No need to go to the Alps to see pretty views

This is a photo of a waterfall in Alberta Canada.

While we love Europe we realize that the Canada Rockies and

the whole of the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. has just bout  everything

places in Europe have  with the exception of very  old buildings. 

 

George Washington in Trafalgar Square, London

In Trafalgar Square you can look around a see many indications of English History.  Somewhat surprising outside of the Portrait Gallery is a statue of George Washington.  He is a hero. He helped over throw a bad king. 

 

Uffizi Galleries

I have shared before that we like to go for walks later in the evening when there are fewer tourists. This photo is of the courtyard of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence. We walked through the arch to stroll along the river.

The Uffizi is a gem. Paintings you only saw before in books are hanging on the walls for you to see. "The Birth of Venus" for example is just there with hardly anyone around. Florence is a wonderful city.

 

Barcelona, Spain

Park Guell  

There are many reasons to like Barcelona. The weather is great, the buildings interesting, the tapas excellent, and the beach is not only beautiful but bathing suits are not necessarily as complete as in the U.S.

But, you will soon find that people from all over are visiting too.

I do not mind crowds, but we make a special point of visiting smaller yet interesting locations.  Get a guide book like Lonely Planet and set out a plan.

 

The Charles Bridge, Prague CZ

The Charles Bridge is an ancient access to the city. It links the castle area to old town. We walked it both in the daytime and at night. The views are very different. The photo above is one of the many sculptures along the bridge that tell of Prague's history. They are wonderful. If you want to know who took this photo, note the man at lower right. It was not him.

 

Court of the Lions. The Alhambra, Granada Spain

A number of years ago, when I was in Grad School, my in-laws returned from Spain and brought me a book by Washington Irving titled "Tales of  the Alhambra". Irving had spent a good block of time there. When you are done with the book you have learned a great deal about the Alhambra, its history, and the lovely gardens. It became part of the bucket list and we went out of our way on a road trip of Spain to make a visit. It was worth it. But having read the book made it feel like it was a second visit. If you read Dan Brown's "The Di Vinci Code" and go to Paris or read his "Secret of Secrets" and go to Prague it makes a difference. Even if you read them when home it puts flesh on the bones. I remember reading "City of Falling Angels" and it made a priority for me to visit the opera house in Venice. I would not otherwise seen La Fenice, and was glad I read it the book.

 

Neuschwanstein - just a little cabin in the woods

If you find yourself in Munich you will be fairly close to Neuschwanstein the famous castle that some say was the model for the castle in Disneyland. If it were in Disneyland people would only visit once. In the heart of Bavaria it is the project of a man with too much money. It is worth the trip. It is the destination of a bus which leaves from the Munich Train Terminal. Once there you realize that it on top of a very high hill (I'd say mountain but not one compared to the Alps).  You can ride in a horse drawn cart, ride an overstuffed bus, or walk to get to the top. The bus is the better of the three. Now, you get to the top and you want to take a tour of the castle. Fine. There  are hundreds of steps inside. Because I am lucky to walk, I waited while my wife went in. We have had a long marriage where she climbed things or went somewhere and I waited at the bottom.

        When done you can take the bus which goes better down hill or you can do what we did and that is hike down. Remarkably it is as far down as up.