Archive
Showing posts that were tagged with reise.
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Besuch von Freunden in Kärnten
Eine fast schon liebgewordene Tradition ist der Besuch von unseren Freunden Herbert & Belyse in ihrem Dorf im Mölltal. Die Anreise erfolgte mit dem Zug und wir hatten sogar das Glück, günstige Tickets für die erste Klasse zu bekommen. Wir haben durchaus sportliche Tage verbracht: Mountainbiken auf die Mühldorfer Alm oder Klettern in der größten Kletterhalle Kärntens.
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Urlaub in Korsika
Eine Woche Familienurlaub im Sommer verbrachten wir in Korsika, eine Insel Frankreichs. Genauer gesagt im Norden der Insel auf Kalvi. Wir mieteten ein Fahrzeug und erkundeten die wunderbare Landschaft dieser Insel, welche von Wien aus mit dem Flugzeug in nur einer Stunde erreichbar ist.
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Gastein Tanzt - Bad Hofgastein
Anlässlich des Gastein Tanzt-Festivals "Gastein:Tanzt" in Bad Hofgastein sind wir mit dem Zug angereist. Wir nutzten die Gelegenheit, um uns auch Bad Gastein etwas anzusehen und für einen Spaziergang zur Rastötzenalm.
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Rebirth in Athens - Toastmasters Konferenz
Nach zehn Jahren habe ich Athen wieder besucht. Diesmal nicht mehr mit dem Ziel von Sightseeing, sondern für eine Toastmasters Konferenz ("Rebirth in Athens"). Ich habe es mir aber dennoch nicht nehmen lassen, manche Sehenswürdigkeiten wieder zu besuchen.
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Algarveküste - Von Faro bis Lagos
Im Frühling ging es nach Portugal an Algarveküste. Traumhaft schöne Strände und Felsklippen warteten nur darauf entdeckt zu werden. Wir haben uns ein Auto gemietet und haben uns unter anderem Faro und Portimao. Auch mit dem Schiff, der Santa Barbara, konnten wir die Küste aus der Meeresperspektive auskundschaften.
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Alpen Roadtrip
Zwei Wochen Urlaub wollen wohl genutzt werden. Wir haben uns ein Mietauto genommen und haben einen Trip über 2500 km hinter uns. Besucht haben wir am Weg viele Freunde. Unsere Reise führte uns durch Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, Thurgau, Vorarlberg, Tirol, Südtirol, Kärnten und in die Steiermark.
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Malta & Gozo
Im April verbrachte ich eine Urlaubswoche auf dem kleinsten Land der EU, auf Malta. Genauer genommen auf der zum Land Malta gehörigen Insel Gozo, oder "Ghawdex", wie es auf Maltesisch heißt. Gesehen haben ich Städte auf Malta und Gozo, viel Natur und verbrachte einige Zeit einfach nur beim Meer. Für ein berühmtes Wahrzeichen Maltas kam ich aber zu spät: Das Azure Window stürzte ein Monat vor meiner Ankunft ein. Und ich war trotzdem dort.
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Cafayate
Das kleine Dorf liegt rund 200km südlich von Salta bereits in den Anden. Bei Touristen ist es vor allem wegen seiner wunderschönen und zugleich skurrilen Landschaft sehr beliebt. In dem Gebiet rund um den Ort wird aber auch Wein angebaut und einige der Wein Fincas stehen auch Touristen offen.
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Salta
Hoch im Norden Argentiniens liegt Salta. Die Stadt wurde bereits 1582 gegründet zählt knapp eine halbe Million Einwohner. Mit etwa 1200 über dem Meeresspiegel ist das Klima gemäßigt. Die Stadt wirkt ruhig und nicht sehr hektisch dennoch besitzt besonders der Stadtkern koloniales Flair.
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Santa Cruz
Bei meinem mittlerweile dritten Besuch der größten Stadt Boliviens (mit etwa 1,5 Millionen Einwohnern) habe ich wieder den Hauptplatz besucht sowie das Naherholungsgebiet La Rinconada.
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Montevideo
Der Volksetymologie bedeutet Montevideo eigentlich "Monte vi eu“ ("ich sah einen Hügel"). Es sollen die Worte eines Seemanns bei der Entdeckung des 132m Hügels gewesen sein. Heute befindet sich dort die Hauptstadt Uruguays, die ich im Jänner besucht habe. Die Stadt besitzt etwa 1,5 Millionen Einwohner und damit die Hälfte der Einwohner des Landes. Die Stadt ist deutlich ruhiger als Buenos Aires und besitzt schöne Strände.
