Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for international travel
A Light on the Channel
By Linda Tancs
You won’t be able to miss the red-and-yellow lighthouse in Krummhörn, Germany. Built in 1891 as a sector light for the Emshörn channel on Germany’s North Sea coast , the plump, little beacon known as Pilsum Lighthouse sits on a quiet landscape about a quarter mile from the sea. Be content with the photographic opportunities; the lighthouse is open sporadically for visits.
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Bolivia’s Oldest Park
By Linda Tancs
Bolivia’s highest point is the extinct stratovolcano Sajama, rising to 21,463 feet. Naturally it’s the centerpiece of Sajama National Park, the country’s oldest national park. Hiking and mountain trekking are popular ways to engage with the natural, cultural and historical features of the park. One of its prized highlights is the Quenoa forest, recognized as one of the highest forests in the world. In fact, the preservation of this prized treasure is a primary reason why the area became a national park. You’ll also find historic burial buildings, cave paintings and remnants of colonial architecture along with native wildlife like the Andean mountain cat.
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Old Wood in Japan
By Linda Tancs
The world’s oldest surviving wooden structures are found on the grounds of Horyuji Temple in Nara, Japan, the only Buddhist monastery remaining from the Asuka Period. It was built in A.D. 607 during the reign of Prince Shotoku, who helped spread Buddhism. The complex contains dozens of historical and cultural properties, many of them designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. Not surprisingly, Horyuji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first in the country to be so designated along with Himeji Castle. Highlights include a five-story pagoda and the octagonal Yumedono, or Hall of Dreams.
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The Gardens at Chartwell
By Linda Tancs
For over 40 years Chartwell was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the grand country house near Westerham, Kent, in southeast England in 1922, and the apple orchard was one of the first projects that he undertook after moving there. In April the apples blossom in the orchard, along with other parts of the gardens created by Churchill and his wife Clementine. Many products of the gardens make their way into the cafe, like Chartwell apple juice.
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A Touch of Bourbon in Italy
By Linda Tancs
Italy’s Royal Palace of Caserta (and park) was commissioned by Charles of Bourbon III. A triumph of architecture and design, it borrows features from the palace and park of Versailles as well as villas in Rome and Tuscany. Its gardens are touted as one of the last great European gardens. Indeed, the scale of it is breathtaking, stretching for almost 2 miles from the palace to a waterfall in the forest. The gardens are at their best in spring and summer. The palace is 23 miles from Naples and 124 miles from Rome, easily accessible via train from either city.
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White Heron Castle
By Linda Tancs
Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. One of the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Sites, it’s popularly known as “White Heron Castle” because it resembles the outstretched wings of a white heron. Naturally, white is a predominant color that graces the castle walls. The first fortifications built on the site were completed in the 1400s; the main keep seen today dates from 1609. Most visitors enter the complex through the Sannomaru, a large, cherry tree-lined lawn and a popular spot for viewing cherry blossoms in early April.
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A Novel Prison
By Linda Tancs
Off the coast of Marseille, France, on the Île d’If, Château d’If started out as a crucial fortress commissioned by Francis I. It became a state prison in the 1500s for anyone opposing official authority. Unlike Alcatraz (another prison island off the coast of San Francisco, California, boasting gangster Al Capone as a resident during its operation), one of its most famous inhabitants isn’t a real person at all. In Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, the protagonist Edmond Dantès was imprisoned there. You can visit his “cell” on the lower level of the prison. The perfectly preserved ramparts are a ferry ride away from Marseille.
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Israel’s Pillar of Salt
By Linda Tancs
In the bowels of Israel’s Mount Sodom you’ll find Malcham, recently determined to be the world’s longest salt cave. Stretching over 6 miles, it steals the title from Iran’s Cave of the Three Nudes. Due to its geological location to the west of the southern basin of the Dead Sea, the mountain is composed almost entirely of halite (rock salt), a true pillar of salt. Caverns like Malcham formed when rainfall and groundwater eroded parts of the mountain over time. A popular way to experience the salt stalactites and stalagmites is to rappel into it.
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A Beacon to Belgium
By Linda Tancs
Better than a visitor center, the Hoeke windmill off Highway N49 in Damme beckons tourists to Belgium. One of only a few windmills in Flanders, it’s a protected monument. Reportedly a mill has existed on the site since the 1300s; the current mill was built in the 1800s and still grinds grain today. It’s open to the public every Sunday.
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Sweden’s Lake Monster
By Linda Tancs
Scotland has Nessie. Vermont has Champy. Sweden has Storsjöodjuret, the legendary monster residing in Storsjön, the country’s fifth largest lake located in Jämtland. Some reports indicate sightings as far back as the 1600s. According to lore, the creature sports a serpent-shaped body and a dog-like head. Besides monster hunting, boating and fishing are popular activities at the lake. In fact, there are almost 20 different species of fish, particularly trout, char, pike, perch, grayling, whitefish, roach and lake. Fishing is free for young anglers; otherwise, a permit is required.
