Europe Euphoria

Running out of options to visit places? Well, try visiting Stockholm over a long weekend vacation. Mostly popular as the Venice of North, Stockholm is built of 14 islands. You can go on 30 different sightseeing tours, try the regular sports or even take a night walk. A round trip airfare to the city starts at $559 and after taxes and fees of $270 it goes up a little bit. March, October and December are good months to obtain this travel deal. All major US airports like Boston, Chicago and Miami have flights heading towards Stockholm. Air taxes and fuel surcharges are an extra $270. At about $60 per person per night, you can book yourself a pretty decent room. Off course, this is the cheapest offer. Stockholm even has Best Western hotels, which are probably one of the world’s leading hotel chains. Winter travel to the Venice of North can be pretty expensive if not booked early. The wonderful city has plenty of museums, parks and waterways. The museums uphold the pride of medieval Stockholm. The museums are categorized into dance, music as well as historical ones. Over the last decade, a record number of visitors(1.6 million) visited the city. If I had time and the money, I would book myself a round trip ticket to Stockholm right now. Image Credits: Seedmagazine

What’s art if there are no patrons to appreciate it? An amazing collection of paintings depicting the scenes of Roman life and legends sat under dust at the Archaeological Museum in Naples waiting to see the light. At last, they seem to have come out of the storage as they go on public display in Rome for the first time in years. The stunning paintings, once adorned private and public buildings in Pompeii, Herculaneum and other towns near Naples before they were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and had to be restored to revive the colors and figures that were faded. The eruptions of Mount Vesuvius killed thousands of people, but the artworks lay beneath the layers of volcanic ash waiting to be unearthed. Like phoenix, nothing could stop these paintings from rising out of the ashes!The paintings offer a glimpse into the Roman history, lifestyle and give valuable information of the ancient civilization to the historians. The great painter Leonardo Da Vinci said, Art is never finished, only abandoned… Source: USAtoday

Food is never too far from Italian’s minds and it’s the place where world’s biggest cheese festival is held bi-annually. Popularly known as Bra Cheese Festival (Cheese – Le Forme del Latte), its one big cheesey party where one can see tables lined with cheese after cheese. In fact it’s a plethora of cheese as far as the eye can see. The fest features thousands of artisan varieties. Every two years, a small city of Bra hosts a four-day street fair for cheese lovers and cheese makers from around the world, where one can sample never imagined variety of cheese. The aim with which the festival was started and still continues to be is to prevent the disappearance of local food traditions and stimulate interest in the food we eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how food choices affect the rest of the world. The cheese comes in all types, shapes, sizes and form (soft, hard, stretched, pressed or blue). Pecorino, Gorgonzola, fontina, mozzarella, provolone, bitto, robiola, taleggio and hundreds of different cheeses with obscure names from the Italian regions and from distant parts of the world can be seen and sampled. Also, there is a huge tent (Great Hall of Cheese) that is set up in the main square where one can taste hundreds of cheeses on display and wash them down with sips of wine from an array of more than 1,500 bottles from around the world. It’s a fun event that attracts thousand of people from all corners. Believe me, it’s one of the biggest appointments of the year for people who are passionate about eating well. The next Cheese fair in Bra will be in the fall of 2009. I’m sure cheese fans won’t even think of missing the fest. Images Source: ABC News

If you’re the one who is interested in buying a piece of history, then go about reading the post. We all know about the Concorde crash, right? Now the news is that the spare parts of this iconic plane and other memorabilia are up for auction at the Hotel des Ventes Saint-Aubin in Toulouse, France. The four day auction got off to a bumpy start Friday. The auction is obviously luring aeronautics enthusiasts. A total of 835 lots, including dozens of cockpit instruments, door panels, oxygen masks, dinnerware and a toilet seat valued at $850 are offered for sale. Among the more sought-after pieces are three Mach-monitoring speedometers, the orange and black analog dials, which display speeds as high as Mach 2 (expected to fetch the highest bids, as much as €20,000 each) and unused replacement parts or components that were actually installed on a working Concorde. A piece of nose landing year (in its original wooden case) weighing 1.2 tons is one of the largest items on offer. An organic-looking airflow-regulator valve made of iridescent titanium (estimated value-€300 to €500) is also a part of the auction. This is the third sale dedicated to Concorde ephemera since the supersonic jet stopped flying in May 2003. Concorde: Commercialized by Air France and British Airways, Concorde was a supersonic jet (a technological marvel) that made its first flight in 1969 but was formally retired in 2003 as ticket sales plummeted after a crash near Paris in 2000 that killed 113 people. The maximum cruising speed of this supersonic jet was 2,170 kilometers per hour and it was capable of flying from London to New York in less than three and one-half hours. The auction is anticipated to reap about $337,000. The items do not have the reserve price meaning thereby that they will be sold to the person who bids the highest no matter what the catalog price is. Even if you can’t attend the auction personally, you can send bid orders online. Image Credit Source: USA Today

If you are a big fan of Champagne and traveling through London, you might want to check out Europe’s longest champagne bar. The 315 feet bar is located at the St. Pancras International train station. Here’s more on the drinks and the ambiance of the Europe’s longest bar – St. Pancras. AS a matter of fact it has become one of the major British landmarks. So, if you want to drink and talk or want to have a champagne breakfast, this is the place to be. On its first day, the bar sold out about 4,500 glasses of champagne! You can buy champagnes worth from 40 pounds till 2700 pounds. I think that’s a hell lot of champagne. If you are dazzled with this number, try the menu. The bar boastfully lists about 70 champagnes on the menu! As of now, it offers about 10 by the glass. There are about 110 bar stools for the guests. The bar also has an elaborate food menu. So, if you just got out of work and feel enervated, you can grab a bite. You can order anything from baked potatoes with sour cream to Seruga caviar. St. Pancras has a very warm reception, along with individual booths equipped with separate heating controls. Image Credit: BBC