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Buenos Aires
Argentinien beheimatet in Buenos Aires nicht nur seinen Regierungssitz, ebendort soll auch das kulturelle Zentrum des Tangos seinen Ursprung haben. Das nicht zu Unrecht: Viele Tango-Shows, Tänzer auf der Straße und viel positive Stimmung verstärken diesen Eindruck. Attribute wie Facettenreichtum, Buntheit oder Lautstärke sprechen für ein urban-quirlendes Leben. Ich konnte der Stadt mehrere Tage widmen und fand an der 3,5 Millionenmetropole großen Gefallen.
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Prag im Winter
An einem kalten aber sonnigen Wochenende im Jänner ging es nach Prag. Die tschechische Hauptstadt ist malerisch schön und bei Touristen sehr beliebt. In Prag habe Gabi aus der Slowakei besucht, die ich noch von Couchsurfing aus Kopenhagen her kenne und die dort nun wohnt und arbeitet.
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Großglockner Hochalpenstraße
Mit einem Mietauto ging es vom Mölltal ausgehend Richtung Zell am See in Salzburg über die Großglockner Hochalpenstraße. Die Passhöhe der Straße liegt auf über 2500 Meter über dem Meeresspiegel und führt an Österreichs größtem Berg, dem Großglockner vorbei. Ich habe dabei einen Zwischenstopp auf der Kaiser Franz Josefs Höhe eingelegt.
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Kurzurlaub in Kärnten
Für ein paar Tage ging es im Sommer ins Mölltal in Kärnten. Besucht habe ich dabei den Ossiacher, Millstätter und den Weißensee mit einer kleinen Wanderung inklusive. Unweit von Ossiach liegt auch die Adler Arena auf der Burg Landskron sowie der Affenberg bei der das Verhalten von Primaten erforscht wird und Touristen dabei zuschauen dürfen.
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Reise nach Israel
Zentrum von drei Weltreligionen und Ort vieler Geschichten aus ferner Vergangenheit und aus der Gegenwart ist Israel. Das Land war schon lange auf meiner Liste der zu bereisenden Ländern recht weit oben. Auch wenn die Sicherheitslage besser hätte sein können, so war es nun nach langem Zuwarten wieder ruhiger geworden. Eine Chance die ich genutzt habe und die sich gelohnte. Jerusalem, das Tote Meer, Tel Aviv-Jaffa waren sicherlich die Highlights des verlängerten Wochendtrips in den Nahen Osten.
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Prosit 2015 in den Kärntner Alpen
In den Kärntner Alpen läuteten wir dieses Mal das neue Jahr ein: Gemeinsam mit Freunden ging es am Silvestertag gut zwei Stunden rauf zum Fraganter Schutzhaus. Mit Spiel, Spaß und großem Fünf-Gänge-Menü verbrachten wir die letzten Stunden von 2014. Ein großes Feuerwerk und Lagerfeuer in den Bergen begleiteten uns ins neue Jahr. Am Neujahrstag ging es zurück ins Mölltal. Tags darauf spazierten wir gemeinsam auf dem zugefrorenen Weißensee.
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Singapur
Chinesen, Inder, Malaysier und Europäer teilen sich das tropische Singapur welches Stadt und Land zugleich ist. Einheit durch Vielfalt ist eines der vielen Prädikate. Unabhängig vom Vereinigten Königreich ist die Stadt seit 1965. Seitdem folgte ein großer Wandel. Nannten die Briten Singapur noch abwertend "Sin galore", gehört die Stadt nun zu den sichersten der Welt. Drakonische Gesetzesgebung inklusive Todesstrafe tragen unrühmlich zur Sauberkeit und öffentlicher Ruhe bei.
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Australien
Auf dem kleinsten Kontinent der Erde befindet sich das sechstgrößte Land der Welt. An der Ostküste Australiens besuchten wir Städte wie Sydney oder Brisbane, zahlreiche Strände wie Byron Bay oder Manly Beach, unzählige Regionen und Nationalparks wie das Weltnaturerbe die Sandinsel Fraser Island oder das spektakuläre und fischreiche Great Barrier Reef. Kängurus, graue Riffhaie, Rochen, Schlangen, Dingos, Schildkröten und viele weitere Tiere waren unsere Wegbegleiter.
