Marostica & Bassano (13/01/2018)

After having lunch at home in Vicenza, I decided to take Ania to see the towns of Marostica and Bassano. After driving for half an hour we reached the walled medieval town of Marostica first and parked the car right outside the old town. After passing under the eastern entrance, the Porta Bassano, we entered the town proper, as mentioned surrounded by the medieval walls built during the 14th century which completely enclose the city. From there we then reached the main square, the Piazza degli Scacchi, so named for the world-famous event which takes place in September every two years involving a chess game with real-life figures as the chess pieces. At the northern end of the square stands the neogothic palace of the local bank while at the southern end is the Lower Castle, an impressive structure from the 14th century, which marks a fortified entrance to the town from the south and is connected to the Upper Castle through the walls which wind uphill to it. After leaving the main square, we walked along a street and reached the church of Sant'Antonio Abate built during the 14th century, only the bell tower remains from that period while the rest was refurbished in the 18th century. Nearby the church of the Carmini, set on top of a stairway and built in the Baroque style during the 17th century was unfortunately closed. Thus, we decided to head back to the car and drive the short way up the hill to reach the Upper castle, as the walk was quite steep and we didn't want to tire ourselves too much. Once up there, we climbed the main keep which granted us a great view over the old town, medieval walls, and the surrounding countryside. Even at that height, there were many olive trees scattered around giving the area and even more prettier view. After admiring the panorama, we got back into the car and drove on to reach the city of Bassano del Grappa. After finding a parking spot we walked on foot and reached the Brenta, the river that cuts through the city. The view from there was great, with the famous Ponte Vecchio, based on a design by the architect Palladio and rebuilt several times entirely of wood, and the medieval old town jutting out behind it. After crossing the bridge, we reached the main square, Piazza Libertà, with the church of San Giovanni at its southern side, the Loggia Comunale at its northeastern end and two columns at its western one, one representing St Bassiano patron of the city and the other the lion of St Mark, symbol of the past dominance of Venice over the city. To the east and connected by a short way to the main square is the Piazza Garibaldi, another important square with the medieval civic tower at its northern side and the Romanesque church of San Francesco at its southern one. After walking around the city for a while we decided to head back to the car and drive home to Vicenza where dinner was waiting for us.

The Lower Castle in Marostica 

The Piazza degli Scacchi with the Upper Castle in the background

The church of the Carmini

View of the town from the Upper Castle

View of Bassano with the Brenta river, the Ponte Vecchio and the medieval old town

The Piazza Libertà

The church of San Francesco

Trieste (11/01/2018)

After leaving Ljubljana covered in clouds and rain we reached the Italian city of Trieste just an hour later with a clear sun shining over the city and sea. After getting out of the bus we were off to explore the city. We passed by the start of the Canal Grande, a large canal cutting through the center towards the Piazza Sant'Antonio Nuovo with the scenographic Church of Sant'Antonio at its end. A little further on we then walked along the Molo Audace, a large pier originally built during the 18th century on top of a sunken ship and later extended to its current length of 246m and built out of stone. We admired the beautiful view of the sea and the mountains in the background for a while and then headed back into the city. We entered the large Piazza Unità d'Italia, considered to be Europe's largest square on the sea, with impressive neoclassical buildings surrounding it, including the town hall, several palaces and the 18th-century fountain of the four continents. From the main square, a small street led to another square called Piazza della Borsa, surrounded by more interesting buildings and wit the fountain of Neptune at its center. Starting to walk uphill we passed by the Roman Theater, one of the vestiges of the Roman city of Tergeste. At the time of its construction, it was located outside of the city walls and right by the sea, which throughout the centuries has retreated to where the Piazza Unità ends. It was built around the first century B.C. but after the fall of the Roman empire, it fell into disuse and slowly got built upon. It was only in 1938 that the houses built on top of it were demolished that the theater came to light again. We then climbed some stairs and reached the Romanesque Basilica di San Silvestro, probably the oldest in the city. It was unfortunately closed, unlike the nearby church of Santa Maria Maggiore which we visited. Built during the 17th century in the Baroque style for the Jesuits it has a nice facade and interior. Outside, close to the apse, is the Arco di Riccardo, a Roman city gate dating to the first century A.D.  We admired it and then headed further uphill to reach the highest point where the Cathedral, a beautiful Romanesque and Gothic example, is located. Unfortunately, the church was closed as it was lunchtime, as was the church of San Michele al Carnale next door. Right beside the Cathedral are the remains of the Roman forum, a few columns, and a rectangular area. Behind the forum stands, imposing, the Castello di San Giusto, a fortress which rebuilt several times reaching its present aspect due to the 16th-century refurbishment. After admiring the area, we descended all the way down the hill to reach the lower tower where we had lunch at a place called Genuino. After lunch we had a stroll around the city, then stopping at the Eataly where we browsed all the Italian food specialties and then walked along the seaside walk finally ending at the train station where we took our ride to Vicenza.

