The author's train journey began in Zurich and would end in Rome, with stops in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; Innsbruck, Austria; and Venice.
Water has quite literally shaped the picturesque town of Passau, which lies on the border with Austria. Known as Dreiflüssestadt, the 'City of Three Rivers', Passau's Altstadt is stacked on top of a narrow peninsula that sits on the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. The rivers brought wealth to the Medieval walled town, which for centuries was an important trading centre, especially for Bohemian salt, central Europe's 'white gold'. After Passau was destroyed twice by fire in the end of the 1600s, Italian architects rebuilt it in Baroque style and many have since titled the picturesque town of Passau as the 'Venice of Germany'. Even Napolean Bonaparte called it "the most Italian looking city north of the Alps." Christianity, meanwhile, generated an aura of Papal prestige as Passau evolved into the largest bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Altstadt remains pretty much as it was when the powerful prince-bishops built its tight lanes, tunnels and archways with an Italiante flourish. Overlooked by the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century hilltop fortress housing a city museum and observation tower, Passau's old town below is known for its baroque architecture, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, featuring distinctive onion-domed towers and the world’s second largest cathedral organ with 17,974 pipes, is one of Passau’s top attractions, and which we we able to hear in its full glory visiting the town on a quiet Sunday morning. St. Stephen's Cathedral with the world’s second largest cathedral organ which was playing as we visited during a Sunday morning service The spectacular organ boasts 17,974 pipes A baroque church from 1688, St Stephen's overall plan was made by Carlo Lurago, its interior decoration by Giovanni Battista Carlone, and its frescos by Carpoforo Tencalla One of the cathedral's bell towers which has eight large bells in the north and south towers Twin domes of the St Stephen's bell tower and Cathedral View of the cathedral from Passau's Old Town Square with view of the Wittelsbach Fountain and St Stephen's Cathedral A cobbled street winding down to the water from the Domplatz, or Cathedral Square Located at the confluence of three rivers, Passau is no stranger to flooding, as the marks on the wall on the left show — the highest being recently in 2013 Overlooked by the 13th-century Veste Oberhaus, the hilltop fortress houses a city museum and observation tower The Passau Glass Museum in the Wilder Mann, is home to the world’s largest collection of European glass One of the glass pieces in the museum The charming 'Wilden Mann' decorative sign outside the Glass Museum, which dates back to the gothic and baroque periods A courthouse for centuries before it was a gallery, the figures of St. Stephan and St. Nicholas stand guard on the corner of the historic 1303 building Located in one of the old town's most beautiful houses on the bank of the Danube, the Museum Moderner Kunst displays modern German art of the 20th and 21st century The afternoon I visited the Museum, there was a show exhibiting the striking prints of Carry Hauser and Otto Rudolf Schatz, their art a broad spectrum of artistic expression ranging from Cubism, Expressionism and New Objectivity to the stark realism of Europe's postwar years On a lighter side, a beautiful outdoor café serving lunch on a warm Sunday afternoon The striking architecture of the doorway of the Gymnasium Leopoldinum dating from 1613 The highly ornate baroque entrance of The Alte Bischofliche Resident, or Old Bishop's Residence Inflatable pretzel in a shop in Residenzplatz Square Our local guide with a small child's dirndl, which can be found in many shops along the waterfront Bidding 'auf wiedersehen' to Passau
Thinking of planning a day trip from Brussels to Bruges? Learn everything you need to know for your visit to the "Venice of the North."
I have always thought that a real traveller eats only local food because, as an Italian, why should I visit a foreign country and end up in an Italian restaurant? I can eat Italian food at home every day. Don't you agree?So, why don't you try the local cuisine in Venice?I always love to explore as much as I can when I travel, learning about culture and costumes, and one of my favourite things is to eat local! So here is a good list of the best Venetian restaurants. I will never send you to the m
Thinking of planning a day trip from Brussels to Bruges? Learn everything you need to know for your visit to the "Venice of the North."