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Neuseeland
Weit weg, am anderen Ende der Welt, liegt Neuseeland. Mit nur vier Millionen Einwohnern, wovon alleine 1,5 Millionen in Auckland leben, sind die beiden Inseln nur sehr dünn besiedelt. Flora wie Fauna beeindrucken jeden Besucher von Anfang an und auch die überaus freundliche Gastfreundschaft machen Neuseeland zu einer unvergesslichen Top-Destination in der südlichen Hemisphere an der Datumsgrenze im großen weiten Pazifischen Ozean.
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Alpen road trip
A good way of spending five free days in summer is to go on a road trip! Together with friends from the US, we went to Slovenia, Italy and West Austria. This rather atypical Europe tour was great fun. Covering more than 1800 km on the road, we saw amazing landscapes, lakes, and mountains along with more common tourist destinations like Venice and Garda Lake.
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Hunderwassertherme Bad Blumau
Besonders entspannend war der Besuch der "Hunderwasser Therme" Rogner Bad Blumau und die Unterkunft im Hotel. Organische Formen und Naturverbundenheit machen den Besuch so einzigartig. Im heißen Thermalwasser und in der Sauna wird einem so richtig warm ums Herz.
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Irland Rundreise
Mein zweiter Besuch auf der grünen Insel Irland führte mich neben der Hauptstadt Dublin diesmal auch raus aufs Land. Neben Galway und Cork waren es vor allem die Eindrücke von der Natur und Schlösser, die diese Reise lohnenswert machten. Silvester in Dublin bot zudem Abwechslung von den traditionellen Partys.
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Wochenende im Schloss Gabelhofen
Nach einer Anreise aus Wien ist man in etwa zwei Stunden beim Schloss Gabelhofen angekommen. Dieses Vier-Sterne-Schlosshotel setzt dabei auf einen gelungenen Mix aus Moderne und historischem Altbau. In wenigen Minuten erreicht man zu Fuß die neue AquaLux Therme. Wir haben dabei ein Kombinationsangebot bestehend aus zwei Übernachtungen mit Sektfrühstück, einem Candlelight-Dinner und einem Tageseintritt in die Therme entschieden.
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Ancient & Modern Rome, Italy
There was once, long time ago, a great empire: the Roman Empire. A great civilization that created a modern city that was looking for her equal. The name of the city: Rome. About 2000 years later, Vivi and I made a visit to the city, they say, all roads lead to. Read more about our trip with a tourist testimonial, pictures and a video.
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Exploring the Holy See, Vatican
There are many tiny states in the world. Some of them are within other countries. Such as San Marino or the Vatican in Italy. Eventhough it's a tiny city within a city, there is a lot to explore. Check out my text, pictures and videos from the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel (Sixtinische Kapelle), St. Peter's Basilica (Petersdom) and much more.
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Sightseeing in Berlin
Berlin is one of the most interesting cities in Germany. This is one of the reasons why I visited the capital city of Germany already for third time. Why I like this city so much? It's the atmosphere and the people, the history and the present. Take a closer look to my videos and pictures to get to know and understand this huge city a little bit better.
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The beauty of Warsaw
Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was most certainly a surprise to me. Unexpectedly beautiful, modern and full of life. Even though getting there can be a bit tricky, it's worth a trip. The city has unjustly negative reputation. I was there with my friend Iwona, who came originally from the city and we did a lot of sightseeing togehter.
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Big Berlin
Berlin is definetly one of my most favorite cities I've visited so far. The capital city of Germany is not only a big city, it is living history and open for future aspects likewise. I've been several times to Berlin and everytime I had a great time. Berlin is not only large and spacious, Berlin is also, and many do not know that, relatively inexpensive. It takes at least three days to do the major sights. If you planning a trip to Europe, put Berlin on your list!
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Gran Canaria Insights
This holiday island, which belongs to Spain, has a lot to offer for everyone: Beaches, mountains, all inclusive or individual tourism, sport activities, a big city with history, dunes and green areas. As tourism is the main sector of the island there is no much that you could miss. Warm temperatures will welcome you as you get ready to explore this island located in the Atlantic Ocean close to Africa.
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Road trippin' in Gran Canaria
Our two days road trip on the streets of Gran Canaria (an island of Spain) was an amazing experience. To rent a small car as I did with a Toyota Yaris is affordable for nearly everyone as the price starts with 20 Euros a day only. The infrastructure is on a high level and people respect the rules more than less. See pictures & videos and the map of the tour through the mountains and the coast line.
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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The last stop of Christopher Columbus before he crossed the Atlantic Ocean was in this lovely city. Almost the half of the population of the Canary islands lives here. We went there several times and had a great time.
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Gran Canaria mountains & coast
If you have the possibility of exploring the inner part of the island you should do it. It is the most interesting part of the island and less touristy than the rest. We did two different tours. One through the mountains and one along the coast.
