DISCOVER GOZO

Rotterdam in Gozo!

The cruise ship Rotterdam, of the Holland America Line, dropped anchor just off Gozo’s Mgarr Harbour today, carrying some 1,500 passengers. The cruise liner’s local agents, Mifsud Brothers Ltd, worked together with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and the Ministry for Gozo, to make this happen. The Rotterdam is the largest cruise ship that ever anchored off Gozo; hopefully many more will follow!

The Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, as keen as always to show how Gozo could be included in your holiday itinerary, sent me to shoot the amazing sight of the Rotterdam dwarfing the Gozo Channel ferries – and even Mgarr Harbour. – Enjoy!

If you like to know more about the ship, there is a lot of information about it on the website of the Holland America Line.

Hunting sea “eagles”

Hi, I am Mazen, the Reservations Manager of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz. I am originally from Anfeh in northern Lebanon, and came to work at the Kempinski in Gozo for a couple of years. If you do an image search on google for Anfeh, the results might surprise you:  it looks astonishingly similar to Gozo! Not even the culture differs much, which is why I do like Gozo, together with its laid-back character that also reminds me a little of home!

Relaxation for me does not necessarily mean sitting or lying down without doing anything. One pastime to relax and relieve me from tension is catching “sea eagles”. Give me a rocky beach, goggles, snorkel and a knife – and that is all I need for a good catch of sea urchins. The reason why the term sea “eagles” came to be used by practically all of us at the Kempinski Hotel, is that German colleagues tend to mistakenly translate the German word Seeigel (“Igel” meaning hedgehog) and then keep using the wrong term – and teaching it to others. It might sound silly, but everyone understands what we mean by it – and now you do, too!

The spines of sea urchins found in Gozo are not poisonous. Sometimes they can hurt a little, but believe me, it is well worth it! Sea “eagles” are very tasty and healthy, too. By the way, in Maltese they are called rizzi!

A side effect of my rizzi hunts is the fantastic relaxation I find when submerging myself in the water, and seeing all the amazing marine life. It gives you a kind of feeling of being outside time and space… This is the magic of Gozo!

Il-Belvedere, Ghajnsielem

Hello, I am Mary. If you have ever been a guest at the Kempinski in Gozo, then there is a good chance that we’ve talked on the phone, as I am working as a Reservations Agent at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz. My colleagues have coaxed me into participating in this great blog adventure, and being a genuine Gozitan, I am more than happy to oblige!

When I find the time for it, I go for an early morning walk. My favourite route is towards the outskirts of my home village Ghajnsielem, right to where Qala begins. Being a secondary road connecting the two villages, you encounter very little traffic. It is a lovely walk, and I especially like the spots where Mgarr Harbour and the beautiful boats at the Yacht Marina come into view. I love the sight of the ferries moving back and forth between Gozo and Malta, and in calm weather you can often observe fishing boats leaving the harbour.

Right at the end of this country road, there is a pretty place with benches, a belvedere, inviting you to have a little rest and take in the gorgeous scenery. The view from above is beautiful indeed, offering a stunning 180° panorama of Comino with its Blue Lagoon, Malta in the background, and even Mgarr Harbour to the far right. The islands seem so peaceful and welcoming…

On many summer mornings, the sea is so calm it seems like you could actually walk on it. By contrast, the waves hit the coast with such force in winter… very strong and scary!

The reason why I am so fond of this place is the extremely calming effect it has on me, and especially so at daybreak. The colours are bright, the sun is just coming up, and all is so quiet. The feeling of peace is everywhere, as is the aroma of fennel, particularly at that time of the day, with the morning dew carrying the scent all over the place. I just love that smell!

All too soon that magical hour of dawn is over. The sun begins to warm the earth and the dew slowly disappears. The wonders of nature! Nature is just so beautiful and all too often we take it for granted. But if you pause and look around you, it helps you remember the important, simple things in life.

