-
Ceiling, Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Wroclaw, Poland
The ceiling of the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in ...
Tallinn, Estonia: Fascinating Capital City
Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, is 55 miles due south and just three hours by ferry from Helsinki, Finland. In fact, it may not feel too different from Helsinki at first, because Tallinn entertains a lot of Finnish visitors, especially of the bridal party and groom’s get-away sort. The next biggest group of visitors […]
Visiting the Auschwitz and Birkenau Nazi Death Camps, Poland
It dawned one of those sniveling gray days we’ve gotten used to since we’ve been in northern Europe. By the time the tour van arrived to pick us up at 7:30, it was raining steadily. It let up briefly on the one hour drive to from Krakow to Auschwitz, but by the time we arrived […]
Rumbula Massacre Memorial, Latvia
We had never heard of the Rumbula Massacre until we visited the Latvian Museum of the Occupation in Riga. (Great museum, terrible website, btw.) The museum itself is an eye opener to the terror the Latvian people were subjected to by both the Soviets and the Germans during and after World War II. The museum […]
Jumpstart Your Travels in Europe: Move There
Dave Ritsema, unlike some of the non-stop travelers we’ve interviewed, has created for himself and his wife, Linda, an excellent launching pad for travel. He says he got the travel bug when he was in high school and performed in Holland one summer with a singing group, in coffee houses and parking lot tents. But […]
Trakai Castle, Lithuania
Sometimes it’s just a pretty picture, and that’s what you get at Trakai Castle, just outside Vilnius, Lithuania. Trakai Castle itself is a 20th Century restoration of the original 14th Century fortification. They’ve done a very nice job, although what you’re looking at here is more of a Disneyland scene, albeit one that’s a pretty […]
Saints Peter and Paul Church, Vilnius, Lithuania
We were warned that when we came to Vilnius, Lithuania that we should be prepared for Baroque overload. Well this is it. Saints Peter and Paul are, of course, probably the most important saints in the Roman Catholic Church. And the Saints Peter and Paul church’s surfeit of decoration certainly gives them their due. We […]
Art Nouveau Facades, Riga, Latvia
The art nouveau streets of Riga, Latvia are perhaps the city’s most charming facet. We went into a couple of churches, and they aren’t much to look at. I think this is somewhat indicative of Northern Europe, where the church played less of a role in daily life than the Catholic Church does in the […]
Talon Windwalker Plus One: Travel Education
Most travel bloggers will have heard of Talon Windwalker long before this. Apart from traveling and blogging, he’s father to his almost-13-year-old traveling companion, Tigger, and an all ‘round über active guy. Just having followed him on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram (all linked below), I know that he is an ultra runner, snowshoer, […]
Three Street Shots, Riga, Latvia
We went walking around Riga specifically to shoot the Art Nouveau buildings, but I got distracted by some other stuff going on. A tree with a lot of roots in the middle of the sidewalk. Two girls posing for their friend to shoot a picture along the river, and a man contemplating buying a ticket […]
German Coastal Bunker, Saaremaa, Estonia
As we travel around northern Europe, we tend to head for remote coastlines. On so many of them, we’ve found the remains of German coastal batteries from World War II. Of course the guns have been removed, but the steel reinforced concrete hulks often stand as relatively undisturbed reminders of what horrible things went on […]
Recent Comments