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 City’s Living Room
By Linda Tancs
Many libraries are cherished meeting places, but in Helsinki, Finland, they’ve taken it to a new level. Billed as a living room for residents, Oodi is a relatively new library in the heart of the city. A third of its space is reserved for books. So what, you may wonder, is the rest used for? Well, there’s a cinema. And a recording studio. And a photography and video studio. Work spaces. Meeting rooms. A children’s playground. If you’d like to just sit down with a good book and a ubiquitous cup of Finnish coffee (they do, after all, consume the most coffee in the world per capita), then you can head to Book Heaven on the top floor. Both guided and self-guided tours are available.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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All Aboard the Christmas Train
By Linda Tancs
All aboard the U.K.’s first Christmas train of lights! This seasonal event in Devon begins at Queen’s Park Station, Paignton, where a steam train with vintage carriages is festooned with thousands of lights, both inside and out. The light show intensifies past Churston Station, where you will be propelled through 1,500 feet of greenway tunnel leading to an enchanted forest transformed by a multitude of lights and displays. After a turnaround at Kingswear, you’ll have an opportunity to disembark and take photographs from the platform before you head back to Paignton to experience the spectacle from a different direction.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Monument to the Forefathers
By Linda Tancs
Today is Forefathers’ Day in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Celebrated each year on December 22, it commemorates the arrival of the Mayflower pilgrims ashore on December 21, 1620. Sounds like the perfect day to visit the National Monument to the Forefathers. Located on Allerton Street, it’s thought to be the largest solid granite monument in the country at 81 feet. The allegorical figures around its base depict the attributes of faith, morality, education, law and liberty.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Scotland’s Highest Village
By Linda Tancs
At about 1,532 feet above sea level, Wanlockhead is Scotland’s highest village. For many centuries, lead mining was the mainstay of its economy. In fact, in the 1600s the Duke of Buccleuch built a smelting plant and workers’ cottages to support year-round production. Lead wasn’t the only treasure there, however. The area also yielded zinc, copper, silver and gold. Interestingly, some of the world’s purest gold was found there and used in the Regalia of the Scottish Crown. No wonder the area became known as “God’s treasure house.” As one would expect, the Museum of Lead Mining tells the story of the local industry. The museum experience includes a guided tour of the Lochnell Lead Mine, the miners’ cottages and a gold panning area.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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The Dark Hedges
By Linda Tancs
Who would’ve thought that an avenue of beech trees planted in the 18th century would become a filming location in the epic series Game of Thrones? The locale is The Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland, a story-book scene if ever there were one. Planted by the Stuart family, the cascade of trees was intended to be a stunning landscaped entrance to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. Today it’s an iconic tourist attraction along pedestrianized Bregagh Road between Armoy and Stranocum in County Antrim.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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The Women’s Titanic Memorial
By Linda Tancs
Memorials to RMS Titanic are located around the world in cities like New York, Southampton, Cobh and Belfast. What’s unique about the memorial in Washington, D.C., is its dedication by the women of America. Indeed, funds for its construction were raised by donations from women across the country, including one of the first-class survivors, Mrs. Archibald Forbes. The memorial was unveiled in 1931 by Helen Taft, widow of the 27th U.S. President William Howard Taft. Like an eagle with outstretched wings, the moving centerpiece of the memorial is a 13-foot-tall figure of a partly clad male with arms outstretched, standing on a square base. That’s because the structure honors the men who gave their lives so that women and children might be saved. Tucked away along the city’s quiet southwest waterfront, the memorial is located on 4th and P streets.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Dragons and Waterfalls in Java
By Linda Tancs
The Global Geoparks Network is a collection of sites of international geological significance. One of those geoparks is Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark in West Java, Indonesia. The oldest rocks in the park were formed by the subduction process between the Eurasian and the Indian Ocean tectonic plates. One of its unique structures is a rocky complex called Dragon Spine Rock, representing the oldest sedimentary deposits in West Java. It’s located in the southern part of the park, where you’ll also find steep cliffs featuring spectacular waterfalls like Awang, Java’s version of Niagara. Cliffside spots are perfect for shutterbugs.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Museum of the Moon
By Linda Tancs
Unless you’re an astronaut, you’ll never see the moon up close and personal. But the next best thing is the touring exhibition of the moon by U.K. artist Luke Jerram. Known as Museum of the Moon, it’s a 3D suspended model measuring 23 feet in diameter and featuring detailed NASA imagery of the moon’s surface. Regardless whether it’s presented indoors or outdoors, each exhibition will include mood music and lunar-inspired events. Upcoming tour dates include the U.S., U.K., Canada, Netherlands and Belgium.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Huguenot History
By Linda Tancs
Huguenots were French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who fled religious persecution. Overall, nearly 180,000 found homes elsewhere around the world. Many of them escaped to Britain, contributing crafts, skills and trades that formed the basis of the modern economy. Britain’s only museum of Huguenot history is located in Rochester. Many of the items on display are from the nearby French Hospital, founded in 1718 as a charity for poor Huguenot refugees. The museum also offers an ancestry research service, considering that one in six English people may be of Huguenot descent.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Crete’s Egyptian Lighthouse
By Linda Tancs
The lighthouse of Chania in Crete is one of Greece’s oldest lighthouses, not to mention one of the oldest in the world. The telltale sign of its 16th-century Venetian origin is the base. Rebuilt in the 1800s in the form of a minaret, it’s often referred to as the “Egyptian lighthouse” because it was refashioned during a time of Egyptian occupation when Crete was rebelling against Ottoman control. An icon of the city, it stands at the entrance of the city’s old harbor.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 