Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

Cundinamarca, Colombia As a quick recap, in  Part 1 , I immersed myself in the beauty of Guatavita Lake outside of Bogota, Colombia. After a delightful lunch, the full-day tour continued to the awe-inspiring depths of Zipaquira Salt Cathedral. Completed in 1950, this remarkable structure is hailed as one of the most notable achievements in Colombian architecture. 

Bogota, Colombia Monserrate is a mountain that rises above 3,000 m, overlooking the city centre of Bogota. Considered sacred since pre-Columbian times when it was inhabited by the indigenous Muisca people, the mountain is a pilgrimage site with a church perched at its summit. Beyond its spiritual significance, it's also an iconic tourist attraction.

1085 Rue de la Cathedrale,  Montreal, Quebec, Canada Mon-Fri: 7.00am - 7.00pm Sat - Sun: 7.30am - 7.00pm  In an unexpected turn of events, my BFF and I found ourselves in snowy Montreal after a 6.5-hour bus ride from Toronto. Making the best use of our time before heading to its principal airport to continue with our journey, we visited the third largest church in the province of Quebec, once a French colony of Canada.

690 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Mon-Fri: 10.00am - 4.00pm Christ Church Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral that's designated as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver. The first service was held on 23 December 1888 without a physical building at 720 Granville Street as the erection of the cathedral only commenced in 1889.

Naalya-Namugongo Rd, Kampala, Uganda Daily: 8.30am - 6.00pm Blessed Easter, everyone! Today's post is on the Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs located in the Namugongo district that's approximately 14 km away from the central business district of Kampala. The Roman Catholic minor basilica is one of the largest Christian pilgrimage destinations in Africa.

Lai 50, Tallinn, Estonia Daily: 10.00am - 6.00pm Given its towering spire, St. Olaf's Church is an unmissable landmark in Tallinn Old Town. No one exactly knows when the church was built, but the first known written record about it points to the 13th century, as well as the fact that it was extensively rebuilt in the 14th century.

Vene 18, Tallinn, Estonia Daily: 10.00am - 5.00pm After visiting St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Paramaribo, Suriname earlier, my BFF and I dropped by its counterpart in Tallinn Old Town. Not constructed from wood unlike the former, St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral was the first cathedral that we went to in Tallinn. It took three years to be completed from 1841 to 1844.

Lutherinkatu 3, Helsinki, Finland Opening hours vary throughout the year Generally opens at 9.30am-12.00pm and closes at 5.00pm-8.00pm daily A place of worship unlike any I'd ever seen prior to my visit to Helsinki, Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church built directly into solid rock. Visited by approximately half a million people annually, the church was constructed from February 1968 to September 1969.

Unioninkatu 29, Helsinki, Finland Daily: 9.00am - 6.00pm Helsinki Cathedral is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Helsinki, which picture is commonly used during news weather reports. It's a Lutheran church that was built between 1830 to 1852 as a tribute to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, who was then the Grand Duke of Finland.

Place Sainte-Gudule / Sinter-Goedeleplein, Brussels, Belgium Mon-Fri: 7.00am - 6.00pm Sat: 8.00am - 5.00pm Sun: 1.00pm - 6.00pm Yet another place of worship that my BFF and I visited is a Roman Catholic church that was elevated to a cathedral in 1962. It took approximately 300 years for the Gothic style building to be completed, eventually ready before the reign of Charles V commenced in 1519.

Elizabeth Park, Brussels, Belgium Daily: 8.00am - 5.00pm (winter) or 6.00pm (summer) Pikachu and Melon are back! Let's continue from where we left off. Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the capital city of Belgium is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica. Its construction began in 1905, but it was fully completed only in 1970 as it was halted by the two World Wars.

Rue au Beurre / Boterstraat, Brussels, Belgium Daily: 9.00am - 4.00pm Église Saint-Nicolas (French) or Sint-Niklaaskerk (Dutch) is one of the first four churches in the city of Brussels. It was built in 1125, though much of the original structure didn't live to see this day as it suffered from heavy damages due to the French bombardment of the city in 1695.

Henck Arron Straat 22-24, Paramaribo, Suriname Mon-Fri: 6.00am - 1.30pm Sat: 8.00am - 1.00pm Sun: 8.30am - 12 noon St. Peter and Paul Cathedral is one of the most recognisable landmarks of the capital city of Suriname, being the largest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere. Construction of the cathedral began in 1882. It was consecrated three years later, but the towers weren't completed until 1901.

Prinsengracht 279, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Mon-Fri: 10.00am - 3.00pm Sat: 10.00am - 3.00pm (1 April to 1 November only) Sun: 10.30am - 12 noon (service only) Westerkerk is the largest Protestant church in the Netherlands, which is situated in the westernmost part of the Grachtengordel neighborhood in Amsterdam. Designed by a renowned sculptor and architect named Hendrick de Keyser, it has also got the highest church tower in the capital city.

Krakowskie Przedmiescie 68, Warsaw, Poland Mon-Sat: 9.00am - 3.00pm Sun: 7.00am - 10.00pm St. Anne's Church is one of the most notable churches with a Neoclassical facade in Poland. Construction of the building began in 1454, but the church was subsequently reconstructed several times. The present architecture has stood the test of time since 1788.

Kanonia 6, Warsaw, Poland Mon-Sat: 6.00am - 8.00pm Sun: 7.00am - 10.00pm Situated at the lively Warsaw Old Town is St. John's Archcathedral. It's one of the three cathedrals in the capital city, which is also the mother church of the archdiocese of Warsaw. Founded in 1390, the building originally served as a site for royal coronation and burial for a number of Dukes of Masovia.

15 Sovetskaya Street, Minsk, Belarus Daily: 9.00am - 9.00pm Church of Saints Simon and Helena, which is also affectionately known as Red Church, is a Roman Catholic church located at Independence Square. It was constructed between 1905 and 1910 by the order of a prominent businessman and civic activitist named Edward Woynillowicz.

Bagrati Street, Kutaisi, Georgia Daily: 9.00am - 8.00pm The Cathedral of the Dormition, which is more affectionately known as Bagrati Cathedral, was built under the reign of King Bagrat III in 1003. It suffered heavy damages throughout the centuries, but with conservation efforts in place, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

Elia Hill, Tbilisi, Georgia Daily: 10.00am - 6.00pm Affectionately known as Sameba Cathedral by many locals, Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi was constructed between 1995 and 2004. It's the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which is the third tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world at the point of writing.

Santo Tomas Street, Intramuros, Manila, the Philippines The full name of what's commonly known as Manila Cathedral is the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Established in 1571, the church was raised to a cathedral eight years later and is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the principal patroness of the Philippines.