And despite it’s well-trodden tourist trail, Europe is also scattered with unique, odd, and extremely obscure sites and attractions that visitors often overlook. Museums dedicated to currywurst in Germany or phallic objects in Iceland; odd sculptures and street art installations in Sarajevo, Prague, and Paris; and the uniqueness of Antoni Gaudi’s works in Barcelona offer visitors respite from admiring yet another baroque church or breathtaking vista.

While the Eiffel Tower or Colosseum are at little risk of losing their prestige to many these lesser-known sites, visitors seeking offbeat attractions will find plenty to marvel at in Europe. During our time exploring this continent we stumbled onto our fair share of unique, obscure, and sometimes plain weird sites. Here are a few of our favorites.

Gnome Sculptures – Wroclaw, Poland

Hundreds of small bronze gnome sculpture, about a foot in height, are scattered through the historic core of Wroclaw, Poland and surrounding neighbourhoods. “Cool” gnomes riding motorcycles, wizard gnomes in tall pointy hats, and environmentally conscious gnomes pushing recycling bins are tucked into corners, suspended form lampposts, and hidden in plain sight for those that know where to look. Anyone want to play I spy?

Comic Strip Murals – Brussels, Belgium

“Yoko Tsuno” – You can really see the size

Much like Gdansk’s gnomes, the city of Brussels is dotted with epic murals depicting a range of famous and obscure comic book characters. Tintin (and his little dog Snowy) is likely the most famous characters to appear in these murals, however even non-comic book reading visitors are sure to spot a few other familiar faces while exploring the city. They murals even have a Wikipedia page.

Pregnant Lady Street Art Installation – Prague, Czech Republic

image via

A contender for the strangest piece of public art we’ve seen to date, this sculpture depicts a pregnant lady, kneeling on the ground with her legs spread and her hands firmly clasped behind her head. Still not obscure enough for Prague, the sculpture is created out of shiny aluminum and is very reminiscent of a lego sculpture.  Overtly sexual, somehow the sculpture works in Prague, even if passing school children look up at it with puzzled expressions.

Carmo Convent – Lisbon, Portugal

Rows of large arches

Ruined by earthquake in 1755, today all that remains of Carmo Convent are the beautiful Gothic pillars of the former church and a small museum. These exterior elements of Carmo Convent are quite stunning, especially on a sunny day, and the site’s museum houses two Peruvian mummies from the 16th century – an off-putting display that only gets creepier upon closer inspection. A real contender for oldest human hair we’ve ever seen in person.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery – Paris, France

The presence of graffiti shows we are in the right place

As far as cemeteries go, Pere Lachaise is far from the strangest we’ve had the chance to explore. What makes Pere Lachaise so unique is that it is the final resting place for The Doors frontman Jim Morrison, whose headstone has grown into something of a shrine. Forty plus years since his death, fans still leave flowers, graffiti, and the odd joint in tribute to Morrison, while a security guard watches to ensure no one jumps the guard rails surrounding his headstone.

Museum of Broken Relationships – Zagreb, Croatia

Rage and Fury Room (via)

It’s always a good sign when you first hear about a quirky museum like this while washing your laundry in an equally quirky laundromat in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and as promised, the Museum of Broken Relationships did not disappoint. The museum’s premise is quite simple – helping people emotionally overcome a failed relationship by contributing to their collection. In under an hour we browsed the personal belongings of hundreds of contributors from around the world. Some of these displays were funny, others angering, touching, or the equivalent of emotional napalm, but all were wonderfully quirky.

Abandoned Beelitz Sanitorium – Berlin, Germany

Delving deeper into Berlin and it’s tumultuous history, I signed up for a tour of the abandoned Beelitz Sanitorium just outside the city limits. A short walk from the primitive train station, in a small clearing, three buildings sit in a horseshoe shape. Constructed in 1902, these buildings first served as a tuberculosis clinic before becoming a hospital during both World Wars, even treating then soldier Adolf Hitler during the first World War. During the Cold War, this site was the largest Soviet hospital outside of Russia before being deserted in the early nineties. Many a rave have been held here since, and while the crumbling buildings are beginning to show their age, their original beauty is still evident.

Museum of Art Fakes – Vienna, Austria

Small space, big art (fakes)

Incorrectly reading the hours of operation for this tiny museum, Travis and I returned three times before we finally got our timing right, however all this back and forth was completely worth it to delve into the world of art fakes. In addition to learning about the immense level of effort that goes into creating an art fake, from the aged paper used to specific hardening processes, brush strokes, and in one case egg yolk washes, we were able to come face to face with fakes so good that they were verified as authentic and sold for millions of dollars.

