On the bucket list for what seems like forever and finally here we are! No words to describe this place – but it has 5 stars.
Tag Archives: 2022
First Snow
We can’t seem to outrun the white stuff. We went out for dinner and an hour later there it was – the white stuff.
Beach Walk in Sopot
Beautiful and a sunny day – perfect day for a walk on the beach.
Amber Museum
Gdansk certainly deserves to be called the World Amber Capital or so the local sentiment claims. This museum is brand new, it opened last year and it houses some amazing pieces of art and history. It also houses the larges amber in the world weighing in at 68.2kg. Every colour and every shade of amber […]
National Museum in Gdansk
This museum is located in the old late-Gothic Franciscan monastery, which has been used to house exhibits since the end of the 19th century. The museum used to hold a sizeable collection of historical works of art. In 1884. The core of the Museum’s collection constitutes the collection of Jacob Kabrun, which includes several thousand […]
Oliwa Cathedral
The archcathedral in Oliwa is a three-nave basilica with a transept and a multisided closed presbytery, finished with an ambulatory. The façade is flanked by two slender towers, 46-metres tall each with sharply-edged helmets. It is enlivened by a Baroque portal from 1688, as well as three windows of different sizes and three cartouches. The […]
Park in Oliwa
Today we are doing something more productive. Right after we finished the morning coffee and other drinks we set off to Oliwa, a small suburb of Gdansk that’s famous for its parks, gardens and the large cathedral with a huge organ. Did I mention cakes, lots of amazing cakes to eat too.
Gdańsk Old Town
Some things just don’t get old. The weather is absolutely fantastic, the city is buzzing with activity and we are soaking it all in.
National Independence Day
National Independence Day is a national day in Poland celebrated on 11 November to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland’s sovereignty as the Second Polish Republic in 1918 from the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires. Following the partitions in the late 18th century, Poland ceased to exist for 123 years until the end […]
A Train Day
We are taking a train from Nuremberg to Berlin to Warsaw to Bialystok. It’s about 13 hour train journey through the German and Polish countryside. Food and wine service and internet at full speed, it’s a relaxing way to travel.
3 Day Birthday Celebration
Today is officially Volker’s 60 birthday. We have been celebrating for the last two days but today it cumulated with a proper 6 hour German Lunch. Five courses, plus two extra desserts, plenty of wine and some great company. This charming little place is in Boxdorf – a tiny town between Nuremberg and Großgründlach.
Favorite Spots
A walk around the defence walls of the old city and some of the favourite and most picturesque spots in Nuremberg we remember. The castle is always good for a few good photos.
Still Feels Like Home
Still love this place, still feels like home, and it almost feels like we never left. The streets are the same, the places feel familiar – and most importantly we don’t get lost and walk around in circles looking for things.
Galileo Museum
Everything from Galilio’s finger to a broken glass from his telescope to everything else as it was invented to make the modern world tick – it’s all here and it is well worth a visit. Alternatively – it’s worth even getting the free app and do a virtual tour of the place to explore this […]
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
A different view of the Basilica in Florence. Less people, less noise and a differ view of the nightlife in Florence.
Arno River
Our hotel is right over the Arno River which gives us access not only to great views but also great photo opportunities. If you want to see something really interesting look this up here.
Car Tour
Some of the great sites we visited on the little vintage Fiat Tour. From vineries and olive tree orchards to monuments, churches and homes. Lots of great views, food and company. It truly was a great day.
