Throwback to a Weekend In Copenhagen

Back in December C and I headed for a 3 day break in Copenhagen. We normally try and get to a Christmas market and we decided 2016 would be a Danish one. Despite it being rather cold and very grey Copenhagen is a beautiful (if expensive!) city. Here are some of my favourite snaps

My favourite area was Nyhavn, which is the picture postcard area which seems to be 'the' image of Copenhagen. It featured a lot on The Danish Girl with Eddie Redmayne. The houses are lovely and the little habour is full of older boats - it's also where a lot of boat tours depart from.

Apparently there have been a lot of fires in Copenhagen over the years - this is the current town hall but it is relatively 'new' having been inaugurated in 1905. The two previous ones burnt down!

Danish parliament. We did a guided walking tour and our guide told us all about the political system, and also explained about the taxes. Although they're high they seem to have it right in Denmark - social benefits are amazing.

There is a square on which all of the royal palaces sit (about 4 in total I think). The royal family lives in these - they are so open in comparison to Buckingham Palace. We were lucky enough to see some sort of ceremonial changing of the guards complete with marching band.

Another highlight was Tivoli Gardens - the world's first theme park and apparently the inspiration for Disneyland. It was suitably bedecked for Christmas.

On the final day we went back to Nyhavn for a boat-trip.

All in all a beautiful city, I'd highly recommend a trip! It was a bit pricey but definitely worth it :) We are now planning our next getaway, Morocco, Amsterdam, Montenegro... who knows!

A Taste of Munich

Last weekend we went to Munich. Despite learning German since the age of 11 I have never been to Munich. I've travelled through it, but never seen it. I think I missed out!

It's a really lovely city, with lots to look at. It was badly bombed during WWII and many of the buildings are reconstructions. The statue above is of Juliet, a gift from Verona, with which Munich is twinned. A certain part of her anatomy is considered lucky to touch for wannabe wooers, as you can probably see...

My favourite part of Munich was the beer halls and cellars. My favourite was the Hofbraeuhaus, which was the royal Bavarian brewery and now belongs to the state of Bavaria. It's one of Munich's oldest beer halls and really rather pretty. I was a bit sceptical of beer kellers and halls before we went - I just thought they would be full of tourists - but actually they were full of tourists and locals, and one of the friendliest environments I've ever been in! While we were there we got chatting to people who lived around the corner, American tourists, the atmosphere was just so friendly and welcoming. You basically just sit down whereever there is space on a bench, and chances are you'll get chatting away to whoever is next to you. 

This quote summed up the atmosphere for me - 'Thirst is worst than homesickness' - grab a beer and join in no matter where you're from!

Traditional music to accompany us as we drank and chatted

We drank the Mass (1 litre), needless to say it took a while to get through one of those! (well, some got through them quicker than others ;))

We also explored the English Garden, which is one of the biggest public parks in Europe. It was so vast and spacious it didn't feel like we were in a city any more. It also felt super Autumal which was really nice.

On our last day we went to Schloss Nymphenburg, which was the summer residence for Bavarian royalty. It was a lovely sunny day so we didn't go in, instead wandering around the extensive grounds. Again, felt like we had left the city completely!

Such a wonderful weekend, and it was great to see our friends again :)

Hope you're enjoying Autumn, whereever you are!

Beautiful Venice

Last weekend I went to Venice with one of my best friends. We were celebrating a special birthday she had this week and decided a girly weekend away in a beautiful place was an excellent way to start. I love Venice. There's no other way to put it - I just fell hook line and sinker for the place. It's so pretty and just steeped with history.

On our first day we headed off on the boats to the islands North of the main section of Venice, which is of course made up of lots of little islands itself. We took a 'water bus' and headed off nice and early, taking in the views and lots of nods to Venice's maritime history.

Murano was stunning. Famous of course for its glass blowing, and we spent a very enjoyable few hours wandering along the water perusing the many many glass shops.

After Murano we popped over to Torcello, a tiny historical island with a really pretty church at the centre.

 Then there was Burano, one of the prettiest places I've been - brightly coloured houses along the water front and lots of beautiful views.

We also took a water bus along the Grand Canal, admiring the Rialto bridge, stunning buildings and lots of gondolas. We did not take a gondola ride - £80 for half an hour!!!!

The next day we went to St Mark's Square, approaching it in a water bus was quite incredible. Again, the history was just amazing, but we didn't go into the main buildings, it was pretty busy and it was so nice outside I didn't want to queue. The bridge of Sighs was beautiful. 

And the rest of the time we just meandered, popping in and out of shops and just enjoying the views.

On our last day we went to the ghetto. A completely different entrance to the other little islands, and a very sombre feel to the main square, dominated by a memorial to those killed in the Holocaust.

I feel so lucky to have had such a wonderful weekend in such a beautiful city - and lucky to have such amazing friends and people in my life.