Kauai tourist attractions, Hawaii

Kauai is indeed a typical Hawaiian island. Often called the Garden Island, Kauai is covered by luxuriant tropical vegetation watered by heavy rainfall.
Being the oldest island in the archipelago, it also has a lengthy coastline of amazing sandy beaches with some amazing Hawaii beach homes.
The top tourist attractions of Kauai are the natural parks and the coastal region with spectacular cliffs and secluded beaches. Some of the best are:

Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific is a quite a view. Great for hikers and campers, it resembles it's counterpart in Arizona but has more vegetation.

Kauai Hawaii, Waimea Canyon

Na Pali Coast, on the western part of Kauai, is the iconic view of the island. Here, stunning high mountain cliffs reach the ocean. Given the steepness of the cliffs, tourist can reach the beaches and caves only by sea. Experienced hikers with the proper equipment can also hike around the coast.

Na Pali Coast, Kauai Hawaii

Typical Kauai beach

Hanalei, a simple Hawaiian village on the northern part of the island. This is a great way to get a glimpse of romantic Hawaii, yet untouched by mass tourism.

The village of Hanalei, Kauai

Tourist attractions in New Mexico

New Mexico is one of the mountain states of the United States. This makes the area really worth visiting for hiking and trekking lovers. There are a lot of canyons and unspoiled areas where the Western atmosphere is present.

Some of the best tourist attractions in the state of New Mexico are:
1. The Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This is a really nice place to go hiking and visit the spectacular caverns. The park is an UNESCO World Heritage site and has more than 117 caves with 3 of them open to the public and ready for you to explore.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Outside Carlsbad caverns entrance

2. Jemez Springs, a small village in Sandoval County, New Mexico. The village is surrounded by national reserves, nature lovers can get accommodation in one of the traditional inns in the region and check out the wilderness.

Bridge to Spence hot springs near Jemez

3. Roswell - the UFO capital of the world. The town itself is interesting but Roswell is now famous for the 1947 UFO incident when an unknown object crashed in the area. The local business community is now deliberately targeting tourists interested in UFOs, science fiction, and aliens.

Roswell UFO museum 

Wat Rong Khun Buddhist Temple, Thailand

Wat Rong Khun is a spectacular Buddhist Temple in Chiang Rai,  Thailand.
The unconventional and incredibly complex architecture of the temple made it a very popular attraction. It can be compared to the iconic  Sagrada Família in Barcelona; still unfinished with construction expected to complete in 2070 the Wat Rong Khun temple is not at all a common Buddhist place of worship.
The place is truly amazing, it has a design originality beyond compare and the attention to detail is impressive.
The buildings are all white in order to inspire the idea of purity and they are covered with mirror mosaics so seeing them shine in the sun is quite a view.
It is best to visit the Wat Rong Khun temple in the morning as it's a popular attraction so it gets quite crowded during the day.

Wat Rong Khun, Thailand

Wat Rong Khun Buddhist Temple

Wat Rong Khun temple details

Panajachel and Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Panajachel is a town in Guatemala, on the shore of Lake Atitlan, a large volcanic lake situated in the Guatemalan Highlands.
Although Panajachel itself is not very interesting, it serves as a departure point for tourists that want to explore Lake Atitlan and the surrounding towns and villages. Just outside town there's also a National Park that can be visited just to go hiking and admire the monkeys and other wildlife.
The main attraction in the small town of Panajachel is Casa Cakchiquel, the first hotel in town enjoyed by many intellectuals and public figures such as Ernesto "Che" Guevara.
Lake Atitlan has a huge surface and is known to be the deepest lake in Central America. The towns and villages in the area are worth visiting by tourists that like hiking and enjoy the open air. Small boats can also be used for transport and for exploring the lake. 

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala 

Panajachel and Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

 Panajachel shopping street, Guatemala

Plitvice Lakes National Park Croatia

A wonder of nature, the Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest national park in Croatia. Added on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979, the park is well known for it's spectacular waterfalls and turquoise lakes.
Having around 1.500.000 visitors every year, the natural site is one of the main attractions in Croatia today. The site was well known even in the 19th century when the area was part of the Austrian Empire.
After the end of the Croatian war, the Plitvice Lakes National Park was among the first to be de-mined and in 1998 it was deemed mine free and removed from the UNESCO list of endangered sites.
The main attractions are the waterfalls on the Plitvica river and its tributary streams. The lakes that form on the river canyon are also amazing, you can follow a path around them and admire the travertine coloured water and the multitude of endemic species.
Even brown bears are present in the park so make sure you follow the designated paths and make some noise to scare them away as they usually tend to avoid humans.

