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Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum – New York from the aircraft carrier deck
I’ve always liked visiting places and museums of a military character. I love getting back to my visit in Pearl Harbour or crawling through the tunnels in the former Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. Therefore, I won’t even try to describe my reaction when browsing tourist attractions in NYC, I saw a picture of USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. What happened next when I read that Intrepid is just one of the many exhibits at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, you can only guess 😉 Intrepid had been in service since World War II (1943) until 1974. Apparently, it could accommodate 3 thousand people and around 82 planes. During World War II it was…
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Washington D.C – Arlington, a short visit to the cemetery….
I visited Washington on a one-day trip from New York. I wanted to see the capital of the United States for a long time, actually for three reasons which are not entirely obvious. Most visitors here mainly head towards the White House, Capitol and The Washington Monument. My goal was primarily to visit Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and the Center. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit the last point due to the fact that it’s outside Washington. On the other hand, I have an excuse to get back there. Washington is about 370 km from New York, so you can easily organize a one-day trip from…
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Gyumri – Vardzia – Khertvisi – Brojomi – Caucasus tour
Last stop in Armenia, during our Caucasus tour – Gyumri City. It’s the second largest city in Armenia, right after the capital of Yerevan. Although it’s the second largest, it has only 120 thousand inhabitants. This city used to be full of life and the cultural capital of the region. However, on December 7, 1988, it was hit by the largest earthquake in the history of Armenia, which almost razed it to the ground. Thousands of people lost their lives then, not to mention those who lost the roof over their heads. The cause of such huge loss was the poor quality of the buildings. Gyumri’s fate was sealed due…
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Moscow – Gallery of the Fallen Sculptures
It was about 5 years ago or more when for the first time in my life I saw Lenin’s monument somewhere on the streets of Hanoi. That hit the spot! I’ve always been interested in history and such monuments are the symbol of an ideology that has long changed the fate of the world. However, I have to admit that after visiting Belarus and Moscow this year, Lenin has ceased to impress me. In Moscow you can meet him mainly at metro stations. There’re numerous mosaics or paintings. What’s interesting, Lenin is presented there as a proud chief looking straight, or what is incomprehensible to me, to the right. In…
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Podlasie – fabulous Eastern Poland, Day 2 – Girl on a Trail
Heading from Bialowieza to northern Podlasie, it is worth visiting the ruins of the church of St. Anthony in the village of Jalowka. Arc vaults, high columns and huge windows, give the idea of the former glow of this place. The temple was ruined at the end of the war in 1944. At that time, the German army, for fear that this place was an excellent observation point, blew it up. In front of the ruins there’s a special altar where mass is celebrated every year on St. Anthony’s Day. Just 12 kilometers from the ruins of the church there’s a closed border crossing with Belarus, Zubki Bialystok – Brestowica.…
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Podlasie – fabulous Eastern Poland, Day 1 – Girl on a Trail
I have to admit, I made a cardinal mistake about my past travels. I had been planning a trip to Podlasie in Poland for a long time, but cheap flight steered me away from visiting this place. Only recently I managed to go there. What I can say, I am disappointed that Podlasie is such an underrated tourist region, although looking objectively I contributed a bit to it myself. This place surprised me with a homely atmosphere, rich history, culture and excellent cuisine. So far I’ve imagined Podlasie as a gray and gloomy place, somewhere on the border with Belarus, meanwhile I’m impressed with the amazing number of colours and…
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Brno and mysterious Olomouc – weekend break in Czech Republic
I visited Brno and Olomouc in one day. I have a special sentiment for these cities because I visited them during my first solo trip 😉 My sightseeing plan was quite intensive. On Friday after work I got on Lux Express bus, which on Saturday morning brought me to Brno. In Brno I had a quick coffee and switched to a bus going to Olomouc. For 230 CZK, in an hour I found myself in this tourist-forgotten city. When I got there and saw the Olomouc train station, I thought time actually stopped there. However, when you go a little further from the station you can see a completely different…
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Phong Nha-Ke Bang – amazing, underground Vietnamese world
Phong Nha-Ke Bang is one of the most amazing places in Vietnam. Located about 500 km south of Hanoi, right next to the Laos border and the former Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. It’s a huge complex which consists of around 300 caves. It’s estimated that underground corridors are 126 km long and a large part of them has not yet been discovered. Park was opened for visitors in 2010 and since then it has expanded its offer. I visited this place in 2014 when Phong Nha-Ke Bang was not as popular as it’s today. Can you imagine a cave that would house a 40-floor skyscraper inside? You don’t actually have to…
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Russian cuisine – what and where to eat in Moscow?
Russian cuisine consists of many different dishes. A large number of nationalities in the area of both the former Soviet Union and the current Russia have contributed to the culinary tradition of this country. Russian cuisine is influenced by European, Siberian, Caucasian or Asian traditions. Therefore, in the traditional set of recipes we can find simple potato pancakes or Uzbek pilav. Appetizers Appetizers are mainly composed of cold cuts, herrings, salads, caviar and pickled vegetables. Russians are well-known for pickling everything. I suspect that it’s no longer a surprise that they “pickle” even their former dissidents. But can you imagine, for example, a pickled tomato? That’s the idea! Soups Soups…
