There is at least one church in each of the five villages, they are all very small as land is at premium. The church of San Giovanni Battista was built in 1340 but in 1820 the facade was rebuilt in a Neo-Gothic style. The Gothic doors, the wooden crucifix and the organ from 1851 are […]
As planned we arrived at Agriturismo Villanova right at 5:00 pm. This place is, once again, in the middle of nowhere, on the top of a hill just about 5 min drive from Levano town centre. We loved this place the moment we pulled up. Basically you turn off the road by the fire […]
Glitter glitter on the floor, ceiling and wall who is the richest god of them all? No matter where you go, where you turn you can not walk more than 100 m in Rome without walking past a church – each nicer than the last.
After visiting the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica we decided to visit a couple of other churches. These were simply on our way from point A to point B but we though it would be worth the effort to see if these smaller less impressive buildings will still have the same effect as they […]
The one Basilica to rule them all would be quite an understatement. There is really nothing in this world that can prepare you for the sheer magnificence of this place, or its gigantic proportions or it’s over the top splendour. We have seen our share of wonderful churches and cathedrals but nothing and I mean nothing comes […]
St. Peter’s Square is a massive plaza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave surrounded by Rome. At the centre of the square is an Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive […]
The first thing at the Vatican Museum that you see are the paintings. Each more important and more famous than the last. It appears that over the years the Popes were quite fond of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and other famous masters. There are some modern works of art here too which the Vatican […]
Our schedule is quite busy for today so we had to decline a visit with Papa Francesco at the Vatican, but we did send our €88 towards the church to get a line up free tickets to see the Vatican Museum. The moment we got off the bus we were happy that we got the […]
Today we are spending the afternoon in the beautiful Arezzo. Arezzo is very very old, it dates back, or portions of the city do, to 5th century BC. It is a small city but the old town is quite large with at least 20 churches, some medieval, some Tuscan Ghotic and some even dating back […]
We found a great little restaurant in Arezzo called Luck, the actual Italian name is Osteria da Luchino. Off the main street, no English menu, small and charming and just perfect. We decided to try the Italian way of eating dinner. You start off with a small pasta dish, then have the main course with […]
Arezzo Cathedral is perhaps one of the largest buildings in the old city. Perhaps it is not as ornate as the Public Library or some other churches here but it is quite impressive. Inside there are some beautiful fresco covering the entrée ceiling of the cathedral as well as a couple burial monuments dedicated to […]
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 […]
Not far from where we live, right across Dunkin’ Donuts and St. Klara church used to be St Martha’s church that was undergoing extensive renovations. We never got to see this church inside and now it looks like we won’t. It appears that durning the renovations, the roof being the only flammable thing on the church caught […]
A bit of a different perspective on the city. Out in the evening for some gelato to enjoy a slower pace of the city.
Know as the little Venice, Bamberg has its share of bridges and canals. There are quite a number of cities in Europe that try to make that claim but we all know there is only one Venice and everything else is just a town with a bunch of canals and bridges. Bamberg is a nice and […]
After the castle we hastily headed down to the restaurant as some storm clouds started rolling in. We did not have to walk far and in all honestly the rain did not last very long. But while it was raining we were sitting down enjoying a nice dinner and coffee. Good times, Prague never disappoints […]
We love this city. We love the sites and the atmosphere, we love the food and the architecture. Having seen most of the big sites on the previous trips today we are wondering around at a gingerly pace trying to take it all in one more time. I am not sure if we will be coming […]
This is the last church on the agenda for today. Although, on the way to the car, we did try to see another monastery which was closed. The Church of the Holy Trinity, located on the Gesandtenstrasse, was built in the midst of the Thirty Years War. This was one of the first evangelical churches […]
A few hundred meters down the road from the Monastery is The Neupfarr Church which is a Protestant parish church on Neupfarrplatz in the Old Town of Regensburg. This church was built on the foundation of the old Synagogue which with the rest of the Jewish quarter was demolished to make room for a new Protestant […]
Right in front of the Cathedral, no more than 50 meters from the front door and slightly to the left is St. Johann Monastery. The Monastery of St. John in Regensburg is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and was founded in 1127 by bishop Konrad I of Regensburg.
