Europe a la Carte Blog

Welcome to my blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

My standard (and preferred) method of discovering a European city is to stumble around a bit and just see what I come across. When I was in Lübeck, northern Germany, my stumbling led me to this cheerful-looking devil statue. He made my trip!

This devil can be found outside the Marienkirche (St Mary’s church) in the centre of Lübeck. The story goes that when construction of the church began, the devil mistakenly thought they were building a wine bar and helped out; when he discovered it was a church, he wanted to destroy the building with a huge boulder. But the townspeople promised to build him a wine bar nearby so he dropped the boulder - it’s next to the church, and they say you can see scratches on the church which were the work of the devil too.

Most importantly, perhaps, there is a wine bar nearby so you can indulge as the devil might have liked. Lübeck is such a pretty little city and there’s plenty of other stuff to indulge in too - it’s famous as being (possibly) the inventor of marzipan and the famous Niederegger marzipan producer is there. And I found out all of this just by stumbling around!

Welcome to the January 2009 edition of the Europe Travel Carnival kicking off the New Year with a great selection of posts selected to inform, inspire and entertain readers who love travel in Europe.

Accommodation

In the World’s First Zero Star Hotel posted at So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager…. we read about this budget accommodation located in a former nucluer bunker in Sevlen, near Zurich. With beds from only £6 a night it is certainly cheap but perhaps even a bit basic for me.

Zurich by Toni_V

Activites

Justin Brunjes relates his tale of ‘Stuck at the top of the world’ or ‘A nightmare of buses, trains and footpaths in St. Moritz’ posted at The Best Things In Life, I think that the morale of the story is that even if you arrive late, your wife will forgive you if you appear with a patisserie delight.

St Mortiz by timo_w2s

Marcus writes about German Castles and Residences on German Travel Guide, saying, “Did you know that Germany has over 20,000 castles?” I have certainly visited quite a few castles when I’ve been in Germany and they do have a fairy tale quality about them. Two of the Europe a la Carte team have written about German castles recently, Jacinta Lodge recommending a visit to The Castles of Potsdam, close to Berlin and Andy Hayes describing Neuschwanstein (pictured below) as the ideal place to wake up on Christmas day.

Neuschwanstein: The Bavarian Castle by jeffwilcox

Alyssa’s post Saving Money While Snowboarding in Europe is on Surf & Snowboards. One of our sons is away in France snowboarding now, so fingers crossed he won’t have any nasty falls. The University Snow Sports Club charters a bus for the trip from Edinburgh to France which is cheaper than flying but you have to endure more than 24 hours on a coach. Saving money on travel in the Euro zone is going to be a big theme this year for we British with the current drop in the value of the UK pound against the Euro.

Avoriaz Pipe by Grayskullduggery

Destination

In Edinburgh Trip Report posted on the One Family’s Blog we read about their short visit to the Scottish capital. It sounds as thought they enojoyed their trip. I really love Edinburgh and there’s loads more to do and see off the beaten track in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh skyline from Calton Hill by Karen Bryan

In Celebrating the Season: Berlin posted at Intelligent Travel Blog, Susan O’Keefe asks the concierges in the top hotels in Berlin what they recommend seeing and doing in Berlin during the Festive season.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin by Karen Bryan

Mark writes about Soaking Up Culture (Bath, England) posted at Travel Wonders of the World. Bath is a very beautiful town and well worth a visit. However neaby Bristol is only UK city in the Top 10 Ciities for 2009 DK Eyewitness Guides.

Parade Gardens in Bath by jmenard48

GrrlScientist tells us about her visit to Helsinki in Hietaniemen Hautausmaa posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “On my last day in Helsinki, my host and I walked through the northwestern portions of the city to visit several places, including Sibeliuksenpuisto (Sibelius Park) where the famous monument is located and Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery). This graveyard is the burial place for many famous Finns, including writers, artists, actors, and nearly all of its presidents.”

