Auschwitz Birkenau, Poland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Auschwitz Birkenau, Poland

Weather: Rain, 53/61F.

Route: From Prague 459 km east on D1.

Significance: This is obviously a much different place than most UNESCO sites. Instead of celebrating the creativity or beauty that humans are capable of - it acknowledges the cruelty that people can have towards one another. Over 1.5 million individuals, many of the Jews, came through the gates of Auschwitz, to be tortured, starved and then killed.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The sign which means "work will set you free" that 1.5 million walked under (from whc.unesco.org)

The "death wall" where many prisoners were shot (from whc.unesc.org)

Prague, Czechia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Prague, Czechia

Weather: Occasional light rain, 56/65F.

Route: From Kutna Hora 84 km west on D11.

Population: 1,335,084

Places to visit: Prague Zoo, Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle, Gallery of Steel Figures, Lobkowicz Palace, St. Nicolas Church, Jewish Museum, Wallenstein Palace Gardens, The Vrtba Garden.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

Old town along the Vltava River (from whc.unesco.org)

Statue on Charles Bridge with the castle complex on the hill in the background (from whc.unesco.org)

Kutna Hora, Czechia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Kutna Hora, Czechia

Weather: Steady light rain, 51/63F.

Route: From Kromeriz 218 km NW on D1 and route 38.

Population: 20,828

Significance: There are two churches and an abbey that are the center of the UNESCO designation. The church of Santa Barbara is of gothic style from the 14th century. The Sedlec Abbey includes an ossuary chapel, which uses the bones of thousands of people, many who died in the black death, as a bizarre decoration.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

The gothic church of St. Barbara (from whc.unesco.org)

A vineyard among the buildings of historic Kutna Hora (from whc.unesco.org)

Kromeriz, Czechia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Kromeriz, Czechia

Weather: Rain showers in the morning will evolve into more steady rain in the afternoon, 49/67F.

Route: From Trebic 123 km east on Route 23 and D1.

Population: 28,620

Significance: The UNESCO designation is specific to the castle and gardens at Kromeriz, which were built by a bishop in the 17th century. The bishops had as much power as kings at that point in history - the castle and gardens show how much wealth they were able to accumulate.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video: 

Images:

The gardens at Kromeriz are among the most beautiful in Europe (from whc.unesco.org)

The entrance to the Baroque residence (from whc.unesco.org)

Trebic, Czechia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Trebic, Czechia

Weather: Cloudy with periods of light rain, 49/60.

Route: From Telc 36 km east on Route 23.

Population: 35,107

Significance: Trebic's UNESCO designation is in relation to its 13th century church and its Jewish Quarter. The Jewish residents of the Quarter were either killed in the Holocaust or moved away soon after.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Image:

Aerial view of the town (from whc.unesco.org)

Telc, Czechia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Telc, Czechia

Weather: Occasional light rain, 47/59F.

Route: From Melk 172 km north on B37.

Population: 5,273

Significance: A fire in late 14th century led to a very ordered rebuilding in stone in the 15th century that has lasted to the present day.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

The main street in Telc (from whc.unesco.org)

Examples of the colorful townhouses found in Telc (from whc.unesco.org)

Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria

Weather: Intervals of clouds and sunshine, 52/71F.

Route: From Vienna 86km west on A1.

Significance: The Danube between Krems and Melk is beautiful and has many examples of architecture from the middle ages to the 19th century.  The hillsides are also filled with wineries - some that go back to Roman times.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

Small town alongside vineyard on the Danube (from whc.unesco.org)

The Melk abbey (from whc.unesco.org)

Vienna, Austria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Vienna, Austria

Weather: Periods of rain, 51/64F.

Route: From Graz 200km NNE on E59.

Population: 1,911,191

Places to visit: Schonbrunn Palace, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Tiergarten Schoenbrunn - Zoo Vienna, The Hofburg, Naturhistorisches Museum, Belvedere Museum, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Leopold Museum, Peterskirche, Technisches Museum, Haus der Musik.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

Rooftops of the city center (from whc.unesco.org)

Gardens and Kunsthistoriches Museum (from whc.unesco.org)

Graz, Austria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Graz, Austria

Weather: Rain showers early with some sunshine later, 56/71F.

Route: From Salzburg 276 km southeast on A1 and A9.

Population: 294,630

Places to visit: Schlossberg, Schloss Eggenberg, Landezeughaus, Basilika Mariatrost, Hauptplatz, Kunsthaus Graz, Burgruine Gosting, Botanical Garden.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

Many baroque buildings in Graz built by the Hapsburgs (from whc.unesco.org)

Old town (from whc.unesco.org)

Salzburg, Austria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Salzburg, Austria

Weather: Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms in the afternoon, 57/79F.

