Nice to Remember that Luxury Cruise in Scandinavia

It is almost a year now since the luxury cruise we had in Scandinavia. It was so far a fantastic experience joining that holiday. Some of the things I cannot forgot from that trip were the various entertainments we had every night, the foods served on their restaurants and the experience of seeing beautiful cities in Scandinavia including Oslo, Norway and Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Theatrium in Aidabella ship. This is where most of the shows and entertainments are taking place.

 One of my favorite shows at night are the live music including the singing and dancing at the Theatrium. It is in the center of the ship which can be used as a nightclub. For sure you can see some music sheet stands when the singers are performing.

I am missing that cruise so badly because of the very memorable moments I had. The fun, various cuisines I tasted, entertainments and the exciting experiences I had from that cruise holiday were simply priceless. Thanks to a dear friend who joined me during that trip, or else I won't be able to go alone. I am really thankful to her and indeed she is a great travel companion.

Where's My Next Destination

The BER months  finally begins and  I am happily welcoming  the month of  September! Inspite the challenges I already experienced  during the first day of this month, I am  always hopeful  it  will still be great one! I love challenges and without it, my life is boring! yay!

The month of August  has been a wonderful one! With regards to my Europe travels and adventures, I visited four countries in the  Baltic region and part of Scandinavia including Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Tallinn. It was indeed  a wonderful cruise trip in this side of Europe.

I also celebrated my big day successfully. I believed,  I  had already done my part last month. I am very grateful for all the blessings and graces  I received from up above. Thanks also to good friends who made it happened especially those who helped me prepared for my thanksgiving birthday. I truly appreciate it.

So where's really the destination for this month. I should keep this secret but I guess it is time to share it now. I will be exploring Toskana or Tuscany  this month. This trip has  been planned and booked  for almost two months now.

It will be a 7-days trip in Tuscany. Among the places and cities included in the itinerary are Carrara,  Portovenere, Firenze or Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Sienna.  I believed these places are so interesting that I can't wait to visit it soon. This is quite an adventure again because  I will be travelling alone but with a   group of the the most travelled people in the world. Any idea?

I have been to many places in Italy  and even visited Venice  five times but this will be my first  time in Tuscany. I will see what will surprise me to those places. I want to find time to  gather  all the  must-see sights in these places as well. I  partly read my Europe Travel guide book and found out that these places are really worth to see!

I guess, I have to slowly sign-off now.  Thanks  Goodness for the blessings this first week of September.

Feel free to browse my other travels in Italy here. Wishing all my readers and visitors a wonderful month of September!

Fabulous Day in Helsinki, Finland

I already marked "X" Helsinki in my bucketlist. It is very simple, I finally visited Finland's capital city. It was our 5th day during our cruise trip in the Baltic region. Our ship arrived at 8:00 AM in Helsinki port. Considering around 2,000 passengers in that ship, it took us almost an hour before we went out from the ship and started our sightseeing.

Our tour guide was already waiting for us outside the port. As the the bus was already complete with tourists who booked that group trip, we started then the sightseeing. Our first stop was the famous modern architecture known as the Sibelius Monument. The tour guide was guiding our bus driver where to go next. She was also explaining about the interesting islands in Helsinki.

The Helsinki Cathedral in Senate Square in Helsinki. Aug. 3, 2013. © http://myeurotravelandadventures.blogspot.com

That tour took around two and a half hours with photos stops to some interesting sights. We were also given around two hours to explore the city on our own. We were dropped at the Senate square where most buses stop and park.

The Sibelius Monument. © http://myeurotravelandadventures.blogspot.com

Sibelius Monument in  Sibelius Park,  The world-famous composer Jean Sibelius' monument was designed by sculptress Eila Hiltunen and unveiled in 1967. It is one of the most well-known tourist attractions in Helsinki as nearly every guided tourist tour is brought to Sibelius Park to marvel at this unique work of art resembling organ pipes, welded together from 600 pipes and weighing over 24 metric tons.

The Church in the Rock (Temppeliaukion kirkko, literally "Temple Square Church").

"An atmospheric if minimalistic church, this church was literally dug out of solid rock. From above, it resembles a crashed UFO. The roof is made of 22 km of copper strips. Completed in 1969, this has become one of Helsinki's most popular attractions."

Some hours sightseeing is not enough to see and experience all the sights in Helsinki. I wish to visit it again in the future. For now, I am happy and contented that I visited  Finland's  lovely capital  and the so-called  "Daughter of the Baltic".

It was indeed a fabulous day in  Helsinki, considering the sunny weather we had that day!

