FRANCE 24 English (October 30, 2023) – In the vineyards of France’s Anjou region, in the Loire Valley, a ritual takes place every year at the end of the summer. At harvest time, dozens of brave seasonal workers come from far and wide to pick the ripe grapes.
Some of them have been regulars for several years and their experience is invaluable to the newcomers. The grape picking is done by hand and in a good atmosphere, but has its own rules. Once collected, the harvest heads to the winery.
DW Travel (October 29, 2023) – A visit to Paris without seeing sights like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre or the Sacré-Cœur is almost unimaginable – despite the throngs of tourists. How can one of the world’s most visited cities become more sustainable, for Parisians and tourists alike?
Video timeline:00:00 Intro 00:27 Eiffel Tower 01:55 Louvre Museum 02:27 Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Montmartre 04:52 Seine riverbank 07:26 Pont Neuf 08:17 Bistro “La Timbale”, Montmartre
From the banks of the Seine to Montmartre, DW reporter Swati Bakshi takes you to places in the French capital where you can observe the city’s transition to sustainability.
TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (October 28, 2023) – Explore Canada’s natural beauty in this beautiful documentary, from high above Baffin Island, in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut, we get a glimpse at the incredible Arctic wonders.
From the towering ice fields lining the waters of Eclipse Sound in the Arctic Archipelago, to the natural wonders of Sirmilik National Park.
Covering 1.5 million square kilometres, or about one seventh of Canada, the Northern Arctic Ecozone extends over most of the nonmountainous areas of the arctic islands and parts of northeastern Keewatin, western Baffin Island, and northern Quebec. It is among the largest arctic ecosystems in the world.
Winters pass in near darkness with the polar night measured in weeks and months rather than hours. Snow may fall any month of the year and usually remains on the ground from September to June. Extremely low temperatures and an average precipitation of about 200 mm per year characterize the climate. When not covered in snow, much of the landscape is typified by barren plains covered in frost-patterned soils and the occasional rock outcrop.
Lucas T. Jahn Films (October 27, 2023) – An exploration of 10 of the 18 Faroese Islands, from Viðoy in the north to Suðuroy in the far south. In total, more than 1000 km were driven during the 16 days.
The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.
TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (October 24, 2023) – It’s Autumn in the beautiful highlands of Scotland, where the dramatic wilderness and spectacular wildlife thrive. Discover the secret wild places and the unexpected animals that living in the lovely cool season, as they face challenges while starting to prepare for the winter months ahead.
FRANCE 24 English (October 24, 2023) – The French Mediterranean island of Corsica attracts two million holidaymakers every summer. To properly discover the so-called Isle of Beauty, what better way than on a cruise ship?
Aboard a week-long cruise on La Belle des Océans, passengers explore Corsica’s most beautiful beaches, as well as the local gastronomy and breathtaking panoramas – such as the medieval town of Bonifacio, perched 40 metres above the Mediterranean. FRANCE 24 brings you a little taste of summer.
Monocle Magazine (November 2023) – The new autumn design issue profiles the best new chairs, tables and accessories available this season, interviews architectural luminaries including Renzo Piano and hits the road in Czechia to meet the makers forging a new gold standard in craft. We also assess France’s waning influence in Africa and unlock the secrets of the world’s safest safes.
Perception Philosophy Films (October 21, 2023) – Kutná Hora is a city east of Prague in the Czech Republic. It’s known for the Gothic St. Barbara’s Church with medieval frescoes and flying buttresses.
Also notable is Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel adorned with human skeletons. On the site of a former Cistercian monastery is the Gothic and baroque Cathedral of the Assumption. The Czech Museum of Silver recalls the city’s silver-mining history with a replica medieval mine.
3 p.m. Wander through woodlands to a world-class museum
Start your weekend at the Burrell Collection, a glass-roofed art museum that rises out of a meadow in the city’s southern Pollok Country Park like a vast, gleaming greenhouse. The 9,000-piece collection was donated to the city at the close of World War II by William Burrell, a Glasgow shipping merchant, and opened in this specially commissioned building in 1983. The free-entry museum reopened in 2022 after a six-year refurbishment of its red sandstone, glass and wood interiors. Though it is busy, the Burrell offers a peaceful immersion in an unmistakably personal collection, drifting from Degas and Rembrandt to tabernacles, tulip-motif textiles and ancient Chinese roof tiles. The tapestries are especially wonderful, including the palatially sized “Wagner Garden Carpet” made by master weavers in 17th-century Iran.
Saturday
Papercup
10 a.m. Grab a brekkie roll, then discover a Glaswegian jungle
If it’s not raining, take advantage of clear skies with a botanic stroll in Glasgow’s affluent West End. Grab breakfast at Papercup, a small and friendly cafe that has original period details, like egg-and-dart molding and an ornate ceiling rose. Try the brekkie roll with a sausage patty (£5), or eggs on toast with a side of vegan haggis (£8.50). From the cafe, wander to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, either directly, along Great Western Road, or take the more meandering Kelvin Walkway down by the River Kelvin, crossing the blue, steel Botanic Gardens Footbridge to emerge into the scented gardens on the other bank. Enter the domed Kibble Palace, a spectacular glasshouse in which to explore a jungle of orchids, begonias and ferns, among other leafy treasures.
Hoos
12 p.m. Browse Scandi home goods and woolly Scottish knitwear
Glaswegians have an appetite for sustainable shopping and for secondhand goods of all stripes. Hoos, next to the Botanic Gardens, stocks chic Scandi home goods, while the Glasgow Vintage Co., farther along Great Western Road from Papercup, has a thoughtful selection of second-hand Scottish knitwear alongside show-stopping coats and dresses from the 1970s. Up the hill on Otago Street, above Perch & Rest Coffee, Kelvin Apothecary sells a nice range of gifts including handmade Scottish soaps and wooden laundry and cleaning tools. In the cobbled Otago Lane is the chaotic Voltaire and Rousseau secondhand bookshop, with teetering, vertical book piles. Unlike many Glasgow shops, this store isn’t the most dog-friendly, because of the resident cat, BB, who supervises from his perch at the till.
Yurara Sarara (October 21, 2023) – Joruri-ji Temple, located in the “Kyoto Infused with Tea” region, is a temple of the Shingon Ritsu Buddhism (Nara sect) that holds 4 national treasures and 9 important cultural properties.
According to the records of the temple, the temple was opened in 1047 by Yoshiaki Shonin and enshrines the “Yakushinyourai,” the Buddha who can cure all illness. The name of the temple is said to come from “Joruri,” the realm where the Buddha lives.
The main hall of Joruri-ji is particularly long with nine Amida Buddhas enshrined inside. During the Heian period about 30 such nine-body Amida temples were built around Kyoto, but Joruri-ji is the only temple that still exists. Both the main hall and nine-body Amida Buddha are designated as national treasures.
*The Nine Amida Buddhas sitting statues are being repaired two at a time over a five-year period from July 2018.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious