Tag: travel featured

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Explore England in the Age of Shakespeare

William Shakespeare turns 450

Happy 450th birthday William Shakespeare!

Today 23rd April is widely regarded as William Shakespeare’s birthday. Shakespeare is one of the most well known and influential playwrights of our time. Though little is known about William Shakespeare’s personal life, his works such as “Hamlet,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “King Lear,” have influenced literature and theater for over 400 years.

Most of us will have quoted the playwright thousands of times without knowing it. Ever been “in a pickle” or had “too much of a good thing”? Perhaps friends have “eaten (you) out of house and home” or had you “in stitches” over a joke. These are just a handful of well-used sayings that come courtesy of Shakespeare. READ MORE

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UK and London in the Highest Resolution (VIDEO)

London video in high resolution
This archive of England 4K footage was created by the award winning team of specialized cinematographers and colorists from Creative Media Group.

Their award winning stock footage archive of England 4K contains many never-before-seen stock footage shots. While processing this England 4K footage the CMG team of creative professionals developed proprietary work-flows and innovative techniques that allowed them to pull out rich vibrant colors and process ultra high-resolution video content. Some of this England 4K footage was created by specially programmed and engineered pieces of patent-pending technology.

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Unbelievable Phuktal Monastery in India

Phuktal Monastery, India

Do you want to visit the most incredibly situated, let alone remote, monastery in Ladakh? Then put on your hiking boots. Only those on foot can get to Phuktal Monastery at 3,970 meters/13,024 feet. Phuktal is a 5km/3.1 mile hike in each direction just from Purne campgrounds.

Phugtal Monastery or Phugtal Gompa (often transliterated as Phuktal) is a monastery in south-eastern Zanskar, Ladakh in northern India.

Founded by Gangsem Sherap Sampo in the early 12th century, the monastery is a unique construction built into the cliff-side like a honeycomb. It is located on the mouth of a cave on the cliff face of a lateral gorge of a major tributary of the Lungnak (Lingti-Tsarap) River.

Home to about 70 monks the Phuktal monastery has a library and prayer rooms

Home to about 70 monks the monastery has a library and prayer rooms. A stone tablet reminds of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös author of the first English-Tibetan dictionary who explored Ladakh and visited in 1826-27.

 

 

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World’s Best Hikes – the Alpstein Area and Äscher Cliff Restaurant

Nowhere else in Switzerland is the change from the hilly landscape of Central Switzerland to the craggy alpine scenery so abrupt or impressive as in the Alpstein area.

The challenging walk from Wasserauen up to the Ebenalp offers spectacular views of this fascinating hiking area. After the first climb, you reach the picturesque Seealp lake, with, behind it, the mighty Säntis mountain. However, the undisputed high point of this route is the Äscher mountain restaurant. The restaurant is in the most precarious position, clinging to the foot of a vertical cliff face a good 100 m high. The season usually ends on October 31.

Äscher Cliff Restaurant in Switzerland

The Äscher Cliff Restaurant in Switzerland is best seen after a long hike. It was carefully built into the side of a mountain during the 19th century. More of an inn and restaurant than a luxury resort, this getaway is the best spot to take a breather on your trek up the northern Alps. The views here will keep you charged as you continue your trip through the Swiss mountains.

Wasserauen – Seealpsee – Äscher – Ebenalp

The challenging walk from Wasserauen up to the Ebenalp

The walk begins at Wasserauen station and leads first up quite a steep path to the Seealpsee. The tour round the lake which follows gives you plenty of time to admire the beautiful scenery. Then the climb up from the Seealpsee to the Äscher really shows what you are made of. The mountain path goes up steeply along the slope and is quite tricky. Finally, after the Äscher mountain restaurant, a rocky path leads on up to the Ebenalp with its fantastic views. Then the cable-car takes you back down to the valley in just a few minutes.

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A Visit to the Masterpiece-packed Uffizi Gallery (VIDEO)

Uffizi Gallery and famous Ponte Vecchio bridge

The Uffizi Gallery is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world. Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates—hence the name “uffizi” (“offices”).

No trip to Florence is complete without a visit to the masterpiece-packed Uffizi Gallery. On a single floor, travelers experience a thrilling sweep through art history, spanning the 12th through the 17th centuries. In high season (particularly in July), waiting times can be up to five hours. Visitors who reserve a ticket in advance have a substantially shorter wait.

The language network’s most traveled member Rick Steves takes us on a tour through the Uffizi Gallery.

 

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Hey Brother and Really Cool Music

Ice Music, prior to start of the festival

Tim Linhart is the original ice artist who founded the Ice Music project in Lule, Sweden
Tim Linhart is the original ice artist who founded the Ice Music project in Lule, Sweden

Now that a deep freeze has settled over many parts of the world, some daring souls choose to revel in the frigid temperatures by engaging in activities that are only possible in a cold climate.

