Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters
By Linda Tancs
This year marks Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters. There’s so much to see, loch to loch and everything in between. If you’d like to experience the most in one touring route, then consider the North Coast 500, an epic, 516-mile scenic route around the north coast of Scotland. Starting and ending at Inverness Castle, it’s the nation’s version of U.S. Route 66. Pursue the trek counterclockwise, traveling the east coast and then venturing into the northwest to Applecross, followed by Torridon and Ullapool. From there you’ll see some of the most northerly points, like Caithness and its village, John o’Groats. But don’t stop there. The northernmost point of the mainland is Dunnet Head, a few miles further west.
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In Knots in Wales
By Linda Tancs
Wool is historically one of the most important industries in Wales. So of course you’d expect to find a museum or two dedicated to the Welsh manufacturing process. But nowhere is the dedication to woolen arts more ardent than in the “knitted village” of Llwyngwril. Located in South Snowdonia, the tranquil village is awash in life-size knitted folks, animals and fairy tale characters and other creatures. You can thank the yarn bombers for keeping the community knit together.
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A Geological Monument in Australia
By Linda Tancs
At Hallett Cove Conservation Park in South Australia you’ll find evidence of the nation’s ice age over 200 million years ago. One of the country’s most outstanding geological sites, its rugged outcrops show sediments that were deposited in a glacial lake around 270 million years ago. You’ll see it on a glacial hike less than two miles long, which also presents The Sugarloaf (a local landmark named for its resemblance to a mass of hard refined sugar), the result of sediments deposited into the lake formed from melting ice.
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Let in Snow in Sapporo
By Linda Tancs
In 1857, the population of Sapporo was just seven people. Today, it is Japan’s fifth largest city and the capital of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands. You’ve come a long way, baby. In addition to hosting a winter Olympics, the locale is known for its ramen, beer and the annual snow festival held this month. One of the country’s most popular events, the festival features snow and ice sculptures (some measuring more than 82 feet wide and 50 feet high), particularly along Odori Park. Sapporo TV Tower offers great views, especially at night, when the sculptures are illuminated. This year’s celebration begins today and runs through February 11.
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Landsailing in Bonaire
By Linda Tancs
Part of the Dutch Caribbean, Bonaire offers activities galore, like biking, birdwatching, caving, hiking, and most auspiciously, diving (with 86 dive sites). Given the popularity of underwater adventures, you might not be as familiar with landsailing on the island. That takes place on a seaside track with a three-wheeled cart (blokart, in Dutch) sporting a sail. You won’t be speeding around like an Indy driver, but you’ll get some wind in your sail with speeds that can top 40 miles per hour in strong winds.
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A View of Slovenia
By Linda Tancs
With views stretching as far as Slovenia, the castle fortress known as Veliki Tabor in northwestern Croatia has a storied past. Some of its parts date to the 12th century. Later, it was remodeled by a family that ruled for three centuries. It would undergo several transformations since then, including use as a prison, a nunnery and a warehouse. Now a museum, a guided tour includes a walk through the fort center and the courtyard gallery, highlighting the castle’s architectural elements, from Late Gothic to Renaissance and Baroque.
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Grey Towers
By Linda Tancs
Gifford Pinchot is legendary in Pennsylvania. Son of a wealthy wallpaper merchant, he was twice Governor of Pennsylvania and the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. His family’s summer home, Grey Towers, is in Milford, under the care of the Forest Service. Designed in the style of a French château to reflect the family’s French heritage, it’s open for guided tours during the summer season. The stunning grounds, however, are open year-round.
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MUM in Binche
By Linda Tancs
Think of all the carnivals in the world and the masks traditionally associated with them, sometimes accompanied by parades, flamboyant costumes or all-night parties. Maybe Venice or Rio comes to mind. If you can’t possibly attend them, don’t despair. You can experience many of them at the International Museum of Carnival and Mask (MÜM) in Binche, Belgium. A permanent exhibition there journeys across the continents, exploring the European winter festivals, the ceremonies of North America and Latin America, customs of Africa and traditions of Asia and Oceania.
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Older Than Dinosaurs in Chemnitz
By Linda Tancs
Chemnitz in eastern Germany might be better known as a city formerly named after Karl Marx, whose colossal monument still graces Brückenstrasse. That, you might say, is ancient history, but not nearly as ancient as the petrified tree stumps dating back hundreds of years. They were discovered in the city around the 16th century and can be viewed in the inner courtyard of the DAStietz cultural center.
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A Thousand Minarets
By Linda Tancs
Its preponderance of Islamic architecture has earned Cairo, Egypt, the moniker “the city of a thousand minarets.” Indeed, there’s no shortage of minarets piercing the city’s skyline. One of many standouts is the Alabaster Mosque (alabaster being very common to ancient Egypt and Greece), reported to be the most visited mosque in Egypt. Its unusually high minarets offer sweeping views, including the Giza Plateau. Another mosque, Al-Azhar, sits in the heart of Islamic Cairo. Not only is it almost as old as Cairo itself but it also houses the world’s oldest university and claims to have originated the black graduation gown worn universally today.
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