Theme Week Lapland

22 August 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  11 minutes

Pallastunturi hills in Pallas-Yllästunturin National Park © Petr Vodička/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pallastunturi hills in Pallas-Yllästunturin National Park © Petr Vodička/cc-by-sa-4.0

Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Troms and Finnmark County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. Topography varies from vast mires and forests of the South to fells in the North. The Arctic circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the midnight sun and polar night can be seen in Lapland.   read more…

Theme Week Belarus

25 July 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Victory Square in Minsk © Mikkalai

Victory Square in Minsk © Mikkalai

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Covering an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) and with a population of 9.3 million, Belarus is the 13th-largest and the 20th-most populous country in Europe. The country is administratively divided into seven regions. Minsk is the capital and largest city.   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania

20 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Vilnius © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vilnius © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest. It has a maritime border with Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km² (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.8 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages.   read more…

Theme Week Latvia

23 May 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

Historic centre of Riga, an UNESCO World Heritage Site © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Historic centre of Riga, an UNESCO World Heritage Site © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states; and is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km² (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts; and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population.   read more…

Theme Week Estonia

25 April 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  14 minutes

The Estonian Song Festival is UNESCO's Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity © A. Palu/cc-by-sa-3.0-ee

The Estonian Song Festival is UNESCO’s Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
© A. Palu/cc-by-sa-3.0-ee

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,200 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,339 square kilometres (17,505 sq mi). The capital city Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the autochthonous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its people, as well as the world’s second most spoken Finnic language.   read more…

Theme Week County Galway

21 March 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Connemara National Park from Diamond Hill © Karie Kuiper/cc-by-sa-4.0

Connemara National Park from Diamond Hill © Karie Kuiper/cc-by-sa-4.0

County Galway (Irish: Contae na Gaillimhe) is a county in Ireland. It is in the West of Ireland, taking up the south of the province of Connacht. There are several Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county. The traditional county includes, and is named for, the city of Galway, but the city and county are separate local government areas, administered by the local authorities of Galway City Council in the urban area and Galway County Council in the rest of the county. The population of the county was 258,058 at the 2016 census.   read more…

Theme Week Florida Coasts

21 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Miami / South Florida, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

First Coast - Lightner Museum in St. Augustine © Excel23/cc-by-sa-3.0

First Coast – Lightner Museum in St. Augustine © Excel23/cc-by-sa-3.0

Describing the Florida coastline is difficult. In contrast to cities, places, squares or buildings, where this is usually achieved very precisely, the coasts of Florida tend to create a feeling, guided by atmosphere and colors, which words and cameras can barely capture. It is about the overall experience. If you don’t want to run to the nearest travel agency immediately after watching the film at the end of the post to jet over and see it for yourself, you are probably better off in Brighton ;-)   read more…

Theme Week Tokyo

24 January 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  11 minutes

Shibuya Crossing © Takuya Matsuyama/cc-by-3.0

Shibuya Crossing © Takuya Matsuyama/cc-by-3.0

Tokyo, historically known in the west as Tokio and officially the Tokyo Metropolis (Tōkyō-to), is the capital, the largest city, and the most populous metropolitan area in the Greater Tokyo Area, the Kantō region, and Japan, as well as the most populous metropolitan area in the world and most populous prefecture of Japan. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central Pacific coast of Japan‘s main island of Honshu. Tokyo is the political and economic center of the country, as well as the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the national government. As of 2021 the prefecture has an estimated population of 14.04 million. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with an estimated 38.5 million residents.   read more…

Theme Week Friuli Venezia Giulia

20 December 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  16 minutes

The seat of the regional government in Trieste © flickr.com - Nick Savchenko/cc-by-sa-2.0

The seat of the regional government in Trieste © flickr.com – Nick Savchenko/cc-by-sa-2.0

Friuli Venezia Giulia is one of the 20 regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste. The name used to be hyphenated as Friuli-Venezia Giulia until 2001. The region is called Friûl Vignesie Julie in Friulian, Furlanija Julijska krajina in Slovene and Friaul Julisch Venetien in German, three languages spoken in the region. The city of Venice (“Venezia”) is not in this region, despite the name. Friuli Venezia Giulia has an area of 7,924 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is traversed by the major transport routes between the east and west of southern Europe. It encompasses the historical-geographical region of Friuli and a small portion of the historical region of Venezia Giulia – also known in English as the Julian March – each with its own distinct history, traditions and identity.   read more…

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