The Canal Grande

View of the city from the Molo Audace

The Roman theater

The church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the tower of San Lorenzo

The roman Arco di Riccardo

The Cathedral

The roman forum and the castle

The Piazza Unità d'Italia with the fountain of the four continents and the town hall

Maribor, Ljubljana,& Bled (8-10/01/2018)

After catching the bus from Graz we reached Maribor in Slovenia about an hour later. We had booked a room at a place called Anna House, and after the destination headed there to check in and drop our luggage. After the check in we were hungry as it was quite late however most places were closed so we decided to eat some food we had brought with us. After that, we went for a walk around the town despite the cold and foggy weather. We passed by the castle, more of a large palace, built during the 15th century and now holding the regional museum. right in front of it opens up the Grajski Trg, a triangularly shaped square with a column with St Florian standing at its center. We then walked through another square, Glavni Trg, and reached the Glavni most, one of the bridges spanning the Drava river. It was decorated with pretty street lights in the fashion of Christmas trees.  From there we descended at river level and admired the Synagogue from the 14th century, one of the oldest in Europe. We were then quite tired so headed back to the accommodation to rest up for the next day. In the morning, after breakfast we headed out, the weather not having gotten better. We first visited the Cathedral, which stood right in front of our accommodation, built in the Gothic style with several Baroque additions including the bell tower. Then we again passed through Glavni Trg, this time admiring it by daylight. At its northern end stands the Renaissance town hall, from which supposedly Hitler addressed the local German population during his visit in 1941. In front, it and at the center of the square stands the pretty Plague Column, built during the 17th century to commemorate the stop of the plague epidemic that hit the city in 1680. From the square, we walked down towards the river and encountered a 16th-century house which holds attached to its southern side a vine which is considered to be the world's oldest being around for 400 years. We walked up to Glavni most once more and admired the view of the old town from the other side of the Drava river. After that, we walked back through the old town and the Grajski Trg and reached the train station where we took a train to Ljubljana.
The journey took a while, winding through hills and along small rivers and towns. After reaching Slovenia's capital we headed to our accommodation which was located a bit outside the city center. After checking in and leaving our luggage we headed out again and walked back to the center. It had started to rain, something which would follow us throughout the whole time in the city, and this meant drenched clothes and blurry pictures. We entered the old part of town by crossing the so-called Dragon bridge, built at the beginning of the 20th century under Austro-Hungarian rule. After crossing Vodnik square we entered the Cathedral, originally built as a gothic church it is now fully Baroque. As we entered, the interior was really dark and badly lit up and as the sun had set we could not see much of the decorations and paintings. Not much further we reached Mestni Trg, or Town square, where the town hall stands to the south. At the square's center is a replica of a famous fountain, now kept in the national gallery, the Robba fountain. This Baroque monument was made in 1751 by the Italian architect Robba and is one of the main landmarks of the city. Walking along the street lined with beautiful old buildings, Mestni Trg became Stari Trg which had the Hercules fountain at its center dating from the 17th century. We then crossed the Ljubljanica river and walked along the riverside admiring the historic buildings with the castle above the hill in the background. The riverside walk ended at Preseren Square one of the central squares of the city, where the Tromostovje or Triple bridge is located as well as the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, which had a nice Baroque interior. We then decided to visit the National Gallery which holds some interesting paintings including those of international and local artists. As mentioned earlier the original of the Robba fountain is also located inside the museum. After the visit, we decided to have dinner at a place called Sarajevo 84 which made a mix of Balkan food. I had Cevapcici while Ania had borek. We were then quite tired so we headed to our accommodation where we went to sleep early. The following morning we decided to head to the bus station and take a bus to the famous Lake Bled. The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origin and is famous for containing an island with a monastery at its center. Furthermore, the clear water and the surrounding alpine landscape make it an ideal location for tourism. After getting off the bus we decided to walk the entirety of the lake's perimeter. We started the walk by rounding the castle located on top of a hill giving us a nice view of the lake and then descending back down at water level. As we reached the western part of the lake we met some really hungry ducks which followed us around quacking out loud. Then we decided to climb the nearby hill which provided us with an incredible and picture-perfect view of the lake, monastery island, castle and mountains in the background. Back down from the hill we then completed the circuit of the lake and got back into the town of Bled, after hanging there for a bit we then took the bus back to Ljubljana. After arriving we walked through the old town and chose a small restaurant to have dinner, Second Violin. The dishes were huge and the prices were cheap, and I had a really tasty goulash soup. After dinner, we took another stroll and finally headed back to our accommodation to sleep.

