Theme Week Sylt – List auf Sylt

24 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

List auf Sylt © Ralf Roletschek/cc-by-sa-3.0

List auf Sylt © Ralf Roletschek/cc-by-sa-3.0

List auf Sylt is the northernmost municipality in Germany, close to Denmark. List was originally a Danish settlement. It was first mentioned in 1292 (Lystum). The original village was destroyed by the great flood of 1364. The settlement was rebuilt further east from the previous location. In the mid-15th century, a church named St. Jürgen was mentioned. In a treaty of 1460, Schleswig and Holstein were linked to the Danish crown, but List remained part of the royal enclaves, small areas of the Kingdom of Denmark situated within the Duchy of Schleswig, but directly controlled by the Danish king.   read more…

Theme Week Sylt – Keitum

23 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Friesenhaus from 1784 © Hajotthu/cc-by-sa-3.0

Friesenhaus from 1784 © Hajotthu/cc-by-sa-3.0

Keitum is located on the Wadden Sea side of the island. The village fronts on the sea at what is called the Grünes Kliff (green cliff), a mostly vegetation-covered (hence green) escarpment. It stretches along the coast for around 3 kilometres from the eastern edge of the village to the church of St. Severin, north of the village. In 2013, Keitum had a permanent population of around 880. Another 900 people have second homes in the village.   read more…

Theme Week Sylt – Westerland

22 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Westerland Beach © Toksave/cc-by-sa-3.0

Westerland Beach © Toksave/cc-by-sa-3.0

Westerland is the largest resort on the island, the local transportation hub and the centre of Sylt’s tourist industry. Westerland is located on the western shore of the island. It lies 70 km northwest of Husum, 74 km west of Flensburg, 134 km northwest of Kiel and 186 km northwest of Hamburg. Thanks to its affluent, glamorous lifestyle and thriving tourism industry, Westerland has been called the Beverly Hills of Germany. Westerland is the central hub for supply, retailing, and numerous services that are provided to the inhabitants and visitors on the island of Sylt. The twin town is St. Moritz in Switzerland.   read more…

Theme Week Sylt

21 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  14 minutes

© flickr.com - Tobias Mandt/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Tobias Mandt/cc-by-2.0

Sylt is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia. The northernmost island of Germany, it is known for its tourist resorts, notably Westerland, Kampen and Wenningstedt-Braderup, as well as for its 40-kilometre-long (25-mile) sandy beach. Since 1927, Sylt has been connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway. In latter years, it has been a resort for the German jet set and tourists in search of occasional celebrity sighting. The island was used during the filming of The Ghost Writer, as an alternate location for Martha’s Vineyard, due to travel restrictions on the film’s director, Roman Polanski. A starring role plays the ferry between the islands of Sylt and Rømø.   read more…

Seaside Resort architecture

4 January 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Ahlbeck Pier © Niteshift/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ahlbeck Pier © Niteshift/cc-by-sa-3.0

Resort architecture or Bäder architecture (German: Bäderarchitektur) is an architectural style that is especially characteristic of spas and seaside resorts on the German Baltic coast. The style evolved since the foundation of Heiligendamm in 1793, and flourished especially around the year 1900, when resorts were connected to big cities via railway lines. Until today, many buildings on the German coasts are built in the style or feature distinct elements of resort architecture.   read more…

The island of Helgoland

2 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Heligoland © Sioux

Heligoland © Sioux

Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea. Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands (population 1,127) are located in the Heligoland Bight (part of the German Bight) in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea. They are the only German islands not in the immediate vicinity of the mainland and are approximately three hours sailing time from Cuxhaven at the mouth of the River Elbe. In addition to German, the local population, who are ethnic Frisians, speak the Heligolandic dialect of the North Frisian language called Halunder. Heligoland was formerly called Heyligeland, or “holy land,” possibly due to the island’s long association with the god Forseti.   read more…

Theme Week East Anglia – King’s Lynn

30 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Custom House © Alienturnedhuman

Custom House © Alienturnedhuman

King’s Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated 97 miles (156 km) north of London and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800. The town has two theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues. There are three secondary schools and one college. The service sector, information and communication technologies and creative industries, provide limited employment for the population of King’s Lynn and the surrounding area.   read more…

Theme Week East Anglia – Great Yarmouth

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

Britannia Pier © Leigh Last/cc-by-sa-3.0

Britannia Pier © Leigh Last/cc-by-sa-3.0

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk. It is located at the mouth of the River Yare, 20 miles (30 km) east of Norwich. The town has a beach and two piers.   read more…

Theme Week East Anglia

25 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Burghley House in Peterborough © flickr.com - Anthony Masi/cc-by-2.0

Burghley House in Peterborough © flickr.com – Anthony Masi/cc-by-2.0

East Anglia is one of three constituent parts of the East of England – a first level region. The name has also been applied to the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles. The region’s name is derived from the Angles – a tribe that originated in Angeln, northern Germany. The region comprises four areas of local government: the administrative counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and Cambridgeshire, the unitary authority area of the city of Peterborough.   read more…

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