Karlsruhe, Durlach & Ettlingen (18/03/2017)

Originally the plan was to visit Frankfurt and after taking the bus at 4am from Strasbourg (the only one which would reach Frankfurt before midday) I reached Karlsruhe at around 5am. I had to wait though for about one hour and a half before my connection to Frankfurt would arrive. It was quite cold and it had already started to rain, so I decided to lay on the bench at the outside stop and sleep a bit. After waking up well ahead the scheduled departure I impatiently waited for my bus to arrive. After other buses with different destinations arrived and left, I began to worry and then a bus headed to Frankfurt stopped by. I asked if I could hop on even if it had a different number than mine but the driver said no even though I tried mentioning mine had not come at the set time. So i waited more and finally gave up believing either that I had missed it (though I did spent the whole time in front of the bus stop) or that it just never came. So after considering my options, I decided not to return to Strasbourg immediately but rather book another bus later on (as my original one would have left Frankfurt) and instead visit Karlsruhe. I reached the train station and found that there was actually a bicycle that hadn't been locked. I thus decided to borrow it and explore the city with a bike as it would be faster and easier. I headed east and reached Schloss Gottesaue a reconstructed Renaissance castle. Riding further east, about 15 minutes later I reached the small town of Durlach. The town featured a small yet nice historic center, with the Karlsburg Castle, a 16th century residence of which only a part remains, a main church in the Baroque style and a medieval tower gate called the Basel gate as it faces south towards that city. After leaving the town I headed south and after biking for about 50 minutes up and down several low hills under pouring rain I reached the town of Ettlingen. Also featuring a nice historic center I entered from the northern side, crossing a bridge over the river Alb and reaching the Marktplatz, which hold the Baroque town hall. Its tower serves also as a city gate and was the door to the main square, from there I then visited the nearby St Martin Kirche also baroque in style. From there, on the southwestern end of town I arrived at the castle. Also built in the baroque style, it featured a nicely decorated front facade and a fountain made of red stone. Rain was still pouring, and I decided to bike back towards Karlsruhe. In half an hour and without the hills from the previous part, I reached the city, passing by the Marktplatz and reaching the main attraction, the Karlsruhe Palace. The Palace was built during the 18th century by the Margrave of Durlach who decided to leave the town and build the palace here sparking then the rise and development of what is now Karlsruhe. Inside was the Badisches Landesmuseum or Baden State Museum, with objects dating from prehistory to the modern times. Particularly interesting was the archaeological section as well as the applied arts one. After visiting the museum it was time to go so getting back on the bicycle I headed towards the train station where I left the bike I had borrowed and took the bus finally back to Strasbourg, drenched in the rain I had got all day.

Schloss Gottesaue

Basel Gate in Durlach

A street in Durlach

A street in Ettlingen

St Martin Church in Ettlingen

The main square in Ettlingen

Ettlingen Castle

Karlsruhe Palace

Heidelberg (11/03/2017)

