Well Deserved Holiday In Europe

Who doesn't love holidays, especially holidays in Europe? Think of beautiful countries like Barcelona, Prague, London, Dublin and Rome, the list is endless and I am sure I will take more than 5 posts to finish rambling about all my dream destinations and holidays. But before I start doing that, I'll just briefly explain which are my favorite holiday destinations, why these places are my most preferred holiday destinations and a really awesome website where you can make hotel reservations online for quick, easy and painfree way to truly enjoy your holiday.

Geneva, Switzerland

The mighty Alps straddle the borders of six nations. At the heart of this formidable massif lies Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain, thrust skywards at a time when the Earth's crust heaved and buckled under its own stupendous force. Mont Blanc, the 'white mountain', in the western Alps on the border between France and Italy, reaches 15 771ft (4807m), the highest point in the whole Alpine system. The Mont Blanc massif is scarred by many glaciers and bristles with ten peaks more than 13 000ft (4000m) high. This dramatic, yet beautiful landscape is characterized by great extremes in climate. Warm Mediterranean air moves up from the south, while chill Arctic air flows down from the north. Moist air arrives from the Atlantic, and dry air - cold in winter, hot in summer - drifts in from the east. Whether there are blizzards or sunshine in the Alps depends entirely on the direction of the wind. And to truly best enjoy the most beautiful scene in the world, you can actually book a hotel in Geneva. But if mountains and cold climate isn't exactly your cup of tea, fear not. Geneva is a cosmopolitan city with plenty of places to visit as well. Sights include Cathedral St-Pierre, Museum of the International Red Cross and you can even visit cafes and people watch all day long to soak in the sights and sounds of Geneva.

Granda, Spain

A palace-fortress concealing an interior of unsurpassed beauty, the Alhambra recalls Spain's Islamic past. It sits high above an ancient city, framed against the spectacular backdrop of the Sierra Nevada’s shimmering snow-capped peaks. The ancient palace of the Moorish rulers of Spain dominates the modern city of Granada just as its builders once dominated their extensive empire. A glowing red citadel, the Alhambra includes a maze of perfectly proportioned shady courtyards, filigreed galleries, sunlit patios and arcades. The Moors were Muslims from North Africa who invaded Spain in the early eighth century AD. During the ninth century, they built a fortress on the remains of Alcazaba, an ancient stronghold. From the 12th to the 14th centuries, the Moorish kingdom was attacked again and again by Christian armies. The Christians took the city of Córdoba in the 13th century, and thousands of Moorish refugees fled to Granada. Their shrinking kingdom now centered on Granada, the Moors at once strengthened the Alcazaba's fortifications with an enclosing wall, towers and ramparts, and built new aqueducts to improve the water supply. The restructured building was eventually called the Red Fort, or Al-Qal'a al-Hambra in Arabic - the origin of the modern Spanish name Alhambra. But the Alhambra's lasting fame derives less from its strength as a military fortress than from the beauty and originality of its interiors, created by King Yusuf I (1333-1353) and King Mohammed V (1353 - 1391). While the exterior of this bastion is somewhat austere, the courtyards and halls that lie within are uniquely imaginative in their conception, ranging in style from elegantly understated to overtly theatrical.

Füssen, Germany

A tribute to the knights of Germanic legend, the castle of Neuschwanstein represents the fusion of the dreams and wealth of King Ludwig of Bavaria and the artistic version of the composer Richard Wagner. The fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein, perched above the rugged gorge of the River Pollak in the Bavarian Alps, is the world's most magical castle. Against a backdrop of dark green fir trees, its ivory towers seem to hang in the air. Neuschwanstein, conceived and constructed by King Ludwig II (1845 - 1886), looks more genuinely 'medieval' than anything built in the Middle Ages. One man's dream transformed into reality by timeless wealth. Neuschwanstein is the epitome of theatrical design. In the spring of 1867 Ludwig visited the gothic castle of Wartburg, near Eisenach in Thuringia. It appealed to his love of the theatrical and romantic, and he wanted one exactly like it. On a crag 1 mile (1.6km) from Hohenschwangau was a ruined watchtower. This, Ludwig, decided, was to be the site of Neuschwanstein, his 'new home of the swan', and no 5 September 1869, the foundation stone of the main block, or Palas, was laid. Apparently, Ludwig's obsession with Lohengrin dominated his life. (Neuschwanstein is essentially Lohengrin's castle.) He addressed letters to his future wife Sophie 'My dear Else', and on occasion dressed as the knight. After his death, the costume was found among his effects. However, a formal portrait, completed in 1887, showed him in more traditional attire.

And to make all these holiday destinations a reality, the most important thing to do is to find a hotel that is located close to these breathtaking places. And the only place, or rather, website that I can think of is Online Hotel Reservations. Why Online Hotel Reservations? I mean, you can't really expect to call in the wee hours of the morning right, that's why you go through the Internet, go to Online Hotel Reservations website and find a suitable, nice and affordable hotel near the places of interests that you are considering to go to. This is truly a remarkable website, you can select popular locations around the world, target the place or area you are planning on visiting and from there, choose and compare the different hotels that are listed in the site itself. Isn't it simple? It's definitely better than going to the library, leafing through travel guide books and trying your best to look for some hotel recommendations when you can do the same exact thing at Online Hotel Reservations.

Unknown

Riih Rion is bashful when facing cameras and video-cams. But she soon realized she is more comfortable behind a PC screen than in front of a lens. Riih is passionate about beauty products, paranormal & folk lore from anywhere in the world and sushi. Especially sushi. Come visit her blogs or drop her a comment :D

2 comments:

  1. I see that you linked to me. There is a mark through my backlink but I'm there all the same. Thank you. I linked to you on my SS blogroll also.

    John
    The Big Dog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear John Blue, the mark through your backlink meant that the page or site was visited. It doesn't meant that I intended to strike through it by purpose or accident. Hope you would understand though.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting on -Chopsticks-, a personal blog that touches on pop culture. Kindly note that I will comment back on your blog (on your latest blog post) as soon as I possibly can, unless I'm not online.

Rules:

1. Kindly avoid promotional/non-sense/unrelated comments as this can be reason for deletion of your comments.

2. Avoid commenting with "nice post"/"thanks for sharing", or the likes. Kindly just read the post and comment something about it.

3. Replying with some facts/rumors or other info related to the post is well appreciated too.

Your comments always make my day(s) feel special and appreciated and each comment will be followed up as well. Thank you and have a wonderful day ahead~