The parliament of Hungary (Országház) is a wonderful building in gothic revival style standing directly at the Danube river. Its beauty is a large contrast to the sometimes inhumane politics made there. It has been built from 1885 on and the design has been inspired by the British parliament in London. The architekt Imre Steindl was unluckily never able to see his work finished, because he went blind before the work was done.
Continue reading “The most beautiful parliament”Szent István-bazilika
The St. Stephen’s Basilica is a roman-catholic church in the heart of Budapest, Hungary. It is close to the vivid Erzsébet tér and the chain bridge (Széchenyi lánchíd). It dates back to the year 1905 and is the biggest church of Budapest. 8500 worshippers can find a place here and the dimensions of the building can only partially be seen.
Continue reading “Szent István-bazilika”Fisherman’s Bastion
High above the Danube, at the heart of Budapest (Hungary): the Halászbástya (Fisherman’s Bastion) is a wonderful neo-Gothic monument, located where once the fish market of Buda was. The white walls and towers were part of the city walls of Budapest, this segment protected by the fishermen. It is close to the St. Matthew church and you’ve got an awesome view on the city from here.
Continue reading “Fisherman’s Bastion”Dohány Street Synagogue
The Great Synagogue of Budapest, Hungary has been built from 1854 on by an architect from Vienna. It is located in Pest close to the city center, not far away from Erzsébet tér. It has been built in Moorish style and looks a bit like the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
Continue reading “Dohány Street Synagogue”The Heroes’ Square
An important place in the centre of Budapest, Hungary, where you can learn one thing very good: how little you know about Hungarian history. Béla IV? Coloman? Ladislaus I? Imre Thököly? Lajos Kossuth? István Bocskay? Does this ring a bell? No? Don’t worry – somehow the stories of Eastern Europe have been hidden behind the Iron Curtain.
Continue reading “The Heroes’ Square”Walking over to Poland
The first question is always: why does one stay in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany? Not the Frankfurt in the heart of Germany, the one with lots of skyscrapers of banks and Äppelwoi, but the one close to the border to Poland. At first it has to be said that even Frankfurt (Oder) has some nice city quarters and a good university – but for me it was only a good stop because on the next day I had to travel early to Bremen for a soccer match.
Visiting the wizards
When you were a child, did you read the book “Krabat” of Otfried Preußler? The one in which a child becomes apprentice in a mill not knowing that the black arts are teached there? Not expecting that in the end every year one of the young residents has to die to keep the master alive? And where only true love could save you from death? If yes, then the name Schwarzkollm (Čorny Chołmc) does ring a bell to you.
Continue reading “Visiting the wizards”Pickles, canoeing & mosquitos
The Spreewald in Germany is a very special place. One you normally only visit to get a canoe to travel on the long and branched river network. Or to cross the area by bike. But some people even come here for a specialty that was once imported from the Netherlands: sour pickles.
Continue reading “Pickles, canoeing & mosquitos”Train to the shore
There are not many train stations that are directly located at the shore. One of these dead-end stations is the terminus of Lindau, Germany. It is very impractical but of historical value. If you leave a train here you only have to walk approximately 100 meters to get to the harbour of Lindau and have a wonderful view on Lake Constance.
Lake Constance
Konstanz, Germany is a very good starting point to discover Lake Constance (in Germany called “Bodensee“). It is a very big lake with a surface of 536 km² and river Rhein is running through it. Three countries have access to the waters: Switzerland, Austria (with the town of Bregenz and the theatre at the shore) and Germany with Lindau, Friedrichshafen and Konstanz as the most important cities.
Continue reading “Lake Constance”