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 – […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
As my wife said, when you come to Budapest but don’t stop by Zeller Bistro, for dinner – you have wasted your trip here. Zeller is a very small bistro on the Pest side of the city, family own and family run. They also own a small farm and make their own wine and some […]
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 […]
Originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, the current building was constructed in the late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of medieval Hungarian Kingdom. Officially named as the Church of Our Lady, […]
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 […]
Colmar, now a home to some 67,000 people, was founded in the 9th century. It is the third largest city in Alsace and a self proclaimed capital of Alsatian wine. If you have heard of the Statue of Liberty then you know Colmar – indirectly. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was a French sculptor who is best known for designing […]
We were not early out of bed today, but in the morning on the way down to the main market square in search of suitable place to sit outside for breakfast we got to explore a bit more of this amazing little town. Ribeauvillé is almost like a medieval movie set – all homes are […]
There is this charming and almost enchanted looking fence on the way to Volker’s office. It is just another row of old stone buildings with a small garden up front, on an ordinary street just on the outskirts of the old town and yet there is something different and almost magical about this place – […]
Thursday is a long day at school for kids. Evelina finishes at 3:30 while Boris is done at 5:00. All other days they finish at 1:00 so Thursdays are tough. Since they have an hour for lunch we decided to meet up and have it together.
We are continuing to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. It’s is warm, it is dry and it is very sunny.
Located in the district of Nuremberg Mögeldorf the fortified churches of St. Nicholas and St. Ulrich are situated right next to the Haller Castle. Together with a number of small artisan homes a walled park with a bridge and a bridge house this neighbourhood was originally settled somewhere around the 8th or 9th century. […]
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 […]
At the end of the boulevard, the canal that feeds the castle moats turns into a lake. There is a huge park on both side of the lake with cafes, a boat rental and a lot of walking trails. Since last year, we also have a fancy new sand beach. The park was full of […]
At the end of our short street is a boulevard that separates our neighbourhood from the moat canals and the parks down below. On the boulevard there is a massive statue dedicated to Bismarck. It is quite old and a bit damaged, undoubtedly by both wars. This place is great for either getting to the […]
No matter where we go, the patios are full of people sitting around and enjoying the wonderful weather. A couple of days ago somewhere by Frankfurt we set a new record for the daily high it was 23.7C. We are out and about in t-shirts wondering if by the weekend we will be able to […]
Beautiful day, time on our hands, great chance to explore the less traveled by streets of Nuremberg old town.
It is absolutely glorious outside. T-shirt and a sport jacket kind of day, although there are people wearing shorts already we are not as adventurous.
I think it is safe to say that Spring is here. Birds are out, flowers are out and the leaves are coming. It’s glorious, and warm and beautiful. [he]
The German National Museum is quite stunning. It is a mix of ultra modern and old gothic buildings, including an old church. Some of the old buildings date back to 1525. Some of the most valuable exhibits in the museum collection are the oldest known wooden globe which predates Columbus’ discovery of America and a […]
After dinner and ice cream we decided to go by and see the German National Museum in Nuremberg, which is exactly at the opposite end of the Old Town. A nice stroll through the old town, on a beautiful February evening. There are almost 1.2 million articles in the museum which was started in 1852. […]
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 made it across the parking lot before our first stop – a whole 50 m. Can you guess where we are?
