Bamberg’s historic city center is a listed UNESCO world heritage site. Sometimes, the locals refer to it as the German Venice. This truly is a beautiful little town with charming streets and shops, and two magnificent churches, set on two opposite hills. We only spent a few hours here to get a quick look at […]
Altenburg Castle is perched on top of Bamberg’s highest hill and is one of Bamberg’s major landmarks. The castle was first mentioned in 1109 and was used at this time as a refuge. In the 14th and 15th centuries it served as a richly furnished residence for Bamberg’s bishops, but was almost completely destroyed in 1553 […]
I could never understand why Italians have such admiration for Alonso, Schumacher or Gilles Villeneuve – some of the great drivers that graced Ferrari with their skills. Italy produces some of the best sport cars in the world. Bugatti, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia and Lamborghini just to name a few, but are there no Italian drivers capable […]
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
Built in the first century AD Arena di Verona was the third largest amphitheatre in the empire. It used to hold 30,000 people when it was completed. Today Arena di Verona is a great venue for many concerts and performances from the likes of Muse, Radiohead, The Pink Floyd and many others. There are also […]
William Shakespeare made Verona famous with its tragedies. Verona is a gorgeous city with its quiet streets, many churches, the magnificent Arena and of course Juliet’s balcony. We did a lot of walking around, a bit of shopping and a whole lot of eating as we usually do. I think we will be coming back […]
Navigating the Italian gastronomical universe is not an easy task. In the galaxy of choices that are presented on an average menu, in an average restaurant one can easily get confused and lost and ultimately regret not ordering just the right meal. The easiest way to deal with this issue is to follow my simple […]
Obvious, vulgar and loud. Or is it fat, single and ready to mingle?
Today we are doing an activity chosen by the children. It turns out that our Legoland Annual Pass also gives us a free one time access to Gardaland which is about 8 min drive from where we are staying. The entrance fee to Gardaland is €138 for a one day family pass. The place was […]
After a long drive around the lake, we went back to the old town in Lazise for a dinner and a quick stroll on the promenade in search of a new gelato place to try On the dinner menu was sturgeon, I had to try it, as I have never seen it on the menu […]
A drive around Lake Garda is slow but rewarding. One town is more beautiful than the next. Each villa is bigger and more ornate with a nicer park and a longer driveway than the next, each residence more secluded and more beautiful. Absolutely stunning and breathtaking. We are so glad that we decided take the […]
Today we are heading out to Salo, another beautiful town on Lake Garda. Then, if the weather cooperates we are planning to drive around the lake to take in the views, other smaller towns and the crazy roads and tunnels that encircle the lake. Stop for a coffee or two and buy some local […]
First, dress the part. The basic theory is to get something louder than Eddie Jordan would wear and try not too look like a clown, although that part is optional. Second, when it doubt order two main courses just to try them both – live to regret it later. I have a new plan. Today […]
After a lazy morning we went back to Garda to hang out by the lake. Feeding swans is now off of the bucket list. These swans do like the German and Italian bread, although the grey swan was kind of dumb and kept getting all of his food stolen by its sibling. Then is started […]
We are taking it easy this morning. Lazying around the pool in the middle of nowhere enjoying some sunshine and a nice breeze coming off the hills. There are few things more relaxing than watching paragliders sail above in the clouds and listening to the water drop off the infinity pool. Life is good.
Tenuta la Presa – the not so little winery hotel we are staying at is hosing a wedding this evening. The preparations started first thing this morning. Grass was being cut, the tents and tables set up, white linens covering all tables and chairs, and of course well before noon guests started arriving for tonight’s […]
By lake Garda a small family of whales was spotted wobbling towards a restaurant. It’s been at least 6 minutes since our last meal, we have done a lot of hard work, lazing around the pool and having a 3 hour nap which of course requires more nourishment. Tomorrow I will simply cut a hole […]
Lazise is a small port town with a great castle dating back to late 800s. Like most old European towns this one too has a small beautiful square a nice old church, Saint Nicolò, dating back to 1200s and beautiful painted houses. Of course the lake is the dominant feature of this little municipality so we try […]
Today is Kasia’s and Volker 16th wedding anniversary so staying at Hotel Dogana was not an option. The winery at Tenuta Le Presa was a more appropriate choice and one more befitting the occasion. To celebrate this we went out for a dinner at a local spot called Hostaria la Cross where German really is […]
Agriturismo at its best. Kasia and Volker know this little place called Tenuta La Presa. It is a winery that is also a hotel with a proper pool and marble floors and clean everything. There is a wine rack in the lobby and a set of glasses and you are free to drink and […]
Lake Garda is simply stunning. Imagine Lake Louise but 52 km long. Imagine it surrounded by towering maples and skinny Tuscan cedars. Imagine it peppered with small towns and old castles and miles and miles or wineries and olive trees. That’s Lake Garda – we can’t wait to check in after a short 5 hour […]
Today we are going to Lake Garda in Italy. We are excited as hell. It is going to be about a 6 hour drive. We are staying on the south tip of the lake which is warmer, nicer and far more beautiful. We can’t wait.