Sibelius Park by tommetje

Chris Christensen presents Travel to Slovenia - Amateur Traveler Episode 162 posted at The Amateur Traveler Podcast - travel for the love of it,, saying, “The Amateur Traveler talks to Shel Holtz (from the For Immediate Release podcast) about his trip to Slovenia. Here about the food, the wine, the lake and the cake as Shel describes his visit to the capital of Ljubjana, the caves at Postojna, Portoroz castle and Lake Bled. Slovenia is one of Europe’s best kept secrets.” Jason Green, one of the Europe a la Carte writing team has already whetted my appetite to visit Slovenia with articles about Lake Bled, Maribor and Ljubljana.

Church of the Assumption, Lake Bled by croarty

The Cyprus Informer describes Some Excellent Beaches in Cyprus. I’ve visited Cyprus a couple of times for Winter Sun holidays and Polis is one of my favourite towns. We did consider Cyprus as a location for Our Own Place in the Sun, however we decided to look at southern Spain first as there is more choice of cheap flights to Spain from the UK and there is also the possility to drive our own car to Spain.

Polis Beach by valentinapowers

If you’d like to submit to the February 2 2009 Europe Travel Carnival, please do so by 26 January 2009.

I must say I’ve been surprised by the recent fall in the value of the UK pound against the Euro. I received a bank statement which contained details of accommodation purchases made in euro, paid at the beginning of December 2008 for our reccy trip to Spain in February 2009, where the exchange rate was 1.2 euro to the pound. Now one month later, at the beginning of January 2009, the rate is standing around 1 euro to the pound.

by irene

It’s certainly going to make ou reccy to Spain in February 2009 more expensive as we’ll need to buy fuel for the hire car and food. It also makes our quest for Our Own Place in the Sun appear rather academic as the same property would now cost us around 20% more than it did one month ago.

It’s also detering us from visiting Italy in May 2009.

It makes me wonder how much further sterling will fall against the euro? Personally I believe that the pound will rise modestly against the euro within the next few months, although I don’t see the pound buying anything like 1.5 euro again soon. I don’t think that the Euroland economies are much better placed than the UK to weather the current economic storm, so at present the euro seems overvalued.

Is the pound euro exchange rate affecting your holiday plans for visiting Europe in 2009?

I’ve been looking at car hire prices from Rome Ciampino airport for nine days in mid May. I’m taken aback by the high prices, the best price I can find for petrol supermini such as a Renault Clio is £254 with Econony Car Hire, including two drivers and no insurance excess to pay.

by casewell_tom

I recently booked a diesel Renault Clio car in Spain for 10 days in February 2009 for our reccy trip to search for Our Own Place in the Sun for only £82 through Economy Car Hire. Now I know that May is higher season than Feburary and the pound has fallen by around 20% against the euro since I booked the car hire in Spain at the beginning of December last year.

In the interests of fairness I went back to the Economy Car Hire site to check the current rental price for ten day hire in Spain for our dates in Febraury and it’s now standing at £101 for a petrol Ford Fiesta. I then checked the price in Spain for our proposed dates in Italy and the lowest price for a Ford Fiesta was £158.

However I still think that £254 for car rental in Italy, more than 50% higher than price of £158 in Spain is unjustiably expensive. For the trip we had in mind a car would be essential but the high price of car rental in Italy is a detterent to visiting Italy.

Happy 2009 EALC Readers!

 Fireworks over Edinburgh - Copyright by Andrew Hayes 

I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions; I think if someone needs improved or changed or done, don’t wait until January to put it onto your to do list!  However, I have several items on my agenda for Euro-wonderful travel this year and I’m excited to share it with you.  Maybe they’ll give you some travel inspiration, or maybe I’ll see you there.

Navigating Norway

I love the Nordic and Scandinavian countries and Norway is the only one I’ve missed.  I plan on visiting the cities of Bergen and Olso, as well as do some serious hiking.  Places like the preachers pulpit (look mum, no guardrail!) and the Kjeragbolten, a huge boulder wedged between to cliff faces, are high on my list.

Siesta in Spain

Can you believe in Spain I’ve only been to Barcelona?  I’d like to see Madrid and Bilbao, as well as do some walking in the hills in the north.  Nevermind the copious amounts of sangria and tapas I’ll be downing while on tour!

