Go Travel and See the World

Finally another dream was realized. I thought I can only see Izmir in pictures or in images I see in the internet. I finally stepped on the soil of Izmir. It was only a day trip which was included in our vacation package to Turkey. I did not see everything in Izmir but at least I was able to see a part of it. Seeing and experiencing everything in the third largest city of Turkey would take a week or two.

Izmir is a rapidly growing city on the Central Aegean coast of Turkey. Its metropolitan area extends along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir and inland to the north across Gediz River’s delta, to the east along an alluvial plain created by several small streams and to a slightly more rugged terrain in the south. The ancient city was known as Smyrna, and the city was generally referred to as Smyrna in English translation until about 1930.

The Clock tower in Konak Square (Turkish: Konak Meydanı), a busy square at the southern end of Atatürk Caddesi in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey.

view of Izmir as we were driving in the motorway going inside the city.

The Gulf of Izmir. I took this image near the Port of İzmir last Sept. 25, 2011. You can see big cruise ships in Izmir’s port.

I love this part of France! Menton is situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border. It is nicknamed la perle de la France (“The Pearl of France”). I love this part of France and was so glad to visit it last April 2011.

The baroque basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange, with its bell-tower, was built in 1619 by the Genoese architect Lorenzo Lavagna.

Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France.

If I probably have the chance to choose where to live, I would say I want to live in Monaco. Officially known as the Principality of Monaco, this sovereign state is located on the French Riviera or Côte d’Azur region.

During our trip some of the sights we visited are the Cathedral of Monaco, Monaco Palace, Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco-Ville, Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium, La Condamine and some other more.

I also did some shopping especially for souvenirs like postcards, magnets, shirts and caps.

View of the Port of Hercules, La Condamine, Monaco, during our visit last April 2011.

Sweden is a member of the European Union countries but they are not using the Euro currency. It is the largest of the Nordic countries in northern Europe. The standard living in this country ranks among the highest in the world. It has also a high-peace profile, which simply means that it is safe to travel to this country. I heard that Sweden is an expensive country to spend a vacation but I am quite sure you can always find budget accommodation in any cities or towns that you may wish to visit during your holidays in Sweden.

Citybreak in Stockholm

For sure, this city is the most highlight of your trip when visiting Sweden. It is its largest and capital city and most populated urban area in Scandinavia. The city is made-up of 14 islands where you can also have a boat trip around.

There are a lot of things to do and see in Sweden’s capital but be sure to visit the “innerstaden”, the inner city where you can see most of the attractions in Stockholm. There are guided tours when you want by bus, boat or by foot.

cruising around Stockholm can be a wonderful experience of seeing the city.

Gothenburg’s Parks and Nature

This is the second largest city in Sweden. Gothenburg has many parks both big and small. You can enjoy a nature sightseeing to its parks. The famous ones are Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Slottsskogen, Kungsparken, Rya Skogs Naturreservat, Keillers Park and so many more. Hisingsparken. Gothenburg’s biggest park is the Hisingsparken.

Swimming and Sunbathing in Malmo

It is a port city on the southern tip of the country. Due to its location, Malmo has become famous for swimming and sunbathing. The two-kilometre sandy beach Ribersborgsstranden is a very nice place to experience. I would like to take a walk on this sandy beach of Malmo.

Don’t you know that women can swim topless in in public swimming pools of the city? They have the permission to do so. Everyone must wear bathing attire, but the breasts cover is not mandatory.

These are only some of the places that are worth to visit and experience in Sweden. You can also find your own itinerary when visiting there. I am also planning to visit Sweden anytime soon. Before that, I wist to avail of a currency card which I can use everytime I travel. I believed it is better than using cash or debit cards.

Are you planning to make a holiday in Europe this coming holiday season? The month of June is almost ending which also means that you still have enough time to plan and to save for a Christmas holiday in Europe. Don’t miss to visit any of the most interesting and captivating holiday celebrations in this continent.

