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Lake Wörthersee – the warmest lake in Austria

Claire — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:00:20 +0000

Lake Wörthersee is the warmest lake in Austria. It is located in the Province of Carinthia. The area around Lake Wörthersee is also called Austrian Riviera. The water temperature in the reservoir reaches 24 – 28 °C during the summer months.

Near Lake Wörthersee you can find other lakes, which are much smaller. They are located mainly south of Wörthersee and extend to the borders of Slovenia. This area is surrounded by mountain peaks of Karawanken mountains, which together with the lake create a beautiful scenery.

Lake Wörthersee is surrounded by a number of resorts – a new modern town of Velden, Krumpendorf or Pörtschach am Wörthersee.

What to see in the neighborhood
Vintgar gorge about 26 km
Minimundus 8 km
Klopeiner See about 33 km
Ski resort Kranjska Gora about 33 km
Planica about 37 km
Waterfall Pericnik about 29 km

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Nesebar – one of the oldest ancient centers in Europe | Bulgaria

Claire — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:58:21 +0000

Nesebar – Pearl of the Black Sea – is the ancient town and a major seaside resort on the coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria. You can get to Nesebar by bus or boat from the coastal resorts such as Pomorie, or by plane or train to Burgas and then by bus.

Nesebar is situated on a rocky peninsula. Since 1983 it is registered in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO due to its ancient center, which is among the oldest in Europe. There are wooden houses and many churches.

Admission is free to lots of sites in the town. Interesting tourist destinations in the neighborhood are Primorsko or Pomorie.

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Palio di Siena – horse festival in Italy

Claire — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:52:33 +0000

The city of Siena is composed of 17 different neighbourhoods. Twice a year, on July 2nd and August 16th, a resident from each of the 17 neighbourhoods competes against one another in the historic Palio di Siena. The seventeen neighbourhoods represent the medieval contrade armies that were created in order to defend the city of Siena after having declared independence from the control of Florence.

Twenty days prior to the July 2nd race, a total of 10 contestants will be draw to compete in the first event of the year. The remaining 7 contestants will participate in the second event on August 16th; along with the top three contestants from the July race. Three days before each race, the contestants are assigned the horse that they will be running in the race.

The Palio di Siena is considered to be one of the most famous and historic of festivals in the whole of Italy which takes place every year in the Piazza del Campo square; a fan shaped earthen race track. The actual festivities of the event start on June 29th and will continue on until August 13th of each year.

Horse race, Palio di Siena, Tuscany, Italy by Janus Kinase

On race day, there is a special mass held in Siena where the contestants and their horses are blessed before the start of the competition. Trial runs are held until around 3 in the afternoon; after which a procession makes its way throughout the historic town center of Siena. The procession ends at the Piazza del Campo just in time for the 4:30 official start time of the Palio di Siena competition.

The race is composed of three laps around the Piazza del Campo which is roughly 1,000 meters in all. The winner wins a victory flag for their neighborhood known as the palio. It is a huge honor to win the Palio di Siena.

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