Route: From Mustair 332 km ENE on A12 and E45.

Population: 157,245

Places to visit: Fortress Hohensalzburg Castle, Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg Cathedral, Haus der Natur, St. Peter's Abbey, Mozart's Birthplace, Nonnberg Convent, Residenzgalerie Salzburg, Salzburg Museum.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

Old town with castle and mountain in the background (from whc.unesco.org)

The Baroque main square with castle above the town (from whc.unesco.org)

Convent of St John at Mustair, Switzerland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Convent of St. John at Mustair, Switzerland

Weather: Partly cloudy, 54/75F.

Route: From Bellinzona 201 km ENE on A13.

Significance: St. John was founded during the reign of Charlemagne in the 8th century. Mustair was an important stopping off point on the road over the alps from north to south. The convent includes frescoes from the 9th-12th centuries and both Carolingian and Romanesque architecture.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

The convent in winter (from whc.unesco.org)

Romanesque interior columns with frescoes (from whc.unesco.org)

Bellinzona, Switzerland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Bellinzona, Switzerland

Weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, 63/81F.

Route: From Geneva 340 km east on A9.

Population: 43,220

Significance: The UNESCO site is centered on three 15th century castles and town walls defending the Ticino valley, which connects northern Italy with the alps.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Castelgrande (from whc.unesco.org)

The walls of the town (from whc.unesco.org)

Geneva, Switzerland

 Place: Geneva, Switzerland

Weather: Mostly sunny, 57/78F.

Route: From Berne 160 km SW on A1.

Population: 212,818

Places to visit: CERN, Cathedrale de Saint-Pierre, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, Museum d'Histroire Naturelle, Patek Philippe Museum, Jardin Botanique, Chapel of the Maccabees, Musee d'Art et d'Histoire, Maison Tavel, Musee Ariana.

Image:

Aerial view of Geneva at the end of Lac Leman (from purevacations.com)

Berne, Switzerland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Berne, Switzerland

Weather: Partly cloudy, 50/70F.

Route: From Zurich 122 km SW on A1.

Population: 133,791

Places to visit: Rosengarten, Cathedral at Munsterplatz, Clock Tower, Bernisches Historisches Museum, Paul Klee Center, Museum of Communication, Museum of Natural History of Bern, Einstein House, Kunstmuseum.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video: 

Images:

Old Town with the Alps in the background (from whc.unesco.org)

Aerial view of old town (from whc.unesco.org)

Zurich, Switzerland

 Place: Zurich, Switzerland

Weather: Mostly cloudy with light rain early, 54/67F.

Route: From Munich 311 km WSW A96 and A1.

Population: 415,215

Places to visit: Zoo Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich, Lindenhofplatz, Museum Rietberg, Grossmunster, Landesmuseum, Botanical Garden, St. Peter's Church, Le Corbusier House.

Images:

Old town (from travelweekly.com)

Grossmunster (from travelandleisure.com)

Munich, Germany

 Place: Munich, Germany

Weather: Scattered thunderstorms, 56/77F.

Route: From Regensburg 125 km SSW on A93 and A9.

Population: 1,488,202

Places to visit: English Garden, Nymphenburg Palace, Residenz, BMW Museum, Alte Pinakothek, St Peter's Church, Asamkirche, Deutches Museum, Lenbachhaus, Neue Pinakothek, Staatliche Museum Agyptischer Kunst, Bavarian National Museum.

Images:

Marienplatz (from handluggageonly.co.uk)

English Garden (from munich.travel)

Regensburg, Germany - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Regensburg, Germany

Weather: Mainly sunny, 63/87F.

Route: From Maulbronn 316 km east on A6 and A3.

Population: 152,270

Significance: Although most of the buildings are from the middle ages, some remnants of the Roman Empire days are still visible. The town is located on the Danube and became very rich in the 11th-13th centuries on trade, especially salt.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

The typical red roofs of the old town with the 13th century cathedral behind (from whc.unesco.org)

Another part of the old town with a tower that merchants built to show off their wealth (from whc.unesco.org)

Maulbronn Monastery Complex, Germany - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Maulbronn Monastery Complex, Germany

Weather: Abundant sunshine, 60/85F.

Route: From Lorsch 95 km south on A6 and B35.

Significance: The oldest part of the monastery was built in the 12th century. It was built by the Cistercian order, which was known the beautiful architecture of their abbeys and water management.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video: 

Images:

The walls of the monastery (from whc.unesco.org)

One of the main buildings (from whc.unesco.org)