Central and Eastern Europe Archives - Rachel's Ruminations

How to escape the crowds in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Rachel Heller — Tue, 02 May 2023 08:33:37 +0000

No matter how beautiful Dubrovnik is, the crowds can really ruin it for you. Here are some ways to escape the crowds in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

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Fortified Churches of Transylvania

Rachel Heller — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:45:00 +0000

Seven of the 150 castle-like fortified churches of Transylvania make up a UNESCO World Heritage site, built by Saxon settlers in the Middle Ages.

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Communist Prague: 4 places to learn about it

Rachel Heller — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 15:04:00 +0000

Here are four things to do and see to learn about life in Communist Prague – and Czechoslovakia as a whole – during the Cold War era.

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Visiting Cesky Krumlov Castle and UNESCO site

Rachel Heller — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 11:59:21 +0000

On your trip to Czechia, besides Prague, I highly recommend visiting Cesky Krumlov and the imposing Czesky Krumlov Castle.

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Hluboká Castle, South Bohemia, Czechia: Wow!

Rachel Heller — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 09:42:57 +0000

Hluboká Castle is a 19th-century castle in Czechia crammed with a stunning collection of furnishings and exceedingly accomplished workmanship.

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Villa Tugendhat UNESCO site in Brno, Czechia

Rachel Heller — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 09:20:51 +0000

Villa Tugendhat UNESCO site in Brno, Czechia, designed by Mies van der Rohe: a masterpiece of functionalist architecture & function over form.

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What to see in Brno: 3 macabre sights

Rachel Heller — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 15:15:00 +0000

What to see in Brno? An ossuary, a crypt full of mummies, and a nuclear bomb shelter made my day of sightseeing in Brno distinctly macabre.

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Ruminations on an Auschwitz Tour

Rachel Heller — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 08:01:00 +0000

Ruminations on a tour of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where Nazis turned genocide into an industrial enterprise, efficiently turning over a million souls to ashes.

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The KGB Museum in Riga, Latvia

Rachel Heller — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 13:49:22 +0000

You could easily miss the KGB Museum in Riga if you didn’t know where to look. Commonly referred to as “the Corner House,” it looks on the outside like a quite stylish residential building. I walked right by it and had to retrace my steps a block or two away. Basically what the KGB did...

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A Riga City Tour: 10+ things to see in Riga

Rachel Heller — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:31:18 +0000

This could have been a review of a tour that doesn’t actually exist. What I mean is that the Riga city tour I took was sponsored by #LiveRiga, a campaign of the Riga Tourism Development Bureau, but it is not run on a scheduled basis. Rather, our guide, Juris Berze, is a freelance tour guide,...

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