The German media praised the move, accusing several international bodies of water of antisemitism.
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With so many things to see and do, Cologne is a great option for travelers looking to avoid the crowds of tourists that throng the streets of more popular destinations such as Prague, Florence, and Venice. While there are a plethora of attractions that will entice visitors throughout
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Metz, Franceby DBos617
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The village of Giethoorn is also known as the Venice of The Netherlands. What are the best things to do in Giethoorn?
All of these cities are either floating or have canal systems that allow people to travel by water.
Italy is the food capital of the world. Who doesn’t love Italian food? When my husband and I make our annual trip to Italy, I would be lying if I said I didn’t eat half of my body weight while we were there. We eat like royalty when we are in Italy,
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. Sometimes, these places can be very unusual... The confluences below were selected for their dramatic visual contrast - you can see the boundaries, where the two (or three) differently colored rivers mix to form one larger river. 1. Confluence of the Rhone and Arve Rivers, Switzerland The river on the left is the Rhone, and the river on the right is the Arve [link] This is a place of confluence of the rivers Rhona and Arve in Geneva, Switzerland. Here is the Rhona in the left part of the picture (the river has its source from Lake Leman). And in the right part there is the Arve flowing from many glaciers in the Chamonix Valley, and then the river flows to the north-west, flowing into the Rhona at the eastern part of Geneva. link The Arve has higher level of silt in its water than the Rhona has, and that is why we can see clearly the boundary between them. [link, map] 2. Confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers, Germany Aerial View of Passau and the Confluence of the Inn (left), Danube (right) and the Ilz river (small river far right) link Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. link The Ilz is a relatively small mountain stream and has a blue-ish color, while the Inn is a fairly large river flowing in from Salzburg, Austria at the top. The Inn River has more water flow than the Danube, yet flowing away from the city the three combined rivers are called Danube. This photo is taken from the fortress (now a city museum) on top of the Ilzstadt cliff above the city. [link1, link2, map] 3. Confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers, India Bhagirathi on the left & Alaknanda on the right side link This is a place of junction of the rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi in Devprayag, India. Devprayag is a town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. This is one of the five places of the river Alaknanda junctions, and the place, where the river Ganges is “born” (these two rivers form the Ganges). link The Alaknanda has its source from the bottom of Bhagirath Kharak and Satopanth Glaciers. The river Bhagirathi flows out of Gangotri Glacier. The Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. [link, map] 4. Confluence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers, Germany Mosel is darker and flows into the Rhine river. [link, via] In this picture we can see confluence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers in Koblenz, Germany. Mosel is darker and flows into the Rhine river. The name of the city - Koblenz - in Latin means "confluence". link From the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (118 meters above the Rhine) visitors have a spectacular view over the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. [map] 5. Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, Utah, USA The Green River coming in from the right (Canyonlands National Park, Utah) link The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. It is only slightly smaller than the Colorado when the two rivers merge, but typically carries a larger load of silt. link The status of the Green River as a tributary of the Colorado River came about for mainly political reasons. In earlier nomenclature, the Colorado River began at its confluence with the Green River. Above the confluence the Colorado was called the Grand River. [link, map] 6. Confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, Canada The Thompson River coming in from the right. [link, via] The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. link The Thompson River ends at Lytton where it meets the Fraser River. The contrast is striking as the clear Thompson River water joins with the muddy Fraser. [map] 7. Confluence of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes, Brazil Rio Solimoes (yellow muddy) and the Rio Negro (dark brown) link The Meeting of Waters is the confluence between the Rio Negro, a river with dark (almost black coloured) water, and the sandy-coloured Amazon River or Rio Solimões, as it is known the upper section of the Amazon in Brazil. For 6 km (3.7 mi) the river's waters run side by side without mixing. