Copenhagen, Denmark

Nyhaven

The Foodie in me loved Copenhagen, everything we ate was delicious.  However, food and booze are very expensive.  This was a bit of a shock for us because in Germany beer and wine are cheaper than water and coke!  Despite the expense the city was marvelous and we got to see many of the famous spots.  We even got to experience some of the Christmas Markets...which is always fun!

What Billy called The Santa Band :-)

The Queen's House

View of a church from Copenhagen's Kastellet, a star shaped fort. 

The Fort, located in the valley of star shaped hills.

Christmas Deco on the shopping street

Yummy Danish Dogs- Def a Must TRY!

View off the water of the Frederiksborg Palace

Frederiksborg Palace, castle near Copenhagen

Playing on the Lawn of the Rosenburg Castle, a castle in the city

Cinnamon Pastry 

Famous Little Mermaid

Santa on his Sleigh 

Overall we really enjoyed Copenhagen, the city was fun to travel in.  The city seems like it would offer more splendor in summer months, due to the beautiful shores.  The city itself was very fun and has lots of nightlife.  However, the overall expense would make it hard to stay for long.  We had a short and fun trip to Copenhagen, although very bitter sweet because it was our last weekend trip with Aval. We will greatly miss our travel companion, maybe life's adventures will bring us together again.

Luxembourg City, The Ardennes, Haupeschfest in Berdorf, and Trier, Germany

This weekend we visited Luxembourg, a very small country bordered by France, Germany, and Belgium.  First we visited Luxembourg City, where we roamed the ancient fortresses and gardens that are mixed into the city.  These gave the city a very old and romantic feel.  In Luxembourg most of the population spoke French so there was a bit of a language barrier.  However, people were friendly and we felt very safe.

We ate at a fabulous Indian restaurant.  The highlight of the meal was tasting special herbs meant for cleansing your breath. The only taste it reminded me of was perfume and liquorish.. I did not like them at all, but Billy seemed to tolerate them.  Our friend Aval, who's  Indian ate them by the spoonful and found my reaction very amusing. Although the herbs left a strange taste in our mouth the city was nothing but pleasant.

On Sunday we stopped and took pictures of a few of the many castles in Luxembourg.  Also we hiked some of the trails in The Ardennes.  Despite the rain we found the natural landscape very beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the full rivers and streams.  After hiking we went on a hunt for lunch, we found ourselves in the town of Berdorf.  We were very pleasantly suprised Berdorf had a wonderful festival going on, called Haupeschfest.  So we ate ... we ate some amazing sausages wrapped in bacon and cheese, some cake, and we drank.. we drank some warm apple cider and some delicious hot chocolate.

The cake we ate was cooked on a wooden spool over a fire and was then chopped up into pieces to be eaten.  It was very good, we even took some home to share with our landlord! 

The tree man who added a little spookiness to the festival.

On our way home we stopped in the eldest city in Germany, Trier.  Trier was so interesting the buildings were very cute and the streets were filled with musicians.  Since it was Sunday the stores were mostly closed, but we enjoyed strolling the streets and doing a little window shopping.  I think we will definitely try to make it back here soon! Trier seems like it would have a wonderful Christmas Market. 

Bruneck, Italy

Recently I had the pleasure of exploring Bruneck, a small town in Northern Italy.  Here I saw the Bruneck Castle and the Soldier Cemetery.  The Bruneck Castle had extraordinary views of the Alps as well as some lovely poetry.  Soldiers Cemetery in Bruneck was very impressive, the cemetery has graves of soldiers of all nationalities and religion. 

Bruneck Castle

View from the top of the Bruneck Castle

The mountain landscape- wherever it may be- comes in two parts.  The top belongs to no-one, the bottom to the local inhabitants- and the whole thing, for a moment at least, to those whose eyes take in the top and the bottom as one whole, all the way to the horizon.

-                  Reinhold Messner

Soldier Cemetery

The cemetery is maintained by a group of local women

Church in Bruneck- many of the towns buildings have similar yellow stucco

Lastly...... my favorite poem from the Bruneck Castle!


 A magic dwells in each beginning.

We shall traverse realm on realm,
cleaving to none as to a home,
the world's spirit wishes not to fetter us
but raise us higher, step by step.
Scarce in some safe accustomed sphere
have we a house, then we grow lax;
only those who're ready to journey forth
can throw old habits off.
     Hermann Hesse

Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Germany

View on a walking trail along Alsterfontane.

We truly had a fabulous time in Hamburg.  Our first impression of Hamburg was comfort, the city is very easy to get around and the people are very friendly. The city is a nice combination of old and new architecture, green space and modern art.  The city is a major port and there are many canals and lakes within the city.

Frankfurt Airport- Miniature Wunderland

The Harry Potter Castle- Miniature Wunderland

On Saturday it was raining so after viewing some sights we escaped the rain by touring the infamous Miniature Wunderland.  And yes this is a big tourist attraction...

A  building meant to look like the front of a boat.

A cool building we saw from a bridge.

After touring Miniature Wunderlend, we ate street food and walked along the canals and along the shopping streets.  We went to dinner in the "student" area, where we enjoyed a great Thai dish. After which we met a friend of a friend at a local pub.  Here we became acquainted with people from China, Poland, Germany, and India over a few "hell" beers.  It was truly an amazing experience we talked about culture and the problems of the world.  

St. Michaels- Hamburg

Planten un Blumen- Park

Modern Seating- Blending in with the locals

On Sunday we looked at more of the cities many sights.  Mostly exploring the  many cafes, parks and seating areas along the port.  Then we climbed to the top of St. Michaels to a very worthwhile view of the city.

Famous Police Station

Typical Police Tank

Our final impression of Hamburg was that it is a city you can go to many, many times.  There was so much to see, great food, and great culture.