All our reviews

I visited two of Berlin's six inscribed housing estates on a Friday morning. I had picked, surprise surprise, Falkenberg (for its beauty) and Hufeisensiedlung Britz (for its infostation/cafe, more on that later), and neither of them disappointed. Being where they are they both have very good rail connections, and I was able to make a detour for a packed lunch in Tempelhof Airfield between the two and still have a very relaxed itinerary.

I love walking around picturesque garden villages, so Falkenberg was always going to go over well. It's a bit out of place with the other examples, but it speaks volumes to Taut's brilliance and can't be omitted. It's very compact - hence why photographs of it are usually so close up - but never feels it thanks to its cleverly placed greenery. There's only one proper road, the first part of the estate to greet train users, that runs through it, so traffic basically doesn't exist to interrupt the 'vintage' feel. (For supplies or the bathroom you'll need to talk a short walk to the 'Taut Passage' shopping centre, which makes no attempt to match the vibe!)

If you want a taster of how Taut's interiors looked, you'd do well to visit Hufeisensiedlung Britz. There they have a small 'Infostation', which is in reality a community cafe that's open on Fridays and Sunday afternoons. For a mere €1.50 you can get a very nicely brewed coffee, sit outside (or at the window if you'd prefer), …

Yukon is a vast wild place, but is the most accessible of Canada's three northern territories. Unlike most parts of Northwest Territories or Nunavut, a decent portion of "sights" in Yukon is accessible by road, which includes Dawson City. 

Dawson City is not a “wild north” ghost town, but it can feel like one, with its leaning or disused old buildings. For a town born out of chaos, it’s grid layout makes this intriguing town an easy place to explore. 

Dawson City is not only worthy of a visit due to its earnest, unpolished charm, but due to the many unique characters that this city attracted and continues to attract. You have to be more than a little odd to choose to live in a place where the winter temperature can dip to -45 Celsius and there is only 4 hours of sunlight in December. 

I strongly suggest that you read late Pierre Berton's most entertaining "Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896-1899" to learn about the outrageous characters and stories of this area. Knowing Dawson City’s very colourful history will allow you to appreciate it as more than a place with old buildings set in a wild scenery.

If you are in Dawson, perhaps drinking the infamous sourtoe cocktail (whiskey with an actual pickled human toe) at The Downtown Hotel, you should also visit the Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site and the Tombstone Territorial Park. The road to/through the Tombstone Territorial Park is rough, …

Cahokia Mounds was the first of the three ‘earthen mounds’ WHS I planned to visit on this US trip. Honestly, I did not have high expectations. I was anticipating some Viking-style heaps of soil covered by grass, revealing few clues of what had happened there in the past. But this is so much more impressive.

Already while reading up on the site beforehand I noticed similarities with Teotihuacan (which is much older by the way and had ten times as many inhabitants, to put it in perspective). There are a number of drawings used in the interpretation of the site that show what ‘Cahokia City’ may have looked like (see top photo). You have this gigantic mound (Monks Mound) which probably was the ceremonial center and residence of the chief. It is slightly larger than the Temple of the Sun in Teotihuacan. There was a Grand Plaza as well as numerous funerary tumuli. Over 10,000 people are believed to have lived in the city in its heydays around the year 1100.

This is also a WHS ‘connected to a road’ – you can’t get away from the fact that a major road crosses the site, separating the Monks Mound and the reconstructed Woodhenge from the rest of the mounds. This is the US, so no one apparently has thought of at least adding a pedestrian crossing and some speed bumps to let people safely cross on foot. The same road (well, a forerunner: the National Road) however has …

Due to its impending proposal and my budding interest on modern architecture I added Kaunas to my baltic ittinerary. Now, I want to make clear that I'm not an architect and I feel in no way capable of examining the merit of kaunas modernist buildings. What I can offer is my opinion on the site, which overall was positive.

After WW1 Lithuania emerges as a new nation born out of the crumbling Russian empire. However they're stuck with an unusual problem. Their historic capital, Vilnius, is not part of their state, but rather part of neighboring Poland. As such the newly founded states sets out to build a capital basically from scractch following the architcetural trends of the time. They choose Kaunas as the place to do this. During the interwar period around 1200 buildings are erected in the city. Many of them are still kicking around which allows for a wonderfull insta-shot of how architecture looked at the time. At least thats what the proposal states.

