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Showing posts with the label covered bridge

Scenes from Strasbourg

  Maison des Ponts Couverts If you’re looking for Instagrammable locations in France, look no further. From the half-timbered houses in La Petite France to cobble stone streets around Cathedral Square to the bridges over the meandering river, you’d be hard pressed to find a better subject than Strasbourg. It is  one of the most romantic cities in Europe. Every year around Valentine’s Day,  Strasbourg mon amour  celebrates of romance. Concerts, cultural events and food festivals are scheduled for the pleasure of all lovers. Strasbourg is also the seat of the European Parliament, the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. It is the “chief” city in the Alsace region. The best time to visit is in springtime when flowers are in bloom and the days are sunny but not too warm. La Petite France Notice how the beams are arranged in these half timbered houses. The dark yellow house in the foreground has a V design on the upper floor and a diagonal design on the lower floor with

6 Hours in Lucerne

Sometimes when you revisit a place after many years of absence, you are disappointed because it is no longer what you remember it to be. I find this to be true of many cities in Europe where overtourism has transformed these once peaceful towns.  It doesn’t mean these places have lost their charm. It’s still there but it is a bit challenging to appreciate what you see when there are so many people around you (even in November) and the cacophony of herded tourist groups makes you want to run in the opposite direction. But that’s just my view. It’s been nearly two decades since I was in Lucerne where I had walked around the quiet city streets and ended up at the beautiful Jesuit Church. This same Church was my first stop on a recent day trip from Zürich. And it is everything I’ve imagined since that last visit. The white walls with its Baroque ornamentation are not exuberant as other Baroque churches in Europe tend to be. Rather, the decor livens up the stark white walls. I love t