Packed like sardines we set off for Frankfurt to drop off our parents for their trip back to Edmonton. Not a lot of traffic, not a lot of construction nice and easy drive, just the way lazy Saturday drives should be.
Archive | Around Town
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Hesperiden Garden
On a more upbeat note, a short distance from the cemetery is a quaint little place called Hesperiden Garden. It has a number of small whimsical statues we saw at the German National Museum on Wednesday. Other than a lot of paths and hedges there are some fountains and of course a restaurant and a […]
Albrecht Dürer
After a visit to the Rally Grounds we continued with our early afternoon morbid theme and visited a beautiful cemetery where Albrecht Dürer and other famous people are buried in Nuremberg. Dürer was a German painter, engraver, printmaker,mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His high-quality woodcuts (nowadays often called Meisterstiche or “master prints”) established his reputation […]
Rally Grounds
We are back to the Rally Grounds. There is a massive Volksfest going on right now so most of the place is taken up by rides and parking and concession booths. However, the Zeppelin Field is wide open and unoccupied. The Zeppelin field is the size of 12 football fields and it used to hold […]
Revisiting German National Museum
We set out to revisit the German National Museum today. It is hard to be impressed, especially after seeing The Louvre and The British Museum in London, yet we remain charmed by the German National Museum in Nuremberg. It has a lot of really amazing exhibits, it is quite big, yet small enough to really […]
Updated Map
This is the updated map of our Easter Weekend travels. A nice trip with hopefully a few more of these to come before we are back. Google Maps
Treviso
Today is our last full day in Italy so we are visiting Treviso. This small city of about 80,000 people is actually quite famous. Treviso became a city in 89 BCE, the main road leading up to the Venetian defence walls is lined with spectacular villas on both sides of the road. Because of its […]
St. Mark’s Basilica
St. Mark’s Basilica is the most famous of the city’s churches and one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture. It lies at the eastern end of the Piazza San Marco, adjacent and connected to the Doge’s Palace. Originally it was the chapel of the Doge, and has only been the city’s cathedral since 1807. Know for […]
Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco often known in English as St Mark’s Square, is the principal public square in Venice. The Palaces, St. Mark’s Basilica, the Bell Tower, the Clock Tower leading to the Rialto Bridge as well as the connection to the Grand Canal and the Grand Canal promenade is all here. It is a massively large open […]
The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square and Basilica are the most iconic landmarks in Venice They are instantly recognizable and quite amazing in their own right. The weather is fabulous, there are no crowds – a perfect day to be in Venice.
Gondola
Going to Venice and not taking a gondola ride is like going to Rome and not seeing the Coliseum or going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower. Not only do you get to see Venice from a totally different perspective but you also get to see Venice as people who live there see […]
Local Art
Venice is famous for its glass, colourful and ornate. You can buy just about anything you can imagine made out of glass, from candies and cakes to animals, to pencils and cufflinks. You can also get some good street art. While a lot of it is simply printed there are some local artists that actually […]
Churches
There are some 190 churches in Venice. To see them all in one day or even a week is mission impossible. There are churches dedicated to all sorts of saints and holidays and important historical events you can imagine. ” The plague is over” – let’s celebrate and built a church – literally. To make […]
Around Venice
Some 60,000 people live in historical Venice, while Venice proper houses some 270,000 people. Historical Venice is built on wooden piles which were driven into the seabed and unto which the foundations of the buildings were build on. There are some 486 bridges in Venice we walked on 29 of them. Everything here is different, […]
Venice
We are going to Venice this morning for a day. There are a number of ways of getting there, but since we have a car we going to drive across the Liberty Bridge and park at the first available parking garage. Parking in Venice is interesting. We pulled into the first parking garage which has […]
Duomo Conegliano
This church has a status of cathedral. It is not so much due to its size but its historical importance. Dating back to the late 1400’s this church was at the centre of Renaissance movement in Conegliano. Of particular importance was the fact that the front facade of the church was connected to the school and […]
