Germany

In September we went on holidays for about 2,5 weeks. We started in Switzerland where we stayed 4 days in Basel. On a day trip we went to Germany to the Europapark, a big park with a lot of attracions, roller coasters, water fun, etc. There are a lot of things to do and some roller coasters are really very fast!

After these days in Switzerland we went by plane to Dusseldorf. On a short visit (half day) we walked in the morning through this city which has a quiet center and especially the river board was nice. From there we took a train to Cologne and in the afternoon we visited the famous cathedral and climbed up the tower from where we had a nice view of the city and the river Rhine.

On the next day, on the way to Brussels, we took a train to Aachen where we had a 3 hour stop to have a look around the lovely old town. This town famous for Charlemagne has some really nice buildings, for example the town hall and the cathedral. This cathedral, like the cathedral in Cologne, is an Unesco world heritage site. After this short visit we continued by train to Belgium (see following entry which is coming soon).

Water attraction in the Europapark

 



Town hall in Dusseldorf







Shopping boulevard Königsallee





River board in Dusseldorf

View from the cathedral



In the cathedral in Cologne





Cologne cathedral





 



Town gate in Aachen

Cologne





Cathedral in Aachen



Interior of the cathedral, Aachen

 





Town hall in Aachen



Switzerland, Berner Oberland and Valais

For the the Swiss national day, the 1st of August, we went for a couple of days to Switzerland. We took a plane to Geneva and from there we went by train to Montreux on the Lake of Geneva and then we took another train, the Goldenpass Express, to Gstaad in the Berner Oberland. This is a village in the mountains with some nice old houses built of wood and stone. In winter time it's a good place to go skiing. Afterwards we continued by train to Thun and then Goldiwil where we stayed in my grandfather's house.

On the next day we walked down to Thun through the Cholereschlucht (canyon). I think in the other blog I already wrote about this town, so no further infos at this time. On another day we went hiking in the Valais, on the other side of the mountains, in the valley of the river Rhone. We went by train to Brig and there we took a bus and then cable car to Belalp. Here we started our trip, on an altitude of about 2000 meters next to the Aletsch glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps. We walked down and more or less in the middle of the way we crossed a canyon on a rope bridge. The river which flows down, is coming directly from the glacier. On the other side of the bridge we had to climb up all we went down before to get to the Riederalp. After 5,5 hours we reached this village. There we took another cable car down to the valley and then we went back to Thun by train. The weather was sunny and warm and the view was also quite good, so we could see many mountains.

The national day we spent in Thun, in the morning swimming in the lake which had about 17 degrees at this time... in the afternoon we had a very nice barbecue and at night we had some fireworks.

And finally at the end of our short holiday, we went back to Geneva where we spent a couple of hours on the lakeside.

In the Goldenpass Express

Gstaad



Thun and the castle

Cholereschlucht, canyon

Firework on the 1st of August

View from Belalp

Aletsch glacier

Aletsch glacier

Small lake on the way

Riederalp

Goats on the way, Belalp

Rope bridge to cross the canyon





Geneva

Pals, Begur, Sant Pol

In the middle of August we spent a weekend on the Costa Brava. On Saturday we went by train to Sant Pol de Mar which is about 1 hour away from Barcelona. There we had a look around the nice village and went swimming on a quiet beach. The sea was very calm and clear, it was sunny and hot, a perfect day! As it isn't very close to Barcelona, there weren't a lot of people on the beach, it's a good place to escape for a day.

Later on in Sant Pol we were picked up from Laura's parents. By car we continued to the northeast along the Costa Brava and we stopped on a camping site near Pals.

The next day we visited Pals, a lovely medieval village with many old houses.This place is quite small and very touristy, but a stroll through the narrow streets is wonderful! Afterwards we continued to Begur, another village near Pals. Begur has also an medieval part with nice houses. On the top of the hill are the remainging ruins of the Begur castle. The ruins aren't interesting, but the view from the top down to Begur and the surrounding landscape are very nice, especially of the Costa Brava which is very close.



Sant Pol de Mar



The beach in Sant Pol



In the old town of Pals



In the center of Pals





Town wall of Pals



Begur







View of Begur



View from the castle









Montserrat

At the end of May, when my parents visited us, we went all with Laura's parents and Nuri to Montserrat by car. Although the view wasn't so good, the weather was sunny and warm and so we went walking on this mountain with its special peaks. At the end we also visited the monastery with the black madonna.

Montserrat monastery

View from a mountain down to the monastery

View towards the highest peaks

Portugal, Braga and Guimaraes

After visiting Porto we stayed one day in Braga and then another day in Guimaraes. By train we went easily from Porto's train station directly to Braga. This city, a bit more in the north of Portugal, has a nice and quiet city center with a lot of churches (it's called the religious capital of Portugal). After visiting the old town, I took a bus and walked up the mountain to the pilgrimage church of Bom Jesus do Monte. From this place it's possible to have a nice view of Braga and the surrounding hills.



Cathedral



Square next to the cathedral



City gate



Bom Jesus do Monte







View of Braga

The next day we took a bus to Guimaraes. This lovely town is the origin of Portugal and will be Europe's cultural capital next year. The old town is very compact and has a lot of nice places and houses. On the hill lies the palace of the dukes of Braganca and further up the castle from the 10th century, offering a good view of the town center.



Cathedral



Castle of Guimaraes







Palace of the dukes of Braganca



Inside the palace

View of Guimaraes from the castle

Aqui nasceu Portugal (here was born Portugal)