Let’s see today some great pictures of this park! The images below are provided by Dan Mitea.

The visit to this monument of Vienna was decided long before actually getting there, during the planning of the trip. I saw different flyers and read some stuff both on Wikipedia and on the official website, so I knew that the cathedral was build in baroque style, it has some exterior columns with a climbing spiral decoration similar to a column famous to the Romanians (Traian’s column, in Italy, Rome), but I din’t’ have the slightest idea about what I would find. Most of all, I didn’t know how well will I feel here.

We got to Karlskirche with the subway (U-bahn). There’s a station right next to the park in front of the church. It was sometime in the afternoon – and yes, we were kind of exhausted – but we knew that we wouldn’t have time to get there another day so…

From the outside: impressive! Took some pictures, admired the view and entered the cathedral.

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For an entrance fee of 8 euros you also get an audio guide. Only after that can we say that we got inside the church. I was simply conquered by this building. Everything was white, pure, shiny, peaceful. I was surprised not to get into a very crowded cathedral (like at the Stephansdom – more about this one in a different post) – and I had a really nice surprise. More quiet, more room to walk, admire and listen to the explanations at your own pace. And we both listened the details provided by the audio guide very carefully: the church’s story, details on each shrine and so on. When you’ll get to see Karlskirche you’ll notice different interesting elements; for instance, the dome above the shrines: you think you see the dome and it’s ceiling, but in fact there’s another smaller dome above the main one. A dome in a dome – a very interesting effect, see the picture below.

Each shrine has its own story – and you will find out its significance, details about the painters and so on – quite a lot of interesting data. Regarding this church’s history, keep in mind that “In 1713, one year after the last great plague epidemic, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, Charles Borromeo, who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers”. You will hear all the details on the audio guide.

After finishing the ground floor you’ll probably be interested to take the elevator to the top of the church’s dome. Well, almost to the top – because there are several stairs you have to climb on a wooden ladder (solid, construction-grade metallic structures – don’t think anything dangerous!). The trip in the elevator provides a breathtaking look at the church’s organ and, of course, at the paintings. Karlskirche is a re renovated monument – but the artist maintained the look and the spirit of the original. Please believe me, there’s a lot to see and admire – be it a religious, or non-religious viewer, catholic or not. We decided to climb the stairs to the top of the church. As you approach the roof, the air gets hotter – something both logic and natural, since there’s no open window at the very top hence no ventilation. Climbing the stairs becomes increasingly difficult – especially if you try to do it rather fast. But this climbing effort is really worth it. I strongly recommend you to get to the top if no health problem is preventing you from doing it.

After some minutes spent admiring the view we got back to the ground floor. We were tired – and we sat down on the benches in the church to catch our breath – we really needed that. It is a nice feeling to simply sit in this church, to let your mind get free from any concern, to embrace the peace inspired by this place. I took advantage of this break and took some more photos – the statues from the main shrine – and spent some time admiring the assembly above the altar, assembly made out of pure gold.

In Karlskirche you can also visit Boromeo Museum – we didn’t do that so if you visit it please let us know what you think about it!

If you get in Vienna and would like to visit a single cathedral, having to make a choice between the alternatives, I’d recommend this one against the maybe more popular Stephansdom; Karlskirche is an optimistic, nice, bright, beautiful place. Actually you’ll leave this place with a nice feeling!

You can have a glimpse of how Karslkirche looks by taking these virtual tours of different sections of the cathedral on the official website, here.  Isn’t it amazing?

As I mentioned earlier, today some interesting facts.

First of all there was no cooking in the palace! You might then ask how and where were the meals cooked? Well, there is in fact a very simple explanation: the food was prepared in a different building – the one near the hill in front of the palace, on the same domain, of course. Then the food would be brought to the palace in order to be served. Does that sound like catering to you (having to find ways to bring fresh cooked food and to keep it warm or cold until served)? It did to me – and I actually think that this system is one of the early precursors of the modern catering.

Then we must talk about the parties – the “Grand Balls”. Did you know that a ball lasted as much as it took the candles to burn out? Well, it is said that if Empress Sissy was in a mood for a long party, she order the use of long candles (that would take several hours to burn, and of course made the ball last longer); if she was not in the mood, or if it was merely a convenience event, then shorter candles were used. There was no replacement for the candles, everyone knew this custom and no one argued.

Well, I think it is great for a host to be able to set how much a party will last before it even begins. Do you?

So, if you are in Wien, you must see this palace. You can see some images in 360 degrees view here.

Do you other interesting facts about the Schoenbrunn Palace?

I’m honored by this mention and I also take it as a challenge to further offer interesting and useful information to all our readers. So stay tuned – more presentations of places to see coming soon

As chosen by TravelPod
the web’s original travel blog

You have prepared and double-checked everything for your trip. The accomodation. Special events during your stay. The weather. The plane tickets.