In the holy city of Jerusalem an elusive Biblical wall has been found very recently. A team of archaeologists unearthed this ancient and prized treasure. According to scholars, the wall has been mentioned in the Biblical book of Nehemiah. This discovery was made in the ancient part of the Jerusalem city known as David. Things like pottery, shards as well as arrowheads have been found in this archaeological site. Although most scholars think that the wall is biblical, some scholars have other opinions about the same. The Chapters 3-6 in the Book of Nehemiah talks about the existence of such a wall. The excavation was done in multiple phases with the first phase of excavation being completed in the year 2005. During this particular dig, it is believed that the remains of the King David’s palace has been unearthed. At least, that’s what Eilat Mazar,the head of the Institute of Archeology at the Shalem center believes. As always, the scholars and their discoveries often contradict and triggers of disputes. In this case, the discovery and it’s scope has been much disputed the significance of the discovery. Nevertheless, this is an ‘interesting find’. I think that this discovery helped us get a better understanding of the biblical period. Image: Pravda, MSNBC

Bored of regular tours and travel packages offered by various travel agencies or tired of planning interesting trips on own and short of ideas. A theatrical tour to London is what you are looking for. Moreover, if you are a person who is interested in culture and arts, then this is just perfect for you. It’s on from Dec. 27 to Jan. 5 and showcases some of the finest dramas, concerts etc into it. You can see Ian McKellen as King Lear in one of the six theatrical performances that are offered in the tour, the musical "Desperately Seeking Susan" and the South African group Isango Portobello performing Mozart’s "The Magic Flute." This tour is led by L.A. arts writer Barbara Isenberg. It also shows museums and has two concerts in the package. One travels through various venues in London and even visits famous Astors’ 18th century Kirby House located in Berkshire. One can avail all this for just $5,989 per person. For double occupancy it takes a single surcharge of $1,000. This cost is inclusive of round-trip airfare, accommodations, breakfast, interviews, talks, museum tours and group transfers. Via: Latimes Image: 1 2

The Kielder Water’s art and architecture museum is located in the most tranquil place in the world. The landscape seen from this particular place in England is a very rare one. So, the Kielder Water reservoir and the museum located in Northumberland is worth a visit. The reservoir was created to serve the heavy industry in the Teeside. The author of the Telegraph Nigel Richardson writes about his experience awesome experience in and around the museum. Read on! As Nigel says, this area is thrillingly remote and very man made. Nevertheless, it’s attracting tourists. The Kielder Forest park has plenty of activities for the tourists visiting this area. You name it, they have it. Birdwatching, cycling, hiking, fishing are just a few of them. If you are a history buff, there’s plenty of historic stuff for you as well. The 27 mile shoreline is the largest man made lake in Northern Europe. The dam at Kielder is about 170 feet high. If you are up for it, you can check out several man made installations along the damn just by cycling, driving or even hiking. The mode of transportation obviously depends on the route that you take. Motorized access is usually prohibited in this area. Leapish is the most popular part of the lake area. Eventually it will accommodate several log cabins and even some luxuries in the wilderness! As of now, about 16000 visitors spend the night in the Kielder valley. Folks who are in charge of rebuilding the site plan on increasing this number to a whopping 86000. The new observatory light will be a guide to the visitors. Visitors to Kielder can crash for the night at an Inn. There are only a handful options to choose from. Local pubs and restaurants are pretty friendly as well. I hope you can check out the awesome scenery from Kielder valley during your next vacation . Image Credit: Squirrelweb, Northumberland

Ruins of an ancient temple dating back to the reign of pharaoh Ramses II (1250 B.C.) have been discovered inside a mosque in Egypt. The discovery was made during the restoration work of the mosque which was erected as a shrine to Muslim saint Abul Haggag in the 13th century A.D. and was damaged partly in June. Related facts: The well preserved ruins made the archaeologists conclude that during the construction process of Christians and Muslims shrines on top of Egyptian holy sites, builders spoiled the ancient artwork in the temples but the few of them remained almost untouched. The reliefs are thought to depict the temple’s dedication. The carved inscriptions on the reliefs provide best examples of enigmatic writing which was an unusual form of hieroglyphic text in which each glyph could stand for an entire word, phrase or concept. It is said that the discovery is likely to touch a nerve among religious leaders because the newly exposed reliefs hold representations of humans and animals, which are forbidden inside mosques. Removing the ancient features completely would cause damage to the mosque. The team of researchers is baffled as to how they should proceed further in this case. To proceed further in, the team is in talks with mosque leaders and it is anticipated that they would reach a compromise getting the best way out so that none of the monuments of antiquity are deeply affected. Source: National Geographic

The ancient city of Pompeii , destroyed and completely buried during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning for two days in 79 AD, is once again under danger. But this time it is no volcanic threat, for the most popular tourist attractions of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has fallen into such disrepair that the Italian government has declared a ‘state of emergency’ to save the ruins. The accidental rediscovery and excavation of Pompeii in 1748 after nearly 1700 years after its burial has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Extra funding to save this historical heritage has been earmarked as an immediate step by the surveying commissioner, which had earlier been neglected. The ruins from a long time have been suffering from lack of investment, mismanagement, litter and looting. Giving evidence of mismanagement, Antonio Irlando, a regional councilor responsible for artistic heritage, revealed that every year at least 150 sq m (1,600 sq ft) of fresco and plasterwork are lost for lack of maintenance, while at least 3,000 pieces of stones every year end up disintegrating. This ‘state of emergency’ will last for a year until some valid preservation actions are taken into force and one of the world’s most historic and precious heritage is saved from evaporating.