Hamburg center - by Alster and Rathaus

Hamburg is “Hafen-city” (Port-city) so you will find there storehouses made out of red brick and port itself, with huge number of tourist ships and huge cargo ship.

Cargo ship in Hamburg Port

Storehouses of red brick

Every night at 22 p.m. there is a colorful fountain show in Planten un Blomen park.

In Marine Museum you will find everything from marine art to some fancy ships, like Nautilus submarine

Hamburg Planetarium is also worth visiting, there is a projection device that creates a great show sharing the history and nowadays ideas about space and space research.

Open-air u434 submarine museum - great experience inside u-boot

Great auto museum placed on 3 floors - it is not focused on certain brand, but shows the most famous cars produced in Germany.

Few tips about driving

• There is Elbtunel the tunnel under Elbe, and there are always traffic jams in the weekends, so if possible, choose another road.
• If you need a long-term parking, check the Vinci Parking

Dinner in Hamburg

• Check the “Colonnaden” street (Stephansplatz or Gansemarkt U-bahn stations) – you will find there a number of inexpensive Italian restaurants (10-12 Euro per person) and there is also a sushi-restaurant with “All you can eat” option for 16 (?) Euro.

Short distance travel from Hamburg

• Bremen - you will find there the statue of famous Bremen musicians
• Stade – old city near Hamburg

Long distance trips from Hamburg

• Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• Copenhagen (Denmark)

• Drive and use ferry service (about 60 Euro per car, ferry is every hour)
• Drive and use paid bridge (30 Euro, as far as I can remember)

I’ve taked “bridge” route – it is 30 minutes longer, but the country side is really beautiful, more over, if drive to Copenhagen to the west, you can Visit viking ships museum.

I've taked "bridge" route - it is 30 minutes longer, but the country side is really beautiful

Now few words about visiting interesting museums and places:

The “Belive it or not” – the branch for the Ripley’s museum. The most interesting experience was with the tube, where walls were rotating, if you get in, you start thinking the actually, not the walls, but floor is swinging. Very interesting, very unusual.

If you get in, you start thinking that actually, not the walls, but floor is swinging. Very interesting, very unusual.

Design museum – it another “must visit” place – the exposition was devoted to light – a lot of information about light physics with examples that you can see and touch.

Learn light physics - with examples that you can see and touch

The Mermain is the symbol of Copenhagen, don’t use public transportation to get to it – walk by the park instead.

The Mermain is the symbol of Copenhagen, don't use public transportation to get to it - walk by the park instead.

Classical museum are also very interesting, in Glyptotek you will find many sculptures by Roden. National museum is near – good structured and well represented information about Denmark, there are no audio-guides in museum, but it is really interesting, for instance, this check this kviz-picture.

For sure, Copenhagen is a port-city – so things like “self-made U-Boat” seems to be usuall there:

Copenhagen is a port-city - so things like "self-made U-Boat" seems to be usuall there:

Viking Boats Museum is located in the Roskilde town (Vindeboder 12, Copenhagen, Denmark), but it worths visiting it.

You will find there copies (free to visit under open-air) and originals of Vikings ships:

A lot of copies (free to visit under open-air) of Vikings Ships

Also, the process of viking-ship-building is covered in details, starting the tree selection and processing ending the discussion of sailing experience.

The process of viking-ship-building is covered in details

If you think there too many bicycles in Amsterdam - you are right. 3-level parking for bicycles near main train station.

One of the most unusual place to visit is a very small Boat Houses Museum. If you like the idea about living in the boat-house, you’ll find it really interesting.

There are more than 2000 boat-houses in Amsterdam, building new is not a problem, but all possible parking places are now occupied, so it is not possible to build a new house, but one can buy existent one.

There are more than 2000 boat-houses in Amsterdam

The price is typically lower (200000 Euro) than for the normal house, but yearly maintain is higher (500-1000 Euro).

Get inside on of the boat-houses - now it is a museum

It is good located – check visitors information here.

• Venice is of the most beautiful and romantic places in the worlds, that is probably one of the reasons, why hotels in Venice are VERY expensive

Venice is of the most beautiful and romantic places in the worlds, that is probably one of the reasons, why hotels in Venice are VERY expensive

• there are just two big parking in the beginning of the Venice island, people move there only by boats

There are just two big parking in the beginning of the Venice island, people move there only by boats

So the logical thing to do would be stay in some town near Venice and combine – visiting sights of interest in Venice with swimming and taking sun bases on the beach.

Staying in Hotel Excelsior in Lido di Jesolo:

PROs:

• hotel is located near Venice;
• large and secure parking;
• direct access to sea sandy beach; or swimming pool (about 25 m) in case of bad weather;
• they have cook (even two, I think) who prepares delicious food!

CONs:

• actually, there was only good experience from the hotel itself
• people in Lido di Jesolo, as in any Italian city, have a “siesta”, so from 14-00 to 16-00 it is hard to find place to have a dinner, so better have dinner at the hotel

One of the best resorts in Italy is Lido di Jesolo, located on the Venetian Riviera. It is only 40 km away from Venice, but it allows you to experience the best of the Veneto Region in Italy: Venice, the beach, shopping, partying, etc. A 15 km long promenade of bars, restaurants, shops and of course, the beach, is everything one needs for a perfect vacation in Italy. From Lido di Jesolo there is a boat that takes you directly to St. Mark’s Square in Venice in about 30 minutes. It is one of the most beautiful views of the city and definitely a pleasant trip.

