Northern Europe
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Making the Most of the Helsinki Card: Attractions, Transport & Savings
A three day Helsinki Card might at first glance seem expensive as it costs €74 but as it covers a wide range of attractions and scenic boat trips that can cost at least €20 each then it’s possible to make substantial savings whilst using the card. It is also valid on public transport including trams,…
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Helsinki Weekend Break: The Ultimate Guide to Explore the City
Visiting Helsinki, Finland’s beautiful capital city is a delight at any time of year. Located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Helsinki archipelago consists of over 300 picturesque islands and wherever you are in the city, it is never far from the sea. Getting there: Helsinki International Airport is located in the…
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The Pullman Hotel, Cologne Review
Hotel Review Location: The hotel is located in a central yet peaceful location in the Innenstadt district of the city, just an easy 12 minute walk from the central railway station. Arrival and check-in: The spacious entrance lobby is bright and airy with modern furnishings. Check-in is from 3.00 p.m. and it was shortly after…
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Top Highlights of Cologne: Best Things to See and Do
The hotel’s restaurant appeared quieter than the previous morning but as breakfast is served between 7.00 and midday on Sundays, perhaps other guests were having a well earned lie in. We enjoyed tucking into a wide selection of healthy and perhaps not quite so healthy (but equally delicious) options to keep us going for most…
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Exploring Cologne: Top Things to See and Do
After enjoying a hearty breakfast in our hotel we popped on our coats and scarves and wandered along to Cologne Cathedral which had been closed the previous afternoon as a service was taking place. Fortunately, it was open and we were able to admire the majestic interior with its wonderful stained glass windows. This UNESCO…
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Arriving in Cologne: How to Get from the Airport and First Impressions of the City
After recently enjoying a winter break in Düsseldorf, we decided to turn our attention to neighbouring Cologne, another German city that we had yet to visit. Looking into airline schedules from Manchester we discovered that we could fly out at lunchtime on a Friday returning just before midnight on the Sunday allowing us plenty of…
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Düsseldorf’s Japanese Quarter: Exploring Little Tokyo in Germany
Our final day in Düsseldorf began with a leisurely buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express, then after packing up our belongings we took the U Bahn along to Graf-Adolf-Platz to enjoy a morning stroll around MedienHafen (Media Harbour) near the Rhine Tower we had visited the previous morning. This former abandoned city docks located…
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Düsseldorf Highlights: Benrath Palace & the Rheinturm Tower
After enjoying a delicious breakfast in our hotel we wrapped up warm as a strong wind was blowing and took the U Bahn to Graf Adolf Platz so that we could take a ride up The Rheinturm, one of the city’s landmarks (admission €9 (£7.47) or €5 (£4.15) with the Dusseldorf Card. Designed by Horst H…
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Düsseldorf Altstadt & the Altbier Safari
I really enjoy visiting Germany and noting that Eurowings had flights departing from Manchester mid-evening on a Friday we decided to head there for a weekend break. It was just a short 65 minute hop over to Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine Westphalia and our first experience of Eurowings, the low cost arm…
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Moscow’s Most Beautiful Metro Stations: A Guide to Stunning Underground Architecture
The Moscow metro is one of the most beautiful in the world. It was created as a showcase for the Soviet Union, and serves as a living museum with its stations adorned with mosaics, marble statues and stained glass that document the story of the Communist state. There are 12 lines and 223 stations on…
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Sokolniki Park Moscow at Christmas: Festive Lights and Winter Magic
Our week in Moscow had flown by and although we hadn’t seen one flake of snow which is so unusual for December, we’d experienced a fun filled week nonetheless. After enjoying a lazy breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant where we’d been welcomed each morning by the friendly waiters and waitresses, we put the finishing touches…
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Moscow Highlights: Iconic Metro Stations and Novodevichy
Our first stop of the day after breakfast was to the Vorobyovy Gory metro station located on a bridge over the Moskva river making it the only station on the network to have windows. Vorobyovy Gory is often used as an exhibition space and during our visit there were displays of fashion items in circular…
