Åland Island View

If you know these 6500 islands yet to be: They are located between Sweden and Finland and has around 25,000 inhabitants. Åland is an autonomous region in Swedish is spoken, but whose culture was shaped by several countries. Anyone who spends his holidays here in the fascinating story emerges with Russian, Finnish and Swedish influences.

Åland is an autonomous region in Swedish

The Åland Islands can be reached by boat or plane from Finland and Sweden. The beauty of the islands is as unique as its history and enchanted thousands of visitors every year. Marie Hamm is the only city on the Åland Islands and a popular spot for tourists and locals.

Tokyo Tower

Repellent, gracious, a Moloch, a collection of villages, exciting, provincial, ugly, exotic, stiff, vital … Grab one of these features out – or expand the list – and set before it: “Tokyo is …”. True, you have just received a correct statement of Japan’s capital hit. Infinitely many facets of this city that no one can bring them to a common denominator. Only one thing is for sure: Tokyo is never boring, but a challenge, an adventure. The following is the only city to disappoint those who retracted the traditional tourist paths, or even Japan expects to samurai and geisha romance and an intact historic center.

Tokyo Street

And who is the challenge? How will he get along in this concrete jungle in the world of strange characters which make it the illiterate? Just ignore it? In fact, you’ll go even without knowledge of Japanese in Tokyo’s endless maze of narrow streets and broad avenues not feel lost. It is already found someone who digs out his school English and shows you the way. You can also roam unmolested long after midnight by the most remote districts. The most that you encounter is a tipsy late returnees. Before too much carelessness must be warned though. Whether it’s the influx of illegal immigrants, it was the moral decline among Japanese youth: Property crimes are on the rise. It cannot hurt to keep an eye on his wallet.

Tokyo Highway

How do you learn to know Tokyo is best? Who fears a culture shock begins, ideally on the Omotesando in Harajuku. In the cafes meet a stranger like you and me who get along splendidly obvious. Campari Orange? – No problem. Café au lait? – Of course! But for heaven’s sake do not order rice wine! Here reigns the spirit of the times!

Cape Town

Cape Town: Coon Carnival, street carnival in the coloreds from 1 to 7 January. Dragging through the streets dressed in colorful, dance and make music to it. The climax is a competition at the Green Point Stadium, where the best band is determined.

On the last Saturday of the month, at the Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town instead of the most important and most glamorous horse race in the country: the J & B Met

March

Durban Harbor Festival

Oudtshoorn Klein Karoo National Arts Festival. Cultural festival with theatrical performances, art market and a wide range of crafts in the last week of March.

Durban: Durban Harbor Festival and Fiesta. Large city and harbor festival with barbecues on the beaches on the last weekend in March

June

Comrades marathon

Pietermaritzburg and Durban: Comrades marathon. Annual run over the distance between the two cities on 16 June.

June / July

Grahamstown National Arts Festival

Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Two weeks (until last June, first week of July), the sleepy university town turned into an arena for art. The days are filled with theater, film and music. Every major exhibition of the country shown here.

July

Knysna Oyster Festival

Knysna: Knysna Oyster Festival. Oysters are available in the first week of July at the center, such as the oyster and the oyster cook-eating contest to many sports events.

Franschhoek Bastille Day. On Sunday, the 14th July is closest to remember the wine farmers and restaurant owners to the founder of their village. A party with the best wines and foods of the region.

August to October

Namaqualand Wild flowers bloom

Namaqualand Wild flowers bloom. Bloom during this time in the flower paradise of the west coast of the cape over 2600 species. They are a mile long and broad carpet of flowers. Every place in this region will celebrate a flower festival.

September

Hermanus Whale Festival. Between June and November, whales come to the coast of the Indian Ocean to mate and give birth to their young. The festival on the last weekend of September is dedicated to the marine mammals.

October

Jacaranda Festival

Pretoria: Jacaranda Festival. When lights in the city center, the delicate purple blossoms of the jacaranda trees of 70 000, will be held in the third week of October, a street festival with musicians and a large flea and farmers market.

Stellenbosch: Food and Wine Festival: all the wines from the vineyards around Stellenbosch, last October: Wednesday to Saturday-.

December

Sun City

Sun City / Lost City: 1 million golf tournament. The world’s best players will be invited to this tournament.

