Ilya Burlak Profile

Ilya Burlak
Ilya Burlak.

I only started prioritizing visiting World Heritage sites a few years ago and with my limited US-based corporate-warrior time-off allocation and family obligations I can only add a handful to a dozen in any given year. Looking forward to visiting them all after I am able to retire...

USA Last Update 30.04.19 128 WHS Visited 42 Reviews 128 WHS Rated 28 TWHS Visited

Visited Sites Ilya Burlak

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Legend

  • ●● Cultural
  • ●● Natural
  • ●● Mixed

Recent Reviews Ilya Burlak

Monastery of Alcobaça

Ilya Burlak USA - 06-May-19

Monastery of Alcobaça

On our itinerary around Portugal in April of 2019 we covered all of the monasteries in the "triangle" north of Lisbon. Alcobaça is the unflashiest of the three, but also clearly the most cared for. The imposing main church façade of Alcobaça is probably the most time-stained part of the complex, whereas everything else bears clear signs of careful upkeep. (Incidentally, putting the word façade next to the monastery name might help those not familiar with diacritics in correctly pronouncing the last consonant in Alcobaça).

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Dreams in Stone - the palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 03-Apr-19

Dreams in Stone - the palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee (T)

I visited two of the three castles in this serial property ages ago. They likely deserve full WH recognition purely on the strength of the world-wide fame of Neuschwanstein. Just type "most famous castles" into Google search - and literally the very first picture on top will be that of Neuschwanstein.

The purported inspiration for Disney does look incredibly fetching from distance, but the closer you get to it the more it feels contrived. An over-the-top concoction of a mad king who never got to enjoy his creation. Neuschwanstein is a pretty damning artifact of the royal excesses of the 19th century, but the lack of any other historic significance makes it all the more a theatrical decoration with little substance.

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Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 28-Mar-19

Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid (T)

I've been to Madrid many times over the years and on each occasion I take time to walk the length of Paseo del Prado from Plaza de Cibeles to the Atocha train station. It must be one of the most visually attractive boulevards in all of Europe. It is home to exceptional art museums, magnificent architecture, and plenty of things to catch your eye.

The stunning Palacio de Cibeles is one of the iconic sights of Madrid; the grandiose architecture is curiously discordant with the building's original unglamorous purpose as the headquarters of the Spanish Postal Service. Definitely step in to admire its Art Deco interior and ascend to the mirador for great views over the city. The other "bookend" of this stretch, Atocha, is one of the great European train stations, also worth an extended look. Museo del Prado is among the greatest art museums in the world, worth the price of admission just for its collection of Goya and Velasquez, not to mention its other many treasures. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza offers another superb art collection

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The Karlstejn Castle (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 22-Mar-19

The Karlstejn Castle (T)

My one and only visit to Karlštejn Castle took place nearly a decade ago, but seeing that there are no other reviews for it, even a dated one might be useful.

The grand castle is located some 30 kilometers away from Prague, [...]

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Medici Villas and Gardens

Ilya Burlak USA - 20-Mar-19

Medici Villas and Gardens

I have not yet been prioritizing visits to the WH sites when I last was in Tuscany, so my familiarity with this serial property is limited to Boboli Gardens. Even that is due in large part to my regular visits to Florence in the first decade of this century. With all that the city has to offer, Boboli Gardens do not exactly break onto the A-list of Florentine attractions. I only went to see them on my fourth or fifth visit to town. At the height of the season, in early August, this fairly centrally located attraction still gets just a fracture of the visitors found elsewhere in Florence.

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Profile Data

Name
Ilya Burlak
Country
USA
Website
website

Recently Visited WHS

Update 30.04.19
  • Oporto
  • Belem
  • Sintra
  • Monastery of Batalha
  • Convent of Christ in Tomar
  • Evora
  • Monastery of Alcobaça
  • Alto Douro
  • Guimarães
  • University of Coimbra
    • Rating Stats
    Amsterdam Canal Ring 5
    Brugge 5
    Budapest 5
    Cordoba 5
    Costiera Amalfitana 5
    Florence 5
    Granada 5
    Kremlin and Red Square 5
    Loire Valley 5
    Palau de la Musica Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau 5
    Paris, Banks of the Seine 5
    Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands 5
    Prague 5
    Ravenna 5
    Rome 5
    Segovia 5
    Siena 5
    St. Petersburg 5
    Venice and its Lagoon 5
    Vienna 5
    West Norwegian Fjords 5
    Works of Antoni Gaudí 5
    Acropolis 4.5
    Assisi 4.5
    Bryggen 4.5
    Cracow 4.5
    Grand Place, Brussels 4.5
    Oporto 4.5
    Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 4.5
    Pompei 4.5
    Potsdam 4.5
    San Gimignano 4.5
    Seville 4.5
    Sintra 4.5
    Stonehenge 4.5
    Toledo 4.5
    Vatican City 4.5
    Versailles 4.5
    Albi 4
    Alto Douro 4
    Avignon 4
    Botanical Garden, Padua 4
    Brú na Bóinne 4
    Chartres Cathedral 4
    Chichen-Itza 4
    Cologne Cathedral 4
    Convent of Christ in Tomar 4
    Delos 4
    Drottningholm 4
    Edinburgh 4
    Giant's Causeway 4
    Gwynedd Castles 4
    Kiev 4
    Kinderdijk 4
    L'viv 4
    Monastery of Alcobaça 4
    Monastery of Batalha 4
    Rietveld Schröderhuis 4
    Roskilde Cathedral 4
    Schönbrunn 4
    Tower of London 4
    Upper Middle Rhine Valley 4
    Urbino 4
    Verona 4
    Vicenza 4
    Westminster 4
    Archaeological Site of Delphi 3.5
    Arles 3.5
    City of Bath 3.5
    El Escurial 3.5
    Ferrara 3.5
    Fortified City of Carcassonne 3.5
    Graz 3.5
    Guimarães 3.5
    Kronborg Castle 3.5
    La Fortaleza 3.5
    Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios 3.5
    Mycenae and Tiryns 3.5
    Old City of Berne 3.5
    Pienza 3.5
    Pont du Gard 3.5
    Québec 3.5
    Tarraco 3.5
    Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.5
    Villa d'Este 3.5
    Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 3.5
    Alcala de Henares 3
    Belem 3
    Belfries 3
    Canterbury 3
    Evora 3
    Fortifications of Vauban 3
    Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 3
    Kew Gardens 3
    Mantua and Sabbioneta 3
    Maritime Greenwich 3
    Medici Villas and Gardens 3
    Modena 3
    Reims 3
    San Marino and Mount Titano 3
    Statue of Liberty 3
    Strasbourg 3
    University of Coimbra 3
    Val d'Orcia 3
    Vézère Valley 3
    Beemster Polder 2.5
    Forth Bridge 2.5
    Independence Hall 2.5
    Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley 2.5
    Major Town Houses 2.5
    New Lanark 2.5
    Novodevichy Convent 2.5
    Poblet Monastery 2.5
    Residences of the Royal House of Savoy 2.5
    Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 2.5
    Santa Maria delle Grazie 2.5
    Schokland 2.5
    Semmering Railway 2.5
    Skogskyrkogarden 2.5
    The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 2.5
    Venetian Works of Defence 2.5
    Wadden Sea 2.5
    Canal du Midi 2
    Defence Line of Amsterdam 2
    Frontiers of the Roman Empire 2
    Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin 1.5
    Van Nellefabriek 1.5
    Stoclet House 1

    Reviewed TWHS