Plitvice Lakes waterfall, Croatia

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Plitvice National Park, turquoise lakes

Plitvice lakes canyon

Visiting the Berliner Dom and crypt

The Berliner Dom is the Cathedral of the Evangelical Church in Berlin Germany.
An icon of the city, the Dom was built in the 15th century as a Roman Catholic church. The church was Lutheran since 1539, Calvinist since 1613 and from 1817 Evangelical Protestant as it is today.
A visit of the Dom is recommended if you find yourself on the Museum Island, on the Mitte district of Berlin.
You can find a lot about the history of the place and the reconstruction after the damage of the allied bombing in WWII. The Berliner Dom reconstruction started in 1975 and was completed in 1993.
Be prepared to climb some steps in order to reach the dome and spend some time there enjoying a very nice view of central Berlin.
The church crypt is also quite impressing; it contains 94 entombments of Prussian kings and queens. The Hohenzollern Crypt is one of the most important royal burial places in Europe and you can see that just by looking at the impressive coffins.

The Berliner Dom in Mitte, Berlin

View of Museum Island from the Cathedral dome, Berlin

Berliner Dom seen from the Alexanderplatz TV Tower 

Berliner Dom crypt

Hermannstadt, Romania - jewel of Transylvania

Hermannstadt is the old Saxon name of Sibiu, a lovely city situated in the province of Transylvania, Romania.
The city is very proud of its German heritage so even the entry board to the municipality is bilingual and specifies the old name of Hermannstadt.
First mentioned in 1191 Sibiu has always been an important city in Transylvania and Romania.
It is now very popular with travellers for its medieval city centre that was built inside and outside the walls and towers of the old fortifications.
Hermannstadt has a lot to offer, even if you've visited most of the city centre note that it has a great nighlife since it's packed with students.
Among other things worth visiting is the ASTRA ethnography museum park that features houses and workshops of the traditional Romanian folk culture from the pre-industrial era.
If you like to disconnect a little you should know that the city administers the Păltiniş sky resort. Situated at 1440m altitude Păltiniş is not far from Sibiu and even the road there gives you breathtaking views of the Carpathian Mountains.

Hermannstadt Romania, the Small Plaza

Hermannstadt Romania, medieval city street

Sibiu medieval fortifications

Păltiniş ski resort near Sibiu, Romania

Beer and Bratwurst in Potsdam, Germany

If you are set on exploring the gardens and palaces of Potsdam you are definitely going to need a good lunch and everybody will recommend you to try the tasty German bratwurst.
An amazing place to eat some local dishes and have some quality beer is Meierei. Situated in the New Garden of Potsdam it's just a short walk from the Cecilienhof palace, this is a working brewery with a nice indoor restaurant and a fantastic beer garden just by the river.
If it's sunny outside you should really go for the beer garden even thou it might be packed with locals. The bratwurst goes very well with mustard, fries and that tasty fresh beer. Since the view is amazing and the beer is so good you might want to spend some time in this relaxing place so make sure you don't spend all day walking in the gardens of the Potsdam palaces.

The Meierei beer garden and brevery in Potsdam

Lake view from the beer garden, Potsdam, Germany

The iconic building of the Meierei brewery, Potsdam

Things to visit in Morocco's Capital, Rabat

Rabat is the capital city of Morocco and you can imagine it has a whole lot to offer.
One of the top travel destinations in the Arabian world, Rabat is only the third largest city of Morocco but nevertheless it's the most important in terms of administration and tourism.
The main sights of the city are:

• The mausoleum of Mohammed V. Completed in 1971 it serves as a tomb to Mohammed V, a former sultan of Morrocco and his his two sons, late King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah. The building is a masterpiece of late Islamic architecture.

The mausoleum of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco

• The ruins of Chellah situated at the outskirts of the city. This is a complex of ruins of an ancient roman town that continued to develop until the middle ages.

The ruins of Chellah, Rabat, Morocco

• The old gates to the city: Bab Oudaïa, Bab El-Had and Bab-Rouah.

Bab Oudaïa gate, Rabat, Morocco

 Bab-Rouah gate, Rabat, Morocco

Locks on love bridges around Europe

The symbolic gesture of affixing a padlock on a tourist busy bridge or near a popular attraction in Europe is getting popular in most travel busy destinations. You can spot love locks all over Europe in destinations like Prague, Paris, Rome or even cities not so romantic in nature like Berlin.
The origin of using love locks by couples that want to show their everlasting love is disputed, it may have started after WWII in Serbia or more recently in Italy.
Although some see them as damaging to the architecture and even the structure of the bridges I thing that the locks are here to stay as a symbolic expression of love.

Love locks in Cologne, Germany

Love locks on Ponte Milvio, Rome

Love locks in Paris, over the Seine

Burg Eltz Castle, Germany

One of the jewels on the Rhine valley, the Burg Eltz Castle has never been destroyed and still has a large part of that same awesome 12th century architecture.
As a matter of fact the 12th the Burg Eltz Castle is still owned by the same family that built it centuries ago.
This is a fantastic and real medieval castle, well worth a day trip if you are in Germany. Make sure you are fit for a hike since to reach it you will have to walk through the woods the for around 30 minutes.

Walk to Burg Eltz Castle, Germany

Burg Eltz Castle, Germany

Burg Eltz Castle and the nearby landscape