It was not easy to find a destination for our 3 week vacation this year. Our luxury problem: We have seen many countries already, and want to save Europe for later. It should be cheap, which cancelled out southern Africa. At one point it was decided: We are going to Morocco!

We wanted to split our trip into 3 parts: In the beginning a couple of cities by public transport, then take a rental car across the Atlas mountains and through the wild nature of Morocco, and finish off

with a couple of days at the beach and relaxing. And it all worked out really well!

We started in Marrakesh where we arrived after a a flight of not even 4 h around noon. We quickly checked into our riad and off we went into the chaotic market-labyrinth of Marrakesh.

It was not that easy to not get lost since many corners looked alike. The whole city is coloured in rose and there is something going on everywhere: Here souvenirs are being sold, over there someone is hammering on a metal piece and suddenly you have to jump out of the way because a heavily packed donkey is making its way through the crowds.

Within the maze there are hidden oases of peace – for example one of the two medersas (Muslim prayer school) or palaces and old museums. What is really impressive is the stone mason’s art as well as the detailled mosaic works!

In the evening the big square Jemaa el Fna is a must see! While we were disappointed by the food sold by hundreds of same-looking hawker stalls (expensive and not that nice), the view over the square was amazing. You can watch the hustle on the square and the smoke rising from the hawker stalls best from one of the cafes‘ terraces. And of course, take the typical Marrakesh photo:

Next day we knew better and didn’t eat directly on the Jemaa el Fna, but in a little restaurant nearby – our first (and best) tajine. A tajine is a meal cooked in a claypot – usually some kind of meat in a sauce. We had chicken in lemon sauce – hmmmm!

We then took the night bus to Fez, where early in the morning we continued onward to Chefchaouen in the Northern mountains of Morocco. After a sleepless night on bad and curvy roads and after a long search we arrived around noon at our blue hostel.

Why blue? Because Chefchaouen is the blue city of Morocco. All buildings in the old town are coloured in kitschy baby-blue and the alleys are super cute. We spent the next 1,5 days strolling through every alley about 2-3 times at least and taking hundreds of photos. There is also a pretty viewpoint over the city.

Afterwards, we went back to Fez. Another big city, again a chaotic labyrinth. This one was even more confusing than Marrakesh since the souq of Fez is the biggest one in Morocco as well as the oldest.

Next to the hustle in the markets there were some more medersas to see. These are some simply magnificent old buildings!

Unfortunately we were only able to take a slimmed version of the typical Fez-photo: Fez is known for its leather tanneries and the colourful basins where this manual labour is being done. Sadly these basins are under restoration right now, so we only have this picture…

We also climbed a viewpoint outside the city from which we had a nice view over the whole old town of Fez with its city walls.

Then we were ready to start part 2 of our trip: We picked up our rental car in Fez and started our road trip! More about that in my next post…