Krakow – first time for me but not for the rest of the family. We are massively jet lagged but we keep pressing on. Kraków is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. The city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and has […]
Way back when, if you wanted to brew beer in Nuremberg you need to have a cellar, both for fermentation and storage. The cellars consist of a system of narrow tunnels and caverns that run under Nuremberg’s old town. Dating back to 14th century there were about 40 breweries in the small city all of […]
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.
Thun is a small city of about 45,000 residents. The area of what is now Thun was inhabited since the Neolithic age mid 300 BC. Like most Europe and Switzerland it was conquered by Rome in 58BC. In 1819 a Military School was founded in the city, which later developed into the main military school in […]
Milan dates back to 400BC. Today Milan is the 2nd largest metropolitan city in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1.3 million, while its urban area with a population estimated to be about 5.5 million is the 5th-largest in the EU. Milan is the main industrial and financial centre of Italy, it has the 3rd-largest […]
Last on the list today was a town of Radicofani. About 1100 people live in this village with has been restored in the 1990. The village is dominated by a massive fortress on the top of the hill with a 37m tower. There are two sets of defence walls at the fortress one pentagonal and […]
When it is all said and done, this is what nostalgia will look like. An evening out in Nuremberg on a beautiful summer’s day.
Today, I think is the last shopping trip I will be making. Just a few small things we still need to bring home. I say small because there simply aren’t too many things we need and there is no room in the suitcases. I am already starting to miss this town. It is had to […]
We are at T – 15 hours before we pack the car and the family takes the train for the trip to Frankfurt. Family from Poland stops by for a quick visit to say hello! We send the kids off to town in the early afternoon to visit at least one museum, and to have as much […]
Our last visit for the day is Chateau de Miromensil. The only way to see the chateau inside is either by booking a night or by booking a guided tour. We booked a guided tour of the chateau, the gardens and the chapel. The tour was in French but we were given information in […]
Our city is playing host to World Music Festival. The entire old town is filled with stages, musicians, buskers, visitors, people and in true German fashion a lot of beer and sausage stands. There appears to be more people here than there was for the Christmas market. It is warm, the atmosphere is great and […]
Eltz Castle is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The Rübenach and Rodendorf families’ homes in the castle are open to the public, while the […]
The Reichsburg Cochem had its first documentary mention in 1130. In 1151, it was occupied by King Konrad III, who declared it an Imperial castle. In 1688, the castle was overrun by French King Louis XIV’s troops in the course of the Nine Years’ War and the following year was destroyed. The castle complex lay in […]
Cochem is a small town of 5000 people which dates back to early Celtic and Roman times. In 886, it had its first documentary mention as Villa Cuchema. Cochem is famous for its wines and vineyards as well as its history. It was ruled by bishops, and dukes and princess, it was under Roman and French […]
No visit to an old European city would be complete without an obligatory visit to a church or two. We visited a lot of churches on our last excursion here but there are some which we did not get to. Particularly the church at the Merienberg Fortress, the Cathedral Cloisters which were closed last time […]
Finally after two days of rain the sun is out and it is instantly humid and hot. We are out for a lazy stroll around the city, a bit of shopping, a bit of sitting around and doing nothing and a bit of beer to cool off. We are going to miss this city, in […]
The Germans’ Gate from the 13th century is one of the last medieval bridge castles found in France. As a historic Garrison town, Metz has been heavily influenced by military architecture throughout its history. From ancient history to the present, the city has been successively fortified and modified to accommodate the troops stationed there. Defensive walls from classical antiquity […]
It is hard to capture the beauty of this road from a moving car. The views are simply breathtaking and spectacular, and I think for this reason alone we prefer to drive to these destinations. Tuscany is gorgeous, with its golden hills and winding roads, cypresses and vineyards and villas and towns perched on the top of […]
We are determined to still get some pool time in Arezzo today so we have left early – just a bit after 7am. We have about 900km to drive which should take about 8 hours. Austria is slow to drive through it is basically all dug out with massive construction everywhere plus on the best […]
Girls’s day out today is in Pottenstein. Evelina’s best friends Lisa is at our house for a sleepover. These two girls really hit it off at school and have been great friends. Today is Lisa’s turn to stay at our house. As a little treat and for a bit of a break we drove to a […]
A bit of a different perspective on the city. Out in the evening for some gelato to enjoy a slower pace of the city.
We are back to Altenburg Castle in Bamberg. It is such a beautiful and secluded site that offers phenomenal vistas of Bavarian countryside. This time for the first time we decided to climb the watch tower. There are two places where you can get some spectacular views. One of them is mid way through the tower […]
Today we did a tour of Nuremberg starting in the morning with a visit to the Imperial Castle and the lookout tower, then we worked our way down through the Old Town and in the evening we took off to see the sunset over the Colosseum and the Zeppelin Field.
