Travel does the heart good
Technically, or administratively, the city belongs to the state of Bavaria but truly there is nothing about Lederhosen, Weißwurst, Bier and Biergartens. Würzburg, the wine capital of Franconia in the northwestern tip of Bavaria, will show you that there’s more to life than beer and sausage. The dialect is different, the choice of sausage is…
Never in my life did I think I would have an honour of traveling to Kosovo 🙂 Booking this trip was a bit of a bullet in my throat but it ended up being totally thrilled with the state/non-state. Depends on which side you are. Travelling from Skopje to Prishtina, our local guide welcomed us…
When you dive into the story of this city, you go medieval. Let me show you where I ended up. This city is the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It has been founded in the 8th century by Charlemagne by building the Cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul. The cathedral stands by the Münstersche Aa river. Upon arrival to the…
Koki the rooster, Lupo the dog, Burlón the cat and Tonto the donkey. And me. Starring in Brother Grimm’s story in Bremen. 🙂 The story tells they formed a band playing guitar, drums, trumpet and saxophone with the aim of winning a contest in the city of Bremen. Let’s start at the beginning. In medias…
My summer Scandinavian road trip finished. From the Trelleborg port, we took the ferry to Rostock. It took 6 hours to float on a Huckleberry Finn passing down the Danish islands like Bornholm. Rostock is a city in northern Germany, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the…
Sweden’s second city gets much less attention than its fancier east-coast alternative (Stockholm), but for me, that’s all the more reason to visit Gothenburg. Yes Patrick, this is how you write it in English. The city was named Göteborg in the city’s charter in 1621. The name was given after the Göta älv, the nearby…
Living in Belgium, I have been saying I need to visit this city for so long. The most I got of this city for all these years was flying from the Charleroi Airport. I knew there was no beauty in this city as it was built in 16th century, as an industrial hub, exploiting people…
My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
This historical province of southeastern France, extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille. Known for its diverse landscapes, miles of…
When living in Madrid, one gets additional options to visit cities around like Alcalá de Henares. The original meaning Citadel on the river Henares and its historical centre is one of […]
When living in Madrid, one gets additional options to visit cities around like Alcalá de Henares. The original meaning Citadel on the river Henares and its historical centre is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. The city stands out for its rich archaeology and was one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain. I liked it because it fizzles of history.
The citizens are very proud of Miguel Cervantes as the writer was born here. He is most famous by his his major work, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. I visited his born house and is mostly captured from the time of the writer with original 17th century furniture and supplies.
The center of the city remains essentially medieval with many historic buildings and the Cervantes Square (the famous Plaza de Cervantes) and it continues with the most prominent pedestrian street, the Calle Mayor. The city includes the Moorish quarter, the Jewish quarter, and the Christian quarter. These distinct neighborhoods have given Alcalá the reputation of “the city of three cultures.”
As the city is entirely medieval characterized, it gets festive medieval too and combining with the days of again who? Miguel de Cervantes! 🙂
Personally I liked the University of Alcala de Henares which looked like an old castle. Founded in 1293, The university is especially renowned in the Spanish-speaking world for its annual presentation of the highly prestigious guess what kind of prize? Cervantes Prize 🙂
The second most impressive building for me was The Archbishop’s Palace of Alcalá de Henares. Protected by UNESCO, the building is from 13 century famous for many historical events: there resided different Castilian monarchs, were held synods and councils, and in here were born the youngest daughter of the Catholic Monarchs and future queen of England, Catherine of Aragon (the wife of Henry VIII), and the German Emperor Ferdinand, son of Joanna the Mad/ Juana de la Loca. In addition, it is famous for being the place where was performed the first meeting between the Catholic Monarchs and Christopher Columbus.
The city is surrounded with city walls. prior to 1454, there were seven gates and walls which the most famous one is Puerta de Madrid.
Inspired by Alhambra, Laredo Palace is a mixture of architectural, sculptural and decorative archetypes and elements, combined by different styles but dominated by the neo-Mudejar style. It was built in 19 century and served as a villa or house for living.
Oh btw, and the city is famous by storks. Don’t know why but there are many and the number is just increasing. Nobody knows why they decided to choose the city as their habitat.
RED RIDING HOOD 
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