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High-Up in The Austrian Alps: 48 Hours in Innsbruck
We took a small local train that wove through the mountains like a snake, stopping in small towns with peaked train stations and only a few roads stretching off into the emerald-green hills. We went over bridges that spanned deep ravines and we were even with the clouds that settled low over the valley. A hawk soared beneath the struts of one bridge just as we crossed. Then we emerged high in the mountains over Innsbruck.
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The Red-Stone Ruins of Heidelberg Castle
2022 European Adventure: Part 4 of 6 Any one who knows me knows this: I am obsessed with castles. The German town of Heidelberg is home to imposing castle ruins rising above a red-roofed medieval town. It’s the medieval kind of castle, with towers and bricks and spiral staircases and looming walls. Palaces are the lacy, frilly, gold-gilt ones. That’s not what I’m about. I love fortresses, castles, bastions–anything that can be defended and, preferably, sports an imposing skyline. I can’t pinpoint a moment when my love affair with castles began, though I can guess at all the little pieces that influenced it:. Cair Paravel in Narnia. The Royal Palace…
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Covid Catastrophe in the Czech Republic
I can't say that I didn't know any better. But we thought we were untouchable. We thought the chaos wending it's way through the world was ridiculous. There was no precedent for everything shutting down. Surely in a week or two everything would be back to normal. Do you remember when we all thought that?
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Carcassonne: a Castle Playground
Carcassonne is a French town in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France. It’s a 3 hour train ride from Marseille. This is my first time on a train (but not my last). And the whole process was made so easy by my Eurail Pass (thanks Mom and Dad!). Carcassonne is divided into two towns—the Bastide Saint Louis and the Cité. Our Airbnb was located in the lower town, Bastide Saint Louis. On the left is the Jacobins Gate, once part of the walled fortifications that surrounded the Bastide Saint Louis. A specialty of the region is a dish called Cassoulet. It is made from Toulouse pork sausage and duck baked with…
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If Even Popes get Castles…Why Can’t I Have One?
Avignon and Pont du Gard. A day trip spanning Roman times to medieval history to modern day. La Palais des Papes In 1305 Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon. He did this because he felt unsafe in Rome, and also because the muggy weather didn’t agree with him. The palace that exists today was constructed a few decades later under Benedict XII in 1334 and continued in 1342. The palace is the largest medieval Gothic palace in the world. In 1376, Pope Gregory XI moved papal power back to Rome, but when he died two years later a new pope was elected in Rome and an…
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A Chateau and a Vineyard…I Must Be in France
IAU, as part of the Early Start Program, planned out a few French activities to introduce us to region of Provence. We began with a trip to petit village of Vauvenargues. Picasso bought a castle in this town at the base of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire in the 1950s. His family still owns the castle and he is buried on the grounds. On another day, we visited a local vineyard and winery, Château du Seuil. The speciality of the Provence region is rosé. The winery owners led us on a tour and gave us samples of their red, white, and rosé. All three wines were very fruity, which the owners explained…
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Istanbul: Jewel of the Empire
It signifies that the Romans were intrigued by past civilizations, as I am. And, like colonizers, were adept at stealing cool cultural monuments to display in their own country rather than leaving them where they belong.
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Along the River Danube: Ancient Fortresses and Fearless Kings
I was doing an excellent job of clutching the trappings of Romanticism tight, so I hardly needed help, but the beautiful countries of Eastern Europe continued to prop up my escapism. After all, now we were starting to see castles!
