Windsor castle is known to be the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. More than 500 people live and work in this castle. Oooh… How I wish I’m one of those 500. LOL!

It’s a medieval castle, which is the official residence of the Queen. It covers an area of about 5 hectares.

We visited various State Apartments, photos weren’t allowed inside though. We also had a chance to see Queen Mary’s Dolls’ house (world’s most famous Dolls’ House). The collection was amazing!

oldest part of the castle

The Round Tower in the Middle Ward, which was built by Henry II

Ooooh, can I just say how perfect that trip was?! It was my favorite season of the year, fall!!! I love seeing leaves turning orange! They are just so picture perfect for me!

The Norman Gate, which was built by Edward III

15th century St. George’s Chapel, considered to be ”one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic” design by the historian John Robinson

Lucky to see the changing of the guards at that time!

Windsor Castle is definitely a must-see, though a bit far from Central London. Surprisingly, I personally love this more than Buckingham Palace, or even Versailles.

Danube River divides the city into two sides- Buda (the hilly side) and Pest, which are connected by the chain bridge.

Here are photos of Budapest cityscape. These were taken just outside a restaurant, where we had our first dinner in the city.

I forgot the name of the restaurant, but the interior reminded me of our very own Galileo Enoteca. The ambiance was just perfect for tourists like me.

We joined the cruise along the Danube River. I recommend doing this at night. It can be a bit chilly, depending on the season, but you’ll surely forget about the weather once you see the city lights. It’s just spectacular! Here are some of my photos during the cruise.

Hungarian Parliament Building

The Royal Castle

The lovely Chain Bridge, which connects the two sides of Budapest

Who said only New York has the Statue of Liberty? The Statue of Liberty in Budapest was erected in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary from the Nazis during the second world war.

We also visited the famous Fisherman’s Bastion, which is situated in the Buda side. It has seven towers, representing the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin.

bronze statue of Stephen I of Hungary

Matthias Church behind me, which was being restored at that time

one of the seven towers of the Fisherman’s Bastion

view from the Fisherman’s Bastion

 Castle District

St. Stephen’s Basilica, named after the first king of Hungary

the altar

the ceiling

If you’re a fan of the show Amazing Race, you’ve probably seen Heroes’ Square being part of it in one of their seasons. It’s one of the major squares in Budapest, which is very historical. It is surrounded by two important buildings, Palace of Art on the right and Museum of Fine Arts on the left.

Palace of Art

Museum of Fine Arts

The Millennium Memorial is located at the center of the Heroes’ Square. The statues represent the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary during the 9th century and other important figures of Hungarian history.

I’ve never failed to mention how much I want to go back to Paris. Budapest, being the Paris of the East, should  then be part of my must-visit with my future hubby. Haha! Seriously, it’s one of the cities that captured my heart.

We first went to Wawel Royal Castle, the home of the Polish Kings and Queens.

outside Wawel Cathedral

the spacious arcaded courtyard of the castle

Wawel Royal Castle at twilight

Probably more than anything, a lot of tourists are drawn to its Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I’ll never get tired of walking if I see such architectures around me…

As we roamed around the Old Town, we passed by St. Peter and Paul Church. It’s Kraków’s first structure designed entirely in Baroque style.

Located in the Old Town is Kraków’s heart, the Main Market Square. It is the largest medieval city square in the world. It is dominated by Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), where you can find various market stalls and cafes.

Cloth Hall at the Main Market Square

Adam Mickiewicz is the greatest Polish romantic poet during the 19th century. His monument at the Main Market Square is one of the best bronze monument in Poland.

Palms being sold around the market since it was Palm Sunday. Aren’t they so pretty???

We also visited the Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland and one of the oldest universities in the world. Copernicus and Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) studied here.

Jagiellonian University’s courtyard

We then headed to the Shrine of the Divine Mercy, where the remains of Sister Faustina rest.

We also managed to squeeze in a short trip to Wadowice, Pope John Paul II’s hometown.