Visit to Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy

Hello Milan! That was only a day trip to Milan and might not enough to experience everything but at least I had experienced some of its sights. Milan was one of the cities included in  the itinerary during my 5-days trip  to Italy and Switzerland  last March.

It was a bus trip and  I am very contented about it. Since  our bus parked near Sforza  Castle, also known as  Castello Sforzesco in Italian, I decided  to go around  inside the castle compound. We arrived there at around 11:00 in the morning. We were given 2-hours to go around the city that day before the official tour guide  showed us some of the most important sights in Milan.

Enjoyed looking some of the images I took during my travel to this   city.

I remember Alhambra in Granada, Spain with this  architecture of   Sforza  Castle.

 The original construction on the site began in the 14th century. In 1450, Francesco Sforza began reconstruction of the castle, and it was further modified by later generations. A number of the rooms originally had elaborate internal decoration - the best known of these being the Sala Delle Asse, which contains ceiling paintings by Leonardo da Vinci.

After the French victory in the 1515 Battle of Marignano, the defeated Massimiliano Sforza, his Swiss mercenaries, and the cardinal-bishop of Sion retreated into the Castello Sforzesco. However, King Francis I of France followed them into Milan, and his sappers placed mines under the castle's foundations, whereupon the defenders capitulated.

The fountain in front of entrance of Sforza Castle. There was a wedding picture taking when I was there last March 2013. caption

Visited Three Countries in 5 Days

Hello everyone! Too many  things  in my mind to share but sometimes my busy schedules  both online and offline are just limited! Sometimes facebooking also steals my time..haha! Anyway,  I  am always glad to get  updates from  my family, relatives  and friends worldwide thru facebook. That is fine though!

I am finally back  here! I hope everyone had a  wonderful  celebration  of Easter. I am glad to have a  nice one, spending some time with family and love ones. Even thought  I really miss  home so badly, I am hoping to have a vacation to my home country soon!

So what happened last month?  I can say the month of March was a blast for me. I visited four countries that time including Ireland, Switzerland, Italy and Liechtenstein.

Let me  give you a brief summary of my travels but only to these 3 countries  in 5 days which means I am excluding Ireland and will share a separate post for it.

March 7, 2013, Day 1-   It was a bus trip and the picked-up places was in Regensburg, Germany. From there, we drove to our first stop in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. We had a two hour sightseeing in the capital city of the principality of Liechtenstein.

The Horse Statue in front of Vaduz' City Hall.  You can also see the Castle in Vaduz on top of the hill. © http://myeurotravelandadventures.blogspot.com

March 8, 2013, Day 2-  From our hotel in Baveno, Italy, our next destinations were in Stresa and Lake Orta, visíting  Orta San Giulio. These are small towns in Italy  but  they are also worth to see,  considering its historical significance.

March 9, 2013, Day 3- For me, this is so far  the highlight of  this 5-day trip. We visited Milan, Italy and this was also the reason why I booked this trip, to see and experience  the fashion capital of Italy and maybe of the whole of Europe. That  day trip in Milan was not enough to see everything but I am happy to meet once again my schoolmate whom I did not see for over 20 years.

Piazza Grande in Locarno. It is the heart of the city center and also the major shopping area. 

March 10, 2013, Day 4-   We headed to Switzerland this day and visited Ascona and Locarno, both are located along Lake Maggiore. It is the second largest lake in Italy and largest lake of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.

The beautiful Cathedral  of St. Gallen, Switzerland. © http://myeurotravelandadventures.blogspot.com

March 11, 2013, Day 5- The trip is almost over. On our way back home to Germany, we had a short stop-over in Sankt  Gallen or St. Gall.  It is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century.  It is a nice city  and I am glad to experience it despite the very short 2-hour visit.

Visit to Riga, the Capital of Latvia

I still can't imagine that a day trip in this big city is not  really enough to see the place. It is not really a day trip but I can say a half-day sightseeing. That was quite a long drive from Klaipeda, Lithuania going to Riga, the capital city of Latvia. We had a bus trip there  and it took us quite a long time to reach  Riga due to many stop-overs  and the  highways and roads are not really good compared to other European countries like in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium or France.

The House of Blackheads in Riga's Town Square.. Taken during our visit last September 2012.

From Klaipeda, we also had a quick sightseeing in the Hills of Crosses near Siauliai.  This is not really a hill but due to the many kinds of crosses and other religious figures there, I  believed, it formed as a hill. Thus, the name Hill of Crosses. That was really  an interesting place.