View of the old town of Maribor

View of Glavni Trg with the Plague column and the town hall 

View of Grajsk Trg with the castle

The Mestni Trg and the Robba fountain in Ljubljana 

View of the old town, castle and the Ljubjanica river

The castle in Bled

View of the monastery island and some hungry ducks

View of the monastery island, castle and mountains

Another view of the monastery island, castle, and mountains

The Franciscan church in Ljubljana

Vienna & Graz (6-8/01/2018)

After leaving Bratislava by bus we reached the capital of Austria in just an hour due to the closeness of the two cities. Our friend Joana, who was living there, and Emil came to pick us up at the station and accompanied us to her place where we could leave our stuff. After that, we headed into the city center and met with Jira. We got off at Karlsplatz and admired the classical Viennese architecture in the buildings surrounding the square including the beautiful Baroque church, Karlskirche. The church was already closed as it was already 7pm, so we decided to walk around a bit and admire the city center. We walked past the impressive and world-famous State Opera House and continued along Kärntner Straße, one of the main shopping streets of the city, all decorated with Christmas lights. We then reached the Cathedral of St Stephen, an imposing mix of Romanesque and Gothic. Walking along Graben street we passed by the Plague Column, a beautiful baroque trinity column built in 1679 to thank the stop of the Great Plague. Further on the facade of the church of St Peter peeked out from one of the side streets though we continued onwards as it was already closed. We ended up in Michaelerplatz where the Hofburg, the former imperial residence of the Habsburgs, stands. Made up of many buildings it is incredibly large and imposing; after walking around it we then decided it was time to have dinner. We found a place not far in the area and had a typical Austro-Hungarian dinner. After that, we ended the night by heading to a bar located on top of a hotel called 25 hours which had an incredible view over the city. The following morning we woke up early and after breakfast headed again into the city center. We decided to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum, a world-famous art museum. The entry ticket had a quite hefty price but was well worth the huge collection kept inside. We saw some incredible paintings by famous artists such as Rembrandt, Brueghel, Titian, Caravaggio, Durer, and others. After two and a half hours inside the museum, which could have easily become four had I been alone, we headed out to have lunch. After eating at an Asian place, we then took the metro and headed to visit Schonbrunn Palace. As it was late afternoon we decided not to enter the palace itself as it was nearing closing time and instead headed behind to visit its immense gardens. Due to the time of the year they were not at their best however it was still pretty enough and gave us a beautiful view from the top of the hill where the Gloriette building is located. After the visit to the gardens, we took the metro back into the city and visit the Rathausplatz with the impressive and eclectic Rathaus, or town hall on its western end and the Christmas market with the ice rink at its center.  We were quite tired so we eventually headed home had dinner, talked for a while and then went to sleep.
