7. May 2021

Netherlands – Amsterdam

Amsterdam Amsterdam is the capital and, with 820,000 inhabitants, the most populous city in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is known for its countless canals, called Grachten. Founded in the 13th century, it takes its name from a dam in the Amstel River and is famous (among other things) for its openness, liberal nature, red-light district and legalization of marijuana. We spent three weeks house-sitting in the Hoofddorppleinbuurt district, close to Vondelpark. While the locals travel a lot by bike, we walked almost all our routes. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the city center and the red-light district. We spent a lot of time in Vondelpark and on the […]
12. February 2018

Ecuador: Tena – Amazon

Tena – the gate to the Amazon The observation tower in Tena Tena is a city with 20,000 inhabitants and located on the border to the Amazon. Most tourists come to the area to participate in guided expeditions to the rain forest. They offer tours between one and fourteen days and can also adjust to your individual needs. Otherwise, the most popular tourist activity is kayaking and you can see a lot of cars driving through the streets, packed with canoes. A snapshot of the city, on the right the island with the park The sights Unfortunately, there are not a lot of sights in the city. Mainly the “La Isla […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Cologne

A city with lots of history The city of Cologne has more than 2000 years of history. Founded in 19 b.C. as a Roman colony, the town was named “Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium” in 50 AD. This is where the current name of the international metropolis derives. Even today the roots of the city can still be inspected on site. So, the “Roman tower” is only a ten minutes walk from the cathedral. It was part of the Roman city wall in the 2nd / 3rd Century. Other archaeological finds suggest a permanent settlement can be dated back to 4500 BC. In the meantime, Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Muenster

Munster – much nicer than expected Originally, a visit to the city with 300,000 inhabitants was not planed, but a spontaneous idea. In the end, Tes and I were positively surprised by the university city. If you are interested in sights, you will find some interesting buildings like the historic town hall, the prince-bishop’s castle, the St. Lamberti church or St. Paul’s Cathedral. Directly behind the castle you will find a centuries-old botanical garden, perfect to stroll and relax. In front of the castle is the Schlossplatz, where the funfair, the open-air cinema and alternately other events take place. St. Paul’s Cathedral, the symbol of Münster In front of the castle […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Stuttgart

Stuttgart – great for shopping I’ve been to Stuttgart a couple of times, but never got a hold of the city. Even if you search Google for the best sights, they display the castle in Ludwigsburg – that somehow says something, right? The Schlossplatz We spent little time in the city and used it mainly for shopping. The sights in the city center are in my opinion limited to the new and old castle and a few barely noteworthy things. Otherwise, a visit to the Porsche and Mercedes Benz Museum is interesting for tourists. Apart from a few other museums, Stuttgart (at least for me) does not really offer anything out […]
6. February 2018

Germany: Hamburg

The sights Hamburg has almost 2 million inhabitants and is the second largest city in Germany, putting Munich in third place. The town has approximately 2500 bridges – more than Venice, Amsterdam and London combined. During our visit, we rented an AirBnb on the outskirts of the city and spent our days strolling through the town. The Port of Hamburg with the Elbphilharmonie, which opened in early 2017, is probably the biggest attraction for tourists. Otherwise, we spend a lot of time on the Reeperbahn, St. Pauli and Altona. As Hamburg has countless sights, we also checked out the fish market, Speicherstadt, Planten und Blomen and Rickmers Rickmers. In general, I […]
5. February 2018

Germany: Berlin

The capital – Die Hauptstadt We arrived in Berlin via Flixbus and used public transportation to get to a friend´s apartment. He hosted us for four days and helped us with orientation and everything else we needed (Thanks Effe!). We visited the usual tourist highlights as the East Side Gallery, Alexanderplatz, the TV Tower and the Brandenburg Gate. In addition, of course, we checked out the Berlin Cathedral, the Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie. In general, the German capital is a magnet for tourists. Every year, 31.000.000 overnight stays are booked in the countless hotels. Therefore, Berlin is the third most popular tourist destination in Europe, right after Paris and London. The […]
5. February 2018

Germany: Dresden

A beautiful old-town The state capital of Saxony offers an incomparable, history drenched old town, housing the Frauenkirche, the Zwinger, the Semperoper and countless other buildings. The city ranks number 4 in Germany’s most visited tourist cities and has 10 million visitors annually. We spent most of our time in the historic city center and had the rare opportunity to see the Semperoper from the inside. Located on the opposite bank of the Elbe, you can get an particularly beautiful view of the city from the “Brühlschen Terrace” The Zwinger: In the old town The Striezelmarkt This was the second time I visited the city. Last time, the Striezelmarkt took place: […]
5. February 2018

Germany: Bayreuth

An afternoon in Bayreuth After our visit to Nuremberg we set off to our accommodation for the night in Bayreuth. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours to explore the city, but gained a very good first impression. Regrettably, the castle and the other famous sights were already closed. So, we spent our time strolling through the old town, eating Bratwurst and watching pigeons. We only shot a few pictures that do not capture the beauty of the town. Nevertheless, I liked the small city of 70.000 people and can recommend a stay! As Bayreuth has a university, you meet a lot of young people from all over the country. You […]
5. February 2018

Germany: Nuremberg

Why Germany? As a marketing campaign,  Tes and I went on a tour through Germany in autumn 2017. We were planning to visit a total of thirteen cities, all of them are described in short blog posts. We couldn´t spend a lot of time in every individual city, but were able to cross off the most famous sights from our to-do list. Overall we were on the road for three weeks, but also allowed ourselves a week of “home leave” in between. The path from the castle to the main market The Pegnitz Nuremberg – one of the most beautiful German cities Nuremberg has always been one of my favorite cities […]