DW Travel (August 20, 2023) – The Raven’s Nest is tucked away in the mountains of Transylvania in Alba County. This isolated high-end retreat celebrates nature and sustainability. For many, this is the luxury that Romania has to offer as a travel destination, a world away from mass tourism.
Category Archives: Travel
Travel: Walking Tour Of Camogli In Liguria, Italy
Prowalk Tours (August 19, 2023) – Camogli is a fishing village at the foot of the Monte di Portofino (Portofino Mountain) in the heart of the Italian Riviera. Located about a 2.5-hour drive from Milan and a short distance away from Genoa, Hemmed in by the steep slopes of the Monte di Portofino and the bright blue Ligurian Sea,
Video timeline: 0:00 Drone intro and Map 1:27 Camogli Beach 5:01 Seaside promenade 6:45 Pastel Colored Houses 18:59 Il Giorgio 26:41 Piazza Cristoforo Colombo 27:12 Marina 30:53 Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta 33:05 Castle della Dragonara 39:27 Via al Molo 58:16 Porticciolo di Camogli 1:08:09 Via Piero Schiaffino 1:13:01 Piazza Cristoforo Colombo 1:19:24 Seaside promenade
Travel: Tour Of The Island Of Zakynthos In Greece
the Luxury Travel Expert (August 19, 2023) – A tour of Zakynthos, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea and a well-known summer resort. The harbor city of Zakynthos is the capital and major hub, centered around waterfront Solomos Square. Highlights include Navagio Beach (by boat + view point) – Spotting turtles – Coastal caves – Boat trip to the island’s north & south coast – Bays & fjords on the east coast – Beach clubs on the west coast.
Video timeline: 0:00 Intro 0:52 Boat trip to Zakynthos’ north coast 3:00 Blue Caves 10:41 Shipwreck Beach (Navagio Beach) 14:56 Swimming in the sea 19:32 Navagio Beach viewpoint 23:17 Fjords of Zakynthos’ west coast 27:54 Tsilivi Beach 28:53 Seacret Beach Club 32:53 Boat trip to Zakynthos’ south coast 34:43 Turtle island & turtle spotting 40:13 Kalonisi islet 43:50 Sunset
Arts/History: Smithsonian Magazine – Sep/Oct 2023
Smithsonian Magazine (September/October Issue) – Journey to Spain’s last Moorish Kingdom – From the magical Alhambra to desert backcountry and hidden coastal glories…welcome to Andalusia; Saving the world’s most coveted Chocolate; Mead – it’s not just for Vikings, and more…
Famed 5,300-Year-Old Alps Iceman Was a Balding Middle-Aged Man With Dark Skin and Eyes
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Genetic analysis shows that Ötzi was descended from farmers who migrated from an area that is now part of Turkey
Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old mummy found murdered high in the Alps with an arrow in his back, is a prehistoric celebrity who attracts 300,000 visitors a year to his custom cooling chamber in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. Years of studies have revealed much about the Iceman, from his last meal—dried ibex and deer meat with einkorn wheat—to the distant Tuscan origins of his copper ax. But while the wizened mummy is extraordinarily well preserved for its age, it gives little impression of how Ötzi would have appeared in life. Now, a detailed genetic study has revealed much more about what the Iceman looked like—and traces the Copper Age corpse’s ancestral lineage back to Anatolia, an area that is now the Asian portion of Turkey.
Scientists have newly sequenced Ötzi’s genome a decade after an earlier effort, using modern techniques and comparative data to produce a much higher-quality result than ever before. The study published Wednesday in Cell Genomics reveals that Ötzi had dark eyes and skin pigmentation darker than that commonly seen among modern inhabitants of Greece or Sicily, though he’s previously been depicted with lighter skin more akin to that of Europeans living in the Alps today. And contrary to most artists’ interpretations, it also appears that he suffered from an age-old affliction still troublesome today—he was going bald.
Venice Palazzo Tour: Ca’ Dario On The Grand Canal
Romolini – Christie’s Real Estate (August 17, 2023) –
In the heart of Venice, a stone’s throw from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Ca’ Dario is one of the most famous historic buildings overlooking the Grand Canal.
A masterful example of the Venetian Gothic style mixed with Renaissance elements, the palace is an imposing building of 1,000 sqm on five floors embellished with original decorations and unique elements. The hidden gem of the palace is the 170-sqm private garden at the back of the building.
THIS 500-YEAR-OLD VENETIAN GOTHIC PALACE, also known as Ca’ Dario, has claimed a host of unlucky victims, including the rich and famous. It’ said that the people who owned the building or stayed there for more than 20 days died, committed murder, or became bankrupt. Even local fisherman don’t dare cast their ropes by the cursed palazzo, which has been dubbed “the house that kills.”
