Europe Explored » metropolis

Vastseliina Castle Ruins in Estonia

Claire — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:46:56 +0000

In southeastern Estonia, on a steep hill above the river Pisa you can find impressive Vastseliina castle ruins. It is situated on the outskirts of the village Vahtseliina and about 4 km from the town Vastseliina. This area due to its location on the trade route Riga – Pskov was the scene of many battles.

Vastseliina castle was founded in the 14th century by German knights. It became the border point between the territories of the Teutonic Knights and the Russian area. Until the mid-19th century the area prospered. The castle is situated right on the road to Meremäe.

When you go to the castle away from the former Norman pub, on the left in the valley you will see Vastseliina Park, where a nice 15 km long circular hiking trail starts. This lead along the river up to the north to Suumremetse. Near the ruins there is a map with walking and cycling trails.

To Vastseliina castle you can get a regular bus connection from the metropolis Võru, which goes several times a day. Some buses then continue to the town of Missa.

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Port of Rotterdam – the biggest port in Europe | Netherlands

Claire — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:07:20 +0000

Rotterdam is situated on the coast of the North Sea, it is the second largest city and second most important city in Netherlands (after Amsterdam). Here you can find the Port of Rotterdam which is the largest port of Europe and recently it was the largest in the world, until it was overtaken in 2004 by port in Shanghai and then by port in Singapore.

Fireline of the Rotterdam, commemoration of the May 1940 bombardement by Nazi Germany by Trebaxus

The port of Rotterdam has 105km2 and stretches over a distance of 40km. The largest ocean-going ships have unrestricted access to the port for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A sea depth in the port is 24 meters, which allow access to any ship.

More than 500 regular shipping lines connect Rotterdam with over a thousand ports around the world. For many smaller European ports serves as a container transshipment.

Goods coming into Rotterdam in the morning, may be, for example in Germany, Belgium, France or Great Britain on the same afternoon. One of the main advantages of Rotterdam is its location at the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Maas. The result is efficient and economical use of transport by rivers and canals deep into the heart of Europe.

Rotterdam, Netherlands by M.M.Minderhoud

The metropolis is surprisingly quite different from other cities in the Netherlands. The port of Rotterdam was very important already during the World War II and therefore it was totally destroyed. The city was not renewed again like lots of other Holland cities, but it was built from the scratch. Rotterdam is now a city of skyscrapers.

When you go to Rotterdam, you will be surprised by the transport system. The density of highways is unbelievable, have many lanes, there are a large number of highway intersections. Roads are built on bridges and raids in several levels. If you saw the transportation system of the Japanese and North American cities, so it is exactly here. Moreover, everything is illuminated at night. Tunnels are not an exception.

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Poznań – Lively commercial city with plenty of museums and great entertainment options in Poland

Claire — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:46:56 +0000

Poznań is a city older more than a thousand years situated on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of approx. 550 thousand (June 2009). It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań’s cathedral.

Poznań is now Poland’s fifth largest city. It is the historical capital of the Wielkopolska (“Greater Poland”) region, and is also the administrative capital of the Greater Poland Voivodeship province.

Modern Poznań is a vibrant metropolis and an important centre of trade, entertainment, industry, and education, and hosts regular international trade fairs. It was the host city for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2008, a key stage in the creation of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Poznań is a candidate city for European Capital of Culture in 2016. In Poznań will take place UEFA EURO 2012.

A student population of over 130,000 gives Poznań an incredible energy.

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