The Best of Venice

Venice is a popular and wonderful tourist destination in the world. Plenty of travel enthusiasts visit Venice every year. I have to admit, when we visited I left disappointed. Maybe we visited at on off time? Then again, we went for the opening weekend of Carnival! Maybe we just had a bad experience.  Looking back, I enjoyed Venice, not just for it's natural beauty. But also for the history that surrounds the city.

Here are my top reasons to visit Venice:

+ The canals

They are everywhere. It makes for the perfect photo op. You cannot go to Venice without running into a canal. Especially since it's the only way besides walking to get around the city.

+ Architecture

In Venice there are about 15,000 buildings, among them 900 palaces and 105 churches. They are all built upon millions of tree-trunks (10 - 30 feet long), which are driven through the soft material into the solid ground of the lagoon. These buildings spread over more than 120 islands. Some 400 bridges span the 177 canals that separate these islands.

+ Gondola Rides

Now this is a hit or miss. Some people love to bargain, others don't. To find a good deal you have to bargain with the drivers.  If you're willing to pay 80-100 euros to take a 30-45 min gondola ride around the city (if you're in Veince, just do it!) Gondola rides can be romantic, or scary depending on who you're with. Your guide will sing songs, point out important places and you get to sit back and relax. We chose to take a 45 minute Gondola Ride and paid 80 EUR. Our Gondoleer sang some romantic Italian songs and pointed out famous buildings. We saw all the best sights, and had a great time. Would we do it again? No. But it is something that is worth doing at least once.

+ A Sinking City

Venice is a very fragile city. Studies have showed the city of Venice is subsiding on average about 1 to 2 mm a year. Don't forget that the sea level is rising. While a hundred years ago there were about 400 incidents of "acqua alta" or flooding. Now days, the right mix of tides and winds drives the canals up into homes and shops in the lowers parts of the city. Back in the 1990s, there were ~2,400 incidents! You better hurry up and visit the city while it’s still above sea level!

+ Carnival

Love the Venetian lifestyle? In February for 2 weeks, Carnival takes place in Venice. Costume balls, parades, ceremonies, masquerades and festivities can be found in the city during this time. Tourists love to visit Venice during this time so that they can participate in the carnival and enjoy the Venetian culture. For us, we were expecting Carnival to be more like you would find in Montreal or some Latin American countries. You know... a big party! Haha. Unfortunately, Italian Carnival is not the "big-party-in-the-streets" of other Carnival's.

+ St. Mark's Square / Play with Pigeon (Or don't)

Pigeon's are basically the birds of Venice. You cannot walk two steps without running into a pidgeon. There are even photographers willing to take your pictures with pidgeon's on you or eating out of your hand, and print them out (for a fee) and people ask to take pictures with the birds. Me? I'm a sane person and know that pigeons are disease ridden birds. DO NOT TOUCH THEM. Haha.

Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world for its celebrated art and architecture. The city has an average of 50,000 tourists a day and in 2006, it was the world's 28th most internationally visited city, with 2.927 million international arrivals that year. It is regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities. If you ever get the chance, visit Venice.

Did I miss your favorite part of Venice? Let me know!

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The Best of Prague

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I love Prague or Praha as it's pronounced in Czech. After Garmisch-Partenkirchen, it is my most visited city in Europe. For good reason, Prague doesn’t need a brochure to sell itself, its the capital of the Czech Republic! Only 30 years ago, Prague was a mystery to world travelers, now,  it's one of the most popular destinations in Europe. If you're visiting Prague, here's a list of my favorite things to do and see while you're there.

+ Take a free walking tour

I love walking Tours. In big cities, Sandeman's offers free walking tours, so far they've been my favorite, but there are other ones to choose from in Prague. On these tours you'll learn history, see the main attractions, etc. All the tour companies meet near the astronomical clock in the Old Town Square. They will give you an overview of the main sites like the Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, and more.

+ Old Town Square

During Christmas and Easter Old Town is decked with markets and vendors (including food) that bring the city to life. Walk around it a couple of times and you will find everything you could possibly be looking for, from pub crawls and magic to break dance shows, you will never have enough of its vibrant energy.

+ Astronomical Clock

This clock is over 600 years old, it is one of the oldest, functioning astronomical clocks in the world. Every hour you can watch the clock come to life. Make sure you get there early, since it is located in the Old Town Square, this is a major tourist spot.

 

+ Lennon Wall

The John Lennon Wall is the Czech expression of freedom from the communist era. It's tucked away in a quiet street away from the hustle and bustle (you'll have to look for it) it is a colorful tribute to the Beatles singer and a symbol of love and peace. Today, the wall represents love and peace. Tourists are allowed to write or paint on it too.

Image via, http://czechmatediary.com/

+ Prague Castle & St. Vitus Cathedral

The Guinness book of World Records states that the Prague Castle, dates back to the 9th century, is the largest ancient castle in the world. This beautiful structure is the inspiration for fairy tales, films and television shows. Today, it is one of the most substantial remnants of medieval times. The Castle is really more of a small town that sits at the top of a hill, overlooking the city.

