For the one who seeks peace and loneliness,Norway is the place to visit.The fjords and the far-away well hidden forests offer an unique experience in the middle of nature.The small fishing villages on the coast invite you to stay a while and reflect,while the mountains offer those who like hiking and climbing the opportunity to test their skills.Even in the big cities,where you can feel the pulse of life,you can surely find a place to relax. Lofoten Lofoten Islands,which separate the Wester Fjord from the open Sea of Norway are fishing islands towards which the code fish migrates from the Arctic Ocean.The fishing boats are crowding in the harbor.The streets are full of small,wooden house colored in red,white or blue.
Cape North Cape North is situated on Mageroy Island and it is known as the most northern point of Europe.The attraction points for the thousands of tourist which visit it every year,are the summer nights in which the sun shines all the time,but also the long winter nights starting in the middle of November till the middle of January in which the sun doesn't rise at all.In this unreal landscape live only the locals with their reindeers.
Much of Prague's present architectural beauty was achieved during its 14th century glory days under Charles IV,king of Bohemia and Moravia and Holy Roman Emperor.It was Charles who established a university in the city and commissioned his namesake Charles Bridge in 1357,Prague's most beloved and recognized icon.There are fourteen other bridges that span the swirling Vltava River,but the view form the foot of this pedestrian bridge on the east bank is nothing short of wondtrous,encompassing the remarkable melange of architecture on the hilly slope of the Mala Strana that leads up to Prague Castel on the opposite bank.Thirty-six Baroque saints,the majority added in the 17th century,line the bridge's graceful sixteen-arched crossing.
The ritual of visiting the land,ark bridge at many different times of day is a must.Early morning on the swan-studded Vltava means having the bridge to yourself while the guardian statues hover like ghosts shrouded in the lifting mist.Midday brings on a mass of residents,tourists,buskers and other street performers,and t-shirt vendors.At night ,the spirit of an ongoing block party winds down and the bridge becomes magical.
Within arm's reach of the bridge,the romantic boutique inn U Tri Pstrosu(At the Three Ostriches) offers oak-beamed guest rooms and excellent dining with a view.Formely Bohemias' first coffeehouse,its massive centuries-old walls keep out the noise of the crowds.Ask fir a corner room for the best views.
More information: info@upstrosu.cz
If it comes to the end of the year everybody goes crazy,in a way or another.No matter if they just chill at home with friends or go on a cruise or travel to places one can only dream about.
Either way each year a lot of charts are made by different websites,tv shows,magazines trying to figure out where it is best to party,best to chill,best to eat,best to travel and so on for New Year's eve.If you'd ask me I would answer that it doesn't matter where you are,but with whom you are,cause having the right people on your side will bring you the best time of your life no matter if you party in a basement,in an one room apartment or in a tent.
I'm sending all my friends from all over the world my best wishes.May the year to come be better then the one that passed,filled with love,money and health.
Get your friends together and make the best out of it...Here is a list of how u can say Cheers in 50 different languages..In Romanian you say Noroc!...
Afrikaans : Gesondheid! : (Ge-sund-hide)
Albanian : Gëzuar! : (Géschuar)
Arabic (Egyptian) : في صحتكم! : (Fee-sa-ha-tak)
Budapest's fanciest and most famous restaurant is also widely consider the country's-and maybe Easter Europe's-best.Reopened to much fanfare in 1992 after restoration by Hungarian-born American restaurateur George Lang,the aristocratic magic of its 1894 debut can still be felt,from the era when Budapest was the Paris of Eastern Europe.The menu is delightfully old-fashioned,with many classic dishes prepared as they were in Gundel's glory days.Some of Hungary's best wines never leave the country,and they can be found on the extensive wine list,the city's most impressive,including a noble Tokay dessert wine,one of many under the Gundelhouse label.Just next door is Gundel's popular sister establishment,Bagolyvar(The Owl's Castle),whose manu is less extensive,less expensive and more homestyle-owner Lang wants visitors and Hungarian diners alike to have a wandering Gypsy violinists,and a cozy down-home alternative.
