United States presidential election of 2016

9 November 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial Reading Time:  15 minutes

© Lipton sale/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Lipton sale/cc-by-sa-3.0

In the face of the 18-month presidential election campaign, which more and more degenerated into the mud fight, not only the Americans will be happy about the fact that at least this very inglorious episode has now been surpassed. The US voters initially elected the electors of choice in their federal state. On 19 December 2016 the so-called Electoral College will officially elect the new president. The inauguration of the president of the United States will take place on 20 January 2017. Until then, Barack Obama fortunately remains still US President.   read more…

Panama City Beach in Florida

7 November 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Bart Everson/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Bart Everson/cc-by-2.0

Panama City Beach is a city in Bay County in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico coast with population of 12,018. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of “Panama City“, despite being a distinct municipality from the older and larger inland Panama City to the east, making Panama City and Panama City Beach two separate cities. Panama City Beach’s slogan is “The World’s Most Beautiful Beaches” due to the unique, sugar-white sandy beaches of northwest Florida.   read more…

Tribeca in Manhattan

4 November 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  8 minutes

Spirit School at The Brandy Library © flickr.com - Jazz Guy/cc-by-2.0

Spirit School at The Brandy Library © flickr.com – Jazz Guy/cc-by-2.0

Tribeca, originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Its name is a portmanteau from “Triangle Below Canal Street”. The “triangle”, or more accurately, a trapezoid, is bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and either Chambers or Vesey Streets. The area was among the first residential neighborhoods developed in New York beyond the boundaries of the city during colonial times, with residential development beginning in the late 18th century. Tribeca is dominated by former industrial buildings that have been converted into residential buildings and lofts, similar to those of the neighboring SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the neighborhood was a center of the textile/cotton trade. During the late 1960s and ’70s, abandoned and inexpensive Tribeca lofts became hot-spot residences for young artists and their families because of the seclusion of lower Manhattan and the vast living space. Jim Stratton, a Tribeca resident since this period, wrote the 1977 nonfiction book entitled “Pioneering in the Urban Wilderness,” detailing his experiences renovating lower Manhattan warehouses into residences. By the early 21st century, Tribeca became one of Manhattan’s most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods, well known for its celebrity residents. Today there are many bars, restaurants and art galleries in Tribeca, among them are Robert De Niro‘s Tribeca Grill and the Greenwich Hotel.   read more…

Lubbock in Texas

19 October 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Buddy Holly Center © Billy Hathorn/cc-by-sa-3.0

Buddy Holly Center © Billy Hathorn/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically and geographically as the Llano Estacado and ecologically is part of the southern end of the High Plains. Lubbock has a population of 250,000, making it the 83rd most populous city in the United States of America and the 11th most populous city in the state of Texas. The city is the economic center of the Lubbock metropolitan area, which has a population of 312,000.   read more…

Park City in Utah

10 October 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Mary G. Steiner Egyptian Theatre © Kevinthompson3221

Mary G. Steiner Egyptian Theatre © Kevinthompson3221

Park City is a city in Summit County in Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is 32 miles (51 km) southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and 19.88 miles (31.99 km) from Salt Lake City’s east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population is at 7,900. On average, the tourist population greatly exceeds the number of permanent residents. In the summertime many valley residents of the Wasatch Front visit the town to escape high temperatures. Park City is usually 20 °F (11 °C) cooler than Salt Lake City, as it lies mostly above 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above sea level, while Salt Lake City is situated at an elevation of about 4,300 feet (1,300 m). In 2008, Park City was named by Forbes Traveler Magazine among one of the 20 ‘prettiest towns’ in the United States. In 2011, the town was awarded a Gold-level Ride Center designation from the International Mountain Bicycling Association for its mountain bike trails, amenities and community.   read more…

The Harmony of the Seas

1 October 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

Harmony of the Seas © flickr.com - FaceMePLS/cc-by-2.0

Harmony of the Seas © flickr.com – FaceMePLS/cc-by-2.0

MS Harmony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship built by STX France at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire in France for Royal Caribbean International. She is the largest passenger ship in the world, surpassing her older sisters Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. For the inaugural season, Harmony of the Seas will offer seven-night western Mediterranean cruises originating from Barcelona and Rome (Civitavecchia). In late October 2016, the ship will cross the Atlantic to the United States, where she will offer seven-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises originating from Port Everglades, Florida, starting in November. The homeport is Nassau in the Bahamas.   read more…

Theme Week Washington, D.C. – President’s Park

30 September 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  10 minutes

President's Park with White House © Ad Meskens/cc-by-sa-3.0

President’s Park with White House © Ad Meskens/cc-by-sa-3.0

President’s Park, located in Washington, D.C., encompasses the White House, a visitor center, Lafayette Square, and The Ellipse. President’s Park was the original name of Lafayette Square. The current President’s Park is administered by the National Park Service. The White House Visitor Center is located in the north end of the Herbert C. Hoover Building (the Department of Commerce headquarters between 14th Street and 15th Street on Pennsylvania Avenue NW). Since September 11, 2001, the visitor center no longer serves as a starting point for those going on a reserved tour of the White House. The various exhibits provide an alternative visitor experience for those who did not schedule a tour. The themes of the six permanent exhibits are First Families, Symbols & Images, White House Architecture, White House Interiors, Working White House, and Ceremonies and Celebrations. Other exhibits change throughout the year.   read more…

Central Park in Manhattan

16 September 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  35 minutes

Central Park, seen from Rockefeller Center © Alfred Hutter

Central Park, seen from Rockefeller Center © Alfred Hutter

Central Park is an urban park in middle-upper Manhattan, within New York City. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with 40 million visitors in 2013. It is also one of the most filmed locations in the world. The Park was established in 1857 on 778 acres (315 ha) of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, a landscape architect and an architect, respectively, won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they titled the “Greensward Plan”. Construction began the same year and the park’s first area was opened to the public in the winter of 1858. Construction continued during the American Civil War farther south, and was expanded to its current size of 843 acres (341 ha) in 1873. Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark (listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and administered by the National Park Service) in 1962. The Park was managed for decades by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the municipal government in a public-private partnership. The Conservancy is a non-profit organization that contributes 75 percent of Central Park’s $65 million annual budget and is responsible for all basic care of the 843-acre park.   read more…

Canal Street in Manhattan

9 September 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Shopping Reading Time:  8 minutes

Canal Street, at the corner Baxter Street © Pacific Coast Highway/cc-by-sa-3.0

Canal Street, at the corner Baxter Street © Pacific Coast Highway/cc-by-sa-3.0

Canal Street is a major east-west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, running from East Broadway between Essex and Jefferson Streets in the east, to West Street between Watts and Spring Street in the west. It runs through the neighborhood of Chinatown, and forms the southern boundaries of SoHo and Little Italy as well as the northern boundary of Tribeca. The street acts as a major connector between Jersey City, via the Holland Tunnel (I-78), and Brooklyn, via the Manhattan Bridge. It is a two-way street for most of its length – from West Street to the Manhattan Bridge – with two unidirectional stretches between Forsyth Street and the Manhattan Bridge. Early in the 20th century, the jewelry trade centered on the corner of Canal Street and Bowery, but moved mid century to the modern Diamond District on 47th Street. In the 1920s, the Citizens Savings Bank built a notable domed headquarters at the intersection’s southwest corner which remains a local landmark. The portion of Canal Street around Sixth Avenue was New York’s principal market for electronics parts for a quarter-century after the closing of Radio Row for the building of the World Trade Center.   read more…

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