
“Please take a seat but be careful, don’t fall asleep!” This sculpture in Erfurt, named Little Sandman (Sandmännchen), refers to a German children’s bedtime television programme using stop motion animation.
You only see what you know (Goethe)

“Please take a seat but be careful, don’t fall asleep!” This sculpture in Erfurt, named Little Sandman (Sandmännchen), refers to a German children’s bedtime television programme using stop motion animation.

While walking through the streets of the Austrian city of Retz I came across this impressive emblem. I found it on a former industrial hall. It displayed the Imperial Eagle of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

An old pharmacy, a burbling fountain, an empty market square. I experienced this quiet moment in front of a townhouse with a Renaissance façade in the Morovian city of Uherské Hradiště. The building’s diverse structure made me linger longer. [German]

Reichenau Abbey was founded in 724 by Saint Pirmin. Later the abbey became famous for the Reichenauer Malschule. This term comprises lavishly illuminated manuscripts created during the late 10th and early 11th centuries.

A mural near the railway station Wien Meidling reminds us that one of the first Austrian locomotives originated from the USA. The Norris Locomotive Works in Philadelphia assembled the WRB Philadelphia in 1837.

The ancient Roman city of Altinum was a settlement in the region of today’s Quarto d’Altino. During its flowering, it had over 20,000 inhabitants. After being destroyed by the Huns, the inhabitants fled to the small islands in the lagoon of later Venice. [German]

The Heilig-Geist-Spital is one of Nuremberg’s most iconic sights. The associated hospital church housed the Imperial Regalia for several centuries. Today, the depicted part of the spital accommodates a restaurant. [German]

Hochosterwitz Castle (Burg Hochosterwitz) stands on a 170-metre-high Dolomite rock near St. Georgen am Längsee. Wannabe conquerers had to pass 14 fortified gates to get to the top.

On a sunny day in the fall, I visited Festetics Palace (Festetics-kastély) near Lake Balaton in Hungary. On my walk through the Baroque Palace, I had the chance to see the famous Helikon Library.

The Upper Harz Water Regale (Oberharzer Wasserregal) is a system of dams, reservoirs and ditches built from the 16th to 19th centuries to divert and store the water that drove the water wheels of the mines in the Upper Harz region. [German]

The Liechtenstein Garden Palace (Gartenpalais Liechtenstein) in Vienna houses a private art collection owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. Guided tours tell you about the collected masterpieces and the palace architecture.

The fortress of Kamerlengo (Tvrđava Kamerlengo) saw its construction by the Venetians in the 15th century. At that time, it extended existing structures in the old town of Trogir. This town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. [German]