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Historical Attractions in Europe:


Below is a list of historical attractions that I have been to in Europe. If you don't believe it, I have photographs to prove it! These are not places that I just passed by in a car, or bus. I spent some time there and often took a guided tour, or at least read appropriate guide material, or books.

Why have I made this list? Well, because I believe that travel is a tremendously educational experience, and I wish that academia would do more to promote/reward the educational aspects of travel. I think the best time to travel is when you are in your late teens and early twenties, when you are at the most curious, and most adaptable period of your life. Everything will seem interesting, and you will not be hindered by ordinary inconveniences. At least that is what I experienced, and found many other young people to experience. I'm talking mainly about young people from middle-class families, who grew up in middle America, who were independent but impressionable, and had not been overly exposed to large cities. For them, Europe is a complete contrast, and a cultural adventure. That is not to say that older adults will not feel EXACTLY the same; it depends on the individual's character, sense of motivation and appreciation for other cultures. Whatever the circumstances, travel to LEARN.

Unfortunately, not many of us can take time off for travel because of the paltry little amount of vacation time most of us get. For all our high-minded ideals about capitalism and individualism, we Americans work more than anyone else on the planet, and have too little time to enjoy ourselves. We don't have enough time to do necessities, let alone travel to see what the rest of the world has to offer. I wish more Americans could see that the quality of life is as good, or better in many other countries. I do not mean to be un-American, but that is what I believe. American culture may be successfully spreading to all parts of the globe, but this is nothing to brag about.

Tower Bridge

America has deep traditional ties to Europe and it is we, not they, who suffer from rootlessness, and lament the constant change of modern society. About 99% of all the Americans I met while living and traveling in Europe were overwhelmed completely, and positively, by the magnitude of art, beauty, diversity and history that they found in Europe. Many Americans admit that they would like to live abroad once they have sampled the nuances of Europe. We think that America is diverse? Try dealing with over a dozen languages and various different national characteristics! I'm not saying that we should all move to Europe. Not at all, but we can learn a lot from Europe, and if you can make a trip across to Europe, you will be in for an exhilarating experience if you allow yourself to assimilate, at least a little, to their culture. Chances are they already know a lot more about you than you know about them. Be a tourist, but be a sensitive and respectful tourist.

This is just my little way of saying that, "this is where I've been, and I'm proud of it." It has changed me, and I have learned something. Traveling to learn is an education in itself, for no time is ever wasted on travel!


"Globetrotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Many travelers toss aside their hometown blinders. Their prized souvenirs are the strands of different cultures they decide to knit into their own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop, and travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry." --Rick Steves


Castles:

To see a list of castles I have been to click here.

Cathedrals:

These are some I have visited. Some of them I've been to once, and some several times...

Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church - Yalta, Crimea
Berliner Dom Cathedral - Berlin, Germany
Canterbury Cathedral - Canterbury, England
Castlechurch Cathedral - Wittenberg, Germany (Martin Luther is buried there)
Chartres Cathedral - Chartres, France
Church of Our Lady Before Tyn - Prague, Czech Republic
Duomo - Florence, Italy
Durham Cathedral - Durham, England
Ely Cathedral - Ely, England
Exeter Cathedral - Exeter, England
French Cathedral, Gendarmenmarkt - Berlin, Germany
Glastonbury Cathedral - Glastonbury, England (supposed burial place of King Arthur, in ruins)
Karlskirche Cathedral - Vienna, Austria
Kloster Lorch - Lorch, Germany
Lincoln Cathedral - Lincoln, England
Mdina Cathedral - Mdina, Malta
Mosta Dome Cathedral - Mosta, Malta
Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France
Petchursk Lavra Monestary - Kiev, Ukraine
Peterborough Cathedral - Peterborough, England
Salisbury Cathedral - Salisbury, England
Socre Coeur Basilica - Paris, France
Southwark Cathedral - London, England
St. Andrews Cathedral - St. Andrews, Scotland (in a ruined state, but impressive)
St. Chappelle - Paris, France
St. Croce Cathedral - Florence, Italy
St. Eustache Cathedral - Paris, France
St. Giles Cathedral - Edinburgh, Scotland
St. John Co-Cathedral - Valletta, Malta
St. Mark's Basilica - Venice, Italy
St. Michael's Cathedral - Brussels, Belgium
St. Nicholas Baroque Church - Prague, Czech Republic
St. Paul's Cathedral - London, England
St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican, Rome, Italy
St. Sophia - Kiev, Ukraine
St. Stephen's Cathedral - Passau, Germany
St. Stephen's Cathedral - Vienna, Austria
St. Vitus Cathedral - Prague, Czech Republic
Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan) - Stockholm, Sweden
Strasbourg Cathedral - Strasbourg, France
Wells Cathedral - Wells, England
Westerkerk Church - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Westminster Abbey - London, England
Westminster Cathedral - London, England
Winchester Cathedral - Winchester, England
York Cathedral - York, England


Palaces:

I have taken a tour of these palaces, except the ones indicated.

