Europe’s capital Strasbourg

22 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Palais Universitaire © Jonathan M

Palais Universitaire © Jonathan M

As a European capital at the crossroads of Latin and Germanic world and seventh largest city in France, Strasbourg has a unique architectural heritage. Located on the banks of the Rhine, the city, whose center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, look back on 2000 years of history. Strasbourg combine tradition and modernity, and can be explored by foot, by one of the many excursion boats, by tram or by bike. The food, wines and beers are also among the highlights of the Alsatian capital. Strasbourg is an art metropolis, whose past, carved in stone, is still present for the most parts. Every quarter, every building has made a harmonious witness to a remarkable city history, which celebrated its 2000 year anniversary in 1988.   read more…

The university town of Jena

27 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Wagnergasse © Hamster 3

Wagnergasse © Hamster 3

Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.   read more…

Theme Week Swiss – St. Gallen, gate to Appenzellerland

21 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

Housing in the Abby quarter © Filzstift

Housing in the Abby quarter © Filzstift

St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 160,000 inhabitants) and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on services for its economic base. The main tourist attraction is the Abbey of St. Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its renowned library contains books which date to the 9th century. The city has good transport links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany and Austria. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps.   read more…

Schwaebisch Hall in the Kocher Valley

5 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Historic town centre © Re-Zensor

Historic town centre © Re-Zensor

Schwäbisch Hall (or Hall for short) is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg and capital of the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is located in the valley of the river Kocher in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg. The first part of the name, “Schwäbisch” refers to the name of the region, Swabia. The most probable origin of the second part of the name “Hall” is a west Germanic word family that means “drying something by heating it”, likely referring to the salt production method of heating salty groundwater. The salt mine closed in 1925. As of December 31, 2009, Schwäbisch Hall has a population of 36,799. The residents of Schwäbisch Hall come from over 100 countries. Schwäbisch Hall has a mix of historic and modern buildings.   read more…

Celle in the Lüneburg Heath

26 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Old Town Hall © Hajotthu

Old Town Hall © Hajotthu

Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath, has a castle (Schloss Celle) built in the renaissance and baroque style and a picturesque old town centre (the Altstadt) with over 400 timber-framed houses, making Celle one of the most remarkable members of the German Timber-Frame Road. From 1378 to 1705, Celle was the official residence of the Lüneburg branch of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (House of Welf) who had been banished from their original ducal seat by its townsfolk.   read more…

Theme Week Carinthia – Villach

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

View across the Drava river towards the cross church in Perau © Hrald/cc-by-sa-3.0

View across the Drava river towards the cross church in Perau © Hrald/cc-by-sa-3.0

Villach is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It represents an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region.   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…

Graz in Styria

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

City Hall © Tamirhassan

City Hall © Tamirhassan

Graz is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria. On 1 April 2010 it had a population of 292,000. Graz has a long tradition as a student city: its six universities have more than 44,000 students. Its “Old Town” is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe. Graz is situated on the Mur River in the southeast of Austria. It is about 200 km (120 mi) southwest of Vienna. The nearest larger urban center is Maribor in Slovenia which is about 50 km (31 mi) away. Styria is a green and heavily forested area.   read more…

Tartu, the spiritual center of Estonia

26 August 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture Reading Time:  7 minutes

Town Hall Square with fountain The Kissing Students © Alinozka/cc-by-sa-3.0

Town Hall Square with fountain The Kissing Students © Alinozka/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia, following Estonia’s political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual centre of the country, especially since it is home to the nation’s oldest and most renowned university, the University of Tartu. Tartu has been an intellectual centre of both Estonia and Baltic countries for several centuries. The city also houses the Supreme Court of Estonia and the Ministry of Education and Research. Situated 186 kilometres (116 miles) southeast of Tallinn, Tartu is the centre of southern Estonia and lies on the Emajõgi (“Mother river”), which connects the two largest lakes of Estonia. The city is served by Tartu Airport.   read more…

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