Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:51 AM PST

Valle Crucis Abbey in Llangollen, Wales

The last week has been much less stressful than the previous week. I flew from Berlin to Liverpool where I stayed for three nights at the Hotel Indigo. I mostly spent my time catching up on work, enjoying the warm(er) weather and doing a bit of exploration of the waterfront area. I also got a tour of Anfield Stadium, the home of the Liverpool Football Club.

On Friday, I hopped on the train and headed to Wales for the first time as a guest of Visit Wales. I went canoeing on a 200 year old aquaduct and visited several of the castles built by Edward I during his conquest of Wales. Both the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Edwardian castles are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I also paid a short visit to the train station with the longest place name in Europe: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. (no, I cannot pronounce it)

I’ve been very surprised by Wales. It gets overshadowed by England and Scotland, but there is a lot to see here and the scenery is quite beautiful. I’m looking forward to returning and exploring the southern part of Wales…although next time it will be in the summer. Because of the warm Gulf Stream winds, it is easy to forget how far north it is here. The sun is now setting around 4pm here which doesn’t leave a lot of time for photography.

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in the ferry terminal in Holyhead, Wales waiting to get on Ferry to Dublin. There have been seriously high winds here the last few days which has caused problems with sailing. A container ship capsized and several of the ferries have been canceled. I was supposed to get on a high speed ship at noon. Instead I’ll be on the slower 3.5 hour ship at 2:40pm.

If you are in Dublin or Belfast and would like to get a pint this week, feel free to drop me a line.

Links

The Mall of the World: The Chungking Mansion in Hong Kong Foreign Policy
China’s princelings pose an issue for the Communist Party Wall Street Journal
Me and the man with the iPad: Ethics of taking photos Reuters
Turducken: When one Thanksgiving bird isn’t enough Boston.com
The Loneliest Places On Earth Huffington Post

Originally posted on the Everything Everywhere Travel Blog. Discover great travel photos.

UNESCO World Heritage Site #160: Wartburg Castle

Posted: 27 Nov 2011 04:28 PM PST

UNESCO World Heritage Site #160: Wartburg Castle

From the World heritage inscription:

The Castle of Wartburg is an outstanding monument of the feudal period in central Europe. It is rich in cultural associations, most notably its role as the place of exile of Martin Luther, who composed his German translation of the New Testament there. It is also a powerful symbol of German integration and unity.

The legendary creation of the castle is attributed to Count Ludwig der Springer. The first steps in its construction were taken in 1067, and it became one of the key points in the early years of Ludovician sovereignty. This sovereignty grew more firmly established during the first half of the 12th century. Raised to the dignity of Landgraves, the Ludovicians supported the policies of the Stauffen emperors. The building of the palace in the second half of the 12th century illustrates their status as Princes of the Empire. In 1227 Heinrich Raspe IV, the brother of Ludwig IV, succeeded him and, espousing the pope’s cause, was appointed King of Germany on the initiative of Innocent IV. His death in 1247 ended the Ludovician dynasty.

Wartburg Castle seems to be a crossroad for much of German history. It was important in medieval German history as a fortification of the Ludovicians, it was where Martin Luther hid and translated the Bible into German, it was important in the 19th Century unification of Germany, and Wagner used it as the backdrop for his opera: Tannhäuser.

If you arrive in Eisenach by train, you will probably need to take a taxi to get to Wartburg Castle. It is less than a 10 minute trip, but it is located on the top of a small mountain and is a fair walk from the train station.

This was the fifth stop on my November 2011 Eurail trip of European UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

View my complete list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Originally posted on the Everything Everywhere Travel Blog. Discover great travel photos.