It was Palm Sunday when I visited Kraków, an important day for Catholics in Poland, and the weather was fine to boot, so the town was rather crowded, not only with - mostly Polish - tourists, but with pretty much all inhabitants of the city and surroundings. Many women and children were carrying bouquets made of evergreen and spring flowers. The festive atmosphere was a nice addition to my
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A Virtual Tour through Kraków’s Old Town
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Happy Easter
I wish everyone a Happy Easter holiday. Stay safe and healthy.
Easter market in the Old Town Square in Prague
I'm remiss on posting new content, but due to Corona, I had to cancel my planned tour to Lithuania and Latvia next week. Because of that and the whole messed-up situation I feel a bit down right now and not in the mood for writing a long history post.
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Jewish Kraków: A Virtual Tour through the Kazimierz and Podgórze Quarters
Kazimierz is a very different part of the historical Kraków. Less frequented by tourists, but popular with young people. Some houses have already been renovated and look as pretty as in the Old Town, but others still need some new paint or a sandblasting. It gives the place a slightly rundown, but charming atmosphere.
Street Café in Kazimierz
Originally, the part of the historical centre of
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A Bronze Age Cemetery – The Clava Cairns near Inverness
I visted the site in early summer 2013, a year before Claire Beauchamp-Randall stepped through a cleft stone into pre-Culloden Scotland, and brought a trail of visitors to the hence quite place. Back then, the Clava Cairns at Balnuaran, not far from the battlefield of Culloden, were a lovely spot, especially on a sunny day. Now the inrush of visitors – not all of them respectful to the ancient
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The Brochs of Gurness and Midhowe on Orkney – Their Function in Iron Age Society
Brochs are quite frequent in northern Scotland; the remains of some 500 can be found on Orkney, Shetland, the western isles, and Caithness on the Scottish mainland down to the Great Glen. Further south, stone brochs are almost nonexistant. But few are as well preserved and impressive as the Broch of Gurness on the Orkney Mainland and Midhowe Broch on the island of Rousay.
Midhowe Broch with
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Big Ol’ Stones – Neolithic Burials in Northern Germany
I got some more old stones for you. There are several sites in northern Germany where you may come across curious settings of rather large boulders. Their presence has been blamed on giants or the devil, and they are often known as ‘giant’s bed’, ‘devil’s oven’ and such, complete with legends how the giant or devil got tricked by the nearby villagers and was buried there.
Neolithic stone
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Silver Mines and Hussite Wars – A Walk through the Historical Kutná Hora, Czechia
I seldom participate in guided tours when traveling since I prefer more freedom, but sometimes it's the better option than spending too much time trying to get to a place by public transport. The visit to the Sedlec Ossuary and the town of Kutná Hora in Czechia was one of those tours.
Kutná Hora, view from St. Barbara's Church to the old town, with St.James Church (left) and Italian Palace (
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Pretty Houses in Cheb / Eger
I included an overnight stop in Cheb (also known by its German name Eger) on my way to Prague, for one because the town is the site of a 12th century palatine castle – which will get its own post – and because its proximity to other interesting places like Loket Castle and Karlovy Vary. Cheb also has a pretty town centre with historical houses, so I took a little walk with my camera.
Cheb (
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Death by Porridge – The Daneil Cave in the Harz: Legends and Geology
There are several large and a number of smaller caves in the Harz mountain range, from the dripstone caves in the karst area to those in the Buntsandstein layer in the northern Harz. One of the latter became famous for serving as abode to a gang of robbers in the late 16th century. The so-called Daneil's Cave lies in the Huy, a forested ridge between Quedlinburg and Halberstadt (today
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Revisiting the Harz – A Little Autumn Tour
I had planned a spring journey to Lithuania and Latvia that fell victim to Corona, though I hope I can do it some other time. But with traveling within Germany being rather safe now, I decided to sneak in a little autumn tour and went to one of my favourite destinations for a few days – visiting Goslar and Quedlingburg in the Harz, including some hiking. I've visited both towns before, but
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Impressions from Rugia – The Pier of Sellin
Just some pretty photos today. One of the iconic motives on Rugia – besides the Königsstuhl and Kap Arkona – is the Pier of Sellin.