+ Charles Bridge

The Charles bridge is a 1,700-foot long medieval walking bridge that connects two sides of Prague, over the Vltava River. It was completed in the 15th century. It's completely free of cars, but during the day time it is crowded by vendors, street artist, musicians, etc. Here you'll find gorgeous views of the Vltava River and the iconic Prague Castle.

+ Watch a Street Performance

Prague is known for their street performers, from magic acts, to musicians, and bubble makers. Anything you can think of, you'll probably find it on the streets of Prague. Make sure to stop and watch for a minute. It's pretty amazing to see such raw talent for free!

+ Eat Czech Food

I don't know what it is, but Czech Food is amazing. Make sure to grab a glass of their Pilsener Urquell, made in Pilsen, >~1 hr from Prague. What's my favorite? Their pork dishes and bread dumplings are my favorite. There are so many amazing places to stop and eat while in Prague. Feel free to take your pick. If you're a foodie, you will fall in love with the Czech Republic. Make sure to grab  a Trdelník, famous Czech pastry, filled with cinnamon, nutella, or ice cream!

Other things to check out:

• Old Jewish Cemetary
• Prague National Theater
• Dancing House
• Clenentinum (Famous Library)
• Petřín Lookout Tower

Heard enough? This is just a handful of things available for you to see Prague is a city that sure knows how to impress. Trust me when I say, Prague is a city you don't want to skip! I can go on an on about the beautiful things to do and see in Prague, but the only way you'll be able to fall in love with this magical city would be for you to get lost in it. You'll never know what you'll find hiding behind a random corner.

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Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Ever heard of the country of Liechtenstein? It's a itty bitty country in between Switzerland and Austria, with ~36,000 people and only 62 square miles! Most of the people are located in the country's capital, Vaduz or in the nearby town of Schaan. Since Vaduz is the capital, we decided to check it out.  

Honestly, if we weren't looking for it, we would've driven right through it and had no idea. Before we reached Vaduz, we were literally straddling the border!

The most prominent landmark of Vaduz is Vaduz Castle, the home of the reigning prince of Liechtenstein and the Liechtenstein princely family. The castle is visible from almost any location in Vaduz, being perched atop a steep hill in the middle of the city.

The castle underwent a major restoration between 1904 and 1920, then again in the early 1920s during the reign of Prince Johann II, and was expanded during the early 1930s by Prince Franz Joseph II. Since 1938, the castle has been the primary residence of Liechtenstein's Princely Family. Unfortunately, the castle is not open to the public as the royal family still lives in the castle. 

 I was upset to find out that the castle isn't open, but it was still a beautiful castle to visit. You can either walk up to the castle, or drive up and park and walk down a couple blocks. We ended up doing the latter, I would suggest doing this as well since the parking lot is fairly close.

The point of stopping off in Vaduz was to break up our trip down to Switzerland. Since the castle was closed to visitors, we decided to head to the downtown area. It is literally one main street, food, shops, souvenir stands, T.I. It is all located in this area. I can't seem to find my pictures on it. But if you're in the area, it is worth taking a stop, especially if you need proof that you've actually visited Liechtenstein, because if you blink, you might miss it!

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Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg is an Austrian city on the German border, with views of the Eastern Alps. It’s known as the birthplace of Mozart and setting for the film “The Sound of Music.” The Sound of Music was the reason I wanted to check Salzburg out. Although since we took the dogs with us, we decided to do our own version of the Sound of Music tour. Salzburg is a beautiful city. I think May was a good time to go, we still needed a light jacket, but the sun was out shinning.

Our day started around the Old town, walking around and just enjoying the sights. Some times we like to get lost in a city then find our way back.

 It wasn't until we found the Old Town Square that we figured out where we were going. Luckily there were enough people out that we knew what the important sights were.

We walked around the city center enjoying the sights, We even stumbled upon the Mozart statue. Salzburg is famous for Mozart, after all this is where he was born. They even have Mozart chocolate, I wasn't a fan..but maybe you would be?

From the city square, we headed up o the Hohensalzburg fortress. The fortress towers over Salzburg and it is /has been the setting for many movies, included the sound of music! It was built at the behest of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg with a length of 250 m and a width of 150 m, it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. Hohensalzburg Castle is situated at an altitude of 506 m. It is an absolutely beautiful castle.

We wanted to take the train up. I wasn't interested in climbing to the top of Salzburg. Unfortunately when we got to the trolley station, we were told that we couldn't take the pups up without muzzle, what really sucked was that we left their muzzles in the car!

I'm not sure how Drew did it, but somehow he convinced me to climb to the top. I was not a happy camper. I would've much rather pay to ride the trolley up, but the views climbing up were incredible!

After our adventure in the Hohensalzburg castle, we walked around the town. Drew pointing out all the Sound of Music places. It worked out in the end since we had the pups with us. If you want to do it on your own, Click Here for the map we used.

The next day, on our way back from Eisriesenwelt we stopped off at Hellbrun palace, where they filmed the song "I am 16 going on 17" from the SoM. Can you tell I'm a fan? This is the only place you would need to find transportation to since it isn't in the city center.

We didn't get to go inside the palace, there was a wedding going on. But we were able to see the Pavilion and that's what I really wanted to see.

Overall our trip to Salzburg was a busy one. It was filled with lots of hiking and outdoor activity. A perfect thing for Drew's birthday weekend!

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