Kaunas does in fact have lots of modern architecture and its easy to grasp even to the untrained eye. some of these buildings I found particularly enticing (the iljiani family house, the artist house and Christs resurrection church). However the strong suit of Kaunas is that its an ensemble. You really can just stroll around and find good examples of cutting edge interwar architecture in every corner of the new city. Even with a whole day I couldn't see all the …

I visited Khinalig (Xinaliq, Khynalyg, Hinalug etc, the spelling is even more incoherent than in other cases in Azerbaijan) in April 2022, some months before it reappeared on the list as a highly potential contestant for WHC 2023/24. Though it's not too difficult to visit now, I'm not surprised that I became the first reviewer. Tourists in Azerbaijan seldom leave Baku and the closest surroundings - the Apsheron peninsula and Gobustan. Frankly saying - for good. The attractions the country can offer are generally low key, and the road network has serious deficiencies - all roads are radial, so if you want to drive from one region to another you most probably have to go through Baku, which makes short journeys incredibly long, and country roads sometimes are of terrible quality. 

Khinaliq in this sense had a bad reputation, the road through the ravine to the mountains was horrible some years ago. However it has been improved, tarred so now it's doable with a saloon car - we drove a Hyundae minivan, and had no difficulties getting there and away. The way through the ravine is undoubtedly scenic, we stopped several times to catch the best lights. So are the mountains and valleys surrounding the village. We saw flocks of sheep and shepherds, whether they were actually transhuming that time, I don't know. Transhumance is one of the most elusive types of World Heritage anyway. There is not much built heritage to see, and even it is scattered, and …

In 2012, I visited four of the sixteen UNESCO registered churches: San Francisco de Castro, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Dalcahue, Santa María de Loreto de Achao, and Señora de Gracia de Nercón. 

When I visited, the Church of Senora de Garcia de Nercon had yet to be restored. When I compare the photos that I had taken in 2012 of the Church of Senora de Garcia de Nercon to the more recent photos I found online, I can see that the entirety of the church's steeple and outer walls of the main floor are reconstructions.

The churches of Chiloé, by themselves, may lack the brilliance and the scale of the world's grand churches, but these churches are to be best appreciated in their setting, that is to say, the quiet and moody atmosphere of the Chiloé archipelago.

We visited on July 25, 2023. Following the information shared by Jay T. (thank you so much). We took a four day tour with Moresby Explorers and reached SG̱ang Gwaay in the afternoon of the second day. We were lucky to have a watchman present at the site, he even sang to us a couple songs on a traditional drum. He made good jokes but he was also defensive and sometimes aggressive (and he admitted to it). He contradicted himself sometimes and admitted that he didn't know much of how things worked in the Haida society (because nobody really knows to this day). 

The only thing that I can add to what Jay T said above is that our guide mentioned that Moresby Explorers is trying this year a two day trip to SG̱ang Gwaay. Considering the distance it would be a major undertaking in a zodiac especially if the weather is anything less than good. But probably the cost would be more accessible. For the two of us flights return Vancouver to Sandspit, two nights in B&B, before and after the tour, plus the four day tour came close to 7000 Canadian dollars and it took 6 days.

The picture shows the only house that you can "visit" there.

Ths is a real ragtag nomination - with sites from different periods and different styles - loosely connected by the relatively vague concept of Silk Road. However, some of them are quite spectacular - so they deserve a good mark. Previous reviewers covered the sites near Bukhara. If you want to tick the site off, they are the most accessible - any taxi driver in Bukhara will take you there for some tens of thousands of UZS.

So I focus on the less visited Tajik section. Penjikent (or Panjakent) is easily accessible now from Samarkand. Most EU citizens do not need a visa to enter the country, and the Jarteppa border is served by marshrutkas (50 000 UZS per person cca one hour from the city centre). The border procedures are fast and straightforward, the only difficulty is, that you have to walk from the Uzbek side to the Tajik border post. After the formalities shared taxis wait on the Tajik side of the border. A whole car - maximum 4 persons - costs 80 TJS, but is you want to stop at Sarazm WHS, you are supposed to pay cca 160.