Blenhiem Palace - Woodstock, England
Buckingham Palace - London, England (I have not been inside)
Charlottenburg Schloss Palace and Gardens - Berlin, Germany (I walked around, but not inside)
Doge Palace - Venice, Italy
Hofburg Imperial Palace - Vienna, Austria
Hollyrood Palace - Edinburgh, Scotland
Kensington Palace - London, England (been there a few times, but not inside)
Livadia Palace - Yalta, Crimea (site of the 1945 Yalta Conference)
Marinsky Palace - Kiev, Ukraine (I walked around, but did not go inside)
Sansouci Palace - Potsdam, Germany (I walked around, but did not go inside)
Schonbrunn Palace - Vienna, Austria
St. James Palace - London, England (been there several times, but did not go inside)
Stockholm Royal Palace - Stockholm, Sweden (just the outside, but saw the changing of the guard)
Versailles Palace - Versailles, France
Vorontsov Palace - Alupka, Crimea (I walked all around, but did not go inside)
Windsor Castle - Windsor, England (I've toured it at least three times)


Famous Monuments, Roman Ruins, Ancient Megaliths, Misc. Sights:


Abbey Road Crosswalk & Beatles Recording Studio - London
Arch DeTriomphe - Paris
Arch of Unity - Kiev
Avebury - Avebury, England (the largest ancient stone circle in the world)
BBC Headquarters - London
Berlin Wall - Berlin (what was left of it)
Brandenburg Gate - Berlin (one of Berlin's most visited sights)
Bury St. Edmunds Abbey Gardens - Bury St. Edmunds, England
Caerleon Roman Ruins - Caerleon, Wales (ruined Roman settlement)
Castlerigg Stone Circle - Cumbria, England (an ancient stone circle)
Charles Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic (one of the oldest in Europe)
Chesters Fort - Northumbria, England (ruined Roman fort at Hadrian's Wall)
Chinese Pagoda, Kew Gardens - London (climbed it in 2014)
Colosseum - Rome
Dying Lion Monument - Lucern, Switzerland
East Gallery, Berlin Wall - Berlin, Germany
Eiffel Tower - Paris
Ernst Thalmann Monument - Berlin
Forum - Rome
Funkturm - Berlin, Germany
Ggantija Temple - Gozo, Malta (an ancient stone megalith)
Hadrian's Wall - Northumbria, England (ruined Roman wall, about 80 miles long)
Hadrian's Villa and Fountains - a little outside of Rome
Hohenstaufen Castle Ruins - Hohenstaufen, Germany
Holocaust Memorial - Berlin (near Brandenburg Gate)
Iron Cross, Victoria Park - Berlin, Germany
Juliar Pass - Switzerland
Kew Gardens - London
Little Mermaid statue - Copenhagen, Denmark
London Eye - London
Marble Arch - London
Marx-Engels Forum - Berlin, Germany
Millennium Dome - Greenwich, London (now called the O2 Dome)
Monument to the Great Fire of London, 1666 - London
Monument to the Great Patriotic War - Kiev
Mount Etna - Sicily (the tallest active volcano in Europe, 11,000 feet)
Nelson Column, Trafalgar Square - London
New Synagogue - Berlin, Germany (to the front of it twice, but not inside)
Oberbaumbrucke - Berlin, Germany
Olympic Stadium - Berlin, Germany
Pere Lachaise Cemetery - Paris (many famous people buried there)
Place de la Concorde - Paris
Reichstag Dome - Berlin (completed in 1999)
Rock of Ages - Somerset, England (the rock that inspired the song)
Roman Amphitheatre - Taormina, Sicily (a Greek/Roman ruin)
Roman Bath - Bath, England (a well preserved Roman spa)
Roman Fort, Hardknott Pass - Cumbria, England
Roman Lighthouse - Dover
Savile Row, former Beatles Recording Studio & Site of Last Performance on the Rooftop - London
St. Andrews Golf Course - St. Andrews, Scotland
St. Gottard Pass - Switzerland (an eleven mile tunnel)
Stonehenge - Wiltshire, England
Tower Bridge - London, England
Trevi Fountain - Rome
Trafalgar Square - London
TV Tower & Telecafe - Berlin (I went to the top twice in 2004)
Victory Column (Siegessaule) - Berlin
Walter Scott Monument - Edinburgh


Museums:

Other than Art Galleries. To see a list of Art Galleries I've been to click here.

