After a quick coffee at Carrousel du Louvre and a bit of well deserved rest we headed out to the Marais. This once again is a place we really loved last year so we went back for more this year. We had a wonderful dinner at a little Italian bistro for something different. L’Alimentari had some wonderful […]
While we spent more time last year looking at the paintings and the Egyptian exhibits, this year we looked at more sculptures. This is but a fraction of what the Louvre has to offer, from rooms full of tapestries large enough to cover a small house, to unimaginable amount of ornate gold trinkets large and […]
The beauty of the Louvre, or at least one of them, is that you can see a lot of stuff from any particular part of the world all in one place. The Louvre, does not have just one of something, it has 10s if not 100’s of these things. Be it old Roman vases or […]
Even though The Louvre is filled with a number of countless and priceless works of art, there are a few that draw more people than others. Those are Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast, the Sphinx, Liberty leading the People, Napoleon and of course the Victory which is my favourite piece but once that […]
While not a huge exposition – it certainly is a decadent one. Monarchs like nice things and these nice things are beautiful, exqusite and extravagant.
Part of The Louvre is dedicated to Napoleon, a man who collected a lot of the art that is currently on display here. I am not sure if opulent and ostentatious are words that do justice to his pad, but it is a start.
This was our favourite place at the Louvre this time around. We did not get to see this last year, this year then this was a double treat because there were almost no people here which was a nice change from the rest of the museum and the place is absolutely beautiful. This was also […]
One of the exhibits we saw today was a room dedicated to Greek Gods. The usual suspects, Athena, Apollo, Mars, Mercury etc. Larger than life in myth and in marble.
Today was a long day, we spent almost 12 hours out in the city. We had two objectives for today The Louvre for art and Le Marais for dinner. The Louvre is a place that is extraordinary in and of itself. Priceless works of art aside, The Louvre is magnificent on its own merit. […]
We have settled in, unpacked and relaxed a bit. Then, once the restaurants opened we went out for a nice dinner to a local bistro down the street called Le Cercle. Great food, great service and a typical Parisian ambiance.
German and French countryside as seen from a train moving at about 340km/h on the French side and about 230 km/h on the German side. Green and sunny and most importantly no snow in sight.
We are so un-familiar with train travel in Europe. We set an alarm to make sure we don’t miss our stop this time, which would have been hard to do since it was the end of the line for the first train. We had a nice lunch in Stuttgart, and 10 min into our trip […]
This is our first time on a French train on this trip. We are all very excited, we are traveling in comfort and style.
We have boarded ICE. We are on our way to Stuttgart where we are going to have a little lunch and change trains. TGV, the French train will take us to Paris.
We are setting off to Paris. Being here, we can’t think of a better city to be in for New Year’s Eve. We are going by train just to mix things up, and because having a car in Paris is absolutely useless, this just makes sense.
Getting out of the house for a walk is the only remedy for not just sitting and eating and eating and eating. We got out for another afternoon walk to work up an appetite and to explore more of Warsaw. On the Three Crosses Square surrounded by Hugo Boss, Burberry, Church’s, Ermenegildo Zegna, Max Mara, Coccinelle, W. Kruk, JM Weston, […]
On our short walk through the Old Town in Warsaw we walked by no less than 9 or 10 churches. Each nicer then the last. Some were empty, some were full of visitors, while others were at worship, some still were full of well wishers for the newly weds. Each different and unique with its […]
After a very late lunch we got out of the house for a walk – destination Warsaw Old Town. It was still +10C when we parked but the sun was already setting. It appears that at least half of the city of Warsaw had the same idea, Christmas walk around the Old Town. Warsaw puts […]
Feeling Gratitude and Not expressing it is like wrapping a present and Not giving it. A very Merry Christmas to you all, from all us here in Warsaw.
We will file this under – what were we thinking eating this much? Stary Dom is an old charming restaurant in Warsaw, Mokotów. The service is good, the food is amazing and the desserts are to die for. On the menu, steak tartar, zurek, wild boar roast, roasted duck and baked salmon. Next time we […]
After a bit of sight seeing we got out to the Wisła river for a bit of a walk. It is sunny, it is 9C outside a nice walk by the river is well in order after all the food we had.
This little church was built between 1805-1806 right next to the Czersk Castle. The bricks used in the construction of the church came from the ruins of the Czersk Castle.
What used to be the second largest city in central Poland after Plock, is now a small medieval village of about 600 people just outside of Warsaw. The Gothic castle had great military importance, and was built like a fortress. The ruins of this castle, which was originally built in the early 11th century, are all […]
The Warsaw Uprising Museum is located in the Wola district of Warsaw dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The museum opened on July 31, 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the Uprising. The museum exhibits are very modern but the layout of the museum is reminiscent of an old city streets which were boomed and destroyed during the war. This is […]
We are out doing a bit of shopping in Warsaw. Nothing recharges the energy like a large sugary dessert for lunch!
Despite our prefuse protests, we are 7 months in and in Poland for the 3rd time. However, having said that, this is the first time we are here for holidays. No passports, no paper work, no government offices to visit. We did an afternoon run leaving Nuremberg at 1:30pm and arrived in Warsaw at 8:40pm […]
Our first road trip this holiday season will be to see our family in Warsaw and to spent a few days with them and celebrate Christmas. We are hoping to get there later on tonight and start the holiday relaxation first thing Thursday morning.
