Theme Week Crimea

5 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Swallow's Nest © flickr.com - Иерей Максим Массалитин

Swallow's Nest © flickr.com - Иерей Максим Массалитин

Crimea, or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name. It was often referred to with the definite article, as the Crimea, until well into the 20th century.   read more…

Theme Week Emilia-Romagna

22 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  5 minutes

Emilia-Romagna Provinces © Rarelibra

Emilia-Romagna Provinces © Rarelibra

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative Region of Northern Italy, comprising the former regions of Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of 22,446 km2 (8,666 sq mi), and about 4.4 million inhabitants.   read more…

Theme Week Havana on Cuba

20 October 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Havana Collage © Vitalia

Havana Collage © Vitalia

Havana (La Habana, officially Villa San Cristóbal de La Habana) is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. The current mayor is Marta Hernández from the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2009, the city/province had the 3rd highest income in the country. The city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a +20.0% increase from 2005. The historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Moreover, the city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments.   read more…

Theme Week New York City

8 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, New York City, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Seen from Rockefeller Center © flickr.com - jerryfergusonphotograph y/cc-by-2.0

Seen from Rockefeller Center © flickr.com – jerryfergusonphotograph y/cc-by-2.0

New York is the most populous city in the United States of America and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. There are more people living and working in Greater New York than in all of the German cities with more than a million inhabitants combined. The city is referred to as New York City or The City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. A global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural capital of the world.   read more…

Theme Week Algarve

16 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Beach of Carvoeiro © Haloorange

Beach of Carvoeiro © Haloorange

The Algarve is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. It has an area of 5,412 square kilometres (2,090 sq mi) with approximately 450,484 permanent inhabitants, and incorporates 16 municipalities. The region coincides with the Faro District, and has as its administrative centre the city of Faro, where both the region’s international airport at Faro (FAO) and public university (the University of the Algarve) are located. Tourism and related activities are extensive and make up the bulk of the Algarve’s summer economy. Fish, seafood and fruit production, which includes oranges, carob beans, figs and almonds, are other important activities in the region. The Algarve is the most popular tourist destination in Portugal, and one of the most popular in Europe. Its population triples in the peak holiday season thanks to a high influx of visitors, and receives an average of 7 million foreign tourists each year. In total, including national visitors, almost 10 million people visit the Algarve every year.   read more…

Theme Week Miami & the Beaches

5 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Miami / South Florida, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  10 minutes

South Beach - Ocean Drive © chensiyuan

South Beach - Ocean Drive © chensiyuan

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625. The 42nd largest city proper in the United States, with a population of 399,457, it is the principal, central, and most populous city of the South Florida metropolitan area, and the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States. According to the US Census Bureau, Miami’s metro area is the seventh most populous and fifth-largest urban area in the United States, with a population of around 5.5 million. Miami and its suburbs are located on a broad plain between the Florida Everglades to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east that also extends from Florida Bay north to Lake Okeechobee.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Be Breizh!

20 February 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Bon appétit, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Crozon © S. Möller

Crozon © S. Möller

Brittany (Breton: Breizh, French: Bretagne) is one of the 27 regions of France. It occupies a large peninsula in the northwest of the country, lying between the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south. Its capital is Rennes. The region of Brittany is made up of 80% of the former Duchy and Province of Brittany. The remaining 20% of the province is the Loire-Atlantique department which now lies inside the Pays de la Loire region, whose capital, Nantes, was the historical capital of the Duchy of Brittany.   read more…

Theme Week Tuscany

23 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Poppi © flickr.com / 74701705@N00

Poppi © flickr.com / 74701705@N00

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres (8,900 sq mi) and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (Firenze). Tuscany is known for its gorgeous landscapes, its rich artistic legacy and its vast influence on high culture. Tuscany is widely regarded as the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and has been home to some of the most influential people in the history of arts and science, such as Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci, Luca Pacioli and Puccini. Due to this, the region has several museums (such as the Uffizi, the Pitti Palace and the Chianciano Museum of Art). Tuscany has a unique culinary tradition, and is famous for its wines (most famous of which are Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino).   read more…

Theme Week Istanbul – The gateway between Europe and Asia

13 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, Bon voyage, European Capital of Culture, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

Aerial view over historical Sultanahmet and Galata district © www.Istanbulpark.de

Aerial view over historical Sultanahmet and Galata district © www.Istanbulpark.de

Istanbul, historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province (municipality) had 14.4 million people living in it, which is 18% of Turkey’s population and the 2nd largest metropolitan area in Europe (including the Asian side of the city) after London and Moscow. The city in its administrative limits had 8.8 million residents counted in the latest Turkish census from 2000. Istanbul is a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. Istanbul is a designated alpha world city.   read more…

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