Monday, November 21, 2011
Innsbruck - Austria
Innsbruck is the capital of the federal state Tyrol and the biggest city in the Western part of Austria. It is located at 573 m elevation, 489 km south-west of Vienna, 190 km away from Salzburg. Innsbruck is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and offers a combination of culture, history and nature unequaled anywhere else.Other attractions include Tiroler museums, Hungersburg, Schloss Ambras, Wiltener Basilica, Bergisel, Hofburg, The Golden Roof, the Alpine Zoo. The beauty of Innsbruck city is protected by the architects who ensure that the new structures built in the city are harmonious with the preexisting Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance style buildings.Innsbruck Austria enjoyed the great strategic importance long before it became famous as a winter sports centre that has twice hosted the Winter Olympic Games, being close to the Brenner Pass that connects Italy with the north via the easiest route over the Alps.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Las Lajas Sanctuary - Colombia
Las Lajas Sanctuary is located on the border of Ecuador and Colombia. The basilica is built in a canyon over the Guáitara River in a town called Ipiales, located 15 minutes into Colombia. Construction started on January 1, 1916 and finished on August 20, 1949, which makes it a fairly new church that looks a lot older then it really is. The church is of Gothic revival architecture and was built with donations from local churchgoers, replacing an old nineteenth-century chapel. The name Laja comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to floor tiles found in the Andes Mountains. The church was built to commemorate the appearance of the Virgin which legend has it, her image appeared on an enormous vertical rock 45m above the river.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Huahine – French Polynesia
Huahine is an island located in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.Huahine is for sure the wildest and most secretive island of the Society Islands thanks to its luxuriant nature and its past full of myths and legends. Located 30 minutes away from Tahiti by plane, it is also the nearest one from the main island of this archipelago.Huahine measures 16 km (9.9 mi) in length, with a maximum width of 13 km (8.1 mi). It is made up of two main islands surrounded by a fringing coral reef with several motu. Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) lies to the north and Huahine Iti (Little Huahine) to the south. The two islands are separated by a few hundred yards of water and joined by a sandspit at low tide. A small bridge was built to connect Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti. Northwest of Huahine Iti lies a 375 ha brackish lake known as Lac Fauna Nui (Lac Maeva). This lake is all that remains of the ancient atoll lagoon. Air transportation is available via Huahine airport, located on the northern shore of Huahine Nui.
