Southern Italy has Watchtowers all along the coast line. Watch the video below for the story about these towers:
Title: Italy – Watchtowers in Southern Italy
Countries: Southern Italy
What are Watchtowers? They are towers usually built of stone high enough to be seen by the next tower along the coast. When Saracens (pirates) were spotted, they would light a fire in the tower to warn everyone along the coast. The next tower would see it and light theirs and so on along the entire coastline. You might say this was the Internet of their time. Some towers had a bell as well that was rung to warn locals of the pirates coming.
The locals would gather their families and valuables and head to their sister town usually high up on a hill. These towns were fortified castle like structures that prevented the pirates from entering.
I am a world citizen that travels to Europe, especially Italy, often. I am a dreamer and love discovering new small towns in Europe. I am passionate about Europe and want to share my passion with everyone who has been there or is dreaming about it.
Sit back and enjoy as I take you to some big cities and some small ones in Europe. I hope my passion gets passed along to you.
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This VLOG:
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Title: Copenhagen
Country: Denmark
We flew from Helsinki Finland to Copenhagen Denmark in April of 2019. Copenhagen is a wonderful and fun city to visit. It is a city of bicycles and people. The people are very friendly unless you step into their bike lanes. The best way to see this city is the Hop-On-Hop-Off Busses and Boats. We take them around to see everything first then go back and get off at stops we want to visit. There are two lines available. We took the Stromma line. They had a special that gave us two days for the price of one. The busses and boat available on Stromma are:
Red Mermaid Tour (Bus)
Purple Christiania Tour (Bus)
Green Carlsberg Tour (Bus)
Blue Boat Tour (Boat)
A great place to visit and have lunch is the Reffen – Street Food market. It is a group of shipping containers that are food stalls, beer & wine stalls, gelato stalls, etc. There are picnic tables everywhere to sit and enjoy your lunch outdoors. Some stalls give free samples. The food is not expensive considering this is Denmark.
Things to see:
Christiania (Little Amsterdam)
Queens Palace
Little Mermain
Reffen (see Hop on Hop off above
Kissing Bridge
Canal Boat Ride (See Hop-on-Hop-off above)
Carlsberg Brewery (was closed being remodeled when we were there)
Malmo Sweden (acroos a bridge – you can take train)
Botanical Gardens
Rosenborg castle (across from Botanical Gardens)
Tivoli Gardens (amusement Park)
Central Train Station with its clock
My BLOGs & VLOGs:
Coming Soon– Frankfurt Germany, Intercontinental Hotel Frankfurt, Steigenberger Airport hotel VLOGs
Bergen is a great little city in Norway. It is on the western shores of Norway directly opposite Oslo. We took the scenic train from Oslo to Bergen over snow covered mountains (A VLOG on this is coming next). We stayed at the Zander K Hotel in Bergen directly opposite the Central Train Station.
When you visit Bergen be sure to experience:
Funicular up the mountain to hiking trails and a fantastic sunset
Fish Market
Multi-Colored Buildings
Sea Port
Bergenhus Fortress & Museum
Walk the streets and enjoy the city
We ate wonderful fish at the Fish Market at the port. The fish is fresh. There are several shops here to buy fish and several restaurants to eat it. You can dine outside (weather permitting) or inside.
The Zander K is a wonderful hotel in Bergen Norway one block from the Central Train Station. It has a wonderful breakfast, a great bar and restaurant and spacious rooms. This hotel is located within an easy walk of the Marina, Fish Market, Funicular, Seaport and multi-colored buildings. Taking the Light-Rail to and from the Bergen airport is the easiest and cheapest way.
Come see this great small hotel in the heart of Bergen:
We recently spent 3 weeks in Scandinavia. It was a wonderful trip. we visited Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. This vlog is about our trip to Oslo Norway. We stayed at a wonderful hotel in Oslo that was central to everything. We went in the beginning of April. It was cold but not freezing. We had several sunny days that felt warm and wonderful.
The waterfront was our favorite area. Here you can rent boats, take a boat ride, walk on a boardwalk and find endless types of restaurants. Oslo is a very walkable city. The Central Train Station was only 13-minute walk from our hotel and another few minutes to the Palace or waterfront. You can also rent a bicycle or your hotel may lend you one.
