When I think about my last vacation in Austria I can’t help but smile with melancholy… It was two years ago and I went there with my wife, my sister and her companion. We went to Salzburg, and it was a week of utter relaxation and well being. I noticed that all resorts in the area had spa and wellness programs, and we chose one of those resorts, which was closest to the city. This is because we wanted to visit the city often.
But we got caught much in the comfort of the spa in that place and we almost didn’t go to Salzburg at all! They had an exquisite sauna, big, spacious with Japanese feng-shui design, an excellent massage lounge (with dedicated professional employees, I’ll tell you that) and other facilities that made us feel so well that we forgot about anything else. I’m telling you, the Austria wellness and spa services are top of the line!
Actually, when we returned home after this vacation, we felt like we were coming from another world, we had the feeling that we did not belong there (in our home town) at all. We promised ourselves to do it again.
Germany is located in the central-western Europe. It borders with nine European countries and has direct exit to the Baltic and North Sea. It is part of major international organizations like the Council of Europe (1951), ECHR, Western European Union (1954), NATO (1955), EU (1957), UN (1973), the OSCE and the euro area. From an economic point of view, Germany is one of the most solid and strongest countries in the world.
Climate
Germany has a temperate climate with an annual average temperature of 9 ° C. Temperature in January ranges from -6 ° C to 1 ° C, while July temperatures vary between 16 ° C and 20 ° C. Rainfall is higher in south where the majority is recorded in form of snow.
Culture
German contributions to global culture are numerous. Germany was the birthplace of famous composers Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner, poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, the philosophers Immanuel Kant, Georg Hegel, Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, as well as caliber scientists Albert Einstein and Max Planck.
Tourism
Touristically, Germany is a cultural country with many castles, monasteries and important centers in Dresden, Leipzig and Weimar. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations, although it was mostly rebuilt after the war, and it offers a landscape unchanged for centuries. The castels preserve their famous medieval air and tourists have the opportunity to see them.
In Tyrol there are a multitude of possibilities for leisure, which will make children’s hearts beat faster. Here, the game and exploration are transformed into pure adventure and everything happens in the fresh and healthy mountain air. Lately, tourists that visit Tirol can fly like Icarus. With Fisser Flieger, a type of deltaplan, 4 passengers are carried over the trees’ peaks all the way to Möser Alm. Beside Fisser Flitzer, the summer ski slide is another attraction of Fisser Funpark.
Who wants a little more air can ride the Alpine Coaster in Imst. This is a kind of summer ski slide, with cars that run on rails on a winding route down the mountain. At a speed of 40 km per hour, travellers go through 70 curves, rush on 25 waves and make 16 leaps.
Children will definitely want to go and see animals. They want to observe them and in some cases even feed them from their own little hands. Alpenzoo, Innsbruck is the place more than 2000 animals belonging to a number of 150 species from the Alps mountains live. Together with their parents, children can see the fast little mice, water turtles, can follow otters and the amazing flight of the beard eagle. In addition, Alpenzoo features a playground and a climbing wall to the Geierwally refuge.
St. John’s Church and Abbey
This church was built in 1130 on top of a small church from the 9th century and it’s a great example of Romanesque-style architecture. St. John’s Church proud itself on being the oldest galleried church on the Rhine. It also served as a model for the other churches that were part of the Lahn Group (Morsbach, Ems, Moselweiß, Dietkirchen and Güls).
At the end of the 18th century the church was the most important parish church of the old city of Niederlahnstein. After being destroyed on several occasions, the church was reduced to ruins during the French Revolution. In 1856 began the church’s reconstruction which ended in 1866. Unfortunatly, due to its destruction, St. John’s Church had lost its parish church title to Niederlahnstein’s other church, St. Barbara.
Parish Church of St. Barbara
St. Barbara’s Church was built in 1358 and later rebuilt in 1712 and 1889. Nowadays, it has a Neo-Gothic structure that was constructed between 1937 and 1939 under the designs of the great architect Martin Weber of Frankfurt.
In Europe there are over 30 entertainment parks visited annualy by several million tourists. Such parks have created a segment of the thematic tourism, which brings a lot of money to the agencies that introduce such offers on the market.
In some ways, amusement parks can be compared with small towns. Their surfaces reach a few hectares, sometimes exceeding the size of small towns from Germany or Romania.
A nice advantage of theme parks is that everybody looking for fun will easily find one to suit his tastes. Amusement parks are built so that each segment responds to specific requests.
Here is a list of European amusement parks that deserve to be visited:
Austria
Prater, Vienna, Austria
Denmark
Bakken, Klampenborg, Denmark
Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
France
Disneyland, France
Italy
Gardaland, Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy
Germany
Europa-Park, Rust, Germany
HanseDom, Stralsund, Germany
Legoland, Germany
Phantasia Land, Brühl, Germany
Spain
Port Aventura, Saoul, Spain
Siam Park, Tenerife, Spain
United Kingdom
Alton Towers, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, United Kingdom
Frankfurt am Main is not only represented by huge buildings or banks. The old center of town is quite well preserved. And, although it is not as interesting as the artificial magic of modern buildings, it still preserves the feel of German towns since the time when Frankfurt was only a fair. People are calm and disciplined during the week, but merry and loud on Fridays and Saturdays.
Therefore, Romerberg market (where city hall lies) and Cathedral of St. Bartholomew are definitely places that you need to see, because they represent the spirit of the old Frankfurt. If you have time for a walk, you really need to go down along the Main to admire the view from the bridges.
From the first moment you step in Frankfurt am Main you have the feeling that you are in a very well conceived place. Even if you drive in the middle of the day, you won’t see queues at the traffic lights and you will always find a free place to park your car. On the sidewalk you won’t knock into hurry and nervous people.
In fact, it is amazing how in the economic capital of Germany, a city whose airport hosts 50 million people annually, almost as many as Heathrow, live only 700 thousand people. This people really enjoy space and silence, in one of the most imposing cities of Europe.
There is no other city in Europe where the air and atmosphere that envelope you recalls the Middle Ages as in this town near the North Sea.
Today, city of Bruges has a population of about 45,000 inhabitants in the old center of town, and about 120,000 people if we considered the people that live in the suburbs. These figures show that Bruges is not a town in miniature. Today it is one most important cities of Belgium. Is the capital of the West Flanders province. A lot of people that visit Brussels also make a one day trip to Bruges for the city’s medieval and relaxing atmosphere. Unfortunately, in Bruges there are historical and tourist attractions that require more than a single day to visit.
Only late at night, after all the tourists leave, Bruges finds its serenity and the charm of days long vanished. With a little luck of good weather, a walk on the tight streets of the medieval town can be a delightful experience.