Basilica of St. Mary, the Pope’s first parish

Just outside the Basilica, there’s a monument of the Pope, known as “The Cream Cake Statue”. Why? When Pope John Paul II visited his hometown, he sat near this spot and reminisced how he and his friends would enjoy cream cakes available around the area.

We also went to the Pope’s family house, now turned into a museum.

Last stop for the day was Wieliczka Salt Mine, which is part the UNESCO’s World Heritage list. It is an underground salt mine that has been operational for almost 1000 years. The rock salt deposits were mined from the 13th century until the 20th century. It’s very large, almost 300km, spread over nine levels. It houses galleries with works of art, statues, altars, original mining tools and equipments, and even underground lakes. We toured Wieliczka Salt Mine for more than two hours, so just imagine how big it is!

All the rooms, halls and statues were sculpted out of pure salt.

 Those white particles on the ceiling aren’t snow! Those are salt! Hehe!

Pope John Paul II’s popular statue inside the salt mine.

Sorry, I know that’s a lot of photos. Trust me, I already tried to cut them down. I just want to share a gist of my travel in Krakow, Poland. It’s a city that’s really worth a visit.

Auschwitz was the largest Nazi’s concentration and extermination camp during World War II. The moment I set my foot on the Auschwitz grounds, the feeling was already different. Imagine, the first creature I saw was this…

Is it a Crow? I’m not so sure! But isn’t it looks like the bird you see in thriller/ suspense movies?! Scary? Wait ’til you read my story.

Concentration Camp

Hearing the stories of our tour guide while we walked around the camp gave me goose bumps. The smell of chambers made it even worse. I can’t really describe, but it is stinky!

Those buildings are called “blocks”, which are numbered accordingly. Our tour guide brought us to different blocks where we saw the prisoners’ washrooms, beds, etc. Seeing all those is really heartbreaking. In block 4, there was this room with a pile of hair, which was cut from thousands of victims. Prisoners that were selected to work had all their body hair removed as soon as they arrived in the camp. This was their way to prevent typhus, which spreads through body lice. I saw how the hair in the exhibit was already deteriorating, which was really unsightly.

If you noticed, all my photos are just outside. Cameras aren’t allowed inside the buildings.

This is the area where the victims were shot. There were fresh flowers at the time of our visit.

Block 11 was the most famous of all the blocks inside the camp. This was known to be the “prison within the prison”. The violators were put inside standing cells (about 16 sq ft with 4 men inside), starvation cells (no food nor water), and dark cells (with a very tiny window and solid door, prisoners die due to suffocation). At the basement of block 11, this was where the gas chamber was experimented. People were killed by releasing this gas called Zyklon B, a highly lethal cyanide based pesticide.

gas chamber at the basement of the building

This is the place where victims were hanged

Crematorium

This last photo is probably the most memorable one in this tour. Why? After taking picture of this crematorium, something unexpected happened. I was always the last person in our group since I love taking pictures (obviously). When I turned my back from this crematorium to catch up with the rest, someone poked my leg. I didn’t mind it since I thought it was our tour guide fooling around. But when I felt another tug on my leg, I turned my back expecting my tour guide. And you guessed it right… NOBODY WAS BEHIND ME! I was running like crazy to my mom! Now you know why I’ll never ever forget Auschwitz. LOL! But of course, more than this crazy experience of mine, I really felt disturbed. Even if I’ve heard and read so much about history, there’s still this feeling of shock / disbelief. It’s totally different when you read the Nazi stories in books, from seeing the actual concentration camp. It’s unbelievable how people can be so inhumane. It’s haunting. It’s disturbing.

Anyway, as I shared in my previous travel post, my family and I stayed in Poland for five days. You can see a few photos of our first two days in Warsaw HERE. After visiting some UNESCO heritage sights in the capital, we had the opportunity to go to the famous Jasna Gora Monastery at Czestochowa. For Roman Catholics, the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa is a must-visit in the area. Even Pope John Paul II is said to have visited the shrine seven times. It’s where the painting of the Black Madonna (known as the Queen of Poland) can be found.

outside Jasna Gora Monastery

This painting of the Black Madonna is said to be very miraculous.

