Salzburg ♫♪♫ Austria

The pic above is a duo - the left one is me in the same place as in the right one, only that is 8 years ago...and the right one is this year, well this month...A lot has changed...
I was so happy I could see again this beautiful city of Austria. It's just the perfect destination for an european relaxed vacation. It's for sure...I'll always love these places! If this pics won't make you wanna see Salzburg...then...you refuse to see pure beauty.

Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria (after Vienna, Graz and Linz) and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Its "Old Town", with its world famous baroque architecture, is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The name Salzburg literally means "Salt Castle", and derives its name from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach river, which were subject to a toll in the 8th century.

The Salzburg Cathedral (German: Salzburger Dom) is a 17th century baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the city of Salzburg, dedicated to Saint Rupert of Salzburg.It is the site of Mozart's baptism.

Hohensalzburg Fortress (Festung) Located on top of a mountain, the Festung offers breath-taking views of Salzburg and the Alps. One area of the fortress offers visitors the chance to look down on a field below to find only one house, the executioner's residence. It was believed to live anywhere near the executioner was bad luck. Inside the fortress is a museum of medieval weapons, life on the fortress, and torture instruments. To avoid the vertical hike up to the Fortress, a funicular is available to ride, for a fee.

Mozarts Geburtshaus (Mozart's birth house), Getreidegasse 9 - The Mozart family lived in this house in the heart of Salzburg from 1747-1773, where W.A. Mozart himself was born on 27 January 1756. The house is now a popular museum devoted to Mozart and his family, with interesting memorabilia and letters.

Getreidegass - A long yet narrow street running parallel to the river in the center of town, with lots of shops, famous for the old (or old-style) signs of profession outside each store. Getreidegasse (also known as Grain Lane) is a busy shopping street in the Old-Town section of Salzburg. The house at no. 9 Getreidegasse is the place where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born and where he lived until the age of 17. Is one of the oldest streets in Salzburg. Most of the buildings feature wrought-iron guild signs hanging above the shops.

More pic on my facebook profile http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=242954&id=570581867

"In Bruges"...West Flanders

I only knew Bruges from the movie (with the same name)...I was glad to find out that the city it's a lot more than just what it looks like in the movie... Plus the weather was more pleasant to visit it...although I could feel that september was so close...and summer was done...

I ended up loving Belgium, not just because of the beautiful old (and new) cities it has, but also knowing wonderful people, that made this hole trip something to remember after years!

Here are some pics along with some info about the places I've seen...

The belfry of Bruges (or Belfort)

- is a medieval bell tower in the historical center of Bruges, Belgium. One of the city's most prominent symbols, the belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other danger. A narrow, steep staircase of 366 steps, accessible by the public for an entry fee, leads to the top of the 83-meter-high building, which leans about a meter to the east.

Provincial Court

The historic centre of Bruges has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

This is a spot that is very known in Bruges...and every tourist has to take at least a pic here...couldn't be an exception... :)) Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam, Bruges it's sometimes referred to as "The Venice of the North".

All the windows from the Chocolate Shops (and there are a loooot!) look fabulous...beware!!! If you are a sweets lover (as I desperately am...), you can easily spend all your money on loads of eye catching and delicious sweets... I died there several times... :)

Yeah..we couldn't leave Bruges empty handed...

Brussels

Apart of being the administrative centre of the European Union and the capital of Belgium...Brussels means picturesque medieval streets, lively squares, beautiful boulevards, impressive monuments, spacious parks, cosy cafés, interesting restaurants and an active cultural life and (probably the same poem for all the tourists) - chocolate, waffles, beer, lace, and ...chocolate again... :)

delicious belgian waffles :)

St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Michel or Sint-Michiels Kathedraal) was the first thing we visited as soon as we parked the car...Inside the cathedral we heard a beautiful voice singing the mass...celestial :)

City atmosphere...

...one of the many things I like to do when I get out of the country is I buy my fave magazines at their (almost) normal price...For eg. Vogue Paris is three times more expensive in Romania to buy than in the rest of the (central or west) european countries...Thant gets on my nerves... Freakin' backward country...

say good bye to Langley, UK

Yeah...so two weeks of fun and work ended so fast... it's almost the end of the month...the end of summer...time to go back home, to my theatre bizz.. :) Since we left Romania at the beginning of the month, we've experienced only great stuff! Not only that I've seen a lot of new countries and cities, I've learned about them , but I got to spend 2 weeks in Langley School, near Lodon, Norfolk ,UK and work with english-belgian-american incredible people for belgian teens. It really was a wise idea of work&fun mix for this last month of summer. All this refilled my batteries with good energy that I so need for my theatre work back home. So with all these good memories still fresh in my mind, we've started the journey back to Romania.

These were the stops ->Dover,UK->Calais,France->Ghent, Belgium->Bruges, Belgium->Bruselles, Belgium->Germany->Salzburg, Austria->Hungary->Baia Mare,Romania.

Langley School, Norfolk, England

Inside the Euro Tunnel train

The summer is so over....but it was amazing!!

Norwich, UK

It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the second largest city in England, after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom.

Norwich has a number of important museums which reflect both the rich history of the City and of Norfolk, as well as wider interests.

The largest is Norwich Castle Museum. This contains extensive collections of archaeological finds from the county of Norfolk, art (including a fine collection of paintings by the Norwich School of painters), ceramics (including the largest collection of British teapots), silver, and Natural History. Of particular interest are dioramas of Norfolk scenery, showing wildlife and landscape. The Museum has been extensively remodelled to enhance the display of the many collections.

up -Norwich street vibe

down - one of the museums

(The Beatles theme...) inside the Castle

The Castle Mall

Cambridge

Cambridge...not only a city where every student dreams to do his college, but a wonderful old and new mixture of arhitecture, history and peacefully places, all surrounded by the Cam River. Absolutely amazing!

Above the Cam River

in the back-> King's College Chapel

is the chapel to King's College of the University of Cambridge

with the Gibb's Building

people punting on Cam River

love these pics!

down ->Near The Corpus Christi Clock

It is located in Cambridge outside Corpus Christi College's

new library building. It was invented by Dr John Taylor.

with some english goodies (the fudge also !) bought from one of the many shops on King's Parade

fooling around in the University Museum of Zoology near a dinosaur fossil...

Cambridge, UK

at the Grantchester Orchard Tea Garden with Mate