Erik Normark (December 2022)– Ice skating along the frozen river, Bureälven, with long distance (Nordic) ice skates, långfärdsskridskor. It’s like an adventure, you follow the ice path and wonder what’s behind the next turn. You quickly get up speed and can pretty easily cover long distances. It was snowing a little so the ice had a nice white cover. I took a break for some coffee a an old barn before I returned back.
Nordic skating, also known as tour skating, wild skating and long-distance skating (and in Swedish långfärdsskridskor), was born in Sweden. It is essentially long-distance skating on frozen lakes and rivers, using skates with blades longer than traditional ice skates. Nordic skating blades are about 50 cm (20 inches) long and are attached with bindings to special boots that are similar to cross country boots, usually at the front. Here, we take a look at the top 10 spots in Sweden to enjoy Nordic skating.
DW Travel – An entire city made of nearly 2,000 gingerbread houses? Yum! Every year, right around Christmas, the residents of Bergen build this sweet city out of the traditional European Christmas pastry on the southwest coast of Norway. It can be enjoyed up until the end of December. Have you ever tried gingerbread?
Bergen is a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. It’s surrounded by mountains and fjords, including Sognefjord, the country’s longest and deepest. Bryggen features colorful wooden houses on the old wharf, once a center of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire. The Fløibanen Funicular goes up Fløyen Mountain for panoramic views and hiking trails. The Edvard Grieg House is where the renowned composer once lived.
Christmas Market 2022 at Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Germany. Schloss Charlottenburg is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles
Video timeline: 0:00 Highlights 3:20 Pasta from Cheese Wheel 4:52 Grilled Salmon on Bread Roll 5:31 Trdelnik Spit Cake 6:15 Chocolate Crepes 7:46 3-Minutes Light Show
Mont-Saint-Michel, rocky islet and famous sanctuary in Manche département, Normandyrégion, France, off the coast of Normandy. It lies 41 miles (66 km) north of Rennes and 32 miles (52 km) east of Saint-Malo. Around its base are medieval walls and towers above which rise the clustered buildings of the village with the ancient abbey crowning the mount. One of the more popular tourist attractions in France, Mont-Saint-Michel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
Mont-Saint-Michel is almost circular (about 3,000 feet [900 metres] in circumference) and consists of a granite outcrop rising sharply (to 256 feet [78 metres]) out of Mont-Saint-Michel Bay (between Brittany and Normandy). Most of the time it is surrounded by vast sandbanks and becomes an island only when the tides are very high. Before the construction of the 3,000-foot causeway that connects the island to land, it was particularly difficult to reach because of quicksand and very fast-rising tides. The causeway, however, has become a barrier to the removal of material by the tides, resulting in higher sandbanks between the islet and the coast.
AirPano VR – Cancún, a Mexican city on the Yucatán Peninsula bordering the Caribbean Sea, is known for its beaches, numerous resorts and nightlife. It’s composed of 2 distinct areas: the more traditional downtown area, El Centro, and Zona Hotelera, a long, beachfront strip of high-rise hotels, nightclubs, shops and restaurants. Cancun is also a famed destination for students during universities’ spring break period.
The Paris we love was born in the late 19th century – an elaborate staging engineered by Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann.Read our interview with Esther da Costa Meyer, professor of art and archeology at Princeton, who invites us to see the French capital in a new light.
LESSONS WELL-WORTH THE CHEESE
On Camembert, Culture, and Cleanliness
For months, an epic battle has been raging in France between artisan and industrial cheesemakers over one of the world’s most famous cheeses, Camembert – that disk of creamy, ivory-colored delight which, according to the poet Léon-Paul Fargue, smells of God’s feet.
Also in this issue: As part of World AIDS Day on December 1, read about the French-American race to discover HIV; discover how Jean-Luc Godard, who passed away in September, is still influencing American filmmakers; and pay a visit to the Fouquet’s, the chic Parisian brasserie and hotel that just opened in Manhattan!
UNESCO – In Slovenia, beekeeping is a way of life for many individuals, families and communities, who obtain bee products for food and traditional medicine and use their knowledge and skills to care for the honeybees and the environment.
Communities express a loving and respectful attitude towards bees, and the knowledge, skills and practices relating to their keeping are shaped by centuries of tradition and transmitted from generation to generation. Beekeepers view their bees as teachers and friends. They expand their knowledge and skills through constant research.
ART VISION TV – Now a yearly event, the Hôtel de Ville Christmas Market is one of the top festive attractions in Paris on the years when it is held. Prior to 2018, there was an ice skating rink where revellers could glide along to views of the River Seine and Notre Dame Cathedral!
Since then, the festive event has been replaced with a more environmentally-friendly attraction and 2021 marks the fourth edition of the Hôtel de Ville Christmas Market.
Head to the Mairie de Paris at this time and you can expect to find a winter wonderland of snow-covered trees, sapins (fir trees), and a carousels. At night, the Hôtel de Ville is illuminated with blue lights, bathing the entire area in a blue glow. This is reminiscent of blue Christmas in Alsace.
Relaxing WALKER – The Magdala hotel is one of Israel´s newest and most uniquely situated hotels in the Galilee. Found in the recently discovered first century town of Magdala, at the shores of the Sea of Galilee, guests can experience an ambience of serenity, extraordinary natural beauty, and ancient history.
Magdala was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, 3 miles north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya, and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea, literally the place of processing fish. It is believed to be the birthplace of Mary Magdalene.
Tourister (November 2022)– Prague, Czech Praha, city, capital of the Czech Republic. Lying at the heart of Europe, it is one of the continent’s finest cities and the major Czech economic and cultural centre. The city has a rich architectural heritage that reflects both the uncertain currents of history in Bohemia and an urban life extending back more than 1,000 years.
The physical attractions and landmarks of Prague are many. Among the finest is the Charles Bridge (Karlův most), which stands astride the Vltava River. The winding course of the Vltava, with its succession of bridges and changing vistas, contrasts with the ever-present backdrop of the great castle of Hradčany (Prague Castle), which dominates the left-bank region of the city from behind massive walls set high on a hill.
The narrow streets and little taverns and restaurants of the older quarters contrast with the broad sweep of Wenceslas Square and modern parks and housing developments, while the great 18th-century Baroque palaces have their own elegance and splendour. Seen from the surrounding hills, the many church towers make up a unique perspective, giving Prague its description as the “city of a hundred spires.”
This architectural harmony was enhanced by post-1945 planning, which preserved the ancient core of the city as a major monument and carefully supervised all modern building. In 1992 the historic city centre was added to UNESCO’sWorld Heritage List.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
Boomers Daily 