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.All Trips / Europe / Italy
La Dolce Vita (Part 2) Rome: A City in Renaissance
After the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 A.D., Rome entered a dark age that lasted a thousand years. During this time the only stability and leadership was provided by the Catholic Church and the Pope. But with the Renaissance, spilling from Florence into Rome, a period of rebirth began and a new Rome emerged which eventually developed its own unique Baroque style, fueled by the brilliant art of Bernini. Renovations and new buildings, elegant fountains and art flooded Rome and, with time, it became the energetic city you can visit today.
You can spend weeks exploring today’s Rome, but there’s a lot you can see and do in a few days. …
Tagged Bernini, Cathedral, Michelangelo, Rome, UNESCO World Heritage Site
.All Trips / Europe / Italy
La Dolce Vita (Part 1) Rome: Ruins of an Empire
One of the challenges in crafting these blog posts is deciding how to best convey my impressions of a travel destination. How to best discuss a city as fascinating and historic as Rome? I decided to split this into two parts, this posting on the historic Rome of two millennia ago and the next a (relatively) modern look at this ancient city.
A Brief History of Rome:
While I’m far from a great historian, I do enjoy learning about a country’s history and culture as a way of appreciating it. There’s no better way for me to do this than to literally walk through history, which is easy to do in Rome. There are few cities older than Rome and fewer …
Tagged Cathedral, Coliseum, forum, Rome, UNESCO World Heritage Site
.All Trips / Czech Republic / Europe
Olomouc — Now that’s a Plague column!
During our visit to the Czech Republic we ventured on a day trip from our base in Prague east to Olomouc (pronounced OH-loh-moats). Most of our time in the Czech Republic had been spent in Bohemia (western part) and we wanted at least a taste of Moravia (eastern part). Bohemians are regarded as serious, business-like beer drinkers, while Moravians are easy-going, fun-loving and beer & wine drinking. I’d heard travel guru Rick Steves recommend day trips from Prague to Olomouc on his radio show (which I listen to by podcast and highly recommend), a trip made much easier now that …
.All Trips / Czech Republic / Europe
Praha = Prague = Fantastic!!!
Prague (pronounced and spelled Praha on local maps) was a city I’d wanted to visit for almost 2 decades, ever since the Iron Curtain collapsed at the hands of the Velvet Revolution. But as is often the case, life happens and my plans kept being postponed. Still the idea of visiting Prague was firmly set and as we finally were approaching the Hlvani Nadrazi train station, completing our four hour rail journey from Vienna, I felt a tingle run up my leg (with due apologies to Chris Matthews) on seeing some of the Prague landmarks I recognized, like the spires of St. Vitus and our Lady of Tyn Cathedrals. I was really looking forward to our upcoming week in the capitol of Bohemia and the Czech Republic. …
.All Trips / Europe / Slovakia
Bratislava: An overlooked travel destination
Bratislava, capitol of land-locked Slovakia, was not what I expected. It’s an old city whose history goes back to well before the time of Christ, including envelopment into the Hungarian and Hapsburg empires and more recently the Soviet empire. It was my first visit to a former eastern-block country and I thought I’d see a small struggling city still trying to shake off the burdens of Communist repression. While there is some evidence of that this city of nearly 500,000 is being reborn. There are many construction and remodeling projects and an invigorating entrepreneurial energy is in the air. The streets are filled with tourists taking in the sights of the old city and Austrians shopping for bargains (which are …
Tagged Bratislava, Castle, Cathedral, Slovakia
.All Trips / Austria / Europe
Vienna — Life in the Past Lane
The Eagles are one of my favorite bands, with a terrific and diverse music catalog including many top hits such as “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane”. The latter title played on my iPod ear buds while we cruising on the Danube and it dawned on me that it (metaphorically) might have described Vienna several hundred years ago. In the 17th and 18th centuries Vienna was one of the most innovative and influential cities in the world. Sadly, those days are gone. While still an interesting place to visit, Vienna’s finest days seem behind her. To visit her now is to see the remnants of that history and view “Life in the Past Lane”; …
Tagged Castle, Cathedral, Hapsburg, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vienna
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Quebec
Montreal: Je Me Souviens
Canada is the land of my birth and I will always have a special place in my heart for this beautiful country and its warm, friendly people. There are many great cities in Canada, two of my favorites (for different reasons) being Vancouver and Montreal. Vancouver is one of the most breath-takingly beautiful cities in the world, which I’ll be discussing at another time. Montreal is a truly world-class city of history, youthful energy, and a rich cultural and culinary tradition.
Montreal (named after the hill that dominates it, Mont Royal) is built on an island and is the second largest city in Canada. Founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, it is also one of Canada’s oldest cities. Montreal has something to offer almost everyone. The …
Tagged Cathedral, Montreal, Quebec, St. Lawrence River
