It began on 31st March 2023. We had Lufthansa tickets thus a connecting flight from the main Brussels airport. Our hotel was booked, and check-in for our flights was also done. We did not plan any sightseeing in advance. My significant other had checked and saved some touristy places on Google Maps but that was it. She had previously been twice to Israel, thus at least one of us had some experience with the Mediterranean. But other than that we went to Malta without any expectations. We hoped to get some sun, eat some good food and change our immediate environment for the next week.
Both of our flights to Malta were delayed. Furthermore, our first flight to Frankfurt had turbulence that made my woman grab and squeeze my hand. Personally, I enjoy flying and I have had turbulence before. You know the feeling of falling, right? I have had it before and we also had it during our first flight. Laura did not enjoy that. I did. However, since I am currently writing these words we did manage to land safely in Malta roughly two hours later than expected. Luckily, our hotel had booked us a transfer from the airport; therefore, this time we did not have to look for a bus.
First impressions. Yes, everyone drove on the right side which for me was a first. Large walls of cacti both on the sides of the road and next to houses. Almost all houses are made of the same stone; thus for a person coming from Brussels who is used to different facades, it was a bit of getting used to. But not everything was in the color of limestone. The doors and balconies of all these houses had different colors. As you can see in the attached pictures, the doors and balconies have matching shades. Crosses of all shapes and sizes are attached to balconies and above roads, and carpets are attached to balconies depicting Jesus and various other holy figures, plus large billboards had Jesus depicted with an invitation to see a new exhibition or to visit a holy ceremony. Malta is 80% catholic, and Easter celebrations were about to begin – I would assume it is because of the latter that we saw Jesus left and right.
We did not book a car or a scooter. Every day we managed to walk more or less ten to fifteen kilometers. We stayed at a village called St Julian, thus every day we took a bus to get to other villages, Valetta including. Malta is not flat. When you go by bus it feels as if you are on a rollercoaster. How those bus drivers manage to navigate all those small streets and tight corners is beyond my comprehension. Hats off to those men and women. Furthermore, even though there is a sign that indicates a one-way street, not everyone follows it. That was evident when we visited Gozo Island. Extremely tight one-way streets but locals use it both ways. At times it felt unnerving. Also, don’t expect the driver to stop and pick you up if he thinks that his bus is full. When we went to our hotel after visiting Gozo Island from the ferry harbor it was late and turned dark. The bus was full(-ish), and it was windy and cold; the bus driver did not stop at almost any stops. During one of his rare stops, there were two girls standing outside waiting for a bus to get to presumably their hotel; even though the driver stopped, he did not let the two girls in. Thus remember not to stay out late in secluded places where only one bus takes you to your village.
But other than that the public transport in Malta is an experience in itself. Even though you can pay with a card on a bus, the terminal will not always work; therefore, it is best to always have cash. The one time we did not have any cash was when we had to go to the airport; luckily we manage risk quite well and we still had enough time to get cash and catch the next bus.
Apart from sightseeing, we did three unexpected things in Malta. First, I cut my hair and had a wet shave by probably the only guy in Malta that did not speak English. We had to communicate using pictures. He showed me a picture of what hairstyle I wanted and then he cut it accordingly. In the end, the result was good. Laura accepted which is a good sign. Then he “asked” if I want a shave as well either by a blade or a machine. Of course, I chose a blade. Which was a first for me. I must say that after this experience, I really want to have a shave from a Turkish barber. My non-English speaking probably non-Maltese barber managed to cut me in more than one place, thus I was bleeding and he did not have an alum stone. But hey, at least I got my experience. You would probably think why I just did not go to a different barber. Laura asked me the same thing. Honestly, I do not know, maybe I was just preparing myself for my next trip to a non-English-speaking country where I will try to cut my hair again.
Then we ended up on a guided tour of a 16th-century palazzo – “CASA ROCCA PICCOLA”. If you are in Valetta then I can definitely recommend seeing it. It is beautiful and full of history and the guide provides details of not only the house but about Malta itself. And it had clocks. Remember my article about the Rundales palace? This place felt like a miniature version of it.
