Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
It is an interesting phenomenon how a movie can shape the image of a complete city quarter and bring many tourists there. Well, Notting Hill would be anyhow worth a trip – but because of the 1999 movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant this city quarter of London, United Kingdom gets much attention. People search for blue doors, the ‘Travel Book Co.‘ bookshop (which is in fact The Notting Hill Book Shop) and private gardens with high fences.
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If you want to enjoy good views on the skyline of ‚Mainhattan‘ the Main tower in Frankfurt, Germany is your best choice. A high-speed elevator brings you to the 54th floor and after taking stairs to the 56th floor you‘ll be on a partially roofed viewing platform with unhindered views on the skyline, the river Main and the complete city. On good days you cannot only see the Waldstation but also catch a glimpse on Feldberg mountain in the Taunus mountain range.
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The cathedral of Galway, Ireland officially is called Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and Saint Nicholas (or Ard-Eaglais Mhaighdean na Deastógála agus San Nioclás). A very long name for a beautiful house of prayer. The Roman-Catholic church was opened in 1965; it is a rather young church in old style. Or better said styles: Gothic, Byzantine and Romanesque styles can be observed.
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If you want to feel like walking on the moon you need to visit the Burren in the west of Ireland. In the Irish language, it is called An Bhoireann, which translates to ‘rocky place’; a very good description. As far as you can see there are only rocks with very little vegetation forming terraces. It is a typical Karst landscape that covers one percent of Ireland and which is interesting to walk through. Research shows that this region looked different until the bronze age and that human activity caused erosion and changed the landscape.
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The natural highlight in Ireland. A rough landscape, with sea cliffs that are nearly vertical, unreal rock formations and the contrast between the grey stone and the green plants make this a wonderful place. The Cliffs of Moher are not the highest cliffs in Ireland (even though they are 200 meters high) – but the most famous. The touristic infrastructure is very good but also a vast amount of visitors makes this sometimes a massively crowded place. The name comes from an old fort in this region called Mothar.
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It sounds a bit strange but I really love to visit cemeteries. Sometimes they have a fantastic atmosphere like the Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris, France or the special local burial traditions are fascinating like at the Cementerio Cristóbal Colón in La Habana, Cuba. And often they are the starting point for interesting stories. The most beautiful graveyard of Dublin, Ireland is Glasnevin; here you can find a mix of all religions and the typical Irish combination of Catholic crosses and pagan symbols.
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The most important sight at Dublin, Ireland – and all tourist guides and guide books share this view – is a jail. Kilmainham Goal is a typical jail of the Victorian era located in the city quarter Kilmainham in the west of the city. It was built in 1796 and plays an important role in the history of Ireland: when in 1916 the Easter Rising happened and Irish rebels fought against British occupation, this was the place the caught fighters were brought to. The Easter Rising was unsuccessful, the rebels were executed in Kilmainham Goal – but their goal was partially achieved in 1922 when Ireland became a free state.
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Did you know that there is a cable car in London, United Kingdom? It is a quite unexpected opportunity to take a flight over the river Thames. The Emirates Air Line has been opened in 2012 for the Olympic summer games and connects the Greenwich peninsula (the station is close to the Millenium dome) with the Royal Victoria Dock where you can switch to the DLR. During the day a ride takes you five minutes but in the evening hours they lower the speed and you can enjoy 13 minutes of good views on the docklands.
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The Millennium dome (nowadays called ‘The O2‘) is a giant dome made of synthetics and shaped by wire ropes on the Greenwich peninsula of London, England. It was opened on the 1st of January 2000 and contained an exhibition to celebrate the new millennium. Today it is a giant sports arena, concert hall and it contains a cinema and some restaurants. Because of its special shape and construction, the building itself also attracts visitors.
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A narrow valley, a beautiful gorge: the Drachenschlucht (dragon canyon) at Eisenach, Germany is a good place for a nice walk; in fact one of the most beautiful I‘ve ever done in a gorge. Through the Mariental you can walk on a well-maintained path consisting of wooden and sometimes metal walkways. It leads along and above the water of the small river and sometimes the gorge is very narrow (at minimum 68 cm) – only one person can pass at a time.
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