Christkindelmarkt, Leeds

The Christmas Market in Leeds is one of the oldest in the United Kingdom. The traditional wooden stalls, holiday greenery, Christmas carousel for the children and the colorful lights all create a beautiful and festive air in the city center. Christkindelmarkt offers over 40 wooden chalet stalls, housing some of the most wonderful artisans and traders of authentic German fare. From hand crafted toys, Christmas cards and traditional German food, among many UK gift fairs to visit this Christmas, Leeds is sure to leave you with a festive heart.

Christmas Market in Leeds during our visit last 2008.

Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market & Craft Fair

Visitors will enjoy the small village atmosphere offered within the heart of the busy city center. Picturesque wooden chalets offer traditional hand crafted items ranging from jewelry to candles. The lights, sounds and smells of this imported market will delight all who take the time to stroll through the area. The market offers traditional German spice mulled wine, bratwursts and German beers, all to be enjoyed while meandering through the chalets of the hard working artisans.

Christmas Market in Birmingham during England vacation last 2008.

Basel Christmas Market

At the center of Europe’s most enchanting Christmas region is Basel. Each year the city of Rhine out does itself in the scope of its market. Old town is transformed into a winter wonderland, boasting the longest illuminated Christmas street in Europe. More than a hundred pine trees border the street and are strung with twinkling lights to guide visitors to the stalls and chalets of working craftsmen.

Bath Christmas Market

Bath Christmas Market offers 123 wooden chalets full of unique hand crafted items. The Market offers everything you could wish to make your Christmas a true delight, from wooden toys to Christmas crackers and gold jewelry. Festive food and drink are offered alongside decorations, jewelry, toys and crafts in such abundance that it could take the whole evening to see even half of the wonderful items offered in this truly original Christmas Market.

Canterbury’s Traditional Christmas Market

While strolling through Canterbury’s Market you can enjoy a glass of German mulled wine and listen to the traditional Christmas music. Make sure to take a moment to enjoy the gingerbread hearts and roasted almonds as you are dazzled by the artisans offering hand crafted toys, glass ornaments and many other traditional Christmas gifts.

Special thanks to our event and festival pr experts from Taylor Herring for compiling this alternative Christmas markets for you to visit in Europe.

Some of the most flavorful and tasty foods from Germany are also their most famous. Food and drink pr experts from Taylor Herring have kindly put together the following list of scrumptious German foods that you must try when you visit:

Bratwurst

Bratwurst, or sausage, is made in a variety of ways. Normally consisting of a mixture of pork, beef or veal, it is fried with onions, bacon or sauerkraut and is part of a very hearty meal. Depending on which area of Germany you travel to, some areas eat Bratwurst on a bun with a topping of mustard and eat it on the go.

a kind of Bratwurst.

Pretzels

Any number of hand held treats can round off traditional and famous foods of Germany, but pretzels are a fun and delicious snack you can find at any street vendor. Soft and warm, seasoned or plain, they are great all year round. They are especially tasty on a cold winter day for it is a delicious steaming treat if straight out of the oven.

Pretzels displayed during a German festival in Regensburg.

Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten is an unusual but delicious dish. Beef, ranging from any cut portion of the animal, is brined in a mixture of vinegar, sugar and spices for a short period of time. This pickling technique makes the meat fork tender after cooking and has a distinct sweet and sour flavor that is served sliced and plated alongside potatoes, vegetables or spetzel. This dish is available in most German restaurants.

Spetzel (Spätzle in German spelling)

This is a common and simple dish served along with most meals. Spetzel is made simply out of flour, salt, and water. Special spetzel machine or a colander is used to produce small droplets of wet dough and these droplets are cooked in salted, boiling water. Similar to dumplings, it is served with butter and is a tasty side dish for many foods. It also absorbs flavors so it is a special treat when served with flavorful meats.

Rye Bread

Breads are known throughout the world as a staple, and in Germany, Rye bread is the leading bread of choice. Loaves can either have caraway seeds or not. The rye seeds produce a mild flavor similar to liquorice, which is very subtle. Rye bread is served on the dining table as a traditional appetizer or used with meals.

I am wondering if famous restaurants in Germany are serving foods using antique silverware. Any idea out there? I have to browse the internet to find it out. Some other German foods worth to taste are the Snitzel, Schweinebraten, Gulasch and the different pastries which are some of my favourites.

