Berlin is a city of contrast. While exploring the streets there are many grand buildings and monuments to remember the past and to learn from it. On the flipside there is a sense of restructure with a skyline full of cranes and construction works happening at every turn. We walked through the Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews. The simple design of the memorial with blocks of varying height gave an airy feeling and the museum underneath with personal stor...

Dresden was devastated in WWII with over 25,000 civilian lives lost during an Allied bombing. One of the city's icons is the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) which was completely destroyed and has since finished reconstruction in 2005. The outside of the church is an eye catching blend of old and new as they've tried to incorporate as much of the original stones as possible. Today Dresden is a hub for culture and arts and upon arriving we received a healthy s...

Prague is one of the only cities in 'Eastern' Europe that was not devastated by WWII. Unlike the other historic towns that we have visited, the renaissance and baroque buildings are original. Prague is home to the largest ancient castle in the world and walking around the complex it is amazing to think how many powers have changed hands at this site from Kings of Bohemia, Roman Emperors to Czech Republic officials. Czech Republic is known for its great beer an...

Vienna is full of gorgeous baroque architecture. We stayed with a lovely couple who we met in Yangshuo, China (thanks Silvia and Rudolf!). They were kind enough to take us under their wing and we got to experience more than just the tourist sights of Vienna. On our first night they took us to a traditional Viennese summer winery 'heurigen' with some of their family where we sampled the local wine and food. The outdoor garden was bustling with locals having a Su...

Our affair with Slovakia was a brief 2 days. We arrived on a public holiday which coincided with festivities in the Old Town. We enjoyed the live music while sampling some Slovak beer, wine and cheese.