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“Pic of the Week”. June 21, 2013. Cologne Cathedral, Germany
The first time I saw Cologne’s Cathedral was on a train journey from Amsterdam to Heidelberg many years ago. The Cologne train station is immediately adjacent to the cathedral and as the train crossed the Rhine I vividly recall seeing the cathedral’s massive spires (157 m or 515′ tall) and saying to myself, “some day I’m going to visit that church”.
It took almost 20 years but thanks to friends Bernd and Monika, we had a chance to visit Cologne and its great cathedral last month. The cathedral is classic Gothic and is Germany’s most visited landmark, averaging more than 20,000 visitors a day. Its construction began in 1248 and proceeded in stages until it was finally finished in 1880. The highlight …
Jun 19, 2013
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“Pic of the Week”. May 10, 2013. Stained glass reflection, National Cathedral, Washington D.C.
I enjoy visiting cathedrals during my travels. The architecture, beautiful art, attention to fine detail and soft lighting were designed to be a feast for the eye, the mind, and the soul. When I enter a thousand year old church I try to put myself in the mind of the peasants for whom it was built — poor people who would have been awed by the size and grandeur of a church and by the large windows that lite it.
Stained glass windows are special not just for the colorful and interesting designs and stories they convey, but also for the beauty of the light transmitted through them and how it’s reflected on the walls and floors of the church. This …
May 9, 2013
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.All Trips / Europe / Iceland
Back in Iceland!! A reacquaintance with Reykjavik
As our Icelandair flight descends through the clouds towards Keflavik airport, the rugged cliffs and shoreline of the Reykjanes peninsula begin to emerge from the mist. The sun is just peaking over the far horizon and its warming light is magical and welcoming! The peninsula’s dark rugged lava fields remind me somewhat of landing in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, although the massive bulks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are distinctly absent here. We breeze through immigration and customs and make our way to the Flybus, a comfortable and convenient way to do the 40 minute commute from Keflavik to Reykjavik.
We’re tired after our red-eye flight, but to me it feels familiar and good to be back in Iceland. The last time I made this journey I …
.All Trips / Europe / Italy
La Dolce Vita (Part 7) Padova (Padua)
There are several good day trips one can make from Venice, one of the easiest being to the fun small city of Padova (which we Anglophiles often call Padua). The city is an easy half hour train ride from Venice, with trains leaving around every half hour, so advanced reservations really aren’t needed.
For centuries Padova lived under Venetian rule although several hundred years ago it became an independent city. The town is well know for its historic University, in existence since the 13th century (and highlighting such faculty as Galileo, Copernicus and Dante). So Padova has many of the enjoyable features of visiting any smaller college city. It also features two unique and worthwhile churches and a historic core that’s …
.All Trips / Europe / Italy
La Dolce Vita (Part 6) Murano and Burano
Venice is just one “island community” (actually it’s an amalgamation of 100 smaller islands) in the shallow brackish waters of the Laguna Veneta. There are several other island communities in this large (>200 square mile) lagoon that can be comfortably visited in an enjoyable day trip from Venice all easily accessible by vaporetto. Settlers fled to these islands when the barbarians invaded Italy over 1500 years ago because the islands were safe from these marauders and sheltered from the strong winds and waves of the Adriatic Sea.
Murano Fire Watch Tower
1) MURANO
Murano is best known for its glass factories and the wondrous assortment of beautiful glass products they generate. The island itself was initially developed in the 13th century …
.All Trips / Europe / Italy
La Dolce Vita (Part 5) Venezia (Venice)
So it was finally our time to visit the legendary travel destination of Venice. With increasing excitement we journeyed from Florence through Tuscany and finally over the long bridge to this island city. I usually try not to have ‘great expectations’ about big name travel destinations because I’ve often been disappointed by them; fortunately this was not the case with Venice. When we walked out of the train station it seemed that we were walking onto another beautiful planet named “Ocean”, not “Earth”. The sky was a mesmerizing blue color and there were no roads or cars — just boats cruising along the calm waterways of the Grand Canal, past elegant old buildings. If there’d been …
.All Trips / Europe / Italy
La Dolce Vita (Part 4) Firenze (Florence)
It’s hard to imagine a prettier setting for an historic city than the heart of Tuscany; that’s where you’ll find Florence, a grand old city, birthplace of the Renaissance and the modern world. So great is the historic influence of Florence that many of its citizens believe the city can’t seem to escape the past to transition into the 21st century….but I’m not into such lofty concepts as I wander these cobble-stoned streets — the same streets that Donatello, Michelangelo, Galileo and da Vinci walked — I’m just visually transported to the fifteenth century as not much seems to have changed. In my wandering and daydreaming I retain a sense of gratitude …
Tagged Cathedral, Florence, Michelangelo, palace, Tuscany, UNESCO World Heritage Site
.All Trips / Europe / Italy / Vatican
La Dolce Vita (Part 3) The Vatican’s Treasures
When visiting the Vatican you leave Italy and enter another country, albeit a very small (110 acre) country with only a few hundred permanent residents. Yet the Vatican is an extraordinary place with an influence that belies its diminutive size. One of the most remarkable travel days we’ve ever experienced was our visit to the Vatican. Here we saw not only the world’s most beautiful church (the Sistine Chapel) but also its largest and most impressive church (St.Peter’s Basilica) and the treasures of an extravagant papal palace (the Vatican Museum). I understand that the massive spending spree by the Catholic Church during the Renaissance lead to the Protestant reformation, but as a Protestant and lover of …
Tagged Cathedral, Michelangelo, Rome, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vatican