If there are a lot of beautiful places to visit in Europe, the continent of Asia has also a lot to offer. The mountains of Himalaya for example is one of it. Don’t concentrate in touring Europe but also have the chance to visit other continents in the world like Asia.

Since Sir Edmund Hillary climbed the highest mountain on earth, taking a trip to Himalaya has been a dream of many adventurers. It is no fluke that Himalayas enjoy a lofty reputation among the places of a lifetime. The fact that Himalayas are immense makes it difficult to decide which sites to visit. Still, each visitor should at least try to experience the following:

Baltoro Glacier

If you can plan a visit to Pakistan then there is nothing more special than spending a night in Baltoro Glacier. This 70 km long stretch is one of the longest glaciers outside the polar region. What makes Baltoro Glacier special is the fact that it is surrounded by five 8000 meter high mountains and is considered to be the only place on earth with such a high concentration of mountains. Just imagine how would it feel to stand in the middle of ‘almost nowhere’ surrounded by mountains thousands of feet high. The silence is daunting as well as truly captivating. Maybe, it is the best place on earth to meditate.

Potala Palace

Today, the Palace is converted into a museum but tourists are spell bound before even reaching the Palace grounds. Rising approximately 1000 feet, this huge complex is thirteen stories high and contains more than 1000 rooms, 10000 shrines and 100000 statues. Once inside the complex, it is easy to get lost among hundreds of galleries and alleyways.

Village Walks

There is so much to experience on foot, rather than by car or train in most regions, and the Himalayas is no different. Village walks through Ladakh, Kumaon and Sikkim are beautiful, authentic and allow visitors to get a real ‘feel’ of the area. Himalayan walking tours, taken with a local guide, allow visitors to have a village experience, which can include following in villagers’ own ancient footpaths, meandering through pine forests and terraced fields of rice and wheat. You’ll be greeted by children, excited by your presence and you’ll see how the locals go about their daily tasks – just as they have done for centuries.

Mount Everest

No trip should be complete without a visit to the base camp of the highest mountain the world. Although, this is one of the most frequented sites in Nepal but many tourists feel an amazing urge to climb the mountain. Amazingly, the urge to conquer Mount Everest is so great that many climbers, once came to the base camp as ordinary visitors, without a real interest of mountaineering.

Himalaya River Rafting

Nowhere in the world are there so many grade 5 white water river spans than Himalayas. If adventure is that you seek then it is necessary to try the famed river rafting of Himalayan rivers that challenge the body and spirit of ordinary people. If you don’t like to spend time climbing mountains, white river rafting on grade 5 rapids is as close to the thrill of climbing as it gets.

You don’t need to worry about your accommodation when spending a holiday in the Himalayas. There are lodges and cottages to stay during you vacation. You can also spend the night in a tented camp, also called glamping.

This is the very reason why I love to travel in this continent. Europe is one of the most fascinating places on earth. Despite the fact that other continents have more diverse ecosystems, Europe continues to attract visitors due to the sheer beauty of its land. Our book reviewer, LoveReading.co.uk, has compiled the following top five travel guides to the continent:

Visit Europe Website

The European Commission’s guide to Europe is perhaps one of the most authentic free European tours and travel websites on Europe. It contains useful information on planning trips. There are various sections which provide additional details on restaurants, car hire, cheap flights and hotel bookings. A direct partnership with many European travel operators ensures that tourists are able to get the best price without scarifying quality.

Frommers

A brainchild of Arthur Frommer, who revolutionized budget travel by writing ‘Europe on $5 a day’ in 1957, these guides and online portal are considered to be the authority on European destinations. In fact, most of the landmarks and places of interest are regularly visited by experts, who rate each site on a standard scale. Readers also like to view many budget deals that are otherwise difficult to locate in other guidebooks.

Fodors

A direct competitor to Frommers, Fodors guides are known for their intimate detail. Each guidebook contains numerous colorful illustrations and extensive commentary on multiple sites. There are special sections on ‘must see’ little known gems. This company is known to exclusively cover regions of Europe.

Lonely Planet Guides

These are one of the most popular travel books. Each guide either covers a certain country or provides information on a specific region. Lonely Planet book cover important cultural, geographical and landmark information which is continuously updated by local experts.