Irish Invasion

My mum is coming back over again next year and we’ll be taking our touring skills to Ireland.   I know Dublin pretty well, so we’ll be exploring a few more rural regions, and I suspect she’ll want to pick up some Waterford Crystal.  You’ll have to subscribe to the RSS feed or email on the blog to find out if we kiss the blarney stone or not!

You’d think that was enough for one year, but rest assured, I’ve got plenty of other trips up my sleeve.  Stay tuned.

What are your Euro-fabulous travel plans this year?

This Christmas, in between the turkey and mince pies, I escaped to the gorgeous Greek island of Skopelos, by watching the recently released DVD of Mama Mia. The film is a frothy musical fantasy, with those catchy Abba tunes set against the idyllic Greek island setting. Of course this is the Greece we dream of, before the days of the tacky souvenir shops and the all-day English breakfast.

Agnontas, Skopelos

At least the white, pine clad cliffs, sandy beaches and the gaily painted boats bobbing in the harbour were real. Apart from Meryl and Piers, the star of the show had to be that picturesque chapel of Agios Ioannis Prodromos, built on top of a rocky outcrop jutting out into the sea. This is where Donna (Meryl Streep) sings her heart out to her lost love Sam (Pierce Brosnan), among the wild thyme with the waves crashing on the rocks below. Who wouldn’t want to be taken up the winding path with 105 steps on a donkey to be married here, although sadly it’s only open once a year on the feast day of St John the Baptist in June.

Aggios Ioannis Chapel

One of the reasons Skopelos retains its unspoilt Greek charm is because it does not have its own airport but you can catch the hydrofoil from the neighbouring island of Skiathos, which can be reached by a flight from Athens and other European cities. Happy dreaming of your next holiday in the sun. For more information, visit the Skopelos website.

Thanks to rgtmum and Jan Leversund for their photos on Flickr

Barcelona is one of my favourite cities, especially for aimless wandering (there’s always something intriguing to see) and for eating, too. When my budget is getting low I always like to check out local food markets and Barcelona’s Boqueria Market is one that’s stuck in my memory.

It’s a huge area these days, and filled with a mix of locals and tourists. The seafood section is popular (though smelly, of course) but I avoided it since I didn’t have any way to cook things up - the fruit and veg section was more interesting for me and then I found an incredible stand of sweets and yes, made a few purchases.

Even if you’re not hungry, you should check out the Boqueria, and it’s easy to find as it runs off La Rambla. With a history that goes back to the thirteenth century there are many stories to be found there - and plenty of delicious snacks. It’s open all day, every day - until about eight in the evening, usually.

Travelodge UK are offering rooms for only £9 in their Summer sale for stays between 5 May to 6 September 2009.

Update 31 December 2008 13:35

Yesterday I’ve managed to book a clutch of £9 rooms in Edinburgh during May, June and the first half of July. There are only a few £9 rooms left but a lot of rooms are avaibable for £19,  which is still a great price.

by svonog

Many Travelodges have family rooms which can sleep up to two adults and two kids. Be aware that you have to pay upfront and there are no cancellation refunds. Also if you pay by credit card there is a £1.50 fee per booking, if you pay by debit card there is no fee.

Don’t think that all Travelodges are at motorway service stations miles from anywhere. Travelodge have been expanding a lot recently and built or taken over an increasing number of properties in towns and cities. I’ve stayed at the Harrogate Travelodge which is located in the town centre and in Edinburgh there are four Travelodges close to the city centre, the recently acquired Learmonth, the Central close to the Royal Mile. the West End at Belford Bridge and Haymarket.

Good luck with booking your £9 Travelodge room.

Koper is a Slovenian city that is right on the border with Italy. Koper was originally built on an island very near the shore. Now the island is a peninsula as a straight that has been filled in. The Golden Age of Koper was during the 15th and 16th centuries and was controlled by the Venetian Republic. Currently Koper is Slovenia’s only port city and it is a business and industrial center.

Koper

Koper is the largest city on the Slovenia coast and there are several attractions, many restaurants, a small beach, and a recreational center. There is also a lot of shopping near the marina. Koper is a great day trip and if you are traveling from Italy onto Croatia, which is a country I highly recommend visiting, it is right on the way and a great place to stop and check out. If you plan on staying overnight there are many hotels, both large and small, as well as private accommodations, which can be had for a good price.