Loi Krathong Festival

On 21 November, in the town of Koh Samui on Chaweng Lake, many people because Koh Samui is the venue for the Loi Krathong festival. The Festival of Lights is one of the highlights in Thailand in general. It takes place every year on the Chaweng Lake – always in the full moon of the twelfth lunar month.

Works of art on the water

Loi Krathong Festival the Art of Water

Loi means to swim or float and Krathong is translated to a small raft. The population at this time to build these small rafts, which are made from the stem of the banana tree. In Asian cultures, the gods play a large role, and so are the traditionally decorated floats, for example, in honor of the goddess Mae Kongha water and sent at nightfall on the great sea. On this occasion, comes forth the full creativity of the people: The Krathong are unique and produced in great variety. The decoration will know no limit and there is everything from small boats giant Styrofoam creations.

Sacrifice for the gods

Loi Krathong Festival Lantern

The Loi Krathong festival might the people of Ko Samui by Deepavali, the Indian Lantern Festival raft and influence. The Indians were so their three gods Trimurati their faith and thanked them by sacrifices by centuries of tradition from which, ultimately, the Loi Krathong Festival in Thailand today developed.

Chinese tea Culture

Tea plants are perennial evergreen shrubs of the family Theaceae, and the processed tea leaves of the everyday lives of Chinese people play an important role. In China, it has maintained to say: “For daily life are seven things, namely firewood, rice, cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.” A cup of fragrant tea provides, be it in leisure hours, it was the gathering of friends, a good mood.

Traditional Chinese tea Culture

Not excluded at all times and among all groups of people, the Emperor, there have been passionate tea drinkers. When Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1662-1722) visited during an inspection tour at the Suzhou Taihu Lake, he got a tea called “Xia Sha Ren Xiang” (“scared to death scent”) are offered. After drinking the tea with relish, he said, the tea was delicious, but the name of a dissuasive effect. He wanted to rename it in tea “Bi Luo Chun” (jade spring), because the tea grows on the mountain and I picked jade-green in spring. Since then, this tea was delivered as a tribute to the imperial court.

Green Chinese tea Culture

The Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795) loved the tea. To celebrate the Chinese New Year, he would always invite guests to tea.

Gothenburg Seashore

Who lives in Gothenburg tend quickly to designate the city as the most beautiful in Sweden. And this may be due to the residents themselves, the Gothenburg gives their unmistakable charm. Also, on the borders of the city is considered cheerful, open, modern and welcoming, especially and not without reason.

Gothenburg City

Gothenburg has long been an immigrant city and attracted people from England, Germany, Holland and many more countries. Immigrants have long been with a certain quota is an integral part of the City Council.

Gothenburg City at Night

The many nations have left their mark, and when you walk through the streets here, you can feel almost Mediterranean flair of Gothenburg.

Gothenburg Street

Particularly well, you can explore the city on foot or by bicycle, the roads are very well-developed for this fact.

To the 7th century BC, the oracles were held only once a year the 7eeme Bysions day, corresponding to February / March. However the increasing number of requests, the number of prophetesses went from 1 to 3 and consultations became monthly, apart from the three winter months when Apollo, Hyperborea party left the sanctuary Dionysus. The Pythia was chosen among the virgin girls preferably uneducated and poor of the neighborhood. But after the rape of one of them, the choice fell on women over 50 who had to leave husband and children to access has that honor. They were dressed in white and has lived inside the temenos (sacred enclosure) is free from any impurity.

The consultants had to perform a ceremonial before they can enter into communication with them. They sprayed a goat with cold water and if it meant shuddered Apollo agreed to communicate. The animal was sacrificed and the oracle came into scene.

She was bathing in the water of the fountain Castalia to purify themselves, sat on a tripod and chewing laurel leaves. The Adytum was filled with smoke from fires also were burning or laurel, symbol of Apollo. It is likely that the consultants did not see it. Two priests issues has passed the prophetess who was coming into trances and incomprehensible sounds emitted by the assistants interpreted ambiguously.

After consulting the oracle fell into a lethargy which could last several days. At present, no explanation has been given truly has this phenomenon. The theory most often advanced is that a ground fault gases liberated euphoric. However, no crack has been discovered during the excavations and the nature of the ground shale seems to contradict this thesis. Geologists study of the ground still to find a solution. Another thesis asserts that the Pythia was drugged before she officiates, but still no discovery has allowed to verify this explanation. The fact is that the Delphic Oracle played a prominent role in the political life of Greece and especially in their colonization since no major decisions were made, no shipment was not effected until you have consulted.