In short, we arrived in Riga  very late in the afternoon and it was raining. Our tour guide who grew up in Lithuania told the bus driver  the route to go so that  she can partially introduced to us Riga. After almost an hour of going around the city with the bus, we proceeded to our hotel. We had an overnight in Maritim Hotel in Riga. If I am not mistaken this is the biggest convention hotel in the city.

The next morning, we had a sightseeing by foot and probably it only lasted for  around 3 hours. Not really enough to see the whole city.  The most important thing is, I had seen some of its sights. Among the few are  Livu Square, House of Blackheads, Statue of Roland, St. Peter's Church, Museum of the Occupation of Riga (but not inside), Riga Castle, Riga Cathedral and some other more.

That was only a short visit but at least I am happy to be there!

Livu  Square in Riga, Latvia. I was there!

It Was Sunny in York, England

It was autumn during my visit in York, England last 2008 but the weather was not really so cold compared to where I live in Europe. I only wore a  sweatshirt and long shirt underneath and I was already good. The weather was also sunny which is perfect for sightseeing.

A friend who lives in Harrogate toured me in this city. Thanks a lot Ross for your time and effort in touring me around. Truly appreciated!

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England.  We visited some sights including the Shambles (a medieval street in York), the Minster (Cathedral of York), had a walk on the Stonegate, Clifford's Tower and we also had a walk around the Old City.

Ouse Bridge in York, England. The date embedded in the image was the time when I visited York.

Snapshots from Seville Spain- The Plaza de España

I was browsing some of my photo albums in my external hard drive. I found out that it is exactly a year now since I and my friend paid a visit to the beautiful city of Seville in Spain. Known in Spanish as Sevilla, it is a beautiful capital city of Andalusia region known for its architecture, culture and many interesting sights.

One of the  sights we visited in  Seville  was the Plaza de España or the Spain Square. I never forgot one of the things we did as we were there. What can you do when nature is calling and you have nowhere to go. This square is located in the Parque de María Luisa or the Maria Luisa Park. It has a Renaissance  Revival style  in Spanish architecture.

Since our time is very limited during our visit, we ended up not going all around the Plaza de  España. I still wish to visit this city again.

The beautiful landmark of Seville, the Plaza  de España. I and my friend Joy visited this city last December 7, 2012.

A  nice reflection of the building on the water.

A Visit to Mozart's Birthplace

I was trying to find images of my previous trips to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthplace. I believe many of know where he was born? It is in a beautiful city of Salzburg in Austria.

It was my 4th visit to this city last May 2012. My first visit was in June 2007, followed in November 2008 and July 2011.

Salzburg is very famous because the musical and film The Sound of Music was set there. I even watch this film in DVD and it was really good. I also love the soundtracks in this movie. I am just trying to remember if violin with durable violin strings was used during the play.

If you are visiting this city in the future, don't miss to climb to the Hohensalzburg fortress, visit the Cathedral, go shopping in Getreidegasse (one of the oldest streets in Salzburg), walk in Mirabell Palace or maybe taste the Mozart's chocolate.

A statue in  the garden of Mirabell Palace during my 4th visit.

Riga, the Paris of the Baltic States

Another wish was fulfilled when I visited Riga recently. This city is the capital of Latvia and its largest city. It is also  the second largest city in  Eastern Baltic but the largest city of the Baltic States. It is also dubbed as the "Paris of the Baltics". I believed it is because of its setting.

Not many people especially who are not from Europe are quite not familiar with the Baltic States, also known as the Baltic Countries or simply Baltics.

 Let me introduce this part of Europe first. If you have to look at the map of Europe, the Baltic States are on the boundary of Russia, Poland and Belarus. These are actually the countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. They are the territories east of Baltic Sea which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I.

Let's go back to Riga. Like any other cities in Europe, you can see a lot of historical old buildings in this city. Many of these have been restored and repaired. It is home to the largest concentration of Jugendstil or German Art Nouveau architecture in the world. This is one of the reasons why Riga is becoming popular to many tourists  not only in Europe but worldwide as well.

The Tower of St. Peter's Church in Riga. I was there!

Among the interesting sights you can visit in Riga  is located mostly in the Old Town. The Statue of Roland, the House of Blackheads, Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Town Hall, St. Peter's Church are among the few ones. The Riga Cathedral, Riga Castle, the House of the Three Brothers, the Freedom are also worth to see.

The Blackhead's House in Riga, Latvia. I had the chance to visit  this city  last Sept. 30- Oct. 1, 2012.