We were told that the Black Madonna’s dress is changed yearly. At the time of our visit, she wore the Robe of Fidelity (also known as ruby in the seventeenth century). Aside from old ruby jewels, over 214 contemporary wedding rings donated by couples from different parts of the world were used as ornaments on the dress. Amazing! This is why it’s called the Robe of Fidelity.

Look closely at the dress…

We were very lucky because a mass was being celebrated at the time we arrived. The downside of it though is that I wasn’t able to take photos inside the church. There were a lot of people that I couldn’t even raise my camera. Plus, flash photography isn’t allowed. They are very strict about it. All lights at the altar were turned off (even while the mass was going on) when someone attempted to take a picture of the Black Madonna with flash. I was just able to take a few close shots because our tour guide accompanied us in front of the altar during the mass.

I really felt the solemnity as I entered the church. I’m not sure if it’s because of the mass, but whatever it is, it brought tears in our eyes. We felt the presence of the Black Madonna, which is truly a one of a kind experience!

‘Til my next travel post!

No words can really describe how London celebrated New Year. Nothing compares. It’s the best I’ve seen so far. While watching the video below, all I could say was “Wow”. I was like a kid watching with my eyes and mouth wide open. LOL! I love watching fireworks. There’s something about it that makes it so magical. I feel I’m watching a fairytale ending- happily ever after. And would you believe I always get goosebumps when I see nice fireworks? Don’t ask me why because I also don’t know the answer. Hehe! Anyway, I’ll stop blabbing and let you watch London’s New Year 2012 countdown. Enjoy!

Now, what did I say about London’s 2012 countdown? AMAZING isn’t it?! I can’t imagine myself standing there and seeing this live. I might be crying out of joy. It’s just SPECTACULAR! Oh gosh, I feel every adjective I have on top of my head right now is an understatement. I’m lost of words, I’m sorry. All I know is after watching this, something was added to my list of things to do before I die. That is to celebrate one New Year in London!

For the first two days, we went around Warsaw, the capital of Poland. This place was heavily destroyed during World War II, but all the buildings of cultural and historical importance were restored according to the ancient designs and pictures. It’s very impressive. There are more than a thousand historical monuments and places in the city. Here are a few…

Palace of Culture

Lazienski Palace & Park

Chopin’s Monument

Ghetto memorial

Royal Route

Royal Castle

St. John Cathedral

and their lovely Old Town…

Oh, and you know what’s our other memorable experience here in the city? Our hotel in Warsaw was just a 5-minute walk to the mall. LOL! You wouldn’t believe what my mom, sister and I did! After our tour around the city, instead of resting, we went to the mall to shop. We went back to our hotel after 3 hours since we had to eat dinner together with the rest of the tour group. But, the night ain’t over yet! After dinner, we headed back to the mall and stayed there until closing time- until 10pm or 11pm, I think! Oh dear, our feet and legs were really painful. We literally couldn’t walk anymore. This probably topped our Prague walkathon! LOL!

So, what do you think? If you ask me though, Prague is still the best. But Dresden would leave you dumbfounded that there is such place in Germany. Here are more sights around the city. My photos look like the buildings we usually see in paintings. Breathtaking…

Theaterplatz

Hofkirche Cathedral

 Zwinger Palace… really love the Baroque style

Frauenkirche, Germany’s most important Protestant church

colossal mosaic on the Castle wall, called Procession of Dukes

Semper Opera House, which is the only theatre in Germany that bears the name of its architect

The Royal Palace, one of the oldest buildings in the city, was built 700 years ago and reconstructed as a museum

Before going to Berlin, our tour guide was kind enough to let us visit Potsdam even if it was not part of our itinerary. Potsdam is capital of the Brandenburg state, which is just in the metropolitan area of Berlin. A lot of tourists frequent the area since a lot of sights here were built when Potsdam became the residence of Prussian kings during the 18th and 19th century. Here, we were able to see the largest world heritage site in Germany, Sanssouci.