Europe offers visitors so many different types of attractions, it really is a mixed bag of so many wonderful things. Have you had a chance to visit Europe? What’s the most off-beat or quirky attraction you’ve seen there?

The post Offbeat Europe – 8 Unique and Lesser Known Attractions appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Heart shaped gingerbread

Pretty handmade pendant necklaces – I bought myself one of the acorn ones as an early Christmas present!

Nuremberg’s Christmas Market is known for their prune men

A beautiful star shaped glass ornament

These handmade teddy bears were my favorite “gift-able” item from the Nuremberg market

Among the classic ornaments there are also more modern options. This comically shaped dog caught my eye.

Tomorrow we will be back with a post all about our feelings about being away from home over the holidays (for the first time ever!). Although we totally understand if you are a bit preoccupied to read it, may we also point out that catching up on a post about Christmas once the day itself is over might be a bit depressing. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

To everyone out there – friends, family, enemies, strangers, adorable puppies in Turkey… we would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas!

The post The Crafts of the Bavarian Christmas Markets appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

It’s no secret that we thoroughly enjoyed our inauguration to the European Christmas Market scene last year during our visit to Vienna. In fact we enjoyed ourselves so much, we made a point to visit as many Christmas Markets as possible before flying home for Christmas 2012. Therefore, when we decided to celebrate the holidays in Europe this year, instead of flying home, it wasn’t a hard decision to return to central Europe and celebrate the holidays in Bavaria, deep in the heart of Christkindlmarkt country.

In addition to hosting some of Europe’s oldest Christmas Markets, Bavaria is also home to many of the world’s most popular markets; the Nuremberg Christmas Market is visited by about two million people each year. In addition to the wonderful holiday atmosphere and unique handmade products for sale at the Christmas markets, part of the draw of German Christmas Markets over others in Europe has to be the food. In a country full of mouthwatering grub, the majority of which centres around bread, pork, and dessert (also referred to as the trifecta of perfection), the Christmas Markets offer hungry visitors an abundance of choice. In fact there are so many different types of foods available we often can’t choose just one to have as a “meal” and often prefer to sample as we wander.

Some sort of delicious looking cookie

Schneeballen is a type of cookie made with strips of pastry dough and powdered sugar

Germany’s food culture appears to be unconditionally linked to its favorite pastimes. Taking in a football game is incomplete without a pint and a pretzel, while the endless flights of beer at Oktoberfest wouldn’t be the same without a greasy bratwurst and some sauerkraut alongside. However the Christkindlmarkts step things up a notch – or four – with the best of German cuisine culminating in a full-on assault to your waistline. Because, let’s be honest, you can only say no to homemade gingerbread, cheesy spaetzle, or fresh from the fryer frites so many times before your willpower completely abandons you.

Half-meter bratwurst, perfect for lunch!

This year the “sampling” did not disappoint. In addition to the classics – bratwurst, currywurst, all kinds of delectable treats featuring the potato, gingerbread, and Schneeballen  (Travis’ favorite, of which he had not one but three this year. Ok I helped a little) – we also found some unique new items to try, the most odd of which was a sandwich stuffed with raw salmon. Being the giving person I am, I let Travis have that one all to himself.

Sandwich full of raw salmon – Travis said it was good

Potato Pancakes are a personal favorite

More potato in the form of fries

And marzipan potatoes (a bit odd if you ask us)

After a month in Turkey, we had a hankering for some deliciously succulent pork that needed to be addressed immediately. Lucky for us, this is an area in which the Germans excel. We opted for Schnitzel, of the pork variety, to curb our cravings. Packed into a crusty roll (any excuse to add bread) with savory bar-b-que sauce, fried onions, crunchy lettuce, and juicy tomato, this schnitzel sandwich (the Schnit-wich) was easily one of the best things we ate during our stay in Nuremberg and it only cost 2.60 Euro!

The cure for all your pork related cravings

With more cities introducing their own Christmas Markets each year, and the creation of Christmas Market themed River Cruises, central Europe’s Christmas Markets are likely to only continue to increase in popularity. Only time will tell how much tourism these markets can handle before their quaint charm and whimsical atmosphere begin to rub off. However until then, we can’t think of a better way to simultaneously get into the holiday spirit and fill your bellies with mouthwatering snacks!

