Things to Do in Europe

Kaunas, Lithuania's second biggest city, sits at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. Formerly serving time as the country’s temporary capital when Vilnius was annexed to Poland in the early 20th century, Kaunas grew to become Lithuania’s industrial powerhouse.

Kaunas is also a cultural city and there are over 40 museums and an Old Town, whose buildings featuring Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque architecture. Most notable sights include the 14th century Kaunas Castle, Vytautas’ Church and Kaunas Cathedral Basilica - the largest Gothic building in Lithuania.

Kaunas center is defined by 2 pedestrian streets: tree-lined Liberty Avenue (Laisves aleja) and Vilnius Street, the latter leading to the Old Town.

Karlovy Vary (also known as Carlsbad) is a charming spa town located about two hours west of Prague and full of Art Nouveau buildings and wealthy Russian tourists. Legend has it that Charles IV discovered the spring while out hunting with his dogs and founded the town, hence the name. 

The ghost town of Kayaköy – a cluster of about a thousand centuries-old stone houses scattered across a hillside – has a poignant history. Formerly inhabited by Greek citizens of the Ottoman Empire and known by the Greek name of Levissi, it was abandoned in 1923 after the Greek-Turkish population exchange that took place after the founding of the Turkish Republic.

The story of the village (renamed “Eskibahçe”) and its inhabitants has been fictionalized by Louis de Bernières in Birds Without Wings, a sweeping novel that takes place during the late Ottoman Empire and WWI.

Walking among the crumbling, empty houses and through the narrow lanes can be rather eerie, but the deserted village has a surreal beauty to it. There are a couple of churches and chapels, of which the most significant is the Panayia Pyrgiotissa (built in 1888), where a few fragments of frescoes and mosaics can still be seen.

Several cafes and restaurants are housed in atmospheric old buildings on the edges of the village.

Not limited to a specific municipality, the Karst (sometimes referred to as 'Kras') region is the land situated between Trieste Gulf and the Vipava Valley. The limestone plateau is so picturesque, and is famous for lending its name to a specific topographical phenomenon wherein fusible stones are affected and shaped by water. The lakes, springs, swallow holes, caves, and potholes that qualify as Karst make up a large portion of Slovenia. 

As such, Karst is most famous for its incredible caves. These include Vilenica, Lipica, Divača, Kacna Jama, Postojna, and the Škocjan Caves, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. These are the main tourist attractions, and are certainly not to missed during a visit to Slovenia. 

There are around 100 municipalities within the region, the center being Sežana. The main rural centers include Divača, Dutovlje, and Komen. 

Cerknica Lake appears between October and June, and provides a wonderful atmosphere for fishing and bird-watching. 

Kaymaklı is a city dug deep into the soft volcanic rock in the Cappadocia region. There are around 100 underground cities in the area although only a few are open to the public. Kaymaklı is the largest of them. It is estimated that around 3,500 people once lived here.
 
Built under a hill known as the Citadel of Kaymaklı, the city consists of 8 underground levels made up of low, narrow, sloping passageways. The city is arranged around the ventilation shafts which bring in air. Early inhabitants chose to live some of the time underground as protection against the heat and the marauding tribes who regularly passed through the region looking to attack and plunder.
 
The city was opened to visitors in 1964 although only 4 of the 8 levels are accessible. The first level was meant for stables, the second level had a church and some living areas, the third level was kitchens and storage. Current inhabitants of Kaymaklı still use parts of the undergound city for storage, stables and cellars.

Wawel Cathedral - or Katedra Wawelska - has witnessed most of the coronations, funerals and entombments of Poland's monarchs and strongmen over the centuries, and wandering around the grandiose funerary monuments and royal sarcophagi is like a fast-forward tour through Polish history. The cathedral is both an extraordinary artistic achievement and Poland's spiritual sanctuary. The building you see is the third church on this site, consecrated in 1364. The original cathedral was founded sometime after the turn of the first millennium by King Bolesław Chrobry and was replaced with a larger Romanesque construction around 1140. When it burned down in 1305, only the Crypt of St Leonard survived.

The present-day Katedra Wawelska is basically a Gothic structure but chapels in different styles were built around it later. Before you enter, note the massive iron door and, hanging on a chain to the left, huge prehistoric animal bones. They are believed to have magical powers; as long as they are here, the cathedral will remain too. Once inside, you'll get lost in a maze of sarcophagi, tombstones and altarpieces scattered throughout the nave, chancel and ambulatory. Among a score of chapels, a highlight is the Holy Cross Chapel (Kaplica Świętokrzyska) with its unique 15th-century Byzantine frescoes and the red marble sarcophagus (1492). The showpiece chapel, however, is the Sigismund Chapel (Kaplica Zygmuntowska) up the aisle and on the southern wall. It is often referred to as 'the most beautiful Renaissance chapel north of the Alps' and recognized by its gilded dome from the outside. Diagonally opposite is the Tomb of St Queen Hedwig (Sarkofag Św Królowej Jadwigi), a much beloved and humble 14th-century monarch whose unpretentious wooden coronation regalia are on display nearby. In the centre of the cathedral stands the flamboyant Baroque Shrine of St Stanislaus, the bishop of Kraków, who was canonized in 1253 and is now the patron saint of Poland.