In 2014, we went on an incredible adventure as backpackers through East-Central Europe. passing through Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Poland, we took advantage of the beautiful landscapes of an autumnal October end, arriving at the Hallowmas in emblematic sites such as Auschwitz and the Polish candlelight ceremony in Krakow's cemeteries.
Ulm - Gemany
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| Ulm Cathedral Tower (Costa, 2014) |
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| Schiefes Haus, the inclined hotel in Ulm (Costa, 2014) |
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| Ulm Design School (Costa, 2014) |
We went to the tourist office of the city, in the cathedral square, and asked how we could get a bus and go to the famous School of Ulm, world reference in Design education. The path was not so easy, as we went down to the point informed, we had to ask some students who were on the road where the school was. It is on the outskirts of the city (Neu-Ulm), so it takes about 40 minutes by bus to get there.
Opened in 1968, the work of the Architect Max Bill, the Ulm School had a daily life to whose study was closely intertwined. The school was placed on a campus, with teaching facilities, student residences and lecture halls, all together. Arriving at the building, we even missed the free entrance of people, without there being any control. We got to know each other ourselves until we got to her wonderful library, where we were kindly received by a friendly employee, and we were able to get to know the work developed by the students.
From Ulm we went to Füssen by train. The departure delays of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) are common, but they come out somehow, so you have to be very attentive to the starting platform. In Füssen, breathtaking landscapes. On one side, the Alps, already on the Austrian border. On the other, a turquoise blue lake and green fields. The main attraction of the place are the castles, mainly the Neuschwanstein. Inspiration for the famous Walt Disney Castle, this 19th century work was built by Louis II of Bavaria. You need to take a bus in downtown of Füssen, which gives access to the village where the castles are located.
Neuschwanstein is a magnificent complex, high on a mountain and accessible by a bus that departs from the base of the hill. There is an excellent hiking park which is located around the castle, where there is also a bridge with the best view of Neuschwanstein (Marienbrücke). Everything is very well signposted, so it is almost impossible to get lost. Inside the castle, very luxurious and great, showing all the extravagance of its founder, King Louis II of Bavaria.
Descending from Neuschwanstein, we return to the village at the base of the mountain, Hohenschwangau. There we also find a magnificent castle of the same name as the village. Another complex with incredible views, interior with rich furniture and beautiful landscaped patios.
We returned to Füssen. The city is very welcoming and diverse as to its restaurants, as there are pizzerias, oriental foods, markets of typical German food, all together on the same street. Füssen is cut by a lush and turquoise blue river called Lech, a tributary of the Danube.
Füssen - Germany
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| Neuschwanstein Castle (Costa, 2014) |
From Ulm we went to Füssen by train. The departure delays of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) are common, but they come out somehow, so you have to be very attentive to the starting platform. In Füssen, breathtaking landscapes. On one side, the Alps, already on the Austrian border. On the other, a turquoise blue lake and green fields. The main attraction of the place are the castles, mainly the Neuschwanstein. Inspiration for the famous Walt Disney Castle, this 19th century work was built by Louis II of Bavaria. You need to take a bus in downtown of Füssen, which gives access to the village where the castles are located.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle Façade (Costa, 2014) |
Neuschwanstein is a magnificent complex, high on a mountain and accessible by a bus that departs from the base of the hill. There is an excellent hiking park which is located around the castle, where there is also a bridge with the best view of Neuschwanstein (Marienbrücke). Everything is very well signposted, so it is almost impossible to get lost. Inside the castle, very luxurious and great, showing all the extravagance of its founder, King Louis II of Bavaria.
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| Forggen Lake View (Costa, 2014) |
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| View of the Austrian Alps, Alp Lake (Costa, 2014) |
Descending from Neuschwanstein, we return to the village at the base of the mountain, Hohenschwangau. There we also find a magnificent castle of the same name as the village. Another complex with incredible views, interior with rich furniture and beautiful landscaped patios.
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| Hohenschwangau Castle (Costa, 2014) |
We returned to Füssen. The city is very welcoming and diverse as to its restaurants, as there are pizzerias, oriental foods, markets of typical German food, all together on the same street. Füssen is cut by a lush and turquoise blue river called Lech, a tributary of the Danube.
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Lech River (Costa, 2014)
Along the river there is a linear park and an impressive monastery. We listened to the bells of the church and entered, unpretentious, to attend Mass and admire that grand church in the Rococo style.
And just a few meters away, another beautiful church in the Rococo style, attached to the Holy Spirit Hospital. We left behind a city that surprised all expectations. We boarded the Czech Republic the next day. Too bad our days in Füssen have been too rainy. We must go back in the summer.
