Sights – C-L-Ludwig.com

26. October 2018

Hungary – Budapest

Buda and Pest After visiting my family in Romania, Tes and I spent a few days in Hungary’s capital Budapest. The 1.7 million metropolis formerly consisted of two cities, located west and east of the Danube river. One was called Buda, the other Pest. The largest spa town in Europe is, among other things, famous for its bathhouses and thermal springs. Incidentally, in a geotectonic view, the city lies on a fracture point of the earth plates. Therefore, the city (especially Buda) is rich in hot springs, which were already used by the Romans in the second century. In total, there are over 120 hot springs and the water is used […]

19. April 2018

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis St. Kitts and Nevis is an island nation with 56,000 inhabitants, has an area of 269 km² (104 mi²) and is one of the 12 smallest states in the world. St. Kitts (also known as Saint Christopher) is the more populous island, separated by a three-kilometer-long canal from Nevis (11,500 inhabitants across 93 km²/ 36 mi²). During the last ice age, the sea level was about 60 m lower and Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Eustatius and Saba formed a contiguous, large island. The distance from St. Kitts to the north-west island of Saba is about 60 kilometers (37 mi). Sint Eustatius can be reached after about 25 […]

18. April 2018

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia Die Marigot-Bay St. Lucia is the world´s only country named after a woman (Lucia of Syracuse). The Caribbean island has an area of 616 km² (238 mi²) and is home to about 170,000 inhabitants. Ninety percent have African roots and mostly came to the island through slavery. It was only in 1979 that the island became independent and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The island’s export hits include bananas, flour and rice. The yellow fruits, however, have declined sharply as export goods and have been replaced by tourism as a source of income. Around 70% of the gross domestic product are from tourism. This branch is a […]

17. April 2018

Barbados

Barbados, my favorite At the highest point of the island The beach Barbados is a 430 km² (160 mi²) island with 280,000 inhabitants. Most of them have African roots and came to Barbados because of slavery. The island is made of limestone, so there are hardly any lakes, as the water seeps away. The country was ruled by the English until 1966, since then, the 30th of November is celebrated as Independence Day and National Day. The most famous persons of the country are the two RnB musicians “Grandmaster Flash” and “Rihanna”. In Saint Michael, where Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty grew up, a street was recently named after her – the Rihanna […]

16. April 2018

US Virgin Islands: Saint Thomas

Saint Thomas via cruise During our time in Ponce, we examined a cheap way to visit more islands of the magnificent Caribbean. After we checked flights, connections by sea and hotels, we booked a cruise as the cheapest and easiest solution. This way, we could visit five different islands within one week, had all meals included and a small, air-conditioned room every night. In general, the whole thing was extremely classy compared to the months in Ecuador and Puerto Rico. So to speak: I initially had to get used to the warm shower. Our first port was on Saint Thomas, part of the US Virgin Islands. Leaving the ship A magnificent […]

11. February 2018

Ecuador: Otavalo

Coca-tea for altitude sickness Otavallo is located at an altitude of 2532 meters above sea level and has 40,000 inhabitants. Tourists visiting the city are generally advised to drink one coca tea a day. The coca plant, otherwise known as the raw ingredient for the production of cocaine, shows a far weaker effect as the chemical drug and supports the body in adapting to the thin ambient air. We only tried the coca-tea later in Papallacta (3600 m) – it helps and no, it does not have an intoxicating effect. You can buy the drink in almost every shop or from running traders who only make their money selling tea. But, […]

6. February 2018

Germany: Cologne

A city with lots of history The city of Cologne has more than 2000 years of history. Founded in 19 b.C. as a Roman colony, the town was named “Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium” in 50 AD. This is where the current name of the international metropolis derives. Even today the roots of the city can still be inspected on site. So, the “Roman tower” is only a ten minutes walk from the cathedral. It was part of the Roman city wall in the 2nd / 3rd Century. Other archaeological finds suggest a permanent settlement can be dated back to 4500 BC. In the meantime, Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany […]

6. February 2018

Germany: Frankfurt

The book fair The book fair in Frankfurt has an over 500 year old tradition and is visited by around 280,000 people every year. A total of approximately 7300 exhibitors from more than 100 countries are on site. At that time we decided to visit the entire fair in one day, so our stay was hectic. The enormous amount of visitors is, however, not noticeable on the huge fairgrounds and you can easily talk to almost all exhibitors. I was looking for an English publisher and found one. Otherwise, the fair offers what the spoiler in the name promises: Everything about books! From authors, publishers and translators to reading assistants, anything […]

6. February 2018

Germany: Stuttgart

Stuttgart – great for shopping I’ve been to Stuttgart a couple of times, but never got a hold of the city. Even if you search Google for the best sights, they display the castle in Ludwigsburg – that somehow says something, right? The Schlossplatz We spent little time in the city and used it mainly for shopping. The sights in the city center are in my opinion limited to the new and old castle and a few barely noteworthy things. Otherwise, a visit to the Porsche and Mercedes Benz Museum is interesting for tourists. Apart from a few other museums, Stuttgart (at least for me) does not really offer anything out […]

6. February 2018

Germany: Ulm

Bisected through the Danube Ulm is a city with 120,000 inhabitants and is located on the outskirts of Baden-Wuerttemberg. In the year 1810 the city was given to the federal state by Bavaria. Therefore, New-Ulm developed across the Danube on the Bavarian side. Together, the cities have 180,000 inhabitants. The most famous person from Ulm undoubtedly is Albert Einstein, who has a monument dedicated to him near the train station (at the former location of his birthplace). In addition, the resistance fighter Sophie Scholl, football coach Uli Hoeneß and the German comedian Mike Kruger are natives of Ulm. A snapshot while strolling The sights The university town is home to the […]

6. February 2018

Germany: Hamburg

The sights Hamburg has almost 2 million inhabitants and is the second largest city in Germany, putting Munich in third place. The town has approximately 2500 bridges – more than Venice, Amsterdam and London combined. During our visit, we rented an AirBnb on the outskirts of the city and spent our days strolling through the town. The Port of Hamburg with the Elbphilharmonie, which opened in early 2017, is probably the biggest attraction for tourists. Otherwise, we spend a lot of time on the Reeperbahn, St. Pauli and Altona. As Hamburg has countless sights, we also checked out the fish market, Speicherstadt, Planten und Blomen and Rickmers Rickmers. In general, I […]