Arnhem on the Lower Rhine

25 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Sonsbeek House © Michielverbeek

Sonsbeek House © Michielverbeek

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city’s development. Arnhem has almost 150,000 residents as one of the larger cities of the Netherlands. The municipality is part of the city region Arnhem-Nijmegen, a metropolitan area with 736,000 inhabitants. Arnhem is home to the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen and ArtEZ Institute of the Arts.   read more…

Theme Week Lombardy

24 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Villa Isola del Garda © Luca Capuccini

Villa Isola del Garda © Luca Capuccini

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. A sixth of Italy’s population lives in Lombardy and about a fifth of Italy’s GDP is produced in the region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country. It is also the region with the most Unesco World Heritage Sites in Italy. Although Lombardy is often identified as merely an economic and industrial powerhouse, it has a rich and diverse cultural heritage. The many examples range from prehistory to the present day, through the Roman period and the Renaissance and can be found both in museums and churches that enrich cities and towns around the region. Lombardy contains numerous museums (over 330) of different types: ethnographic, historical, technical-scientific, artistic and naturalistic which testify to the historical-cultural and artistic development of the region.   read more…

Theme Week Queensland – Whitsunday Islands

24 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  3 minutes

Hamilton Island - Catseye Beach © Internet2014/cc-by-sa-3.0

Hamilton Island – Catseye Beach © Internet2014/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Whitsunday Islands are a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland in Australia, situated between just south of Bowen and to the north of Mackay, some 900 kilometres (560 mi) north of Brisbane. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the group’s commercial centre is Hamilton Island. The traditional owners of the area are the Ngaro People and the Gia People (Birri Gubba Language Group), the Juru Clan of which has the only recognised Native Title in the Region.   read more…

The seaside resort of Hastings

23 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Hastings Pier © Jarlhelm

Hastings Pier © Jarlhelm

Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located 24 miles (39 km) east of the county town of Lewes and 53 miles (85 km) south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900.   read more…

Theme Week Potsdam – Sanssouci Palace

22 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Sanssouci - Aerial view © Sven Scharr/cc-by-3.0

Sanssouci – Aerial view © Sven Scharr/cc-by-3.0

Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick’s need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. The palace’s name emphasises this; it is a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as “without concerns”, meaning “without worries” or “carefree”, symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power.   read more…

Sarreguemines in Lorraine

22 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Casino de la Faïencerie © Office de Tourisme Sarreguemines/cc-by-sa-3.0

Casino de la Faïencerie © Office de Tourisme Sarreguemines/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sarreguemines is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is the seat of the arrondissement of Sarreguemines.   read more…

Dinan in Brittany

21 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Chateau de Dinan © Luna04

Chateau de Dinan © Luna04

Dinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d’Armor department in northwestern France. Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most urban development has been on the hillside, overlooking the river Rance. The area alongside the River Rance is known as the port of Dinan and is connected to the town by the steep streets Rue Jerzual and its continuation outside the walls the Rue de Petit Fort.   read more…

Tallinn in Estonia

20 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Brunswyk/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

© Brunswyk/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) and has a population of 432,000. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn’s Old Town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland. Tallinn is the financial and business capital of Estonia. The city benefits from the high level of economic freedom, liberal economic policy and has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in information technology, tourism and logistics. Daily Mail called Tallinn one of world’s seven smartest cities. Tallinn is internationally renowned as a tourist destination, receiving more than 1.5 million visitors annually. The number of visitors has been growing steadily over the past decade. Tallinn Passenger Port is one of the busiest cruise destinations on the Baltic Sea, serving more than 520 000 cruise passengers in year 2013. From year 2011 regular cruise turnarounds in cooperation with Tallinn Airport are organised.   read more…

The Eurotunnel

19 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Eurotunnel schema © Arz - Commander Keane

Eurotunnel schema © Arz – Commander Keane

The Channel Tunnel (French: Le tunnel sous la Manche; also referred to as the Chunnel) is a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom, with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France, beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is 75 m (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), the tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world, although the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is both longer overall at 53.85 kilometres (33.46 mi) and deeper at 240 metres (790 ft) below sea level. The speed limit in the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).   read more…

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