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Germany, Bavaria – Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle is probably the most famous building in the world, especially in the age group from 2 to 5 years old. Presented in the intro to Disney fairy tales, it ignites everyone’s imagination. The Castle was an inspiration for Walt Disney to create Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Not very subtle name – Neuschwatein, does not reflect its fairytale look, hence it is often called Disney Castle – then everyone knows what we are talking about 😉 The Castle is located on a high hill surrounded by the Bavarian Alps and resembles the old fortress. However, appearances can be deceiving, because its construction began in 1869, at the…
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Liechtenstein – somewhere in a faraway land…
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a tiny duchy. This duchy had no access to the sea, it did not have its own language, army and currency. There wasn’t even an airport there because the duchy was so small that few people visited it. Its neighbors sometimes even didn’t realize that it existed and accidentally entered its territory with an army. Despite this, the people in this duchy were very rich and happy, and their ruler invited everyone to a party every year. If anyone likes this fairy tale, I have very good news. It’s not a fairy tale, but the reality of Fürstentum Liechtenstein, or…
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Kehlsteinhaus, Germany – a visit to the Eagle’s Nest
Kehlsteinhaus or the teahouse on Kehlstein – it’s a legend itself. Beautiful Alpine views clashes with the difficult history of the World War II. The teahouse is widely known by another name, which speaks more to the imagination. It’s famous Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. The teahouse was built on the initiative of Martin Bormann as a gift from NSDAP for Hitler’s 50th birthday. The best architects and engineers in the Third Reich were involved in the construction of the Kehlsteinhaus. This project cost over 30 million Reichmarks, which is currently worth around 150 million €! According to the Bormann’s intention, in addition to the diplomatic function, Kehlsteinhaus was supposed to be…
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The sky is not that far… Switzerland – Interlaken and the surroundings
Violet cows with bells, pastoral landscape of the mountain meadows with thoroughly mown grass and white peaks of the Alps in the background, that’s the picture of the commercial… no of Switzerland – Interlaken, maybe except the colorful cows. Exactly on the 3rd of January 2 years ago, I was bored waiting for delayed, by drifting snow, flight back from Riga to Warsaw. I was looking over the offers of airlines when suddenly I saw discount tickets to Basel. A better beginning of the year I couldn’t have imagined. Switzerland can be divided into the northern part which consists of beautiful and charming cities like: Basel, Stein am Rhein, Zurich…
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Switzerland – driving on the edge!
Push yourself to the limits… Swiss roads can be described as the drivers’ wonderland. Apart from highly developed highway network, driving here isn’t monotonous. The travel is full of amazing landscapes, numerous tunnels (even 10 km length), sharp bends and black spots, which are marked with the signs informing about masses in nearby churches. Additionally, reasonable speed limits and the lack of police patrols make the drive very pleasant. In any case, speed controls seem to be unnecessary here because the list of penalties is a reading more thrilling than the best thriller. But it doesn’t mean that Swiss drivers observe road rules. From the driver point of view, who…
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St. Beatus caves – a short visit to elves’ wonderland
St. Beatus caves which are located close to the town Interlaken, at the picturesque Thun lake, is an exceptional place. Here one can move to the magic world of the Rivendell – the elves’ residence, created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The similarity isn’t coincidental because this place was the inspiration for the author of the Lord of the Rings, who visited it during his voyage through Switzerland in 1911. What’s more, the visualization of The Last Homely House, presented in Peter’s Jackson movie was made by John Howe – Canadian book illustrator, who lives in Switzerland. The name of the caves is connected with St. Beatus – English missionary…