The next morning we woke up early to catch the train headed to the city of Graz which went through the Semmering railway, a Unesco site due to it being the first mountain railway in Europe to be built in the standard gauge track. The view from the train was great, passing through valleys, hills, mountain passes, and tunnels. After reaching our destination we left our luggage in the baggage deposit and headed on foot. We decided first to head out of town to see the Eggenberg Palace, one of the best examples of Baroque palaces in the region of Styria. Entrance to the palace itself was paid and as we were just day tripping we decided to skip it but instead proceeded to visit its gardens for free. After hanging around for a while we decided to head into town; after nearly one-hour walking we finally reached the historic center and crossing the Mur river entered the Franciscan Church which stood right after the bridge. Originally dating to the 13th century it holds a Gothic interior, yet the bell tower, which is unusual for a church of the Franciscan order was built during the 17th century as it served as a defensive tower due to its close proximity to the walls. Walking along the old town streets we then reached and entered the Cathedral, built in the Gothic style during the 15th century, it now passes a complete Baroque interior. Right next to it stands the Mausoleum to Emperor Ferdinand II, which was however closed. Nearby we entered the grounds of the Castle, built during the 15th century, it was refurbished several times during the following centuries. Particularly interesting is the double spiral staircase built at the end of the 15th century which granted a nice view of the cathedral. After descending the staircase we walked through the streets and passed by the Glockenspielplatz, with the house holding the Carillion which gave the name to the square. Next on we passed the Landhaus, the renaissance palace holding the regional parliament. Inside is the Styrian armory, the world's largest historic armory, which was however only possible to visit through guided tours. We visited though inner courtyard which was freely accessible and included beautiful arcades and an interesting well. Not far from there we then reached the Hauptplatz or the city's main square. It was easy to spot the castle hill from there with the prominent clock tower towering over the city. We decided to head there by using the lift which had been built inside the rock and would bring the visitor in a few seconds to the top of the hill. After reaching the top we had a great view over the whole city and despite the not so great weather still managed to see all the main landmarks from there. As the name Castle Hills suggests, there used to be a castle here since the 10th century, which was later modified and refurbished to meet more modern standards by northern Italian architects during the 16th century.  The fortress was never conquered during its history, though it was nearly completely demolished by Napoleonic forces. The only remaining structures are the Clock Tower, one of the city's most iconic landmarks, and the bell tower located a little bit to the back of the hill. After admiring the view as the sun set and day turned to night we descended the hill through a small way among the trees, we ended up again in the city center and walked around a little more. Finally, we headed to the bus station where we took our ride to the next city: Maribor in Slovenia.

The Karlskirche in Vienna

The Cathedral

The Plague column

The Hofburg palace

The interior of the Kunsthistorisches Museum

The Schonbrunn Palace

The christmas market in front of the town hall

Schloss Eggenberg near Graz

The courtyard of Schloss Eggenberg

One of the old town streets in Graz

The Graz Cathedral

The back of the Mausoleum to Emperor Ferdinand II

The main street with the Landhaus palace to the right

The courtyard of the Landhaus

The Hauptplatz with the view of the castle hill and the clock tower

View of the old town from the castle hill

Bratislava (5-6/01/2018)

