Theme Week Cyprus – Mount Olympos

27 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Royal Air Force radar station on Mount Olympus © Alaniaris/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royal Air Force radar station on Mount Olympus © Alaniaris/cc-by-sa-3.0

Olympus, or Chionistra, at 1,952 metres (6,404 ft), is the highest point in Cyprus. It is located in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. Mount Olympus peak and the “Troodos Square” fall under the territory of Platres in Limassol District. A British long range radar currently operates at Mount Olympus’ peak.   read more…

Theme Week Sicily – Syrakus

26 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

© flickr.com - I FRATELLI ANGELO e GIORGIO BONOMO/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – I FRATELLI ANGELO e GIORGIO BONOMO/cc-by-2.0

Syracuse is a historic city and the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Syracuse next to the Ionian Sea. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 125,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Siracusans. Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles book at 28:12 as Paul stayed there. The patron saint of the city is Saint Lucy; she was born in Syracuse and her feast day, Saint Lucy’s Day, is celebrated on 13 December.   read more…

Theme Week Cyprus – Geroskipou

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

Agia Paraskevi, a byzantine church © Chell Hill/cc-by-2.5

Agia Paraskevi, a byzantine church © Chell Hill/cc-by-2.5

Geroskipou is a coastal town in Cyprus, east of Paphos. Its current population is approximately 7,800 and it is the second largest municipality in the Paphos District. Geroskipou, with its remarkable five-domed Byzantine church of Agia Paraskevi, and its Folk Art Museum, is a popular tourist destination. It is known especially for the production of Turkish Delight or “lokum”. The town is the only place in the world which has protected geographical indication (PGI) for the popular dessert.   read more…

Telluride in Colorado

26 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Colorado Avenue, seen from The New Sheridan Hotel © Fitchhollister/cc-by-sa-3.0

Colorado Avenue, seen from The New Sheridan Hotel © Fitchhollister/cc-by-sa-3.0

The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875 and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town itself was founded in 1878 as “Columbia”, but due to confusion with a California town of the same name, was renamed Telluride in 1887, for the gold telluride minerals found in other parts of Colorado. These telluride minerals were never located near Telluride, causing the town to be named for a mineral which never was mined there. However, the area’s mines for some years provided zinc, lead, copper, silver, and other gold ores.   read more…

Theme Week Cyprus – Polis Chrysochous

25 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Polis Beach © ChrisSampson87/cc-by-sa-4.0

Polis Beach © ChrisSampson87/cc-by-sa-4.0

Polis Chrysochous is a small town at the north-west end of the island of Cyprus, at the centre of Chrysochous Bay, and on the edge of the Akamas peninsula nature reserve. It is a quiet tourist resort, the inhabitants’ income being supplemented by agriculture and fishing.   read more…

Bernburg on river Saale

24 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Bernburg Castle © Franzfoto

Bernburg Castle © Franzfoto

Bernburg is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Salzlandkreis. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 30 km downstream from Halle. The town is dominated by its huge Renaissance castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its moat.   read more…

Theme Week Cyprus

24 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Nissi Beach © Romeparis/cc-by-sa-3.0

Nissi Beach © Romeparis/cc-by-sa-3.0

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, and a member state of the European Union . A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established in 1983. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute.   read more…

Montauk on Long Island

24 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Montauk Lighthouse National Historic Site © Anthony Montemurro/cc-by-sa-3.0

Montauk Lighthouse National Historic Site © Anthony Montemurro/cc-by-sa-3.0

Montauk is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name located in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. The population is at 3,300. Montauk is a major tourist destination and has six state parks. It is particularly famous for its fishing, claiming to have more world saltwater fishing records than any other port in the world. Located 20 miles (32 km) off the Connecticut coast, it is home to the largest commercial and recreational fishing fleet in New York state. Montauk is considered a beach resort, using its position at the tip of Long Island to promote itself as “The Living End” or “The Last Resort” and become one of the busiest tourist locations within the town of East Hampton. The small town is host to many restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and hotels, and is a popular vacation spot in the warm weather months. Such accommodations are rarer elsewhere in the Hamptons. Many of the Montauk hotels are only open April through November, some for shorter time periods, while a few serve fishermen and other customers year round, including the famed Gurney’s Inn.   read more…

Roermond, shopping and more

22 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Shopping Reading Time:  6 minutes

Market Square © Bodo Klecksel

Market Square © Bodo Klecksel

Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231. Roermond town centre has been designated as a conservation area.   read more…

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