Maltese wine. Probably the highlight for me was a Maltese wine tasting at Marsovin Winery. Before coming to Malta I had not tasted Maltese wine. I did not even know that Malta produces wine. Which it does. When on the first evening we went for dinner we saw on the wine menu wines from Malta. First, we tried Maltese Sauvignon Blanc. The next day we went to a different place and ordered Maltese wine of Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot grapes. Deciding to try our luck we googled if by chance there is a possibility to visit the Winery that produced this beautiful beverage. We found an email and we texted. The next day we got a reply that a tasting and a tour is indeed possible. Thus, in Malta, we got our very first tour of a winery and our first wine tasting outside of Latvia. I highly recommend tasting Maltese wine when you are in Malta. The beer as well.
For those wondering, we tasted: Cassar de Malte sparkling wine, Methode Traditionelle; Blanc de Cheval D.O.K. Gozo, Odyssey Rose’ D.O.K. Gozo, 1919 Red D.O.K Malta, Marnisi Organic D.O.K Malta.
When we arrived in Malta it was 22 degrees. The next day it was also 22 degrees. Thus we managed to get some sun but not enough to get a proper tan. After those two days, it never got more than 18 degrees; furthermore, two days it rained and the rest it was cloudy and windy. Almost Belgium-like weather. But as the saying goes – there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing -; we still managed to see almost everything we wanted and more. On a side note, during the coldest day of our stay, we visited the Malta National Aquarium. It was my first aquarium visit in general; even though it did not have anything I had not seen before it did make me think about what it is like to visit the biggest Aquarium located in Atlanta, USA.
Malta being the size it is you would expect a lot of people to use bikes. But that is not the case. For six days we saw only five or six people riding bikes. No joke. Malta has a few bike lanes on coastal highways and as far as I could tell that was it. I did not see any bike stands or bike shops. There were a few bike rental billboards but no sight of where those bikes were. I already mentioned that Malta has narrow streets and you would assume that the best way to get around Malta is by bike, but no. It seemed that almost everyone had either a car or a boat or both, and only a few had a bike. Which for me seemed odd. Yes, Malta has steep hills and it would be a bit challenging to ride a bike in a few places, but Brussels has similar ups and downs, and people still use a bike to get from point A to point B.
What kind of cars Malta has? I honestly did not expect to see so many Lamborghinis and Ferraris in Malta. The main car color is white, but those who drive a Lamborghini or a Ferrari, or a Morgan had it painted differently. Boats? From small fishing boats to large multi-million mega yachts. When you walk around Malta you understand that those who live near the coast are wealthy, but as soon as you move inside a village you feel like in a completely different place. As far as I know, it is like that in almost every coastal country except Monaco.
Food. I will keep it short and say that we ate like royalty in Malta. At least we tried to. Not everything was to our liking but at least we did try. When you are in Malta please visit “Gululu Restaurant” which was voted the best Maltese food restaurant of 2022. And do not trust Google ratings. A rabbit is a seriously good animal and I don’t know why it is not served in more places. Have I said that I like octopuses? I do. They are both interesting animals and also very delicious.
This week in Malta went by like a Maltese bus driver with a full bus. Overall Maltese people seemed nice with a strong sense of hospitality. When were asked for directions or when ordering food you always get a reply, a smile, and an answer. Did this vacation feel short? No. As I said, most days we had either rain or strong wind, maybe if we had more sun it would be a different story. Also, our hotel had very thin walls. They were so thin that after our first night, we were woken up by someone having a passionate orgasm. I do not mind being woken up by someone experiencing pleasure but it, unfortunately, meant that we will hear and we did hear snoring, coughing, talking, and running when we were in our room. Luckily we were quite tired every evening so we did not have any trouble falling asleep.
Our flight back to Brussels was uneventful. Both flights departed without delays. Even though Malta has a warm climate, it is an island that is surrounded by one of the most beautiful seas on this planet, I do really enjoy living and coming back to Brussels. It was lovely to change the environment for a week and I am now ready for my job that I very much enjoy doing. Will I visit Malta again? Considering that there are many more Mediterranean countries that should be visited at least once, the chances are small. But never say never.
Below you will find a gallery of more photos from our trip and be sure to visit OLAAF sometime again for a follow-up article or two.
Kind regards,
Olaaf
Photo credit: Laurukaa
For those willing to visit the Marsovin Winery:
