Archive for 'Europe'

Magical Madrid – The Highlights of Spain’s Capital City

Palacio-Real-Madrid

Stylish and sophisticated, sensuous and hedonistic, cultural and cosmopolitan; Spain’s capital city achieves all of these characteristics with laid-back ease. The third largest city in Europe and often considered the most Spanish of Spanish cities, Madrid dances to a twenty-four hour rhythm and the pulse is irresistibly infectious. If Madrid can be considered to have a beating heart from which all city life radiates, then this must be the Puerta del Sol: the ‘Gate of the Sun’. The centre point of this sweeping crescent-shaped plaza is ‘Kilometre Zero’ – the point from which each of Madrid’s six national roads officially…

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Archway Entrance Neuschwanstein Castle

Starting on a cold November morning, somewhere in the range of zero degrees Celsius, I headed to the meeting point across the road from the Munich Train Station, crunching the ice on the footpath and trying my hardest not to slip up.  Finally boarding the bus to get out of the cold, I got to meet fellow travellers for our sojourn into the Bavarian Alpine Region mainly to see the castles of King Ludwig II. The guide we had was very informative pointing out various points of interest within Munich and nearby surrounds before we headed in a southerly direction…

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A Visit to Linderhof Castle

Linderhof Castle is the smallest of  King Ludwig’s palaces and everything about it is amazing, from the beautiful gardens with the gilt fountains through to the kitchens in the base of the castle. As with most of the palaces in Europe, each room is an absolute feast of opulence and color and each is more jaw dropping than the last. The hall of mirrors is reminiscent of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. The ceiling is painted with with “The Birth of Venus” and there is a massive chandelier hanging from the beautifully painted ceiling. The music room has tapestry…

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