Not as grand as Schllos Weissenstein but equally as charming and far less expansive to heat and staff is this little residence Volker’s brother calls home. This little house is a bit of work in progress, after years of neglect it is slowly being restored. Whatever the shape – the family has its palace and […]
Garden Show. Every year, twice a year, for the past 16 years Volker’s brother who is a landscape architect organizes a garden show. One of the shows is at a nice little castle outside the city, about 20 min drive from Nuremberg, and the other is at the family residence, which while not as grand […]
I still have not seen the last F1 race from Monaco. I though I would be watching it already but we are still over 350km away from home. Having been stuck in traffic for over 3 hours it was time to stretch our legs a bit and make up for some lost time – F1 […]
Baustelle – at first that sounded like some exotic French pastry we thought. After a nice rest we drove by a sign that read “Baustelle in 7 km”. With a bit of traffic on the road going rather slow around Leipzig, we looked around at all the nice cars including this great looking CLS wagon. […]
The toll highways in Poland are quite amazing. Rain or shine there is always someone working on their maintenance. Always! The second amazing thing is that, and I never will get tired of this, is that trucks are always and always in the right lane and they are restricted to going 90km/h. How awesome is […]
We are leaving rainy and cold Warsaw today and going back to Germany. Now that we have updated the maps on the GPS we think we should get to Nuremberg in about 8 hours or so, maybe a bit longer with the heavy rain. We noticed that a lot of people have secondary antennas on […]
.. but never duplicated. I think today I found the missing link and the explanation as to why some Eastern European women wear carrot tops on their heads, and they do it with such pride. “Words are very un-necessary” here so just click through and shake your head in disbelief.
Łazienki or the Royal Baths is a 17th century park in Warsaw. This is the largest park in Warsaw and it is located in the centre of the city. We went for a nice afternoon walk, listened to Chopin concert in the park. The kids run around trying to scare the peacocks and force them […]
Today we are heading to Bransk, a small town of about 4000 people in the eastern part of Poland. We are picking up some more documents and visiting family. On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received a city charter based on Magdeburg rights from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon. It was the first city in Podlaskie to receive such a […]
Lord thundering Jesus. I never thought I would say this but I do now see the benefits of bylaws. I say the more the better. Edmonton is said to be the king of bylaws and everyone always complains about it. This is what happens to a city that has little to no bylaws. This is […]
Our relentless pursuit of the required documents continues. Sometimes I think it would have been easier to find a Yeti in the Himalayas than to get the right stamp on the correct piece of paper in the Bureaucratic Republic of Poland. Undaunted we forge ahead. Today we set out to Plock, the last place where […]
There is much that can be said about navigating the Polish bureaucratic maze and perhaps even more that shouldn’t be said about the same. I have to say that while no one is particularly helpful about what we need to do, everyone is exceptionally nice and polite about it. I feel like we are […]
Today we are going to Warsaw! For me it is a first trip back to Poland in 29.5 years. For us, as a family, it is the first trip to Poland. We are going to be staying in Loziska just outside Warsaw with Anna’s cousin Robert. The drive itself is about 960km but we managed […]
Today we went for another walk around our neighbourhood. We went towards the centre of the neighbourhood where we found more beautiful and quaint old homes, shops and old buildings – some dating back to 776.
Today we went to visit Volker’s mom for a Sunday lunch. She lives on the other side of Nuremberg in a beautiful home with a pool, backing onto a huge park and some impressive trees. The most prized possession in her garden is a heritage peony flower that grows more like a shrub with wood […]
After a bit of fun and exploration we sat down for a piece of traditional plum cake and a cup of coffee in the village just below the castle. Great atmosphere, great views and beautiful weather.
After doing some summer sledding we headed over to the Devil’s Cave a short drive up the road. The Devil’s Cave is about 1.5km long which makes it the longest cave in Germany. The only way to get in and see the cave is with a guided tour. It is about a 45 min walk […]
The plan for this Saturday was to go to Pottenstein. Pottenstein is a small village about 60km north of Nuremberg. It is famous for its cave, its trout smokehouse and the summer sledding park as well as a beautiful castle perched on the top of the hill.. We decided to spent a relaxing day away […]
One might say, that this was an experience out of this world, but don’t take our word for it, and we have pictures to prove it.
Here are a few more……
Both Anna and I have been to Lucerne a long long time ago. In fact, after a nice long drive through the Swiss Alps we stopped in Lucerne for a cup of coffee to take in the sights and relax before our trip back to Bern. It is in Lucerne that we found out that […]
Berlin is another city on the TO DO list and it is not only because it has another Legoland theme park. Boris is very excited to go to Berlin and it looks like sooner rather than later we are going to be checking this off the list of things that we have done.
Here is Venice. While the real Venice is on our TO DO list on this adventure – our first taste of things to come is made out of millions of little colourful bricks.
Some of the sights and sounds we enjoyed in the Miniature Land.
Legoland is great. The food is great, the shopping is great, the rides are fun, the shops are cool and millions and millions of little Lego bricks just make it special in a way that warms your heart and makes you feel like a kid all over again, it is impossible to be unhappy there. […]
The happiest place on earth, at least right now for Boris and Evelina is Legoland. About 197km outside Nuremberg or 1.30h drive from Nuremberg is Legoland-Allee, Günzburg Legoland. We got a family pass for all Legoland attractions throughout Europe for 1 year, unlimited admission for €257 including parking. This includes all Legoland fees, free parking, London […]
While the Polish Consulate in Munich was a huge disappointment, or preformed as expected, the rest of the city was a treat. We were expecting to spent good 2 to 3 hours waiting to see the Consul but with this option out of the way there was simply more time to explore the city. […]
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