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
The Heart of Skiing in Austria
By Linda Tancs
Some say that Lech is the heart of skiing in Austria. That’s a fair statement, as is the fact that it attracts blue bloods galore. The ritzy resort in the Arlberg region no doubt earns its chops as the cradle of Alpine skiing thanks to 190 miles of ski runs and over 124 miles of high Alpine powder runs, an area teeming with enough snow to guarantee a season from November to April. The free local and ski buses provide convenient transport, along with 88 cable cars and lifts. The most popular ski track is the White Ring (Der Weisse Ring), where the legends have trained, but you’ll find tracks for all ages and performance levels. Off the pistes why not visit Skyspace Lech, a futuristic-looking dome built into the landscape that provides an interesting convergence of light, sky and earth.
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World’s Largest Wine Cellar
By Linda Tancs
When you think of wine, what springs to mind? Maybe some montepulciano from Italy—or a little French Beaujolais? How about Cava from Spain? Those are, after all, three of the major wine-producing regions of the world. Yet not one of them boasts the world’s largest wine cellar. For that you’ll need to jet over to Mileștii Mici in Moldova. Boasting over 2 million bottles, Guinness World Records crowned it the largest wine cellar in the world. Literally a city of wine, the underground locale is accessible via car or bike, where street after street is named after a grape. Don’t miss the tasting room.
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Parisian Flair in Macao
By Linda Tancs
Dubbed “Las Vegas of Asia,” you’ll find the same international flair in Macao, China, as you would on The Strip. That includes the Parisian Macao, a hotel complex featuring a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower. Watch it be illuminated every 15 minutes during the Grand Illumination Show, a blaze of color from base to tip. And you can’t beat the skyline views from the deck on level 37.
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Bali’s Lion King
By Linda Tancs
Singaraja is a port town in northern Bali and the former Dutch colonial capital. Its name means “lion king,” an apt description for an area historically comprising the kingdom of Buleleng. One of its prized attractions is Gedong Kirtya, a library founded by the Dutch in 1928. Located just south of the town center, it is reputedly the only library of lontar manuscripts (ancient and sacred texts on palm leaves) in the world. Its treasure trove includes collections and copies of handwritten texts on Balinese literature, myths, medicines, magic and religion.
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Georgia’s Leaning Tower
By Linda Tancs
The capital city of Tbilisi in the country of Georgia is where old meets new—cobblestone streets and medieval fortress walls juxtaposed with a vibrant bohemian art scene and hipster hotels. Something that looks old but is actually new is the modern leaning tower attached to the puppet theatre of renowned puppeteer Rezo Gabriadze. A whimsical structure, the clock tower features a performance by mechanized figures on the balcony depicting the stages, or circle, of life.
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Capitals of Culture in 2020
By Linda Tancs
Happy New Year! And you know what that means—another set of European Capitals of Culture! This year’s honorees are Rijeka (Croatia) and Galway (Ireland). Croatia’s third-largest city, Rijeka is its principal seaport, with an attractive promenade along the city center (Korzo). Given its seafaring heritage, a visit to the Maritime and History Museum is a must. Housed in the former Governor’s Palace, it includes artifacts like a Titanic life jacket, picked up by a worker on the Carpathia, the ship that saved over 700 passengers. In Galway, the offerings for its celebratory year will be classically Irish yet seen through a European lens. It’s a perfect opportunity for the Galway International Arts Festival team to collaborate on a year of arts programming. Don’t miss the chance to stroll along the city’s canals, following the River Coribb, where the locale is perched.
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A Rewarding Experience
By Linda Tancs
Most folks probably wouldn’t consider a trek through an airport (particularly on a layover) to be a rewarding experience. But you might feel differently at London’s Heathrow airport, where retail therapy is made more encouraging with Heathrow Rewards. Similar to other loyalty programs, you simply use your card at virtually any retail location at the airport to collect points toward spending on shopping, dining or transportation services. You can even boost your frequent flier balance by applying rewards points to your account. The program is free to join.
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A Dutch Hansa Town
By Linda Tancs
The Dutch Hanseatic towns are seven towns along the IJssel River, part of the Hanseatic (Hansa) League, a once powerful confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in northwestern and central Europe. One of those towns is Kampen, a charming place boasting its mercantile roots with historic warehouses and a fish market near the old town hall that has been doing business since the 14th century. It even hosts a replica of the medieval merchant ship De Kamper Hanze Kogge. Once the site of a prosperous tobacco industry, De Olifant is the only brand still produced in the factory on Voorstraat. Take the Kamperlijntje train from Zwolle, just nine miles away.
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World’s Longest Sea Bridge
By Linda Tancs
Dubbed the world’s longest sea bridge, China’s Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge connects the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong and Macau. When it opened last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed it as a showpiece of innovation and integration, spanning 34 miles across the Pearl River estuary. Now you can shave some time off the journey from the mainland to enjoy the Christmas celebrations in Hong Kong and Macau.
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The Spanish Tuscany
By Linda Tancs
Matarranya (Matarraña) is a Spanish gem bordering Catalonia and Valencia. Dubbed the Spanish Tuscany for its natural and cultural highlights, each part of the region boasts its own delights, like vineyards, olive groves, cheese and black truffles. Named after the Matarraña River, its most rugged terrain is the Puertos de Beceite range, a scenic area with a significant forest mass. Historically, the earliest civilization is evidenced by prehistoric rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin (known as Levantine art), a UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing over 700 locations. If you’ve never heard of this locale, it wouldn’t be surprising given that it is relatively unknown outside the immediate area. It’s reachable from Barcelona or Valencia by bus or train, and Reus airport is an hour or so away.