You are calm and ready to go. Until … WHAT TO PACK?

Troller or backpack? Large or small? If it is too fancy it will attract thieves, if it is too modest you will look old-fashioned. Hairdryer – yes or no? Umbrella, raincoat or test your luck? Pills – what should I expect?

Something warm, something light, something confortable, something elegant, something for the day, something for the evening, a hat, a scarf, pyjamas …what if we go to the beach? …will they provide a towel?

All these questions require plenty of decision-making and consume much time and energy. This is why every traveller should find which style of packing suits him/her best.
Travellers usually fall into two broad categories: LIGHT packers and EVERYTHING-COVERED

EVERYTHING-COVERED means that one is prepared for any situation. The weather may change, a sudden head ache may strike, a surprise invitation to a party may come up – this traveller will have all necessary equipment in his/her bag. The bag is usually an elegant troller that can magically hold either a weekend’s or ten-days’ luggage.

PROS

• Prepared for everything
• Good companion – will always be able to lend a hairdryer or give away a band-aid
• Confortable and relaxed

CONS

• Heavy bag, takes a lot of space
• No room for shopping
• Uses only half of what is in the bag

LIGHT-packers are those who do not care about what they pack or at least, want to leave that impression. They prefer a backpack that is easy to carry around or a fit-inside-the-plane troller. They depend on local shops to  fulfill their ulterior needs (toothbrush, umbrella, socks, a smart little black dress for a dinner in a restaurant).

PROS

• Easy to move around
• Little stress
• Open to new possibilities and local products

CONS

• Repetitive outfits
• Might get wet during a sudden shower
• Laundry can be a challenge

The author of this post is a light-packer (wannabe). I learned the importance of what hangs from my shoulders during an ULTIMATE PACKING EXPERIENCE: Camino de Santiago. This is a 900km trail across Spain where every gram matters. I spent 40 days with everything I could fit in a 45l backpack: 2 pairs of socks, 2 shirts, 1 extra pant, 1 fleecy, 1 light pyjama, 1 raincoat, 1 extra pair of sandals, 1 sleeping bag. And washing powder. In the evening I would wash the day’s clothes and let them dry. If they did not dry until morning, I would hang them over my backpack and go on.
It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t always fun. But I learned that:

• There is little we really need
• We are extremely adaptable and imaginative if we have to, or as the saying goes „Need is man’s best teacher”
• What matters most is to enjoy the journey

Catalina likes to walk to her office at Elevate where she handles the company’s communication. The same love for walking has lead her to her passion for the Camino de Santiago. And it is out of passion that she decided to share her experience with Romanian adventure-lovers. The result is a conference and an open invitation: Explore Camino.

As you may already know, there is a famous shopping street in Vienna: Mariahilferstrasse. You can get there quite easy via tram or subway – there are several stations along this important shopping street.

Here you’ll find famous brands such as Mango, H&M, New Yorker and basically any respectable brand you can think of. Some of them have more than one store along this street, like H&M. In a sales period discounts may vary from 10 to 70% – and you can find many interesting offers.

You will eventually find out that there are several famous outlets near Vienna as well, also offering good prices and generous discounts. Of course you’ll have to find a way to get there (while getting on Mariahilferstrasse is easy, this one being downtown Vienna).

So which is better?

Outlets

• they are a very good option outside sales “seasons”;
• they are near the city – so you may find the transportation issue to be more or less of a problem;
• as a tourist you have to choose wisely – carefully account for the number of shopping days at your disposition;
• get informed before going there – there are specialized sites (tech for instance).

Mariahilfer Strasse

• easy to get there – Vienna downtown;
• many brands present – so it’s almost impossible not to find what you are looking for;
• you have the advantage of taking short breaks whenever you want (…or need): something to eat or drink and a place to rest your feet.

Last year I was with Ave in Vienna during the summer sales – late June – early July. It was our vacation and we really are not shopping addicts. Anyway, we decided to dedicate one day exclusively for shopping – but we had the same dilemma: outlet or shopping street?

We decided to remain in Vienna. First of all our car was parked in the hotel’s parking space, no reservations (and the parking was not big enough for all possible cars, so the return could have been tricky). Ah, and the parking was free, included in the hotel services. However if you want to get there by car you can do that and expect to find a parking place in special areas along the street – you can find out more about Mariahilferstrasse from it’s official website.  Also, once in Vienna you may choose to go to more than one place for shopping. For example, if you don’t find what you are looking for in any store along Mariahilfer Strasse you can go to different shopping places, malls etc. By the end you will almost surely find what you’re looking for and then some! We were very happy with our choice.

So if in Vienna during sales times we suggest to choose the city downtown first – Mariahilferstrasse and other important malls and stores.

*Photo credits

Walking down the streets at some point I entered a souvenir shop. There I saw many, many interesting objects – and I bought several as souvenirs for my mother, my friends and myself. But part of my soul remained there along with a special cuckoo clock.

