Wandering around a dusty Greek archaeological site in midsummer is very exhausting especially if you are there for the first time. To make it easier for the visitors, Cultural Ministry of Greece has unveiled a hand gadget. Siemens and Fujitsu developed the gadget, which offers high-resolution video, detailed diagrams of sites such as ancient temples, position indicators, and imagery along with stereo sound. It’s a battery-powered, touch screen device weighing around 270 grams or 9.5 ounces. The instructions are given in four languages-Greek, English, German, and French. By summer 2008, the units will be available at 15 sites around the country. Rental prices are yet to be determined. The tourist experience in Greece is expected to improve with this new gadget.
If you are a Dracula enthusiast, The Bran Castle popularly known as Castle Dracula is the perfect destination. Hovering among forests on the foothills of the Carpathian mountains it is the number one tourist attraction of Romania. Anyway, it is out on sale now for the low price of $100 million. There are exhibitions on display that focus on the history of Romania’s former royal family, which lived there until 1948 and make no mention of Count Dracula. It is decorated with the queen’s furniture and family pictures. The castle is built on the solid rock and has no basement at all. It has 57 rooms and a secret passageway leading up to the watch towers. There are several Gothic Chests that look suspiciously like coffins. Its towers are covered in blood-red tiles. Its belfries are as cold as the grave. Interestingly, nearly half a million Dracula enthusiasts pay a visit to the Bran castle every year. So, if you are pretty fascinated in exploring the mysteries of this 13th century fortress, it’s the right time to plan a visit to Romania. Who knows you get too much impressed to shell out a $100 million from your bank account.
France is going to inaugurate the TGV-Est line connecting Paris with the eastern city of Strasbourg. It is the fastest rail link traveling at the speed of 320km/h (200mph). It will cut the travel time from current four hours to two hours 20 minutes. The launch of the link will take place on 10 June. It will benefit the passengers traveling further east to other EU states. France’s TGV trains launched more than two decades ago cover a network of 1,500km (930 miles) with an average speed of 300km/h (185mph). France has spent nearly 23 billion euros over the past quarter-century to put the TGV on the rails. Its speed is well within safety parameters, given that the top tested speed of a TGV stands at 515 kilometers per hour or quite literally as fast as a speeding bullet.
Lake cruises in Switzerland are a very popular option with tourists who wish to explore the various lakeside cities in the alpine land. However next time you go swimming in the tempting waters of Switzerland’s lakes, be careful, because several thousand tones of surplus ammunition and explosives dumped at their bottom during the last century are likely to remain there. Lake Lucerne I did not know that even a neutral country like Switzerland needed to hide excess arms. However About 10,000 tones of surplus or disused artillery shells, grenades and bullets were stocked underwater in several Swiss lakes between 1918 and 1960, according to official data. The underwater dumps grew sharply after World War II following an explosion in an underground storage bunker in the Alps, as the army sought to get rid of surplus defence stocks. Amongst the lakes two favorite tourist spots include Lake Lucerne and Lake Thun(Top Photo) Lake Maggiore This water pollution was further heightened by the Swiss air force which used 25 waterways for target practice over the years. They used Lake Constance, which is shared with Germany and Austria, and Lake Maggiore, which straddles Italy for practice. The underwater troves also include rejects from munitions factories, gas masks, barbed wire, field kitchens and crashed aircraft.
A human vertebra found in a Stone Age British grave is embedded with an arrowhead, indicating a violent death. Stone age held a period of violence, bloodshed, fractured societies and instability, thus reveal an ancient burial chambers of stone age Britain. The sites include Wayland’s Smithy in Oxford shire, where the remains of 14 people show evidence of an ancient massacre, according to a team led by the U.K. government body English Heritage. Analysis using radiocarbon dating and other archaeological clues placed the age of all the bones at around 3570 B.C., some 800 years before Stonehenge was built in the same region. The women ran into the forest, and the men all got killed. Then the women came back out of the forest after the raiders had gone and buried their dead. Deaths by arrowheads indicate a case of collective violence.This is in absaloute contrast to the traditional view, which sees Britain’s Late Stone Age as relatively stable and settled.