Penjikent is a sleepy provincial Tajik town with minimal amenities - there is the farmers market in the center, where you can buy fresh produce, eat a kebab, and there are some basic hotels (we were staying in Hotel Sugd, I can recommend it). The WHS is somewhat away from the modern town on the mountain …

We had already booked our flight with Aeronasca for the next morning with our hotel for 70 USD + 77 Soles airport fee per Person when we read about the latest fatal crash of a small airplane from Nazca airport on 5th February 2022. We had read before about the crashes around the year 2010 and that things had improved and even since the last crash there have probably been 10,000 successful flights but if something happens then it would be over. So we changed our mind and cancelled the flight again just before we were supposed to be picked up at our hotel. Instead, we took a PeruBus from Nazca to the small village where there is a museum about Maria Reiche who had dedicated her life to the discovery and maintenance of the lines. No one was there but it was open so we strolled through the few halls and the garden for free. There were some exhibits related to her work of measuring and documenting the sites.

Afterwards we hitchhiked 3 km back to Nazca to the observation tower what was newly installed in 2020. It´s bigger than the older tower that still stands on the other side of the highway. From here we could see the salamander which is split in 2 by the Panamericana, the tree and the toad. It was well visible from the top and afterwards we could check out the technique of how the lines were constructed by standing next to …

I visited Keshava Temple in January 2012, during a 15 months round the world trip with our 3 children. We spent 4 nights in Mysore and from there it was an easy trip to Keshava Temple. I got there because of a picture I have seen years ago on wikipedia. I thought it was amazing and I am very happy that it is now selected as a WHS. At the time I wrote in our blog:

"My temple! A picture seen somewhere on the internet a few years ago became a destination in itself.Kesava temple was built in the 12th century and is a prime example of Hoysala architecture. What is that? Hoysala was another empire and civilization, between the 10th and 14th century, before all the other ones that we learned about. It had three main centers, and Somnathapur (or Somanathapura) was one of them. Just 45 minutes from Mysore, it was a quick, easy ride. A little temple, the one from my picture, is awaiting it's visitors on a laid back, quiet Sunday morning. We spent two entire hours going in and around it. It is different from everything we've seen so far. We had time to experiment with pictures, take turns with the camera, read in wikipedia about the specifics of this type of architecture. There are layers over layers of sculptures, starting with elephants at the bottom, then horses, then people. There are scenes from the famous Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavat Gita, and the life …

In theory Samarra could be a very interesting site. This is the only islamic site of Iraq, so its imporatance in Iraqi culture in unquestionable. . Samarra was the capital of the Abbasid caliphate from 836 CE, when Caliph Al-Mu'tasim founded a new capital at the banks of the Tigris, till 892, when al-Mu'tadid returned the capital to Baghdad. The period between these dates was one of the most dramatic, turbulent half century in the history of the caliphate. Majestic buildings were erected and events that are crucial in the formation modern Iraq (and the Shi'ite world) happened here. (The death of the 12th and the occultation of the 13th imam.) On the other hand Samarra is not far from Baghdad, an easy day trip on the northern motorway. This is the theory.

The reality is, that Samarra is even now not the most welcoming city in Iraq. The population is predominantly Sunni, but the law enforcement is provided by a Sadrist Shi'ite militia (Saraya al-Salam - their emblem, the peace dove is ubiquitous on grafitties in the city). There are no such restrictions now, that Wojciech described, tourists can enter the area after identity check, without leaving the passports with the militiamen, but - unlike in Baghdad or other major cities - you can still feel the tension in the air. The most illustrious - and best kept up - building in the city, the al-Askeri moque is not part of the World Heritage Site - understandably by …

On my recent trip to the eastern half of the USA, I visited all three ‘mounds’ or earthworks WHS: Cahokia, Hopewell and Poverty Point. During my preparations, I found the last one the most intriguing. And although it probably has the least remaining visible remains, after my visit I still think Poverty Point is the most interesting of the three sites. 

The site isn’t visited that often as it lies in the middle of nowhere deep in Louisiana. I ‘did’ it as a day trip from Dallas by rental car – it’s 5 hours each way, which is long of course but it’s a straight shot east on cruise control and without much traffic. ‘Poverty Point World Heritage Site’ (this name is used on road signs to distinguish it from a nature park also called Poverty Point) lies just outside the cute towns of Delhi and Epps where everybody seems to live in a prefab house and have his or her own church.