Logistics: Although Germany isn’t the most affordable travel destination in Europe – our time in Nuremberg was actually the most expensive thus far after Iceland – we found the Christkindlmarts to be reasonably priced, especially considering their popularity. Having now visited Christmas Markets in Vienna, Berlin, Brussels, Paris, London, Salisbury (UK), Nuremberg, Regensberg, Munich, and Prague, the Bavarian Christkindlmarkts appear to be priced in the middle (Munich was a bit pricier); most edible treats ranged from 1 to 2 Euro for cookies and pastries up to 3 or 4 Euro for a Bratwurst in a bun.

Fun fact: Christkindlmarkts in Berlin are some of the cheapest we’ve visited, with those in Paris and London being more expensive.

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Ah! From Canada! Will you be visiting the Christkindlmarkt!?!

A bit unsure, I looked around for the hidden cameras but there were none to be found. Hoping I was not the new star of a German version of Candid Camera, I muttered a quick response:

“Of course, that’s why we’ve come now – just in time.”

Hailing from North America, I’ve never experienced such a genuine and welcoming interaction at airport passport control. At home (or worse, in the United States) border control is a dismal grey place, where smiles cease to exist, basic politeness is a rarity, and time drags on like Lord of the Rings. Everyone is treated like a suspect and it’s enough to make me want to stop traveling all together. However this recent experience in the Nuremberg Airport was so unlike any I’d had before, that it caught me completely off-guard. Little did I know this warm exchange was a preview of the unending friendliness and Christmas cheer we would continue to encounter during our time in Bavaria.

People enjoying the Christmas Market in Nuremberg

Renowned for their Christkindlmarkts (aka Christ Child Markets aka Christmas markets) – which are hailed as some of the best in Europe – the people of Bavaria know how to celebrate Christmas, and are proud to share their traditions with the world. After spending nearly every moment of the past four days exploring all these markets have to offer, there is one thing that really stands out – the spirit.

Whether it’s sharing a joke with some friends while sipping on some Glühwein (hot mulled wine flavored with spices), eating a meter long bratwurst in a comically tiny bun, or holding hands with someone you care about, Christmas markets are places where happiness reigns supreme – and is most definitely contagious!

Skating in Munich

A market in the Munich Rathaus

At one point in the evening, hearing tiny voices singing Christmas carols, I stopped taking pictures and made my way to a small stage set up in-front of the famous Church of Our Lady in Nuremberg. As the young carolers began singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, I was immediately filled with hundreds of warm memories from Christmases past. It appears the festive mood struck others as well as no one could resist bobbing along to the beat.

Christmas markets provide a place for the kid in all of us. A place where the magic of Christmas is all around. And after the food has been gobbled up, and the crafts expertly packaged up and placed under the Christmas tree, Bavaria’s Christmas markets are ultimately about celebrating the holidays with the people you love.

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The outside of the Kongresshalle – pretty much the only building left on the site

Located just a short tram ride from the main train station, the former rally grounds are one of Nuremburg’s top attractions – and with good reason. While large portions of the Rally Grounds were never completed, and those that were have long since been destroyed, one major building remains today. The uncompleted, yet still incredibly imposing Congress Hall stands at half its originally intended height and houses the Documentation Center – Nazi Party Rally Grounds (museum).

The Kongresshalle from above – it was only built to half its intended height!

The uncompleted interior of the Kongresshalle

Beautifully intertwined within the former North Wing of the unfinished Congress Hall, the museum displays a permanent exhibition entitled “Fascination and Terror” which documents the rise, power, and fall of the Nazi Party in Germany – with a specific focus on the city of Nuremberg, it’s rallies and trials.

A photo from one of the rallies

And another

One more for good measure

Although we have previously visited several sites related to the Second World War and the Holocaust – from memorials in nearly every country involved in the war, to concentration camps, museums, and sections of train platform once used to deport millions of people to their death – we were really impressed by the museum and overwhelmed by the amount of information on display. From Hitler’s initial struggle for power of the Nazi Party to the Nuremberg Trials, the museum covers the life of the Nazi Party in great detail and does a wonderful job weaving in Nuremberg’s role as host to the annual party rallies and later trials.

The Zeppelinfield – modeled after the Pergamon Altar

The Zeppelinfield again…very little remains of this structure today

Perhaps what surprised us the most was the concept that the rallies in Nuremberg were, at their core, a huge party. Like the music festivals of today, interviews with rally attendants depict them as a celebration. With beer halls, parades, sporting events, and military reenactments (all very reminiscent of the golden-age of Rome), the rallies went a long way in garnering support and goodwill toward the Nazi Party (much like the Berlin Olympics). Like a giant wool blanket pulled over the eyes of Germany and the world, every move made by the Nazi Party (under Hitler) was aimed at transforming Adolf Hitler into a legend and the Nazi ideology into an obtainable reality. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Rally Ground blueprints, now on display in the museum.