Alastair Sawdays

No visitor to Europe should visit the continent without glimpsing Alastair Sawday’s website. Although, the guidebooks and the website provide information on hotels but every hotel listed in these guides is truly an amazing place to stay. In fact, the website is among those few information portals which provide complete free access to hard cover additions of the printed editions.

When you say that Paris or London are some of the interesting capital cities to visit in Europe, the capital city of Germany is also comparable to these cities. Since I already visited this city, I can say that Berlin is also one of the most beautiful and stunning cities to visit in Europe.

Just a bit overview of this city. Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany. It is also one of the sixteen states (Länder) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin has played one of the most important part of German history. It is also an international city, also called as global city. It can compete with other European cities like Paris in France and London, England.

Berlin has a lot to offer to its guests and visitors. Here are some of the things you can do when visiting Germany’s known capital.

The Konzerthauz (Concert House) in Gendarmenmarkt, one of the famous squares in Berlin. taken during my visit last February 2011.

Historical Sights and Monuments

Don’t miss to see the iconic symbol of Berlin and Germany, the Brandenburg Gate. The Gendarmenmarkt with French and German cathedrals, the Berlin Cathedral,Berlin Wall, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, Alexanderplatz, the Reichstag or Parliament building are only some of the sights to see in Berlin.

There are still a lot of things to explore in this city. If you want to experience having like a tropical vacation near Berlin, you can also visit the Tropical Islands Resort. It is located in Briesen/Brand, part of Halbe in Dahme-Spreewald, Brandenburg, Germany, about 60 km south-southeast of Berlin. This is also the reason why I still want to go back to Berlin in the near future, to experience tropics during winter season.

Shopping

This is one of things that I should avoid when I visited Berlin last month. I thought I only go there for sightseeing but I ended up shopping in one of its famous shopping mall, the Kadewe. I love shopping and I can’t deny that. I was really tempted when I go around inside the Kadewe mall. Whether you want to go for designers items like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior,Chanel, Bulgari, Cartier, Montblanc and other famous names, this store has everything.

inside the Kedewe Mall in Berlin. KaDeWe stands for Kaufshaus des Westens which means in English Department Store of the West..taken during my visit last February 2011.

Other famous stores to visit in Berlin are Galeries Lafayettes, Galeria Kaufhof and Peek & Cloppenburg. There are also affordable and fashionable shopping in Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain with a lot of young designers opening shops, but also lots of record stores and design shops.

I am already happy and contented of my D&G bag and my DKNY leather boots from Kadewe.

Opera, Theatre, Cinema , Concerts

There around a hundred of cinemas in Berlin. It has a lot of opera houses like the Komische Oper, Deutsche Oper, Neuköllner Oper and Staatsoper Unter den Linden.Some of the famous theatres are the Friedrichstadtpalast, Deutsches Theater, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Theater am Kurfürstendamm and the concert houses include the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra is one of the best in the world and the Konzerthaus at Gendarmenmarkt.

Visiting Museums

Berlin is rich and famous for its many historical and modern museums. A day ticket to go inside a museum usually cost from 6-8 Euros. The Museumsinsel or Museum Island, the German historical museum, Jewish Museum, Museum of European Cultures, Topography of Terror are only some of the museums in Berlin that are worthy to visit.

Berlin is famous for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs and bars. It is an honour for me to spend a night with friends in one of the famous cafes in this city. I wanted to experience a live jazz either in B-flat or Quasimodo but I don’t have much time for it. What is two nights in Berlin anyway when you are already exhausted after each day of sightseeing.

If you love to socialize with people in Berlin, there are plenty of bars and clubs to go in this city. I even read that they have a magazine there that has a list of the famous cafes, bars clubs. I guess I need to get one in my next visit.

Be sure to include Berlin in your must-see cities in Europe.

I visited Cologne in June 2006 for the first time. After that visit, I told myself that I want to go back there again. It did happened and I was so happy about it. One of the sights that I and my friend visited was the Cologne Cathedral. The cathedral is one of the world’s largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe.

Here are some of the images taken during my second visit last August 2010.

a detail of one of the entrances of Cologne Cathedral.

It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its towers are approximately 157 m tall.