Cities and Towns in Europe
The fine university town of Coimbra is for Portugal what Oxford is for United Kingdom. Coimbra University is one of Europe's oldest, and some of the faculties' grand buildings and libraries can easily match those at Oxford. The lovely medieval old town is a confusing maze of narrow winding lanes running from one square to another while passing monasteries and other impressive buildings which could easily date back to the Middle Ages when Coimbra was the capital of Portugal. Due to the large student population, the city's vibe is arty and unpretentious, though you might catch a glimpse of students wrapped in the traditional black cloak - something you will for sure see during the Queima das Fitas, the rowdy student spree held in May.
The well-preserved historical centre of Evora is considered one of the finest in Portugal - and is, of course, on UNESCO's World Heritage list. The old town, which dates back to Roman times, is still enclosed by 17th century walls and boasts a large amount of exquisite monuments and medieval buildings, including a Roman temple, a fine cathedral, and a chapel decorated with human bones. With cobblestone alleyways and houses kept in a strict white-and-yellow colour scheme, Evora is very picturesque - and popular with visitors. However, the town manages to tone down its status as a tourist magnet and keeps a humble attitude to its fine heritage.
The old part of Guimaraes is not just another charming medieval town in Portugal. The historical centre is UNESCO listed and includes ruins of a cute castle which is considered to be the birthplace of the Portuguese nation. The views from up here stretch beyond the pretty old town with its charming narrow lanes, lovely old houses and picturesque squares with cafes. Luckily, the tourist flow seems to be concentrated on a few sections, leaving other parts to the local people of Guimaraes - and the few curious visitors. Here, life goes on as it has done for decades, even centuries, in such ways that elderly ladies still do their laundry in the public outdoor washing basins.
Cute Lisbon doesn't feel like a western European capital. The pace is slow and there is nothing flashy about the lovely historical downtown. Here, a castle and grand buildings rise among decrepit, though charming, working-class neighbourhoods, where grannies yelling to each other from their windows, and there is a tavern at every other corner. The different quarters all have a different vibe. Some are decayed with lots of graffiti, while others are up-coming areas for the young and creative. Since Lisbon is built on sloping hills, you can find amazing panoramic views over the city's red roofs and blue sea, by ascending winding narrow streets and steep staircases. So, even though downtown Lisbon is very compact and walkable, it's easy to get lost (and out of breath) in the 3-dimensional maze of alleyways. Luckily, you can always jump on a tram and get back to a main square. Take a break here, have a pastry or a glass of port wine, before venturing into another quarter for some more exploration.
Right from the start, when you arrive in Porto, you get the feeling that the city has edge and character. Blue tiled churches and soaring towers rise over ramshackle houses with hanging clotheslines. Hilly streets and narrow alleyways wind their way through the UNESCO-listed historical centre. The fine university attracts a fair share of students, boosting the city with a youthful and arty vibe - and a large range of great cafes and bars. The tourists, however, seem to be spellbound by the picturesque riverfront right next to the iconic metal bridge, Ponte Luis I. A trip across Douro River will bring you to Vila Nova de Gaia, the main location for port wine cellars. A glass or two (or three or...) is of course inevitable.
Brasov is a beautiful historical town surrounded by steep mountains on three sides. Its groomed old quarter attracts pretty much any tourist that comes to Romania, and the city even sports a Hollywood-style sign up on one of the mountain slopes. Nevertheless, it is still a lovely city to stroll around in and take day tours, like one to "Dracula's castle" in Bran.
Bucharest is Romania's buzzing capital with more than 2.1 million inhabitants. The streets are choked with traffic and sidewalks are patrolled by stray dogs, but it still is a fascinating place. One part was totally redone by dictator Ceaușescu inspired by North Korea's capital Pyongyang, and is an architectonic masterpiece in neo-Stalinistic city design that only dictators can come up with. The crown jewel from that period is of course the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in world only beaten by the Pentagon, USA. Another part of Bucharest, and probably more enjoyable, is the historical part, the one that Ceausescu didn't managed to demolish. Here you fine grand old buildings, big squares, manicured parks, interesting museums and flashy shopping streets - along with cafes, bars and surprisingly many pizzerias.
Irkutsk is the mandatory stop on the Trans-Siberian journey if you want to go to the gorgeous Baikal lake. During the colonization of Siberia, it played an important role as an administrative centre, which still today gives the otherwise pleasant town a bit of a wild-east edge. There several colourful Orthodox churches and some residential quarters are still made up by wobbling old wooden houses with windows at curb level. Down at the lively market area, there are a lot of food stores (think smoked fish) and fur shops, along with street vendors and tough looking men in camouflage clothes hanging around - probably just like during the Siberian gold rush.
Kaliningrad is the capital of the Russian exclave of the same name, Kaliningrad Oblast. Pre Soviet times, it was known as Königsberg, a cultural and elegant university city, home to several famous mathematician (Euler, Goldbach, and Hilbert) and other famous scholars, like Kant. During World World II, the city was heavily bombed, not leaving many surviving buildings. After Königsberg became a part of the Soviet Union, it changed name to Kaliningrad and was transformed into a classic drab Soviet city with bleak apartments blocks and bombastic monuments. Luckily, in some residential areas, a few old German houses were left untouched, along with the many parks and ponds, all of which give the city some grace. But Kaliningrad isn't very appealing at first sight. The handful of architectural masterpieces from the Königsberg era are drowning in the sea of shabby Soviet-era concrete and modern buildings in glass and steel. But the brand new cathedral (of Christ the Saviour) on the main square is impressive and a step out of the dark shadow of the Eastern Bloc.
A mosque next to a cathedral in a kremlin at the end of a street lined by Tsarist-era buildings with grey Soviet high rise on the horizon? There’s only one city it can be – Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic and once the centre of the ancient state of Volga Bulgaria. Later it was ransacked by the Mongols then once again by Ivan the Terrible when he claimed it finally for Russia. The city has been an important, valued stronghold for whichever civilization has held sway over the Volga region throughout its long, turbulent history. And it still is – St. Basil’s Cathedral on Moscow’s Red Square, one of Russia’s most famous landmarks, was built to celebrate the capture of Kazan. Alumni of Kazan University, Russia’s third oldest, include Tolstoy and Lenin. Today the city is a mix of new and old, of post-Soviet, Soviet, Tsarist and pre-Tsarist. The population is half Muslim Tatar and half ethnic Russian. Throughout Tatarstan, beautiful Tsarist architecture can be found a stone’s throw from ruins of Volga Bulgaria, while street signs are bilingual in Russian and Tartar.