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The Hand of St. Stephen
2007-03-28 03:34:00
Visitors who venture inside Hungary?s largest church, St Step hen's Basilica (Szent István-bazilika) in Budapest can enjoy some lovely sights as well as a chance to see the not-so-lovely mummified hand of Hungary?s first Christian king, St. Stephen . I admit that I was first drawn to visiting the basilica in order to see the hand (call it morbid curiosity) but left being more impressed with the size, scale and beauty of the church as a whole. The first impressive aspect of St. Stephen?s Basilica is the entrance. This hefty door is carved with images of the 12 apostles and is worth a little time to examine. Once inside, the basilica?s dome (a 315-foot high landmark visible throughout Budapest) decorated with mosaics on the inside is a beautiful sight to look up at. The marble statue of St. Stephen on the main altar will strike visitors familiar with church décor as a bit unusual since main altars are usually not the place to honor mere mortal (even if they are saints). Visitors sho...
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Helsinkini Grand Central
2007-03-28 03:23:00
As an exchange student in Helsinki , I walked by the Cent ral Station everyday on my way to class at the university. The massive, pink granite station features two distinct landmarks that rival the Upsenki and Helsinki Cathedral as the most recognizable sights of the city. The station?s impressive 160-foot clock tower was always there to tell me how little time I had to get to class and the muscular lantern-bearing statues on the station?s exterior never failed to catch my eye for several moments. The station is the hub through which locals travel either for vacation or to their suburban homes. The Central Station is equally impressive on the inside and visitors to Helsinki should take a quick stroll through the station even if they don?t have any plans to catch a train. The wooden fitting of the interior soar up and give a sense of vast openness. The addition of a glass roof over the tracks in 2000 and a shopping wing with hotel in 2003 helped to make the station all the more user fr...
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Stockholm?s City Hall
2007-03-28 03:17:00
Stockholm?s Stadshuset (City Hall ) is a massive architectural feat. The first time I saw the Stadshuset, I was standing on the Gamlastan (Old Town) looking at the hall?s massive tower. The Stadshuset dominates the edge of the island of Kungsholmen (King?s Island) and is an excellent tourist destination for anyone interested in architecture on a grand scale. The three most famous spaces within the Stadshuset are the appropriately named Golden Room and the less-obviously named The Gallery of the Prince and the Blue Hall. The artist Einar Forseth?s Golden Hall is covered with mosaics composed of millions of gold-leaf and glass. The Gallery of the Prince is a lengthy reception hall dominated by a row of pillars in front of a beautiful mosaic by Prince Eugen. The Blue Hall, however, is the sight to see in the Stadshuset for it is here on December 10th that the Nobel Prize ceremony is held. The Blue Hall is the largest space in the Stadshuset and also holds an impressive pipe organ. Daily...
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Scandinavian?s Most Popular Museum
2007-03-28 03:12:00
Nothing can prepare you for your first visit to the Vasamuseet (Vasa Muse um ) in Stockholm. As soon as you walk past the ticket gates, you come into a vast hall holding the meticulously restored 17th century warship Vasa. Pictures will allow you to see the ship?s wonderful detail but I?ve had few more awe-inspiring moments in my life than standing at the base of this massive ship. The Vasa was commissioned by King Gustav II Adolf to be the mightiest warship in the Swedish fleet. After the ship was started, Gustav decided that he wanted another gun deck added to the Vasa. Basic shipwright knowledge will tell you that, if you build a ship up, you need to increase the ballast (the weights in the bottom of the ship) to keep it from listing. However, when you increase the weight of a ship without widening the base (impossible for the Vasa as the frame was already complete), it sinks lower in the water. As a result, on the Vasa?s maiden voyager, the ship barely made it out of Stockholm be...
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Stockholm?s Big Church
2007-03-28 03:08:00
I love spending a day in the heart of Stock holm . This fantastic Scandinavian city began in 1250 on a small set of island here between the Baltic Sea to the east and Lake Mälaren to the west. The old town (Gamlastan) of Stockholm includes most of the must-see sights in the city as well as a wealth of beautiful old buildings artfully crammed into narrow streets. My favorite place in the old town is the Sankt Nikolai Kyrka (Saint Nicholas Church ), better known simply as Storkyran. The 700-year-old church?s red brick Baroque style façade is easy to spot during your stroll, as is the 216-foot church tower. Inside, the Storkyrkan (which means ?big church?) is a vast cathedral that honestly makes me feel more like I am on the interior of a gigantic brick oven than a cathedral. What the cathedral lacks in church-like atmosphere, it makes up for in priceless artifacts. Bernt Notke?s 1489 sculpture of St. George and the Dragon is both a fantastic piece of art as well as a repository for artif...