This time we decided to head eastward and cross the border into Germany, visiting the city of Heidelberg about 2 hours by bus from Strasbourg. After arriving and exiting the bus we headed towards the city center which was about 15 minutes walk. Walking along the Hauptstraße, or main street, we passed several pretty buildings and entered the first church we encountered along the way, the Providenzkirche. Built during the 17th century it belongs to the Protestant church and as such it was rather empty inside and was actually even used as a bar/club by students. Walking further on we took a right on a side street and reached another church, the Peterskirche, which was unfortunately closed. Right nearby was the University of Heidelberg, Germany's oldest, dating to 1386. On the university square stand the two buildings of the old town campus, with the old university building dating to the 18th century on the northern side and the newer one dating to the 1930s at its southern end. Also nearby is the Jesuitenkirche, a baroque building dating to the 18th century and belonging to the catholic community. The interior was quite unadorned and white but featured a nicely decorated main altar. Through a door on the side a small museum featuring sacred art was also a nice addition and for free. After visiting the church we were back on the main street and not much later reached the Marktplatz, with the Heiliggeistkirche or Church of the Holy Spirit at its center. All around the square's perimeter are pretty houses, some of which have fully decorated front facades, and east of the church stands the Hercules Fountain and further east the Town Hall. We entered the church and visited its Gothic interior in red and white bricks and stone and then up the baroque bell tower (1 euro each) where we had a beautiful view over the surrounding old town, castle and river. Back down at street level we walked on passing the Kornmarkt, called so because it was where the corn market took place, and then started our ascent to the castle. We reached the castle gardens first and enjoyed an amazing view over the city with the sun still shining bright on this warm march day. After eating our lunch on a bench in the garden, with a funny duck trying to get some scraps from us we decided to visit the castle itself. Being destroyed several times during its history, particularly in the 17th century during the Thirty Years War, the castle is mostly in ruins. Towers, walls and other buildings that form it are still in state of ruin which shows its long dramatic history. After buying the entrance ticket (4 euro for entering plus 2,50 for the guided tour which was mandatory to see the interiors) we started our visit of the grounds. Passing through the tower gate, which was one of the few fully surviving elements, we entered the castle courtyard surrounded by buildings such as the Friedrichsbau, or Frederick the 4th's palace with its renaissance facade and the Ottheinrichsbau which hold the pharmacy museum. After joining the next guided tour we saw the interiors, which were filled with stuff from the castle's time but from other castles or residences as the original stuff had been destroyed or burned in the past. We then ended the tour with a visit to the Heidelber Tun, considered to be the world's largest wine barrel, constructed in 1751 it is able to hold up to 219 thousand liters of wine. It is so large we were even able to walk on top of it where they had built a platform which is occasionally even used for dancing. In front of it stands the barrel's guardian, Perkeo, a 17th century court jester which used to stand guard of the wine barrel. After the castle's visit we descended back down into town and reached the Old Bridge. Built in the 18th century it follows several bridges built int the same spot before it. At its southern end, facing the city stands a nice bridge gate and below it a sculpture of a monkey, which when stroked brings good luck. After crossing the bridge and the Neckar river, we walked up the hill on the other side and walked along the Philosophenweg or Philosophers' way, which had a great view over the city. We then walked back the same way, crossed the bridge again, walked through town and entered the Kurpfalzisches Museum, or Palatinate Museum. Containing everything from paintings, some of which had views of Heidelberg as well as Perkeo as the subject, to porcelain, furniture etc. After visiting the museum, it was time to go, so we headed to the bus station where we took our ride back to Strasbourg.

Interior of the Church of the Holy Spirit

View from the bell tower

The Markplatz

View of the old town from the castle gardens

  

View of the castle courtyard

The world's largest wine barrel

   

View of the old town from the other side of the river

Nancy (05/03/2017)

After taking a bus from Strasbourg we reached the outskirts of Nancy two hours later and then had to take the metro to the city center. We got off and began our visit with the Cathedral; dedicated to the Annunciation and to St Sigisbert, it is a great example of Baroque architecture. After visiting its interior we weren't far from reaching the main attraction of the city: Place Stanislas. The square, built in the 18th century under the rule of Stanislaw Leszczynski both King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine, was supposed to be the connecting point between the older medieval part and the newer 17th century part. Surrounded by grandiose buildings such as the Hotel de Ville, the Opera House, the Fine Arts Museums and opened on its northern side by the Arc Héré a triumphal arch. At its north eastern and western ends it featured two fountains surrounded by a golden wrought iron fence. Crossing under the Arc Héré, we reached the long Place Carriere, another of Stanislaw's additions to the city, then reaching the Basilique St Epvre. Built in a neo-Gothic style during the 19th century it featured a large dark interior with nicely-made stained glasses. From there we reached the northern part of the city where the impressive Porte de la Craffe dating to the 14th century. Right next to the gate, we stopped at a bakery called Gollé where we tried a small raspberry cake which tasted really good. After that we headed back to the main square where we decided to visit the Musee des Beaux Arts. Entrance was 4,5 euros and hosted paintings from the medieval times all the way to the modern era, including from famous artists such as Tintoretto, Friant etc. Then we walked back northwards and reached the Musee Lorrain hosted in two connected buildings, the Ducal Palace with a Gothic facade dating to the 15th century and which used to be the home of the Dukes of Lorraine, and the Eglise des Cordeliers also gothic in style. Entrance was 4 euro and the part in the palace featured objects and paintings from antiquity all the way to the 19th century, while the church featured gothic sculptures along with farming tools and furniture of lorraine's past. After a short break where we had some taboulé for lunch, we headed out and south reaching the bottom end of the city, passing the southern gate and reaching the Eglise de Notre Dame de Bonsecours, which is the resting place of Stanislaw Leszczynski but was unfortunately closed. It was then getting late, and getting back into the city center to see the main square by night before taking the bus back to Strasbourg.

