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
Purple Mountain Majesty in China
By Linda Tancs
An easy getaway from Shanghai, Nanjing is home to Purple Mountain, so-named for the color of the clouds often seen at its peak. Part of Zhongshan Mountain National Park, it’s regarded as one of the most famous mountains in southern China. A cable car ride up the mountain will reward you with great views of the Yangtze River and the city. Pick a sunny day for the best views.
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Munich’s Portal
By Linda Tancs
Among Europe’s biggest city parks, the English Garden in Munich, Germany, rivals New York City’s storied Central Park. An outstanding example of a classical landscape garden, it comprises woodland, meadows and water. Its network of pathways includes bridle paths and over 100 bridges and footbridges. Extending from the Court and Finance Gardens at Odeonsplatz into the open countryside far to the north of the city, this inner-city playground begun in 1789 counts more than 5 million visitors annually. A popular meeting point is the Chinese Tower, where a 7,000-seat beer garden is one of the biggest in Bavaria.
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Dining in the Sky
By Linda Tancs
Once upon a time only an airline meal would’ve qualified as sky dining. Nowadays you can eliminate the fuselage and dine at table while suspended in the air by a massive crane. That’s the concept behind Dinner in the Sky, a vertigo-inducing gastronomic adventure originating in Belgium. Available now in more than 40 countries, this flying dinner party has made its way to locales including the Las Vegas Strip, the marina of Dubai, the banks of the St. Lawrence River and the beach of Copacabana. These unique events have featured iconic chefs like Pierre Gagnaire, Marc Veyrat, Heston Blumenthal and Paco Roncero. Will you send your taste buds to new heights?
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China’s Ancient Northern Capital
By Linda Tancs
Although leading the country industrially (and having been named a model city for environmental protection), China’s northeastern city of Shenyang boasts impressive history and landscaping as well. Its imperial palace might not have the glitz of the Forbidden City, but it was built by the first Qing Emperor in 1625 and served as the seat of that dynasty. Both the palace and the emperors’ tombs are UNESCO sites. And despite being the largest city in northern China, there’s plenty of open space thanks to Beiling Park’s pine forests and lakes and the Expo Garden. It’s worth noting that passport holders of eligible countries are granted a visa-free stay of up to 72 hours when taking an international transfer via Taoxian International Airport. That’s enough time to soak in some attractions.
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Body Art in Austria
By Linda Tancs
Special effects bodypainting is just one of the championship categories at the annual World Bodypainting Festival in Klagenfurt, Austria. Taking place this year from July 8 to July 14, the earlier dates comprise 50 workshops in bodypainting, facepainting, make-up and special effects. The main days from the 12th to the 14th feature art, street food, judging and music. Now in its 21st season, prepare to be awed.
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Cuddle with Cuttles
By Linda Tancs
Similar to their squid and octopus relatives, cuttlefish have a large, elongated body with tentacles surrounding their mouths. Despite its name, it’s a mollusc with the visually striking ability to change patterns and colors. This time of year they congregate by the thousands for their breeding season, especially at Stony Point in Upper Spencer Gulf Marine Park near Whyalla in South Australia. There is easy access via a boardwalk to shallow water for viewing. Cuttlefish are active day and night, but the best time for snorkeling with them is normally in the morning before the winds pick up in the afternoon.
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A Mound of Chocolate in the Philippines
By Linda Tancs
Located on the island of Bohol in the Philippines, the Chocolate Hills are a series of more than 1,268 cone-shaped hills spread over an area of 19 square miles and varying in size from 98 feet to 393 feet in height. A popular legend attributes their formation to a clash between mythic titans. Geologists, however, chalk it up to thousands of years of weathering of marine limestone—or at least that’s the most commonly accepted theory for this anomaly. The chocolate designation arises from their color during the dry season. Whether verdant in the wet season or brown in the dry season, a good viewing point for this natural wonder is from the observation deck in Carmen despite the steep stair climb to get there.
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Spain’s Mighty Wine Fight
By Linda Tancs
What Tuscany is to Italy, so La Rioja is to Spain. Below the Cantabrian Mountains, vineyards occupy the Ebro valley and surround the old town of Haro. The town residents are so proud of their wine-producing heritage that they host a Wine Fight each June 29 during a multi-day celebration of St. Peter. As you might suspect, the weapon of choice in this battle is wine—red, red wine. Combatants don white shirts and red scarfs, making their way to the highest hilltop in town where a blizzard of wine is aimed at each other from buckets, wineskin, sprayers and other useful tools. Drinking the spoils of war is highly encouraged. After the battle subsides, the warriors head back downtown for a feast and a bull run.
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Britain’s Longest Ancient Monument
By Linda Tancs
Offa of Mercia was one of the most remarkable kings to have ruled much of Anglo-Saxon England. At his command, an earthwork covering a distance of more than 80 miles was built along the border between England and Wales in the eighth century to separate his kingdom from rivals in present-day Wales. This earth ditch-and-bank is reportedly the longest ancient monument in Britain. A long distance trail covering 177 miles, Offa’s Dyke Path, follows much of the ancient course. The trail links Sedbury Cliffs near Chepstow on the banks of the Severn estuary with the coastal town of Prestatyn on the shores of the Irish sea and crosses the border between England and Wales over 20 times. You’ll encounter stunning landscapes boasting castles, country churches, hillforts, riverside meadows and rolling hills. Similar to Camino de Santiago, you can purchase a trail passport (or download it from the site) and get it stamped along your journey to enter the path’s Hall of Fame. Expect it to take up to two weeks to complete the whole trail.
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Scotland’s Fair Isle
By Linda Tancs
Of Scotland’s 790 or so offshore islands, which is the most fair? Opinions may differ, but the easiest response is the one so named. Fair Isle is an island in northern Scotland lying halfway between the mainland and Shetland. The small island is home to about 70 residents and is renowned for its bird observatory and style of knitting. This off-the-beaten-path tourist destination also offers visitors 250 species of flowering plants that have earned the locale the nickname “Island of Flowers.” It’s accessible via air or boat.
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