We are going to Venice this morning for a day. There are a number of ways of getting there, but since we have a car we going to drive across the Liberty Bridge and park at the first available parking garage. Parking in Venice is interesting. We pulled into the first parking garage which has […]
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 […]
We have arrived in Ljubliana, Slovenia. We are sticking to our strictly regimented schedule. Drive, check in, go out to eat!
We are leaving Salzburg once again and driving to Slovenia. It should be a great drive through the mountains, it is only about 3 hours with a stop or two for coffee. It’s nice and sunny so the views should be amazing and hopefully the traffic will be light.
Some 5 minutes on foot from our hotel is St. Sebastian’s Church. Tucked away behind the church is a famous cemetery. The cemetery was designed in the shape of an Italian Capo Santo. There are a number of famous Salzburg natives found here – their last resting place. Mozart’s widow and his father were buried […]
According to some sources, including the restaurant itself of course, the Siftskeller has been serving food since 803, making it the oldest restaurant in Europe. Not 1803 – that’s not a typo. Eight-oh-three. Although we can’t personally verify this data, we can certainly attest to the quality of food and service. We started with a […]
From the top of Salzburg Fortress the views are breath taking. Today, for the first time we actually got to see the mountains form the city. While fog and clouds add their own mystique to this town, clear blue skies and white capped mountains have their own beauty. We are happy to be here, it […]
We are back in Salzburg for a couple of days. This time, while it is still quite cool, there is sunshine and blue skies. We can finally see the mountains surrounding this great city. While today we only took a quick stroll it was great to see some of the old places we visited without […]
Sankt Georgen im Attergau is where Anna’s dad spent 9 month some 35 years ago waiting for a Canadian visa. After defecting from Poland and surrendering his passport to Viennese Police he was sent to Sankt Georgen refugee camp, which was located on the lower level of this lovely hotel in a quiet village on the […]
We are setting off on a little holiday with Anna’s parents. First we are driving to Sankt Georgen im Attergau, in Austria where Anna’s dad begun his journey to Canada some 35 years ago. We are then going to spent 2 days wondering around Salzburg, a day in Ljubljana, Slovenia and then off to Treviso, Italy […]
We are setting off for dinner to the old town which is a short walk from out home, but the sky looks like it is ready to turn into a biblical proportion downpour – hopefully we will make it there before it does.
We spent a day exploring a bit of our beautiful city – from the Imperial Castle to the old town and a section of newly renovated St. Sebaldus Church. After a bit of pre-dinner gelato and a lovely dinner, we set out for another walk around the large park by our house. Lovely day… […]
In an unusual turn of events we are out of the house before 9 am. Out of the house, through the park to the bakery to get some fresh bread. Our parents are here, and in about an hour more guests from Poland are arriving for the weekend. It’s going to be fun.
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 – […]
This place is no Zeller Bistro but we are out trying something new. Tonight we are at Lado Cafe. This little place, is where the locals hang out to have a dinner and listen to some live jazz or blues. Tonight is a live jazz show. Frankly we did not have the time to take […]
Art Deco is everywhere in Budapest, but so are great many other buildings in Romanesque, Gothic, Gothic Revival, Neo-Classical, Baroque, Hungarian secessionist, Renaissance and modern styles. For anyone with any interest in architecture Budapest is a treasure trove of amazing examples of different architectural styles – more often than not standing side by side.
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 […]
Budapest – the city of cafes and pastry shops is not disappointing. Laying waste to our waist lines is this little gem. Going back to 1956 this quaint little cafe, off the beaten path has been serving amazing cakes and coffees for well over half a century. We are talking a small break to relax, […]
The Parliament Building on the bank of the Danube is currently the largest building in Hungary and together with St. Stephen’s Basilica the tallest building in Budapest standing at 96m. The number 96 refers to the nation’s millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later Kingdom of Hungary in 896. About one thousand people were involved in construction of the Parliament, during […]
The church is named after Saint Stephen I of Hungary, the first King of Hungary (c. 975–1038), whose incorruptible right hand is housed in the reliquary. This is the most important church building in Hungary, one of the most significant tourist attractions and the third highest building in Hungary. Equal with the Hungarian Parliament Building, it is one of […]
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 […]
After a nice visit to Buda site of Budapest we crossed the famous Chain Bridge, to Pest side of the city. This, architecturally speaking, is the modern part of the city. Pest side of the city is a treasure trove of Art Deco, Neoclassical and Classical architecture, perhaps mores than Prague. For me that is […]
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 […]
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, […]
This will be our home – away from home, away from home for the long weekend while we explore Budapest. So far our impressions are pretty good and we are looking forward to staying here and sampling the breakfast tomorrow morning, and each morning after that. We are about 10 minute walk away from […]
We are on our way to Budapest, Hungary. It is a great and leisurely drive, the roads are pretty much empty and there is not a lot of construction. We made 3 quick stops, two of which were to buy road vignettes – a precautionary measure to avoid unpleasantries with border control like the last […]
We are going to Hungary for the long weekend. In our sights we have Budapest, what we understand to be an amazing city full of splendid cafes, mineral baths and spicy paprika and goulash among other more cultural things.
We are setting off for Munich – once again. A bit of paper work to deal with at our favourite place the Polish Embassy.
A slow and leisurely drive through Alsace countryside, on a beautiful and sunny Sunday morning.
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 […]
This is the main church in Colmar, built in Gothic style in yellow and red sandstone. Originally the church was built in Carolingian style around the year 1000. There are a number of unique and rare features and ornaments in this church dating back to the 1300’s. With Sarah Pacini on the horizon we stopped in for a […]
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 […]
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 […]
We are continuing to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. It’s is warm, it is dry and it is very sunny.
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 […]
No, it is not snow, I think we are done with that horror. At first we thought that the tree by our house was a pussy willow but it turns out that all the pussy willows turned into these white flowers. The cherry trees are in bloom too, so it’s white, yellow and pink everywhere […]
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 […]
With spring comes warmth, with warmth come flowers and with flowers come bees. They waste no time and they are hard at work – just like us.
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 […]
We are heading out for another busy day today. This one is almost entirely dedicated to what kids want to do. Here are some streets around our hotel on our way to the tube.
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]
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 […]
There are more and more signs of Spring. Flowers are springing everywhere, buds on the trees are coming out and shrubs are starting to bloom. Also the local beavers are out of their dens and out in full force sharpening their teeth. We are up to mid teens in temperature which makes these outings […]
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.
Apparently it snowed last night, not much but enough to leave residue of some white sprinkling on the roofs. I think today was the coldest day that we can remember pushing +2C maybe +3C. It was actually chilly. We did not find a lot of snow but we did find more signs of spring which […]
I am not implying that winter is over, I am simply saying that spring is coming. Glorious!
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