For those who like exclusivist places,this would be a good choice to spend New Year's Eve.
Adjoining 13th-and 19th-century palaces provide a handsome setting for one of Spain's most interesting museums,a must for Picasso lovers.Beginning with the boyhood sketchbooks and marginal doodlings of the nine-year-old artist(born in Malaga in 1881),the museum provides the rare opportunity of following Picasso's evolution as an artist,particularly in his earlier works.There are paintings that hint of his Blue Period and studies for seminal Guernica as well as The Maids Of Honor,fourty-four Cubist variations done in the 1950s on the classic Las Meninas,the famous Velazquez paining hanging in Madrid's Prado Museum.Although this may not be the finest asssemblage of Picassos,it is the largest,with 3600 paintings,drawings,engravings,and ceramics.Dating from 1890 to 1976,many pieces were donated by the artist before his death in 1973,and the majority of the ceramics were given by Jacqueline Picasso in 1982.This modern colection is found on a narrow street around outskirts of Barcelona's Barri Ghotic,a quite warren of medieval buildings and byways containing most of the city's historic and artistic treasures along with numerous tapas bars to sustain one's energy. Cost:4$
The figure of Count Dracula that captured the imagination of 19th-century author Bram Stoker did exist.Prince Vlad Dracula of Walachia(1431-1476),who allegedly lived in Bran Castle in the wild and raw region of Transylvania,was known in his lifetime for drinking blood-that was something born of Stoker's fantasy as he researched the vampire-related tales prevalent the folklore of eastern and southern Europe.However,he was known for his ruthless cruelty,including his habit of having his perceived enemies impaled alive on enormous stakes-a practice which he driven the nickname of Tepes(the Impaler).No one's all bad,though,and his native land Vlad remembered as a hero for his battles with the Ottoman Empire.There is no proof that the prince actually ever lived at the medieval Bran Castle,But that hasnt's stopped steady trickle of thrill-seekers,who find in this "land beyond the forest" one of the last European wildernesses,a time-locked country that seems never to have felt the 20th century's touch.Among the forest-blanketed Carpathian Mountains bordering Transylvania are ancient Saxon towns where farmers drive ox-drawn carts and maintain simple life that by no means curbs the sense of hospitality for which they have long been know.:D So we don't suck blood in Romania.But there are a lot of beautiful places worth to be visited.
The Sampo is one of the world's few tourist icebreakers,offering a one-of-a kind experience on the frozen Gulf of Bothnia,the northernmost tip of the Baltic Sea.The four hour cruise departs from Kemi,just south of the Arctic Circle,and ventures out into Europe's largest continous ice field. Once out at the sea,passengers are invited to don bright-orange watertight survival suits and float among the newly broken ice,sometimes 3 feet thick.They can alight from the Sampo onto the rock-hard sea for ice fishing or be whisked away by snowmobiles or husky-driven sleds.Either way,it is an exhilarating ride through splendid solitude that is both heart sotpping and surreal as the midwinter half-light reflects off the white solid surface of the sea.Finland is known to be the world's number one builder of ice-breaking ships,so passengers are in good hands.The captain leads a fascinating tour of the ship from bridge to engine room. Tours that include the icebreaker often include land activities in or around Kemi such as winter safaris(snowmobile or dogsled rides,reindeer mushing,and exploration of Sami/Lapp settlements).Created every winter since 1996,Kemi's fantastic SnowCastle grows larger and more inventive every year.The three-story-tall wintry stronghold is composed of a courtyard ice-sculpture exhibitions,a chapel,cafe,and autitorium where performances are often staged.Guests can overnight at the "World's Largest SnowCastle"-preferably in the Honeymoon Suite. Where:on the Bay of Bothnia,in the northern Lapland region that covers one third of Finland,1-hour flight from Helsinki. Departure:daily,end of December-Mid-April Information:www.sampotours.com,tel:358/16-256-548,costs:150$ for 1 day winter adventures,including half-day on the Sampo. www.snowcastle.net,double room from 184$,HoneyMoon Suite 230$.
