Jan
29
Zell am See, Austria
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This town has a scenery that may very well be the most beautiful in Austria, with it’s lakeside location and being surrounded by towering majestic mountains all around.
In summer, the lake dominate the holiday resort, for visitors who want to swim, boat, or even just picnic by the banks. In winter the lake freezes over to become a beautiful natural ice rink.
Zell am See remains most popular in winter, as a ski resort, lying 2500 feet above sea level, and is the centre of the slopes that include Kaprun and the nearby glacier. The ski slopes at Zell am See offer skiing along tree lined slopes, for the beginner and intermediate skilled. The scenery from the peak of Schmitten Pfiff is unparalleled, giving a spectacular view of the lake and the glaciers toward the that flow toward the Grossglockner.
Skiiers can also opt to travel to the neighbouring ski resort of Kaprun by a free ski bus. The nearby glacier of the Kitzsteinhorn provides year round skiing.
Jan
24
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to restrict smoking on their cruise ships
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Royal Caribbean Cruise line has announced that they will be implementing new restrictions on smoking for passengers travelling on board their cruise ships.
The change in policy bans on smoking inside all cabins, although smoking will still be permitted on private balconies. In addition, a few no-smoking areas have been declared, mostly in certain public parts of its ships. Smoking continues to be allowed in most bars and lounges.
A few other smaller upscale cruise lines have already banned smoking throughout most of their ships, including cabins and balconies, and allow it only in a few well-aerated designated outdoor locations. However, most other larger mass-market cruise lines continue to allow smoking in most locations outside of dining rooms and the main show lounge.
Jan
24
Marbella in Spain
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Marbella, Spain - The place to be seen on the Costa del Sol. Movie stars, celebrities and millionaires alike flock to this spot to enjoy its myriad of leisure possibilities; from water sports, amazing beaches, infamous nightlife, to its numerous golf courses and leisure ports.
What formerly was just a small Andalusian fishing-village turned into one of the most exciting holiday resorts along the Mediterranean coast, one of the favourite places of the rich and beautiful.
The oldest historical rests to be found in Marbella date from the time of the ancient Romans - The settlement of Villa Romana in Rio Verde is from 2nd century while the Roman Thermal Spas are from 3rd century. In Vega del Mar, there is a 4th century Basilica dating from the earliest epoch of Christianism.
More popular attractions include the ruins of a 9th century Moorish fortress, the 16th century church Iglesia de la Encarnación and the Bazán Palace. On a more contemporary note, there is the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engravings , the most important in all Spain, with works of Picasso, DalÃ, Miró and Tapies. At Plaza de los Naranjos there is the Archaeological Museum, with historical objects on display, dating from Roman, Visigothic and Paleochristian times.
Jan
23
The Caribbean and the Bahamas have practically become mass market destinations, the South Pacific is too far away. The moneyed crowd that’s into cruises have headed to Europe to cruise around the - not the Mediterranean - but the Baltic Sea.
A typical week long cruise during the peak season in August, on board the 382-passenger Silver Shadow, sailing out of Copenhagen presently costs $890 per person a day, for what is merely for the lowest category suite, a 287-square-foot haven furnished with a marble bathroom, walk-in closet and private verandah.
Other cruise destinations which can cost top dollar include cruises out of Dubai, and those sailing to the Antarctica.
Jan
23
The ladies love getting away
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More ladies are taking vacations away with their girlfriend, to connect and to indulge in similar interests, including spa treatments and shopping, a study conducted by the AAA revealed.
From a study of 1500 women, around 24 percent of American women have taken a vacation with a girlfriend sometime in the last three years and up to 40 percent are planning one in the next three years.
Most of the women surveyed indicated that their main intention on the trip was to spend quality time with their female friends.
The most popular destinations were beach resorts, followed by spa resorts, shopping destinations and cruises.
The two biggest difficulties that most of them faced was finding a period of time during which everyone would be free and selecting a trip to fit within everyone’s budget.
Jan
21
Travel to Italy – Rome and Venice
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Where does one begin to start when discussing Italy. Well, if you intend to travel there, Rome and Venice are good places to start.
