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Category: Europe: Central

Shoulda, Coulda, Wouldn’t: Vienna

Vienna is the grandest of the European capitals, offering so much exterior visual gratification that you may be wholly forgiven for never stepping inside any of its edifices, palaces, or museums. In fact, I feel that you can do Vienna justice with only a few major-time-investment stops. Conversely, if you…

A postcard from Zurich

This is one of my favorite pictures from the simpler times when I traveled with a pocket-size point-and-shoot camera. The setting is the banks of the river Limmat near the mouth of Lake Zurich, with the twin towers of Grossmünster providing a recognizable point of reference. Zurich is a nice enough…

Linz, Austria

I focused on Vienna and its Christmas markets on my recent trip to Austria, but also took day-trips to explore Graz and Semmering Railway. I also spent a day in Linz, which was probably a bit of an overkill for the overall trip. Don’t get me wrong – Linz is…

Vienna

I ended my favorite sights vignette of Vienna several years ago with a promise to take hundreds of pictures on my next trip to the city. Such trip came about recently – and I fulfilled that promise to a certain degree. I now have a reasonable amount of good shots…

Chasing World Heritage: #101 (Graz)

Graz’s recognition on the World Heritage list is primarily due to the treasure trove of its architecture in the historic center. It is literally one of those towns whose streets you want to explore over and over again. I started my acquaintance with the town at Schloss Eggenberg, located some…

Chasing World Heritage: #99 (Schönbrunn)

Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens, on the World Heritage list as an outstanding example of Baroque architecture and design, should have been #40 on my chronological tracker of visited sites. On the first visit to Vienna, in 2005, it was initially part of the itinerary. But after spending a day exploring…

Christmas markets in Vienna

What is so special about Christmas markets, one would reasonably ask, that an otherwise rational man would travel across six time zones and brave freezing weather for a whole week just to see them. Don’t they mean crowds and trinkets, for which aforementioned rational man has no particular affection? Don’t…

A postcard from Vienna

I like climbing elevated viewpoints for a bird’s-eye look over town. It is not even entirely about photography, although I take my share of pictures from above. I just love the views. The brilliant expanse of rooftops does not always translate into an eye-catching wide-angle shot, but when it does,…

A place in my memory: Brugge

Brugge is one of my favorite places in Europe, a picture-perfect place that you cannot help but want to linger around. On our first visit to Brugge, we explored it on foot, in a horse-drawn carriage, and in a canal cruise boat. The latter passes through some fairly central areas…

Shoulda, Coulda, Wouldn’t: Amsterdam

Shoulda, Coulda, Wouldn’t: Amsterdam

In my not so humble opinion, you do not come to Amsterdam for its museums or points of interest.  Of course, as in any big city, there are some specific sights that most travelers would enjoy.  But first and foremost, you come to Amsterdam to experience its uniqueness.  Smaller Dutch towns may have their…

Grand-Place encore

At the conclusion of my recent day-trip to Brussels I had about 15 minutes to expand my portfolio of pictures taken on the magnificent Grand-Place. Here is a selection:          

More from Netherlands

A few more impressions from my recent trip around Netherlands. Houses in the village of Het Kalf.     Country landscape between Zaanse Schans and Het Twiske park.     In the village of Muiden.     Looking over Afsluitdijk.  

Tulips

Some might argue that the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Holland is not windmills but tulips. Definitely in the top two for me. So, during the car-enabled portion of my journey around the country, I stopped here and there to snap some tulip fields pictures. Turns…

Zaanse Schans

This is not a World Heritage site. It can be quite touristy at some points and even feel artificially prettied-up. And still, this windmills-centric attraction is awfully picturesque and cozy, and I count it among my favorite destinations in Holland. Here is a sampler.          

Counting World Heritage sites: #84 (Kinderdijk)

Windmills. I suspect this is the likeliest image to form in anyone’s head after hearing the word “Holland”. Not surprisingly, there is a World Heritage site in Netherlands which is mainly about windmills. Kinderdijk is recognized by UNESCO as yet another example of Dutch ingenuity in the art of water…