Icehotel Jukkasjärvi in Sweden

22 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  8 minutes

Icehotel © Tom Corser - www.tomcorser.com/cc-by-sa-3.0-uk

Icehotel © Tom Corser – www.tomcorser.com/cc-by-sa-3.0-uk

The Icehotel (styled as ICEHOTEL) is a hotel built each year with snow and ice in the village of Jukkasjärvi, in northern Sweden, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Kiruna. It is the world’s first ice hotel. After its first opening in 1990, the hotel has been built each year from December to April. The hotel, including the chairs and beds, is constructed from snow and ice blocks taken from the nearby Torne River. Artists are invited to create different rooms and decorations made by ice. Besides bedrooms, there is a bar, with glasses made of ice and an ice chapel that is popular with marrying couples. The structure remains below freezing, around −5 °C (23 °F).   read more…

Lady Elliot Insel in Australia

21 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Lady Elliot Island © LordDimwit

Lady Elliot Island © LordDimwit

Lady Elliot Island is the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef. The island lies 46 nautical miles (85 km; 53 mi) north-east of Bundaberg and covers an area of approximately 45 hectares (110 acres). It is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of islands and is owned by the Commonwealth of Australia. The island is home to a small eco resort and an airstrip, which is serviced daily by flights from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.   read more…

The Lake Baikal in Siberia

21 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Sunset at Lake Baikal © Emilianka/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sunset at Lake Baikal © Emilianka/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lake Baikal is a rift lake in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between the Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast. Lake Baikal is the largest (by volume) freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water, and at 1,642 m (5,387 ft), the deepest. It is also among the clearest of all lakes, and thought to be the world’s oldest lake at 25 million years. It is the seventh-largest lake in the world by surface area. With 23,615.39 cubic kilometres (5,700 cubic miles) of fresh water, it contains more water than that of all the Great Lakes combined.   read more…

Theme Week Sicily – Ragusa

20 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Okkiproject/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Okkiproject/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ragusa is the capital of the province of Ragusa with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica. Together with seven other cities in the Val di Noto, it is listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The economy of the surrounding province hinges mainly on light industries, agriculture (horticulture, olives), farming, tourism, light manufacturing and small oilfields.   read more…

Herzogenaurach in Middle Franconia

20 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Main street © Tilman AB

Main street © Tilman AB

Herzogenaurach is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria. Herzogenaurach is situated in the Middle Franconia area of Bavaria, approx. 23 km or 14 miles northwest of Nuremberg. The town is located on the Aurach river, a tributary of the Regnitz river.   read more…

The Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific

19 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

Northern Mariana Islands map © Wikid77

Northern Mariana Islands map © Wikid77

The Northern Mariana Islands is one of two insular areas that are Commonwealths of the United States; the other is Puerto Rico. It consists of fifteen islands in the western Pacific Ocean located about three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and the Philippines. Head of State is the US President.   read more…

Novosibirsk, Siberia’s Chicago

18 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Lenin's House, now hosts the Novosibirsk State Philarmony Hall © Skokian

Lenin’s House, now hosts the Novosibirsk State Philarmony Hall © Skokian

Novosibirsk is Russia’s third-largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,700 (2010 Census preliminary results). It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District. Rapid growth and industrialization were the reasons behind Novosibirsk’s nickname: the “Chicago of Siberia”. The city is located in the southwestern portion of the federal district and occupies an area of 477.2 square kilometres (184.2 sq mi). The city stands on the banks of the Ob River in the West Siberian Plain. To the south of the city lies the Ukok Plateau, which forms part of the Golden Mountains of Altai UNESCO World Heritage Site.   read more…

Bełżec in Poland

18 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Orthodox church of St. Vasily from 1756 © Yarek shalom/cc-by-sa-3.0

Orthodox church of St. Vasily from 1756 © Yarek shalom/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bełżec is a village in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland with 2,600 inhabitants. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bełżec. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Tomaszów Lubelski and 114 km (71 mi) south-east of the regional capital Lublin.   read more…

Puerto Rico in the Caribbean

17 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Coast Guard Barque Eagle in front of the 16th century Fort San Felipe de Morro in San Juan © United States Coast Guard

Coast Guard Barque Eagle in front of the 16th century Fort San Felipe de Morro in San Juan © United States Coast Guard

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, literally the “Free Associated State of Puerto Rico”), is a United States territory located in the northeastern Caribbean. Puerto Rico is an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos. Of these last five, only Culebra and Vieques are inhabited year-round. Culebra, which is only 18 miles away from the mainland, is home to Flamenco Beach, one of the top ten beaches in the world. Mona is uninhabited most of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. There are also many other smaller islands, including Monito and “La Isleta de San Juan,” which includes Old San Juan and Puerta de Tierra, and is connected to the main island by bridges. The capital and largest city is San Juan. Its official languages are Spanish, which is predominant, and English. Puerto Ricans “were collectively made U.S. citizens” in 1917 as a result of the Jones-Shafroth Act. U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote for the U.S. president, though both major parties, Republican and Democrat, run primary elections in Puerto Rico to send delegates to vote on a presidential candidate. Since Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory and not a U.S. state, the United States Constitution does not fully enfranchise US citizens residing in Puerto Rico (“Voting rights in Puerto Rico“).   read more…

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