A band in Sweden called Ice Music celebrates “the winter spirit of Swedish Lapland” by using a new art form – where the musicians play on instruments made of ice. READ MORE

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Fascinating Waitomo Caves, a Place Where Glowworms Create a Starry Effect

This specific spot in the Waitomo Caves is known as the Glowworm Grotto, a place where glowworms create a starry effect on the ceilings.

Glowworm Caves in New Zealand

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves, located just outside the main Waitomo township on the North Island of New Zealand, is a famous attraction because of a sizable population of glowworms that live in the caves. Glowworms or Arachnocampa luminosa are tiny, bio-luminescent creatures (around the size of a mosquito) that produce a blue-green light and are found exclusively in New Zealand.

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Ancient Region of Anatolia in Cappadocia as a Favorite Spot for Hot Air Ballooning

The area has become a popular tourist area and a favorite spot for hot air ballooning.

Ancient Region of Anatolia in Cappadocia, Turkey
Ancient Region of Anatolia in Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia lies in eastern Anatolia, in the center of what is now Turkey. The name was traditionally used in Christian sources throughout history and is still widely used as an international tourism concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage.

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Magnificent Troll’s Tongue

Trolltunga is a piece of rock that sticks out of a vertical mountain side above a 350m drop, offering a magnificent view of Skjeggedal near town of Odda, Norway. The Troll’s Tongue (translation in English) is available to hikers from mid-June to about mid-September. It is roughly a 3-4 hour hike to the ‘trolls tongue’.

Trolltunga in Hordaland, Norway

Thousands of tourists visit Trolltunga during the four summer months. Nevertheless, to this day no safety railing has been constructed on the edge of the cliff so as not to harm the natural beauty of the cliff. Despite the insecure gorge, there had been no fatalities at the site (2013). Source: Wikipedia

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Experience Winter at its Best – in Vienna

Music, balls, coffee houses, cakes and culture come wrapped in a small but beautiful package during a Vienna city break in winter.

“Perhaps I’m still saturated with pleasure and am feeling biased, but if you want to start the year fulfilling lofty resolutions by spending a few days surrounded by great art and architecture, dipping into coffee houses between museum trips and at night going to concerts or the ballet, I think Vienna can beat any of its art-city rivals. Particularly in winter,” Adriaane Pielou, Telegraph

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Magic of the Mendenhall Ice Caves

The Mendenhall Glacier is a 12-mile-long glacier in the Mendenhall Valley, located only 12 miles from downtown Juneau in Southeast Alaska. The Ice Caves are inside the glacier, accessible only to those willing to kayak to, and then ice climb over the glacier. However, the glacier is retreating increasingly fast as global warming heats the oceans and temperatures rise.

 

The cave lies beneath the Mendenhall Glacier and it melts as you walk through it.

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Pantheon – the Eternal City’s Best-preserved Monument (VIDEO)

Pantheon in Rome, Verbalisti

The magnificent Pantheon, built by the Romans as a temple to all of their gods is the Eternal City’s best-preserved monument. Engineers still admire how such a mathematically precise structure was built without modern technology. Standing under the massive solemn dome, you’ll gain a new appreciation for the grandeur that was – and still is – Rome.

Verbalists exclusively represent in the Balkans the leading Italian language educator. Our partner, school Dilit (Divulgazione Lingua Italiana), established in 1974, was the first school in Rome to teach Italian as a foreign language. Dilit is situated in the center of Rome and conveniently placed for travel to every area of the city.

The Verbalists Language Network has prepared with Dilit a set of unique courses that will give you the opportunity to learn and improve Italian in a creative and stimulating way, while immersing in the Italian art and culture. READ MORE

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The Multicolored Landscape of Death Valley in California

In this fantastic capture by world-famous travel photographer Trey Ratcliff, we see the multicolored landscape of Death Valley. Located in Eastern California and situated within the Mojave Desert, Death Valley is the lowest, hottest and driest area in North America.

Death Valley

Death Valley’s Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. Death Valley’s Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest reliably reported air temperature in the world, 134 °F (56.7 °C) on July 10, 1913. Located near the border of California and Nevada, in the Great Basin, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Death Valley constitutes much of Death Valley National Park. Approximately 95% of the park is a designated wilderness area. Source: Wikipedia

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The Overgrown Parts of The Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

Travel photographer Trey Ratcliff said about his photograph:

“Just to get to this point required a long walk through a rocky forest. It wasn’t like the super-pristine part of the Great Wall (which is actually quite fake and Disney-like) — where you can drive up in a huge tour bus and park in a huge parking lot. No, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, there was a “path” that was barely discernible (much less so when I walked back in the dark alone!) that wove up through a forest along an old creek bed. I’m not sure I could find it again if I had to!”

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials. It was generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC. Since then, the Great Wall has been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; with the majority of the existing wall reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Source: Wikipedia

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The Largest Mirror In The World

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers. It is located in the Potosí and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes and is at an elevation of 3,656 meters above mean sea level.

The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar.

The large area, clear skies, and the exceptional flatness of the surface make the Salar an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites. The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a major breeding ground for several species of pink flamingos.

Source: Wikipedia