The pier of Sellin
I went there on a late afternoon and thus got some nice photos with a play of light and shadow. It was October, and the sun was pretty low already; a lovely end to a nice day out (once the morning rains had been blown away).
Closeup of the
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Stapelburg Castle – A Little Known Ruin in the Harz
I came across that one a few years ago during one of the Harz tours I did with my father. The ruins of the Stapelburg – only the ringwall, bits of the curtain wall and part of the palas, the great hall, remain – are situated on a hill between Bad Harzburg and Ilsenburg on the northern foothills of the Harz. The land there is already rather flat, so the 60 metres hight hill stands out and offers
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It is November Again
Which means I spend the time writing as much as possible during the National Novel Writing Month
I reached the required 50.000 words on Tuesday, but I'll continue to concentrate on writing until the end of the month. Regular blogging will resume in December.
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A Holy Rock – The Klusfelsen in Goslar
The Klusfelsen rock formation is a little known landmark in Goslar, usually relegated to the footnotes in travel guide books. After some initial signposts, I had to ask the locals for directions to get there. And then, passing a small path between some suburban houses, a meadow opened and on its farther edge I found this.
The Klus Rock in the evening sun
The Klusfelsen (Klus Rock) is a
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A Piece of Norway in the Harz – the Stave Church at Hahnenklee
It's not exactly a sight you'll expect when driving or hiking in the Harz area, but there it is.
The Stave Church at Hahnenklee
This Scandinavian looking stave church is located in the outskirts of Hahnenklee, a borough of Goslar. Hahnenklee became popular as spa town in the 19th century, so that a larger church was needed for the visitors to be able to attend service; the parish church had
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A Treasure in the Evening Twilight – The Romanesque Church in Gehrden / Brakel
This one was a chance find. My father and I returned from a longer tour, hit a diversion route which confused the GPS until I got out the good old road map and brought us back on track. We drove through several villages west of the Weser river in the fading light of an autumn evening and came across this beauty.
View to the St.Peter and Paul Church in Gehrden
The chapter church St.Peter and
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Another Little-Know Romanesque Church – St.Mary in Wilhelmshausen / Fulda Valley
St.Mary's Church in Wilhelmshausen, a village in the Fulda river vallley not far from Kassel, was not exactly a chance find since had I learned about its existence when I researched the history of Castle Sichelnstein. So I put the little beauty on the list for a time we would come into the area – which happened during the tour to Castle Grebenstein.
View to St.Mary in Wilhelmshausen
The
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Summer Greens and Blues – The Bruchteiche Lakes near Bad Sooden-Allendorf
We all need a bit of summer greens and blue sky after the browns and dull yellows of winter (at least there were a few days of pretty white snow as well this year), don't we? So here's a picture post about a lovely little lake.
The Bruchteiche lakes near Bad Sooden-Allendorf, first lake
I could not find much information about the Bruchteiche (Bruch Ponds). They are two artificial lakes which
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Sites of the Weimar Classicism – Introduction
When I traveled to Erfurt in 2017, I not only collected some more castles, but I also made a sort of pilgrimage. England got Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon; Germany got Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) and Friedrich Schiller (1759 – 1805) and the towns of Weimar and – to a lesser extent – Jena, connected with the Weimar Classicism.
Weimar, the Ducal House (Fürstenhaus) (1)
Since
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Sites of the Weimar Classicism – The Park at the Ilm
My hotel in Weimar was close to one of the entrances to the Park at the Ilm, so I decided for an afternoon walk upon my arrival. First, I went straight to Goethe's garden house in order not to miss the opening hours (it will get its own post), but afterwards I just strolled through the park without a list of things to see., But I came across some of the famous features like the Roman House and
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