Posts under ‘Europe’

German airline Lufthansa this week opened the world’s most modern animal cargo facility at Frankfurt Airport. Located near Gat 26 the Frankfurt Animal Lounge now houses all the animals which the airline is transporting to and from the airport. This innovative move took 13 months to construct using the latest in European animal welfare rules and strict hygene and veterinary medicine requirements. The carrier transports thousands of animals every year including some 14000 cats and dogs, 1500 horses and tens of thousands of tropical fish. They also transport farm animals and many endangered and rare animals for zoos and wildlife parks. 25 vets and another 60 support staff are on hand to ensure all animals have a comfortable stay while being shipped to and form Frankfurt.

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The beautiful Saint Basil’s Cathedral is located in the south east end of Moscow’s Red Square which is also home to the Kremlin. Under the onion domes lay 9 chapels and are beautifully painted in medieval style in bright swirling colours. Built between 1555 and 1561 and commissioned by Ivan IV better know as Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the capture of Khante of Kazan the cathedral is one of the most known and photographed buildings in Russia.  St Basil is very lucky to be still standing with many wars and troubles harming much of the splendor of the Russian Capital, legend had it that Napoleon was so impressed with the structure he wanted to dismantle it and move it back to Paris, and then in the 1930’s some of Stalin’s team thought it would be good to knock it down to make more space for their military parades. Stalin came close a few years later but a culture buff called Baranovsky kicked up a bit of a stink by telling Starlin he would cut his own throat on the steps instead of tear it down. Stalin decided to keep in and chucked poor old Baranovsky in goal for five years. Read the rest of this entry »

There are two kinds of World Expos, the International Expo which is held every five years, this is the one which was held last in Nagoya in 2005, and will be held in Shanghai in 2010. Other famous ones are the 1964 New York Fair, 1889 Paris Exposition where the Eiffel Tower was unveiled and the 1988 Brisbane Expo. The other world expo is the International Expositions, this year we have one of those, they are on a smaller scale and open for 3 months instead of the normal 6 but still have some cutting edge innovations, designs and attract millions of people. Zaragoza in Spain is the host for what is to be themed Water and Sustainable Development. A huge 25 hectare site has been created to house this expo and over 40,000 people from all over the world have signed up to be volunteers at the event. Starting on the 15 of June on the banks of the Ebro river the event will be massive. About 100 countries and several large multinational companies are taking part. Highlights of the expo will include a massive 76 metere high water tower and a huge aquarium featuring the world’s great river systems with animals from the Nile, Mekong, Amazon, Murray Darling, Ebro and many of the worlds oceans. Already season tickets have sold out and day passes are selling like hot cakes. Read the rest of this entry »

We are probably being a bit harsh by our title, but the Hotel Celica was not the place you would have wanted to spend the night a few years back when it was the notorious Ljubljana Prison. Today it is one of Slovenia’s hippest places to stay and has been turned into a artistically renovated 20 room or cell hostel for travelers. Opening in 2003 the Hotel Celica has one of the highest occupancy rates in the country and with prices starting around 20 Euro it is no wonder why. The hotel has won many special awards including the golden award or Sejalec from the Slovenian Tourist Board and in 2006 the popular Lonely Planet publication voted it the Hippest Hostel in the World. The Celica has all the things you need for a hostel stay including kitchen, TV rooms, laundry, tourist desk and internet to send your photos and stories back home. - If you have any good ones- we would love to see them.

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If you are a regular reader to Tripandom, you will probably know we love a Disney story, and we haven’t done one for a while so Today is Disneyland Day - Paris Style. The Disneyland Paris Space Mountain is an amazing indoor rollercoaster ride and is one of the parks premier attractions. Featuring a Jules Verne themed adventure based on his From the Earth to the Moon book the coaster consists of a 1.5 g uphill launch at just under 70 km per hour and a sidewinder and corkscrew. All set to a synchronized on board audio theme composed by Steven Bramson the five vehicles can take 25 people each on a 2 minute ride. The Coaster rises over 45 metres and travels 1000 in the breath taking adventure. The building itself is a masterpiece of Disney design, being over 61 metres in diameter and 43 metres high it dominates the Tommorowland section of the park. The ride has recently gone under a huge makeover and has been renamed Space Mountain Mission 2.