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Manaus, Brazil. link This phenomenon is due to the differences in temperature, speed and water density of the two rivers. The Rio Negro flows at near 2 km per hour (1.2 mi /h) at a temperature of 28°C (82°F), while the Rio Solimões flows between 4 to 6 km per hour (2.5-3.7 mi /h) a temperature of 22°C (72°F). [link, map] 8. Confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers, China Yangtze river - left; Jialing river - right link This is the junction of the rivers Jialing and Yangtze in Chongqing, China. The river Jialing is transparent, 119 km long river, and its most notable characteristic is its sinuous course. It flows into the river Yangtze in the city of Chongqing. link The color of Yangtze river comes from the silt that is being carried downstream from the mountains and valleys it passes through. The Yangtze becomes more powerful after it absorbs the water of Jialing as it continues its path, passing through the Three Gorges and stretching thousands of miles. [map] 9. Confluence of the Rio Uruguay and a tributary, Argentina link Confluence of the Rio Uruguay and a tributary, Misiones province, Argentina. Drastically cleared to make way for farming, the tropical rainforest of Argentina is now in some areas a less effective defense against erosion than it was in the past. The heavy rains in the province of Misiones (79 inches, per year) wash the soil and carry off significant quantities of iron-rich earth into the Rio Uruguay, turning the waters a dark, reddish color. Carried by the river, this sediment is dumped in the estuary of the Rio de la Plata – the largest on Earth – and accumulates in the access channels to the port of Buenos Aires. [link] 10. Confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Illinois, USA Mississippi River - left; Ohio River - right link The Ohio River becomes a tributary of the Mississippi River directly south of Cairo, Illinois, a small city on the spit of land where the rivers converge. link Ohio River is usually green and Mississippi is brown colored. The distinct boundary between the two river’s waters indicates that little to no mixing occurs even 5-6 kilometers (3-4 miles) downstream. [link, map] 11. Confluence of the Drava and Danube Rivers, Croatia Drava (left) flows into the Danube (right) [link, via] Here is the place where the rivers Drava and Danube meet not far from the city of Osijek, Croatia. Osijek is situated on the right bank of the river Drava, 25 kilometers away from the place of junction of the rivers. [link, map] 12. Confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, Pennsylvania, USA Allegheny River (left) and Monongahela River (right) link The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. link The Monongahela is largely a working river, supporting barge traffic up and down through industrial and mining towns in southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In contrast, the Allegheny still contains stretches of river that are designated wild and scenic. [link1, link2, map]
Today, Adi begins a tour of Germany’s Romantic Road, starting with the beautiful walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
FIND OUT HOW TO DO A DAY TRIPS FROM VENICE TO BURANO Are you planning your day trip to Burano and wondering about the best things to do in Burano in one day? Then this post is for you - find out how to plan a day trip from Venice to Burano (because this is
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Saarburg was called "Little Venice" by our guide.
Venice is a beautiful Italian gem to explore. It's the kind of city that's totally unique, with miles of canals, tiny alleys and a whole heap of history, - 24 Best Things To Do In Venice - Travel, Travel Advice - Europe, Italy, Venice - Travel, Food and Home Inspiration Blog with door-to-door Travel Planner! - Travel Advice, Travel Inspiration, Home Inspiration, Food Inspiration, Recipes, Photography
With so many things to see and do, Cologne is a great option for travelers looking to avoid the crowds of tourists that throng the streets of more popular destinations such as Prague, Florence, and Venice. While there are a plethora of attractions that will entice visitors throughout
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Around 100 years ago, renowned German photographer, Kurt Hielscher, published a photobook with pictures of Yugoslavia. Casper Molenaar, a contemporary Dutch photographer, bought that book during his studies and set out on a quest to find those places and recreate the photos. Kurt Hielscher also had other books with photos from Spain, Italy, and Germany, and Casper traveled all around Europe to recreate those too.
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Thinking of planning a day trip from Brussels to Bruges? Learn everything you need to know for your visit to the "Venice of the North."
