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 […]
Warsaw Uprising Museum
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 […]
Galeria Mokotów
We are out doing a bit of shopping in Warsaw. Nothing recharges the energy like a large sugary dessert for lunch!
We have arrived
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 […]
Road Trip
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.
Happy Holidays
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.
Christmas Countdown!
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.
Mid December
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 […]
Fußball-Bundesliga
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 […]
The Greener Grass
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 […]
First Real Snow
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.
Take Two
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 […]
Christmas Market
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 […]
Nuremberg Christmas Market
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 […]
Relaxing
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.
Abstract
On the way back from office I swapped the lens on the camera to grab a bit of abstract as only nature can make.
Winter Time
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 […]
Tragedy
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.
Snow alert!!
At 700 meters (altitude) the weather can be unpredictable. As we took a turn on the way home from Salzburg, we were greeted with our first snow sighting of the season. This was minutes after we crossed back into Germany. Pretty, but no thank you!!
Around Salzburg
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 […]
Churches
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 […]
Mozart’s Residence
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 […]
Bust-a-hip Inn
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 […]
Off to Austria
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.
Depeche Mode!
As always they are absolutely brilliant. Almost two hours with encore! There was an interesting take on But Not Tonight which Martin sang just with a piano. I think we should go and see this show again, anyone interested in joining us? Prague comes to mind in February. I will drive. We wish you could […]
Around Cologne
Here is the rest of Cologne that we managed to see before heading out to the arena for the concert.
Cologne Cathedral
High Cathedral of St.Peter is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and a World Heritage Site. It is Germany’s most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day. There are number of very old relics in the Cathedral including the Shrine of the Three Kings, bones of the wife of on of […]
Moss
Fall is here. It’s wet. There are some trees with are still quite green, and some that seem like they are on fire. The ones that have no leaves are green with all the moss that’s growing on them. It’s quite beautiful and colourful.
Defence Walls
We have been trying to get out of the house and actually walk around the entire Nuremberg Imperial Castle on the outside of the defence walls. This will not be a quick walk, I think it will take at least 2 hours. The idea behind this exercise is to take a photo of every know […]
Something Modern
We have walked past this street about one hundred times, literally. It’s on the way to the Lego among other things. Not only did we find these very modern looking buildings right within the castle walls but we also found one of the best Sushi restaurants in the city called Sushi Glas. In Alberta there […]
Celebration
It appears that each special occasion cumulates with a visit to our favorite pizza joint. L’Osteria is then our place of occasion here in Nuremberg.
Creative Spirit
Evelina keeps making these little gems – this one she made for me today.
Treats
I don’t think you can walk more than 50 m through the Copenhagen train station without running into a 10m x 15 m advertisement for one of these. At first we ignored it and remain strong and sceptical. I mean who drinks Baileys these days anymore? Finally we gave in and got a bottle they […]
Kicking it up
Arctic Monkeys are on stage – it’s going to be a great night.
On stage
The Strypes are on the stage and they are loud. We had a pretty good run here. Just a touch over 1 hour including a stop for some gas!
The Far Side
Its beautiful and sunny. We continue to explore the city, or rather the old town. This time we are directly on the far side of the castle walls. One day we are planning on walking around the entire castle to see it from the far side of the defence walls and the moat just like […]
Autumn Air
Autumn is here to stay that much is true. While it gets up to 15C during the day, it does cool off for the night. Its Saturday, and we are burning a lap around the old town. The old town is getting ready for the upcoming and world famous Christmas Market. We can’t wait. […]
St. Lorenz
Here is another look at the church of St. Lorenz. This medieval church of the former free imperial city of Nuremberg is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The church was badly damaged during the Second World War and later rebuilt. It is one of the most prominent churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. The choir was started in 1445 by medieval […]
On Europe
This is a list of the places we have visited so far. We certainly hope to add to this in the not so distant future. Google Maps
The Concert
When London Grammar came out onto the stage our first reaction was, but they are just kids! They are so young. Indeed they are young, but they sound not only mature and unique but also simply amazing. Small venue packed to capacity, no one getting drunk, no one smoking and no one pushing or shoving […]
Italians vs. Vikings
It appears that Top Gear has taken some liking to our family chariot. Being listed once on the Top Gear site was like winning a lottery, twice is just crazy. Weekend in Cars has our lovely Alfa proudly displayed crossing the Great Belt Bridge on our trip to Copenhagen. A big thanks to the Mozejko […]
Home Sweet Home
We are home! 953km with a 40km bonus round for missing an exit ramp not once but twice. We are relaxing with a bit of Denmark we brought with us, actually 8 pieces of Denmark.
Swedish Treats
We are taking a little break from all the walking we did today. When in Malmo, Sweden – Ambrosia is your place to go for a nice coffee and some spectacular desserts!
The Western Harbour
The Western Harbour is the new part of Malmo being built at an incredible pace. Among the new buildings in the Western Harbour is the Turning Torso, a skyscraper with a twisting design, 190 metres (620 ft) tall is the tallest building in Scandinavia.
Malmo – Old Town
Malmo has two distinct districts, the old town which is not very traditional or conventional in the sense of old European towns. The other part is The Western Harbour which is being built on the peninsula and is ultra modern. Since the construction of the Öresund bridge, linking Sweden to Denmark, Malmö has undergone a major transformation with […]
Conquering Sweden
We are off to Sweden today. We are going to explore a costal town of Malmö, Sweden. It is the third largest town in Sweden by population and since we are not driving up to Stockholm this should be a experience. We are also going to make this a train trip, leaving the car behind in […]
Ulriksholm Revisited
On the way back from the Viking Museum we stopped by to see the storm damage at the Ulriksholm Castle. Sadly there were a number of old trees that simply snapped like sticks in the 200km/h winds.
Viking Museum Ladby
Kerteminde is Denmark’s only ship grave from the Viking period. Around 925 AD, the king of Ladby was buried in his ship, which was 21.5 meters long and 3 meters wide. A burial mound was raised above the ship. His grave was furnished with all his fine possessions, including 11 horses and 3 or 4 […]
H. C. Andersen Museum
Since we are changing our travel plans a bit, today we are doing the tourist things such as museums. First on the agenda is the H. C. Andersen museum. The museum is attached to his yellow house where he was born and it is on the outskirts of the old town in Odense. The museum […]
Kerteminde
Kerteminde, is a small town about 10 km from Odense and is located on the island of Funen and has a population of 5,880. This place is famous for its fish restaurants but to us it is famous for meringue. Danes like meringue in three forms, cookies, ice cream with meringue topping or fresh meringue covered in […]
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