St. Klara is a small church in the Old Town district of St. Lawrence on the King’s Road between St. Lorenz Church and Frauentor Chruch. Dating back to 1270, St. Klara is one of the oldest preserved sacral building in the city. During the Second World War, the church was badly damaged in a bombing raids […]
Our Danish friends are here for a week. First order of the day is to go out for a walk after a big brunch. The day did not live up to its +15C today but any day without snow, wind or sleet we will take. Beautiful day to be outside – tomorrow a day […]
The Tooth Fairy has been very busy around this house. Evelina has lost so many teeth that her retainer does not stay in anymore. Today we went to see an orthodontist to get it adjusted, but just as we suspected until some new pearly whites come in, no retainer will be worn. Evelina seems quite […]
Massive but orderly lineups, and much excitement was caused by Nuremberg getting its own Dunkin’ Donuts. We went out to find it today. For those of you who have visited us here, the store is close to the main train station, and the 3D cinema, or a 5 min walk from our flat. Today, […]
The amazingly beautiful day with blue sky and an occasional cloud floating by provides a perfect canvas for looking at the detailed spires topping many of the buildings throughout the city. These are just a few of them from the Old Town, before my battery died in the camera.
It’s Spring. We are back to double digits with beautiful blue sky and sunshine! Birds are chirping, people are out in full force on the patios eating ice cream and having iced drinks. It is absolutely gorgeous, and warm – and we love it.
We spotted this outside our home today and there was definitely something odd about this disguise.
One of the most quaint places in Nuremberg, is the little island in the middle of the old town. It is tiny, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in charm. From one end of the island you can see a bridge and the old hospital. If you look online it is […]
I am not sure where they hide swans for the winter but today we spotted a couple of them on one of the moats, which hopefully means spring is almost here. You couldn’t tell that if you looked around at what people are wearing in town; let’s just say that fur coats have been out […]
Across the square from St. Elisabeth Church is St. Jacobs Church. The Gothic old-Franconian Church of St. James was originally the hospice church for the German Order. The original building was erected in mid to late 14th century. The Church was badly damaged during the war and was rebuilt with some alterations. The nave houses some […]
At the far end of the promenade leading away from St. Lorenz Church is a St. Jacobs Square on which two churches are built. St. Jacob and St. Elisabeth. The neo-classical church building is divided into three rooms. This is a square that is pulled apart in the middle and broken by a rotunda. The entrance and the […]
We set off South today to get to the ‘bottom’ part of the old town. We know that the German National History Museum is located there as is the installation of the Way of Human Rights, which display the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 27 pillars written in German and one other language. One day we […]
We are slowly beginning to understand how winter works here. When it snows, you get out to take a picture of it, because by noon most of it, if not all of it is gone. We had snow here now on and off for the last two days. There are places in the city where […]
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 […]
And now for something completely different.
After a lovely dinner on the Prague Castle side of town, in the same restaurant we ate last year, we went for a stroll to walk off the 4 tonnes of food we consumed before heading home. Let me see if I remember the meal. Beef goulash soup in a bread bowl, fries, potato mushroom […]
Tyn Church, or The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, dominates one side of the Old Town Square in Prague. The two 80m spires of this powerful looking, Gothic church (with a Baroque interior) can be seen from all over Prague. The oldest pipe organ in Prague stands inside this church. The organ was built in 1673 by […]
I have to say that after Paris, Prague is our second favourite city so far. Copenhagen is a close third. We mainly came back here to relax and of course to eat more fried cheese, and oh boy was it ever good. I think we are going to be back here at least one more […]
This is a city of Kafka as seen from the top of the City Hall Tower. Absolutely no one there, and unlike most towers we visited so far, this one has an evaluator! Naturally we elected to take the stairs – on the way down, to save a bit of time as we had to […]
Introduction to Life 101 in the Communist Block. We drag our children around these odd places to show them how we lived when we were their age. No iPhones or iPads or laptops, no video games and no internet. However, if you were lucky you could buy a block of chocolate once a month if […]
It’s a day out. A couple of hours in the car and just like that we are in Prague having pastries at Paul. Getting here was not a lot of fun: fog, a bit of rain and generally slow going, and by slow I simply mean we took it easy.
I am not implying that winter is over, I am simply saying that spring is coming. Glorious!
The more we get around the more of these things we notice. We walk down the same path time and time again and always find something new. Nuremberg is quite amazing from that perspective, and this is just a small part of the old town.
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