Poverty Point is the oldest of the inscribed earthworks in the US. It was made by prehistoric hunter-gatherers who (at least seasonally) lived on the earthen ridges. In this lies the big distinction with the other two WHS that were merely ceremonial sites: because it was lived in, many artifacts have been left and rediscovered. The visitor center has display cases full of very sharp-looking spearheads, engraved objects, figurines that may have been fertility symbols and decorated clay objects. Some are so-called “Poverty Point Objects” …

Bad Ems

I spent a few hours in Bad Ems on a Friday afternoon in August.

The original Kurhaus, which is now Häcker's Grand Hotel (upper photo), is the most prominent feature of Bad Ems. It has a few drinking fountains on the ground floor, Römerquelle (lower left photo) in front of the hotel and the most importantly a 300-years-old ornate indoor swimming pool, the first swimming pool in Bad Ems. In comparison Ensana Nové Lázně Hotel that dominates the Kurpark in Mariánské Lázně has swimming pools from 1896. These swimming pools are accessible only if you stay at the hotels. 

The Kursaal (See Els' photo below), just west of Kurhaus, accommodates the Spielbank (casino) and two theaters, the Marble Hall (lower middle photo) and the smaller Kurtheatre. The former reminded me of the Great/Golden Hall at the Musikverein in Vienna, the home concert hall of the Vienna Philharmonic. In front of this Kursaal is the Walk of Fame with plaques embedded in the sidewalk with names of luminaries associated with Bad Ems. I noticed one of them was for Jacques Offenbach, who seems to be the composer most associated with Bad Ems. But of course this Walk of Fame must be fairly new. 

Between Kurhaus and Kursaal is a minor colonnade / arcade.

There is a reconstructed Limes only 500 m uphill from Häcker´s Grand Hotel. I'm guessing it has to be part of the other WHS associated with Bad Ems, Frontiers of the …

I mainly want to give an update about the accessability of the WHS area. In Flims, the old cable cars are replaced by a new system called "Flims Express", which will serve the Foppa-Naraus-Fil de Cassons line. However, the new lift is not expected to be operational before the end of 2024, and the old cable cars are already out of service. This means that the cable car tour described in some of the other reviews is no longer available. You can still hike the Foppa-Fil de Cassons route, but this means hiking all the way up from Flims and down again. To at least get a a good view of the main "arena" area with the Tschingelhörner, I opted for the alternative route from Flims, which is going up by the second main cable car line "ArenaExpress" up to Nagens. The WHS area can't be seen from there, but there is a rather short (30min) hiking trail over the mountain hump to the end station of the "Grauberg" lift (which was also not running). From there, you have a pretty good view over the main arena area (see the picture). However, you are technically still only at the border of the core zone. To be sure, you have to go down the hiking trail to the "Untere Segnesboden", the lower plain below the Segnes pass. Although it was a nice sunny September day, the whole area was already covered in ice and snow. Considering my flimsy shoes and equipment, …

Visited September 2023

I know it means nothing and will change nothing, but I am against this kind of inscriptions! UNESCO is opening the door to any national or international conflict. Even if the monuments to the dead are of the highest artistic value, I cannot forget that they were constructed and built to commemorate also those who were killing, not only defending themselves – for me it is a shame that we make passed or recent wars something to appreciate – and UNESCO list should be made of sites that merit to be unique in a positive way… You can ask me: why you visit these cemeteries and monuments? I visit lots of places, these one amongst them. But not to make them something special, rather to remember that conflicts make conflicts and wars make wars. There are others who do not share my point of view and my point of feelings… For some of them to put something on a pedestal means fighting, fighting without any reflection… I do not even want to imagine that in some years (probably I will not be here anymore) UNESCO World Heritage List (Liste du Patrimoine Mondial de l’UNESCO) would be dotted with war graves and war symbols… Thousands of crosses (like on the picture) do not make me be proud of…

