With this post I want to start my blog here and also start the series of posts about travels to Europe.
Most of the trips I did and still do together with my husband (in the beginning my boyfriend), so I will use "we" almost all the time as I didn't make the trips alone.
So, let's begin.
We did our first trip in 2015, when we were students and that was our summer vacations. We decided to go to Graz, but not directly as we found really very cheap tickets from Warsaw to Vienna and then from Vienna to Graz. So, we got to Warsaw first, In that time there wasn't such a comfortable train from Lviv to Poland as we have now, so we crossed the border on foot and got the train from Przemysl to Warsaw.
Warsaw is really very charming city with great architecture and fascinating history. It's the only city in Poland where you can find a subway.
Also,what is interesting to know, Warsaw's Old City was almost destroyed and rebuild after the Second world War. There were even thoughts to transfer the capital of Poland to some other city, because 85% of Warsaw's central part was destroyed. However, the authorities decided to rebuild the Old City like it was shown in the pictures of XVII-XVIII centuries. After that the Old City in Warsaw was included in UNESCO's World Heritage list as the perfect example of rebuilding destroyed cultural objects.
Look at the photos below. Can you believe that these building were rebuild in 1950's-1960's?
Our last stop in Warsaw was the Wilanow Palace. I like visiting different palaces and castles, so I couldn't just miss this beautiful site.
During the Second World War the palace was really damaged and German army stole most of the collections, which were there.
Now everything is returned to the palace and you can visit it.
From Warsaw we went to Vienna. To tell the truth,it is my favourite city in Europe, I want to come back every time. When you arrive to the capital of Austria by bus or by train to the central station the first well-known site, which you will see is the Belvedere. It is a historic building complex, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. It houses the Belvedere museum, so when you are keen on arts, this place should be on you 'must visit' list.
Of course, one of the most recognizable places in Vienna is St. Stephen's Cathedral. It's located in the heart of the city cetnre and is the meeting point of most tourists, who come to the city.
I can write about Vienna very long and very much, maybe in the future I will create separate series of articles about Vienna only, but now I want to tell only about one more site. It's Schönbrunn Palace. The Palace was the main summer residence of Habsburg rulers and consits of 1,441 rooms. The scope of the Palace the park is really unimaginable, you can spend the whole day just strolling around.
You just need to see it with your own eyes. I am sure, you will be amazed!
Finally, the next day we got to Graz. It's the second city in Austria after Vienna by area and population. There are also many different places, which worth visiting. I will mention some of them here and would like to start with the building of City Hall.
Perfect building on the central square of the city. The city centre is really great, as in most European cities, with old building and great infrastructure.
The most recognizable site in Graz is the Schlossberg(or the Castle Hill). The hill is now a public park and enjoys extensive views of the city. The castle was never conquered, but it was largely demolished by Napoleonic forces under the Treaty of Schönbrunn of 1809. So nowadays you can see the Clocktower only.
The last site, which I would like to mention is Eggenberg Palace. (Told you, I like palaces). It is one of the most significant sites in province Styria, the palace saves the history of the House of Eggenberg, dynasty in Styria. Nowadays there are different exhibitions in the palace, for example numismatic collection and sculptures. The palace is surrounded with the huge pak and what is interesting, you can see peacocks freely walking in the park.
Hope you enjoyed reading and got inspired to visit these great cities.