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.
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Prague – up close
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.
Red Roofs
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
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 […]
Basilica of St Peter and St Paul
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 […]
Meanwhile in Edmonton
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 Castle
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 […]
At Paul’s
We are out and about. We stopped at Paul’s – a little French bakery for a little breakfast.
St. George’s Basilica
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 […]
St. Vitus Cathedral
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
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
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 […]
St. Nicholas Church
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.
Around Prague
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 […]
Prague at Night
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. […]
Walk in the park
Somehow after almost a 2 hour walk we did not get a picture of all the stuff we collected.
Ducks
On house is surrounded by two parks, one large and one small. The larger park has water canals, with beavers, ducks and other fowl. Being sunny and dry we set out to take out some of the stale bread from the house and feed the ducks on our walk to the park to collect some […]
Tights
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 […]
City Museum Fembohaus
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 […]
Great Start
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 […]
Siena
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 […]
San Gimignano
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 […]
Località Bagni di Mommialla
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 […]
Lost in Italy
As planned we arrived just outside San Gimignano around 8:00 pm about 10 min drive from our hotel. We put in the GPS coordinates in and drove off into the darkness looking for our place for the night. Soon the road turned to gravel, and then the gravel turned into big sharp rocks. 14 km […]
Off to Italy
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.
Quarries of Light
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, […]
Chateau de Varenne at Night
We got home really late but still had a bit of time to snap some night pictures of our pad for the night.
Pont du Gard
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 […]
Avignon – Around Old Town
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 […]
Avignon – Notre-Dame
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 […]
Le Bistrot du Moulin
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 […]
Lyon – Roman Ruins
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 […]
Lyon – Churches
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 […]
Only Lyon
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, […]
Lyon
We have arrived in Lyon just a bit past four. The drive was not very enjoyable, that is to say it was not as fast as I thought it ought to be, but we are here. We checked in and decided to take the rest of the day off and relax before we set out […]
Back to Bamberg
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.
Full House
There are now 11 people in this house! It seems like that is a lot but we still have sleeping and sitting room available.
One More Time
It’s been a while since we visited our favorite pizza place. It’s still as good as it was the first time we were here!
Documentation Centrum
Dokumentationszentrum in Nuremberg is a museum which houses a permanent exhibition called Fascination and Terror. The exhibition traces the history of National Socialism, Nazi Germany and the rallies held in Nuremberg which was considered to be “the most German of all German cities” by Hitler and his supporters.
Courtroom 600
This is where the famous Nuremberg Trials took place in 1945 after World War II ended. The Courtroom 600 is still used today as a functioning courtroom. This room was remodelled for the trials and after they were finished it was restored to its original form. Upstairs, from the court room is a very simple […]
The Rest of Munich
We finished the tour of Munich in the old town. After some sight seeing and a nice dinner we left for Nuremberg at 9:30 on the train.
Munich Tower
This is the best way to see the Olympic Park and the city with the least amount of walking.
BWM World
Next to the Olympic Park is the BWM world and the BMW Museum. The nicest car here was the M6 Grand Coupe.
Munich Olympic Park
Olympic Park sights.
Petrolhead Nirvana
To any self proclaimed petrol head Top Gear is the greatest show on earth when it comes to cars. On the weekends they ask their readers to show them what they have done with their cars. I submitted an entry through Twitter and – ours made it to the pages of TopGear.com as one of […]
Middle of Nowhere – Burgundy
This then is the middle of nowhere we were looking for yesterday. A desolate country road cutting across the villages and vineyards of Burgundy. Peppered with family run Chateaus on each side of the road – each making their own great wines. We stopped at a quiet restaurant at the edge of the vineyard where […]
French Countryside
On the way to Chateau de Meursault, the next winery on the list, we stopped at a typical French village to visit another bakery, for more break and pastries and to take a bit of a break after the wine tasting. Quaint, quiet and beautiful. Serenity now.
Pommard Caves
The best part of the tour was of course the wine cellars or the caves. The sheer volume of wine stored in the nice cool cellars underground is simply staggering. After the tour we had our first taste of some fine wines, including 1st Cru, and Chateau de Pommard. Naturally we acquired some of them […]
Chateau de Pommard
First on the list, purely by chance, was Chateau de Pommard. It was close to where we were staying and seemed rather interesting. The Chateau had a wine museum and a great restaurant, an exposition of modern art was well as great collection of originals by Picasso, Matisse, and two sculptures by Salvador Dali. We […]
Beaune
After a good night sleep in a nice little hotel just off the main square and an early visit to the bakery for some croissant, and baguette and some pain au chocolat we set off in search of some fine French countryside covered in vineyards and dotted by small chateaus. We did not have to go […]
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