city Archives – TVA Travel

11 things to see and do in Madrid

October 10, 2018March 29, 2020
by tvatravel

The Spanish capital is a city of millions, the 6th biggest one in Europe. Hence it has the entertainment factor to match it and finding things to see and do in madrid can be overwhelming. Madrid became the capital of Spain in 1561. However it has been intricately involved in the rich history of Spain even way before. A lot of this history can still be felt and even seen throughout the city. In later times, Madrid has modernized along with its country, becoming the modern metropolis it is these days. Although it has managed to so while always respecting its legacy.

This makes the city enormously rich in activities and sites to see. I’ve lived in this city for almost 2 years now. But there are still so many things I need to explore. I can only imagine how hard it must be to try and capture the essence of the city in only a few days or even a short weekend. So I have tried to make life easier on you by providing my selection of sites and activities. This list will probably grow over time, while I continue to explore new possibilities. So stay tuned and enjoy my list of things to do and see in Madrid.

Adventures

The 8 best day trips from Madrid

June 9, 2018August 19, 2018
by tvatravel

We have lived in Madrid now already for a year and eight months. During that time we have discovered some really nice places in the city that we now regularly go to: restaurants, parks, whole neighbourhoods, … the Spanish capital can dish up something for the most diverse tastes. I will certainly come back to those in a different post. Here I would like to list my favorite places outside the city. We have done various day trips and weekend trips in the past year. Here I wanted to share the crème de la crème, the cherries on the delicious cake that is Madrid. Here are my 8 favorite day trips from Madrid.

Adventures

Milan for non-shoppers – What to do and see?

May 10, 2018June 13, 2020
by tvatravel

Milan is a great city, fantastic even, or at least that’s what every shopaholic will tell you. They can spend hours, even days roaming around the luxury stores of this Italian metropolis. But what if you don’t like shopping? No worries, there is still plenty you can do and see during your visit to Milan. You can roam around an ancient cemetery, peak at an opera rehearsal, wonder at Leonardo da Vinci’s genius or explore the rich bar and club scene at this trendsetting city. Find out here where to go and what to experience!

Adventures

Cape Town: Climbing Table Mountain

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018
by tvatravel

Table Mountain is omnipresent in Cape Town. You cannot wander anywhere within the Mother City without this gentle giant looming over or dominating the horizon. An essential part of every traveler’s visit to the city logically includes a trip to the top of the Table. Nowadays this is rather easy, you simply buy yourself a retour ticket on the Table Cable Car and off you go. But hey, where is the adventure in that? Wouldn’t it be way cooler if you could say you actually hiked up that monster. Do you want to have the feeling you really deserved that breathtaking sunset? Then by all means, read on! In this post I elaborate on how we conquered the Mountain and put some wine on the Table.

Adventures

Cape Town: 15 things you have to see and…

February 25, 2018February 25, 2018
by tvatravel

Cape Town is often called the Mother City. It got this name from the fact that this city, according to its inhabitants is the only real metropolis in the country. Since metro-polis derives from the Greek words for Mother and City, a new nickname was born. Other less historically correct explanations involve its local dialect featuring the words “your mother” quite often (not many times in a good way). It also apparently takes 9 months to do anything here. What definitely is true is the fact that this is the Mother of all tourist destinations in South Africa. Find out what 14 things you cannot miss during your stay here!

Adventures

Armenia: Art and Architecture in Yerevan

December 23, 2017December 24, 2017
by tvatravel

I could see the whole city spread out in front of me. Beyond the buildings began the long and empty Armenian highlands. But dominating the view and towering above everything was the Ararat Mountain.

I do not only travel in my free time and vacations, but I also need to take regular trips for my job. My team works for the EMEA region, which stands for Europe Middle East and Africa. In the past 2 years and a half I’ve been to some destination that I honestly never thought I would go to anytime soon. One of those destinations was Yerevan in Armenia. To be completely honest, when my boss told me about the project, I quickly googled where exactly the country was. I also never heard (or remembered) about the capital: Yerevan. So I had no clue what to expect when I got the chance to wander around the city for 2 nights. In this post you will find out why I was very pleasantly surprised!

Adventures

Dublin: A Pub Culture

December 1, 2017December 10, 2017
by tvatravel

Dublin is a city like no other. It’s historical centre is small but there is so much history hidden in those streets if you know where to find it. Outer Dublin is a modern city with architectural marvels, huge bank offices and conference centres. But most of all it is the home of Guinness and the heart of the Irish Whiskey Culture. Despite of all that greatness you will spend most of your time in Dublin in a Pub. Are you the one to look for that one Irish pub in your city to sniff up the atmosphere? Well here there is one around every corner. Find out in this post how we spent our three days in this lively city.

Read more “Dublin: A Pub Culture” →

Adventures

Alexandria: City of Lost Glory

November 5, 2017December 10, 2017
by tvatravel

Lunch in Greek Club with an amazing view over the harbor and the bay

Alexandria has played a very important role in Egyptian history. Founded by the infamous Alexander the Great and Capital of the last great Dynasty of Pharaoh: the Ptolemies. If that name does not ring a bell, I’m sure you’ve heard of Cleopatra, the last of the Hellenistic rulers of Egypt. This city has had it all over the centuries. It was the center of Mediterranean trade, with its enormous harbor and famous lighthouse of Pharos. It was called center of knowledge due to the vast collection of books and scripture in its gigantic library. However when the Muslims invaded they ignored the capital of Egypt and nestled themselves in Cairo. Since then it has been conquered and reconquered several times, destroying its heritage and pushing it in the background. In two days we explored the remnants of that glorious past and it’s path to renovation.

Adventures

Cairo: 3 days of Mosques and Madrassas

October 14, 2017December 10, 2017
by tvatravel

We literally left him biting of his nails when he realized his mistake

We had started preparing and packing already some days before our flight. Since I was still working that week and Daisy still had school we used our nights. It was going to be a three-week trip after all. Although Egypt is not the end of the world, we did want to avoid having to buy a lot over there for financial reasons. Our flights from Madrid to Cairo and back were cheap. As a result the timing was also rather bad. We were scheduled to take off in Madrid at 1:30 AM. So we left our apartment late in the evening around 10 PM, said bye-bye to our homicidal fish: Mad Max, and hoisted our backpacks (which ended up to heavy anyway) on our backs.

On a budget? Know your budget before you board!