We are going to be starting our holidays a bit early this year and doing a bit of travel. As such today when the school ends at 1pm we are picking up the kids and driving off. Our Nuremberg residence will be closed for the holiday season.
It’s 10 days before Christmas. Since we did not get ourselves an Advent Calendar to have a small treat each day we will just have to make do with this little box of French delight. To yours and our health then, we raise a glass to Merry Christmas.
The Christmas Market is still in full swing with just as many people around the stalls as ever, so we avoid the main square like the plague. However, there are still some nice and quiet places around the old town where it’s nice and quiet and empty and serene. It is still quite warm, mostly […]
In one respect Nuremberg is like Edmonton. We have either the worst or the second worst football club in the German Bundesliga – FC Nuremberg, much like Edmonton with its hockey team or Williams in Formula 1. Sure they were all champion teams at one point in time but it was so long ago no […]
It appears that the first real snow has melted faster than anticipated. Essentially the next morning there was no trace of it. This however, spurs the people to get into full winter mode and put winter tires on. For now we are back to green grass and mild temperatures of 6 to 9C so quite […]
Today marks the first day of a real snow fall. We heard stories about this event from the locals so we were ready. Naturally, we got our camera out to take some photos of this momentous occasion before the snow melts and there is no trace of it.
It appears that Tuesday is a better day to start off the week, so we are out once again trying to have a closer look at the market. Still too many people there, this is absolutely crazy. With about 40,000 people per day visiting this place I think this place is going to stay a bit […]
We got out the morning to see if we can get a closer look at the market. That was not a good idea. There were just as many people there today as there were at the opening. I think we are going to have to come out a few more times, maybe even Monday morning […]
Today is the opening of the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt. This is one of the largest Christmas Markets in Germany and one of the most known in the world. We went to see the opening at 5:30, us and about a million other people. There was absolutely no room anywhere on the main square. The market opens with The Christkind […]
Boris and Evelina found a bookstore in the old town that is a lot like Chapters less the coffee bar but with a lot of seating to sit down relax and unwind.
On the way back from office I swapped the lens on the camera to grab a bit of abstract as only nature can make.
It’s officially winter here. There is still a bit of snow on the ground hiding in the shade, away from the sun. I had to go out to see Volker today so I took the camera and the big lens and started walking. I went through the deep part of the castle moat to get […]
It’s true. We got some snow overnight. I don’t think we were mentally ready for it. Most of what had fallen has disappeared by noon but there are places here and there in the shade where you can still see the white stuff. a whole 1 to 2mm of it.
There is a Christmas store in Salzburg that is open year round. Not only does it have some of the most beautiful Christmas decoctions but it has hundreds upon hundreds of painted egg shells. There is eggs in every theme imaginable from Halloween, to Easter to Christmas from flowers, birds and city scenes, to just […]
We are going hard core today. We are trying to take in as much as we can of Salzburg before we head out home. I think we will need to come back here for a closer look when it is not as wet. We are a total wet weather amateurs, but we are managing. We […]
Undaunted by the constant drizzle we continue to explore the nooks and crannies of Salzburg. From the top of the Salzburg Fortress you can see at least 4 churches. We stopped by St. Peter’s Abbey, which is one of the oldest if not the oldest Germany speaking Benedictine monasteries. It houses a massive amount of original written […]
Within the walls of the Salzburg Fortress are a number of exhibits and museums. The €25 family pass takes you up to the Fortress on the funicular, and gives you access to the whole place plus an audio guide which is great. This place was time spent well – dry, warm and very interesting.
Hohensalzburg Castle is a fortress on top of the Festungsberg mountain overlooking Salzburg. It is easily accessible by funicular which is easier than the 15 min walk up the hill. The first funicular to the fortress was built in the 1900s. The fortress was never taken in war, it was however given up once when Napoleon and his army came knocking. Salzburg Fortress […]
Mozart’s old house is now a museum. The Mozart family lived on the third floor of the “Hagenauer House” at Getreidegasse 9 for twenty-six years, from 1747 to 1773. The celebrated composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was born here on January 27, 1756. The building is named after the merchant and toy dealer, Johann Lorenz Hagenauer […]
Salzburg Cathedral is a17th century Baroque Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg and is dedicated to Saint Rupert and Saint Vergilius. Founded by Saint Rupert in 774 on the remnants of a Roman town, the cathedral was rebuilt in 1181 after a fire. In the 17th century, the cathedral was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style to its present appearance. Salzburg Cathedral still contains the baptismal […]
Salzburg’s “Old Town” has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. In 1997 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Host to three universities and a large population of students, Salzburg is noted for its attractive setting and scenic Alpine backdrop. None of which we could see today because it’s middle of […]
We arrived at our destination which is an ordinary looking Bavarian hotel called Rupertihof in a small village of Ainring just outside of Salzburg. We settled into the guest house on the 3rd floor and once everyone had a chance to catch up with the world on WiFi we decided to head out to the […]
We are heading out to Austria. We are hoping to get to Salzburg to visit the old stomping ground of the one and only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The weather should be around 7C and as long as it does not rain too much then we should have fun.
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