An oddly (and sadly) relevant poster we found at the museum

Perhaps the second most compelling section of the museum comes right at the end, both literally and figuratively. The Nuremburg trials, held just a few minutes away in Courtroom 600 of the Palace of Justice, still remain one of the most important political events in history. The museum displays a number of audio and video recordings, plus more information in written documentation (much more can be found at the Nuremburg Trials Memorial).

We won’t give away too much more about the museum and it’s displays, but if you ever get the chance to visit Nuremburg, we would highly recommend heading straight for this museum.

Logistics: The museum and grounds are located just a bit out of the center of Nuremberg – from Hauptbahnhof take Tram #9 to Dokuzentrum (you can’t miss it!). Entrance to the museum is 5 Euro, and it is open every day (check out the website here). An audioguide (included with the cost of admission) takes visitors around the museum, which encompasses 19 rooms filled with photographs, video clips, and artifacts. Information is displayed in a manner that allows visitors to delve into different areas that relates to their own interests. Give yourself a couple of hours to fully enjoy the museum…even more if this is a particular interest of yours (note: the trials section is at the end so be sure to pace yourself!).

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Nuremberg’s Colourful Architecture in the Historic Centre (via)

Although I didn’t grow up dreaming of one day visiting Germany – my notions of the country were primarily based on what i picked up in History class – I fell hard for Berlin when we visited last winter (and returned this fall) and have wanted to explore more of it ever since. Now, timing our visit to coincide with Germany’s famous Christkindlmarkts, there is likely no better time to explore Germany.

What are we most excited about doing and seeing in Germany?

Although we have only four short days in the country before moving onto Prague (by the way, thank-you for this Schengen Zone), we are determined to make the most of it, staying in Nuremberg and making a few day trips t some of the other amazing cities in Bavaria. While we are both looking forward to a huge dose of Christmas spirit, after finding very little of it in Turkey, we also want to make time to explore Nuremberg’s charming historic centre and will likely make a trip out to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds as well.

The Famous Christkindlmarkt in Nuremberg (via)

I would love to wake up to a fresh layer of snow in Nuremberg! (via)

We are also looking forward to partaking in a couple of daytrips through Germany, with Travis’ sights set on sampling smoked beer in Bamberg. I’d like to try to make it to Munich, if even for a day, but we will have to look into the train schedule since it isn’t one of the closer cities to Nuremberg.

With Christmas right around the corner, and then the New Year not much after, these next couple weeks are likely to be busy. However we’ll try our best to keep everything up to date on the blog and get all our Christmas themed posts up before the big day – because if there’s one thing no one wants to read about it’s Christmas after the day has come and gone!

The post Destination Anticipation – Nuremberg, Germany appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

However in many ways our Berlin of only ten months ago isn’t a full representation of this lively city, and with that in mind we sought out new neighbourhoods and sights to explore, unearthing even more ways to love this beautifully worn city. We stayed in Charlottenburg, the home of the Prussian palace of the same name and one of the main reasons that Berlin even exists, we went to Kreuzberg in search of good street food, we ventured to sunny Potsdam with its parks and palaces, and we criss-crossed all over the city with Dennis during our journey through the Third Reich. These new finds assured us that, like Paris, Rome, and London, there will always be something new to discover in this wonderful city.

Hopefully a few more photos will encourage you to add Berlin to your next trip to Europe.

The Reichstag Building

Travis by a remaining section of the wall

“Soldiers” at Checkpoint Charlie…there haven’t been real soldiers here for a while.

The Gendarmenmarkt, one of the most important squares in Berlin

The Berliner Dom

The post Berlin in Review appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

The Olympic Bell, a tradition that didn’t catch on, shot down by the Soviet Army

As luck would have it, we were the only participants to show, although there was a large Italian speaking group we could have joined; however, the day became even better when Dennis appeared as our guide for the day. The icing on the cake?  As no one else would be joining us, we were able to personalize the tour, focusing on the areas we found most interesting! Everything was really too good to be true, and being the polite, courteous people we are, Travis and I felt a little bad taking up so much of Dennis’ time by ourselves.

The Olympic Pool, still in use today.