Everyone falls for Saas-Fee in a big way.Then again,nearly everything in these parts is big:the mountain village("Pearl of the Alps") is surrounded by a majestic arena of thirteen peaks towering over 13,120 feet.This is stunning scenery indeed.And although one naturally expects extensive skiing to match,the steep terrain,tight ring of dramatic peaks,and extensive glaciers have limited development.But Saas-Fee offers some of the best snow conditions in Europe,and its Felskinn-Mittelallalin ski area is Switzerland's premier summer ski destination.The area's high-terrain walking paths also draw summertime visitors. Visitors must leave their cars out of town and realy upon a few ekectric cars in town.Another high atraction in Saas-Fee is the celebrity chef Irma Dutsch,the ebullient queenpin at Hotel Fletchhorn. What is such a sophisticated culinary personality doing high on a forested hill,in a chalet-like hotel-restaurant just outside town?Female chefs are not commonplace in Switzerland,but this one's international gourmet followers are so loyal they call her "Pearl of the Alps".Her French-based regional cuisine with smatterings of the exotic and poetic would be a standout anywhere. Accommodation:Hotel Fletchhorn:tel.41/27-957-2131,www.fletschhorn.ch
I've always liked looking at old pictures as they bring back passed times and manage to loose free your imagination.It is interesting to see how places can change in time...to the best or to the worse... About Arad,it is a city situated in the western part of Romania at the border with Hungary.Its beautiful architecture,parks and cultural places makes this little town a wonderful place to live in. The river Mures flows trough Arad and gives you the opportunity to go wishing sailing or just camping on it's side.
Lord Byron had already seen his fair share of the Continent when he wrote to his mother fon Sintra,calling it "perhaps the most delightful(village) in Europe".Today the same cool,gentle climate and garden setting that made this a favorite summer residence for the Portuguese kings for more than 500 years provides city dwellers and tourists an idyllic respite from the heat and hustle of Lisbon.Commanding the highest peak are the dramatic 8th century ruins of a Moorish citadel,the Castelo dos Mouros,with a heavenly view to the sea. Stay in a castle of your own at the Palacino de Seteais,a dreamy 18th-century palace built by the Dutch consul to Portugal that looks down across vineyards and orange groves to the sea mist.Common areas and some of the older guest rooms are graced with antiques;gold leaf and crystal chandeliers anchor ballroom-high ceilings.The name Seteais refers to seven sighs said to have been the reaction to a [eace treaty signed here during the Napoleonic wars-a reaction shared by many guests today,enthralled by the palace's spell. www.tivolihotels.com
There are around 6000 museums in Germany,and 600 of them are devoted solely to art.Here's just a small selection but you will find more at www.museen-deutchland.de.
Hamburg The Spectrum at Hamburg's Deichtorhallen ranges from the Old Masters to contemporaray art and photography. www.tagederkunstmeile.hamburg.de
Frankfurt The two sides of the Museum Enbankment on the River Main are home to a series of 13 museums for art and culture.The Museum Embankment Festival,one of Europe's largest cultural events,is worth visiting. www.frankfurt.de
Bonn Within the brief space of just few years Bonn has developed an impressive museum complex with the Kunstmuseum,the Bundeskunsthalle and the Haus der Geschischte. www.bonn.de
Dresden Dresden's state art collections reside in eleven museums-including the Old Masters Picture Gallery in the Zwinger and the recently reopened Green Vault containing jewels of Saxony's rulers-and they attract 1.5 milion visitors each year. www.skd-dresden.de
Munich It's a good idea to plan on spending a few days to visit the numerous museum highlights in Munich including the world famous Pinakothek art galleries and Lenbach House. www.pinakothek.de
