Bucharest, Romania

On March 26, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Romania2 Comments

Bucharest is the capital of Romania and was the first city that we visited during our trip to Romania before heading to Brasov. We were there in winter and the streets were covered with snow, but we still found it interesting. Bucharest became the capital of Romania in 1862 and was, at one time, considered to be “little Paris” because of its architecture and culture, but due to the wars, much of the architecture was destroyed. Although many of buildings have been restored, the city has evolved over time.

Like most historic cities, walking the streets of the old town area is certainly a worthwhile experience. You will find many restaurants, some old churches and buildings, as well as some modern shops and adult stores. Although there is a definite mix of utilitarian buildings as well as historic buildings, we definitely saw several very interesting buildings. It is certainly worth visiting the Galeria de Arta Romaneasca and the Central de la Universidad de Bucharest, with its statue of Carol I on horseback, has wonderful architectural features. The area is also known as Revolution Square and there is an interesting obelisk that is a monument for the anti-communist revolution of 1989.

There are several old churches that you can visit as well that are very interesting. One of the most interesting is the Church of Stavropoleos Monastery in old town Bucharest. With interesting murals inside on the walls and ceilings, its architecture is done in the Byzantine tradition. It is certainly quite a contrast to the buildings that surround it. We went to a couple of restaurants and found the people to be very friendly, but be sure to always have small change with you as the waiters are likely to tell you that they don’t have change in hopes of getting you to pay more than the actual price. We were fortunate enough to have musicians playing local, folk music at one of the restaurants that we visited.

In general, we found Bucharest to be a city of contrasts. It was our first experience in an Eastern European country and it was very fascinating. Bucharest is the sixth larges city in the European Union with almost 2.5 million residents, so it can certainly be busy. After leaving Bucharest, we went to Transylvania and the city of Brasov, which was quite different than the capital city and something that we would highly recommend. We will be visiting the neighboring country of Hungary and the city of Budapest in a couple of months and are anxious to compare our different experiences.

Saint Lorenz Church in Nuremberg, Germany

On March 18, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany5 Comments

Located in the heart of old town in Nuremberg, St. Lorenz Church dominates the skyline. It is a medieval church that was built in the 1400’s, although it was largely damaged during WWII like many other buildings in Germany. Dedicated to St. Lawrence, the church has many interesting features, both in the interior as well as the exterior. St. Lorenz Church was built in the gothic architectural style and is the largest church in Nuremberg. Originally a Catholic church, the church was converted to Lutheran after the reformation.

Gothic Architecture of the St. Lorenz Church

One of the most prominent features within the church is the hall choir with its tabernacle. There is also some beautiful artwork that had been donated by wealthy citizens when it was first built and remains there even after the reformation. Like all gothic churches, the stained glass windows are also very stunning. With its high ceilings and large nave, the music of the organ and choir must sound beautiful inside of this wonderful church.

The Most Stunning Feature Inside of the Church

St. Lorenz is the Church in the Background, St. Sebaldus is in the Foreground

Top of One of the Towers of St. Lorenz Church

Although St. Lorenz Church is the most prominent church in Nuremberg, there is also the Church of Our Lady, which is another wonderful gothic style church in downtown Nuremberg. The mechanical clock on the front façade of the Church of Our Lady is one of the most interesting features of the church. We did not go inside of the Church of Our Lady, but we imagine that it is quite beautiful as well. There is also the St. Sebaldus Church, which has twin towers that look almost identical to those of St. Lorenz Church. When looking out from the Nuremberg Castle, both churches rise above the rooftops of old town. We definitely enjoyed our trip to Nuremberg and the St. Lorenz Church was definitely one of the highlights of our time in this historic city.

The Twin Towers of Gothic and Romanesque Cathedrals

On January 8, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge4 Comments

One of the things that you notice as you visit cathedrals around the world are the twin towers on both gothic and Romanesque style cathedrals. They are certainly beautiful and provide a sense of symmetry, but we were curious if there was any particular symbolism behind them. We did what most people do today and did some searches on the internet to see if there was any significance in having towers flank the main entrance to the cathedral, but what discovered was that there apparently isn’t any particular meaning behind them, at least from a religious standpoint. More likely than not, it is just a preference by the artist or architect that created the design. One of the more interesting theories that we read about was that it was introduced by the Freemasons as part of their symbolism, but there are plenty of other theories surrounding the Freemasons. Regardless of whether there is meaning behind these pairs of towers, we have certainly enjoyed seeing them all around the world.