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
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.
Share this:
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.
Share this:
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).
Share this:
Valley of the Temples
By Linda Tancs
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Valley of the Temples is a testament to Magna Graecia (Great Greece) in Agrigento, Sicily. It boasts remarkable temple ruins dedicated to the gods and built by the rulers of Akragas (now Agrigento), one of the largest Greek cities on the Mediterranean in the sixth century B.C. Now in ruins, the colossal Temple to Zeus was one of the biggest Greek temples in antiquity. The oldest temple is Hercules, but the best preserved is Concordia. Most city buses leave from Piazzale Rosselli and ride by the site.
Share this:
Skiing in Paradise
By Linda Tancs
Contiguous with Vanoise National Park in France, Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park joins with it to form the largest protected area in Europe. The first national park in Italy, it’s located in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. Gran Paradiso is a mountain located entirely within Italy, its highest at over 13,000 feet. Leave behind the hustle and bustle of slopes in France and Switzerland. The quieter pistes south of the Mont Blanc Massif offer charming alpine huts and traditional Italian hospitality.
Share this:
French Wildlife in Savoie
By Linda Tancs
Vanoise National Park in southeastern France is the country’s oldest national park. Occupying over 130,000 acres, it stretches to the Italian border and is contiguous with the Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy. Originally founded in 1963 for the protection of the Alpine ibex (a wild goat that suffered greatly from hunting beginning in the 16th century), conservation efforts have proved fruitful. About 2,000 ibex reside in the park, the largest national population. Other animals found there include 5,500 chamois as well as marmots, foxes, golden eagles, black grouse and perhaps rarest of all, the three-toed woodpecker, which purportedly has only ever been seen in Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Share this:
Bells and Minarets
By Linda Tancs
Situated in the heart of Seville, Spain, the Gothic Santa María Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Spain. There you’ll find the city’s emblematic Giralda, a bell tower converted from a minaret, one of many signs of the city’s rich Moorish heritage. A walk up the tower will reward you with outstanding views of the city and the Guadalquivir River. Often imitated but never rivaled, the tower has formed the basis for designs in Miami, Chicago and Kansas City, Missouri.
Share this:
A Butterfly in the Caribbean
By Linda Tancs
Seen from the sky, Guadeloupe’s two main islands look like the wings of a butterfly in the Caribbean. A French overseas territory, Guadeloupe is an archipelago of over a dozen islands with scenic displays ranging from a tropical forest and volcano to endless white, sandy beaches. The easygoing beach atmosphere is evident in Grande-Terre (the eastern half of the butterfly). Mountainous Basse-Terre, the western island, is home to Parc National de la Guadeloupe, which is crowned by the spectacular La Soufrière volcano. Of the smaller islands, don’t miss a visit to Marie-Galante, source of the nickname “isle of a hundred mills” thanks to its production of rum—reputedly among the best in the world.
Share this:
Eagle Island
By Linda Tancs
Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It’s known as Eagle Island, one of the best places in Scotland to spot golden and white-tailed eagles—virtually year round. In fact, thanks to the abundance of this and other wildlife, many tours are offered throughout the year. Ferries cross to the island at three points: Oban, Lochaline and Kilchoan. The best known and most used is the ferry from Oban to Craignure (near Mull’s most easterly point), which will get you there in under one hour.
Share this:
Art, Science and Genius
By Linda Tancs
Leonardo da Vinci was truly a Renaissance man. Regarded as one of the world’s greatest geniuses, he was a painter, engineer, scientist, architect, sculptor, designer, scenographer, anatomist, musician, planner, botanist and inventor. The life and works of such a big man are memorialized on a small square in Venice, Italy, at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. Located at the Scoletta di San Rocco (in front of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco), the vast exhibition rooms explore da Vinci’s life—from his masterpieces like Mona Lisa to his contributions to industry. Accompanied by multimedia displays and hands-on models, you will see the workings of his most important engineering projects, with more than 60 perfectly functioning machines. The museum is conveniently located within minutes of the main railway station as well as St. Mark’s Square and Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (the biggest church in Venice).
Travelrific® Travel Journal 