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The Brixton Market in Brixton, South London is home to Europe’s biggest African and Caribbean market. Open from 10 am to sunset six days a week, being closed on Sunday the market is a multicultural celebration of food, music, art, clothing and bargains everywhere. The market is made up of several smaller markets and a few arcades, including the Electric Avenue, which was the first street market to be lit with electricity, you might remember the Eddie Grant reggae song in the 80’s called Electric Avenue, this is about the market. The market has some of London’s freshest and best produce with plenty of ethnic specialties including Halal meats, tropical vegetables and fruits and even Caribbean bakeries. The markets date back to the 1870’s but the Afro influences have developed after the second world war when thousands of immigrants came to London with the labor shortages. Make sure to bring plenty of change for bargains and plenty of time to browse you won’t be going home empty handed. Read the rest of this entry »

The classic BBC program Dr Who has made a bit of a comeback and is attracting a huge cult following, with huge names like Kylie Minogue appearing on the new series. Cardiff in Wales is getting in on the act, Cardiff is actually one of the main filming locations for the Touchwood series. They are home to the Doctor Who Exhibition which is a multimedia extravaganza at the Red Dragon Centre at Atlantic Wharf on the lovely Cardiff Bay. The exhibition is very popular and celebrates the 40 year linage of the series, with video, photography, costumes sets and of course those scary robot daleks. You don’t need to be a Dr Who fan to enjoy this attraction, there are some great displays for anyone interested in film and television with exhibits on scripts, writing, acting, and design and its all a bit of fun. Read the rest of this entry »

Minimundus is a fantastic miniature park in Carinthia, Austria and has over 150 miniature architectural models from all around the world at an amazing 1:25 scale. The park has been open for fifty years and has seen over 15 million people through its gates, raising money for the children’s organisation Rettet das Kind or Save a child who own the park. The park has become so popular another park located at Meckenbeuren on the lovely Lake Constance in Germany has opened giving visitors two choices. Some of the amazing buildings include the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel tower, the White House, Taj Mahal and the Suleiman Mosque. They even have model trains and a scale space shuttle. A treat for young and old. Read the rest of this entry »

The Galerie Rudolfinum is the home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra who are regarded as one of the world’s finest. Beautifully set on the banks of the Vltava amongst lovely manicured gardens the building was once home commercial operations but the Czech Savings Bank bought the site in 1874 and decided to utilize the building as a house of arts to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Located in-between the Old Town and Lesser Town the Rudolfinum is in short walking distance to other prominent Prague galleries and performing arts centres including the Academy of Decorative Arts, and Facility of Philosophy. The beautiful neo renaissance building also houses a art gallery which focuses on contemporary art and shows exhibitions from many new and emerging artists. The building was also home to the provisional seat of Parliament of the Czechoslovak Republic from the 1920’s but after the second World War the Czech Philharmonic were given the facility back again and in the 1990’s it was rebuilt and modernized to suit their purpose and restore many of the original features for many years to come. Read the rest of this entry »

Westminster Abbey or as it is really know the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster is London’s most important churches. With a history dating back to 616 the abbey was built during the 1500’s with construction commissioned by Henry III in 1245. The church has become an important coronation and burial site for many English monarchs over the years. The abbey is today recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is still used as one of London’s most important churches. The beautiful gothic western towers as seen on our photograph were built between 1722 and 1745 and were constructed out of Portland stone which is the same limestone used on Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral it is mined from the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Inside the Abbey is some of England’s most beautiful treasures, artworks, sculptures and magnificent tile work and stained glass windows make this abbey astonishing. Over a million people visit the Abbey each year and thousands come each day to worship, details on guided tours and opening times can be found on the official website.

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