grumeti peking

Lunchtime, Jessie gets us to a Restaurant for Chinese, no way we would know what to order. We ended up having green beans with green chilli, shrimps, minced meat and dumpling, all with tea for 3 persons, for the incredible amount of CHF 15.00 in total.
It drizzles, the umbrella obstructs the view as we are passing the old shops. They sell mainly chinese crafts, very beautiful colours and clothes or shoes or food. To my disappointment, all not in my size. Even for the shoes I would need to cut of my toes.
We continue our journey, next stop the Opera house, very modern and next the Olympic stadium, the Nest, now it is pouring with rain, we are wet with one minute. It is 3pm and we all it a day, too wet and too cold. Thanks to this weather we discovered our Hotel inside, the Bar, the exhibition, the connection to the next building and of course the restaurant.

Day3, the weather is very apologetic, it is dry and sunny, the fog or smog is gone, we are able to see the mountains from our room. At 10h we are ready for the excursion to the great wall. One hour drive through rural sites and autumn coloured forest. The rain seem to have clean and cleared everything, it let the colours radiate. The location is Mutianyu where we will clime the wall. The small street is bordered by good stalls and little shops to sell souvenirs, a short ride in a cable car followed by a short walk and here we are. The Great Wall is just great! It is impressive and we are so lucky with the weather, we can see Beijing’s skyline on the horizon. What a treat. No more of this, I recommend to let the photos talk to you.

Back in Beijing in the early afternoon, we visit the Art District 798. The area has buildings from 1950 in a Bauhaus-style, the Concept came from East-German Architects. Now it has become an artist quarter. Galleries, sculptures, shops, Cafes and Restaurant, a very good mix. The sun is still shining and we absorb the people, the sculptures and paintings and walk thru the alleys.
Our feet are the first to realise it is time to go back to the Hotel. We have to say Good-Bye to our discreet driver and Jessie, she was an excellent guide. Xie xie.

For the dinner Jessie did a booking for us in one of the famous Restaurants which serve Peking duck, the Da Dong. The Taxi gets us there and we see how the street is changing, we drive along the car-saloons of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Rolls-Royce, fancy. Stop, we arrived in front of a shopping mall, our Restaurant is at the 5th floor, the elevator brings us directly in front of the entrance. Wow, modern , huge and the kitchen for roasting the duck is in the middle, 4 stations with 4 cooks. The smell, I am hungry. We decide for a set menu, a 4 course one. We find the sequel of the servings a bit strange, the dessert came before the main course but on all tables. It was delicious but expensive even for us Swiss.

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