ABBA Museum - Stockholm, Sweden
All England Lawn & Tennis Club Museum, and tour of grounds, Wimbledon, London
Amsterdam History Museum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Austria, National Library of - Vienna (just browsed)
Berlin Zoo - Berlin
British Museum - London
Cabinet War Rooms - London (underground headquarters of WWII British Gov.)
Charles Dickens Museum - Rochester, England
Charles Dickens House - London
Charles Wesley House - London
Chartwell House - Kent, England (home of Winston Churchill, 1922-1962)
Checkpoint Charlie Museum - Berlin
Dali Exhibit - Berlin
DDR Museum - Berlin
Design Museum - Berlin
Design Museum - London
Anne Frank House - Amsterdam
Geology Museum - London
German History Museum - Berlin
Folklore Museum - Outside Kiev
Folklore Museum, St. Fagan's - near Cardiff, Wales
Friedrichswerdersche Kirche Schinkel Museum - Berlin
Ann Hathaway House - Stratford-on-Avon, England
Horniman Museum - London
Hundertwasser Kunst Haus - Vienna, Austria
Igtham Mote - Kent, England
Imperial War Museum - London
Iron Bridge Museum - Ironbridge, England (the first bridge made of iron, 1779)
Jewish History Museum - Berlin
Samuel Johnson's House - London (where the first English Dictionary was compiled, published in 1755)
Karlshorst Museum - Berlin (where Germany surrendered after WWII)
King Arthur's Round Table Museum - Winchester, England
Max Liebermann Haus - Berlin (I saw the Marc Chagall Exhibit there in 2004)
London Dungeon - London
London Museum - London
London Zoo, London
Madam Tussaud's Museum - Berlin
Madam Tussaud's Museum - London
Malta War Museum - Valletta
Martin Luther House - Wittenberg, Germany
Museum of Natural History - London
Museum of Science - London
Museum of Transport & Technology - Berlin
Museum of Working Class Life in 1900 - Berlin
Museum to the Resistance of National Socialism - Berlin
National Museum - Prague
National Museum - Kiev
Paper Mill & Museum - Wookey, England
Pergamon Museum - Berlin
Pompidou Center - Paris
Reichstag Museum - Berlin (no longer open, since Reichstag was remodeled for German Parliament)
Royal Jewels Museum - Tower of London
Royal Observatory - London (Greenwhich Park)
Royal Opra House, ballet, London
Shakespeare's Birthplace - Stratford-on-Avon
Shakespeare & Company Bookstore - Paris (famous among American ex-patriotes)
Shipwreck Museum - Hastings, England
Sir John Soane's Museum - London
Stasi Museum - Berlin
The Wells - Tunbridge Wells, England
Topography of Terror Museum - Berlin
Tower Bridge Museum - London
Vasa Museum - Stockholm, Sweden
Vatican Museum - Vatican City
Victor Hugo House - Paris
Victoria and Albert Museum - London


"Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral." --Robert Louis Stevenson

"I believe the future is simply the past, entered through another gate." --Pinero

"Traveling abroad is a progressive exercise in the discovery of our own ignorance." --William Blake

"We're the most vacation-starved country in the world." --Joe Robinson, Escape editor (speaking about the USA)

"One of the small marvels of my first trip to Europe was the discovery that the world could be so full of variety, that there were so many different ways of doing essentially identical things, like eating and drinking and buying movie tickets. It fascinated me that Europeans could at once be so alike--that they could be so universally bookish and cerebral, and drive small cars, and live in little houses in ancient towns, and love soccer, and be relatively unmaterialistic and law-abiding, and have chilly hotel rooms and cozy and inviting places to eat and drink--and yet be so endlessly, unpredictably different from each other as well. I love the idea that you can never be sure of anything in Europe." --Bill Bryson, in Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe

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