Theme Week Romanian Riviera – Neptun

22 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© flickr.com - lucianf/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – lucianf/cc-by-2.0

Neptun is a summer resort on the Romanian seacoast, on the Black Sea, six kilometres (3 1⁄2 miles) north of Mangalia. It is part of a string of such resorts, Olimp, Jupiter, Cap Aurora, and Venus.   read more…

Portrait: Charlemagne, the Father of Europe

22 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, Portrait Reading Time:  7 minutes

Karlsschrein (Shrine of Charlemagne) in Aachen Cathedral © Beckstet/cc-by-sa-3.0

Karlsschrein (Shrine of Charlemagne) in Aachen Cathedral © Beckstet/cc-by-sa-3.0

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800, holding these titles until his death in 814. He united most of Western and Central Europe, and was the first recognised emperor to rule from the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire approximately three centuries earlier. Charlemagne’s reign was marked by political and social changes that had lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages.   read more…

Theme Week Romanian Riviera – Vama Veche

21 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Corsarul © kikiricky/cc-by-sa-3.0

Corsarul © kikiricky/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vama Veche (historical names: Ilanlâk, Ilanlâc, Turkish: Ilanlık) is a village in Constanţa County, Romania, on the Black Sea coast, near the border with Bulgaria, at 28.57 E longitude, 43.75 N latitude. It is part of the commune of Limanu and in 2002, it had a population of 178. Vama Veche administratively belongs to the commune Limanu. The town is located in Dobrogea, on the shore of the Black Sea, less than one kilometer from the border with Bulgaria.   read more…

Belle-Île in Brittany

21 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Sauzon © Mica/cc-by-3.0

Sauzon © Mica/cc-by-3.0

Belle-Île, Belle-Île-en-Mer, or Belle Isle (Breton: Ar Gerveur; Old Breton: Guedel) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the département of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany’s islands. It is 14 kilometres (7 1⁄2 nautical miles) from the Quiberon peninsula. Administratively, the island is divided into four communes: Bangor, Le Palais, Locmaria, Sauzon. Belle-Île formed a canton until 2015 when it was merged into the canton of Quiberon as part of a general overhaul.   read more…

Theme Week Romanian Riviera

20 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  5 minutes

Mamaia Beach © Razvan Socol/cc-by-sa-4.0

Mamaia Beach © Razvan Socol/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Romanian Black Sea resorts, or the Romanian Riviera, stretch along the Black Sea coast from the Danube Delta at the northern end down to the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the south, along 275 kilometers of coastline.   read more…

Düsseldorf International Boat Show

20 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Sport, Superyachts Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Sir James/cc-by-sa-2.0-de

© flickr.com – Sir James/cc-by-sa-2.0-de

The Düsseldorf International Boat Show (German: Internationale Bootsausstellung Düsseldorf), more commonly known as boot Düsseldorf or just boot is one of the world’s premier boat shows. With some 1,600 exhibitors from over 50 countries, boot Düsseldorf is considered a benchmark for the international boat and water sports industry. Unparalleled at other major boat shows, large vessels up to 180 grt can be looked on in their entirety, as the exhibition is a complete indoor event. Boot Düsseldorf is held annually at Messe Düsseldorf, Germany, for the duration of a week in the end of January.   read more…

Meze

19 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  10 minutes

Israeli meze © flickr.com - Ted Eytan/cc-by-sa-2.0

Israeli meze © flickr.com – Ted Eytan/cc-by-sa-2.0

Meze (also spelled mezze or mezé) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in eastern Mediterranean cuisines: Syria, Iraq, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Armenia. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A meze may be served as a part of a multi-course meal or form a meal in itself. Meze are often served with spirits such as arak, rakia, raki, oghi, ouzo, or grappa at meyhane and ouzeri or at regular restaurants.   read more…

panem et circenses and divide et impera

18 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Portrait of Juvenal from the 'Nuremberg Chronicle', late 1400s © Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff

Portrait of Juvenal from the ‘Nuremberg Chronicle’, late 1400s © Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff

panem et circenses
Bread and circuses (or bread and games; from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metonymic phrase referring to superficial appeasement. It is attributed to Juvenal (Satires, Satire X), a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century AD, and is used commonly in cultural, particularly political, contexts.   read more…

Port city and peninsula of Quiberon in Brittany

17 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Remi Jouan/cc-by-3.0

© Remi Jouan/cc-by-3.0

Quiberon (Breton: Kiberen) is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, administrative region of Brittany, western France.   read more…

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