German Impressions XI

If there is one thing Paris doesn't have and I miss - it is surely a harbour. So everytime I am close to a harbour I go picture mad and snap like a papparazzi as evident during my trip to Hamburg,

The last photo maybe of interest to european chic readers from the 'new world'. It is the Emigration Museum BallinStadt in Hamburg and I can highly recommend it. I learned a lot about migration here.

Any guesses what the architectural model (below) is? I took the photo in a museum and am quite puzzled.

photos: european chic

French Impressions XI

Every once in a blue moon a city girl yearns for the countryside and some culture and where else can you so easily combine the two of them than by visiting the Le château de Monte-Cristo which is close to Paris (30 minutes from Gare St. Lazare), the home of writer Alexandre Dumas. The château is placed in a lovely parc and cosisnts of the main building (first photo) and Dumas' writing retreat which is flanked by a stone dog-in-his-dog-house (below) - which is too cute for words. Personally, I wouldn't mind owning the small château...

photos: european chic

German Impressions X

I was lucky to visit Berlin again just a few short weeks after my last trip. This time we looked for traces of the Berlin wall (above and below), treated ourselves to a fancy hotel, admired the buildings of the city, and enjoyed the variety of shops and all they have on offer. 

All photos: european chic

German Impressions IX

Enfin, photos from my trip to Berlin, one of the most the dynamic capitals in Europe!

Above and the next two photos are from Rosenstrasse, the site of a major resistance of ordinary citizens against the jailing of their (Jewish) relatives in 1943. Afterwards, you see photos of Clärchens Ballhaus a eating and dancing venue which is over 100 years old and was a major hangout of German bohemians and artists such as Otto Dix and Alfred Döblin. The design hasn't changed at all and has a morbid charm. The last few photos are from Kreuzberg, a cool neighbourhood formerly located next to the wall.

All photos: European Chic

British Impressions IV

It has been a long time that I have posted photos from the UK - not because I do not visit reguarly, it is close by after all, but because London especially is such a busy city that I forget to take photos when I go.

The last few photos are from St. Albans, an ancient Roman city north of London, on a busy market day. I bet market day 500 or even 1000 years ago was not much different than today; people being busy shopping, bargaining, talking to friends and neighbours, eating and drinking.

 The hotel lobby

All photos: European Chic



French Impressions X

We're going to the French countryside for the 10th edition of French Impressions... ! As promised in February here is the second part of European Chic's reader beautiful photos from the Bordeaux region. Ah, to have a house there... it is so easily accessible from Paris. Just looking at these photos makes me thirsty so I shall pour myself a wine later today.

Photos: Eileenr