Valdemars Castle is a small palace on the island of Tåsinge near Svendborg in southern Denmark. It was commissioned by King Christian IV for his son Valdemar Christian who never moved in. He was killed in battle in Poland in 1656. Today the castle is owned by Baroness Caroline Luel-Brockdorff who was at one time married to Ian Flemming’s nephew. Small world.
We are heading home from our excursion to the Danish country side. Both the wind and the rain have picked up quite significantly. In retrospect we are glad that we went to Copenhagen yesterday as the Great Belt Bridge is now officially closed. The wind is blowing at 54m/s or category 3 hurricane, the strongest […]
This small castle is located approx. 6 km. SW of Kerteminde. It was built for one of Christian IV’s many sons, in a typical Renaissance style. The castle was completed in 1645. The young Count Ulrik Christian GYLDENLOVE only managed to enjoy his new home for a few years. He died in 1658 , at the age of 28. Today, the castle is a private residence which […]
We are following a trail of Viking Runes. Its actually a beautiful autumn day, not like you could tell this from our outfits, but that’s because we are prepared for the upcoming storm. These sties are protected by Thor, as the legend has it, and anyone no paying the respect these places deserve will […]
We are back where we started after a nice 15 km walk around the city. More pictures coming soon.
Originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the beginning of the 15th century. Copenhagen metropolitan area is home to almost 2 million people out of 5 million that live in Denmark. It’s a beautiful city, its home to the Danish royalty and a whole set of stunning […]
Part of our 15km walk around Copenhagen included the old town. We went by the Round Tower which was an astoronomical observatory built by King Christian IV. Instead of stairs, a 7.5-turn spiral ramp forms the only access way to the tower top observatory as well as the Library Hall and the Bell-Ringer’s Loft, both located above the church. […]
Frederik’s Church, popularly known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken) for its architecture, is an Evangelical Lutheran church located just west of Amalienborg Palace. Intended to commemorate the 300 years jubilee of the first coronation of a member of the House of Oldenburg. Frederick’s Church has the largest church dome in Scandinavia with a span of 31m. The construction of the church was delayed for 150 years due […]
Amalienborg is the winter residence of the Danish Royal Family. We made it here just before 12:00 to see the change of the guard. The Royal Palace consists of four identical classic palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard. In the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg’s founder, King Frederick V. The first time […]
Located, across the Royal Palace, on the island of Holmen in central Copenhagen is the Copenhagen Opera House. The Opera House is the national opera house of Denmark, and is among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built with construction costs well over 500 million U.S. dollars.
Nyhavn or New Harbour is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark originally constructed by King Christian V from 1670 to 1673, dug by Swedish war prisoners. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city at (King’s Square), where ships handled cargo and fishermens’ catch. It was home to Hans Christian Andersen for some 18 years. […]
On the way to Copenhagen we get to drive on the Storebæltsforbindelsen, or the Great Belt Bridge. It is 18km long bridge that goes over a part of the Baltic Sea! It is not cheap to take it but it is very fast and convenient. The construction of the fixed link became the biggest building project […]
We are on our way to Copenhagen. It is about a 150 km drive from Odense across the Great Belt Bridge or Storebæltsforbindelsen in Danish (say that fast 3 times). Looks like it will be a great day, not too hot, 18C with a bit of sunshine.
Even if you have never been or heard of Odense you know someone from here. Hans Christian Andersen was born and lived here until he was 14 years old. His mother used to work at the royal palace and on occasion Hans Christian would be invited to play with the young prince at the palace. […]
No self respecting European city goes without its own cathedral. Odense is no different, St. Canute’s Cathedral is dedicated to the last Viking king of Denmark and his bones as well as those of his brother are displayed in the cathedral crypt. Unlike some of the more ostentatious and extravagant baroque cathedrals this one is […]
We are in Odense visiting our good friends Mozejkos. It’s a beautiful autumn day, perfect for exploring the old city. Odense has one of the oldest Saturday markets in Europe, where people have been buying and selling fresh produce for over 500 years. There are a number of churches and monasteries, a Benedictine abbey, the Odense Palace, […]
We are taking a relaxing stroll through the old town in Odense. Lots to see here but for now we are recharging at Baresso Coffee.
We have finally arrived in Odense. What was supposed to be a quick 8.5h drive turned out to be 11.5 hours. What a nightmare. Construction, traffic, accident, accident in a construction zone where 3 lanes merged into one, rain, fog – you name it we drove through it!
We can’t seem to get going today. It took us almost an hour to get out of the city, an hour later we traveled 120 km, then something started squealing. Rear right wheel breaks seemed to seize. The wheel was so hot I thought it would met the tire right off the rim. I took […]
We are setting off for a week of holidays. The children are getting their first fall school break, which is well deserved and earned as they have been working very hard both in school and with Saskia their private tutor. We are going to be heading up to Denmark and Sweden driving mostly through Germany. […]
Courtyard, or our back yard has two trees, both maples, one is 6 and the other one is about 7 stories high. They are just starting to turn yellow and drop their leaves.
All of the sudden and out of nowhere the sky turned red. We jumped to the window to see what was on fire! The sky was. It turned bright red and back to normal in a matter of about 5 minutes. I managed to only snap a few shots before the spectacle went away. […]
It’s 11:30 am, it’s 20C and it is absolutely beautiful outside. We are off to the Old Town to run some errants. We added another 5.2km of leisurely walk by the moats and the old town, bought some fresh pretzels and headed home to meet the kids at 1:15 for lunch when they are back […]
It’s 20C and we are out for another walk wearing a t -shirt. The old town is full of people, everyone has something to do and everywhere you look, every coffee shop and restaurant is full. We got out to return some books to the library and decided to circle a bit of old town. […]
I simply don’t know what this is, but it’s right outside our house. If we had to hazard a guess – photos for Christmas cards?
We did not make it to the bank today as planned. We decided to walk the other way to discover less travelled part of our neighbourhood. We found a great bakery with really good pretzels. Pretzel sandwiches are all the rage and finding a perfect pretzel in a bakery close by is always good. So […]
Autumn is slowly creeping in. Pretty much everywhere you look there is a hint of it. This, being a beautiful day that it was, we went out for a morning walk along the castle walls to get out of the house and get some fresh air. We had so much fun we are going to make […]
Looks like fall is arriving early this year.
We finally got our silly internet sorted out after what seems like an eternity. We are connected and ready for FaceTime any time.
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 […]
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..
We are in Munich picking up the passports. Unlike, our previous trips to the Embassy this one took about 10 min, required no appointment and no payments – just a couple of signatures and finger swipes. It was the most pleasant of all visits we had here. Before we could pick up our passports however, […]
We are setting off to Munich once again. This time to pick up both passports – finally.
Today is the national holiday of German Unity Day. It is as we learned neither re-unification nor unification day – its a day of unity. Needless to say, everything is closed except restaurants and coffee shops – unless of course they are on the route of the marathon. The marathon went right by our house […]
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.
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 […]
We are out and about. We stopped at Paul’s – a little French bakery for a little breakfast.
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 […]
There is no better place than Prague to have fried cheese. We had it for lunch, all 300g of it. That was a single portion. Fried potatoes, salmon tartar, espressos and a bit of bread completed this wonderful lunch.
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 […]
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