Category: CITY BREAK

VIENNA – visited by streetcar

Posted onAuthorRenata Green82 Comments

Although Austria is one of the smallest countries in Europe, its central location and especially its influential past make it to the heart – or maybe the solar plexus – of the continent.
Austria’s capital Vienna is looking back at an everchanging and compelling history. Whether it is the Congress of Vienna where Europe’s layout and faith were determined after the Napoleonic wars or the powerful Habsburg dynasty including Empress Sisi and her tragic faith. Since the gilded years around the turn of the 20th century, Vienna has been the center of the artistic and intellectual avant-garde. Progressive painters like Egon Schiele, innovative designers like Koloman Moser, inventive architects like Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos, exciting musicians like Arnold Schönberg, and of course the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud made a compelling case for the city’s glory.
Amazingly, you don’t need to join an expensive city tour to explore all the wonders this extraordinary city has in store. Basically, all the magnificent and world-famous landmarks in Vienna can be easily and inexpensively visited by a public streetcar!

View of the Kunsthistorisches Museum from the Leopold Museum in Vienna.
The Leopold Museum is not only worth the visit for the art, but it also opens to Vienna’s most beautiful views.

So hop on, let’s explore a city full of history, stories, and myths!

This Way to the Whole Story ->

Seven Days in BARCELONA And Ten Reasons Not to Miss Out on a Visit

Posted onAuthorRenata30 Comments

As international travel picked up again, one of the first trips I did was to spend seven days in Barcelona, Catalonia’s exciting capital. Barcelona is one of the most-visited cities in Europe, and in this post, I’m listing ten valid reasons why you have to visit this gem, too.

View of Barcelona from the Parque Güell
Some of Barcelona’s highlights in one single picture: The Parque Güell, the Sagrada Familia, the Mediterranean Sea.
This Way to the Whole Story ->

One Day in SANTA CRUZ de TENERIFE

Posted onAuthorRenata9 Comments

I urgently need to make a correction to this post. No, I didn’t make a typo. Oh no, there are no grammatical or spelling errors – at least, that’s what I hope. I was simply entirely misjudging Santa Cruz when I first created this post.
Was it the bad weather?
Was it the exhaustion after a few weeks on the road?
Whatever it was that drove me to portray Santa Cruz as not worth seeing, I was wrong.
So very wrong!

Street in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
View of the iconic belfry of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción from the picturesque Calle Antonio Domínguez Alfonso.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the city on another trip to Tenerife, and what can I say, I thought it was a great place: Lively and yet not stressful, with lots of shops, excellent restaurants, beautiful squares, and a pleasant promenade along the sea, the city scored highly at second glance. And since I was hunting for the best street art, this time I also went to parts of the city that usually aren’t on the tourist agenda.

Charming alleys, friendly residents, lots of local vibes, and yes, the best street art in Tenerife convinced me: Santa Cruz is not only absolutely worth a day’s visit. The city, which is connected to a comprehensive public transport network, can also be an excellent base and starting point for exploring the entire island.

So again: Sorry, Santa Cruz, I totally stand corrected!

This Way to the Whole Story ->

Best Things to Do in SEOUL: The Must-Dos And the Hidden Gems

Posted onAuthorRenata Green14 Comments

No matter if you stay two days in Seoul or two weeks: This exciting city has so much to offer that basically any stay will be far too short. However, to ensure that you get to see not only the most significant must-dos but also some of the countless hidden gems in Seoul, I clustered this guide according to eight very different neighborhoods. This way, you save on commuting and can invest all your precious time in the best things to do in Seoul.

Change of the guards at the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.
Despite Korea’s booming economy and industrialization, there is still a lot of culture and heritage to indulge in.
This Way to the Whole Story ->

Four Days in AMSTERDAM – Unique Things To See on a Long Weekend

Posted onAuthorRenata13 Comments

Four days in Amsterdam: Just the perfect amount of time to get to know the most iconic spots and landmarks as well as some truly unique gems on a long weekend.