German travel group TUI has announced a merger of its tourism unit with Britain’s First Choice. The two firms said on Monday they planned to create TUI Travel Plc, a London-based tourism giant with about £12 billion ($23 billion) of revenues. The move marks the latest step in the accelerating consolidation of the European tourism industry. It comes about a month after Thomas Cook, Europe’s second-largest travel firm, bought British rival MyTravel instead of opting to purchase First Choice. TUI and First Choice said their combined business would be headquartered and listed in London, and 51% owned by TUI and 49% owned by the shareholders of First Choice. TUI generates about half its revenue from travel and the rest from its container-shipping division. First Choice, Europe’s fourth-largest vacation provider, sells package holidays and independent accommodation and flights.
A new Paris-Strasbourg high-speed link, TGV (train a grande vitesse) has been inaugurated in France, which will cut travel time between Paris and many cities in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and northeast France. It will become easier for the fast travelers to get from Paris to the regions of Champagne – Ardenne, Lorraine, Alsace, Swiss cities of Basel, Zurich and Frankfurt in Germany. The travelers will reach Reims in 45 minutes and Strasbourg in two hours twenty minutes from Paris. From April 10 travelers can get tickets, reservations and timetables for TGV East service on http://www.raileurope.com/
The most convenient way to plan a trip is to use Internet and the budget airlines. Nobody prefers to go for package holidays, which is affecting the travel companies a lot and the companies are left with no option except to merge up. German travel group TUI has decided to take over First Choice and The German-owned Thomas Cook is in the throes of merging with My Travel based in North West England. The companies claim that the merger will generate savings of £100 million a year. In last four years the sales of the package holiday firms has fallen down by 14 percent. Whereas within the same period there is 10 to 45 percent increase proportion of people making their own plans. There is a dramatic increase in the online holiday booking which is easier, cheaper and quicker alternative than visiting a travel agent. Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand have all seen big increases in visitor numbers as people venture further. The change in the travel tastes of the people is getting the package holidays closer to the extinction.
New England’s largest indoor public display garden has been opened in Roger William Park Botanical Centre, which is expected to become a top tourist attraction and regional centre for learning about plants. It has lush green and warm interior, filled with fragrant and unusual plants. The garden has great collection of plants that include 40-year-old cacti, a fragrant jasmine and a bog that contains carnivorous plants. The plants are placed in two glass structures connected by an area-enclosed hallway. It’s a 430 acre land with a zoo and a carousel. There are two classrooms, which will offer gardening and composting classes provided by the University of Rhode Island. The project cost $7.7 million to build. State, federal and city government funded it. Champlin Foundations also granted $1 million for the project. It’s a wonderful place to chill out and learn about various plants
Ashford Castle is your answer to a romantic fantasy of long! Its romantic persona was championed in the making of the epic film the Quiet Man. The majestic castle stone walls rise from rolling green fields, in the picturesque setting on the shores of Lough Corrib(Irelands second largest lake) in the village of Cong. Location: Cong, Co. Mayo, Ireland Rates: Standard double rooms €273 to €503. (Price always includes Breakfast and all taxes) Phone: 094/954-6003 Activities: Lake as well as river fishing, trekking, horse riding, archery, golf, tennis, Clay target shooting, Falconry and hunting Today it is recognized as a world class resort property in a private estate of 350acres.It was once the home of the Guinness family Ashford. It has also played host to president and Mrs. Regan and more recently the famous Hollywood star Pierce Brosnan alias -007- chose Ashford as the venue for his personal wedding. Ashford Castle’s long and distinguished history dates back to 1228 when the Anglo Norman de Burgos family founded it. Reaching it is a two-hour drive, but the route leads visitors on a winding tour of the breathtaking West before ending in Cong, County Mayo, a lush rural bastion of rolling hill. Boat House As a world apart from the normal hubbub of Irish life, it remains strong on luxury, charm, and good service and offers all the services of a five star resort. The 82 bedrooms include presidential and executive suites. The suites in the original castle building are vast, with double-height windows, furnished with Georgian antiques, and blissfully comfortable. Standard bedrooms in the discreetly added new wing are smaller, with marble bathroom fittings and Victorian-style antiques and, while they have everything you would expect from five-star accommodation, they lack the scale and baronial flamboyance of the rest of the castle. All in all the castle is definitely worth a visit and a perfect honeymoon destination.
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