A day trip to the south of Brussels, to be more precise – Brabant region in Wallonieย which is the site of theย Battle of Waterloo, where the resurgentย Napoleonย was defeated for the final time in 1815. We started with the visit to the museum which takes you to the times of enlightenment and ideas of the 18th century philosophers like Rene Descartes or Diderot, Immanuelย Kant (my ever … Continue reading Waterloo, Belgium
One day trip to this amazing park of attractions, located inย Wavre, close toย Brussels, since 1975. We started with the hardest ones: the roller coasters like the Vampire and Loup-Garou.ย It literally spins you around, up and down and in all possible directions. Although the rides are short… However, the Loup-Garou is a rollercoaster made of wood. And unsurprisingly loud! The map shows it is one … Continue reading Walibi park, Belgium
Since I got myself a car: her name is Tintine, we decided to drive around Brussels and explore. My Flemish friend recommended Castle van Gaasbeek –ย apparently the most romantic castle of Belgium. The castle was initially built in 13th century as part of the wider line of defence to protect Brussels but changed it’s style through centuries… The castle was occupied by a succession … Continue reading Castle van Gaasbeek, Belgium
Brightonย is aย seaside resortย on the south coast of England which is part of the East Sussex, about 75ย km south ofย London. I ended up there by flying on an interview. Woke up a bit earlier in the morning and decided to see what is offered. ๐ Apparently the city could be traced up toย ย Bronze Age,ย Romanย andย Anglo-Saxonย periods. However, the town’s importance grew in theย Middle Agesย as the Old Town developed. … Continue reading Brighton, UK
Monaco,ย officially the Principality of Monaco, is a micro-state in Western Europe.ย Actually, this is the second smallest independent state in the world (after theย Vatican) and is entirely urban. Monaco is surrounded byย Franceย on three sides and the remaining part of the country is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. I arrived from the train station which I noticed was entirely in marble. Monaco is aย principalityย governed under a … Continue reading Monte Carlo, Monaco ๐ฐ
After Marseille, the next stop was St Tropez. Saint Tropez I was sitting in the train and watching the beautiful landscape of the French Riviera: the blue sea below me and red rocks above the other side. The first arrival was actually the city of Hyeres where we changed to bus connection towards Saint Tropez. I found Saint Tropez amazing cute medieval city on the … Continue reading Cรดte d’Azur: Cannes, Nice and St Tropez
Why? Because I was daydreaming about this city in the south. Plus I have never been to south of France, furthermore, it is the second largest French city and the capital of theย Bouches-du-Rhรดneย departmentย andย Provence-Alpes-Cรดte d’Azur. You know Provence, no? The lavanda fields etc. Only I haven’t to the countryside. Just saw few lavanda magnets in the market in Marseille at the Old Port. Vieux-Port de Marseilleย or … Continue reading Marseille, France
This time my travels to Belgrade brought me to attend the wedding of a dear friend and a colleague from the student times. I was super excited because it has been years now I haven’t visited this city. My trip started with a nice treat on the AirSerbia plane with the famous plazma cookies.
ย Landing and crossing the river Sava, we passed by an example of brutalist architecture: Western City Gate, also known as theย Genex Tower. The building is designed to resemble a high-rise gate greeting people arriving in the city from the West (the road fromย Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airportย to the city centre leads this way).
Another example of the communist/ socialist architecture from the time of Tito’s Yugoslavia is the Palace of Serbia, located in theย Novi Beograd. It was used by theย Federal Executive Councilย ofย Yugoslavia.ย When I was a student, I had a chance to attend the conference inside this massive building. I was not a fan. ๐
Our hotel was located in Skadarlija. We were lucky enough to have a decent booking as the city was completely crowded by the Ramstein fans that came to attend the concert happening 2 days in a row. Down the street is a market with home grown fruit and vegetables.
ย It was the time of cherries! ๐
As the day was already long, we decided to eat in Dva Jelena. A popular restaurant in super popular Skadarlija – bohemic Balkan chic. This means you eat and drink, smoke, drink some more, and enjoy the local music.
In Skadarlija you can find super popular rakija. A local drink made of fruit distillation. It is strong but cures body and soul.
Hotel Moskvaย is aย four star hotelย inย Belgrade, one of the oldest currently operating inย Serbia. The building has been opened in 1908 and as such represented a major investment of theย Russian Empireย in theย Serbianย economy. I mostly wanted to visit the lobby to enjoy the art nouveau. Little did I know, that the hotel is full of Russian emigrates due to the current Putin’s Brutal Aggression on Ukraine.
My afternoon walk continued towards The National Assembly of Serbia. Not the best memories from that building – politically speaking, so moving on.
And the rest of the government buildings – including the building of the former defence headquarters destroyed by USA/ NATO forces in 1999.
In the same quarter of Belgrade called Vraฤarย (literally translates into doctor witch) ๐ there is The Temple of Saint Sava. It was the first time for me to see the new painted frescoes inside the temple.
This Serbian Orthodox church is dedicated toย Saint Sava, the founder of theย Serbian Orthodox Churchย and an important figure inย medieval Serbia. It is built on the presumed location of St. Sava’s grave.ย
ย Nearby is the St. Mark Orthodox Church, located in theย Taลกmajdan park. It was built in theย Serbo-Byzantine styleย in theย Interwar periodย between 1931 and 1940.
The interior of the church contains Sarcophagus of the Emperorย Duลกan the Mighty – theย king of Serbia in the 14th century. Duลกan conquered a large part of southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs of the era. Under Duลกan’s rule, Serbia was the most powerful state inย Southeast Europe, one of the most powerful European states and anย Eastern Orthodoxย multi-ethnic and multilingual empire that stretched from theย Danubeย in the north to theย Gulf of Corinthย in the south, with its capital inย Skopje.ย He enacted the constitution of theย Serbian Empire, known asย Duลกan’s Code, perhaps the most importantย literary workย ofย medieval Serbia.
The largest city ofย all three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. ๐ย We kinda fell in love with it as we were on our small Baltic tour from Vilnius. ๐ The entire region is flat, just flat and the 4 hours bus ride was kinda dull but excited since we never visited these countries before. So let’s start with the entrance to the city over the … Continue reading Riga, Latvia
A perfect weekend getaway with a friend! Landing a bit late in the evening, having a late dinner and smashing into the city for Saturday night! The dinner was quite greasy: a soup, breaded fingers with melted cheese and even the fish! But the zeppelins (Lithuanias national dish – large-sized dumplings made from a mixture of cooked and raw potato dough filled with pork and … Continue reading Vilnius, Lithuania
RED RIDING HOOD 