Posts for 'Fun Places to visit' Category

Koster Islands, a set of two islands, North and South Koster, are the most westerly populated islands of Sweden. Though, not many people reside on them - about 240 on South Koster, while 60 or so call North Koster home – but the numbers increase during the tourist season in the summer time.  

Lying west of the port of Stromstad, between Norway and Sweden, both the islands are quite small, with North measuring only 4 sq. km, while the South is a bit bigger, with a land mass twice that of North’s.  

North Koster is rocky but it does posses wonderful beaches, moors and even brushwoods. On its western coast, there are certain unique geological formations that dates back to the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago.  

The South Koster Island is a more vegetated than its Northern counterpart. Here too, are some splendid beaches, with the longest sandy one at Kilesand.

If anyone ever wishes to cycle along the coast during night-time at 10 pm in the shade of the setting sun, all the while enjoying the solitude of the serene environs, then Gotland Island is just the place to be at.  

Often called the ‘Pearl of the Baltic Sea’, Gotland is truly a magical place. It is a natural wonder, with miles long bicycle tracks, limes gravelled road, dramatic coastlines, sandy beaches and flowery meadows.  

Part of Sweden the island is about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide at its widest point and it boasts more sunny days in the year than the whole of Scandinavian region.  

For those interested in history, would be happy to note that it is rich in historical monuments including magnificent stone churches from the 12 & 13 centuries that bear testament to the islands’ once glory.  

According to a local legend, a man named ‘Tjelvar’ discovered the island. At the time of discovery the island was jinxed, such that that it used to sink into the sea at day and rise out the water at night. The man, Tjelvar on discovering it, brought back ‘life’ into the island and it never sank again.  

Gotland gained a lot of prominence during the Viking age, when it became a major trading port of the region. There are boulders marking graves in the shape of old Viking Ships visible even today along the roadsides.

One of the most impressive, not to mention beautiful structures and among the stately homes is Lichtenstein Castle in Germany.  

Located atop a cliff in the hills of Swabian Alb, in the province of Baden-Wurttemberg, the castle is only about 165 years old. Though, the current castle is quite young in terms of the general age of mainland European Castles, it is built on the site of the original castle that was constructed during the 1200s.  

Unfornately, the original castle was twice destroyed in wars but during the reign of city-state Reutlingen in 1381, it was allowed to fall into despair by its then owners.  

During the 1800s the land came into possession of King Frederick I of Wurttemberg who constructed a logde on the site. Then it passed down to his nephew who later on in 1842 reconstructed the current castle in a very fairy-tale style.  

Currently its owners are the family of Duke of Urach.

Preston, a small cosmopolitan city has always been a center of trade and commerce - even during the Middle Ages.  

Located halfway between London and Glasgow, the city is still carrying out its commercial duties acting as not just as a shopping center for the whole Northwest England region but also as an exporting center, trading goods, with many mainland European countries.  

Preston, a small town with a population of 129,000 souls started out as what can easily be described as a Church Town, or as historians would have us believe, Priest Town; hence, the name, ‘Preston’.  

Situated on River Ribble, Preston is the administrative center of Lancanshire and was recently inducted in the ‘city hall of fame’, when it became the nation’s 50 city. This honour was bestowed in 2002, the Golden Jubilee Year of Queen Elizabeth II accession to the throne. Since then, the city is known by its new title, “Queen’s Golden Jubilee City”.  

Preston has always been a significant town during the ages. In the Roman times, a major road ran just north from the then city. In 1179, the village of Preston, received the Royal Charter, and thereafter became a town.

The Middle Ages saw the town developed into a major commercial center as it sat on a main route from England to Scotland, contributing to its growth.

Situated some 6 kms west of the island of Gotland, Stora Karlso is a small island in Baltic Sea, and is also a part of the Swedish nation.  

With an area of 2.5 square km, most part of the island is just plain limestone, surrounded by steep cliffs, hanging down towards the sea. The island is mostly a nature preserve as it is covered by flora such as juniper, decidus, orchids, lactuca and a type of a fern called ‘Karlsosallat’ in Swedish.  

It also has a large colony of guillemot, which is a kind of a duck. There are an estimated 7,500 pairs of the bird and some 4,500 pairs of razorbill.  

According to records, the island has been inhabited since the stone age. Later on, in the middle ages, there is said to be a marble quary, that produces material for many of the early local’s tools of trade as well as hunting.  

For visiting tourists, there is a museum that includes, among others, a permanent exhibit called, ‘Man and Environment of Stora Karlso’, explaining the long history of the island. There is also a restaurant that servces excellent lunch and dinner.  

The island is easily accessible by a ferry that departs every day from Gotland. But the best part of the year to visit it, is from May to August.

