Luxor

Categories: Architecture · Egypt · Luxor · TravelTags: · · · ·

Luxor has the greatest concentration of ancient monuments in Egypt. An hour’s flight from Cairo, one can spend a week here, although I was only able to spend a full day. The remote, barren Valley of the Kings was the necropolis of the New Kingdom pharaohs. The dramatic corridors and burial chambers are adorned with symbolic accounts of the journey through the underworld and ritual paintings to assist the pharaohs in the afterlife. The Valley of the Queens lies to the southwest of the Valley of the Kings and holds the tombs of many royal wives and children.

Cairo

Categories: Architecture · Cairo · Egypt · TravelTags: · ·

Set on the Nile River, Cairo is a mega-city of of more than 20 million people, making it the most populous city in the Middle East and the second most populous in Africa — and it feels like it. The capital of Egypt is not an easy city, as it is loud, clogged and frenetic – and it might take a while to get used to the cacophony. But it is a small price to pay to experience the energy of the Mother of the World.

Egyptian Museum

Categories: Art · Cairo · Egypt · TravelTags: · ·

I debated about waiting for the later half of 2020 to visit Cairo as the $1 billion state-of-the-art Grand Egyptian Museum will open (the opening date has been pushed back on multiple occasions), however the timing to visit now worked better for me. Nevertheless, the current Egyptian Museum, founded in 1858, has on exhibit one of the most extensive collections of important artefacts with more than 100,000 objects, including the glittering treasures of Tutankhamun and other great pharoahs.

Giza & Saqqara

Categories: Architecture · Egypt · Giza · TravelTags: · · · · 1 Comment

For nearly 4,000 years, the extraordinary shape, the perfect geometry, and sheer size of the Pyramids of Giza have invited tons of questions and awe. The last remaining intact Wonder of the Ancient World is indeed a sight to behold. No other monuments are so instantly recognized around the world, yet only a few realize that there are at least 115 further pyramids spread across 70 kms of desert. Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge necropolis of the Ancient Egypt Capital of Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…

Perast

Categories: Architecture · Europe · Montenegro · TravelTags: · ·

The peaceful village of Perast is located in one of the most beautiful bays in the Adriatic that dates back from the Venetian period (1420 – 1797). Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, Perast looks like a chunk of Venice — with its outstanding Venetian architecture — that floated down the Adriatic and anchored itself onto the Bay of Kotor. Opposite Perast, across the water, rise the much-photographed twin islets of Our Lady of the Rocks and St. George, each capped by a church. It is said that the island of Our Lady of the Rocks is…

Montenegro

Categories: Europe · Montenegro · TravelTags: · · · 1 Comment

Since I had such an impressionable experience on my trip to Dubrovnik in the spring, it was an easy decision to head back to the Adriatic. Montenegro, or the “Black Mountain” is part of the Balkans and adjacent to Croatia. I keep hearing about this tiny and young (having declared its independence in 2006) country as having its moment — although I did not feel that the place had been as spoilt (as yet). Montenegro‘s coastline crams in some of Europe’s most spectacular seaside scenery. With just a population of 600,000 people, Montenegro has a meandering coastline that leads to…

Vielen Dank, Wien

Categories: Accommodations · Architecture · Austria · Europe · Food · Travel · ViennaTags: · · ·

“Thank you very much, Vienna“ It was a short visit, but sweet, as they say, to what many refer to as “The City of Dreams” (because it was home to the world’s first psycho-analyst Sigmund Freud). There is no shortage of excellent eateries and coffee houses in Vienna. Cafe Museum is a traditional Viennese cafe that opened in 1899 and designed by the famous Adolf Loos. It is also here that the famous Thonet chairs can be found. Erich was named the best restaurant in Vienna by Time Out Magazine. Located in a subterranean bar-restaurant, they serve breakfast, lunch and…

The Belvedere

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The Belvedere was built by Prince Eugene of Savoy upon his arrival at the Habsburg court from Paris at the age of nineteen as a summer home. It consists of two palatial buildings, the Unteres Belvedere (Lower Belvedere) built in 1714 to 1716 and Oberes Belvedere (Upper Belvedere) built between 1721 and 1723. During the reign of Maria Theresa, the Upper Belvedere was used for the first time as a picture gallery to feature works from the imperial collection. Masterpieces by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele can be found in the Gallery.

Vienna

Categories: Art · Austria · Europe · Travel · ViennaTags: · · · ·

Fifteen years have past since I last visited the majestic city of Vienna. There are plenty of reasons to fall for this Imperial city – as it charms from the first time and simply intensifies each time I come back. Consistently ranked as offering one of the highest quality of life in the world, Vienna entices with magnificent architecture, museums, fabulous eateries — all in a very walkable environment. Museums Quartier is Vienna’s art complex that is home to several renowned museums, including Leopold Museum (with its numerous works by Schiele and Klimt, momok, Az W Architekturzentrum Wien (Architecture museum),…