Santa Croce
This tours is definitely lacking in visits to the holy places but little church certainly makes up for it. You walk in here and find some amazing crypts of who is who of Renaissance and beyond. St. Francis of Assisi left his frok here. Buried in this church are Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, Marconi, Rossini […]
Fiat Fun in Florence
This was really a last minute idea for doing something different – aka something that involved less walking and more sitting. We booked it the night before and had to get up early to be there by 8:30 am. This turned out to be a half day tour through the hills around Florence with an […]
Sunset over Florence
I think one of the greatest benefits of the hotel we are staying at, other than the fact that there are a lot of great pubic areas, is the rooftop patio. You can grab a drink from the bar, park yourself and enjoy a beautiful sunset. Truly amazing. […]
Florence by Night
Took a quick stroll after dinner to figure out where we should eat tomorrow…and to find a good gelato place, and we accomplished both. […]
New Digs in Florence
We took a train from Rome to Florence. This is the first time we are on holidays where we did not bother with a car. Less than 1.5hours later we were in the centre of Florence – instead of the usual almost a 4 hour drive. I think we can get use to it. We […]
Domitian Stadium
The Stadium of Domitian was dedicated in AD 86, as part of an Imperial building programme at the Field of Mars. It was Rome’s first permanent venue for competitive athletics – think Olympic Games and other things, including gladiator fights when the Colosseum burned down. It was modelled on Greek buildings and seated as many […]
Under the Trevi Fountain
To the right of the Baroque church on the opposite side of the Trevi Fountain are the ruins of an ancient Roman apartment complex located 9 meters beneath the city’s Trevi district. The archaeological site dates back to the first century, but wasn’t discovered until the late 1990s. The site is called Vicus Caprarius, the City […]
Villa Farnesina
Villa Farnesina was built for a wealthy banker back in the early sixteen century and ‘painted’ by many famous Italian painters including Raphael. It’s been rebuilt and redecorated and altered and reinforced to deal with the vibrations of the traffic to preserve the amazing frescos inside of it.
Trastevere
Trastevere – goes as far back as the days of emperor Augustus. It has been part of the city’s 14 districts, and it was quite popular with important Romans who built villas in this neighbourhood, including Julius Caesar. It is many colourful building and narrow streets. In the old days it was primarily occupied by fisherman […]
Sant’Ignazio
This is a small church among some 900 other churches in Rome, and is dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, located in Rome. Built in Baroque style between 1626 and 1650, the church functioned originally as the chapel of the adjacent Roman College, which moved in 1584 to a new larger […]
Roman Forum and Palatine
We have done bits and pieces of the Roman Forum and the Palatine but this time we took our time. I think we spent good 4 or 5 hours meandering through the ancient ruins of a city built upon an older city built upon and older city still, stories below where the current city is. […]
Still in Rome
Still walking around Rome looking for new things to explore and new things to see. We took a full 5 minute ride on a LIME scooter that would have taken 3 minutes to walk because of traffic and a minor confusion with a car on the road. After that we promptly park the darn thing […]
Went By a Church
Perhaps if Papa Francesco was in we would have gone to the church, aka as St. Peter’s Basilica, but in truth we really just went for the nice walk after dinner to enjoy the night views without the crowds, without the noise and without the vendors. It was a long day. […]
As The Sun Sets
The sunsets are crazy spectacular, this is taken from the edge of the gardens at Villa Borghese on our way down towards the Spanish Steps. On the way down we met the nicest young man a great artist from Albania, studying art in Rome, how amazing is that? […]
Chocolate Festival
In the gardens of Villa Borghese a chocolate festival, the richness of which you could smell from a mile away. Dangerous time and place to ‘find’ yourself in – just before dinner! […]
Quartiere Coppedè
This little area in Rome was built around the 1920s and is was famous for its mixture of several different architectural styles, all coming together to create something never seen before. This is the place where you will find the Villino delle fate (the fairy house) and in the centre of the square the Fountain […]
Shades of yellow orange and red
That seems to be the dominant colour palette for Rome. No matter where you are and no matter where you look those are the three primary colours, occasionally punched with a bit of white, mostly churches, and the broccoli trees, the towering pines. […]
Hello Roma
Yesterday was rough, but today after a good night’s sleep and plenty of coffee we are visiting the old favourites, away from crowds, and at a very leisurely pace. First stop Campo de’ Fiori. Colourful, fragrant and lively. Nothing changed here since our last visit and that’s a good thing. […]
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