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Maspalomas & Playa del Ingles
In the south of the island is the tourists' paradise. Beaches, hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, shopping centers and so much more. This could be a nightmare depending on what you are looking for. But right there you'll also find the dunes of Maspalomas, which are worth visiting!
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A trip to Virgen & Lienz, Osttirol
Osttirol is a region in the Alps of Austria. It is a worth seeing place, even if it's pretty far away from Vienna or other bigger cities. We went there for a weekend trip to see Lienz, Virgen and Matrei during the Christmas season. Eventhough the Winter of 2011 is pretty much without snow so far, Osttirol was white and I managed to go skiing and cross-country skiing
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Chicago - Home of the Skyscraper
Four red stars and two blue strips. This is what you can find on the flag of Chicago. Those represent four big events such as the big fire in 1871 in Chicago and the Lake Michigan and Chicago river. For me Chicago is my favorite American city I have seen so far. Walking around in Chicago's downtown surrounded by massive skyscrapers where they were invented was great. Chicago is a must see in the US!
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Schloss Neuschwanstein
One of the most famous castles in the world is "Schloß Neuschwanstein". It's in the very south of Germany in Bavaria, just a few kilometers away from Tyrol Austria. It's remarkable appearance inspired Walt Disney when he designed the Walt Disney castle.
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China Insights
My first trip to Asia led me to China. I went there with my friend Iwona for 16 adventurous days. We flew over 6000km within this huge country and over 30.000km in total! We saw the cities of Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guilin, Yangshuo, Hong Kong and Macau and many beautiful places such as the Great Wall or the valley next to the Li-river.
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Cuba
An island full of myths, preconceptions and depression. One of the last countries that can call itself really communistic. Health and education systems are good in the country where Che Guevara is still a national hero, but this country is to suffer a lot. No real jobs, bad food and rundown houses and services...
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Back from Girona
The last weekend I've spent in Girona, Spain. It's almost exactly five years ago since I've been there the last time, but last weekend I had the chance simply to hang out. I went there with Vivi to meet some of her old friends, went hiking in Torella de Montgri and for a trip to Cadaqués. Very nice weekend :)
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Japan Tour
Time passes by and it's been a year now, that I've been to Japan. Almost exactly a year later, one of the biggest earthquakes in Japans history ever hit the country, destroyed buildings and killed thousands of people and even caused a nuclear meltdown. It's sad to write this article under such circumstances, but I would like to share the great experiences I had, while travelling in this amazing country
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Weblog spring-cleaning!
After a long time of being very inactive on my blog (even through technical reasons), I am very happy to announce to have three new galleries from last year online, such as: Paris, Alicante and Tokyo! Links to the photoblog inside this article!
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South America Trip - Detail Part 2
Right now, as I am writing this, I am sitting on the airplane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean back home to Europe. A long trip is over and after almost five weeks of traveling, I have seen a lot and opened my horizon even more. It is the second part of my detailed story and short resume of my trip in South America.
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Back in the City of God
Just came back from a two day trip to Búzios. I am back in Rio de Janerio - the City of God, Copacabana staying at Vivis cousine. I have a looooot of stories to tell, but at the moment to less time to write. So far a short notice, from the City of God, Brazil - Dominik
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Carneval in Rio de Janeiro
Right now I am in Rio de Janeiro, the center of Carneval :-) There's a lot of party going on here and I am about to explore the city more! Before coming here, I've seen Salar de Uyuni which was amazing and the city of Sucre and Potosi (the highest city in the world). So far, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Dominik
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A couple of days in Peru
I've spent now a couple of days in Peru and they were amazing. Together with Vivi, I discoverd Machu Piccu which was definetly one of the highlights of the trip so far. I really enjoy the stay here, but as time as passing by, I have to say good bye to Peru already by tomorrow to go on a 1,5 day trip by bus to Sala de Uyuni, Bolivia. From Peru, Cuso - Dominik
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A few pictures of the trip
I've selected some pictures from the first week travelling in Brasil and Bolivia. Sao Paulo, Santa Cruz, Bueno Vista, La Paz and Valle de la Luna. In this blog article you'll find pictures only - For the story please refer to the article "First week in South America".