Happy To Visit Vilnius, Lithuania

I finally visited the Baltic States! One of the countries we went to  was Lithuania.  One of the cities  we visited in this country is its capital city, Vilnius.  It is the largest city in Lithuania and the second  largest city  in the Baltic States after Riga. And yes, we also visited Riga during that Baltic trip.

I have a lot of  travel stories  to tell  during our trip there but   I am still not having enough energy to share it. I guess I am still having a jetlag. That trip to the Baltic was quite tiresome for me because I just came back from  a month vacation  from  the United States.  I only have two days rest and proceeded to the  Baltic  region which  was  quite tiresome for me.

I am just sharing these photos below which were taken in Vilnius. Sorry folks, I am not done uploading my travel images yet. More to come soon.

Lastly I wouldsay  that despite that tiresome trip, I am very happy and contented to visit  some parts of the Baltic Regions.

The Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania.

An original cathedral was built here in 1251. In 1387 a Gothic style cathedral was built. Now it is a classical style cathedral build by the project of Laurynas Gucevicius. The most beautiful part of the Cathedral, the baroque chapel of St. Casimir, was built in 1623–1636. The crypt shows a cross section of Vilnius through the ages, well worth seeing.

Visit to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain

We are finally backed from our trip in Spain. It was a long and tiring trip we had but it was all worth-it. It was again another dream came true when I visited Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia region. This city is also the second largest in Spain after Madrid. This is another interesting city I visited in Europe. A day trip in this city is not enough to see everything. This is also the reason why I would love to visit it again in the future.

One of the sights we visited was the Sagrada Familia. This famous architecture  commissioned by Antonio Gaudi is now listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since November 2010. This architecture is truly amazing. Called as Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family or Basílica y Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia in Spanish, this is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona.

I am still quite tired from our Spain trip. For now, I would just like to share some images taken from Barcelona. More travel stories and updates to come in my other travel blogs below;

See The World
Travel Euroasia
Europe Travel Pad

 

View of the Nativity façade during our day trip to Barcelona last July 14, 2012.

a detail of the  Nativity part of Sagrada Familia. 

The style of la Sagrada Familia is variously likened to Spanish Late Gothic, Catalan Modernism and to Art Nouveau or Catalan Noucentisme. While the Sagrada Família falls within the Art Nouveau period, Nikolaus Pevsner points out that, along with Charles Rennie Macintosh in Glasgow, Gaudí carried the Art Nouveau style far beyond its usual application as a surface decoration. wikipedia.

Travel Snapshots from SEgovia, Spain

It was quite and adventure when I visited Segovia, a city in Spain located on the north of Madrid.  I travelled to this city alone and I boarded the fast train  of Spain called  AV. It only took over 30 minutes and I was already in Spain.  I would say, it was an adventure travel because there were a lot of experiences I had  when I went there. Besides  it was my first trip to this city and I still don't speak Spanish.  I wish  to share more  about my trip to Segovia in my future post.

For now, just enjoy watching some of the images I took from this city. It was only a day trip and I guess, I only spent almost 4 hours there. At least I was able to see some of  its tier sights.

The Cathedral in Segovia, Spain during our trip last March 2012.

A monument located in front of Alcazar of  Segovia.

View of the surroundings of Segovia from the Alcazar.

My Second Visit in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Fourth of July 2012, I know that day was a very memorable one for our American friends. It was the same with me because during that day, I also visited for the second time Karlovy Vary. I was actually invited by some friends to go with them and I am so thankful about it. We had a wonderful time in this city and I was happy because I saw them enjoying the place. They love this city.

Karlovy Vary, also known as Carlsbad in English or Karlsbad in German is a city in Bohemia, Czech Republic. It is very famous for its spa and hot springs. Its whimsical architecture also made this city very well-known. Some famous people like Emperor Franz Josef I, Beethoven, Wagner, Tsar Peter the Great Tolstoy, and Marx visited this city for these reasons.

Karlovy Vary which also means Charles Bad was named after Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, who founded the city in 1370. Some famous people

There were quite a lot of people during our visit because  the Karlovy Vary  International Film Festival  is still going on. It started last June 29 and will last until July 7, 2012.  I guess it is the  highlight of our visit  there.

The Mill Colonnade. There were a lot of activities going on that day. Live bands, street performers and other  outdoor activities for children and persons  with disabilities  also took place.

Some colorful and nice buildings  in Karlovy Vary and the Tepla River that runs in this city.

We did not really saw everything in this city but at least  I am happy that I visited it again. Some of our time was spent shopping for Bohemian crystal. Our friends from the United States of America who were with us that day, also the reason why we went there, were so  happy about their experience in Karlovy Vary.

