Varna, the summer capital of Bulgaria

31 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Stoyan Bachvarov Theatre © Nikola Gruev

Stoyan Bachvarov Theatre © Nikola Gruev

Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous province and Varna Municipality.   read more…

The Hackesche Höfe in Berlin

31 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Times

© Times

Berlin’s Hackesche Höfe (Hof means courtyard) – just off S-Bahn Station Hackescher Markt, is a heritage site consisting of eight communicating, restored rear courtyards accessible through Rosenthalerstrasse 40’s main arched entrance. The area, also known as the Scheunenviertel is one of Berlin’s top entertainment hubs, popular with Berliners and visitors alike and a magnet for club-goers since the 1990’s.   read more…

Nottingham and Robin Hood

30 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Nottingham Montage © PawełMM

Nottingham Montage © PawełMM

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group. Whilst Nottingham has always had a tightly-drawn boundary (accounting for its relatively small population of 307,000), Nottingham’s Urban Area has a population of approximately 806,000; it is the seventh largest urban conurbation in the United Kingdom, ranking between those of Liverpool and Sheffield, and the largest in the East Midlands. Eurostat’s concept of the Larger Urban Zone listed the area’s population at 825,600 as of 2004.   read more…

The Wagner city of Bayreuth

29 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Richard Wagner Festival Hall on the Green Hill © rizi-online.de - Rico Neitzel

Richard Wagner Festival Hall on the Green Hill © rizi-online.de – Rico Neitzel

Bayreuth is a sizeable town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town’s roots date back to 1194 and it is nowadays the capital of Upper Franconia with a population of 73,000. It is world-famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented.   read more…

The Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin

28 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  6 minutes

Frankfurter Tor © Dnsob

Frankfurter Tor © Dnsob

The Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx.   read more…

Theme Week Netherlands – Gouda, historic town in the green heart of the Netherlands

27 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Building at Market Square housing the tourist information © Afhaalchinees

Building at Market Square housing the tourist information © Afhaalchinees

Gouda (population 71,000) is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. In the Middle Ages, a settlement was founded at the location of the current city by the Van der Goude family, who built a fortified castle alongside the banks of the Gouwe River, from which the family and the city took its name. The area, originally marshland, developed over the course of two centuries. By 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary was transformed into a harbour. Gouda’s array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day trip destination.   read more…

Almere is the youngest city in the Netherlands

26 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Almere Harbour © Dysturb.net - Ekim Tan

Almere Harbour © Dysturb.net – Ekim Tan

Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, the Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere comprises the districts Almere Stad, Almere Haven, Almere Buiten, Almere Hout, Almere Poort (under construction) and Almere Pampus (design phase).   read more…

The Museum Island in Berlin

24 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

© museumsinsel-berlin.de

© museumsinsel-berlin.de

Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel) is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Cölln. It is so called for the complex of five internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums, that occupy the island’s northern part:   read more…

Stavanger, the petroleum capital of Norway

23 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture Reading Time:  7 minutes

Aerial view of Stavanger's city center © Godztian

Aerial view of Stavanger’s city center © Godztian

Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland. Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,000. There are 198,000 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway. Stavanger is the centre of the Stavanger metropolitan area, which has a population of 297,569, and the administrative centre of Rogaland county. The city is commonly referred to as the Petroleum Capital of Norway.   read more…

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