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Exploring Moscow’s Lubyanka District
After a leisurely breakfast we took the metro to Lubyanka to make a return visit to the Central Children’s Store next door to the station. It had only been open about 40 minutes and few people were about as we took one of the lifts to the top floor to visit the Museum of Childhood.…
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A Festive Visit to VDNKh Park Moscow: Christmas Lights and Ice Skating
After the previous morning’s disappointing egg order, I managed to achieve success by showing the chef a photo of some fried eggs on my iPad. She seemed to understand, smiled, and then served up some delicious, runny yolks for me to dip my toast into. Eventually we were ready to embark on a day’s sightseeing…
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Moscow University and its metro stations
We enjoyed another leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s executive lounge, which was lovely and quiet compared to the main restaurant across the corridor. I started the day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from a hand press which had a sign in front of it suggesting that it was good morning exercise. After…
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Discover Red Square and the Kremlin: Moscow’s Historic Heart
After sleeping like logs, we tucked into a delicious breakfast in the hotel’s executive lounge where we had been invited after receiving a complimentary room upgrade. The buffet selection was broadly similar to the main hotel restaurant but we received a more personal service from the waiting staff and were able to sit back and…
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Moscow – the ultimate winter break
The previous evening I had taken the train to London to meet up with my son in Hammersmith. We’d chosen Hammersmith as it was on the Piccadilly Line and meant we hadn’t far to trundle our large suitcases. After a tasty meal of fish and chips we returned to the nearby underground station for a…
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Stuttgart’s Rack Railway
We allowed ourselves an extra hour in bed and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. The IBIS had a good selection of hot and cold dishes and in one corner a waffle station where guests could make their own fresh waffles. As we had arranged a late check out we left our…
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Guide to Stuttgart’s Motor Museums: Mercedes-Benz & Porsche Experiences
After enjoying a varied selection of dishes for breakfast in our hotel’s restaurant we were ready to set off exploring. If cars are your thing then Stuttgart is definitely the place to visit as the city is the home of Mercedes and Porsche. Both of these motor manufacturers have museums on the outskirts of the…
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Stuttgart City Break: How to Get There, What to See, Do, and Eat
It was a wet and windy start to the day as we travelled by train to Manchester Airport for our lunch-time Ryanair flight to the German city of Stuttgart. There was ample time to pop into Costa for some pre-flight sandwiches and cups of coffee before boarding our Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Luckily I had been…
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Exploring Wrocław: what to see and do
After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, we checked out of our room and stored our luggage until late afternoon. The Ibis Styles Wroclaw Centrum had been a good choice for our short break and its location near the railway station and the airport bus terminus provided us with easy access to public transport.…
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The Best of Wrocław: What to See, Do, and Experience
Day One After enjoying recent visits to Gdansk and Warsaw we decided to spend a weekend in Wroclaw, Poland’s fourth largest city. Ryanair were offering low cost flights from Leeds-Bradford Airport on a Friday evening, enabling us to enjoy two full days in south western Poland. Our flight departed on time and in a little…
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Frankfurt’s Hidden Gem: The Deutsche Bundesbank Museum Guide
Our short break in Frankfurt was sadly drawing to a close as we enjoyed breakfast on our final morning at the IBIS Styles Frankfurt City. The hotel had been very pleasant ticking all the boxes for us with its modern stylish decor, good breakfast selection and quiet yet convenient location between the city’s central railway…
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Frankfurt Transport Museum: A Must for Transport Lovers
After a leisurely hotel breakfast, we wrapped up warm and set off to the nearby U Bahn station at Hauptbahnhof from where we travelled the short distance to Willy-Brandt-Platz. From there, we transferred to a No.12 tram which had conveniently just arrived as we were approaching the tram stop. It was then a 20 minute…
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