Interior of the Cathedral

One of the fountains on Place Stanislas

View of the northern end of Place Stansilas with the Arc Héré

Close up of the Arc Héré

View of the Place Stanislas

The Porte de la Craffe

View of the main square from the Fine Arts Museum

Night view of the main square with the Cathedral in the background

Zurich (25/02/17)

Two days after our trip to Metz we decided to visit the Swiss city of Zurich. Leaving at around 6:30am we took a direct bus and reached the destination after nearly three hours. After getting off the bus we headed towards the city center and stopped to visit the Swiss National Museum first which was just a few hundred meters from the bus station. Entrance was 8 Swiss francs and the museum hold objects from the prehistoric times up to the renaissance including an exhibition on modern day immigrants at the end. Particularly nice was the collection of Gothic art including altarpieces and paintings. Exiting the museum we headed further in the city reaching the Lindenhof, the highest point in the old town. This used to be the location of the roman castle when the city was founded by the Romans, and now serves as a perfect panoramic point to observe the old town. The view from up there was very nice, and most of the eastern part of the old town across the Limmat river was visible. After descending back down the hill to the other side, we walked through some pretty narrow medieval streets lined by nice houses and reached the Church of St Peter. It was open and free of charge so we decided to take a look inside. Originally older, the current building dates to the 18th century in the Baroque style, being protestant it is mostly lacking in decoration but still has a fresco dating to the older period in the apse. The bell tower features a large clock on its north-facing side, considered to be Europe's largest clock face. Not far from there we reached the Munsterhof, the largest square in the Altstadt. Surrounded by tenement houses, on its southern part stands the Fraumunster. As the entrance to go in was paid we decided to skip and cross the bridge over the Limmat heading for the opposing church, the Grossmunster. The Cathedral, built during the 13th century features a Romanesque style and is topped by two twin towers. The interior though mostly unadorned, features classic Romanesque-styled architecture. Below ground level, there is the medieval crypt holding a medieval statue of Charlemagne, believed to be the one who initially commissioned the building of the cathedral. Exiting the building we headed south and reached the square where the Opera House is located. Despite being February, it was quite sunny, and many people were out in the square enjoying the warmer weather. We decided to continue on along the waterfront coasting the Zurichsee or Lake Zurich and enjoy the weather strolling around. We saw different duck species and several boats out on the lake as well as many other people enjoying the sun and lake as we were doing. We walked half an hour and then decided to start heading back towards the city. On the way, we took a detour and tried to see if the Botanical Garden was still open. Unfortunately closed, we were still able to see it from the outside and enjoy a different view of the city from a hillside. Heading back we traversed the old town once again, and took pictures and enjoyed the view from the Lindenhof again this time during night time as the sun had already set. Finally, we reached the bus station and took the next bus back to Strasbourg.

The Swiss National Museum

View of the old town from the Lindhenhof

The Grossmunster

Statue of Charlemagne inside the Cathedral

View of the mountains across the lake

Sunset

Night view of the old town

Metz (23/02/17)