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South America Trip - Detail Part 1
It's now been almost a week since I am travelling in South America. Together with Viviana I am currently in La Paz, Bolivia - one of the higest cities in the world - But one after the other... See inside article for more details :) [Pictures will follow soon]
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First days in Sao Paulo
I spent two wonderful days with my Couchsurfing hosts in Sao Paulo. Dayane and her boyfriend Fabio made my stay a great expierence. I really appricate there warm hospitality and taking care of every detail that was necessary to make me having a great time :) The city is really big and has interessing things to offer and I happy that I did do a lot already. Check for updates soon. From Brazil & 36°C and sun, Dominik
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Japan - Day 16
The last four days in Japan I used to see some more sights in Tokyo, going to Nikko and Yokohama and meet with local couchsurfers in Tokyo to celebrate the cherry blossom and experience the night life of Tokyo.
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Japan - Day 12
Although there is only one day in between from my last posting, a lot of stuff happend and I had time to write it down. I was at mount Fuji which was totally awesome! Afterwards I had a bath in an Onsen. Hit by the article for details
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Japan - Day 11
Right now I am riding the Shinkansen (Japanese high speed bullet train with 270km/h average (!!) speed) from Kyoto to Mishima on my way to mount Fuji. I spent the last couple of days in Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka and Nara. I did a lot the last few days and I am a bit tiered now, looking forward for a relaxing hike tomorrow. See details for the whole article.
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Japan - Day 4
This is a short brief article from my first three days in Tokyo and what I did so far. Currently I am sitting in the Shingansen to Kyoto. Click on the article to find out more!
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Greetings from Chicago!
Hi there! I arrived in Chicago today. Pretty awesome. My couchsurfing host is a cool guy! Just returned back "home" from dinner, we had typical Chicago pizza, which is called "deep dish". I am pretty jet lagged. I know back home it's quarter to four already, here it's just quarter to nine. Anyways I try to stay awake to get used to the seven hours time change. Tomorrow I will go to see the downtown! So far, from the US, Chicago - Dominik
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Hälsningar fran Stockholm
Hello, this time I say "Hello" from the North of Europe. I am currently in Stockholm, Sweden. I've even been to a town called "Uppsala". It's a nice fall season over here - As you can imagine, it's a bit colder over here and fresh, but still the sun is shining and it's nice weather. So far, from Stockholm, Sweden, Dominik
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Zadar Adventures
This story is about three Americans and one Austrian and his car heading south. The ambassadors of Croatia organized the fifth Balkan meeting in Zadar. Of course, I and some friends attended it. In fact, there were more than 200 people from countries all overof the world! We had a great time by roadtrippin' and partying all night long :-) - Sorry for posting this story so late, this all happend in May 2009 :-D
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Pozdrowienia z Warszawy
Hey! I spontaneously deceided to go to Warsaw this weekend and so I did. I went there with my friend Iwona. This time I send my greetings from Polands capital city. From Warsaw, Poland, Dominik
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Hong Kong and Macau
My trip is almost over :-( It is great over here in Asia. Tomorrow I am planning to go to Macau. After that, there is a long way back home: Back to Hong Kong, back to Beijing, back to Paris, back to Vienna... So far, from Hong Kong, Dominik
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Greetins from Hong Kong
After a boat trip on Lu river and an amazing bike trip in Yangshuo, we finally arrived in Hong Kong. So far everthing is fine. Hong Kong seems to be cool, but I've just seen the part from the airport to my couchsurfing host. From Hong Kong, Dominik
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Exploring Cyprus
Together with my friend Iwona, I flew to Cyprus. We arrived there very early in the morning. The first two days we stayed in the North, which is the Turkish part of the island and the other three days in the Greek part. Because we rented a car we could explore the whole lovely island. (By the way they drive on the left!) We saw the coastline and the mountains!
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Istanbul, Turkey - Part 1 of 2
Napoléon Bonaparte once said: "If the whole world was a state, Istanbul would be the capital of it". Well he actually used Constantinople istead of Istanbul :-) So I actually had to visit the capitol of the world and I really liked it! I took about 900 pictures, but don't worry, I already selected the best ones. I couchsurfed again and I had a very nice hostess: Esra. She made my stay even better. This ist part 1 of 2 pages.
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Istanbul, Turkey - Part 2 of 2
This is part two of my article about Istanbul. In this part you will find more about the Galata Tower, the Galata brdige, and my experiences in Kadiköy on the Asian part. You will also find pictures about the Grand Bazaar and the Sultans Palace Topkapi. Last but not least, my overall conclution about my stay in Istanbul. This is part 2 of 2
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Edinburgh & Scotland
In February I spontaneously booked a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. I didn't have an idea at all of the city until I was visiting it. As usual I was couchsurfing there again and it was great :-) The weather was actually better than it was in Vienna, even it was cloudy sometime, it was at least warmer :-) I also went out of the city to see the Scotish Highlands and Loch Ness
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Istanbul dan merhaba!