Trans Siberian railroad to Lake Baikal

Who does not want his vacation days to spend time at the hotel on the beach or on the ski slopes, which should maybe think about a trip on the Trans-Siberian railroad to Lake Baikal.

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is located in the southeastern part of Siberia is 1,637 meters and the deepest lake in the world. Its age is estimated at about 25 million years and it surrounded him because of his size and depth of many secrets. He is still the largest freshwater reservoir on Earth and from the 1,500 recorded species in this region come from just over half of the lake. Thus, in the Lake Baikal the Baikal Seal, for example at home.

railroad to Lake Baikal

The climate in this part of Siberia is relatively mild, the taiga and stepped landscapes of the region is home to a plethora of different, occurring only here crops.

Lake Baikal Slope

Lake Baikal and its surrounding hold many surprise. A journey to this unusual water is worth at any given time. So, here is popular in the warmer months, especially fishing, ice fishing in winter you can ride or a car with a dog sled.

Chinese cabbage china heritage

China Heritage. Chinese cabbage. The cultivation of cabbage goes back 4000 years. Between China and Mongolia, the horsemen learned to preserve this vegetable in brine became food manufacturers of the Great Wall of China in the third century BC. At the option of overlapping of the Huns and Mongols, the pickled cabbage arrived in Eastern Europe and is the origin of sauerkraut.

Qin Shi Huang China Heritage

Qin Shi Huang. The third century BC. AD, Shi Huangdi, the founder of the Qin dynasty, absorbed the rival kingdoms (Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi), becoming the first unification China Heritage. He ordered the walls were built previously linked together, strengthened and expanded. This was the first “Great Wall”, according to long tradition of 10000 read (that is to say “infinitely long”, according to the meaning of “ten thousand” in Chinese), which extended from Lintao ( Current Minxian, in Gansu), to the west to Liaodong in the east.

Ming vase Heritage of China

Ming vase. Chinese dynasties erected turns walls, especially the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China between 1368 and 1644. This is the Ming that were built the Wall of China stretches of the most impressive, those we know through movies and tourist brochures. Because, while most other structures were simply rammed earth, the Ming Wall was made of stone and brick. It is estimated that this wall is 2700 km long.

Wall of China from Beijing can be accessed from three different places: Badaling and Mutianyu that have been restored tourist purposes only and Simatai much more scenic and a little off the beaten track. Whatever the chosen location, you must be aware that the visit of the Wall is very physical and he must have some training walking for snowmobiles.

Shanhaiguan is the end point of the wall of china

Shanhaiguan is the end point of the Great Wall on the east side. This is a strategic fortress of the Ming Dynasty.  The wall meets the sea at the head of the Old Dragon, Laolongtou. This place takes its name from the carved dragon’s head that was once facing the sea

Panjiakou Wall of China

Panjiakou. The section of the Wall of Panjiakou dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). She was submerged after the construction of the reservoir in 1979. But a sudden drop in water level due to drought, has brought to the surface at the end of the twentieth century. Recently, sections of the Wall were again submerged due to environmental improvements and adequate rainfall.

Jinshanling Wall of China

Jinshanling.  The Wall of China is dotted with towers, also called signal fire towers. They were an effective way to transmit information using military smoke the day (it burned feces from wolf whose smoke was visible from a distance) and fire at night. The number of invaders was shown using a specific number of fires or smoke. In the Ming Dynasty, explosion sounds were added to enhance the effect. Jinshanling section of the stands about ten miles southeast of the neck Gubei (Hebei Province.) Winding along the mountains, it brings together almost all forms of construction of the wall of the Ming. 10 km of the wall, there are 76 forts.

Qi Jiguang Wall of China

Qi Jiguang. Under the Ming, the famous General Qi Jiguang invents the watchtowers are two or three floors built every hundred meters or soldiers live with the warehouses of weapons and ammunition.

Meng Jiangnu Wall of China

Meng Jiangnu. A popular legend says that under the Qin’s husband Meng Jiangnu is designated to go build the Great Wall. He has not returned home after three years. His wife really worried, bring him hand winter clothing. After a very difficult journey, she finally manages to Shanhaiguan Pass or she learns that her husband is dead and his body is buried under the wall. Very painful, Meng Jiangnu weeps bitterly and long. Her tears flow by eroding the wall. With this, she discovered her husband’s body. This legend emphasizes the loss of life so terrifying that this Wall of China construction is gigantic. A temple was erected to his memory.