Riding a bike in Amsterdam

I was really excited when I know that I will be travelling to Amsterdam! I visited Amsterdam in early May with group of my friends from university (12persons with me). We spend there 5 days. We checked in Camping Zeeburg- it is an international campsite for young people. The camping is situated on an island so it's very unique location. There's nothing better than an adventurous 
low-budget holiday, so we decided to slept in tents. We can admire stunning sun rises and beautiful view over the water  from the tent fields. Unfirtunetly, the weather in Amsterdam wasn’t awesome.-  it was cloudy.

Our tents..

...and more tents!

Camping's Zeeburg location

A little bit about Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital city and most populous city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This city is also known as the “Venice of the North” for its canals which divide the city into 90 small islands linked together by 1500 bridges.

The canals

Canals are everywhere in Amsterdam!

Amsterdam is truly a biker’s city and also for me, the best way to journey through Amsterdam is by bike, so we decied to rent it. Bike tour is  a great way to discover Amsterdam and also excellent way to explore the Dutch landscape. This kind of tour develop a sense of orientation and after trip we never got lost. I noticed that Dutch people are always in a hurry, even when they're not in a hurry, they ride a bike very fast!

My  bike

The biggest multi-story bike park is located outsider city's central station , there are so many bikes that it might be easier buying a new one rather than spending a lot o time trying to remember where you bike is parked.

Intresting fact: In Amsterdam are 1 million bikes when there are only 700,000 Amsterdamers! It shows how much cycling is loved. Another fact: there are 2x more bikes in Amsterdam than cars.

Multi-brand bike park

I also recommended another mean of transport: canal cruises. It started right at sunset so we manage to see one part of Amsterdam with day light,and then magic during the night.Light on canal are amazing,really something recommended to do. Canal Trip In Amsterdam is a experience you must have!

Canal cruise

One of Amsterdam’s most popular city squares is Museumplein, where you will find the ‘I Amsterdam’ sign.  This large sign that lies in front of the Rijksmuseum has become an iconic symbol of the city. You will also find many people sitting in or on the letters and getting their photo taken.

I Amsterdam in front of The Rijksmuseum (National Museum)

We also visited Van Gogh Museum.  I would recommend you visit this place when you are in Amsterdam. It is a great place to see a lot of Van Gogh's work in one place.  He has many types of styles not just self portraits and sunflowers. The original paintings are brilliant, he was true genius. Unfortunately photography in the museum is strictly forbidden. 

Van Gogh Museum

Amsterdam - city with intresting people, excellent food, and wonderful tourist spots!  This city is one of the most charming in the world, a stunning place of bridges and bikes crossing canals, picturesque streets, and strikingly elegant architecture. 

 I Amsterdam

A cloudy day in Vienna

Two months ago I had opportunity to travel to Vienna by bus with my friend.

 It is the capital and largest city of Austria. It is very beautiful, clean city and has a unique charm. Vienna owes much of its international fame to the many celebrated composer who lived and worked here including Strauß, Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn.

I love Vienna!

Entering the city gates, we first come to the Shonbrunn. The palace is an amazing place, beautifully kept and the exhibits are very well presented. Palace are lovely even in autumn but I can imagine that they are stunning in spring and summer. It is great to come to the palace and walk around, also at the garden and see the view over there.

Shonbrunn

 One thing that you must do is walk up the hill to the Gloriette. The views of the Palace with what looked like the whole of Vienna in the background are amazing and well worth the climb. There is so much to do here, the building itself is amazing, the architecture is outstanding. The gardens are maintained all year.

Shonbrunn - Gloriette

Next we visited another palace  - Belvedere. The rooms inside building are amazing, the art on the walls and statues are incredible. The gardens and building facades are also spectacular. We visited it during the autumn but I imagine that the gardens are spectacular in the summer months.

Belvedere Palace

In the afternoon we walked around Stephansplatz. This is a large pedestrian area, filled with label shops, souvenir shops and restaurants, so it is is a great place to hang out for an afternoon, have coffee, watch people, window shop.

Stephansplatz


The St. Stephen's cathedral is right in the centre of Vienna, it has been the heart of city for centuries and it is one of Vienna's most impressive landmarks.  It dates back to the 1400's and is so beautiful. This is a truly magnificent cathedral! For a long time it was the  highest building in Europe - measuring almost 137 m.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Another beautiful landmark - St. Charles's Church. It is one of the most imposing baroque churches in Vienna  with amazing panoramic view from the top of the dome. You can take an elevator most of the way and then some stairs at the end, worth the climb. Absolutely gorgeous place with amazing paintings inside

St. Charles's Church

We were getting around Vienna on the underground rail system.

One of an underground station

In the evenin we rode on Wiener Riesenrad. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions - it is  tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park At the top, the view was really nice. I wish I had the time to go right back on again

Ferries Wheel

Extremely high carousel (Prater amusment park)

 I love this city and would definitely return to Vienna. I experienced the charm of this place - It is a beautiful city filled with historic buildings. 