We left Strasbourg early in the morning and reached the city of Metz about 2 hours later. After exiting the bus we headed immediately towards the city center and started on the eastern side with the first feature, the Porte des Allemands, approaching our eyes. A fortress gate including a bridge, the structure dates to the 13th century. Not far from the gate we reached the Eglise Sainte Eucaire in a Gothic style. We walked further and eventually reached one of the cores of the city: the Place Saint Louis. Line by arcades and burgher houses it the commercial center of the old town. After seeing the square we proceeded to visit the Eglise de Notre Dame de l'Assumption dating to the 17th century and built in a Baroque style. Apparently in this church, the young Paul Verlain was baptized, as he was born here in Metz. Continuing our walk we eventually reached another square, this time smaller but altogether still quite pretty: the Place Saint Jacques. At its center stands a column with a statue of Mary at its top and all around are cafes and restaurants which were still quite empty as the weather was quite cold. We then took some sweet snacks from a vendor on the eastern end of the square. After walking just a little further we eventually reached the other core of the city: the Metz Cathedral. Mostly built in the Gothic style between the 13th and 16th centuries it holds the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, most of which from famous artists throughout history such as Hermann von Munster from the 13th century and modernist Marc Chagall from the 20th. As soon as we entered, in fact, the interior was immense and amazing with a huge nave all decorated with stained glass. After visiting the halls for a while we came back out into the city and it started to rain. We quickly admired the sculpted extior too, built in the local yellow Jaumont Limestone and saught refuge from the weather inside the covered market right on the opposite side of the cathedral's main portal. After waiting for a while for the weather to calm we headed back out again and decided to cross the Moselle river and get to the other side where the Place de la Comedie is located. As a scenic backdrop for the square stands the Opera Theatre built in 1752 and the oldest opera house working in France. After appreciating its baroque-neoclassical architecture we headed on towards the Church of Saint Clement and the Basilica of Saint Vincent, both unfortunately closed. Not far is the largest of the Ponts des Morts, two bridges dating to the medieval times; the larger one still spans the Moselle river. Called so because whenever an inhabitant died at the time, they would have to donate their clothes to the Hopital St Nicolas who had paid for its construction. Walking then back into the city we reached the Temple Neuf, built on the southwestern end of the Place de la Comedie between 1901 and 1905 in neo-romanesque style during the Wilhelmine period when Alsace and Lorraine were under German rule. As it was also closed we admired it from the outside and then headed towards the Chapelle des Templiers. This so called Templars Chapel, is probably one of Metz's oldest buildings dating to the 12th century but was also unfortunately closed. That was quite unfortunate as I had seen online it contained some fine medieval frescoes as well as more modern ones inside. Not far is the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains. Under renovations, this church has the typical Roman basilica layout and dates to the 4th century. Because of that it is the oldest church building in France. Down the road we came across the Palais du Gouverneur a beautiful neo-renaissance palace built in 1905. Reaching the southern end of town we came through the Porte Serpenoise one of the remaining city gates and turned around heading back into the city. Traversing the entirety of the city center we reached the Musee de la Cour d'Or. Entrance was 3,30 euros and the whole place was really large as it was contained in what used to be a palace. Inside was an archaeological section with several gallo-roman objects and structures including a Mithras altar. Another part, which included medieval objects, included a beautiful granary with gothic arcades beautifully restored and preserved. Finally on the top floor was the section dedicated to fine arts including several paintings with Metz as the subject. After visiting the museum we decided to head to Centre Pompidou Metz located close to the train station right outside town. Built in 2006 it holds a large array of modern art pieces. After visiting it we still had quite some time before our bus back to Strasbourg so we decided to have dinner and walk around the city center further. We had dinner at a place called La Fabrique, serving Iranian food, where we had a lentil soup and a large dish with different things on it. After eating we walked through the city which as it had darkened took a nice cozy appearance with street lights illuminating it all around. Not much later we arrived at the bus station and eventually took our bus back home.

The Porte des Allemands

View of the Cathedral

The interior of the Cathedral

Some of the stained glass windows

View of the Cathedral from Place de la Comedie

The Chapelle des Templiers

The Basilique de St Pierre aux Nonnains, the oldest in France

The Palais du Gouverneur

Interior of the granary in the Musee de la Cour d'Or

Night view of the Temple Neuf and the Cathedral

Colmar (21/02/17)

