Category Archives: Travel

Destinations: ‘Diwali – The Indian Festival Of Lights’

Diwali is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year, observed by more than a billion people across faiths. Known as the Festival of Lights, it is a 5-day celebration bringing prayer, feasts, fireworks, family gatherings and, for some, a new year.

Derived from the Sanskrit “dipavali”, which means “row of lights,” Diwali is known for the brightly burning clay lamps that celebrants line up outside their homes to cherish the victory of good over evil. With this year’s coronavirus pandemic affecting the celebration, may we be able to derive comfort from the spirit of the holiday—the belief that, eventually, light will triumph over darkness.

A Beautiful Destinations Original Filmed, Directed and Edited by Sam Kolder https://www.instagram.com/samkolder/

Travel Video: ‘Autumn In Giethoorn, Netherlands’

No Music

A couple of years ago I have uploaded a video about summer in Giethoorn, which got many views. Now we have visited the village in autumn. This time there were not many visitors (also due to corona), even though I hope you will enjoy the video. The video is with original sound and music by Gheorghe Iovu.

Giethoorn is a mostly car-free village in the northeastern Dutch province of Overijssel. It’s known for its boat-filled waterways, footpaths, bicycle trails and centuries-old thatched-roof houses. It borders a section of the Weerribben-Wieden National Park, a marshy area once popular for peat and reed harvesting. Next to the park, Museum Giethoorn ‘t Olde Maat Uus is a farm museum illustrating the region’s history. 

New Walking Tour Video: ‘Strasbourg, France’ (2020)

We recorded this 4k ultra hd video during our trip to Strasbourg, France on August 2020.

Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located at the border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin department. Our guided walking tour is about 4.35 miles (7 km) long, starts at Petite France, ends at Orangerie Park and covers most attractions and historic sites of Strasbourg.

Video Timeline Links: 00:00 – Strasbourg, France Walking Tour Intro 02:05 – Petite France 12:03 – Saint-Thomas Church 20:50 – Gutenberg Square 25:18 – Kammerzell House 25:39 – Notre-Dame Cathedral 33:25 – Prints and Drawings Museum 35:05 – Museum of Fine Arts 42:25 – Raven Bridge and Square 53:00 – St William’s Church 1:02:34 – Tomi Ungerer Museum 1:06:19 – Republic Garden Square 1:07:27 – Palace of the Rhine 1:16:04 – Saint Paul Church 1:19:39 – Kennedy Bridge 1:26:33 – Council of Europe 1:29:21 – Orangerie Park

Cocktails With A Curator: Tiepolo’s “Perseus and Andromeda” (Frick Video)

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon considers the fragility of art in the context of the Frick’s “Perseus and Andromeda” by Giambattista Tiepolo. This depiction of the Greek demigod saving Andromeda from a sea-monster is a preparatory sketch for a series of ceiling frescoes at Palazzo Archinto in Milan that were destroyed during an Allied bombing in 1943. The painting was featured in an acclaimed 2019 exhibition at the Frick that brought together the surviving preparatory works and pre-war photography to tell the story of these lost masterpieces. This week’s complementary cocktail is a Milanese Gin and Tonic.

To view this painting (or object) in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/perseusandromedaSHOW LESS

Wildlife: The Kangaroos And Wallabies Of Maria Island, Tasmania (Video)

Red Kangaroos are hulks – and their family is nothing to sneeze at. Don’t mess with the roo crew.

The red kangaroo or red giant kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. 

A wallaby is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and other countries. 

Maria Island, is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The 115.5-square-kilometre island is contained within the Maria Island National Park, which includes a marine area of 18.78 square kilometres off the island’s northwest coast.

New Travel Videos: The Top Ten Underrated Capitals In Europe (2020)

Europe’s capital cities remain unmatched to the rest of the world. From Malta’s medieval city of Valletta, to jaw dropping architecture of Kyiv, Europe’s capitals have so much to offer. I wanted to highlight some of Europe’s underrated capitals and hope it inspires you to visit them one day.

Home Tour Videos: ‘Villa Vedramar’ – Ibiza, Spain

VILLA VEDRAMAR is located at the south west coast, one of the most protected nature reserves of Ibiza where the magical rock Es Vedrá rises out of the sea like a majestic sculpture. Cala Carbó beach offers two restaurants with great fish specialities. It’s one of the most relaxing beaches of Ibiza, with comfortable sun loungers and palm leaf parasols. On entering Cala Carbó, you will find our HARISSA office, a supermarket and our tapas bar LA SARDINA LOCA for food and drinks.

Ibiza is one of the Balearic islands, an archipelago of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s well known for the lively nightlife in Ibiza Town and Sant Antoni, where major European nightclubs have summer outposts. It’s also home to quiet villages, yoga retreats and beaches, from Platja d’en Bossa, lined with hotels, bars and shops, to quieter sandy coves backed by pine-clad hills found all around the coast. 

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Walking Tour Videos: ‘Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber’, Bavaria, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a German town in northern Bavaria known for its medieval architecture. Half-timbered houses line the cobblestone lanes of its old town. The town walls include many preserved gate houses and towers, plus a covered walkway on top. St. Jakob’s Church houses an intricate, late Gothic altarpiece by woodcarver Tilman Riemenschneider. The medieval Town Hall has a tower with panoramic views.

An imperial castle dating back to 1142 represents the beginning of the town. Elevated to a Free Imperial City in 1274, Rothenburg became one of the most important city states of the Middle Ages. In 1631, during the Thirty Years War, Rothenburg was taken by imperial troops. Ex-Mayor Nusch saved the town by drinking nearly 13 cups of wine in a single gulp, the so-called “Master draught”. Losing its importance in the following centuries, Rothenburg’s medieval center remained untouched. In the Romantic era, the town was discovered by painters and poets and became a symbol of the Middle Ages in Germany. An informative walking tour along the city walls (and to a large extent on the former battlements) is offered by the Rothenburger Turmweg. Information panels and a brochure provide an overview of the town’s 42 towers. The year-round ‘Christmas-Village’ store in Rothenburg is a Christmas Winter Wonderland with more than 30,000 traditional German Christmas decorations and on the 2nd floor of the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village store in Rothenburg is a very unique German Christmas museum. Nowadays Rothenburg, situated in Western Franconia, is one of the most visited towns in Europe. Its richness of old medieval buildings and museums – such as the famous Criminal Museum and the Imperial City Museum – explains Rothenburg´s reputation as one of the most attractive destinations in Germany. Highlights of next year’s calendar of events are the Historical Festival Play “The Master draught” over Whitsun weekend, the “Imperial City Festival” in September and the world-famous Christmas Market “Rothenburger Reiterlesmarkt“ in December.