Ania and I decided to take a trip around a few countries for several days starting with Slovakia, where we up meet up first. I took a flight from Italy in the morning while Ania was taking hers from Germany in the late afternoon. So after arriving in the capital city, Bratislava, I decided to visit a bit while waiting for Ania. I took a bus from the airport which took me quickly to the city center. First  I wanted to check in our accommodation so I could leave my bag and explore more. So after reaching the address of the Downtown Bratislava Hostel, I went to check in. However, to my surprise, there were workers doing construction work there to which I asked regarding the hostel no one knew what to tell me so I headed to the bar next door which told me the hostel was closed due to reconstruction going on. At that point, I felt quite lost as we had booked a room for that night without knowing and without being told that it was closed. I panicked a little and then proceeded to quickly look up another accommodation. I managed to find one across town so decided to continue my visit of the city and head there later. I passed by the western walls of the old town and started climbing uphill past the church of St Nicholas which was unfortunately closed, and then reaching the top of the hill where the castle is located. I checked the Baroque garden first, which due to the time of the year was not at its best appearance, and then admired the view from the terrace in front of the castle spacing over the Danube river. Then it was time to enter the castle proper. Dating originally to the 9th century, it was modified several times throughout the centuries, then suffering near-complete destruction in the 19th century. Finally, during the mid 20th century, it was reconstructed its current Baroque forms. I bought the ticket and then entered the museum. The Slovak National Museum, contains many objects, paintings, and coins ranging from the Middle Ages to modern times. Once back out in the cold of January I headed down the hill and into the old town. I then visited the Cathedral of St Martin which served as the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. It was built in the Gothic style and the interior reflected that style perfectly. It was then time to head to the bus station where Ania was soon arriving from the airport. After picking her up and bringing the luggage to the hostel we then headed out into the city. We walked a bit around the city center and grabbed a hot chocolate at a bar. Then we had dinner at a place called U Sedliaka which had good food for reasonable prices. The next day we headed into the city center again and passed through St Michael's gate, the only surviving city gate from the medieval fortifications of the town. Despite being built during the 14th century its present form is due to a Baroque reconstruction which gives it an extremely photogenic look. After passing under the gate we walked further and reached the Frantiskanske Nameste or Franciscan square. On one side of it stands the Jesuit church which we proceeded to visit, built during the 17th century for the local Protestant community. Right next to the church the area opened up to form the Hlavne Namesti, or main square. The place was still decorated with the Christmas lights which gave an extra feel to it. At the center there is a bronze statue of a Napoleonic soldier leaning on a bench; this was made to signal how Napoleon and its army entered the city in 1805. Right by the statue stands the Roland fountain, a 16th-century monument with the statue of Maximilian II the king of Hungary who financed its construction. Walking through another street we then encountered Cumil, the statue of a man at work which as the legend goes, is either uninterested about his ongoing work or is trying to look under women's skirts. We passed by the Slovak National Theatre, a neo-renaissance building, and walking further eventually reached the church of St Elizabeth. This church is very interesting as its fully blue and built at the beginning of the 20th century in the Art Nouveau style. A mass was going on inside so we gave a quick glance and then went out once again. Heading back towards the city center we passed by the Holy Trinity column built during the 18th century and walked through the old town streets filled with baroque and neoclassical buildings. We then reached the main square again and walked under the town hall, considered to be the oldest town hall in the country. It was built during the 14-15th centuries by connecting three townhouses into one complex. After passing under the town hall tower, we reached the small yet pretty courtyard surrounded by renaissance colonnades. Behind the town hall complex, we passed by the ice rink which was put up for Christmas and went through the Primate's Palace, a neoclassical building from the 18th century. It was the site of the signing of the fourth Peace of Pressburg ending the war of the Third Coalition in the early 1800s. The courtyard at its center holds a really nice statue of St George and the dragon. It was then time to go so after grabbing our luggage we headed for the bus station where we took our ride onwards to Vienna.

The Baroque Garden and Castle

View from the ramparts of the sunset

The Castle at night

View of the Cathedral and skyline from the Castle

Gothic interior of the Cathedral

The main square with the christmas decorations

St Michael's gate

The Cumil, man at work, statue

One of the streets of the old town with the castle in the background

Another street of the old town

The statue of St George

The Primate's Palace, ice rink and town hall