Why special?

First of all I have to tell you that I simply love cuckoo clocks. I had one at my mother’s home, whan I was a child (unfortunately it was broken for a long time and no one could fix it properly). Then, in this souvenir shop there were many cuckoo clocks – with prices varying from around 30-40 EUR (for a small one) to much more.

Looking back I think that if in that day I had to choose a clock, it would have been a very hard decision to make. Every clock had something special: a special domestic scene, a party on the countryside, a fishing scene, people dancing and many more. You can, therefore, understand why such a choice would have been very difficult…

Still I hope I’ll get there sometime and by the I’ll be able to buy one. In the mean time I even found a site (with only some models, not everything I saw there): Souvenir-Shop-Heidelberg

I wonder how many people like such clocks?

*Photo credits Souvenir-Shop-Heidelberg

The first saltwater aquarium in Austria is a part of the vivarium and occupies two tall floors and holds around 100.000 litres of water (almost 26,5 thousand US gallons) hosting various species of fish, sharks and turtles. Apart from these you can see various reptiles, ants, arachnids as well as fresh and salt water fauna. You can also cross a tropical hall (some other two floors) where small monkeys, birds, turtles and – in a dark, moist cave – even bats roam freely. (Well, Milady HATES birds and bats, especially bats so she had to avoid the cave – unlucky me…) It’s not unusual to see at VERY close range, or maybe even pet, small monkeys, turtles, frogs or crocodiles [IMG_0376.JPG]. Ok, ok, don’t pet the crocs unless you have either LOOONG arms (to reach them) and FAST reflexes .

Even if the best represented species come form the aquatic environment, you can find some interesting terrariums hosting reptiles (especially snakes) and ants. Regarding the ants, the curators found a very interesting solution to both challenge the ants and create a show for the visitors: the feeding site (where the ants receive the leaves) is separated from the colony site, these two being connected by a chain of polycarbonate tubes. These tubes allow a clear view of the ants going to and from the feeding site, carrying bits of plants back to the nest. A really interesting solution, although it makes one wonder “what if” someone accidentally breakes one of these tubes…

I would recommend to start from atop the tower, where the four corners that used to host the WWII AA guns provide an excellent spot for a wonderful perspective over Wien (such as this one I’m disturbing with my presence…). The “pay-per-view” telescopes hosted in each of these corners also provide an audio guide service, inseveral languages (English, German and French included).  The stairs descending to the museum are depicting the history of the military use of the tower – the only minus here is that the posters are written in German only, a bit frustrating for a non-German speaker like myself. And, unfortunately, Milady was not very interested in the military section, but maybe the management will complete the arrangement with English texts.

Another nice treat at this museum was the free booklet they provided with the tickets, booklet that proved to be really useful on the long run although it’s impossible to present even half of the museum’s living exponates. Still, it’s a nice-to-have that reminds you of a very interesting site.

This brief review is by no means trying to “compete” the official site of the museum, but it’s one of those places in Wien really worth paying a visit if you happen to make a stop in the beautiful Austrian capital city.

Some of my friends and readers of this blog have collected over the years several magnets. Let’s see the world through their collections

Ana Adi shows us Brasov (Romania)

and other magnets

Ana Maria Ciobanu has truly a collection!

and

Ioana Anescu is also passionate about fridge magnets – see how many she has!

Valentina Roman also likes collecting fridge magnets – these are from her collection!

Valerica has as well a very interesting collection of magnets!

Radu Panciuc also has souvenirs – fridge magnets!

And… already mentioned… these are mine.

Amazing collections of fridge magnets as souvenirs. You really got to love them…

Thank you all for sharing these photos of you fridge magnets!

One year ago I had the pleasure to be taken to one of the most “Bulgarian” places in Bulgaria – Koprivshtitza (Копривщица), a small historical town in the western part of the country, around 100 km from Sofia. Even though I consider it a village, Koprivshtitza has impressed me with picturesque landscapes and old national architecture – narrow cobblestone streets and typical 18-19th century houses guarded by tall stone walls.

The wooden houses are furnished in old folklore style and are surrounded by colorful gardens. Some of them have been transformed into hotels, strictly obeying the overall architectural style of the village. Koprivshtitza mixes the popular Bulgarian hospitality with historical facts, whispered to its tourists by the tiny river that splits the village in two.

Koprivshtitza is also known for the beginning of the April uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1876. The village stands as the birth place of many revolutionary writers and poets, and it is the center of Vasil Levski’s organization of committees.
To all of this you can add the fresh air that strikes you from the first breath and the peacefulness surrounding the village. These are the ingredients that make Koprivshtitza a good candidate for the perfect weekend get-away.

Radu Panciuc is the regional manager for Romania at favit.com. Except surfing online most of the time, Radu enjoys discovering new places and people. He is in love with the nature and uses his bike to get there. He lives in Sofia, Bulgaria.