I left Krakow to go to Strasbourg for my second semester right after my trip to Lviv. After getting used to the city, the uni, and meeting the new euroculturers we decided to head to the nearby town of Colmar. We took a train and in about half an hour reached the destination. The walk from the train station was about 10 mins to the beginning of the old town and we decided to just wander around and look at the beautiful buildings. We started our through Rue des Marchands, already walking past the typical maisons á colombages, or timber framed houses, which are ever present in Alsace, the region around there. From there we took a lateral street and reached the Place de la Cathedrale with at its center the large St Martin's Church the largest church in town though not the cathedral as the city doesn't have a bishop. We entered, and visited its Gothic interior which was quite unadorned due to the destruction suffered during the French revolution. We exited the church and continued on, reaching the Place de l'Ancienne Douane with the Schwendi Fountain at its center, dedicated to a military commander by the name of Lazarus Schwendi. Facing the fountain stands the old custom house in a gothic/rensaissance style. Not far ahead we reached the covered market; with lots of food stalls and small shops to buy from. After a brief stop there, we regrouped and, as we exited finally reached the famous Petite Venise. Named so due to the presence of the canals from the Lauch river flowing through the area. We admired the picturesque houses reflected on the canal and then walked further into town. We were getting hungry so we decided to look for a place to eat, after looking into a few places, and a phone call to a friend by one of the members of the group we ended up having lunch at the Bistrot Gourmand. There we all had different kinds of salty crepes which tasted really good. Feeling full we walked a little more, first through Rue des Clefs and then to Place des Dominicains with its church which was closed. At that point we were wondering if to continue on or not, a few people wanted to leave and as it started to rain we all decided to head back to the train station and eventually back to Strasbourg.

View of the back of St Martin's Church

Petite Venise

Another part of the Petite Venise

Timber framed houses

Lviv (07/02/17-08/02/17)