Wien Hauptbanhof

Austria – another beautiful country conquered :)

Destination: Paris!

I am the lucky few to have the chance to fly to Paris with my friends. I just came back from this beautiful city few days ago and I spent brilliant weekend there.

After 1,5 hour flight we landed at the airport Paris-Beavais, which is located about 80 km from Paris. 

Than we travelled to Paris by shuttle bas and checked-in our hostel.

In shuttle bus

We decided to go sightseeing. Our first stop was the Louvre- the world's most famous museum with outstanding collection of masterpieces.

Mona Lisa

The Louvre Museum with its Glass Pyramid

Than we walked along the Seine River – the best-knowed river in France. We decided to relax on a boat tour.  It was good  ways to view the city's monuments, historic buildings and bridges. I really recommended this kind of tour.

Boat Tour

Our next stop was Champ de Mars, this large park is stretching from the Eiffel Tower to the Ecole Militaire. It is one of the most popular outdoor spaces, a lot of people run there and it is wonderful spot to relax with friends or family, have a walk, picnic or play. Unfortunately in December is too cold, but we can enjoy a incredible light show –  The Eiffel Tower glitter for 5 minutes on every hour after sunset. It was amazing view! I think the Eiffel Tower is one of the most visited monuments in the Word, at the top of the tower we can enjoy breathtaking view of urban landscape of Paris. For me, a visit to Paris will not be completed without a visit to the Eiffla Tower.

The Eiffel Tower as seen from
the Champ de Mars

View from the 2nd floor of tower

Next day we visited Arc the Triomphe -  the most monumental of all triumphal arches. We took the trip to the top and enjoy the view of Paris 360 degrees. It was well worth climbing the stairs to the top of the arch (we also can see the 12 radiating avenues that goes from arch). Walking down the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe is one of the best walks in Paris. 

Arc the Triomphe

View from The Arc the Triomphe

These are also some of the places that I have been to in Paris…

Bridge with a lot of padlocks

The Statue of Liberty in Paris

Sacre Coeur

Ferries wheel

View from ferries wheel

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Louvre Hotel

the Champs Elysees

The Invalides

We also visited famous Notre-Dame cathedral. It was a great experience for us to visit, it take us back to the middle ages. The Tower of Notre-Dame are over 200 feets high. 400 steps to reach the top that might not be suitable for everyone, but it is worth to visit.

Notre-Dame

One of Notre-Dame's well known chimera statues

                                         It was a lovely weekend spent in this remarkable city.

I think that any trip to Paris should be the trip of a lifetime.

Merci beaucoup, Paris ;)

Exploring Rome

My friend Karolina and I were in Rome 4 weeks ago. We were there 4 days and this is our first trip to Italy. The weather in Rome was brilliant! The sun was shining ad the tempature was about 28 Celsius degrees. We were so fortunate to have beautiful weather the entire trip. 

We started our exploration from Vatican. It was very bysy and crowded with lots of people selling things on sidewalk. We entered St Peter's Basilica and saw Michelangelo's Pieta. We also saw the Egyptian Rooms, Raphael Rooms, the apartments, the Map Gallery and the Sistine Chapel.

Vatican City

The Swiss Guards in Vatican ( the uniforms were designed by Michelangelo)

We passed in front of the Castle of the Angels-fortress on the Tiber River. It was a mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian family but now it's a museum where people may tour the apartments and see the statue of archangel Michael. We didn't get to go inside.

Castle of the Angels

The rest of the day we decided to see Colosseum. The line at Colloseum was absurd, everywhere a lot of people, but the impressions and views was remarkable! Then we we circled the Constantine’s arch, we got the same ticket at the entrance to the Palatine Hil and Roman Forum, for incradible view of city, and than walked up to the monument of Victor Emmanual. I recommend touring the Palatine Hill, it was interesting.

Colosseum

Inside Colosseum - this place was built in only 8 years in 72 A.D

the Constantine's arch (view from Colosseum)

Roman Forum

The next mornig we went to nearby pasticceria for brekfast.Breakfast is important part of Italian's life, this is always a light meal. The traditional Italian breakfast consist of cappucino and cornetto (little horn, it's an relative of croissant, filled with cream, chocolate or jam) at bar or pasticceria. Most of Italian don't drink cappucino after 11am, because for them it is breakfast drink.

Traditional Italian breakfast (prima colazione)

After breakast I suggested walking to the Pantheon at Piazza de la Rotonda,which was the largest dom in the world until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed.

the oculus

the Pantheon

Fountain of Neptune, showing Neptune battling an octopus

I think that we saw everything we intended to see, so I'm leaving Rome very satisfied.


Thank you Rome, I am beginning to fall in love with you.

Bye, bye Rome!