Hotel Excelsior in Lido di Jesolo (near Venice) is a perfect place to spend your vacation in Italy. It contains everything one needs to enjoy: private beach, pool, bar, restaurant as well as friendly staff and great service. Make sure you eat at the hotel also. Although there is a stereotype of hotel food being not so great, this is definitely an exception. The new chef, Francesco, who prior to coming to the Excelsior worked at the Nobu restaurant in London , is bound to make you fall in love with the cuisine. Besides traditional Italian food, there is always fresh grill, amazing salad bar and much much more.

For more information: www.excelsiorjesolo.com

Finding a good sushi restaurant in Prague seems to be as difficult as finding a good beach in the Czech republic. Most people who have tried good sushi and are now living in Prague have already gotten used to the fact that sushi is just something you don’t eat here. But there is one sushi restaurant in Prague that changes all of that completely: SOHO.

First of all, its location of SOHO restaurant right on the river and the city view is bound to take your breath away. The interior is modern and almost all white, which makes it look very different from all the other restaurants in Prague. And food here is simply amazing. There is a sushi menu, an entrée menu and on the weekends, even weekend brunch. This place lets you experience the best of Japanese cuisine, class and the beauty of Prague. It is the perfect restaurant for anniversaries, weddings, etc.

For more information : http://www.sohorestaurant.cz/

1. 

   Hochalpenstraße is a beautiful alpine road which will get you to the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner.

   Linz - another small but very nice Austrian town. Beautiful center square, just about 10 minutes from center and you will find MartinsKirche, which is considered to be the oldest church in Austria.

2. Salzburg – known as a salt production center, now a very nice town with old castle opened for visitors. If you will get to the castle tower, you will have a great view on the city. Another interesting place is on the other side of the river, the garden with many unusually statues of some fairy-tale characters.
3. Great route to follow next would be: visiting Krimmler Wasserfälle, then driving to the Heiligenblut, make sure that your navigation system is planing the route by the Hochalpenstraße, it is a beautiful alpine road which will get you to the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner. You will see there glacier, lot of small water falls and for sure, beautiful views! It is paid road and costs about 30 euro.

1. 

   Combination of old wooden bridges and mountain views in Luzern

   Luzern (book room in Luzern). Beautiful city in the center of Switzerland, near to Zurich. You will find there a very nice combination of old wooden bridges and mountain views. Charming city! Staying in JailHotel might be fun.
2. Zurich (book hotel in Zurich). Discussed in a separate post. The largest city in Switzerland. It is just about 1 hour to get from Zurich to Luzern by train.
3. Basel (find hotel in Basel). Place where many cultures meet is a one place. Not far from Zurich. You will find there a lot of art galleries. Also this city is know as a place for famous a ArtBasel art fair.
4. Bern (stay for 2 days in hotel in Bern). De facto the capital of Switzerland. Bear is the symbol of the city. You will find there streets that are unusually wide for old town and a lot of arcades that will make city walks or shopping very pleasant. The old city center is in UNESCO Heritage list.
5. 

   Famous Freddy Mercury statue in Montreux

   Montreux (hotel in Montreux). Located in beautiful place at the shore of Geneva lake and at the foot of the Alps. Great recreation place with very soft climate. Is know for many music related things. The famous statue of Freddy Mercury is there, Deep Purple wrote their “Smoke on the Water”, when there fire destroyed the Casino in 1971. Montreux is a place of Jazz festival and a many music studios are located there. Château de Chillon castle near Montreux is a must visit place, if you stay in Montreux.
6. Lausanne (find hotel there). Is near Montreux, another beautiful city at the shore of Lake Geneva. Is a great combination of views on lake and Alps with nice-looking historical center.
7. Geneve (book hotel in Geneve). Is a well known center for international organizations. Jet d’Eau is a largest fountain in Geneva and for sure, the city landmark.  Water is jetted to an altitude of 140 metres.

Top 10 Places to visit in Zürich (Switzerland)

Another post from the series of top-10 places to visit… now it is about Zürich in Switzerland. Zürich is the largest (by population) city of Switzerland.

• Search for hotel in Zürich

In the city center (check google map):

1. Fraumünster (famous Marc Chagall window paintings)
2. St. Peter Kirche (you will see the Europe largest clock face on the church)
3. Grossmünster – Romanesque-style church – another symbol of Zurich and Rathaus
4. Wasserkirche – church built on the water (wasser in the name is for “water”) , it used now for different exhibitions, including photo exhibitions of young artists.
5. Kunsthaus (5-10 minutes walk from city center) – one of the best art galleries, diffidently worth visiting! I’d take 1-2 full days to check all interesting galleries and exhibitions in the city, check now the hotels available.
6. 

   Chinagarten - a piece of China in Zürich

   Chinagarten (15-20 minutes walk from the city center) – a piece of China in Zürich built together by Zürich and Chinese landscape specialists. It works from 28 March to 18 October, opening hours are 11.00 to 19.00 all days, including holidays. Get there by tram 2 or 4 or by bus 33 or just walk by the side of the Zürich lake.

7. Museum of design (Museum fur Gestaltung)
8. Rietberg museum – museum of Asia and Africa, also features related exhibitions.
9. 

   Uetliberg - great view in the evening

   Uetliberg – great view on the city, especially in the evening

10. Rhein waterfall (1 hour from Zürich, need to get on train to Schaffhausen and there take the bus to Rhein waterfall). Opened all time during the year , but boat service works only in good weather, also, in the later sping the supposed to be much more water than usually.

• Search for hotel in Zürich

Public transportation: consider ZürichCard, it includes round boat travel, Zürich main zones and free entry to some museums, for instance to Museum of design (Museum fur Gestatung).