Hotel Verdandi is a wonderful small hotel in Oslo. It is about a 13-minute walk from the Central Train Station. As you exit the front of the station, you walk straight on a pedestrian walk way towards the Palace. The hotel is on the left about 2 blocks off the walkway. It is near the Palace, City Hall and the waterfront. There are restaurants along the pedestrian walkway as well as at the waterfront.
The rooms are nice, clean and the staff is friendly. The hotel gives a free breakfast at a restaurant across the street. It is a buffet including eggs, cheese, meats, fruit, breads and sweet rolls.
If you plan a trip to Oslo, this is a great hotel in a very convenient location to stay.
We took a 3-week trip to Scandinavia in April 2019. We flew from Florida to Frankfurt Germany. From Frankfurt:
we flew to Oslo Norway
Took a scenic train over snow covered mountains from Oslo to Bergen Norway
Few from Bergen to Stockholm, Sweden
Took a Viking overnight cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki, Finland
Few from Helsinki to Copenhagen Denmark
Flew back to Frankfurt to return to Florida USA
It was cool in the beginning of April and we had snow flurries in Stockholm. Helsinki, which is the farthest north of all the cities we visited, was the warmest. Easter in Copenhagen was warm and beautiful.
Our thoughts on this trip:
Norway was our favorite followed by Finland and Denmark.
The scenic train ride from Oslo to Bergen, Norway is a MUST do
The Viking cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki was a pleasure and a must do
We will talk about what we saw, what we ate and the great hotels we stayed in
If Scandinavia is not on your bucket list, it should be
We are walkers and all of these cities are walkable. They also have great metros and lots of bicycles to rent. Taxis are very expensive so we will talk about fast, easy and safe public transportation from the airports to the central train stations. Hop-On-Hop-Off Busses and boats are a great way to get oriented and see all the main sites.
Scandinavia has a reputation for being expensive and it can be. We saw everything, ate well and travelled fast between cities and within cities for an average of $100/day for two people. Our hotels cost on average $100/day as well.
I will be doing a VLOG on how to travel cheap soon. Look for it.
Now, sit back and travel with us to these four wonderful countries:
Venice is one of the most unusual and beautiful cities in the world. Imagine a city but on Trees. These trees support the city over the lagoon. Venice has many touristy sites in Piazza San Marco that should be seen at least once. After you have done the tourist thing, go to the back paths of Venice. Explore, get lost, find new areas and enjoy the real Venice. There are many bridges and many of them have steps but it is worth the effort. Discover hidden churches, bars, restaurants, islands and markets. This is where the Venetians live.
Many bars serve Cicchetti, which is a form of Spanish Tapas unique to Venice. Some bars will give you free small plates with the purchase of a drink. Others will charge a small fee. This is a way to try several Venetian dishes and discover new favorite ones. This way of eating is cheaper than in the restaurants especially around Piazza San Marco.
Come watch the YouTube video below and walk with Rory and I around the touristy and back areas of Venice. We also go to Murano to see glass blowing and the Lido to walk around and see the beach. We missed the Venice Film Fare by a week, which is held on the Lido Island.
You get to these Islands and the Train Station & Airport vis vaporetto (Water Taxis).
We recently went to Italy to spend a relaxing time at our condo in southern Campania. Normally we take an extra week and travel to some other area of Italy but this time we just wanted to relax at the beach and enjoy Italy. This is a story about our local area, the people and the food. It is also a story about how Hurricane Irma caused us to have the longest trip home ever.
Watch the video VLOG below and follow us through this interesting trip to the mezzogiorno:
Amalfi is located on the Amalfi Coast between Positano and Salerno. It is a major stop on the ferries from Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Positano and Salerno. The city is small and surrounded by mountains. The seaport is where the ferry or bus lets you off. You walk through the ancient walls into the main piazza. Your first site is the steps leading up to the cathedral and the fountain in the piazza.
Amalfi can easily be seen in a half day to a day. Many tourists then take a taxi or the bus up the mountain to Ravello, our next vlog. Now come walk with us around the town of Amalfi in our YouTube video below:
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