We went out to see the sunset from the castle walls. Unfortunately the best view is from the lower gardens which together with the rest of the castle grounds closes at 8 pm. Undaunted, we set across the city in search of interesting sights and eventually a place to sit down and have a drink after […]
With Maciek here for a visit we are hitting all the big spots in Nuremberg to show off the city, get some exercise and see some beautiful sights. Today on 3 separate walks we managed to walk almost 19km in total. We walked the permitter of the Imperial Castle defence walls and moats, we walked […]
Koenigsbourg Castle is located not far from where we are hanging around today. Since we elected NOT to take a 2.5km hike to see the towering ruins of the 3 castles above the village of Ribeauvillé we decided to make the 20 min drive to see this castle instead. Koenigsbourg Castle dates back to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
Fisherman’s Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style located on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill just behind the Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902. Its seven towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896. The Bastion takes its name from the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city […]
The name “Budapest” is the composition of the city names “Buda” and “Pest” Dating back to before 1 AD Budapest is the 25th most visited city in the world and 6th most visited city in Europe. Budapest is extensively dotted with World Heritage Sites which include the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes’ Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, […]
This is our little hotel we stayed at in Ribeauvillé in Alsace France over the weekend. After lowering the bar significantly in London at Hotel Dumpshire this was not only a well deserved and great treat but a nice surprise. The hotel is located on a quiet square with a fountain just about in the middle […]
We are spending a nice spring weekend in France. Out in the middle of the French countryside about 80 km outside of Strasbourg is a picturesque little town called Ribeauvillé. Ribeauvillé is home to about 5 thousand people and a lot of very old and colourful Bavarian looking buildings dating back to the 8th century. Surrounded by […]
Today is the first day of Spring. Today is also the first day we were comfortable enough to go out in shorts and a t-shirt, although after an hour we though we were a bit overdressed. We have been planning to take a tour around the entire castle defence walls or the old town since […]
We spent another great day in Prague and we did not step foot into a single church. Right now it is our go to city for a day trip. We have been to Munich 5 times already but that was out of necessity, we have been to Prague 3 times because we wanted to go […]
We finally got a chance to see Kasia and Volker today, we have not seen Kasia since last year. We stepped out for a coffee at a movie theatre. We also found out that the movie theatre by our house, is the new Dolby Atmos theatre. Who knew! Now we are going to have to […]
It is still quite warm, and there is still no snow – winter is in full swing in Nuremberg.. We continue exploring the city on foot, one street at the time. After Christmas and Paris we will need a lot of walking to work off the calories be brought back with us. With the Christmas […]
On our short walk through the Old Town in Warsaw we walked by no less than 9 or 10 churches. Each nicer then the last. Some were empty, some were full of visitors, while others were at worship, some still were full of well wishers for the newly weds. Each different and unique with its […]
After a very late lunch we got out of the house for a walk – destination Warsaw Old Town. It was still +10C when we parked but the sun was already setting. It appears that at least half of the city of Warsaw had the same idea, Christmas walk around the Old Town. Warsaw puts […]
What used to be the second largest city in central Poland after Plock, is now a small medieval village of about 600 people just outside of Warsaw. The Gothic castle had great military importance, and was built like a fortress. The ruins of this castle, which was originally built in the early 11th century, are all […]
It’s officially winter here. There is still a bit of snow on the ground hiding in the shade, away from the sun. I had to go out to see Volker today so I took the camera and the big lens and started walking. I went through the deep part of the castle moat to get […]
Fall is here. It’s wet. There are some trees with are still quite green, and some that seem like they are on fire. The ones that have no leaves are green with all the moss that’s growing on them. It’s quite beautiful and colourful.
We have walked past this street about one hundred times, literally. It’s on the way to the Lego among other things. Not only did we find these very modern looking buildings right within the castle walls but we also found one of the best Sushi restaurants in the city called Sushi Glas. In Alberta there […]
Its beautiful and sunny. We continue to explore the city, or rather the old town. This time we are directly on the far side of the castle walls. One day we are planning on walking around the entire castle to see it from the far side of the defence walls and the moat just like […]
Autumn is here to stay that much is true. While it gets up to 15C during the day, it does cool off for the night. Its Saturday, and we are burning a lap around the old town. The old town is getting ready for the upcoming and world famous Christmas Market. We can’t wait. […]
The Western Harbour is the new part of Malmo being built at an incredible pace. Among the new buildings in the Western Harbour is the Turning Torso, a skyscraper with a twisting design, 190 metres (620 ft) tall is the tallest building in Scandinavia.
Malmo has two distinct districts, the old town which is not very traditional or conventional in the sense of old European towns. The other part is The Western Harbour which is being built on the peninsula and is ultra modern. Since the construction of the Öresund bridge, linking Sweden to Denmark, Malmö has undergone a major transformation with […]
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 […]
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. […]
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