Boats on the Amstel in Front of the Brug 76.
Rush hour on River Amstel in front of the Brug 76 bridge.

During a long weekend in Amsterdam, I got to experience a lot. In this post, I’m introducing my long list of activities and places for you to follow. Or you just pick what suits you most. Either way, you’ll spend a highly inspiring city break.
And if this time, you have only one day to spend, I also have you covered: In my post 24 hours in Amsterdam, I put together custom-made itineraries for either a sunny or a rainy day.

This Way to the Whole Story ->

PARIS Museum Pass: Skip the Lines And See It All For Less

Posted onAuthorRenata5 Comments

You’ve been to the Eiffel Tower, you’ve seen Sacre Coeur and sailed on the river Seine? Great, after you’ve checked the most important tourist sites off your list, you, my fellow culture vultures, can focus on Paris’ amazing museums.
Actually, it’s mainly the city’s museums and monuments that make me come back to Paris again and again.
Therefore, in this post, I’m introducing the key that allows me to skip the lines and quickly opens the doors to the best venues: It’s the Paris Museum Pass that grants access to no less than 50 museums and monuments at a very reasonable flat rate.

A visit to the observation deck of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is included in the Paris Museum Pass as well. Paris Museum Pass Skip Lines
A visit to the observation deck of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile is included in the Paris Museum Pass as well.

Isn’t that far too much, you might ask. Well, you probably won’t visit all of them in one go.
Nevertheless, since with the Paris Museum Pass*, you don’t have to wait in the long lines that often form at the entrance doors, you’ll get to see more than you’ve ever expected.

This Way to the Whole Story ->

LONDON – Off the Beaten Path

Posted onAuthorRenata8 Comments

Yes, London is packed with iconic landmarks that every first-time visitor should see. But what if this is not your first visit to London or you simply want to add some unusual and quirky – in short: very British – spots to your itinerary? Fear you not, after many visits to London – and with a little help from a local – I put together the most intriguing, interesting, and idiosyncratic places off the beaten path.

Street in the center of London.
There’s a lot going on in the streets of London, hence, it’s not always easy to find your way off the beaten path. Yet, this is what this post is for.
This Way to the Whole Story ->

Guide to HAMBURG, the self-proclaimed Gateway to the World

Posted onAuthorRenata Green117 Comments

Let me guide you through Hamburg, Germany’s second-largest city and self-proclaimed Gateway to the World. Personally, I took the slogan of my hometown very literally and became a globetrotter and travel blogger. Hamburg’s maritime charm and traditional cosmopolitanism will delight you and you will be enchanted by seductive views that will whet your appetite for undiscovered shores. Germans call this wanderlust Fernweh – loosely translated to aching for distance.

Sailors at the Port of Hamburg
For ages, sailors from all over the world anchored at the Port of Hamburg.
This Way to the Whole Story ->

Three Days in Mystic MARRAKECH – How to Get Lost Without Losing It

Posted onAuthorRenata10 Comments

Travelling to Marrakech? Getting a bit nervous? I don’t blame you! Although I’m an avid female solo traveller, the idea of spending three days by myself in mystic and mysterious Marrakech was simply petrifying. I saw myself wandering mindlessly through narrow alleys, lost between snake charmers and tourist enticers, entangled in 1001 pushy sales pitches, never finding my way back to my Riad.

Water bearer in mystic Marrakech
Of course, these guys aren’t selling water nowadays. But they are selling illusions. Actually, pretty suiting for a place like the enigmatic Jemaa el-Fnaa.

And although Marrakech was actually everything I expected – and even so much more – it did not intimidate let alone scare me. Yes, there were charmers – aiming at snakes and at tourists. But neither were the sellers as pushy as expected nor the alleys as confusing as feared. Did I get lost? Yes, but there was definitely no reason for losing it.

This Way to the Whole Story ->