest with trees growing at an angle as if the mountain was the straight ground. Very weird and a bit like an enchanted forest. Really cool. 😊
Go or not? I think the day trip to Sierra Gorda is totally worth it. You get out, hike through shade and sun, the hike itself is neither super strenuous nor a doddle – so it’s a nice workout – and the views aren’t bad either. All in all, a really cool day trip 😊

Park Avenida Universidad

Basic information

What: Avenida Universidad
Where: park located on the edge of the centre of Querétaro
Opening hours: 24/7, I would still come for the time when the sun is about to set, because it bathes the park in a great light
Fee: free of charge
Website: just go there 😊

Avenida Universidad is a bit like a park that lies on the edge of Querétaro’s centre, separating the “outskirt” from the more central Querétaro. A double road runs along here. And, in between, basically lies a park with a river in the centre. The impressive thing is that when you walk through the park, you don’t realise that you actually have roads to the right and left of you, because the park is very quiet and relaxed and invites you to stroll around. You also see lots of joggers or people walking their dogs.
Plus at the very beginning, or at least where I started, there is a large fountain and towards the end there is simply a gentle fade out.
Go or not? The Avenida Universidad isn’t really anything fancy, but I personally was pleasantly surprised by it. So it’s not a must-go, but a sweet on top if you have time.

Pena de Bernal

Basic information

What: Pena de Bernal (a kind of rock mountain)
Where: Bernal, near Querétaro
Opening times: 24/7, arrive early and leave shortly before sunset at the latest. Then it fits
Fee: 30 pesos
Website: https://www.planet-mexiko.com/queretaro/bernal/

The Pena de Bernal is a kind of rocky mountain that can be reached and climbed within a day trip from Querétaro. The climb is easy to moderately and the view is really beautiful. So it’s well worth it 😊

I travelled there by bus from Querétaro. First you briefly walk through Bernal, which is about the size of a village. The path to the Pena then basically goes up a road that leads into a concrete path. Here there are many stalls selling snacks and souvenirs. The path up the Pena de Bernal is mostly stony or bumpy, but still quite easy to walk. There are places where the stone is strangely hollowed out, then there are parts with steps and parts with an almost slightly earthy surface. Halfway up, I met a super nice Mexican man with his son, whose wife and mum-in-law were waiting a little further down because the climb was a bit too much for their now older and less mobile mum-in-law. As the two of them were really nice, we climbed the rest of the way up together and I got a few photos of myself with a view 😀
As the little one was just as keen to experiment as I was, we climbed a little higher than the rest. Up there, there were some thin metal steps that were cut into the mountain and you could theoretically climb up. But we didn’t do that 😀

On the way back, I was kindly offered a lift back to the bus station in Querétaro. As I wanted to travel on to San Miguel de Allende that day I gratefully accepted the offer. And well, as we made a stopover in Colón, I ended up seeing that small village with the cute cathedral on top. 😊
Plus I had the pleasure of getting a lift in the back of a pick-up. And I don’t know if you’ve ever done this before, but it’s soooo much fun! 😀 The wind blows in your face, the landscape passes you by and it jolts and rocks a little and is honestly a thousand times more fun than just sticking your head out of the window. A really great day! 😊

Go or not? Definitely yes. I thought the Pena de Bernal and the view were really worth it. It’s also easy to do within a day trip and as there are lockers at the bus stop to lock your luggage away. So you won’t lose any time or even a day if you move on straight afterwards. 😊

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