Palau in the western Pacific Ocean

30 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Environment Reading Time:  12 minutes

Rock Islands © Peter R. Binter

Rock Islands © Peter R. Binter

Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. The country contains approximately 340 islands, forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia, and has an area of 466 square kilometers (180 sq mi). The most populous island is Koror. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the nearby island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Federated States of Micronesia.   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay – Asunción

28 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  16 minutes

Calle Palma © Bruno Arriola/cc-by-sa-3.0

Calle Palma © Bruno Arriola/cc-by-sa-3.0

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay. The city is located on the left bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the River Pilcomayo, on the South American continent. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the northwest separate the city from the Occidental Region of Paraguay and Argentina in the south part of the city. The rest of the city is surrounded by the Central Department. The city is an autonomous capital district, not a part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San Antonio, Limpio, Capiatá and Villa Elisa, which are part of the Central Department. The Asunción metropolitan area has over 2.2 million inhabitants.   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay – Ciudad del Este

27 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Downtown Ciudad del Este © Ekem/cc-by-sa-3.0

Downtown Ciudad del Este © Ekem/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ciudad del Este (Spanish for City of the East) initialed CDE is the second largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. Its population is at 294,000. The city consists of a large population of Lebanese immigrants, as well as Taiwanese. The city annually attracts thousands of tourists for Black Friday. On a daily basis, many tourists from Brazil cross the border to enter Ciudad del Este and the city also attracts thousands of worldwide tourists. The city is home to Club Atlético 3 de Febrero, whose home ground Estadio Antonio Aranda was used for the 1999 Copa América, and is Paraguay’s third biggest football stadium.   read more…

Grant Park in Chicago

27 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Spirit of Music Garden © Alanscottwalker/cc-by-sa-3.0

Spirit of Music Garden © Alanscottwalker/cc-by-sa-3.0

Grant Park is a large urban park (319 acres or 1.29 km²) in the Loop community area of Chicago. Located in Chicago’s central business district, the park’s most notable features are Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum Campus. Originally known as Lake Park, and dating from the city’s founding, it was renamed in 1901 to honor Ulysses S. Grant.   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay – Encarnación

26 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Encarnación Beach © Motorway065/cc-by-sa-3.0

Encarnación Beach © Motorway065/cc-by-sa-3.0

Encarnación is a district and the capital city of Itapúa Department in Paraguay, located at the south-east of the department, on the right-hand (western) shore of the Paraná River, opposite Posadas in Argentina. The city has an area of 274 km² and a population of 128,000. Encarnación is the third-largest city of Paraguay. Encarnación is connected to Posadas by the San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge and the International Train. The city is located on Route 1, some 370 km (225 miles) from Asunción, and located on Route 6, some 280 km (175 miles) from Ciudad del Este. The Teniente Amin Ayub Gonzalez Airport, 12 kilometres from the city, is the third most important airport of the country. Because of the mild climate, the city is often referred to as the Pearl of the South. Near the town (28 km on the Ruta 6) are the former Jesuit missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe, which were collectively declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay – Villarrica

25 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Cordillera de Yvytyrusu © Ricardogomezize/cc-by-sa-4.0

Cordillera de Yvytyrusu © Ricardogomezize/cc-by-sa-4.0

Villarrica del Espíritu Santo, its formal name, is a city located in the middle of the Oriental Region of the Paraguayan territory, it is the capital of the Guairá Department. It was founded by the Spanish Captain Ruy Diaz de Melgarejo on May 14, 1570 in the old Guaira, today in Brazilian territory. Villarrica has many places that honor the Paraguayan culture, such as the monument to the memory of Manuel Ortiz Guerrero, honorary citizen of the city. About this city Bacón Duarte Prado (journalist and musician) wrote: Villarrica is the city of the eternal youth, born from the waters of the Ycuá Pytá and the breeze that comes from the hills.   read more…

Portrait: Hans and Sophie Scholl

25 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  8 minutes

Ludwig Maximilians University Munich - Lichthof © Cfaerber/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ludwig Maximilians University Munich – Lichthof © Cfaerber/cc-by-sa-3.0

Hans and Sophie Scholl, often referred to in German as die Geschwister Scholl (literally: the Scholl siblings), were a brother and sister who were members of the White Rose, a student group in Munich that was active in the non-violent resistance movement in Nazi Germany, especially in distributing flyers against the war and the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. In post-war Germany, Hans and Sophie Scholl are recognized as symbols of the Christian German resistance movement against the totalitarian Nazi regime.   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay – Concepción

24 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© flickr.com - Arcadiuš/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Arcadiuš/cc-by-2.0

Concepción is a city and district in northern Paraguay and capital of the Concepción Department. It lies next to the Paraguay River. Route 5 “Gral. Bernardino Caballero” connects the city with Pedro Juan Caballero and Asunción. The city is nicknamed La Perla del Norte (The Pearl of the North).   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay

23 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  12 minutes

Asunción © Felipe Antonio/cc-by-sa-3.0

Asunción © Felipe Antonio/cc-by-sa-3.0

Paraguay is a landlocked country in central South America, bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de Sudamérica (“Heart of South America”). As of 2016, Paraguay’s population was estimated to be at around 6.7 million, most of whom are concentrated in the southeast region of the country. The capital and largest city is Asunción, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly a third of Paraguay’s population. In contrast to most Latin American nations, Paraguay’s indigenous language and culture, Guaraní, remains highly influential. In each census, residents predominantly identify as mestizo, reflecting years of intermarriage among the different ethnic groups. Guaraní is recognized as an official language alongside Spanish, and both languages are widely spoken in the country.   read more…

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