Posts Tagged ‘France’
Travelling Tips to European Countries: Belgium
About the Kingdom of Belgium
Belgium is located in the west of Europe. The land here generally comprises of flat coastal plains in the north-east, and the south-east is occupied by the Ardennes Forest. Dutch, Flemish dialect, French and German are the official languages of Belgium, with Flemish being the most widely spoken followed by French. For those who don’t know, The Flemish Language is kind off the same as Dutch, it is more like a Dutch dialect.The weather condition here in Belgium is pretty predictable. Months from April to September are the warmest.With temperatures up to 35C.During the fall the weather is pretty humid and skies are gray, that explicates why umbrellas and raincoats are a part of the dressing. So, if the visit is planned for holidays during the rainy season, one must not forget to carry sufficient cover for maximum protection, as this is a coastal region.In the winter, temperatures can drop to -18C. Just in case of emergency, call 100 to get the police, firedepartment or an ambulance. If you need a business phonenumber liketo make a reservation in a restaurant or whatsoever call 1207.
Culture
Belgians are English-friendly and will make every effort to speak in English with a foreigner. Always remember to carry a small gift or at least flowers when invited over dinner. Most of the time, the woman get chocolates or flowers, males get a bottle of wine or in case he is a smoker, some fine sigars. The dresscode to wear will be adverted in the invitation, when invited for a party. Smoking in public is acceptable. But only when stated it is allowed inside.
Smoking regulations in Belgium forbit to smoke in public and governemental buildings, since last year it is also forbidden to smoke in a restaurant, or any other place where they sell food products. smoking in a bar or pub is still allowed till 2014.
Shopping
Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Namur, Mons, Lige, Ghent and Mechelen are the main shopping centers. Belgium is famous for ceramics and hand-beaten copperware from Dinant, laces from Bruges, crystals from Val Saint Lambert, woodcarvings from Spa and Belgium’s finest chocolates like Cote d’or, leonidas, Godiva, Callebout. In jewelry, diamonds from Antwerp are on high demand and play a big roll in the worlds market. Antwerp is also a big Fashion liked city, with some pretty famous designers coming from this city, like Dirk Bikkemberghs just to name one.
Eating Out
The specialty of most of the restaurants is beef and rabbit meat dishes. Although visitors can find a wide range of ethnic foods, but the most famous are Moules Frittes (Mussels and Fries with a musselsauce) Flemish Carbonades made with a dark beer sauce, and loads more.
Tipping is a custom when in a bar or restaurant. On average, in a bar you give 10 to 20 cents for a small order, 50 cents to 1 for al larger one. In a restaurant a tip is normal of about 5-10.
Electricity
Voltage is 230 V and frequency is 50 Hz.
Travel
Delta Air Transport has kicked off its new European airline SN Brussels Airlines lately. It flies to more than 58 destinations in Europe and as well as worldwide. The Brussels Zaventem airport is 12 km from the city and it takes 35 minutes to reach the city from the airport. The airport has facilities like duty free shops, car parking, taxi booking, car hiring, banks, post office, restaurants, and medical help. Internet and fax services are provided for the passengers. The Airport City Express train transports passengers to three main railroad stations – Brussels North, Central and South. One can avail a bus which runs regularly from the airport, taxis can also be hired which wait outside the arrival hall. Tipping the taxi drivers is considered customary. Train runs every 15 minutes.
Another airport, Brussels South Charleroi, is 5 km away from Charleroi and 46 km from Brussels. Ryan air serves as the local airline here and has cheap deals for several European destinations to and from Charleroi. The facilities provided here are bus and train services, caf, car hire, and duty free shops.
Ostend airport is 5 km away from the city and car parking, car hire, duty free shops, and restaurants are provided here.
Antwerp airport is just 2 km away from the city. Buses run to the Brussels Central Station every few minutes.
Liege is situated at a distance of 5 km away from the city. Buses run at regular interval here.
The departure tax at Brussels Zayentem is 20.93, Brussels South Charleroi is 3.49, Ostend and Antwerp is 10, and at Liege is 7.
There is a network of high-speed trains, which are operated by Thalys, from Belgium to France, connecting Brussels with other destinations like Bordeaux, Chambry, Cannes, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Valence Perpignan, and Rennes. Booking should be made in advance for these trains. The national railway operates through out the day providing service every few minutes to destinations such as Andorra, Austria, France, Czech, Germany, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands. Insiders can avail the Inter-Rail pass which allows visitors to travel almost 29 European Countries. This service is valid for residents who have been settled there for more than 6 months.
Duty Free Items
Visitors can carry alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, coffee and tea without getting customs duty levied on them, but only the goods should be limited. Check out for the limits before carrying such goods. Food items that are not preserved are better avoided.
