medieval Archives - Page 3 of 4

The Beautiful Island of Rab, Croatia – In Pictures

The great thing about staying on the islands in the Croatian Adriatic Sea is that it is pretty easy to do "island-hopping". Although staying on one island most of the time, you can easily explore some of the other islands and the main land for attractions like Plitvice Lakes by boat. In the summer season the boat trips in-between the islands, the Croatian main land and even to Italy are offered on a daily basis. However, most of them discontinue in the fall as the sea tends to be less predictable and the wind gets very strong. Luckily, some of the touristic mini-cruises for [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:34:25+02:002012/11/20|Categories: Croatia, Destinations, Europe|Tags: Architecture, churches, Croatia, Europe, medieval|10 Comments

Rediscovering Paris

I love "taking advantage" of my friends. This year, I was already hosted by Sarah in London and Kathi in Munich. I admit, I was cadging a little. But I can't help having cool friends, who live cool places -- I just have to go stay with them as soon as they invite me over! And again, one of those globetrotter friends of mine moved to one of the prettiest cities in Europe recently -- and I didn't hesitate for a second when Janina invited me to come to Paris last week! While I'm medieval art historian nerd, Janina studies archeology and [...]

By Julika|2013-08-18T10:30:25+02:002012/11/08|Categories: Destinations, Europe, France|Tags: Architecture, Art, churches, Europe, France, medieval, Paris|14 Comments

How I Tried to Give Modern Art a Chance

Every five years the sleepy town of Kassel in the north of the state of Hesse, Germany, turns into the artistic center of modern art: The Documenta is the most important and biggest exhibition of contemporary art worldwide! However, I'm not very much into contemporary art. Don't get me wrong. I love art. I love modern art, too. I almost cried when I saw my first Jackson Pollock. I adore getting mesmerized by Rothko or overwhelmed by Rosenquist or tricked by Dalí. But: I'm a medieval art historian (well, almost). I have my problems with video installations and abstract, weird artists like [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:41:40+02:002012/11/01|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Germany|Tags: Art, Europe, Germany, medieval|10 Comments

5 Things You Really Should Do in Lisbon

I love Lisbon. I fell in love with the gorgeous Portuguese capital more than four years ago and this love has been growing stronger ever since. The five months I lived there in 2011/2012 have been filled with enduring sunshine, wonderful people and abundance of indescribable beauty. I dream of moving back every day! Although Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal, it is still pretty small compared to the other Western European capitals. To be honest, if you wanted to see all major sights, you could do that in less than two days: You would go see the Castelo, take [...]

By Julika|2022-01-05T15:04:09+01:002012/10/25|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Portugal|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, medieval, Portugal, study abroad|76 Comments

Why Prague Doesn’t Suck in the Rain

When Steffen and I arrived in Prague on an afternoon in September, summer was still omnipresent: People strolled along the streets, wearing shorts and flip flops, couples had rented candle lit pedal boats and floated along the Vltava river. It was a magical summer evening in an incredibly romantic city. But overnight -- fall arrived. Temperatures dropped from 27 degrees Celsius to only 15 degrees on the next day. The clear blue sky of the day before was gone. Suddenly everything was just gray. Of course, we were disappointed. The warm afternoon on our first day really got our hopes [...]

By Julika|2013-06-29T17:45:48+02:002012/10/20|Categories: Czech Republic, Destinations, Europe|Tags: Architecture, churches, Czech Republic, Europe, medieval, Prague|6 Comments

Photo Essay: Croatia’s Lovely Little Streets

I love Europe's medieval little streets: Tiny alleys, cobblestones, hidden house entrances. I have been surrounded by them all my life -- yet, I never get sick of falling in love with them all over again. And, I must admit, Croatia's little streets are exceptionally beautiful. At night, these streets become even more magical. Especially in the town of Krk on the beautiful namesake island of Krk in the Adriatic Sea -- one of Croatia's little gems.

By Julika|2013-08-20T08:22:49+02:002012/10/15|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Croatia, Europe, medieval, Photo Essay|1 Comment

Photo Essay: Tower of London Through the Fence

I recently discovered my love for macro pictures of details, which put the actual sight in the background and coin a whole new perspective... So, here's a rusty fence, a few leafs of ivy lit by the setting sun - and the Tower of London almost inconspicuously in the back...

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:37:15+02:002012/10/08|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Architecture, England, Europe, London, medieval, Photo Essay|0 Comments

Photo Essay: Flying Umbrellas in Évora

This was just one of those perfect little moments when you enter an unknown street in a city you have never been to before and it surprises you - with an installation of colorful umbrellas hovering over a little square to offer the restaurants in it shade from the hot Portuguese summer sun... In Évora, a pretty medieval square is turned into a fairy tale through this wonderful and surprisingly brilliant idea! I just loved this!

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:37:36+02:002012/09/24|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Art, Europe, medieval, Photo Essay, Portugal|2 Comments

How To Do Prague Luxuriously and (!) On A Budget

After Budapest last year, Steffen and I made yet another trip to one of the famous Eastern Europe capitals last week. I have been wanting to see glorious Prague for ages -- ever since I heard about St. Vitus Dome in my first semester of art history. For a lover of Gothic architecture and medieval cities like me -- Prague is just the place to be! But since we are both students right now we wanted to keep the budget low to not spend all our hard-earned summer-job money right away. And yes, we did manage to indulge in a [...]

By Julika|2014-12-04T08:03:36+01:002012/09/19|Categories: Czech Republic, Destinations, Europe|Tags: Architecture, Czech Republic, Europe, medieval, Prague|6 Comments

Amsterdam – Sex, Drugs and Sightseeing

After finally having found a place to stay in Zandvoort Steffen and I were excited to explore the (in)famous capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam has a crazy reputation. It's all about drugs, sex and beer, but at the same time Amsterdam has (had) a huge influence in the art scene. The regular train connection from Zandvoort took us right into the gorgeous central station of Amsterdam, which is already a first major sight to check out. After that we wanted to experience the city by foot and boat. Those are certainly the best ways to get to know the city. (Renting a bike [...]

By Julika|2014-05-06T09:22:42+02:002012/08/22|Categories: Destinations, Europe, The Netherlands|Tags: Amsterdam, Architecture, Art, Europe, medieval, Museums, The Netherlands|1 Comment