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Wachau Valley, Austria
During our four-night stay in Vienna, we devoted one day to exploring the Wachau Valley, the historic and pastoral region along the banks of the Danube only an hour west of the city. It gained UNESCO world heritage status in 2000 to preserve the region’s unique cultural landscape, which includes steeply terraced ancient vineyards separated by quaint historic villages. Walter Juraschek, our guide from two days prior, picked us up from our hotel and led our day-long private tour. We…
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Innere Stadt, Vienna, Austria
The Innere Stadt is Vienna’s historic central district encircled by the illustrious Ringstrasse. Packed to the gills with incredible architecture and history, I decided it’d be best for a guide to show us around the city center. Enter Walter Juraschek, a Viennese Native whose brain is filled with facts upon details upon facts of Austrian culture and history. Walter picked us up from our hotel, the enchanted Sans Souci, and gave us his version of the “best of” Innere Stadt…
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Schloss Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
One of the most delightfully surprising moments of our trip to Vienna occurred when we stumbled upon the majestic gardens of Schloss Belvedere. From the sumptuously elegant Sans Souci, our home away from home, Charles, the ladies, and I set out for the day in the direction of Schloss Belvedere, only a 30-minute walk from the hotel. En route we skirted the outer part of the Ringstrasse, passing the gilded Secession Building, one of the trademarks of the Vienna Secession…
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Neubau & the Ringstrasse, Vienna, Austria
Last fall, the Well-Traveled Fella planned a tour of Vienna and Budapest, and Charles’ two oldest friends from childhood, Meryl and Sharon, tagged along. Here are some scenes from our first day in Vienna. We began by exploring Neubau, Vienna’s 7th district—a vibrant, young, and artistic neighborhood. We then walked the Ringstrasse and had lunch at the illustrious Café Landtmann. Afterwards, we traipsed through the Volksgarten and made our way to the Leopold Museum in the MuseumsQuartier, where we spent…
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Bergamo, Italy
Scenes from Bergamo...
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Como, Italy
The city of Como is charming, walkable, and relatively non-touristy. It’s located at the southern tip of Lake Como’s Ramo di Como branch, and very accessible to the cities, towns, and lakes of northern Lombardy and Piemonte. Charles and I drove through Como en route to Filario Hotel, where we stayed for several nights while exploring the Lake Como region. I originally wrote off the city as being just a transportation hub for connections from Milan, but after getting a…
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Milan, Italy
I had heard mixed reviews about Milan: there are no sites to see; it’s too industrial; it’s too work-a-day and no play. It turns out, these are the exact reasons why I loved Italy’s number two. Charles and I stayed at the conveniently located ME Milan Il Duca on Piazza della Repubblica and walked everywhere. We were: We had one of our finer meals at Michelin-starred Contraste in the buzzing Navigli neighborhood, where it seemed all the young Milanese hung…
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Filario Hotel, Lezzeno, Italy
The Well-Traveled Fella has a list of set criteria when choosing a hotel. I like a clean and modern design throughout, at least a 4.5 Google star rating, a free-standing shower, a king-size bed (when travelling with Charles), a decent view, a room with at least 300 square feet of space, and a non-exorbitant price tag. In searching for a hotel in and around Lake Como, I found it particularly challenging to uncover options that met my standards. There are…
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Castles of Bellinzona, Switzerland
Bellinzona is the capital of Ticino, the only Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland. Located in a valley at the foot of the Alps, the city straddles the Fiume Ticino, which empties into nearby Lago Maggiore. Perched on hillsides surrounding the town are the three Castelli di Bellinzona, some of the best-preserved examples of medieval fortifications, which gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2000. Castelgrande, the oldest of the three, has been fortified since the late 1st century BC during the reign…