Needless to say, the tour was fantastic – informative, well paced, and extremely interesting. We crisscrossed the city making great use of our full day transit passes and visiting sites like Track 17 where the Jewish population of Berlin was deported to concentration camps, the Bavarian quarter where Albert Einstein once lived, and the Olympic Stadium where Jesse Owens won Olympic Gold before Hitler and Nazi Germany in 1936. Along the way, Dennis shared his wealth of knowledge regarding all things Berlin, from the history of particular neighbourhoods to interesting tidbits about the train stations we stopped in and his own take on current day affairs in Berlin. And, as always, Dennis’ tour incorporated the stories of various Berliners, making all the much more real and personal.

The memorial at Track 17

Although we can’t share all of Dennis’ secrets with you, we will try to tempt you into joining your own Vive Berlin tour group next time you find yourself in the city. Here are a few of the amazing things we learned during our six hour tour.

• The Olympic Torch Relay was started at the 1936 Olympics – and the idea came form the office of none other than Joseph Goebbels.
• Soviet Military Leaders in East Berlin didn’t have to go without the delicacies of the West; their wives made weekly trips to the luxurious KaDeWe department store in West Berlin for caviar and champagne – oh the irony!
• The expensive red marble floor from Hitler’s Chancellery Office now lines the walls of a local U-Bahn Station

A marker denotes every train that left from Track 17 with Jewish people on board.

We have now attended two of Vive Berlin’s tours and cannot recommend their company highly enough, and it appears Trip Advisor agrees. For an insider’s view of Berlin, a guided tour with Vive Berlin is the way to go – and no, they did not pay us to say any of this, as always our opinions are as free as they are plentiful!

The Logistics: For information on any of Vive Berlin’s tours visit http://www.viveberlintours.de Prices vary by tour and private guides are also available; the Third Reich tour cost us 17 Euro per person for a six hour tour, a great value as far as we’re concerned (It would cost you 7 Euro just to visit the Olympiastadion…but it’s included in the price here!).

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After admiring the architecture and snapping many photographs, we stumbled onto a small market where we just couldn’t turn down the opportunity to buy some delicious raspberries. We ate them in the small park next door, and with the sun filtering down through the trees it was a perfect travel moment.

After exploring the city for an hour or so, we made our way to the main reason that most people head to Potsdam – Sanssouci park. We wandered through the grounds built by Frederick the Great before finding our way to the highlight of the park, the Sanssouci Palace (the park is actually home to two palaces, the Sanssouci Palace and the “new” Palace). Although relatively small for a “Palace”, the Rococo masterpiece was built in the likeness of Versailles, complete with a sculpture garden, fountains, and a beautiful terraced vineyard.

The park itself has tons of other things to discover and explore other than the palaces if that’s not your thing. Beautiful gazebos, temples, churches, a large windmill, and even some fake “Roman ruins” can be explored over a nice easy afternoon. After finishing at the park we wandered through some more of the exquisite architecture, all the while finding it hard to believe that Potsdam was part of the GDR for so long.

Potsdam is also notable on an international scale as the home of the well known Potsdam Conference, the largest post-WWII meeting between the Allies (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States), during which they decided how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany, as well as establish a post-war peace treaties and outline the terms of surrender for Japan.  After construction of the Berlin Wall, Potsdam lay just outside West Berlin, and completely isolated from the walled city.

Present day Potsdam is a university town and home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites, many of which are historic parks and palaces. It is also extremely easy to explore either by foot or bicycle, the later is available to rent at numerous places throughout town including just outside the train station.

The Logistics: 30 minute train trip on the RE-1 from Berlin, the city of Potsdam has two stops so pay attention to where you want to get off. An all day ABC transportation ticket may be a good idea as it also includes any transportation within the city of Potsdam (7.20 Euro/person).

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Now this isn’t your average street food market, set along a nice street in tents. This was Berlin style, set in an old market building with whatever seating could be found. Every Thursday from 5-10pm a ton of great street food eateries from around Berlin congregate in Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg for Street Food Thursdays.

We arrived just after 6 and there was no mistaking that this was the place to be. Thousands of people were snacking on delicious treats from around the globe along the street and in the market space on old picnic tables.

The options seemed endless and we spent a good 30 minutes walking around looking at all the different cultures and styles represented here. From spaetzle to kimchi tacos to american bbq to homemade cellar beer, the possibilities were endless. We sampled a little of the fare and Calli had a field day taking photos – all the time thinking how great it would be if places like this existed in Canada.

The logistics: Markthalle Neun Street Food Thursdays run from 5-10pm. The closest public transport is the Gorlitze U-Bahn Station. Prices are very reasonable (e.g. a serving of Spaetzle is 4 Euro, three Mexican tacos for 6 Euro, etc.).

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