The Land of the Vikings
2007-03-28 03:00:00
Norway made the Viking s famous. While the Swedes and the Danes were conquering their slices of Europe and the British Isles, the Vikings from Norway were busy taking over vast stretches of the northern Atlantic, eventually landing on North America. The V ikings were the terror of Europe from the 8th to the 11th century and many parts of the mainland that had nothing to do with each other for years united only in their common fear of Viking raiders. While much of the Viking mythos has today been romanticized for tourists, the Viking tradition can still be seen in much its gritty former glory at the Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum) on the Bygdøy Peninsula to the south of central Oslo. The museum?s centerpieces are three wonderfully preserved Viking ships dating from the 9th century. The ships were excavated from burial mounds in the Oslofjord region. The mightiest of the three ships, called the Oseberg ship, can be seen from viewing platforms allowing visitors to see the 22m by 5...
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French Pastries
2007-03-17 04:46:00
The French do many things spectacularly, but pastries are one of the tours de force of this culturally- and culinary-rich country. From buttery flaky croissants to sweet cakey madeleines, it would be easy to eat these delectable treats with (or instead of) every meal while traveling in France. Since this is not the most nutritionally sound eating habit, there has to be a better way to get your fill of éclairs and macarons. What if you could take the rich delicacies home with you (without problems in customs or your beignets going stale)? While you may never be as good as the master French bakers, being able to reproduce canelés when you return home will not only impress your loved ones, but also take you right back to your fantastic Parisian vacation. During your stay in Paris, take a French pastry course to learn how to properly make your favorite pastry. If you are fluent in French and have the budget for it, you must take a pastry course at the Paris Lenôtre school. You will le...
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The ?Quintessential? British Food
2007-03-17 04:37:00
While England may not have a great worldwide reputation for amazing food, they do have some awesome contributions to international cuisine. Fish and chips stand high on the list of worthwhile culinary contributions. Fish and chips are one of the most quintessentially ?British ? foods that should not be passed up while visiting the UK. Try them even if you?re on a "diet"? you?re sure to walk off anything you consume, anyway, since you won?t be driving everywhere you go. Fish & chip shops, called ?chippies? in England, range from small hole-in-the-wall joints (often the best and most authentic) to posh sit-down affairs. The ?fish? portion of the meal consists of fried fish fillets, while the chips are what Americans would call ?French Fries? (though ?chips? are even thicker than the thick-cut ?steak fries? in the US). In England, haddock and cod are common types of fish used for the fried fish, with batters that vary from flour-based to bread crumb-based. The natives? c...
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Listen to the Rhythm
2007-03-17 04:32:00
Flamenco is one of the most beautiful artistic traditions of Spain and possibly one of the more misunderstood. Flamenco is an artistic tradition from the culturally mixed south, Andalusia, though the exact origins are difficult to pinpoint. It is thought to have been created around the 18th century by the Gypsies, who would have fostered this musically-based art from their own Indian-influenced culture, mixed with existing Andalusian, Moorish, Jewish and Christian elements. The three main elements of flamenco are the guitarra (guitar playing), cante (song) and baile (dancing). While there are various different styles of song, the dance is improvised (not choreographed) by the brilliant bailaores (dancers). Sevilla is probably the best Spanish city in which to see performances. While not an entirely ?authentic? flamenco experience, there are numerous performances in Sevilla to choose from (some better than others) and I would suggest that you visit a Tablao in Sevilla to watch a per...
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German beer
2007-03-17 04:26:00
Beer is to Germ an y as soda is to America; the sticky, bubbly beverage is vastly consumed and deeply embedded in the culture. A trip to Germany would not be complete without time spent at a local brewery so that you might enjoy the country?s effervescent beverage of refreshing nature. There are over a thousand breweries in Germany, so you won?t have trouble finding one to visit. While German beers are exported and you can enjoy them from the comfort of your couch, there is nothing to equal the experience of a German Biergarten, beer garden, in summer or a Bierkeller, beer cellar, and Bierstube, pub, in winter. If you are in Munich during early autumn, you must join in the Oktoberfest, the beer festival of all beer festivals. If you?re not there in October, don?t despair because there are loads of other beer festivals to enjoy the open-air drinking revelry? check with the hotel or tourist board in the city you will be staying. No matter the area of Germany, local brewers will have tr...
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A Bit About the Bubbly
2007-03-17 04:20:00
Champagne is not only a bubbly, festive sparkling wine known for celebrations and hangovers, but also a lovely and lush region in France. Here countless winemakers continue the rich tradition of méthode champenoise, the method for making champagne wine. It is important for connoisseurs to note (and follow) the number one rule of the term ?champagne?: don?t call any wine (especially sparkling wine) not made in the Champagne region of France ?champagne,? an important designation for regional foods protected by the EU. Champagne is made by a secondary fermentation in the bottle (with a little help from a dash of yeast and a pinch of sugar), which creates the titillating carbonation. It has an erroneous bad reputation for inducing headaches, but it is the cheap, sugary sparkling wine, wine with big ?artificially? added bubbles, consumed in vast quantities at your cousin?s wedding that is the culprit. True champagne is made only with red Pinot Noir (or sometimes Pinot Meunier) and Chard...