The scenic wonders of Switzerland all come into focus in the central region called the BerneseOberland,and the rail trip up to the Jungfraujoh is the acme of all high-altitude excursions.At 11,400 feet,the Jungfraujohterminus has been the highest railroad station in the world from more than a century,and,as one of the most popular excursions in Switzerland,it can often seem like Grand Central Station at rush hour.Come early or late in the season to avoid the worst of the crowds,and treat yourself to some of the most staggering mountain scenery anywhere in the world.There are stops along the way and things to do onces you arrive,including a visit to the chilled depths of the famed Eispalast,a cavernous area carved out of a glacier and featuring permanent ice sculpture on display.Check out the Sphinx Terrace,from which the views of the Monch and Jungfrau peaks are topped only by that of the 14-mile icy expanse of the aletch Glacier,Europe's longest. Head for the Top of Europe restaurant for a lunch break that gives new meaning to "haute" cusine.Vary your return trip by taking the route to the traditional mountain village of Grindewald,which shares it's first class ski area with equally adorable Wengen.It is one of the region's most picturesque year-round resorts,dramatically set beneath the towering north face of the Eiger peak.In Interlaken,stay at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel and Spa.With refinement and service as light-weight as an eiderdown quilt and as efficient as a Swiss-made watch,the hotel is a monument to luxury,seemingly untouched since it was built in 1865. Jungfraujoch rail trip:full day round trips offered daily from Interlaken(58 km southwest to Bern,145km southwest of Zurich) and Grindewald(27km east of Interlaken).Cost:110$ second class from Interlaken. www.interlakentourism.ch
The tiny principality of Monaco,no bigger than London's Hyde Park,has catered to gamblers and the idle rich for the last 100 years.Both types can be found with all their over-the-top idiosyncracies at the legendary Grand Casino,and indisputably the most glamorous.This is the last place on earth to witness chaffeur-driven-Rolls Royces disgorging wealthy exiles,sun-baked yacht owners,and celluloid divas weighed down by serious jewelry.The sedate,even discreet,Belle Epoque setting was designed in 1863 by Charles Garnier,grad architect of the Paris Opera.Black tie is no longer required,but jackets and ties are a must in the inner sanctum of high rollers,and many women wear long dresses.No Monegasque gambler sets foot in the casion without first stopping by the lobby of the Hotel de Paris-a poker chip's toss across the impeccably groomed Place du Casino-to rub the left knee of the bronz statue of Louis XIV's horse for good luck.Facing the hotel and alongside the casino,the Garnier-designed Cafe de Paris is a de rigueur stop for pre-or apres-casino drink . Cost:admission charged to some gaming rooms.When:open year-round,from noon until the last customer leaves.
Austria este o tara care are foarte multe de oferit:munti,ape,arhitectura,istorie,distractie.Daca ajungi prin Viena vei ramane placut impresionat de tot ceea ce te inconjoara si de faptul ca o capitala a unei tari poate fi atat de linistita,sigura si bine organizata.Sa te deplasezi prin Viena este o placere pentru ca ai la dispozitie o gramada de mijloace de transport in comun care circula dupa un orar bine stabilit si care te duc cam in orice colt ai vrea sa ajungi. Desi nu cred ca pot face o clasificare cu cateva obiective turistice care nu trebuie ratate daca vizitati Viena,pentru ca de fiecare data descopar ceva nou,am sa incerc totusi sa fac o lista cu cateva : 1.Apartamentele Imperiale(Kaiserappartments),unde imparatul Franz Josef I a trait la sfarsitul secolului 19.Puteti vizita camerele sale private,camera de conferinte,camera cu tacamuri si vesela de argint,tapiteriile,candelabrele de cristal. 