Tag Archives: Castle
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Krakow

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 […]

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Nuremberg Cellars

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 […]

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Thun

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 […]

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Milan

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 […]

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Radicofani

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 […]

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Eltz Castle

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 […]

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Cochem Imperial Castle

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 […]

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The Germans’ Gate

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 […]

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Way Home

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 […]

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Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg

 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 […]

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Ljubljana Old Town

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 […]

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Buda Castle

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 […]

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Fisherman’s Bastion

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 […]

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Budapest

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, […]

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Hotel au Lion

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 […]

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Ribeauvillé – France

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 […]

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Churches in Warsaw

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 […]

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Moss

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.  

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Something Modern

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 […]

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Malmo – Old Town

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 […]

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Ulriksholm Castle

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 […]

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Old Town Copenhagen

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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