Happy Thanksgiving everyone and all the best to you. We are done our Thanksgiving sans butternut squash but we know what you will feel like 5 hours from now. We had way too much food that’s for sure. We finally got to see Kasia and Volker and Volker’s mom and the 7 of us sat […]
This then is a perfect family chariot! It’s beautiful, its spacious, and its not coming to Canada any time soon if ever. We see these on the Autobahn every once in a while, never for more than a split second as they fly by, gliding effortlessly, with a mighty roar. Available in Germany in, wait […]
I finally had the time to upload this video and here it is – from our last trip to France, just outside Avignon dug into the stone under the village of Les Baux de Provence is this magnificent quarry where the show takes place.
The Theatine Church of St. Cajetan in Munich is one of those places that looks very unassuming from the outside and makes your jaw drop when you walk inside. If you want to see boundless opulence on a small scale in white marble done in Italian high-Baroque – this place is a good start. When a king, gets […]
After months of relentless pursuit we have triumphed over the Polish beaurocracy and have obtained our double OO status. Between the two of us there are 6 passports – we are now now accepting missions wink wink..
Cobblestones – miles and miles of pretty cobblestone sidewalks is what lines Prague up and down whichever way you look. It is what you need good and comfortable shoes for to survive all the walking.
These are some of the things we walked past by, almost like thousands of other tourists, too busy to stop by for a moment and look up and admire. Lots of wonderful things.
Fried cheese, coffee flavoured beer, lots of great churches and castles and a whole lot of red roofs – just a few great things that Prague is famous for.
Chestnuts are everywhere at the Vyšehrad Castle grounds. Like a lot of people in Prague we too spent some time collecting them in the park, perhaps a bit more than others. We each took our turn throwing a stick at the trees to shake some down. Then it got a bit windy and we went […]
Part of the Vyšehrad castle is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, the old cemetery, and the rotunda of St. Martin which is the oldest surviving building in Prague. Originally founded in 1070-1080 by the Czech King Vratislav II, the Romanesque basilica suffered a fire in the year 1249 and has been rebuilt in gothic and later in neo-Gothic […]
While we are sitting in Prague waiting for our fried cheese and salmon tartar to be served for lunch, 3 blocks from our house an apartment complex is burning in the middle of the night, propane tanks are exploding, and people are getting evacuated. A view from our front door!
Vyšehrad is a historical fort located in Prague. It was probably built in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River. Situated within the castle is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, as well as theVyšehrad Cemetery, containing the remains of many famous people from Czech history, among them Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Karel Čapek, and Alphonse Mucha. It also contains Prague’s […]
Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička) is an ancient street within the Prague Castle complex with small houses built between two defence walls. Golden Lane dates from the 15th Century and has a beautiful, olden world quaintness about it. It comprises 11 historic houses, inside which period scenes have been created to show the life of the artisans who […]
St. George’s Basilica is the oldest church building within the Prague Castle complex. It is also the best-preserved Romanesque church in Prague. St. George’s Basilica was founded by Prince Vratislav (915-921) in 920. The basilica was then enlarged in 973 with the construction of St. George’s Benedictine Convent. While visiting the basilica, we happened upon what appeared […]
To many people St. Vitus Cathedral is Prague Castle. While the Prague Castle complex houses many buildings, St. Vitus is the one that dominates the skyline wherever you are in city. This Gothic masterpiece was commissioned by Charles IV and it took almost 6 centuries to complete. As well as being the largest and most important temple […]
Prague Castle, founded in 870 AD, is the largest medieval castle in Europe. It was the seat of the Kings of Bohemia for centuries, and today the President of the Czech Republic rules from here. It is also the premier tourist attraction in Prague. Prague Castle (Pražský Hrad) is located in the Castle District (Hradčany), […]
Charles Bridge (Karlův most) is a 14th century stone bridge linking the two sides of Prague. This magnificent structure is one of the city’s finest attractions, and is the main pedestrian route connecting the Old Town with the Lesser Town (Malá Strana) and Prague Castle. This is also a great place to watch unsuspecting tourists go for a swim when […]
For when money is no object. The beautiful St. Nicholas Church at the Old Town Square was completed in 1735, and replaced a parish church mentioned in records dating back to 1273. St. Nicholas is a Baroque church, the interior of which was inspired by the chapel of St. Louis-des-invalides in Paris.
Our tour of Prague today is starting with another look at the Old Town Square and its many architectural wonders – ranging from Gothic to Baroque there is something for everyone here. From the 600 year old astronomical clock to massive statues, plenty of churches and museums and a lot of tourists just like us.. […]
We got out for a walk around Prague this morning to see the sights. This turned out to be a nice 10 hour walk with a lot of breaks, some street food, lots of fried cheese and coffee and pastries. It seems that everywhere you go there is something better and nicer and more beautiful […]
Traveling means three things really – looking at great buildings and overeating and taking pictures of good food we eat. We got a suggestion to go to the Beer House for a good traditional Czech dinner and that is what we did. The beer is brewed in houses in a dizzying array of crazy […]
We are wasting no time sitting around in the hotel. About 15 min walk from the hotel is the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the Jewish Quarter, and Petřín hill. At almost 1100 years old this city is full of treasures which we are eager to find, explore and experience. It promises to be a great weekend. […]
After a short 2.5 hour drive, and a couple of traffic jams we arrived in the centre of Prague at out hotel. We have a little apartment in a small boutique hotel, which will serve as our home base for this weekend. We are looking forward to going and exploring this lovely city.
The children have been in school now for almost 3 weeks. So far the school experience is very much different than in Canada. Here are some of our observations: Only one glue stick is needed for the entire school year – finally! Our supply list was about €40.00. No copy paper, no Kleenex and no […]
Somehow after almost a 2 hour walk we did not get a picture of all the stuff we collected.
