Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for travel writing
A Cliffhanger in China
By Linda Tancs
Nestled in the cliffs of the Taihang Mountains, the Chinese village of Guo Liang Cun would be cut off from the rest of the world were it not for Guoliang Tunnel. One of the world’s steepest and most dangerous roads, it was chiseled into the side of the mountain by local villagers without aid of electric equipment or large machinery. Needless to say, it took years to complete back in the 70s. Enjoy the thrill ride in Henan Province, with more than 30 “windows” providing spectacular vistas.
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Australia’s Favorite Steam Train
By Linda Tancs
Easily accessible by fast electric train from Melbourne, Puffing Billy is arguably Australia’s favorite steam train. Over a century old, the train still runs on its original 15-mile track between Belgrave and Gembrook. That route takes you through the Dandenong Ranges, a set of low mountain ranges east of Melbourne, featuring Emerald Lake Park and cool climate gardens. You can book a tour through any of the major day tour operators.
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The Key to the Kingdom
By Linda Tancs
Sweden’s Kalmar Castle traces its origins to the 12th century. Because of its strategic location it was known as the key to the kingdom, a medieval fortress protecting against pirates and other enemies. The Vasa kings Gustav, Erik XIV and Johan III rebuilt the medieval castle into a Renaissance palace, and it remains today one of the best preserved Nordic Renaissance castles. Guided tours are offered daily.
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Batty in Austin
By Linda Tancs
From late March through autumn, Austin, Texas, hosts North America’s largest urban bat population, a community that swells to 1.5 million by summer’s end. Their habitat is in the crevices of the Congress Avenue Bridge, where onlookers congregate before sunset to witness the spectacle of their flight to catch dinner. Be sure to face east on the bridge or catch the view from the lake below on a boat cruise.
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World’s Tallest Timber Building
By Linda Tancs
Are you tired of looking at steel skyscrapers? Then head to Norway, where the world’s tallest timber building (as declared by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) has been completed. Nearly 279 feet high, the 18-story building, Mjøstårnet, is the third tallest in the country. It’s located on the bank of Mjøsa, Norway’s biggest lake, in an area known for–what else–forestry and wood processing.
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Falling Water in Namibia
By Linda Tancs
In the Herero language, “Epupa” means “falling water.” That might be a bit of an understatement for Epupa Falls, a Namibian waterfall with a drop of about 130 or so feet near the village of Epupa. You can thank the Kunene River for this spectacle, one of the country’s five perennial rivers. Nonetheless, April and May are reportedly the best times to view the falls.
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The Original Lord Mayor’s House
By Linda Tancs
Predating London’s 18th century Mansion House (the official residence of the City’s Lord Mayor), York Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of York since 1732 and is the oldest Lord Mayor residence still in existence. Located right in the heart of York, England, the Grade I Georgian building has undergone extensive refurbishment and is now open to the public for the first time in centuries. The manor’s collection includes furniture, ceramics, glassware, paintings, photographs and an array of York gold and silver, including the first silver chamber pot and a gold cup bought for the City of York with monies bequeathed by Marmaduke Rawdon in 1672. Drop in for a self-guided tour or book a special guided tour.
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The House Above the Falls
By Linda Tancs
In the 1930s wealthy department store owner Edgar Kaufmann commissioned renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build him a house in the woods in southwestern Pennsylvania. Not just any house, mind you. Positioned right over a waterfall in the Laurel Highlands in Mill Run, its cantilevered tiers assure that the man-made structure melds with its natural surroundings, which include a mature forest, sandstone boulders, a stream, a variety of plants and flowers and, of course, that waterfall. Appropriately named Fallingwater, the structure is a National Historic Landmark. Be sure to capture the trademark view from the clearing called, what else, The View.
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The Town that Fooled the British
By Linda Tancs
St. Michaels, Maryland, is a tony waterfront town on the Eastern Shore. Perhaps better known for its quaint inns, crab shacks and boutiques, it’s also, as legend goes, the town that fooled the British. That part of the story dates to the War of 1812. When residents were warned of an oncoming attack by the British, they dimmed the lights and hoisted lanterns into the trees above the city, creating blackout conditions that fooled the British into overshooting the town’s houses and shipyards. The ruse was largely successful, resulting in a single cannonball shot to the Federal-style home built for shipbuilder William Merchant. That house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of many stops on the town’s historical walking tour.
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An Antique Planetarium
By Linda Tancs
Nowadays it’s not unusual to find a model solar system hanging from the walls of a classroom. But it certainly would’ve been a spectacle in the 1700s to build an accurate model right in one’s living room. That’s what amateur astronomer Eise Eisinga did in the northern Netherlands. Built between 1774 and 1781 in a Franeker canal house, the working model represents the oldest operating planetarium in the world. His home, now known as the Eise Eisinga Planetarium, also offers a beautiful collection of astronomical instruments and a contemporary exhibition about our solar system and the universe.
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