Antwerp is the largest city in Flanders and the second largest city in Belgium behind Brussels. As I discovered reading Flawless, it’s most famous for the diamond industry, earning Antwerp the moniker as the World Diamond Center. Approximately 70% of all diamonds in the world pass through Antwerp at least once, with a global market […]
Postojna Cave, Slovenia
Postojna Cave is located in western Slovenia and is a 20km (12 mile) labyrinth of passages filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and rock formations. Postojna Cave is part of the Karst cave system, meaning a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, […]
Slovenia’s Cave Castle
Predjamski Grad, or the Predjama Castle, is perched in a cavern 123 meters up a steep overhanging cliff. Aside from the stunning cave-castle, archaeologists have discovered a prehistoric settlement in the caves of the area which dates back 150,000 years before Christ. The castle dates back to 1202 and has a drawbridge over a raging […]
Conegliano
Conegliano is a town in the Veneto region of Italy and home to the oldest and most prestigious wine school in Italy. The region is well know for its wines, such as Prosecco, Cartizze, and Raboso and other wines which go well together with the regional specialties: rabbit, grilled meat, chicory, polenta, and some cheeses […]
Miles of Cross Country Ski Trails at Dobbiaco
Lago Dobbiaco is nestled in the picturesque Dolomites on the Italy/Austria border. Dobbiaco, Toblach in German, is a city in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy. Every year, Dobbiaco hosts an annual Balloon Festival. We missed it by a weekend, but there were still a few balloons in the air. Cross country ski trails abound […]
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia. We were first off to Prague Castle, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 m². Castle Guards stand in British fashion at […]
Bratislava, Slovakia
Arriving in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, was like taking a trip back in time to the 1980’s Soviet Union. Bratislava, much like Budapest, is divided by the River Danube following through the middle of the city. Driving from Vienna, we came upon the rows and rows of the Communist era gray concrete apartment buildings […]
Weekend in Wien
Vienna, or Wien in German, is the capital of the Republic of Austria. Blessed with sunshine and a clear blue sky, we got checked into our hotel and headed out to explore the city. The Museum Quarter was a short 10 minute walk from our hotel and the heart of the city. Formally the Imperial […]
Festa della Zucca
The Festa della Zucca is held every year in Venzone, Italy. The historical town center transforms into a Medieval town with fire eaters and dancing. The streets are lit by torches and candles, and are peopled by nobles, knights and ladies, innkeepers and tavern keepers, shopkeepers and merchants.The shops are decorated with pumpkins and gastronomic […]
Seaside in Caorle
Gazing out at the gray skies, I checked the weather forecast. With a prediction of only mostly cloudy skies, we headed off to the beach in Caorle (pronounced Kah-orh-lay). Avoiding the autostrada and tollways, we took a ride along the road with the river snaking alongside. Boats were moored all up and down the river. […]
