Travel
Vienna’s plague column
I’ve already written about Plague art in Vienna in an earlier post, concentrating on the impressive Plague column and the monumental Karlskirche. Both of these monuments were erected to commemorate Vienna’s emergence from tragic outbreaks of the Plague, and both are well-known landmarks of modern-day Vienna. The Plague, otherwise known as Bubonic Plague or ‘Black Death’…
Read MoreThe doors of Essaouira, Morocco
I’ll definitely focus a future post on the picture-perfect coastal city of Essaouira, in central Morocco, with its impressive walls, its position as an outpost on the Atlantic, its windy coastline, and its past as a Portuguese colony. But today, I want to concentrate primarily on the colorful doors of Essaouira. This is one of…
Read MoreEarly morning jogs on the beach of Agadir, Morocco
Last week, work found me in the coastal Moroccan city of Agadir, to the country’s south. It was my first time to this city, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960 and rebuilt in a new and modern style. The beach is lined with hotels and the straight,white lines of the modern town have…
Read MoreCrossing the Dubai Creek on an abra
The abra is fun to watch as it crosses from one side of the Dubai Creek to the other, from Bur Dubai to Deira. The abra is a traditional boat made of wood that serves as a water taxi. The crossing costs 1 dirham, and is paid on board to the ferry captain. We had…
Read MoreVisiting the idyllic Rožmberk nad Vltavou Castle, Czech Republic
The little town of Rožmberk nad Vltavou is a small down in southern Bohemia, close to the Austrian border and situated along the Vltava (Moldau) River. It is only a few kilometers of the pretty town of Český Krumlov, and looks like a miniature version of that town. The most famous monument in the town –…
Read MoreKafka’s castle? Frýdlant, Czech Republic
If you’re in northern Czech Republic, just beyond Liberec and close to the Polish border, you’ll want to see the dramatic Frýdlant Castle in the little town of Frýdlant that is dominated by its hilltop castle. This is said to have been the castle that inspired Franz Kafka’s famous novel The Castle. Following the Battle of…
Read MorePining away for the Palm Beach resort, Maldives
I don’t know what it is about the first week of February, but whenever it rolls around I see I’m writing travel posts from tropical locales I’ve visited earlier. Apparently, I’m sick of the cold and want to bask in memories of lounging on warm beaches. This year is no exception. Last Easter, I was…
Read MoreReason #5383 to love Rome: San Teodoro neighborhood
San Teodoro an interesting, and very old, neighborhood of Rome, tucked away between the Circo Massimo, Campidoglio and the Ghetto. It’s said to be the area where Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were said to be suckled by the she-wolf. Today, it’s a quiet neighborhood: only a few cross roads and a few sites…
Read MoreQueuing up for the London Eye
As anyone traveling with kids knows, travel plans alter radically once you are lugging along pint-sized companions. On a trip to London with my children, I had plenty of activities to fill our days, but none of them included queuing up for kilometers to go on a giant ferris wheel. Unfortunately, the London Eye is visible…
Read MoreExplore Palais Ferstel’s Passage, Vienna
In Mitteleuropa and Eastern Europe, I always love peeking into the spectacular ‘passages’. Vienna is no exception and the beautiful Freying Passage of the Palais Ferstel is well worth a visit on your next visit to stately Vienna. The palace is named after Heinrich von Ferstel, the architect who built it in 1860. The passage…
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