Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for February, 2018
A Crystalline Adventure
By Linda Tancs
Swarovski Crystal Worlds was opened in 1995 to mark the centennial anniversary of the company’s founding. Located in the town of Wattens (about 20 minutes northeast of Innsbruck), its crystal art exhibitions allow you to experience every facet (no pun intended) of this popular adornment. The Chambers of Wonder include a nostalgic and technological view of the company from its founding through to magical moments on stage, screen and runway. All of the chambers are entered through a “green giant,” an imposing structure that forms the focal point for the multi-sensory installations housed within it.
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From Fjord to Sky
By Linda Tancs
Loen Skylift will bring you from Norway’s Nordfjord to the top of Mt. Hoven (3,316 feet) in only five minutes. One of the steepest aerial trams in the world, the reward is a panoramic view from the cliffside Hoven Restaurant. Pair that with snowshoeing, ski touring, cross country skiing and winter walking. The skylift is six hours from Oslo by car or take Nettbuss.
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Under the Microscope in Prague
By Linda Tancs
At the Museum of Miniatures in Prague, Czech Republic, the exhibits are meant to be viewed microscopically. How else would you see a flea with golden horseshoes or the Lord’s Prayer written on a strand of human hair? Microminiature is an art form featuring works that typically range from a couple of millimeters to just a couple of tenths of a millimeter. Boasting one of the largest collections of microminiatures in the world, the museum can be reached by taking tram 22 to Pohořelec station.
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A Good Walk in Wales
By Linda Tancs
The town of Crickhowell, Wales, offers a nine-day walking festival every year—a chance to put your best foot forward, as the saying goes. Offering dozens of guided walks, there is an activity level to match every taste, from trekking all day across the tops of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons to keeping to paths and the lower slopes. All walks start at CRiC Centre on Beaufort Street. The weather may prove challenging this time of year, but don’t let that stop you. This year’s festival runs from February 24 to March 4.
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The King of Castles
By Linda Tancs
Once the royal seat of the Kings of Northumbria, England’s Bamburgh Castle is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country. Perched 150 feet above the sea on a bed of volcanic dolerite, it has dominated the Northumberland countryside and coastline for over 1,400 years, making it an attractive backdrop for many U.K. TV shows as well as Hollywood films. Among its 14 exhibition rooms over 3,000 items are on display, ranging from arms and armor to fine porcelain, china, artworks and furniture. Acquired by the First Lord Armstrong, it remains a family home that was opened to visitors in the mid-1900s.
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Chrome in Chino
By Linda Tancs
Enveloped in chrome and shiny aluminum, Yanks Air Museum is an aircraft lover’s dream. Located in Chino, California, the facility is a showplace for carefully restored historical aircraft and boasts legends like the P-40 Warhawk and the F-86 Sabre. Its collections range from early aviation (1903 – 1918) to modern jets. The site also has drones, helicopters, vehicles, missiles, model airplanes and aircraft in the boneyard currently being restored to flight-worthy status using period materials.
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Community Art in Denmark
By Linda Tancs
Helsingør, also known as Elsinore, is a port city in eastern Denmark and home to Kronborg Castle, the purported setting for Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” These days it also serves as the locale for a community art project at King’s Quay known as “Life in the Sound.” In addition to colorful street murals around town, there’s a curious large fish made entirely of marine waste and miscellaneous garbage. Designed by the Japanese artist group Yodogawa Technique, the fish is designed to raise awareness of environmental issues.
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Man Meets the Sea
By Linda Tancs
Located on a shoreline a few miles from Esbjerg in southwestern Denmark is a colossal sculpture known as “Man Meets the Sea.” The “man” in this case is a series of four nondescript, white alabaster male figures measuring 30 feet in height. Their outsized lower legs are designed to resemble the columns of a Greek temple. Created by sculptor Wiig Hansen to celebrate Esbjerg’s 100th anniversary as an independent municipality in 1994, the ghostly figures gaze out towards Skallingen and the entrance to the harbor. On a clear day they can be seen over six miles away. You can access the site via bus from the train/bus terminal or the central square.
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Take Your Valentine to Valentine
By Linda Tancs
How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Maybe with some chocolate and a candlelit dinner. Well, there’s so much more awaiting you in Valentine, Nebraska, where of course you can obtain a postmark to commemorate the day of love. But most visitors travel there to start a float trip or to tour the river valley, a good starting point for the 76 miles of the Niobrara National Scenic River that winds through bluffs, waterfalls and fossil resources along a largely undisturbed shoreline. Less than one percent of U.S. rivers have received a scenic river designation by the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System, an honor reserved for those that are flee flowing with clean water and a largely undeveloped shoreline. The area features notables like the Allen Bridge; listed on the National Register of Historic Structures, it’s the longest single span bridge across the Niobrara. You can paddle among sandstone cliffs and visit public landings like Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge and Smith Falls State Park, both of which have beautiful views of the river.
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A Writer’s Inspiration in France
By Linda Tancs
Jules Verne was a French novelist, poet and playwright best known for his adventure novels like Around the World in Eighty Days and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. A native of Nantes, France, he was inspired by the sailors’ tales that he heard on the docks of this maritime city at the mouth of the Loire River. So it’s appropriate that the Jules Verne Museum overlooks the river, in the Loire hillside where the Verne family’s country house can still be seen nearby. Located on rue de l’Hermitage, the museum is an easy walk via Chronobus 1 (Lechat) or Tramway 1 (Gare maritime).
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