After coming back from Strockholm we were ready for another trip. Just two days later we were on a bus headed for Lviv in Ukraine. Though not too far (about 330km away) the bus journey was one of the longest and worst I ever had. We left around 5am and arrived at 11am in Lviv, having lost nearly 2 hours at the border. On the way back it was even worse with about 3-4 hours stopped at the border control (I guess the EU wants to be certain of who enters, especially from Ukraine). After reaching the town with the tram (cost was 2 hryvnia equaling to 6 euro cents), we headed to our hostel Randevu to check in and leave our luggage. We were the only guests in the hostel apart from the young lady working at the reception. After leaving our stuff we headed into town and reached the main square, the Rynok. At its center stands the town hall, rebuilt after a fire during the 19th century. Along the square's perimeter stand tenement houses several architectural style from the Renaissance to Modenism and at the four corners are fountains with greek gods dating to the 18th century. Right across from it stands a bakery which makes super tasty cheesecakes and strudels, of which I had the latter, in the tradition of Galicia the region which the city belongs to. We then entered the town hall and ascended the tower (cost 5Hr) with a beautiful view over the old town. As it had snowed quite a bit in the previous days, and was still snowing that day, all the landscape was white and it looked really cool. Getting back down to the street we entered in the Lviv Historical Museum hosted inside the Korniakt Palace with its Italian courtyard and called as the little Wawel because of it. The interior consisted of a few baroque and neoclassical rooms with paintings and objects from that period. The lady working there spoke Polish, as most people in Lviv did, so Ania was able to translate most of the things for me. Right next door from the museum stands probably the prettiest house in town: the Black House. Built during the 16th century for an Italian tax collector, as other houses around the square, it is built in sandstone which has darkened throughout the years giving it the current aspect. In yet another palace, the Bardinelli Palace, next door, also built for an Italian merchant, we visited the museum collection inside consisting of other furniture and objects; particularly nice were the gold artifacts dating to the beginning of the past millennium. After the two museums, we crossed on the other side of the Rynok, and went to a cafe called Svit Kavy where Ania took a coffee to go. Apparently, Lviv is quite famous for its coffee culture. After coffee we headed to the Latin Cathedral, or the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption; originally built during the 14th century now mostly appearing in its baroque form. After the visit, we tried to enter the nearby Boim Chapel, which was supposed to be a beautiful renaissance piece, however it was unfortunately closed. We were starting to be hungry so we decided to look for a place to eat; we ended up on the southern end of town at a place called Puzata Hata which was a kind of fancy canteen. It was self service and you payed by the weight; I took chicken with a few vegetables plus a soup. After lunch we then crossed through the old town and reached the Dominican Church, with its pretty baroque cupola. Right next to it we also visited the Dormition Church, with its interesting bell tower topped in green and the interior in the classic Orthodox style as it belongs to that denomination. Not far we then reached the Museum Arsenal, walking through a heavier snowfall. The building, in Gothic style and dating to the 16th century, holds an interesting collection of weapons and armor; from medieval swords and hussar armor to more modern bayonets. We exited the museum and walked further into town, stopping at a place called House of Legends; a multi-story bar featuring a souvenir shop, restaurant halls, and a rooftop with a view over the city. We climbed up and found out they had even put a car on the rooftop which looked strange but funny. On the way further we stopped at the Lviv Handmade Chocolate where we had an incredibly good hot chocolate and pralines. Walking to the western part of town we reached the beautiful National Opera building with its neoclassical look. For dinner we decided to head to a place called Kumpel, which was actually a chain that holds a few restaurants with different names and specialties around town. There we both had a good beer and then i took some chicken wings with sausage and some sauces to it. After going to sleep quite early and resting the whole night, we woke up later the next day and went to have brunch at the nearby Veronica café. The place had really good pastries, I had two strudels a tea and a few cookies, but a bit expensive for the city average. We then took the tram headed east out of the city center to visit the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life. This beautiful open-air museum featured displays of different regional styles of farmsteads, windmills, churches and schools all surrounded by forest. As it had snowed the whole previous day and night, the place looked even more surreal covered in a white blanket of snow. Most of the buildings were closed as they mostly operated during the summer season when the tourists were more present. Some still had people working in them and as we were the only visitors there it was a lovely way to spend a few hours. We managed to see a few 17th and 18th century churches, one of which in the interior too. And a few of the houses from different regions of Ukraine. In one of them, and old man who could speak Polish explained to us all the different musical instruments he could play and showed how to perform on some of them. On another house, a really old lady who could not speak Polish but could understand so Ania was able to translate a bit. After walking around the place, we decided to head back into town and continue our exploration. We took the tram back to Rynok and then walked in the westward direction. We stopped at a famous candy store called Roshen which was filled with people, and bought some candies and chocolate ourselves. We then continued on and reached the Lviv National Art Gallery which is hosted in two buildings one of which is the Potocki Palace, built in the 19th century in the French classicism style. Inside were several paintings from Polish, Italian, French, Dutch and other artists. After seeing the nice paintings inside we headed back out into the snowy weather and walking further reached the Cathedral of St George. Standing on top of a hill in its baroque-rococo splendor it overlooks the entire town and serves as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. From there we walked back into town and stopped at the Pravda Beer Theatre where we had some good beer and a bit of snacks. We stayed there for a while until the time for dinner came as we had reserved at a place called Baczewski right next door and part of the Kumpel group restaurants. Beautifully decorated inside, with trees and plants all over, this restaurant served traditional Galician and Jewish Galician specialties. We tried the local specialty, banosh, a kind of maize porridge and I had a duck fillet while Ania took mushroom with buckwheat porridge and grilled vegetables, everything was tasty and well priced. We felt though sorry for the birds who were kept in cages right at the center of the main room and a mean kid would just pester them the whole time. As dinner came to an end we figured out we didn't have much time left so we decided to quickly take a tram however we couldn't find any headed to the train station. At one point we decided to look for a taxi but figured we didn't have that much cash left. Luckily three women were also looking to go to the station so we managed to share one with them and ended up paying much less than we expected. Once there we eventually waited a bit for our bus which was obviously late which then carried us back to Krakow after nearly 3 to 4 hours stop at the border for passport check and a sleepless and tiring ride home.

View from the top of the town hall in Rynok

The Italian Courtyard of the Korniakt Palace

The Black house

View of northeastern corner of Rynok

View of the northwestern corner of Rynok

View from the top of House of Legends and the rooftop car

The Lviv National Opera Theatre

One of the traditional houses in the Folk Architecture Museum

View of one of the churches

Another church

The same church viewed from outside the courtyard

The Potocki Palace which houses the collection of the National Gallery

Cathedral of St George