TravelswithCharie

Nyhavn

"Nuremberg shines throughout Germany, a sun among the moon and stars." Martin Luther Half timbered houses in the Alstadt On January 2, 1945, the British Royal Air Force and the U.S. Air Force flew over Nürnberg (Nuremberg) leveling nearly 90% of the Alstadt (Old Town). What was once one of the most important cities of the Holy Roman Empire was turned to rubble.  Hitler's rallying ground during World War II was effectively stamped out though it took until April 1945 to weed out German resistance during the house-to-house campaign.  After the war Nuremberg was rebuilt from the ground up using the same stones that were the foundation of the old structures. What we see today is a faithful reconstruction of Nuremberg's glorious past. In the image above, restored half-timbered houses dot the Alstadt. Saint Lorenz Church Construction of St. Lorenz Church began in the 13th century and was completed in 1477. It became a Lutheran church during the Reformation....

    Wieber The Getreidegasse in Salzburg is an elegant street lined with boutiques, passages and restaurants. There are no gaudy shop signs to be seen here. Instead, there are beautifully crafted wrought iron signage announcing the name of the store and what it sells. In the photo above, Wieber has a key hanging from the beak of a gilded bird. This is a metalwork and locksmithery shop that's been around since 1415. They do keys, yes, but they also do a full range of custom made street lamps, guild signs, railing, etc. and restoration of old metal works.  Behind Weiber is the kaleidoscopic sign of Aschauer Hüte, a store selling hats and traditional Austrian garments.     Zara Zara is one of the most popular clothing stores in Europe. Notice the scissors, an important tool for sewing.       Stassny The dancing couple in diandl and lederhosen proclaim the goods sold at Stassny. Traditional Austrian costumes and accessor...

A picture paints a thousand words. So without further ado, here's Hallstatt. Hallstatt Marktplatz (Market Square) with the statue of the Holy Trinity The Skywalk View of the village of Obertraun Bird's eye view of the village of Hallstatt Traditional alpine houses Lakefront café What  to do in Hallstatt, Austria: "You want to be alone? In three minutes you are in solitude. Thoughtful? Visit the charnel house. Inquisitive? Hallstatt has two museums. Prefer social contact? Then simply choose: tennis, sauna, fishing, rowing, swimming, boat rides, grill courses, camping, hiking and mountaineering, lake concerts, town-square concerts, evenings of local culture, excursions in the surrounding area...? Even our Hallstatt Theme Trail can offer only a few glimpses of the depth of our history. But perhaps it would help you to discover the special flair of this unique town with a little background knowledge." Rudolf Lehr, j ournalist and Hal...

Buaya Beach It was summer in the Philippines and we really wanted to go to the Gigantes group of islands. But we had no desire to join the throng of beach pilgrims who wanted to take the iconic selfie from the hill above the white sand beach of Cabugao Gamay. So here we were on Buaya (crocodile) beach in Sicogon, waiting for our lunch to be served, enjoying a cool drink under the shade of this old Talisay tree and looking at the Gigantes islands from our comfortable roost. Tumaquin Island We could also see our motorized outrigger bobbing in the water and behind it, Tumaquin Island. You can swim to Tumaquin or wait until low tide and walk to it. There was a group of students learning to scuba dive in the clear waters offshore. The sun was mercilessly hot so we opted to stay put. We were happy campers under the tree. Scallops And just about the time we were running out of snacks (which we picked up from the market in the town of President Roxas), Melinda brought ...