Rome
Perhaps you’ve heard of it? It goes without saying that Rome has a rather prominent past. Lets see, in Rome you will find…[deep breath]…the Vatican, Coliseum, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Church of Saint Agnese, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and a guy name Allassandro. Just making sure you’re paying attention. Indeed, Rome is filthy with historically significant attractions. It seems you can’t turn around without bumping into something an Emperor built, captured or destroyed. For those willing to risk potential wrath, there are also the new Divinci Code tours, which take you to the locations found in the book.
In all serious, Rome is a city you should visit at least once in your life. No article could ever do it justice, so I’ll just stop here.
Venice
I fondly refer to Venice as the floating city even though it is apparently sinking. If you’ve seen Venice is movies or televisions shows, the depictions are accurate. Piazza San Marco looks exactly the same, birds and all. The Grande Canal is, well, a grand canal with incredible houses lining it and boats putting up down this water way. Built on mudflats in a lagoon, the city doesn’t really have much room to grow. It just seems paralyzed in time.
Once you’ve conquered the tourist attractions, it will be time to get serious about Venice. The best way to do this is stand in front of your hotel or hostel, determine which direction the tourist attractions lie and start walking in the opposite direction. While you may feel like you’re driving the wrong way on a freeway for a few minutes, you’ll eventually start getting into real Venice.
An entirely different side of Venice will appear and you’ll love it. You’ll find little cafes with locals happy to talk to you [and non-tourist prices]. In fact, the Venetians will tend to hold you in high regard since you’re a tourist who is bypassing the tourist areas. This, of course, will logically lead to a whirl of introductions to this nephew, that son of a brother and so on. Next thing you know, you’ll be complaining about Italian politicians and how things used to be better in the past.
While Rome and Venice are excellent travel destinations, you can’t really go wrong in Italy. For the adventurous, set your itinerary with the old map on a wall and dart technique.
Jan
21
Venice - A City With A Sinking Feeling
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Travel to beautiful Venice this winter and chances are you may hear the screeching of the 16 city sirens that signal the return of the “acque alte”, or flood waters. Especially felt during the winter seasons between November and April these waters engulf several low-lying areas of the city including the magnificent St Mark’s Square, rise up over the canal borders and bubble up through the drains.
The city’s best defense for pedestrians thus far has been the erection of 1.
5 metre high elevated walkways which themselves offer little assistance in the event of a very serious flood.
Proper defensive action, it seems, is not far away. After a lengthy debate over the effectiveness of large mobile flood barriers at the lagoons entrance, plans to expedite them into place are at last under way. The first to benefit will be the main shipping entrance at the Malamocco lagoon mouth. It will have installed a semi-circular breakwater to knock back the high Adriatic seas from southerly winds and a ship’s lock to hold ships whilst the movable barriers are in place.
The other big issue is that the canal water is so filthy. Before the 1960s the natural flow of the Adriatic tidal current saw to it that the waste was flushed quickly out of these narrow canalways. However, after this time the canal was dredged as part of a large operation to allow tanker access resulted in a 14-m deep canal that effectively reversed the currents, trapping the waste of the city within the lagoons now very murky waters.
More problems abound as a result of the high level of salt in these waters which is constantly eroding the city from its foundations, and despite the public outcry of several prominent figures little is being done about this looming problem.
As a result of subsidience and rising sea levels worldwide Venice has sunk by 23cms since 1900. The most alarming aspect is that by 2100 sea levels are expected to rise by a whopping 60cms which would leave Venice almost completely submerged.
Unless more action is taken by the central government in Rome to combat all these problems, Venice could end up another lost Italian beauty of the likes of Pompeii.
Jan
21
Venice: The Floating City
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For a millennium, Venice has provided inspiration for artists and writers. This coveted city is made up of 118 islands linked by 453 bridges. Each corner of town exhibits individual architectural magnificence, the city combining as one to form a spectacular theatrical stage set.
Beautiful churches adorn the banks of the Grand Canal as she snakes her way through the city. This main artery is at the centre of a myriad of canals running throughout the town.
The lifeblood of Venice is its tourism, a magnet for over 12 million visitors a year. Catering for this influx of visitors, the cities population of 70,000 people continue their daily lives, working the bars, cafes and restaurants.
