Winter is slowly coming to an end … but there are still great days of skiing or other winter sports activity ahead. Here you can find one of my favorite pictures of the mountains in Winter in my region.
I hope you like as much as I do …
Category Archives: random pictures from great places
Piazza Sordello, Mantua
Mantua is a city that is often overlooked, but this town deserves a lot of credit. This picture of Piazza Sordello is one of my favorite pictures from my last trip to this exquisite northern Italian city.
Filed under random pictures from great places
Stein am Rhein – where Lake Constance becomes Rhine (again)
In my last post „The Rhine Falls – an amazing place to see“ I told you, that the Rhine Falls take about half a day to visit. My suggestion to go afterward (or before) is Stein am Rhein. This small city is famous for its very well preserved historical houses. When walking through Stein am Rhein there are lots of things to discover. Almost every building has a story to tell (and most have signs outside, which tell you this story) and there are dozens of details at every house, which wait to be discovered.
The City is set at “the end” of Lake Constance – the Rhine flows into Lake Constance and then leaves the lake again at Stein am Rhein. You can spot this near the Monastery of St. George.
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- gate into the medieval city centre
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- monastery of St. George
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- main street
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- river Rhine
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- townhall of Stein am Rhein
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- main street
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- oldtimers in front of one of Stein am Rheins Hotels
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- view from the medieval center towards some residantial areas at the Rhine
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- where Lake Constance becomes Rhine (again)
When you linger through Stein am Rhein you should not restrict yourself to the main streets – every narrow alley has its own impressive buildings and you might discover a hidden restaurant or bar to have a break.
If you are having dinner or lunch in Stein am Rhein I suggest you try some “Bodenseefelchen” – this is a local form of ciscoes. In the main street (towards the town hall) you can find a lot of ice cream parlours, which offer delicious ice.
Stein am Rhein combined with the Rhine Falls makes a great day with impressive sightings – do not miss out on this two highlights.
The Rhine Falls – an amazing place to see!
One of the most impressive natural wonder in Central Europe are the Rhine Falls. They are 150m wide and 23m high. The average water flow changes over the year. In Winter its going down to around 250m3/s and in Summer it averages at 700m3/s – and the more water runs the more impressive the Rhine Falls get. This year should become a pretty good year – there are loads of snow in the Mountains and when this snow starts melting in Spring and early Summer, the Rhine will receive a lot of water.
Visiting the Rhine Falls is always fun – but its best in summer when its hot and the water filled air refreshes you. There are a lot of boat tours – you can just cross the Rhine beneath the falls (going from the one Swiss province (Zurich) to another (Schaffhausen), you can take a ride towards the falls (these boats get pretty close) and there is on trip that takes you to a rock inside the falls, which can be climbed up (via stairs) and will provide you with the best views of the spectacle.
On both sides of the rivers are Castles – Schloss Wörth on the Schaffhausen side (featuring a restaurant) and Schloss Laufen on the Zurich side (with a museum about the falls in it).
The Rhine Falls were one of the first places in Europe that were visited regularly by Tourists. In my opinion it is still an absolute highlight and no one should miss out on that.
Visiting the Rhine Falls will take about half a day – afterwards you could visit the picturesque town of Stein am Rhein – more on that later!
Lake Garda
Lake Garda - an excellent place for mountain biking!
I was in Milan, Italy for two days and although there is still snow in the area, you can feel that spring is slowly approaching.
Now I am back in cold Austria (with a lot of fresh snow) and I am thinking about spring for the first time this year. One of my favorite things to do in Summer is Mountain biking. And there is nothing better to start the biking season than some tours at Lake Garda in spring.
Filed under random pictures from great places, Spring
A swiss gem
Summer days in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
Stein am Rhein is one of my favorite swiss towns in the area – great place to visit old houses, enjoy some ice cream and discover narrow alleys!
You want to know more about Stein am Rhein – read this post: Stein am Rhein – where Lake Constance becomes Rhine again!
Filed under Hidden Gems, random pictures from great places
House Attack by Erwin Wurm
great find
a must see in Vienna – the MQ (Museums Quartier) – next to the Museum Moderner Kunst (modern art museum) you will also find the Sammlung Leopold, which contains one of the biggest Schiele collections and a lot of other fine museums
+ it´s very cool to sit in front of the museums and watch people
Filed under random pictures from great places
A donkey in the Judean Desert
coming into Jerusalem from the Westbank we made a break in the Judean Desert.
February 3, 2012 · 14:54
Heartland Europe 