Speyer

Speyer is another German city founded by the Roman Empire over the river Rhine. Its biggest treasure is hidden just behind these trees.

It is the thousand-years old UNESCO World Heritage Imperial Cathedral of Speyer.

Let's step inside.

Before we enter, you can already notice sculptures representing German kings and emperors of the Holy German Empire.

Ready to enter inside? Let's take the amazing bronze porch.

The uniqueness of the Speyer cathedral comes from the fact that it is the largest Romanesque cathedral in Europe (and since nowhere else people built churches at that time - also in the entire world) which has influenced many of such buildings across the continent.

On top of the high vaults you will surely noticed many pictures representing scenes from the Bible.

Besides the main nave, the cathedral has of course two side naves, almost as tall as the main one.

The main altar is dark and modest, especially if you would compare it to Baroque churches.

And in the back, you will notice a sail-like organ. This one is of course not a thousand years old.

In most cathedrals, this would be the end of our visit. But we still need to go down. And up. First, let's head towards the crypt. It is the biggest Romanesque crypt in the world. It is the oldest part of the cathedral, where its construction has begun.

A total of eight German kings are buried beneath the Speyer cathedral. Four of them were also emperors (only those who were lucky to be in good relations with the pope who would then agree to crown them emperors).

Besides them, the crypt includes seven altars, so that all the priests affiliated with the cathedral can celebrate a mass. In the Middle Ages, the cathedral could have up to seventy priests at the same time.

Now time to go up. After we return to the ground level, we need to take ninety steps to reach the Emperor's Hall just above the main gate. From here, you can see the interior of the cathedral.

You can also admire some of the frescoes by Johann Baptist Schraudolph which were removed from the cathedral for restoration and are currently exhibited in the Hall.

Now, we need take another two hundred and fourteen steps to reach the observation deck on one of the towers. Luckily the stairs are newly (re)built, with concrete and then steel, so they are really comfortable to climb (though not Romanesque at all).

From the observation deck you can see a breath-taking panorama of the city of Speyer.

And the river Rhine as well.

But what impressed me the most is the view of the cathedral itself. From the tower you can fully acknowledge its size.

I hope that you have enjoyed this visit to the Speyer cathedral. Surely an amazing place.

Geneva

Today we will be visiting the second biggest city in Switzerland (and still not its capital!) - Geneva. Unlike Zurich, Geneva is a French speaking city so do not be surprised if you find inscriptions in French in the streets and offices, like here - on the main Post Office ("Hôtel des Postes").

Actually in our hotel I have seen people from Northern part of Switzerland talking to the receptionist in English! They did not speak French and the receptionist did not speak German, so even though they were all coming from the same country, they had to use a language that was foreign to all of them.

But as a matter of fact, Geneva is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. It is said that over fifty percent of the inhabitants hold a foreign passport. This will not be so surprising if you realise, that Geneva is the seat of many international organisations, like the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

 Geneva houses also the European headquarters of the United Nations.

Opposite to it, on the Place of the Nations, you can see a huge chair with one broken leg. It was designed to help politicians visualise the effects of land mines and cluster bombs, and thus put some pressure on UNO to ban them completely.

Another truly international organisation in Geneva is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN.

If this building does not ring a bell, I bet this one does. It is called The Globe of Science and Innovation and is in fact a type of museum. Unfortunately it undergoes now some reconstructions and the exhibitions are largely not accessible.

Of course, the history of Geneva dates many centuries back, before anybody would think that it is Earth going around the Sun (not mentioning the Large Hadron Collider). So let's get back to the Old Town.

Geneva had its own bishop in year 379. Hands up those whose countries were Christian at that time. I do not see too many hands ... The city is nowadays protestant, the most important catholic church is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Geneva, build in the middle of the nineteenth century.

The Cathedral of Saint Peter, built somewhere in the twelve century, is now a protestant church.

 Still, you will find next to it signs leading to Santiago de Compostela.

Inside, the cathedral is modest.