Despite all this however, it seems that Venice is slowly sinking at the rate of approximately 2 inches every century. Terrible floods in 1966 caused much doom mongering and many people feared that Venice was about to be taken off the map.
The threat to remove funding for vital restoration projects gave serious cause for concern and prompted an urgent response to save the city. It was feared imminent flooding could completely destroy the city; preventative measures were high priority.
The efforts of the past two decades have had considerable success. Reduced pollution, shipping and the restoration of natural sandbanks have all contributed to the cause.
The first settlers of Venice were those fleeing the Barbarians around 400 AD. To create solid foundations for their buildings they drove timber into the mud and began creating a community for their people.
The city’s emblem, the winged lion, derived from Saint Mark the Evangelist. The first significant church of Venice was built in the ninth century to house the relics of Saint Mark, and his emblem was soon adopted.
Venice’s trade brought great wealth and prosperity to the city and for many centuries it continued to grow. The city thrived on its colonies and invested its riches wisely. Churches and palaces became commonplace, as were museums to house many newly acquired works of art.
For the past couple of centuries however, the obvious lack of development space meant the city found it difficult to advance further. Wars with Turkey were a drain on the resources and so Venice was content to consolidate.
Despite this, Venice does not rest on its laurels. Every visit offers something new, a fresh experience to take home. Each region of the city has an individual charm, giving the sense there is always something special around each corner.
Jan
21
One of the most famous and enjoyable activity in Venice is to take a tour on a gondola. Every person who travels to Venice must take a tour on a gondola across Venice channels. But before start searching for a gondola you must know:
There are 2 types of gondolas.
There are lovely gondolas, very well decorated and cared, with nice seats and sometimes with flowers. And there are the ones which are more simple, not as lovely as the other ones. Usually the price is higher when renting the first type of them.
There are two types of tours/promenades.
The ones with serenata and the ones without it. It’s commonly said that some “gondolieri†sing a serenata while they promenade you. But this is not really true since they will increase the price if you wish a tour with serenata. If you want a tour with serenate, the best option is to book a tour in the tourism office, where they’ll give you information of the special tours on gondola.
You must haggle. Finding a good price takes time.
In general, making a tour on a gondola is expensive. But you must search a lot and ask different “gondolieri†how much is a tour. A tour of 50 minutes on the lovely gondolas costs an average of 100 € and of 30 minutes 60 €. For the more simple ones, the promenade costs an average of 80 € for 50 minutes.
The prices are higher at night.
As it is getting dark, the “gondolieri†increase their prices. Although making the tour at night can be an excellent option if you are a couple, because of the romanticism and all that, it’s better to make the tour in the afternoon, before eight o’clock, since the prices are more reasonable.
Sharing the gondola with other people is cheaper.
If you don’t mind sharing the tour with other people, it could be a nice option in order to pay less for the tour. There can be up to 6 people on the same gondola!
Have a nice tour!
About The Author
Marian Jubany is co-author of travel guides worldwide.
http://www.voyagerguide.com
Jan
20
Run by the family Falch, this modest hotel pension in the beautiful Alpine ski town of Saint Anton in Tyrol, Austria boasts attentive service, simple yet delish home-cooked food, and spacious and clean apartments.
A short 5 minute walk from the ski lift and surrounded by restaurants in all directions, most rooms face northward, toward the mountains, the snow and the skiiers coming in on their runs. Complementary parking is provided at a nearby underground carpark. For those coming in by train, it’s a 15 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride to the train station.
The apartments and suites come in different sizes, catering for singles and doubles, as well as for big families. Bigger apartments also boast kitchen facilities.
Full board is available on request. Breakfast is a generous spread of cereals, cold meats, cheeses and breads, enough to fill your stomach before a tiring day of skiing. And at the end of the day, there’s a basement storage room for those ski boots and skis.
Book your room early, though, this place tends to sell out, with regulars booking their christmas holidays early, sometimes even as early as mid-summer. If you have problems finding the place, ask directions to the church. This hotel is just opposite ( north ) of the church.
Email Hotel Pension Kirchplatz for reservations
