While traveling random things can happen. in a sequence of events… we found ourselves attending the funeral of the last heir of the Habsburg dynasty (Otto von Habsburg) in Vienna inside of the st Stephen’s cathedral… it was truly a unique experience!!

Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona, in the Southwestern United States, features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 AD.

Pow Wow time is the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and make new ones.

If you are visiting Puerto Rico, Old San Juan is something you must see. In 1493 Colombus arrived here on his second voyage. The colors of this old city are something you will never forget. Walking on these colorful and narrow streets is really relaxing and you can easily find good local food (try El Jibarito). Also, don’t forget to visit San Cristóbal castle and El Morro.

Really close to Pavia (where I’ve been living in my recent past) is located Certosa di Pavia. Thanks to Stella and Daniele for the company, the wine (that was gone much before going back to USA) and the good homemade focaccia!

I really would like to thank Alex, Victor and Alexandru for the good time I had in Bucharest this week end.

Unfortunately the weather has not been really polite with me… we should get together some other time!

I could say so many things about this pic. But I prefer to not get into politics, there are already too many people pretending to be experts in that. I would just say that at one point of the history, something happened… and, according to the people living that period - many people I know directly - it has been a tragic failure. And this is what they left behind (in many and many copies), replacing abruptly the scent of centuries of history. At the end, the architecture is reflecting that gray idea.

From Athens and cape Soniou:

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia. It is situated by the Gulf of Finland, on the opposite sea-side of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Tallinn is the biggest city in Estonia and it counts around half a million inhabitants (Estonia’s total population is much less than 2 millions).

Tallinn was first referred to in chronicles in 1154. In the Middle Ages it was an important trade centre. If you want to read more about Tallinn’s history I suggest you wikipedia.

Keep in mind that Tallinn is one of the best conserved Middle Ages cities in all Europe [tallinn tourism website]. Nowadays, you can still feel the taste of old middle-ages walking in the Tallinn’s Old Town belonging to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Inside the amazing city walls, you can admire incredibly well conseverd examples of middle ages architecture as well as a huge quantity of really fascinating cafes, restaurants and shops.

Probably, the most known middle ages example is represented by the core of the Old Town, the Town Hall which is dominating the impressive Town Hall square. The first time I saw it it was around midnight at the beginning of December… nobody was around and it was quite cold and snowing but still… amazing… an incredible view still clear in my mind. In summer time, the Town Hall Square is really alive with restaurants and cafes always full of people.

Technorati Tags: Culture, Estonia, History, Cities, Europe, Travels, Tallinn

In the last year I had the great chance to visit and enjoy Estonia a country in Northern Europe. According to Wikipedia, Estonia has land borders with fellow Baltic country Latvia (339 km) to the south and Russia (229 km) to the east. It is separated from Finland in the north by the narrow Gulf of Finland and from Sweden in the west by the Baltic Sea. Its coastline is 3,794 km long.

Estonia location in Europe.

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country of less than 2 millions citizens located in the north of Europe on the baltic sea. Recently it has been part of the Soviet Union even if culturally, socially and historically, it has always been more connected to Finnish countries (Somebody told me that Estonian language is similar to Finnish language but I have to ask better about it…)

Estonia regained its independence on August 20, 1991, with the Singing Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The last Russian troops left on August 31, 1994, and Estonia joined NATO on March 29, 2004 and the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Technorati Tags: Travels, Culture, History, Estonia