Hi my friends and fellows! Today I arrived in Istanbul! It is a very livelily city and people are so far very friendly! Of course I took already millions of pictures! I visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia and the Spice Market! Again I couchsurf and I stay at two Turkish girls who are really nice! So far, from Istanbul, Turkey - Dominik
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Hamburg in depth
Two weeks ago, I was visiting Hamburg. One of the last big cities missing on my "Cities to see in Germany"-list :-) As I was always curious of Hamburgs harbor, I was really looking forward to see it as well! And it was worth it. As Hamburg is also famous for the Reeperbahn, I also went there. Like the last trips, I was again couchsurfing there with Tim and his girlfriend together with my collegue Iwona.
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Moin moin aus Hamburg
Gestern nach der Arbeit habe ich mich ins Flugzeug gesetzt und bin nach Hamburg geflogen. Wieder über Couchsurfing bin ich diesmal recht zentrumsnahe bei Tim - wie könnte es anders sein - einem Programmierer untergekommen. Heute möchte ich mir das Hafengebiet ansehen und ein wenig die Altstadt. Abends bin ich bei meinem Gastgeber zum Essen eingeladen. Soweit aus Hamburg, Deutschland, Dominik
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Bratislava & Devín
Wie auch im Jahr zuvor, bin ich auch heuer auf den Weihnachtsmarkt nach Bratislava gefahren, gemeinsam mit Steffi. Waren zuvor noch in Devín, einem kleinen Ort unweit der slowakischen Hauptstadt an der March/Donaumündung. Am Christkindlmarkt war sehr viel los! Waren danach noch "üppig" Essen und auch in meinem Lieblings-Teehaus :-) Am späten Abend gings dann wieder zurück nach Wien.
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Bucuresti discovered
On my "NikOnTour" mission to discover each country, which is member of the European Union, I was visiting Romania the last weekend. Again I couchsurfed and again it was great :-) I was guided through Bucuresti and I didn't had to care much. I was even in some small villages and hiking in the mountains. I took tons of pictures.
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Tofino & Nanaimo
As nearly every Canadian recommeded me to visit Tofino, I did. To get there you have to pass the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Tofino is a small town with only 1600 inhabitants and it's famous for it's beautiful beaches and I guess also for it's sunsets. I was hitchhiking from Victoria with a German as it was really difficult by public transport. On the way back I stopped in Nanaimo.
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Victoria
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia with a population of about 80.000 people. It's much smaller than Vancouver city, but also somehow charming and relaxed. To get there, I took the bus and the ferry to Vancouver island from Vancouver city. I had a good impression of this lovly city, but to be honest, for "summer", it was very cold. You might discover this matter of fact on some of my pictures :-)
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Squamish
Squamish, a small town with almost 15.000 inhabitants is about an hour to drive in the north of Vancouver city. My host from Vancouver, Marika, invited me to join her and her friends to a festival and a hiking trip. We spent a nice time on a kind of reggae festival surrounded by beautiful mountains and a big calm lake. We stayed in a tent and on the next day, we went on a hiking trip. It took nearly a hole day, but it was great!
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Bulgaria: Sofia & Plovdiv
The past weekend, my friend Iwona and I flew to Bulgaria. We were couchsurfing in Sofia and a great hostess: Gergana. She was showing us around and even cooked for us. She also recommeded us to visit the city Plovdiv the second largest city in Bulgaria, which I didn't know before. It was worth going! I kept a good impression about the country or especially about the Bulgarian people
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Hot days in Budapest
Together with Iwona, I went to Budapest. With almost 35° celcius it was really hot, but not only the temperature :-) Together with Niki and Darek, we had a nice time and just enoying the city and some clubs! Today I feel a bit dizzy, I guess it was too warm for me or I am getting sick :-( Anyway check out the pictures Darek took!
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Lake Neusiedl Tour
The past weekend, our Hungarian friends from Fidelitas organized a tour arround lake Neusiedl. It was quite awesome :-) Our friends from Brno (Czech Republic) came along too! The first night, András was showing us around in Sopron! We did a 110km distance on the first day and on the second half-day a 40km way over some small mountains. We started in Sopron (Hungary) and were going clockwise around to Fertöd (also in Hungary)
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A weekend in Budapest
The past weekend I went to Budapest (Hungary). As there is a cheap connection, it was very cool to revisit some friends, especially Niki. As I didn't have any plan at all, we were just hanging around in the city and I liked it :-) We were in a nice pub, a couchsurfer was giving a farewell party! The next day, we spent some time in the park on Sziget and in the evening we met some friends oft Niki
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Vancouver
Vancouver is one of the nicest cities I visited on my trip through Canada. It is Canada's third largest city anyway. I spent plenty much time in Vancouver and the region, as my cs-hostess and her friends organized many parties :-) I actually had two hosts there, because I didn't excpect that I get two postive answers from two requests I wrote. It was really nice to be there!