Conegliano
Conegliano is a small town and commune in the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about 30 kilometres north from Treviso. The population of the city is around 36,000 people. Conegliano is noted for its wine, mainly the dry white Prosecco (made from the grape of the same name) which comes in three varieties: tranquillo (still), frizzante (slightly sparkling) and spumante (sparkling). It […]
Conegliano Castle
The remains of a 10th-century castle are situated on a hill that dominates the town and offers beautiful views of the countryside. Formerly belonging to the Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, what remains of the castle is a bell tower, which now houses a small museum, and outer walls. There is a huge courtyard as well as […]
Agriturismo ai Casoni
We have arrived at Agriturismo ai Casoni, just outside Treviso – where we are going to be spending the next 5 days. This is a small family run agriturismo that produces its own wine and Prosecco as well as the meats and fruits and vegetables. So, as you walk in and are greeted by the hosts […]
Franciscan Church of the Annunciation
Turn the other cheek might as well be the biggest lie ever told. Today I got a fair share of “turn the other cheek and give an evil eye” stares. I was simply trying to take a few quiet pictures of this lovely early-Baroque Franciscan Church. Built in the mid 1600’s the layout takes the form of a basilica with […]
Ljubljana Old Town
After 11 months of being here and traveling rather extensively my wife said – finally a country I haven’t been to yet. Slovenia has about 2 million people, 270,000 of which live in its capital – Ljubljana. It is a picturesque and beautiful little city with a lot to offer. While Ljubljana does not have any […]
Ljubljana
We have arrived in Ljubliana, Slovenia. We are sticking to our strictly regimented schedule. Drive, check in, go out to eat!
St. Sebastian’s Cemetery
Some 5 minutes on foot from our hotel is St. Sebastian’s Church. Tucked away behind the church is a famous cemetery. The cemetery was designed in the shape of an Italian Capo Santo. There are a number of famous Salzburg natives found here – their last resting place. Mozart’s widow and his father were buried […]
Stiftskeller St. Peter (803) – Salzburg, Austria
According to some sources, including the restaurant itself of course, the Siftskeller has been serving food since 803, making it the oldest restaurant in Europe. Not 1803 – that’s not a typo. Eight-oh-three. Although we can’t personally verify this data, we can certainly attest to the quality of food and service. We started with a […]
Dinner at St. Peter’s
In two hours we are back here for dinner. Judging by the menu it should be nothing short of spectacular!
St Peter’s Abbey
We are going church crazy today – it’s almost Easter so why not. St. Peter’s Abbey is well over 1300 years old. This old Benedictine Monastery is a church, it has a spectacular library, a small quiet and charming cemetery, if there is such a thing, a massive court yard and the oldest European […]
Along the River
After the Mirabell Palace we set off along the river towards the Medieval Street and towards the old town. It it amazing how we have already been here but have not seen about 90% of things we are looking at today. Quick stop for coffee and dessert and we are off to the Cathedral and […]
Mirabell Palace and Gardens
We are exploring a bit of the other side of Salzburg. The side of Salzburg we did not see the last time we were here. First on the agenda after breakfast was a quick stop for a coffee and beer. Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau had Altenau Palace built in 1606 as a token of […]
Sunny Salzburg
We are back in Salzburg for a couple of days. This time, while it is still quite cool, there is sunshine and blue skies. We can finally see the mountains surrounding this great city. While today we only took a quick stroll it was great to see some of the old places we visited without […]
Sankt Georgen
Sankt Georgen im Attergau is where Anna’s dad spent 9 month some 35 years ago waiting for a Canadian visa. After defecting from Poland and surrendering his passport to Viennese Police he was sent to Sankt Georgen refugee camp, which was located on the lower level of this lovely hotel in a quiet village on the […]
Road Trip
We are setting off on a little holiday with Anna’s parents. First we are driving to Sankt Georgen im Attergau, in Austria where Anna’s dad begun his journey to Canada some 35 years ago. We are then going to spent 2 days wondering around Salzburg, a day in Ljubljana, Slovenia and then off to Treviso, Italy […]
Evening Walk
It is very rare that we are out late at night which is a shame because the city looks totally different at night. Great accent lighting on all the major monuments in the old town and empty streets – make for a charming stroll through the city.