We then continued our trip to Berlin. We drove by Kurfürstendamm, known locally as Ku’damm, the main shopping boulevard in Berlin. Yes, we only passed by it! Why? Because it was a Sunday when we arrived Berlin! Argh! In Germany, all shops are closed on Sundays. When I say “all shops”, I mean ALL SHOPS- even huge malls and designer brands! Imagine our dismay when we knew about it! We actually told our tour guide never to create an itinerary which would bring tourists in the best shopping areas on a Sunday! Haha! I’m pretty sure you can feel my disappointment until now. LOL! But anyway, I think it was better that way to avoid more and more expenses on our end. Hehehe!

Here are some of the major tourist attractions in Berlin:

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

inside Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Victory Column

Checkpoint Charlie (the soldier posed for my camera… haha)

the famous Berlin Wall

Brandenburg Gate.

There are just so many must-see places in Germany! I have yet to visit Munich and Frankfurt. Being in Europe once is never enough indeed!

We started walking around 9:30am and got back to our bus by 4:30pm. Well, it wasn’t as exhausting as it may sound, probably because we were so amazed of the magnificent architectures as we walked along the streets. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe I’ve been to. I couldn’t help but wonder how is it possible to preserve such a place. A number of Hollywood movies was shot here, such as Mission Impossible, xXx, and Blade II.

Our tour began in Prague Castle. Oh, cobblestones are just sooo L-O-V-E! Quite hard to walk, especially when you’re in heels, but it’s just so Europe! I’m in love!

Here are more sights. I wish I could post everything here!

the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral

inside St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Gorge Basilica

Daliborka Tower

the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town

Church of Our Lady of Victorious to see Sto. Nino de Praga.

How can you get tired when you see all these while walking???

Of course, Prague also has a shopping paradise!

Oh, there are just so many places to see in Prague! A day seems not enough to enjoy the scenery of this majestic city. It’s one city I’d love to go back.

My first stop for our Eastern Europe tour was Vienna, Austria. We arrived in the city around 7:00am. Our tour guide brought us first to the famous shopping area since our hotel check-in was 12:00 nn. ZOMG! I remember when I went to Salzburg, Austria in 2006, there was also a similar shopping haven too (near the Mozart Museum area). Now, imagine my face when I thought of “Austria” and “shopping”! I’m not so sure if it was a good idea that shopping was the first thing in our itinerary. Almost all the brands on top of my head can be found there, such as Zara, Rolex, H&M, Tiffany, and their lovely local stores with hefty price tags. It was just so hard to shop and walk around because of the cold weather at that time. Well, of course, the technique is to go inside the stores to keep warm, but obviously, going inside the stores would mean temptation to buy. Haha!

Oh, can I just say?! H&M was everywhere in that same area!!! Obviously, our first day was already H&M shopping. LOL!

Half a day here is definitely not enough! The next day, I specifically requested our tour guide to bring us back to that area for a last minute shopping before we head to another city. And there, I ended up with my Chanel 2.55 Flap Bag. My love for that shopping area did not stop there. Our last day in Europe, we were brought back to Austria. And yup, you guessed it right… I asked the tour guide for a short shopping stop again. I guess it was a bad idea because I ended up having my Louis Vuitton Trevi. Hehe!

Of course, Vienna is not all about shopping. We went for a city tour and visited the Shoenbrunn Palace. It was not as big and beautiful as the popular Versailles Palace in France, but they look very similar. I think a lot of palaces in Europe were patterned after Versailles. But like any other palaces, Shoenbrunn is still worth a visit as every palace has its own story to tell.

Here are more photos around the city…

State Opera House (which, by the way, is very near the shopping area) Haha! I just had to say that, huh?!

Museum of Natural History & Contemporary Arts,

Maria Theresien Platz

Belvedere Palace

And since my family and I are Catholics, part of our tour is to visit the famous Churches around. One of the popular Cathedrals in Vienna is the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, also known as Stephansdom.

Oh, I just love Vienna, Austria! Well, aside from the fact that I found my gorgeous babies at Kohlmarkt, the sights are simply mesmerizing!