There are many monuments, old palaces, and quite a few churches in Koper. There are a few tourist offices in Koper, mainly around the marina, and you can pick up some info on all that Koper has to offer. The main place to start may be Titov trg and most of the roads in the city lead to this main square. It is nice on all sides having a town hall, a cathedral, the Praetorian Palace and the Logia kavarna, which has a great coffeehouse in an old Venetian building.

Praetorian Palace

The palace is located on the south end of Titov trg and it has a Venetian Gothic and Renaissance style. The palace was constructed in the 15th century built from 2 older houses dating from the 13th century. The Praetorian Palace was the palace of the mayor and the façade of the palace features many shields and coat of arms. There is a great archway leading to the small cobbler street of Cevljarska ulica. Inside the palace you can find the Tourist Information Office.

The Loggia is at the northern end of Titov trg and was constructed in 1463 and was renovated in the 17th century with 5 arches facing the square and then there were more arches added that face Verdi Street. In 1555 a terra cotta statue of the Virgin Mary was erected. Now the ground floor of the building is a posh coffee shop, which is a great place to have a drink and look over the square.

A great thing to do in Koper is to wander around the old city center, which is made up of narrow alleys with many small restaurants, cafes, and shops.

Just up from Koper you can find the Socerb Castle, which sits on the Karst Ridge. At the castle you can get great views of the bay of Trieste and the Slovenian countryside.

Other attractions in Koper include the Rotunda of St John the Baptist and Muda Gate.

In the marina there are many restaurants, cafes, and a few bars. This is where most of the shopping is as well, as there are many clothing, jewelry, and souvenir shops in the area. During the summer you can relax on the small coastal area and lay down a towel on the many small piers. Across from the marina there are a couple of huge casinos if you are feeling lucky.

While Koper is not really a main destination it is a great place to check out for a day or so, especially if you are traveling from Italy and Croatia and vice versa. Trieste has an airport and Ryan Air has flights that land there originating in Stansted.

I hope you are reading this post coddled in warm blankets, enjoying steaming mugs of tea and basking in the glow of Christmas lights from your tree.  (Or whatever ritual you may have for your holiday season!)

I was reflecting on the array of fantastic places we’ve discovered this year.  So I was struggling to think about what would be one of my favourite places – something really special.  After all, everyone who knows me knows how much I adored living in Amsterdam, or what about the blue ocean views in the Cinque Terre.  But if I had one place I could wake up on Christmas morning and find beneath my tree, it would be the breathtaking and mesmerising views at a castle in southern Germany:  Neuschwanstein

 Thanks to joiseyshowaa 

Building on the site where Neuschwanstein sits today started in 1868.  The walls of the castle are actually brick but a façade limestone is used to give the building its characteristic, cloud-like colour.  King Ludwig II, the man who commissioned the castle in order to give him a place to hide away from the public, moved into the partially-completed structure in 1873, but the castle was not officially completed until 1880, even though interior fittings and other details were not finished.  Unfortunately, the King only had a few years to enjoy his hideaway, as he died due to ‘mysterious circumstances’ in 1886.

The reason of death is fitting as King Ludwig II was dogged by controversy.  Being labelled a ‘recluse’, he slept during the day and lived at night.  He travelled in elaborate costumes and in intricately-decorated sleights.  He ordered plays and operas to be formed for him only.  A year before his death, the government declared him insane and tried to depose him.

Ludwig’s zany tastes translate today into a castle that is nearly unbelievable.  From the sweeping views of the hillside location, nothing is left to chance.  From the seat of the king’s throne, a nearby waterfall cascades directly in view through an adjacent window.  Every surface on the interior is covered in jewels, gold, and silver.  The hike alongside the paths above the castle offer even more stunning views of the castle, waterfall, and neighbouring lands.

The castle is accessible via Füssen, a typical Bavarian town accessible via bus or train from nearby Munich.  Don’t forget to explore Füssen during your visit as it is a charming place, not just a transport depot.

Learn more about the castle on the official website.

What great place or view would you like to find underneath your Christmas tree on Christmas morning?