Golden Horn
We are back to our favourite restaurant in the old town – for a good traditional German dinner. For a flame roasted Nuremberg sausages – this place is a real treat.
Calm
We are setting off for dinner to the old town which is a short walk from out home, but the sky looks like it is ready to turn into a biblical proportion downpour – hopefully we will make it there before it does.
Fun with Family
We spent a day exploring a bit of our beautiful city – from the Imperial Castle to the old town and a section of newly renovated St. Sebaldus Church. After a bit of pre-dinner gelato and a lovely dinner, we set out for another walk around the large park by our house. Lovely day… […]
We Should Eat Something
It’s dinner time. We are down at our local restaurant Mullers. Great authentic German food – no cooking involved in this meal.
Miller Time
Lazy Saturday afternoon – out for a walk and a beer.
Out on the Town
After an early lunch we set out to explore a bit of town for a nice walk, but really we went looking for a place to sit down to have a little drink.
Travellers
The travellers come bearing loot….
Relentless March
The Bavarian Spring is in full swing. Everything is exploding in all shades of green. All other colours of spring are not far behind. White asparagus is in season and literally everywhere you look, next up will be rhubarb and then strawberries all locally grown of course. While today was not the hottest day – […]
Millenium Monument
Heroes’ Square is one of the major squares of Budapest, rich with historic and political connotations. Its iconic statue complex, the Millennium Memorial, was completed in 1900, the square was named “Heroes’ Square” in 1929. The square is dedicated to the heroes of Hungary and was originally conceived as a Millennium Memorial for Hungary’s 1000 year anniversary as a […]
Jazz It Up
This place is no Zeller Bistro but we are out trying something new. Tonight we are at Lado Cafe. This little place, is where the locals hang out to have a dinner and listen to some live jazz or blues. Tonight is a live jazz show. Frankly we did not have the time to take […]
Art Deco and More
Art Deco is everywhere in Budapest, but so are great many other buildings in Romanesque, Gothic, Gothic Revival, Neo-Classical, Baroque, Hungarian secessionist, Renaissance and modern styles. For anyone with any interest in architecture Budapest is a treasure trove of amazing examples of different architectural styles – more often than not standing side by side.
Down By The River
It is quite warm and humid – a walk down by the Danube offers not only great views of the Buda side of the city but also a nice and refreshing breeze. From the Parliament Building, by the Jewish Memorial and all the way up to the Gellert Hotel famous for its baths – this […]
István Cukrászda
Budapest – the city of cafes and pastry shops is not disappointing. Laying waste to our waist lines is this little gem. Going back to 1956 this quaint little cafe, off the beaten path has been serving amazing cakes and coffees for well over half a century. We are talking a small break to relax, […]
Hungarian Parliament Building
The Parliament Building on the bank of the Danube is currently the largest building in Hungary and together with St. Stephen’s Basilica the tallest building in Budapest standing at 96m. The number 96 refers to the nation’s millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later Kingdom of Hungary in 896. About one thousand people were involved in construction of the Parliament, during […]
Budapest Day 2
Today on the exploration agenda is more of the Pest side of Budapest. We are taking it easy today by having a nice, long and relaxing breakfast. After the breakfast we are heading towards the Danube to see the Parliament Building, The Great Synagogue, Gellert Hotel, Great Market Hall and St. Stephens Basilica, among other […]
Buda Castle
Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, and was first completed in 1265. In the past, it has been called Royal Palace and Royal Castle. Buda Castle was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, bounded on the north by what is known as the Castle District which is famous for its Medieval, Baroque, and 19th-century houses, churches, and […]
Communism You Say
Placed stragegically close to our hotel is Budapest’s legendary – New York Cafe. Voted as one of 10 most beautiful cafes in the world – this newly renovated cafe was a longtime center for Hungarian literature arts and poetry, right from its opening on October 23, 1894. This truly is a dazzling and spectacular place, […]
Weekend Pad
This will be our home – away from home, away from home for the long weekend while we explore Budapest. So far our impressions are pretty good and we are looking forward to staying here and sampling the breakfast tomorrow morning, and each morning after that. We are about 10 minute walk away from […]
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