I visited the reserved zone of Manu for 2 days and the trip from Cusco included in total 7 days/ 6 nights. The programme of most tour operators is similar so there is no need to describe it in detail here. You can just check the websites. We drove by transporter from Cusco to Atalaya and then by boat up to Casa Matchiguenka which is one of few of the current lodging options in the real WHS part/ core zone. We booked with Bonanza tours and the tour was operated by Amazon Wildlife Experience which is run by the brother of the owner of Bonanza. So it was the same as with Bonanza only that they laid acquired customers together. We were 8 tourists, one guide, one cook and either a driver or a captain and his boat assistant. The real price was 1290 USD p.P. but as we went to the office in Calle Suecia in Cusco end of August and were flexible and negotiated we could book the same tour for the 14th of September for 750 USD p.P.. Some in our group booked only 6 days and there was not much difference. You don´t miss out on anything only that after a long day you drive all the way back to Cusco instead of staying another night close to Atalaya port and some more bird and monkey watching in the cloud forest. Also a good option to save money. Maybe good to mention that we almost had …

Visited September 2023

Knowing that visiting the mine itself – a reservation should be made a good while before the visit, I called the number found on silex.mons 6 weeks before the planned journey to Mons, made a reservation and paid for the underground tour. I arrived to Mons by train from Tournai the day before the visit to the mine, I spent the night in Mons (and I was really, really surprised, because the city is much prettier than Tournai or Charleroi; plenty of B&B and hotels in the city, and a very ‘good looking’ and wonderfully located youth hostel just below the unesco-listed belfry; and many restaurant in the grand’ place, and weekend morning market with local products and second hand stuff). In the morning on the day of visit I went to tourist information office to rent a bike – they open at 9:30 and have only a dozen bicycles so it is better to be earlier to get a bike, especially on weekends. First I went to Grand Hornu (WHS 1344 The Major Mining Sites of Wallonia), but this is not the topic of this post… BTW: Mons is a very good base for 5 WH sites – on bicycle!)

Then I rode to SILEX museum in Spiennes and I have to admit that the area has a lot of cycle paths! The museum is not too easy to find if you go there from Hornu, but the distance of 15 km is doable …

I had always wanted to visit Riga and last year I finally managed to do that. It was my first Baltic capital and it is still the only one. I really loved the Old Town, the architecture is absolutely stunning. Lots of historic, colorful buildings, among which the most outstanding one is the House of the Black Heads. I also enjoyed visiting the Central Market, which had amazing atmosphere (however I didn't buy anything there). Riga is the capital, but it is not overwhelming, so the visit is actually pleasant, even though you will probably meet many tourists. The mix of the Baltic and Russian culture is clearly visible here, but that is a plus. I also recommend the Latvian War Museum located in the Powder Tower that used to serve as a part of the city's fortification. The museum is free of charge and it is so huge that you can easily spend half a day there. As a cat person, I couldn't miss the Cat House too! I have visited the Art Nouveau quarter as well and it also impressed me. In Riga everyone can find something for themselves. Riga has their own beaches on the outskirts (but accessible by the public transport) that are almost empty, even in the summer, as most people go to Jurmala.

I have visited the walled town of Avignon on a school trip few years ago. The city is beautiful and totally deserves its place on the WHS list. Our visit started from the bridge, or more precisely, half of it, which definitely is one of the highlights of this site. The bridge is impressive and unique, which corresponds to its interesting history. There is a legend about the origins of the bridge, which I also found interesting. Then, we visited the palace and had a pleasant walk around this charming city. It is very easy to get lost there, but even easier to fall in love in the place! I definitely recommend it to everyone. Another important sight of the town is the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The old town is compact, so I feel like 1-2 days is enough to see the most important sights, but it is worth visiting anyway.

I grew up on the stories of St. Francis of Assisi and was always drawn to him as an example of how to cherish and care for nature as well as human beings. Because of this, there was a deep sense of power and peace when I finally visited the basilica, which is one of the most beautiful and unique I have ever experienced. It was incredibly moving to visit the Saint's grave, and I was surprised to learn that the basilica is, in effect, 2 churches built n top of one another, each with their own unique architectural and artistic beauty to appreciate. This was one of those sites that not only lived up to my hopes and expectations, but exceeded them. The town itself is also a lovely walk after you are finished in the church, with wonderful local eateries to enjoy.