My second trip to visit Egypt.
For a German version.
The world was bonkers before I went on my trip and still was, when I booked the flight to Cairo, but let's not wander off topic.
Taking an Egyptair flight from my current base in Munich, on a grey and dull April late afternoon in 2026. I took off all by myself, uhm sorry, only with my old friend Zoran, as my buddy Felix was attending his scholarly duties and therefore unable to join, it felt a bit like old times.
We were supposed to meet up with the other parts of the group, which came from Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and the Philippines, in small groups, at a Starbucks at T3 at the International Airport Cairo City. We found each other alright, after I nearly threw a teddy bear hissy fit, cause the in advance prepaid and prepaired mobile network didn't feel like working. What are plan B's for? Right, being the only plan after all.
So we met the Bulgarians alright, decided to pay the tourist taxi price, after waiting for a Uber which didn't arrive, and finally got to good old Zamalek and the Airbnb appartment with the rest of my "tour" group happily waiting, as they had been chaperoned by some local Cairo`ians, all safe and sound.
To give my 7 travel companions a typical insight into life here, we went to Khan el-Khalili, a famous 14th-century bazaar in the heart of Islamic Cairo. Admittedly it has turned a wee bit more touristy at the edges, but all in all, it was a nice time out.
I will need a whole bunch of backgammon lessons more, I realised after my first ever gameplay.
I even found a street, via a YouTube video from 2025, of which I have a painting at home, see below.
See, same place, ages ago.
In Khan el-Khalili I checked on an expert at the craft market.
My bear tummy rumbled, but alas, we had to keep going.
We had some Koshary at Abou Tareks.
Then a well deserved break, with a current warning in the local Egypt "Times"? Gazette, that the air was very bad on those two of days.
Here I decided for us to test a modern style Arabic coffee shop.
The good old pyramids where there like the last time, good old faithful, ...
... with the Sphinx looking smug like always, watching the place.
At the GEM
(Grand Egyptian Museum)
My great, great, great (roughly 64 times) grandad, living with "Tuti", (as he called him when very young) had his own "chair", which you see today on this picture.
As you can see for yourself, it does look like the the "big" original at the GEM.
What if I told you that this is not true, it was the second version, if you think about it, it makes sense, right?
And I am telling you, this is my relatives tomb!
They think it's a model.
Here are more impressions.
Egyptian student's sitting in the cafe like this. It was the only air-conditioned cafe we went to.
Egypts Metro, which the "night team" took back to Zamalek, including having to switch train routes in a jiffy and figuring it out on the way. BTW., Women have the middle two coaches.
More pictures ...
Breakfast looked like this, at our favourite coffee shop in Zamalek, with Fred, the old dog, my new pal.
After arrival.
On route to Cairo.
To get back to the story ...
Finally we arrived back "home" at the Airbnb in Zamalek, after taking the underground! But it was no magic Egyptian carpets nor floating Obelisk underground, it was from South Korea and France.
One find morning I trapsied up to the rooftop of our Airbnb.
Road side
Rooftop
And here the Gezira Rowing Club.
Back at the Airbnb.
My pleas where no longer ignored and we got some local pastries.
(I got my paws stuck, you know I thought it was honey.)
And here a last impression.