2.Scoala spaniola de calarie-fondata in 1572,Scoala spaniola de calarie pastreaza aceleasi traditii clasice de dresaj,incluzand si prezentari deschise pentru public.Pentru rezervari puteti suna la:0043/1-533-9031 3.Palatul Schonbrunn-construit de Hapsburgi intre 1696 si 1712 acest palat cu 1441 camere(din care 40 pot fi vizitate) este plin de decoratiuni in stil rococo aflate in contrast cu stilul Hapsburgic.Mozart a cantat aici la varsta de 6 ani,pentru regina Maria Theresa,iar imparatul Franz-Joseph s-a nascut aici.Parcul palatului a fost prima data deschis pentru public in anul 1779 si a devenit repede o zona de recreere populara,datorita labirintului,a gradinii botanice si a gradinii zoologice pe care la gazduieste.Informatii la:0043/1-81113-239. 4.Muzeul Albertina:Combinand un palat din secolul 18 cu o cladire noua de patru etaje,Albertina contine una dintre cele mai mari colectii de arta grafica din lume(de la cea gotica la cea contemporana),plus inca in jur de 25000 de desene arhitecturale si o mare colectie de fotografii moderne. 5.Palatul Belvedere-Defapt aici veti gasi 2 palate contruite in secolul al 18-lea,separate de gradini.Palatul "de sus" gazduieste expozitii de arta din secolele 19 si 20,pe cand cel "de jos" arta din perioada Gotic si Baroc. 6.Catedrala Sf. Stefan-Pastrandu-si infatisarea medievala in ciuda numeroaselor renovari si reconstruiri,Domul domina centrul vechi al orasului cu turnurile sale in stil Gotic.In interior veti descoperi numeroase picturi,sculpturi si monumente.De asemenea pentru cei dornici de o experienta mai deosebita,puteti opta si pentru un tur prin catacombele de sub catedrala de Luni-Duminica. 7.Mariahilfestrasse-Pentru iubitorii de cumparaturi si nu numai,aceasta strada lunga de nici mai mult nici mai putin de 5 km va ofera o gramada de magazin,restaurante,baruri,cafenele unde va puteti petrece o zi de shopping pentru toate buzunarele. Mai sunt multe de zis despre Viena,le voi spune intr-un articol urmator,daca aveti sugestii despre ce s-ar mai putea vizita astept comentariile voastre.
Conoscuta si sub denumirea de "batranul continent",Europa atrage foarte multi turisti datorita locurilor incarcate de istorie,al cladirilor cu o arhitectura absolut spectaculoasa,a traditiilor si a artei.Europa este un continent bogat in cultura si traditii,iar oricine a vizitat macar o tara de pe acest continent,sigur se va intoarce. Acest continent este geologic si geografic o peninsula si formeaza cincimea vestica a Eurasiei(masă continentală formată din Europa si Asia). Europa este mărginită la vest de Oceanul Atlantic, Oceanul Arctic - la nord, Munţii Urali şi râul Ural - la est, Marea Caspică, Munţii Caucaz şi Marea Neagră - la sud-est şi Marea Mediterană - la sud. Din punct de vedere al numarului de locuitori,Europa este al doilea continent din lume,dupa Asia,gazduind aproximativ 700.000.000 de locuitori, sau 11% din populaţia lumii. Europa este formata din 47 de tari(Albania,Andorra,Austria,Belgia,Belarus,Bosnia si Hertegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Cipru(oparte),Danemarca,Elvetia,Estonia,Franta,Germania, Grecia,Irlanda,Italia,Islanda,Kosovo,Letonia,Lichtenstein,Lituania,Luxemburg,Macedonia, Malta,Muntenegru,Regatul Unit,Moldova,Monaco,Norvegia,Olanda,Polonia,Portugalia,Republica Ceha,Romania,Rusia(o parte),San Marino,Serbia,Slovacia,Suedia,Spania,Slovenia,Turcia(o parte),Ucraina,Varican.
For the one who seeks peace and loneliness,Norway is the place to visit.The fjords and the far-away well hidden forests offer an unique experience in the middle of nature.The small fishing villages on the coast invite you to stay a while and reflect,while the mountains offer those who like hiking and climbing the opportunity to test their skills.Even in the big cities,where you can feel the pulse of life,you can surely find a place to relax.
Lofoten Islands,which separate the Wester Fjord from the open Sea of Norway are fishing islands towards which the code fish migrates from the Arctic Ocean.The fishing boats are crowding in the harbor.The streets are full of small,wooden house colored in red,white or blue.