On the way to Prague, the train stopped in Munich. There we ate the traditional sausage from the city, still inside the station. We took a stopover in Nuremberb.
The stop was swift, but it gave time to photograph the Women's Tower, a part of the complex and medieval defensive wall system that surrounds the old town of Nuremberg. Then we took a bus that would finally take us to Prague.
Prague - Czech Republic
We arrived in our second country of the trip, the Czech Republic, where we would visit only its capital, Prague. We find the first large city of our route, with Gothic architecture in most of its historic center and numerous bridges over the Vltava River (a tributary of the Elbe, which bathes Hamburg in Germany). From the hostel we went to the first attraction, but that was not Gothic. The Dancing House, an office building in downtown, was designed by Frank Gehry in 1994 and has all the characteristics of its sculptural architecture.
The main tourist point of Prague is the Charles Bridge, built between the 14th and 15th centuries, at the request of the Roman-German king Charles IV. The views of the Old Town and the Vltava River are wonderful. The bridge is filled with sacred images and its entrance is marked by a great Gothic tower.
The second is the Schonbrunn Palace, west of the city, also known as the "Versailles of Vienna" because of its immense dimensions. It was erected to serve as residence to the Empress Leonor Gonzaga in 1643, but it had serious damages later, being reconstituted in 1743, also in the Baroque style. This palace was the residence of the Austrian Imperial Family until the Second World War, where Princess Leopoldine lived there until her marriage to Dom Pedro I of Brazil. Its gardens are immenses, full of wooden gates, fountains and even a greenhouse for the botanical garden.
Bratislava is a small town, but very organized, colorful and makes you want to take it home. Less than an hour by train from Vienna, the capital of Slovakia welcomed us with the beautiful medieval gate of St. Michael, adorned with a bulbous (onion-shaped) dome, added in the Baroque period. This type of dome was present in the Moslem and Byzantine architectures, and was extended to Eastern Europe, Germany and Austria during the Baroque, until arriving at Ibero-America, even in Baroque Brazilian, Bolivian, Colombien and Mexican churches.
Once again we meet our great friend Danube, a travel companion from Germany. The city bus station (Bratislava Einsteinova) is on the other side of the river, crossing the Most SNP Bridge. There you can board cheap buses, around 10 euros, to Poland and Hungary (Budapest). However the tickets are only sold in advance by the internet, mainly by the company Polskibus (for Poland), Student Agency and Orangeways (for Hungary). Nothing was sold at the bus station and the staff did not speak English.
The town center has several shops, handicrafts and restaurants, quite pleasant when walking. The food is very cheap, even possible to make an entire meal (starter and main course) for only 4 euros. Bratislava is also well-known for the statues scattered around the streets, whose authorship is of several Slovak artists. Another attraction is Bratislava Castle, which began to be built in the 10th century, on the top of the hill, and today is the residence of the President of the Republic. We did not go there because of lack of time, but it is interesting to visit those who spend the night in the city.
Krakow - Poland
This was the last country of our trip: Poland. If you are willing and interested, it is worthwhile to extend the trip, from Bratislava to Budapest, and then to other Eastern capitals, such as Ljubljana (Slovenia), Zagreb (Croatia), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Podgorica (Montenegro), Tirana (Albania), Scopia (Macedonia), Sofia (Bulgaria), Bucharest (Romania) and Belgrade (Serbia). They are very favorable exchange countries for travelers with Euros or Dollars, so travel costs will be much lower than in Western European countries.
We opted for Poland because we did not have much time and we needed to go back to Paris. From there we started by train, crossing Slovakia and arriving in the Polish South until we reached Krakow, the city of castles and red bricks.
The Royal Castle of Wawel is a large complex that has been built since 1265. The church which is also high on the same hill is the Cathedral of Krakow, built predominantly in Gothic style from the 14th century. In addition, the whole complex offers a great view of the Vistula River and the whole city. Another great attraction is the Stare Miasto, the Old Town, where is a exemple of Gothic of Bricks, the Saint Mary's Cathedral.
The typical dish of Poland are the tasty Pierogis. Dumplings boiled and with different fillings, which can be of meat, bacon, potato, spinach etc. They are cheap and worth a meal.
As we arrived on November 2th, we went to the city cemeteries to admire the lights of the Polish candles placed in the tombs. Rigorous winter prevents the flowers from remaining alive in the open, so this tradition of candles, which are covered by a glass dome, adorns the night of Hallowmas in Poland.
Auschwitz (Oświęcim) - Poland
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