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Finding a Perfect Italian Meal
2007-03-17 04:11:00
It is hard to find a genuine Italia n dining experience without local recommendations or a first-hand knowledge of a given area. Even restaurants with a good reputation may be better at some dishes than other and restaurants that you wouldn?t look at twice may house secret culinary treasures that only the locals can divulge. Given the difficultly of walking away from a meal in Italy and thinking, ?That was exactly what an Italian meal should be,? there are a few restaurants that can come pretty close to fulfilling your dream. In Florence, the Ristorante Cafaggi is one such place. The Ristorante Cafaggi is centrally located in Florence on Via Guelfa 35 less than a mile from the heart of old Florence. The restaurant specializes in Tuscan food and is consistently regarded as one of the best places to get fresh, delicious seafood meals in Florence. What makes the Ristorante Cafaggi turn from a nice dinner into a quintessential Italian experience is the warm atmosphere of this family-owne...
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Florence?s Number Two Museum
2007-03-17 04:06:00
Like the Uffizi (which means office) museum, the Bargello museum retained the name of its former purpose. It makes sense that the Bargello was formerly a town hall and then the home of the city?s police chief (the origin of the name bargello). The building looks more like a fortress on the outside than a home for some of the finest examples of Renaissance sculpture in the world. The Bargello is one of the oldest buildings in the city, yet its transformation into a museum was only completed in 1865. Still, it can claim the honor of being the first national museum in Italy. Fans, like myself, of the Bargello can make a strong case for this museum taking precedent over a visit to the Uffizi. First, I?m more a fan of sculpture than painting and the Bargello has sculptures that are not only impressive but also historically significant. The Michelangelo Room features his first freestanding sculpture (Bacchus, completed in 1497), the only known bust by the artist (Brutus, completed in 1540...
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The Cathedral of Florence
2007-03-17 01:53:00
In the world of Italian cathedral design, there is something to be said for late-mover advantage. The Flor entines were determined during the 13th and 14th century to outdo their rivals in Siena and Pisa and no building in the city more reflects this desire than the Santa Maria del Flore ? the Florence ?s duomo. The dome of the cathedral is still the tallest structure in the city today. Highlights of a trip to the cathedral starts with the ancient Baptistry in front of the cathedral itself. The doors of the Baptistry display the artistic inspiration that ultimately lead to the asthetics of the Renaissance. That is a pretty lofty place to hold in history. Inside the Bapistry, you can take in fantastic 13th century mosaics of The Last Judgement. After a stop in the Baptistry, it is time to enter the duomo itself through the imposing Neo-Gothic façade (a recent edition added in 1887). On your way to stand in awe under the dome, note that you will pass the steps leading to the remains of ...
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The Leaning Tower
2007-03-17 01:47:00
The town of Pisa makes for a very easy day trip from Florence or a nice stopover when travel between northern and southern Italy. There was a time when the fleets of Pisa were a forced to be reckoned with in the Mediterranean and the city still reflects that era of wealth and trade?even if that era was one thousand years ago. Pisa?s duomo and, more significantly, the adjacent Lean ing Tower (torre pendente di Pisa), embody today much of Pisa?s rich heritage. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually the duomo?s bell tower and its well-known multi-tiered and columned exterior dominates the souvenir shops of Pisa. The Leaning Tower was completed almost 300 years after its nearby duomo, in 1350, though construction had been going on since 1173. It was built on a subsoil of sandy silt and, as the tower grew in height, it began to list. Concerted efforts were made several years ago to halt the ongoing leaning of the tower while still preserving its famous 5.5 degree angle, a lean that measure...

The Legacy of St. Francis
2007-03-17 01:40:00
If you are traveling north from Rome to destinations at the top of the peninsula, take time to plan a trip through the lovely medieval town of Assisi. Assisi is only 90 miles from Rome and can even make for a reasonable daytrip. The town is the home to three famous saints: St. Clare, St Gabriel and, most famously, St. Fran ces. The Franc iscan order is one of the most well-known in all of Christianity and the Basilica di San Francesco is their holiest place. The Basilica is the destination to visit in Assisi. Once you take in this grand shrine (built, oddly enough, for a saint who epitomized poverty), you will understand why. The Basilica di San Francesco was started only after the death of St. Francis in 1226 and was completed in 1253. The Basilica contains an Upper and Lower Church and each decorated with frescoes by some of the greatest names in 13th century Italian art. The Upper church features the famous Life of St. Francis done by the artist Giotto. The Lower Church contains st...
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