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…

Allinge-Sandvig on Bornholm

24 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Sandvig © Jens Bludau/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sandvig © Jens Bludau/cc-by-sa-3.0

Allinge-Sandvig is a small town on the northern coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm in Denmark. Its population is 1,633. It was part of the former municipality Allinge-Gudhjem.   read more…

The International Congress Centrum Berlin

24 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Avantique/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Avantique/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin (ICC Berlin), located in the Westend locality of the Berlin borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, is one of the largest conference centres in the world. It is used for conventions, theatrical productions, and concerts.   read more…

The sail training ship Amerigo Vespucci

24 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Americo Vespucio in Venice © Celio Maielo/GFDL

Americo Vespucio in Venice © Celio Maielo/GFDL

The Amerigo Vespucci is a tall ship of the Marina Militare, named after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Its home port is Livorno in Tuscany, and it is in use as a training ship. In 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two school ships to a design by General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line (like the neapolitan ship “Monarca”). The first, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the USSR as part of the war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned. The second ship was the Amerigo Vespucci, built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on February 22, 1931, and put into service in July of that year.   read more…

Flensburg, the center of the Danish-German border region

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

'Water Houses' in Sonwik Marina in front of the Navy School Mürwik © VollwertBIT

‘Water Houses’ in Sonwik Marina in front of the Navy School Mürwik © VollwertBIT

Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region Southern Schleswig. After Kiel and Lübeck it is the third largest town in Schleswig-Holstein. The nearest larger towns are Kiel (86 km south) and Odense in Denmark (92 km northeast). Flensburg’s city centre lies about 7 km from the Danish border.   read more…

Penzance in Cornwall

22 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

The Wharfside Centre © geograph.org.uk - Mari Buckley/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Wharfside Centre © geograph.org.uk – Mari Buckley/cc-by-sa-2.0

Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in Cornwall. It is well known for being the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles (121 km) west of Plymouth and 300 miles (480 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount’s Bay (Towards the middle of the bay and probably the origin of the name is St Michael’s Mount), the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. A ferry service is operated between Penzance Harbour and the Isles of Scilly by the Scillonian III, carrying both foot-passengers and cargo. Sailing time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. A bus service run by the Skybus Airline Service connects with Land’s End Airport for fixed wing flights (15 minutes) to the Isles of Scilly. The buses leave from the railway station, near the taxi rank, rather than the bus station. Penzance is home to the new Newlyn Art Gallery establishment “The Exchange” which opened in 2007. Penzance is also the home of Penlee House, an art gallery and museum notable for its collection of paintings by members of the Newlyn School. Within Penzance town centre there are a growing number of commercial art galleries. Every December Penzance holds the Montol Festival a community arts event reviving many of the Cornish customs of Christmas, including Guise dancing.   read more…

Castaway Cay in the Bahamas

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

Flying Dutchman at Castaway Cay © EmbraerSkyPilot

Flying Dutchman at Castaway Cay © EmbraerSkyPilot

Castaway Cay is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships Disney Wonder, Disney Magic, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy. It is located near Great Abaco Island, and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. It is owned in full by The Walt Disney Company, giving them substantial control over the experience of visitors to the island. A post office on the island has special Bahamian postage specific to Disney Cruise Line, and a “Castaway Cay” postmark.   read more…

Sylt, the Queen of the North Sea

22 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Sustainability Reading Time:  9 minutes

House Kliffende in Kampen © Noop1958

House Kliffende in Kampen © Noop1958

Sylt has been established as a holiday retreat for the German financial aristocracy during the 70s and 80s, were they created permanent residences or at least bought in on a high scale. Especially in the summer months the A to Z celebrity-density peak, but also outside the main holiday season usually much value is given to the “see and be seen” game. Major events are arising if the island is surrounded by a swarm of private aircrafts to land on the island airport.   read more…

The Cayan Tower in the Dubai Marina

21 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai Reading Time:  3 minutes

Cayan Tower © Imad marie/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

Cayan Tower © Imad marie/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

Cayan Tower, known as Infinity Tower prior to its inauguration, is a 306 metres (1,004 ft), 80 story skyscraper in the Dubai Marina by Cayan Real Estate Investment and Development. The tower is among the 20 tallest buildings in Dubai. The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill SOM architectural group, the same group who did the concept design for the Burj Khalifa also in Dubai and Trump Tower in Chicago. Upon its opening on 10 June 2013, the tower has become world’s tallest high rise building with a twist of 90 degrees.   read more…

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