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Colmar is a city in Alsace, France. It was the last town in France to be freed after the second World War, on February 2nd, 1945.
Although Colmar was French for most of its modern history (as all of Alsace and also Lorraine), its population used to be predominantly German. Alsace changed nationalities many times in the course of history between France and Germany. During WWII Hitler reclaimed Alsace (it was annexed to France after Germany lost WWI) and it is quite shocking to see photographs from the time with Nazi flags hanging through the streets. Cultural supression of local culture led to the francification of Alsace (and Colmar with it). Notwithstanding, you will still hear a lot of German spoken in Colmar, some because of the numerous tourists from neighbouring Germany and Switzerland, but some spoken by native Alsacians, speaking their German dialect called Alsatian. Alsatian is the local minority language, although it is endangered, with ever fewer speakers in young generations.
Alsatian is not identical with standard German, but it is to a certain extent mutaully intellegible. In some parts of the city, as well as in Strasbourg, streetsigns will be written in French and Alsatian German underneath. Among the minority languages of France, Alsacian German is the most prosperous one nowadays (followed by Breton, Occitan, Basque and Catalan), and many Alsatians will be delighted to be adressed in German rather than in French (though not all of them). If you do not speak French, German will always be the next preference. English is unfortunately not widely spoken, however if you politely address someone in French they may make an effort to help you despite language barriers.
PLACE TO VISIT
Colmar’s old town is the main attraction if you come to Colmar. It is stunningly beautiful and well preserved. You should allow yourself a day to stroll along Colmar’s old streets and many many shops.
Maison des Tetes (House of the Heads) – a Renaissance building decorated with faces, and the Pfister House, a marvellous old wooden house, one of the oldest in Colmar.
Dominican Church worth visitig only because of a famous Schongauer painting. It costs 4.50 euros (2006) to get in. The painting is very beautiful and so is the church, but skip this if you are pressed for time.
St. Martin Church a large church entirely made of pink stone.
Unterlinden Museum It is a most interesting museum situated in a medieval convent near the tourist information center. It exhibits objects ov very different arrays, but its highlight is definitely the Isenheim altarpiece by Gruenewald, a revolutionary Alsatian Renaissance painter. Even if you are not much into art it is still shocking to see how modern and inventive this painter was. The museum also shows some very interesting touring exhibits and also musical events. The locals are very proud of this museum and many people turn out for the openings of exhibits.
Bartholdi Museum dedicated to the sculpture of the Statue of Liberty who was native to Colmar.
Little Venice, enjoy this little corner of the city; with small canals reminiscent of Venice, Italy.
Bartholdi High School, near the Little Venice. Dating back to 1698, it is worth a sight. If you are brave enough to go inside, you will be able to see one of Auguste Bartholdi’s original sculpture : “Genie funebre”.
Make sure to keep an eye out for dates painted onto the side of buildings. Some of the oldest date back to the 1300′s.
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Getting away from the hubbub of everyday life demands quite a few years of effort and without vacation makes Jack a dull young man… When one is ready and sets the question of exactly where to go to creeps in… South America, Africa, Asia… How about European countries? France, Italy, Spain… These three are extremely popular vacation spots. Australia and New Zealand are also extremely popular among hikers. Or any other destination demands one to get appropriate info of a specific region and on different tour packages offered.
You will find a lot of tour companies on the web and one would get baffled as to which one to use for their yearned or most hoped for vacation. Visit online travel forums to get a glimpse of what other travelers have to say concerning their upcoming holiday or others reveling on the activities from a recent vacation in another country. In addition there are a lot of travel weblogs that will certainly help you make the correct decisions without spending too much time with the travel agent.
The very first thing would be to consider a reliable tour business that gives advice on the best traveller spots in the region of visit and ultimately plan a memorable holiday of a life time. Do not fear to request travel tips until one becomes almost familiar with that country of visit, one wants to be cautious as a lot of tour businesses are disguised as know it all, it could be wise to look for tour operators that offer or provide professional services; do not fall for low cost tour packages as this is going to ruin your adventure vacation.
I don’t know how inexpensive is inexpensive but what I know is that cheap is costly in the long term. Try to stay away from briefcase tour businesses; these businesses will ruin you most desired holiday. There are a few things that you do not want to skimp on money. These are not places where getting cheap will in fact help you save money. This is actually one of the most valuable traveling tips you can get…
Do not be scared to look for info on: travel tips, medical covers and health specifications or restrictions, what to carry or not carry, travel advisory, vehicle and driver guide, highlights on places to be discovered, and so on. Don’t overlook your sense of adventure whenever on holiday and most importantly a holiday full of memories is a well deserved adventure of a life time!