View Larger Map

Gozo underwater – or how to become a mermaid ;-)

Hi everybody, my name is Stephanie and I came to the wonderful little island of Gozo 3 months ago as a trainee in the Sales and Marketing department of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz. To be honest, before applying for this job, I had never heard about Malta’s little sister island Gozo, and now I am more than happy that life brought me here. I would like to share my Gozo impressions with you as I think that a lot of people do not know about its existence and it is an amazing and unique place that is worth more than one visit!

My first spontaneous reply to the question about my favourite place in Gozo  is definitely: in and under the water! I think that I have never spent so much time in the sea than here and I literally became a mermaid. The beauty of the sea and coastline is just overwhelming, the water is crystal clear and has an amazing azure blue colour that is  just irresistible:  you have to jump in.

A swim with the dramatic rocks in front of your eyes, and you just feel like newly born. When I want to relax, forget about work, and  think about nothing, I put on my goggles and dive literally into another world.

What I can then see is very exciting for me and I just cannot get enough of it. When you put your head under the water you will meet small fish, crabs, see beautiful rocks and corals, as well as little caves everywhere, but what attracts me most is this calm and quiet atmosphere that just clears your mind and makes you feel relaxed.

The sea is very deep in some places and so clear that you can see 50 to 60 meters down! Unfortunately I cannot take my camera and take pictures of my underwater impressions so you just have to come to Gozo, jump in the water and experience it for yourself! And you will see that it is difficult to find words to explain what you will see, I think that Azure your mind are the words that hit it best!

View Larger Map

Dwejra Bay, San Lawrenz

Hi there! Just a quick intro: my name is Sabine. Being a somewhat seasoned blogger, I’ll tackle the first real installment of our new blog. But don’t be fooled – this will certainly not become a one-man-show. Quite to the contrary, our aim is to show you the nooks and crannies of Gozo how they are perceived by totally different people – real people! You are very welcome to leave comments and/or suggestions on our posts, and should you have questions, we’ll be happy to answer those too!

So without further ado, let’s get going!

It will perhaps not come as a surprise to you that our first post should be about Dwejra. I dare say that everyone who stays at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz will pay at least one visit to the famous Azure Window (which almost made it into the New 7 Wonders of Nature!), Fungus Rock and the little Inland Sea, all of which form part of stunning Dwejra Bay. To get there is easy: exiting the hotel grounds with a left turn, turn left again at the main road – and yet again upon reaching the village square of San Lawrenz. From then on it’s downhill all the way and as straight forward as the meandering course of the steep road allows it.

Dwejra’s vicinity to the hotel have made it the favourite spot I often visit when I’m in need of “getting out”. When a day has been particularly stressful, or the stifling monotony of a never-ending week gets to me, I head down there straight after work. On four wheels it barely takes five minutes; walking, obviously, takes a little longer – unfortunately a lot longer on the steep way back!

As I leave the village core of San Lawrenz and get the first glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea, I invariably slow down, and marvel at the huge agaves that grow on more or less barren land to the right hand side of the road. They look particularly good just before sunset making for beautiful lens fodder!

The Azure Window itself is an awesome view to behold; however my preferred corner in Dwejra is a little away from that spot. I normally park my car at the first open space just before reaching the bottom of the long-winding road, and head for the rocky terrain to the left, underneath the tower and just opposite Fungus Rock.

Being a “sea person”, I love to sit down on a rock and just watch nature as she plays with water. This spectacle is especially marvellous when the sea is a little whipped up and waves crash onto shore relentlessly.

If you haven’t gathered yet what Azure Your Mind is all about, then it might be helpful if I tell you that this, for me, is it!
View Larger Map

We’re blogging!

Welcome to the brand-new blog of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz Gozo. More accurately, this is the blog of the Sales & Marketing Team of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, the team members being:

• Tanja Mueller – Director of Sales
• Deryk Sacco – Sales & Marketing Manager
• Sabine Cassar-Alpert – E-Commerce & Marketing Manager
• Mazen Dreik – Reservations Manager
• Mary Cassar – Reservations Agent
• Stephanie Potente – Trainee Sales & Marketing

You will hear from each of us from time to time. The intention is to give our readers a good idea about the island of Gozo from pretty different perspectives, and we hope you’ll like it!