Wednesday, April 13, 2016

The Best Moments of My Travelling Days - European Capitals & Iconic Landmarks

Map of Europe

The world is so big.
I want to have a look !

My first visit to Europe was in 2009 at the age of 59. In subsequent years, I made another four more yearly trips to Europe and I had to date visited a total of 45 countries. There are 4-5 more European countries (ie Belarus, Ukraine, Malta, Serbia & Iceland) I yearn to see and hopefully these dreams can be achieved soon ! 

It is interesting to note that Vienna, Copenhagen, Stockholm & Berlin are currently rated as the best places to live in Europe. However, the two most visited cities in Europe are London & Paris followed by Amsterdam & Rome. A number of Eastern European cities ie Prague, Budapest, Warsaw & the Balkan states are very affordable to travel and their old town squares are gorgeous to visit ! Many of the European capital cities have iconic landmarks & buildings, very traditional & unique for tourists to admire. 

Looking back, all my days of travelling to Europe were well rewarded & a wholesome one ! 

Following are the capital cities of Europe I visited from 2009-2012 & 2014 :

1) Albania - Tirana

Scanderbeg Square

2) Andorra - Andorra La Vella

La Noblesse de Temps

3) Austria - Vienna

Schoenbrunn Palace

4) Belgium - Brussels

Grand Place

5) Bosnia & Herzegovina - Sarajevo


Latin Bridge

6) Bulgaria - Sofia

Cathedral Saint Alexander Nevski

7) Croatia - Zagreb

St Mark's Church

8) Czech Republic - Prague

Old Town (Stare Mesto)

9) Denmark - Copenhagen


Nyhavn


10) England - London

Tower of  London

11) Estonia - Tallinn

Tallinn Old Town

12) Finland - Helsinki

Helsinki Cathedral

13) France - Paris

Eiffel Tower

14) Germany - Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

15) Gibraltar - Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar

16) Greece - Athens

Acropolis

17) Hungary - Budapest

Parliament

18) Ireland - Dublin

The Temple Bar

19) North Ireland - Belfast

City Hall

20) Italy - Rome

The Colosseum

21) Kosovo - Pristina

Bill Clinton Statute

22) Latvia - Riga

Riga Town Hall Square

23) Liechtenstein - Vaduz

Vaduz Castle

24) Lithuania - Vilnius

Vilnius Old Town

25) Luxembourg - Luxembourg City

La Chemin de la Corniche

26) Macedonia - Skopje

The Stone Bridge

27) Moldova - Chisinau

Stefan cel mare Park

28) Monaco - Monaco City

Monte Carlo Casino

29) Montenegro - Podgorica

Sahat Kula Old Ottoman Clock Tower

30) Netherlands - Amsterdam

Nyhavn

31) Norway - Oslo

Tjuvholem Sculpture Park

32) Poland - Warsaw

Palace of Culture & Science

33) Portugal - Lisbon

Praca do Comercio

34) Romania - Bucharest

Palace of the Parliament

35) Russia - Moscow

Saint Basil's Cathedral

36) San Marino - San Marino City

Piazza della Liberta

37) Scotland - Edinburgh

Royal Mile

38) Slovakia - Bratislava

Bratislava Old Town

39) Slovenia - Ljubljana

Dragon Bridge

40) Spain - Madrid

Royal Palace of Madrid

41) Sweden - Stockholm

Stockholm Old Town

42) Switzerland - Berne

Clock Tower

43) Turkey - Ankara

Kizilay Square, Ankara

44) Vatican City - Vatican City

St Peter's Square

45) Wales - Cardiff

Cardiff Castle

Yet to Visit - KIV
Belarus - Minsk
Iceland - Reykjavik
Malta - Valletta
Serbia - Belgrade
Ukraine - Kiev

The Best Moments of My Travelling Days - Asian Pacific Capitals & Iconic Landmarks

Seeing the World through your own eyes !

Asian Countries

1) China - Beijing

The Great Wall at Badaling

2) Hong Kong - Hong Kong was a British colony for 150 years till 1997. Now a Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China 

Hong Kong Skyline

3) India - New Delhi

India Gate

4) Japan - Tokyo


Tokyo Tower

5) Kazakhstan - Almaty (former capital of Kazakhstan from 1936-1991, present capital is Astana)


Astana Square, Almaty

6) Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek

Ala-Too Square

7) Macau - Macau was a Portuguese colony from mid-16th century until late 1999. Now a Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China

Ruins of St Paul's

8) Mongolia - Ulan Bator

Genghis Khan Square

9) Nepal - Kathmandu

Patan Durbar Square

10) South Korea - Seoul

Gyeongbokgung Palace

11) Sri Lanka - Colombo

Colombo Fort Railway Station

12) Taiwan - Taipei

Taipei 101

13) Maldives - Male (2017)


South Pacific Countries


1) Australia - Canberra

Australian War Memorial

2) New Zealand - Wellington


"Beehive" Parliament Building

Yet to visit - KIV

1) Bhutan
2) North Korea
3) Bangladesh
4) Tajikistan
5) Uzbekistan
6) Turkmenistan
7) Pakistan
8) Papua New Guinea
9) East Timor

The Best Moments of My Travelling Days - Middle Eastern & African Capitals & Iconic Landmarks


Middle East countries

1) Jordan - Amman (visited Sept 2008)

Amman Citadel

2) Syria - Damascus (visited Sept 2018)

Umayyad Mosque

3) United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi (visited Jan 2018)

Sheith Zayed Grand Mosque

4) Oman - Muscat (visited Jan 2018) 

Muttrah Corniche

5) Iran - Teheran (visited March 2018)

Azadi Tower

Africa Continent


1) Egypt - Cairo (visited Oct 2008)

The Sphinx &  The Pyramid

2) Morocco - Rabat (yet to visit but visited Fez in 2012)

Medina - Fez