This is due to the fact that not only it is a protestant church - the Protestant Church of Geneva as a wing of the Calvinism, so a branch of the church that is known for simple, unadorned churches. Actually, John Calvin himself was teaching in the Geneva cathedral, you can still see his chair.

One of the great things about the St. Pierre Cathedral is that it is possible to climb up the towers. We did it
recently in Bardejov, but there only one tower was possible to be climbed. From the top you can see a panorama of the city ...

... and the cathedral itself.

If you look well, you can spot one of the biggest tourist attractions of Geneva. If you missed it, no worries, I will take you there in a few minutes.

Just before we leave, we need to quickly sneak into a little chapel, called Maccabees Chapel, next to the main entry. Very much different from the rest of the church.

Before we leave the Old Town, I will quickly show you two more buildings. The first one is the Arsenal, currently siege of the National Archives. It is nicely decorated and you can see some real cannons below the arcades.

Just on the other side of the street, you can see the Town Hall. The flags of Switzerland and Geneva are hanging every few meters.

Let's now leave the Old Town and go down the hill. We need to pay a tribute to the Reformation Wall.

It was built in 1909 and literally embedded into the city walls of Geneva, to highlight the importance of the city for the Reformation and the importance of Reformation to the city. The triggering event was 400th birth anniversary of Calvin, who amongst others founded the University of Geneva. You will find him here - second from the left.

As we go out of the park, you can take a look at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, so the local opera house. For me, it looks like a smaller version of Opera Bastille. But Geneva is still lucky to have one. In the seventeenth and (partly) eighteenth century the Calvinist influences made the city refuse the creation of an opera house.

Now we have visited the almost all tourist attractions of Geneva. Yes, I remember that I promised you something more. Here it comes - the Jet d'Eau. It is 140 meters high, sending up five hundred litres of water every second, at a speed of two hundred km/h.

Jet d'Eau is only open when the weather conditions are favourable. In case you are unlucky when you come to the city, you may take a glimpse at this video (in French of course!)

Alright, it is time to go now. So says the flower clock so it has to be true. I hope that you have enjoyed the visit.

Polish Museum in Rapperswil

As you might have noticed, the human family in which I live is Polish. Polish people are amazing - you can get them out of Poland but you cannot get Poland out of them. As a result, when we came to swim a bit in the Zurich Lake, the first thing that they wanted to visit was the Polish Museum in Rapperswil.

The Museum is located in the Rapperswil castle.

It was created in 1870 when the Poland did not exist - it was invaded and divided between its neighbours, Russia, Prussia and Austria. Władysław Plater has then leased the Rapperswil castle to create there a safe place for some of the cultural treasures being part of the Polish national heritage. It was also a refuge for Polish patriots, both soldiers and civilians, fighting for its freedom. Many famous Polish people have spent some time living and working here, for example the famous writer Stefan Żeromski.

Let's enter inside the castle.

In the courtyard you will find a nice restaurant.

The museum is located on the second floor. Next to the entrance you can see the coats of arms of former Polish regions (voivodships).

Most of the books and other historical artefacts were moved back to Poland in 1927. Unfortunately, in1944 they were burnt by German nazis together with other valuable items from Polish national heritage. Today, you just see a few items, like sabres from the times of king John III Sobieski.

 You can also have a look at a few really old books, dating back to sixteenth century.

Since Rapperswil was the beating heart of Poland in days when Polish patriots were not safe in their homeland, you can see here numerous exhibitions devoted to Poles that had to flee their country in different periods. In 1830, after the November Uprising ...

... in 1940 during World War II ...

... and in 1945, when the communists took over Poland.

Recently, Poland has celebrated 25 years of (full and effective) freedom. As a result, the Rapperswil museum is slowly getting populated also with exhibitions of modern Polish art.

Before we leave the museum, I propose that we go up to the tower. It may look tough, but trust me, it is worth it.

From the top of the tower we can see a fantastic panorama of the town ...

... and the Alps in the background.

We horses live from one day to another. I am always impressed by the human ability to keep and celebrate memories. I truely recommend you to pay a visit to the Rapperswil museum. Even if you do not live with a bunch of Polish people.