This gallery contains 22 photos.
This day was our day in Khiva. We started in the morning with a half day guided tour to the main sights – all of course well described, with historic background and details on architecture and art. The afternoon was … Continue reading
We made it into Khiva and Uzbekistan a further long drive, a bureaucratic border crossing and another one hour drive later. The hotel was straight next to the West Gate of the old town, so I ventured our for some first impressions … and did not get disappointed (actually – Khiva was my personal highlight of the whole trip … but judge yourself).
We left Ashgabat in the (very) early morning to catch a flight to Dashogus in the North of Turkmenistan. Here a bus was waiting for us for a three hours journey to the ruins and necropolis of Konye-Urgench.
This used to be the thriving metropolis (and capital at stages) of the Khorezm empire back in the 12th and early 13th century until the city was hit by Chinggis Khan in 1221. While the town was rebuilt, however in the late 14th century the nearby Amu-Darya river changed course, leaving the city dry; on top another invader – this time Timur – destroyed the city once more in 1388. Refer to this wikipedia article for more details on the history, as well as details on the sights.
We started our tour of this UNESCO heritage site with a visit of the Turabeg Khanym Complex (I stick with ‘complex’ here … it is sometimes referred to it as mosque, sometimes as mausoleum, sometimes as complex – which I consider the most neutral); from here walked past graves and mausoleums (the whole area is a huge necropolis) to the Gutlug Timur Minaret (at 59 meters the highest on the trip) and finished our visit with stops at the Sultan Tekesh and the Il-Arslan Mausoleums (the latter being the oldest standing monument in Konye-Urgench).
This gallery contains 20 photos.
On my past trips the focus had always been on nature, so it was about time to look into history again … and somehow the old Silk Road came to my mind … Samarkand, 1001 night, Marco Polo, caravansaries … … Continue reading
This gallery contains 19 photos.
The last few years the Easter holidays saw me on city trips in Europe with friends; this year I was staying in Germany for an extended weekend in Cochem at the Moselle river with my parents instead. We made it … Continue reading
This gallery contains 16 photos.
When I was asked if I was interested in a weekend trip to Milan in February – a week before leaving – I was slightly hesitant … however as the airfare turned out fitting, I just got booked … on … Continue reading
As we had landed at Cape Horn, we now had to continue to Puerto Williams to officially clear into Chile – and the out again. Final port of call was at good, old Ushuaia on the Argentinian side of the Beagle Channel. It was here, where we left the Hanseatic (after many good-byes to the staff) and jumped on a plane to Buenos Aires.
We had another 24 hours in Buenos Aires – (what happened in Buenos Aires, stays in Buenos Aires) – before flying back to Germany – and into normality.
This gallery contains 12 photos.
We made it North through the Drake Passage – until we hit the Southern-most point of the Americas at Cape Horn. After a short excursion into the Pacific, we made it back into the Atlantic and dropped anchor at the … Continue reading
Being with a German cruise company this time also meant that certain traditions had to be followed – one being to have a Bavarian “Frühschoppen” on one day of the cruise, including traditional foods and music.
This gallery contains 12 photos.
From Paradise Harbour we – again – continued North, now heading for Neko Harbour – our last Antarctic shore landing. Similar to the previous landing, we once more had the opportunity to walk up a hill behind the landing site … Continue reading