Never underestimate the power of creativity, imagination, determination and a pair of worn tights with a hole on the big toe. Evelina is in a creative mood today and with a pair of scissors she made a ‘creation’ which she proudly modelled for us. Evidentially proving that there is a way to put on tights […]
Nuremberg’s only remaining large late Renaissance merchant’s house shows a brief history of Nuremberg. It’s modern and sleek and newly opened. The building is still undergoing a major renovation on the outside but the inside is ready to explore. One of the best exhibits here and the starting point of the tour is a […]
Big day. Boris is turning 14 today and his wish was to spend time with friends and family at L’Osteria. I think everyone was only too happy to oblige. We still love the pizza and the atmosphere there, and so does everyone we take there. A great place with amazing food.
It is hard to show in pictures what makes Tuscany so beautiful – you simply have to see it and experience it and take it all in day by day. We certainly can’t wait to get back here for our next trip. We were in a bit of a shock when we got back to […]
We are leaving Italy today to go home. What better way to start your morning than with a good breakfast. While we were having our omelettes the children opted for hot chocolate and some pastries. We never imagined that hot chocolate is actually hot melted chocolate whipped with hot milk. It’s more of a meal […]
It is true – we are those people that photograph our food before we dig into it. But not all of the time. We only do this when it is absolutely exceptional. We found this little place, on the side street in San Gimignano. It turns out, La Mangiatoia, was featured in Bon Appetite magazine as […]
Another favourite of ours from last year was Siena. Siena is famous for a lot of things. The two main ones that impressed us the most are the Piazza del Campo, and the Siena Cathedral. One famous for its annual horse race, and the other for it beautiful black and white marble architecture. There is also a great […]
Getting off the beaten path can be so rewarding. We found this place on one of the side streets in San Gimignano. La Biscondola, has great service and even better food. Off the menu, we tried the goose liver pate and the bruschetta as appetizers, wild boar ragout with white Tuscan beans in wine, truffle mushroom […]
We are back to Italy to our favourite city we visited last year. San Gimignano know as the Town of Fine Towers had, at one point 72 towers in the city built by the rivalling families. San Gimignano has a number of fine restaurants and a gelato place which won the best gelato in the […]
Its morning and we had a good long rest. We are now venturing out to see what this place looks like in the daylight. 2 minutes later we fall in love. We sit down by the pool and start planning our next trip here. This place is perfect, it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s […]
We are off to Tuscany. We were hoping to make a quick stop in Monaco but because of the late start and a long drive we are heading straight for our hotel just outside Sam Gimignano – our favourite and the most beautiful city we saw in Italy last year.
Just as we thought that the Roman aqueduct was the be all end all sight we were going to see on this trip, we were soon proved wrong. Quarries of Light is an extraordinary site. It was once a bauxite quarry in the bowels of the awe-inspiring landscapes of the “Valley of Hell” that inspired Dante, […]
We got home really late but still had a bit of time to snap some night pictures of our pad for the night.
Perhaps one of the most awe inspiring and jaw dropping structures we have seen to date is this ancient Roman aqueduct bridge in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins. Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved. Standing almost 49m high and spanning […]
Perhaps equally as stunning but much more less opulent are the city defence walls with its 7 gates and 36 defence towers as well as the Pont Saint-Bénezet bridge of which only 4 sections remain. Numerous palaces, churches, a theatre, the city hall, many old stone houses, and narrow streets that connect them all is what […]
Today we are exploring Avignon – the city of Popes. While not as large as Lyon, Avignon has a different more medieval charm. Actually it looks more like an Italian city than French but this could be due to a huge Roman influence on its development. First on the agenda was the stunning Papal Palace […]
In the next village, Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, about 6km away is a little bistro which is set up in the old olive oil press shop. This place was suggested to us by the couple who run the chateau. They did say that this is not a gastronomic restaurant but a bistro not knowing what this really means […]
Perched on the top of the hill in the small village of Sauveterre is a quaint little Chateau that is going to be our home for the next couple of days as we explore Avignon and the surrounding countryside. The Chateau was originally built in 1610 and then occupied by the first mayor of Avignon […]
The island in the middle of Lyon is interesting. The tip of the island where the two rivers confluence is a place of modern architecture that is simply as breathtaking as any of the old 1000 year old cathedral we have seen.
No French town would be complete without the Sunday flea market. Since stores are closed on Sundays, people flock to these things to find their treasures. This flea market happens to be the second biggest flea market in France. While 80% of what we saw was junk, and 20% were little treasures, we managed to […]
We are on the way to Avignon today. We did a quick stop at the Docks in Lyon and now are heading south. Incidentally we are taking the same roads as we did on our trip last year.
Another great find in Lyon is the ancient Roman amphitheare – or rather its ruins. In its glory days this place used to seat about 11,000 spectators now the shows hosted here sit about 4500 people. Despite its age, the world wars and time which has taken its toll on the buildings, this place still […]
It seems every large French city has its own rendition of Norte-Dame. The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is perched on the Fourvière Hill in Lyon, it seems that no matter where you are in Lyon you can see it towering over the city. Being on time budget we took the funiculars to the top […]
We are exploring Lyon, the second largest city in France after Paris. The city is equally as busy and beautiful and charming as Paris. From Roman times to modern times there is bit of of something for everyone here. We managed to see both rivers, and a few churches, the opera house, the Roman ruins, […]
We are back to Bamberg for a closer look. This time we are taking our time to explore this city properly. We were here in the early spring but did not have a lot of time to really enjoy this great little city. Today we changed all that.
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