The house was built in 1479 for aristocrat Giovanni Dario. His daughter Marietta and her husband Vincenzo later inherited the house. Vincenzo was stabbed to death, and Marietta died by suicide in the Grand Canal not long after. Shortly after these tragedies, their son Vincenzo Jr. was killed in Crete by assassins.
Design: Te Pae North Piha Surf Tower, New Zealand
ArchiPro Films (August 16, 2023) – The lifeguard tower is an essential facility that enables observation, patrolling and protection at North Piha – one of New Zealand’s most beautiful but dangerous surf beaches. The tower is to serve the club and the community providing a functional and durable building to replace the existing dated structure.
The brief was for a robust, low-maintenance building that would withstand the severe North Piha coastal environment. It needed to provide accommodation for four lifeguards with excellent visibility along the beach – a building that was functional and responded to its context.
Piha is a part of the rohe (territory) of Te Kawerau ā Maki (the indigenous Māori tribe) who gifted the name Te Pae, meaning ‘to perch’ – a place to sit, look, and observe. It was a privilege to be able to incorporate this narrative into the concept for the tower.
The form offers a softness and quiet presence in this powerful coastal location. The site is remote, and so prefabricated concrete sections were factory-made and assembled on site. This minimised dune and planting disturbance on this fragile beach. North Piha is unusual in that the sand is black. The black oxidised concrete references this and the curved form reflects the undulating dunes that the building sits amongst. The tower is modest in scale and recessive, respecting its setting. At the same time, as a beacon for visitors to the beach, it requires easy recognition, and the distinctive form sits in contrast to the beautiful, rugged backdrop. This is a piece of coastal sculpture with a nod to traditional maritime observation structures around the New Zealand coast.
The tower is sustainable, utilising operable windows for ventilation, with high levels of insulation, sun protection, thermal mass, and natural light. It provides shelter and protection for the lifeguards. The placement of the windows was carefully determined with the club to provide optimum beach surveillance and a connection back to the clubhouse.
The new tower is a vital addition to safety at North Piha. It delivers a facility that supports the extraordinary volunteers who run it and meets the needs of its community now and into the future.
Wilderness Travel: Hiking Oregon’s Timberline Trail
Kraig Adams Films (August 13, 2023) – Timberline Trail is a hiking trail around Mount Hood in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is mostly in wilderness but also goes near Timberline Lodge, Cloud Cap Inn, and Mount Hood Meadows ski area.
Video timeline: 00:00 Timberline Lodge 1:12 Ramona Falls – Day 1 (28 miles) 7:33 Cloud Cap – Day 2 (14 miles) 10:28 Panorama Ridge 12:36 Vancouver13:23 Timberline Trail behind the scenes 15:56 Portland
Travel Guide: A One-Day Tour Of Trieste In Italy
DW Travel (August 13, 2023) – DW reporter Meggin Leigh tours Trieste, the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. A port city, it occupies a thin strip of land between the Adriatic coast and Slovenia’s border on the limestone-dominated Karst Plateau.
Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:22 Coffee at Antico Caffé Torinese 00:54 Piazza Unità d’Italia 01:16 Piazza della Borsa 01:32 Teatro Romano di Trieste 02:52 Arco di Riccardo 03:43 Old Town 04:18 Lunch at Buffet da Pepi restaurant 05:39 Grand Canal and the memorial of James Joyce 06:52 La Bomboniera pastry shop 07:47 Miramare castle
Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian influences are all evident in its layout, which encompasses a medieval old city and a neoclassical Austrian quarter.
Travel Guide: The 16 Best Places To Visit In Norway
touropia (August 11, 2023) – A travel guide to the top 16 places to visit in Norway including:
- Geirangerfjord
- Lofoten Islands
- Bergen
- Jotunheimen National Park
- Svalbard
- Stavanger
- Sognefjord
- Oslo
- Trondheim
- Tromso
Norway is a Scandinavian country encompassing mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords. Oslo, the capital, is a city of green spaces and museums. Preserved 9th-century Viking ships are displayed at Oslo’s Viking Ship Museum. Bergen, with colorful wooden houses, is the starting point for cruises to the dramatic Sognefjord. Norway is also known for fishing, hiking and skiing, notably at Lillehammer’s Olympic resort.
Wildlife Film Trailers: ‘A Prairie Dog’s Life’ (2023)
Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam – WFFR (August 11, 2023) – On the plains of South Dakota, a community of rodents struggles to survive under harsh conditions. In addition, quarrels and conflicts within the colony make life quite difficult… But thanks to a special ‘dog language’, they can prevent attacks from coyotes and badgers.