Cistercian abbey to remember

On the recent trip to Tuscany we discovered San Galgano Abbey, which is for me one of the most beautiful monuments I have ever seen. The mysterious atmosphere of the place and the enigma of noble man Galgano Guidotti who renounced a life of “arrogance, lust and violence” to become a hermit after seeing a vision of the Archangel Michael really made a big impression on me.

The site is made up of two major attractions: the gothic roofless cathedral and the unusually shaped monastery of Montesiepi, and ancient hermitage, which hosts the tomb of San Galgano and the sword in the stone.

Sommer-urlaub in Österreich

We took full advantage of one-week vacation and made a short trip to probably one of the most scenic holiday destination in Austria, Zell am See-Kaprun region. And it really is something special. You can enjoy the beautiful mountain panorama, glaciers, majestic  Kitzsteinhorn, while  swimming in Zeller See.

Since Germany is so close, we also visited two lakes. One was Koenigsee that lies embedded between the mountains of the Berchtesgaden national park, with its crystal clear water, and the second Hintersee close to Ramsau. This area belongs to national park and any human intervention is prohibited. This is why you can walk through forests that are left untouched and are threfore allowed to grow old, decay and be reborn on their own.

It trully is nature’s paradise.

5 terre – the 2nd day

The next day we took a train from Levanto and started our journey through five villages – Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso al Mare, Riomaggiore and Vernazza.

When you arrive in any of the villages, you get the feeling, that they almost stand on the last fingertip of land and that they will sink into the sea every moment now.

For centuries, the five small villages have been inaccessible by land due to the steep terrain. Each of them has something different to offer:

- Monterosso a famous beach, a monastery with some fine paintings and an ancient castle.

- Corniglia great views of the other towns

- Vernazza with crashing waves and the ramparts of a ruined medieval tower.

- Riomaggiore is famous for having numerous aquariums and towns vineyards

- Manarola, an authentic fishing village, is most probably the most genuine of them all. It may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338.

5 terre – beginning

Prolonged weekend was a great opportunity for a quick getaway from everyday haste. We spent wonderful weekend in the Ligurian most known area, Cinque terre.

We left the country on thursday very early and were able to avoid the traffic jam near all the biggest cities in Italy. Around Modena we had enough of the highway and decided to take a scenic road going from Reggio nell’Emillia towards la Spezia.  As it turned up, it was a good idea. The road took us through beautiful land, passing by small cities like Castellnovo ne’Monti,  Fivizzano and over two mountain passes.

Finally we stopped in Levanto, since it is near to Cinqueterre and offers a good connection by train. This town is situated on the coast at the end of a valley, thickly wooded with olive and pine trees. It has a long sandy beach, an old city center, many magnificent villas and some of Italy’s biggest waves.

To be continued.

Stockholm visit – last day

Stockholm visit – part II

Skansen museum.

Stockholm visit – part I

Last week I finally visited one of my most wanted destinations and that was Sweden, Stockholm to be more precise .

Stockholm is often called the museum city since it has more than 70 museums. One of the main attractions is Gamla Stan or the old town. It is a short walk from downtown Stockholm and is rich with history and architecture. While walking towards the main Stockholm center, the change of architecture is so dramatic. You can feel the transition between the old and the new.

The old town is basically the original Stockholm area from the 17th century or earlier. Just walking through the streets of the old town, takes you into a completely different world of the small open cafes, numerous antique shops and old buildings.

Next day I visited Skansen museum, that is said to be best Scandinavian outdoor museum. Besides a zoo with elks, bears, lynx, and other animals typically found in Sweden, there is an entire “town quarter” simulating life in Stockholm in the mid-19th century. Among the houses there are glass and jewelry workshops, blacksmiths, bakeries and many more. There are real farmsteads brought here from all over the country to show how traditional Swedish houses of hundreds of years ago looked in the past three centuries. Actors and actresses wearing traditional clothing “live” in these farmsteads and display how life was like back in the old days. This is by far Swedens biggest tourist attraction but I find out that majority of the people visiting Skansen are the Swedes themselves.

I am not much of a museum type of a person, but I decided to visit Vasa museum, since it is a little bit different from the other museums. This is where the sunken ship Vasa is restored and kept. Vasa is a famous ship of Sweden which sank just after sailing for 1300 meters. It was found after 300 years. I almost ended up feeling sorry for the people who made the ship with so much care. The whole museum is darkened and the effect of the yellow light highlighting just the ship is brilliant.

City of a Hundred Spires

Prague, an ancient European city, situated between a hill and a valley on the banks of the Vltava River, famous for its beauty. The city is full of gothic, renaissance, baroque, and art nouveau architecture, bridges, domes and palaces. 

Of course there are also many pubs and restaurants where one can try the superb beer and traditional cousine. 

Three days, as we spent in this beautiful city, are definitely too little to see everything. But it was enough to feel the pulse. Prague is a fantastic destination and no matter if you are on a romantic trip or on a leisure holiday, there is something for everyone. It is a city that is breathtaking not only during the day, but also in morning and evening hours. 

Colourful Burano – part I

The island of Burano lies in the northern part of the Venetian Lagoon, approximately a half hour vaporetto ride from Venice.  It has a much different atmosphere from Venice’s historic center, thanks to its custom of painting houses in bright colors. Everywhere you look, you can see small houses painted in blue,  yellow, green, pink, …. It is such a joy to explore the back streets of this small Venetian Island.

Beside the colourful houses, the island’s most notable landmark is the leaning tower of the San Martino church.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.