Jewels in the Crown of the Prince of Darkness
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Jewels in the Crown of the Prince of Darkness

Genoa, “La Superba”, proudly stands apart from the rest of the country – and, in many ways, does not feel like an Italian city at all. It is neither elegant (like Milan) nor full of joie de vivre (like Naples), and it is certainly not an open-air museum where everything has been neatly arranged for…

Romanesque Architecture in Cologne
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Romanesque Architecture in Cologne

Ready for more “Cologne through the prism of its Romanesque architecture”? All right then, here we go. This week, we shall visit six more early medieval churches, now turning our attention to the southern half of Cologne’s Old Town. We will walk through some pretty and picturesque streets with much local atmosphere, making sure that…

Discovering the Romanesque Churches of Cologne
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Discovering the Romanesque Churches of Cologne

Why is Germany such an uncool travel destination? One reason, I suspect, is that most of her major cities come across as rather charmless. Not that they lack historical interest or scenic spots. The problem is that any such attractions have been buried in mundane urban fabric and that you have to look for them…

Where are the Russian Churches on the Riviera?
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Where are the Russian Churches on the Riviera?

Elsewhere in the world, the word may be that “the Russians are coming”; in the coastal region between Nice and Sanremo, they have arrived long ago and been part of the local communities for well over 150 years Once upon a time, before the advent of satellite TV dishes and the world-wide web, immigrants, even…

Want to Experience Easter in the Churches of Ios?
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Want to Experience Easter in the Churches of Ios?

If you like Greek Orthodox churches and chapels, you would love the churches of Ios. Hiking (and driving) through Ios, you cannot miss the fact that there seem to be an awfully large number of churches and chapels around. No field or farm, no hill and certainly no mountain, no promontory and not even the…