The Regensburg Cathedral dedicated to St Peter, is the most important church and landmark in Regensburg. It is the seat of the Catholic diocese of Regensburg. The Cathedral is an example of pure German Gothic and counts as the main work of Gothic architecture in Bavaria. It was founded in 1275 and completed in 1634, with […]
We continue our holy week and with it the required visits to as many churches as happen to be on our way from point A to point B. Niedermünster Abbey was built and rebuilt on the foundation of the first church which was built in the year 700. At the height of its power it […]
Today we are travelling about 100km south east to Regensburg. This small city is nothing like Nurember or Wurzburg which we visited a couple of days ago. The city dates back to the Stone Age. The Celtic name Radasbona was the oldest name given to a settlement near the present city. Around AD 90, the […]
First stop, after we pared the car, is Scots Monastery from 1070. The full official name of the actual church, the most prominent building within the abbey complex, is The Irish Benedictine Abbey Church of St. James and St. Gertrude. Like many other churches and abbey this one too was burnt down, demolished, rebuilt and […]
It is hot. It is 33C and on the cobbles in the old town it is even hotter. It feels like we are walking on a frying pan. Seeking shade and some reprieve from the heat wave instead of exploring the old town we decided to revisit the three big churches in Nuremberg. The beauty of these […]
After the last church we sat down to relax and have a coffee. No more than 100m from the coffee shop is the main market place and another church. A towering gothic building done in red and white is St Mary’s Chapel or Marienkapelle Church and the Baroque facade of the Falkenhaus. The former home of a wealthy citizen, today the Falkenhaus […]
Eleventh Century Romanesque Basilica Constructed over the stone coffin Of St Kilian, The Irish Missionary murdered here in 689. The Baroque facade was added between 1710-1716. This church is not huge but it is very interestingly decorated with vibrant way of the cross paintings which are very modern as well what appears to be a four Blade […]
The present cathedral, built from 1040 onwards by Bishop Bruno of Würzburg, reckoned to be the fourth largest Romanesque basilica in Germany, is the third church on the site: the previous two, built in about 787 and 855, were respectively destroyed and severely damaged by fire. After Bruno’s accidental death in 1045, his successor Adalbero […]
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 […]
A year has come and gone. So far we have visited 11 countries and what seems like innumerable number cities and perhaps even more restaurants and shops. We walked what seems like hundreds of kilometres on old cobble stones, consumed pounds and pounds of gelato and drunk gallons of espresso and wine. The blog has had over 22,000 […]
Wasting no time today, we got up early, had a nice breakfast and headed out to see more Berlin. On the agenda today is East Side of Berlin. We were a bit worried because it rained all night but the weather is cooperating so we should have a great day out.
We set out to revisit the German National Museum today. It is hard to be impressed, especially after seeing The Louvre and The British Museum in London, yet we remain charmed by the German National Museum in Nuremberg. It has a lot of really amazing exhibits, it is quite big, yet small enough to really […]
Today is our last full day in Italy so we are visiting Treviso. This small city of about 80,000 people is actually quite famous. Treviso became a city in 89 BCE, the main road leading up to the Venetian defence walls is lined with spectacular villas on both sides of the road. Because of its […]
St. Mark’s Basilica is the most famous of the city’s churches and one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture. It lies at the eastern end of the Piazza San Marco, adjacent and connected to the Doge’s Palace. Originally it was the chapel of the Doge, and has only been the city’s cathedral since 1807. Know for […]
There are some 190 churches in Venice. To see them all in one day or even a week is mission impossible. There are churches dedicated to all sorts of saints and holidays and important historical events you can imagine. ” The plague is over” – let’s celebrate and built a church – literally. To make […]
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 are going church crazy today – it’s almost Easter so why not. St. Peter’s Abbey is well over 1300 years old. This old Benedictine Monastery is a church, it has a spectacular library, a small quiet and charming cemetery, if there is such a thing, a massive court yard and the oldest European […]
The University Church with its grandiose façade is one of the most magnificent Baroque churches in Austria. It feels light, open and airy – with the usually obscene dash of expansive marbles and gold, as no god could ever be happy without the usual riches. The chapels inside the church are dedicated to the patron […]
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 […]
This is yet another Baroque style church. Splendid last time we looked at it and even more so with bright sunlight shining through the windows. Simply spectacular and awe inspiring.
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.
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 […]
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 of this little village of 1500 just rolls off your tongue – Riquewihr, Riquewihr, Riquewihr. This little village is located about 5km from Ribeauvillé or 6km if you take the scenic route through the winding roads leading through the vineyards. Riquewihr is an old wine trading village , famous for it architecture and for the Riesling and other great wines […]
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 […]
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. […]
Beautiful day, time on our hands, great chance to explore the less traveled by streets of Nuremberg old town.
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 […]
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 […]
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