I believed, I will be visiting the city again in the future.

Spring Trip To Cannes, France

It was indeed a memorable trip we had to Cannes, France last spring 2011. Together with some friends, I truly enjoyed our trip there. I love this city which is very famous for its International Film Festival held in May annually. Sad to say, I haven't witness it  because it was April when we went there.

From our hotel in Pietra Ligure, Italy, our bus needed over two hours to reach Cannes including some stop-overs on the road. I did not get bored while in the bus because the views along the seaside were really amazing.

Cannes has always been a dream travel  destination of many. I believed I am very lucky to be there once in my life. I  always wanted to go back there again in the future. Here are some images I took from Cannes during our trip last April 2011.

The view of the Old Town with the castle on top of the hill.

The Port of Cannes. I was there!

My 4th Visit in Salzburg, Austria

I should be in Andorra and France  this coming July 1-7, 2012 but it did not  materialized. This is the problem if you are travelling alone sometimes. I called the travel agency last week  that I am willing to pay the  extra charge for single room occupancy but they said  that  there no available  single  rooms anymore. I thought you  will be paying the extra room charge  if you are alone in a double-room. This is quite confusing. But anyway, that trip might not really for me. There are might be other destinations destined for me next month or in August.  I will just wait and see!

For now, I just want to share some images taken during my 4th visit in  Salzburg, Austria. And yes, last  month was my fourth visit to this lovely city of Austria.

Salzburg, the birthplace of the famous composer and musician named Mozart  is also famous for  the setting of the movie, The Sound of Music.  How about climbing to the top of Hohensalzburg fortress?  I did not really climb its top due to time constraint but I was able to go up to the top of the castle by riding the furnicular. If you love shopping, the Getreidegasse is the perfect place for you. This is the famous shopping street in this city.

There are just a lot of things to do and experience in this city. Even I was there for the fourth  time already, I still did not see everything in it. Still hoping for another come back huh?

The St. Stephen's Cathedral in Salzburg.

The Mirabell Garden and from afar, the Hohensalzburg fortress on top of the hill.

Canal Cruise in Amsterdam

It was not really a bad idea cruising on the Canals of Amsterdam. This is one of the best way to see the largest and capital city of Netherlands. That is also the reason why we did it and it was truly great. We also had fun.

Due to its more than one hundred kilometers of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges, Amsterdam has been called the "Venice of the North". I can see the similarity of Amsterdam and Venice because I was also in Venice thrice.

 A boat  cruising the canals of Amsterdam. I took this image during our cruise there last August 2010.

boats on the side of the canals.

The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the grachtengordel. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010.

Visiting Siofok, Hungary

This is one of the places we visited during our trip to Hungary last summer. This was a trip full of fun and laughter together with a friend. Siofok is a popular destination in Hungary for both locals and tourists due to its location near Lake Balaton. It is well-known for its nightlife and beaches.

That trip we had in this Hungarian city was quite a memorable one especially the chilling in Lake Balaton. Sorry, we were not ready for swimming that time.

You can see a lot of shops and restaurants in Siofok especially on your way to Lake Balaton.

Siofok's tourist information board. I and a friend, Jean visited this city last August 2011.

It Was Raining in Birmingham, England

I am traveling back in time again.It is almost four years now since I visited England. One of the places which my friend showed me was Birmingham, a city in the West Midlands of England. It is quite an interesting city full of sights and other things that a tourist can expect.

One of the sights we visited was the Council House. It is the home of Birmingham City Council and is located in Victoria Square.

The Council House in Birmingham taken during my visit last Oct.-Nov. 2008.

Europe Travel in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

You love pampering yourself in a spa massage? I believed Karlovy Vary is a perfect place for you to go. Called as Carlsbad in English and Karlsbad in German, this spa city is located in western Bohemia, Czech Republic. We had a short sightseeing in this city after our trip and pottery shopping at Boleslawiec, Poland.

Since it was autumn season when we visited Carlsbad, the weather was quite cold that time. We have to wear winter clothes or else we will be frozen.

The city was founded by the Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1370 and that is how it got its name. Karlovy Vary is historically famous for its hot springs. This is one of the main reasons why this city is visited by international celebrities, for spa treatment. Another reason is to attend the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. I miss to taste the popular Czech liqueur, Karlovarská Becherovka.

The Sadova colonnade. Karlovy Vary. Czech republic. I was glad to visit this city even just for some hours. We were there last October 2011.

It is historically famous for its hot springs (13 main springs, about 300 smaller springs, and the warm-water Teplá River).