travel
More running in Nafplio
In my last post I showed you the lovely walkway in Nafplio. If you turn right at the end of the walkway (instead of heading left back into town), you find yourself on a lovely trail which is perfect for an evening run.
Be careful though, it is much tougher (and longer) than the walkway; even though it follows the cliff there are lots of steep uphills and downhills, but if I lived in Nafplio it could easily become one of my regular route. And if you’re brave you can run up some very steep switchbacks from the beach to the top of the hill – all the way to the fortress.
The Palace on the Water
The Palace on the Water, or Lazienki Palace in Polish, is in the middle of Warsaw Baths Park. It was originally built as a bath house, and later converted into a private residence.
It is build on an artificial island in the middle of the lake, dividing the lake into 2. I (quite literally) ran across it while going for a long run in Warsaw. The surrounding park has many spots where you can have a nice picnic, or just sit on the grass while admiring the facade of the palace.
Of historical interest it is one of the few buildings that was not destroyed in World War 2. The German army drilled holes in the walls to blow it, but never got around to it.
The palace is open to visitors.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was build in 161 AD, and is still used as a theatre today. That probably makes it one of the oldest theatre in the world. The oldest is the Theatre of Dionysius – right next door, If you walk to the top of the Acropolis you will see a wonderful view of the theatre.
Barcelona Cathedral
The Barcelona Cathedral is a typical gothic cathedral with its tall detailed columns stretching up to the sky, spreading outwards like upside down tree routes to form the vaulted ceiling. When we were in Barcelona I visited the cathedral many times. Partly because it was so awe-inspiring to stand under that roof, and partly because it was about 100m from our apartment. Every hour we heard the bells of the cathedral beat out the time, and after a while it became almost reassuring to hear the bells as I drifted off to sleep after spending an evening wondering around the gothic quarter of Barcelona.
Horse and carriages in Vienna
It is a little touristy, but it is rather relaxing to explore a city riding in an elegant horse carriage. Vienna is one of the many cities where you can do so, pretending that you are the gentry being driven around the city.
In fact in Vienna they even have horse carriage rides at the Central Cemetery. The Cemetery is massive – just under 500 acres, so its not a bad idea at all.
