The Sophienterrassen in Hamburg

1 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hamburg, House of the Month Reading Time:  3 minutes

© sophienterrassen.de

© sophienterrassen.de

From time immemorial, Harvestehude, lying on the banks of the Alster, has been one of the most privileged residential locations to be offered by Hamburg. Venerable white Wilhelminian style and art nouveau villas in large parks and town houses resembling the London town houses, still distinguish the banks of the Alster today. As it was in this period, the Alster plays a central role as an area for rowing and sailing and numerous sports and social clubs line its banks.   read more…

The Baltic island of Bornholm

21 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Half-timbered houses in Svaneke © Ipigott

Half-timbered houses in Svaneke © Ipigott

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of (most of) the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, and north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts such as glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is important during the summer. The topography of the island consists of dramatic rock formations in the north, sloping down towards “pine and deciduous forests” and farmland in the middle and sandy beaches in the south. It also refers to Bornholm Regional Municipality, the municipality (Danish: kommune) which covers the entire island. Bornholm was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county – the others being Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. On 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its short-lived (2003 until 2006) county privileges and became part of Region Hovedstaden.   read more…

The Galápagos Islands

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

Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber

Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber

The Galápago Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km (525 nmi) west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over 25,000. The archipelago constists of 14 main islands (5 are populated) and over 100 small and mini islands.   read more…

The port city of Cobh in Cork

20 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Cobh © geograph.org.uk - Ralph Rawlinson

Cobh © geograph.org.uk – Ralph Rawlinson

Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork in Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island. On a high point in the town stands Cobh (St Colman’s) Cathedral, one of the tallest buildings in Ireland and seat of the diocese of Cloyne.   read more…

Theme Week Singapore, the lion city

19 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Singapore by night © LordHorst

Singapore by night © LordHorst

Singapore is a southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia‘s Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. The country is highly urbanised with very little primary rainforest remaining, although more land is being created for development through land reclamation.   read more…

The coastal town of Beer in Devon

18 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Fore Street looking towards Sea Hill © geograph.org.uk - Eugene Birchall

Fore Street looking towards Sea Hill © geograph.org.uk – Eugene Birchall

The village of Beer is in south-east Devon on Lyme Bay. The village of Beer is situated on the 95-mile long Jurassic Coast, England’s first natural World Heritage Site and its picturesque cliffs, including Beer Head, form part of the South West Coast Path, Britain’s longest waymarked long-distance footpath (630 miles / 1,014 km).   read more…

Ischia in the Gulf of Naples

17 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

S Angelo d'Ischia © ischia-hotel.net

S Angelo d’Ischia © ischia-hotel.net

Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 km from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands (the four picturesque islands are Procida, Vivara, Capri and Nisida). Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has about 34 kilometres (21 mi) of coastline and a surface area of 46.3 square kilometres (17.9 sq mi). It is almost entirely mountainous, the highest peak being Mount Epomeo at 788 m. The island has a population of over 60,000 people.   read more…

Porto Cervo on the Costa Smeralda

14 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Stahlkocher/GFDL

© Stahlkocher/GFDL

Porto Cervo is an Italian seaside resort in northern Sardinia. It is a frazione of the comune of Arzachena, in the province of Olbia-Tempio. The village is the main centre of the Costa Smeralda, on the gulf of the same name. It was created by Prince Karim Aga Khan. Porto Cervo has a resident population of less than 200 inhabitants. Porto Cervo is home to the Monte di Mola (MdM) art gallery, which is the most important gallery on the Costa Smeralda.   read more…

Sanary-sur-Mer on the southern French Mediterranean coast

13 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Patrick Verdier

© Patrick Verdier

Sanary-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in coastal Provence on the Mediterranean Sea 13 km (8.1 mi) from Toulon and 49 km (30 mi) from Marseille. It can be reached from Paris by TGV train in less than 4 hours. In high season there are direct flights to nearby Toulon from London, Oslo, Brussels and Rotterdam.   read more…

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