Amiens on the Somme river

29 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Quai Belu © Emmanuel LEGRAND

Quai Belu © Emmanuel LEGRAND

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, 120 km (75 mi) north of Paris and 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy. The city had a population of 134,000. The Somme canal runs through the town to the English Channel. This canal is linked to the Canal du Nord (Paris to Lille metropolitan area).   read more…

The city of Aberdeen in Scotland

28 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Belmont Street Farmers Market © Peter Ward

Belmont Street Farmers Market © Peter Ward

Aberdeen is Scotland’s third most populous city, one of Scotland’s 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom’s 29th most populous city, with an official population estimate of 220,420. Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen’s buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, which can sparkle like silver due to their high mica contents. The city has a long, sandy coastline. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from King David I (1124–53), transforming the city economically. The city’s two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and The Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeen’s seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland. Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record-breaking ten times, and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies. It was named the 54th most liveable city in the World.   read more…

Hall in Tyrol

27 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Upper City Square © Anna reg

Upper City Square © Anna reg

Hall in Tirol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state’s capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 12,700.   read more…

The solarCity in Linz

26 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Green Buildings, Green Technologies Reading Time:  4 minutes

© solarcity.at

© solarcity.at

The solarCity is an energy-saving living district in Linz-Pichling, Austria, which provides living space for about 4,000 people. The houses were built using a low-energy design. The idea and motivation for providing energy efficient living arrangements stems from the fact that fossil fuels contribute to global warming and that their use should therefore be avoided.   read more…

Brive-la-Gaillarde in the Corrèze department

26 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Fontaine République on Place de la République © Le grand Cricri

Fontaine République on Place de la République © Le grand Cricri

Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. It has around 50,000 inhabitants, while the population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.   read more…

The port city of Constanța on the Black Sea

25 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Constanţa Casino © Zlatko Krastev

Constanţa Casino © Zlatko Krastev

Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region.   read more…

The Cinque Ports in Kent and Sussex

24 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Cinque Ports map © Clem Rutter

Cinque Ports map © Clem Rutter

The Confederation of Cinque Ports (pronounced “sink” ports, not as the French “cinq”) is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest. The name originates in Norman French, meaning “five ports”, which are: Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich.   read more…

Rennes in Brittany

22 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Republique Square and Palace of Commerce © Pline

Republique Square and Palace of Commerce © Pline

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department. From 1954 onward, the city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 220,000 inhabitants, helping it become the third fastest-growing city in France, after Toulouse and Montpellier.   read more…

Skytower, the European Central Bank Headquarters in the Ostend district of Frankfurt am Main

22 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, House of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

August 2012 © Simsalabimbam/cc-by-sa-3.0

August 2012 © Simsalabimbam/cc-by-sa-3.0

The European Central Bank Headquarters is a building complex under construction in the Ostend district of Frankfurt am Main. It includes the existing Großmarkthalle, a new 185/165-metre-twin-skyscraper and a new low-rise building to connect the two. Located east of the city centre it will house the new headquarters for the European Central Bank (ECB). It is expected to be completed in 2014.   read more…

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