More famous as a clubbing and vacationing costal town, Rimini is also a treasure trove of ancient monuments and not-so-ancient structures.  

Some of these monuments are:  

Tempio Malatestiano – A 13-century Cathedral was originally planned Gothic style structure, but later on redesigned and never fully completed.  

Arch of Augustus – This arch was constructed in honour of Emperor Augustus in 27 BC. It has a 9.92 meters high and 8.45 meters wide gate.  

Tiberius Bridge - This ancient bridge was built over the River Marecchia during the reign of Emperor Augustus in 14 BC but completed during Tiberious rule in 21 BC hence the name.  

Amphitheatre – The second century amphitheatre was constructed to house up to 15,000 spectators. Its elliptical shape has an arena that measures 73 by 44 meters and axes measuring 1177 meters with 88 meters.  

Palazzo dell'Arengo e del Podestà – This 12 century building was the seat of the judiciay and the civil admistratives. During the 14 century, the podesta residence was added to it. Two centuries later on the whole building was modified.

The other part of Sweden’s Lappland is the province of Norrbotten. Lying south of Vasterbotten, it joins Finish Lappland from the eastern side. Originally, it was part of the province of Vasterbotten but after 1810 it was separated as an independent province for administrative reasons.  

During the Middle Ages, the area that now constitutes Norrbotten was no-man’s land as it wasn’t under direct control of any regional authority. Hence, it was a sparsely populated by the Sami people, nomads who lived on hunting, fishing and reindeer herding.

Later on, various Swedish Kings tried to Christianise the locals but remained unsuccessful.  

With a population of 194,000 people, the province is sparsely populated with only 7.3 persons per square kilometre. Culturally, Norbotten is closed aligned with that of Finish nation; hence for this reason certain Finnish minorities live here along with Sami people.  

Norrbotten has quite a rich heritage. It currently has about 8,000 ancient remains. Its village of Gammelstad, outside Lulea, is listed among the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Up in the vast icy plains of Sweden, lies an area bordering Finland and Norway, which is traditionally known as ‘Lappland’.  

Though, Lappland is too generic a name for the vast area, for administrative purposes it is divided into provinces or ‘landskap’ as they are called in Sweden. One such landskap is Vasterbotten.  

Vasterbotten lies on the north-eastern border of Sweden, bordering Angermanland, Norrbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is quite famous for its delectable cheese, which is made of reindeer milk.  

With an area of over 15,000 square kilometres, it being a province, it is not probably known about its population facts, the Swedish provinces are bared from population consensus and politics.

Counties, on the other hand, which are larger administrative units are included in such tasks. Vasterbotten constitutes eastern part of the greater Vasterbotten county.  

The major cities of Vasterbotten are Umea which has been established since 1622 and Skelleftea, a settlement since 1845.

One of the main monuments or rather, monumental identity of the city of Thessaloniki is the ‘White Tower’. 

Located on the waterfront, the tower is a symbol not only for the city but as a symbol representing Greek sovereingty over Macedonia. Currently it is a museum housing Byzantine relics and a great tourist attraction.  

The tower was constructed during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient between 1520 – 66. It was used as a garrison as well as a prison. The tower was constructed on the place of an original tower that was built by the French Knights during the Latin Empire.  

The year 1826 saw a widespread bloothbath fo the prisoners on the orders of then Sultan Mahmood II, as well as widespread tourture of prisoners of all kind that the monument came to known as the ‘Tower of Blood’ or the ‘Red Tower’.  

The buff-coloured tower for centuries was part of the old city of Thessalonki or Salonik as it was named in the Ottoman times. It used to separate the Jewish Quarter from the Muslim and Jewish cemetaries.  

The tower housing the museum is now under the administrative control of the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture.

The seond largest city of Greece and the largest of the Greek region of Macedonia, Thessaloniki and due to its cultural heritage was once the co-capital of the Greek Nation and during the Byzantine Empire period was known as the ‘Symbasileousa’ or the Co-Queen, while the only the more significant city was Constinanpole.  

The city or the urban centre of Thessaloniki comprises 16 muicipalities and have a population of over 1 million residents.  

Thessaloniki is a quite a busy, cosmopolitan centre and a major economical, industrial and cultural centre of Greece. It is also a major transportation hub for the southeastern Europe as well as a major commercial port of its nation and surrounding countries.  

Being a former major Byzantine centre of trade and commerce as well as culture, it posses some of the brilliant archeological monuments of that era. Many of its buildings showcase the period’s construction style.  

It is also a major centre for arts with the annaul Thessaloniki International Film Festival being a major tourist draw in the whole of Europe. It showcases national as well as regional artists and their works both intertionally acclaimed and amateurs.