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Niagara Falls
Not very far from Toronto - just a few hours - you can find the Niagara Falls: Horseshoe Falls and American Falls. Those world-famous falls are in fact not very tall (58 meters), but edge length is long: 792m and 363m. The name "Niagara" pronunciation is said to originate from an Iroquoian word Onguiaahra meaning "Thunder of Waters"
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Toronto
Toronto, the financial capital of Canada - The city center has almost an American look and feel. Most of the big and tall skyscrapers are new and impressive. Watching Toronto's skyline, especially at night is just awesome. People in Canada mentioned, that this city is a boring one - I can't approve that. First of all, I had a cool host (but he is actually from Australia). We discovered the citys night life and we were invited to a pancake party - of course with maple sirup :-)
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Montreal
Montreal, my first stop on my tour through Canada. I flew there directly from Vienna and after eight hours sitting in the plane and six hours in a different time zone I reached my goal: Canada. I started in the "cultural" capital city in the province Quebec, the frensh part of Canada. Montreal itself is almost balanced with english and frensh speaking people, so it's not a problem to not speak frensh. The first day there was like my hole trip: Sunny, hot and beautiful.
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Quebec City
One of the oldest cities in North America is Quebec city. It was the last but definitely not the least city on my trip through Canada. The city is the only city in North America with an intact old town and stronghold. I've couchsurfed My-Linn and celebrated the 400th years anniversary.
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Trois Rivieres
I had a brief stop over in the city of Trois Rivieres. The reason why I went there was to visit one of my former Couchsurfing guest that I've hosted in Vienna: Katlyn from Quebec. My plan was to visit her sister later in Quebec city and luckily Trois Rivieres was on the way.
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Ottawa
Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. The city is shared by the provinces of Quebec and Ontario and is English and French speaking. I managed to get there by the first of July to celebrate Canada day together with my CouchSurfing host Deanna and her friends.
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Calgary
Calgary is the capital city of Canadian province Alberta. I spent there only a couple of hours, so I had only a brief visit in this city. Even though I had the possibility to meet a local. Annie drove by with her bicycle when I asked for some directions. She showed me around in the city center and invited me for dinner.
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Canada: A Mari Usque Ad Mare
From the middle of June until the 7th of July I spent a cool time in one of the biggest countries on earth: Canada. A country full of undisturbed nature, nice and helpful people and big cities. With only 33 million people living there for a country of the size of almost 10.000.000 km2, you can easily explore wildlife. I met so many cool people, discovered so many new things, I experienced adventures - Overall: It was awesome!
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Bright Brussels
The past weekend, Iwona and me were Couchsurfing in Brussels. We were visiting all the famous sights like the Atomium in Belgiums capital city and the "Center of Europe's Power": EU Parliament and the Commission. UPDATE 11.06.2008: Hole story including Impression, Sights, Center Of Power, Conclution and of course pictures online!
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Dublin Dispatches
As I retured home today from Dublin, I feel a bit exhausted. To be honest, I didn't expect to sleep so well in a 16 bed dormitory room: All of my roommates were very careful and silent - I just came home late :-) Anyway I already uploaded my pictures from Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. UPDATE: Story of Dublin completed, check it out now! :-)
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Spring Break Europe 2008
About two weeks ago, Iwona, Petra, Stefan an me went to Lignano Sabbiadoro (Italy). On schedule: Spring Break Europe 2008. I went there "directly" from Portugal. Anyway it was a nice weekend, but I was terrible exhausted from traveling (I am getting old :-)). Well the first night was really quite for me *gg*. The next day we enjoyed the sun and the sea. The second night was more active: We went to "Disco Italia" were we also met Tomas.
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Charming Cascais
Very close to Lisboa, about 25 minutes to go by train, is the charming town of Cascais. The beach to the Atlantic Ocean is realy beautiful! As the temperature of the water was a bit to cold at the beginning of May I didn't swim. Anyway, I spent only a few hours there, I think it's worth to visit it again!
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Lovely Lisboa
In May I visited Portugal's capital city Lisbon. It's a lovely little city with a charming spirit. I think you can spent many days there without getting bored: The city center, the Belém Tower, the Expo area and places close to Lisboa. As I was couchsurfing there, may friend Mike was already waiting at the trainstation :-)
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Moving Madrid
At the beginning of May, I visited Spains capital city: Madrid. With about five million people living there, it is one of Europe largest cities. Madrid was partially built by Austrian Habsburger and it's not possible to miss that fact. Anyway, to be honest for me a day in Madrid was enough, as I did not find it so charming
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Girona, Sant Feliu de Guíxols & Tossa de Mar
On May 4th, I went with Aurora the north-east of Barcelona. The first city was Girona, a nice very old city, which reminded me a little bit to Florence. We spent there a couple of hours while enjoying life :-) After it, we headed to Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa de Mar next to Costa Brava and it was really beautiful!
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Beloved Barcelona
In the end of April to Wednesday the 7th, I went to Barcelona. It was longer than planed, but to be honest, I enjoyed every single day. My hostess, Aurora, was nearly perfect and very nice! We were also visiting the Costa Brava close to Barcelona (seperat story). In those days, I saw a very young, active and dynamic city and it is a must-be place to visit. I took hundreds of pictures, it was hard to pick out only some of them for the galleries and the blog.
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Nik's tour: An Austrian Announces
This is my frequently updated blog entry in which I report about my journies all over the world. You can also access this article directly by entering the URL http://tour.amon.cc/ or hitting the "nik's tour" button in the "Aktionen" area. At the moment, I just assembled a list of places I have already been to, so check this article out more often for updates ;-)
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Budapest Reloaded
Friday afternoon: Andy B and I went to Hungary. It wasn't the first time for us, but we wanted to visit my guests I hosted in Vienna a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, either Budapest changed since 2005 or I visited a different city last time, because I don't remember it being this nice! This time I wasn't going to do a big sightseeing tour like I usually do. We were in a Turkish bath, relaxing in the city, lots of talking, and partying until...
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Do you know Copenhagen?
At the beginning Copenhagen wasn't on my list "Places I'd like to visit soon". The main reason going there was in fact of the cheap flight to Denmark. But soon, Copenhagen turned out to be a really cool place! As Denkmark was my first state of Scandinavia I was looking forward to it how live is up in the north...
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Visiting Malmö (Sweden)
When I realized in Copenhagen, that Malmö is just 40 minutes away by train, I spontaneously decided also go to Sweden and so I did. The train was crossing the sea by "Oeresundsbron"-bridge, it's the worlds longest combined car/train cable-stayed bridge. Malmö, Swedens 3rd largest city, is a lovely city by the sea. It's very old and historical and nice to visit!
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Athens - A place to be
I've been to Athens, Greece, from 22th to 24th february for a small trip. I stayed at my couchsurfing host Elfi, a student from Crete. She really took care of me and showed me her beautiful historical city from a greek point of view :-). I've already uploaded the pictures to my photoblog (separated into 3 parts) and I have picked some photos out of them to this blog. UPDATE: Story about my weekend in Athens is online
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Trip to Kraków
Because of a special offer of an aircraft company, a former collogue from work, Iwona, and myself booked a flight to Kraków. Not for nothing Kraków is known as the culture-capitol-city of Poland. There are many nice places, the famoust and europe biggest market square "Rynek", the Wawel-castle or Juliusz-Slowacki theater or just some of them. We spent three days in this beautifull city and met some people from couchsurfing at a local CS-event.
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Travel through Slovakia
My journey started in the Slovak Republic in Bratislava by heading east to Poprad. I spent two nights in Poprad and visited the Vysoke Tatry (High Tatras), the highest montains of Slovakia. Afterwards I was going to the city of Levoca, a gothic village with 14.300 inhabitants. Followed by the small town of Spišské Podhradie, where the stronghold "Spišsky hrad" is close by. Continued by Košice for two days and Velky Krtiš. I went home by bus, which took a while...
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UPDATE: Klagenfurt
Bin nach der Arbeit gleich zum Südbahnhof und ab nach Klagenfurt zu Christoph. Während er bereits früher angereist war um sich das Fußballspiel Japan gegen Österreich anzusehen, kam ich allerdings erst in der Nacht am Klagenfurt Hauptbahnhof an. Waren in der Kärtner Landeshauptstadt bis circa zwei Uhr in den Lokalen unterwegs ehe um diese Zeitpunkt in fast allen Lokalen gesetzlich angeordnete Sperrstunde ist und fast alle nach Hause fahren (!!!). Haben in einer Jugendherrberge übernachtet.