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Why not start your gap year off by discovering more about the British Isles. It may not strike you as an exotic location, compared with Thailand, but knowing more about the countries closer to home will help your future employment chances. Employers love to have intelligent, curious workers who have an interest in what makes their economy, and therefore business, tick. Ireland offers a wealth of landscape, industry, history and politics as well as music and entertainment too. Here are some great tips for travelling to, and around, Ireland on your gap year.
Flying into Ireland from the UK is easy. Aer Lingus, the national carrier of the Republic operates from nine airports in the UK and nine cities across Europe. Dublin, Cork and Shannon are all only an hour from the UK and Dublin is the main airport for the Republic of Ireland. There’s a frequent bus service from the airport to the city centre so transport to your accommodation should be easy. Flights from outside of Europe are frequent, although often involving one change at a continental European airport.
The alternative method of reaching Ireland from other European destinations is by sea ferry from the UK or France. If there are a few people travelling in a car or camper van, this can be a very economical way of getting there. The high speed ferry from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary) takes only 90 minutes. Other ferry services run from Fishguard, Pembroke and Swansea in Wales. You can also travel from France to Rosslare or Cork.
If you are planning on travelling around Ireland, then a car is a good idea. The roads can be rough and difficult to navigate in rural areas. You drive on the left in Ireland. However, if you only want to stay in Dublin, owning a car can be more of a nuisance than it is worth.
The bus service in Ireland is good value for money and runs between all major destinations. Rail is another way of travelling around, and both rail and bus networks are run by CIE. At Dublin airport you can buy prepaid, advance and discount tickets from the CIE information desk. You can also pick up maps and information too. DART is the Dublin Area Rapid Transit transport network. It covers 25 railway stations in the county. Dublin Bus (Bus Atha Cliath) is an economical way of getting around the city. There is an airport link from the city centre every 20 minutes from early morning until 11pm. You can also buy advance tickets from Dublin Bus Head Office on Upper O’Connell Street. An alternative to public transport is using specialist backpacker tours. The best known of these is Paddywagon, but they all offer slightly different packages, depending on the kind of travel experience you are looking for.
Expect to pay between 10 – 20 for a room in a hostel or dorm, depending on when you go. If you are planning on staying in Dublin for a longer period of time, think about alternatives to hostels. Be aware that short term rented accommodation is not easy to come by, and keep an eye out on noticeboards at the university or in bookshops. The situation is particularly difficult at the start of the university term in September time. Hostels in Dublin in the summer are very busy, so you will need to prebook to be sure of having somewhere to stay when you arrive.
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When you choose a Costa Blanca Holiday Rentals package you’re normally looking at renting a car, an apartment and choosing an airline. Some people use their own cars choosing instead of flying to their destination: to take a ferry either to France so that they can then drive south until reaching their destination somewhere in the Costa Blanca, or choose a more direct ferry route into Northern Spain where usually a three days trip on the ferry followed by about a six hour drive across some of the most rugged lands in Spain. Whichever you choose at the end of the trip you’ll find some of the most beautiful landscapes, white sands and blue seas in the whole of Europe.
You’re either here for those rugged lands white sands and blue seas or you’re here for the golf or some other sports, like tennis or bowling. Others might be here for the pony trekking, mountain walking, bike riding – even motor bikes are popular here out in some of the more isolated spots.
You might even be a bit of a historical buff and attracted to the high villages with remote castles guarding valleys from ancient invaders or maybe you’re interested in the caves and the writing on their walls.
You’ll find if you look things like the snow wells in valleys high up in the mountains, or the house caves like those in Rojales, where craftsman work making the intricate detailed leather goods like wrist bands, handbags, belts or any number of other items. There, carpenters sit creating anything from Marquetry or Tarsia or maybe they’re making a new cabinet for some local dignitary. Maybe you’re into wine and want to understand how a winemaker creates their latest tipple – or maybe you’re here for the tapas or the paella. Well it’s all here and without doubt some spectacular views on the way through.
Not forgetting the sports-minded, where scuba diving and even deep sea diving is the sport of the day or something a little less in depth, remaining on the surface while wind surfing or water skiing, kayaking in rivers or just playing ball with the kids. And when they get tired of that what about go-karting? If you’re wishing to spend a few pounds more for some holiday fun there are the many theme parks around and what time of year should you go will it really matter if you don’t have the kids in tow? Any time of year is a good time with 320 guaranteed days of sun and hardly a rainy day to ruin your holiday, while those of us who are acclimatized to the Spanish weather and feel the cold air more than you will. You could enjoy and pick up a sun tan in the middle of the winter! Where the night life is an extension to your meal times and dancing through the night with music playing in your ears is just another highlight. If I have missed something it’s only because I forgot it exists – but I’m sure you’ll find it on your Costa Blanca Holiday Rentals.