Whether you're heading to Alaska by car, train, plane, or cruise ship, there are all sorts of things to see and do in this great state. Alaska cruises are popular since they offer wonderful views of icebergs and wild coastlines, but some of the best adventures are only available once you step on land.
Here's a look at 10 things to see and do while visiting Alaska:
1. Fishing - Alaska is so famous for its rich fishing experience that over half of the fish consumed in the United States originate in Alaskan waters. Fishing in Alaska can be as simple as hopping off the trail to wet a line in the nearest lake, or as elaborate as chartering a boat or a float plane to a specific fishing area. Alaska boasts an amazing 627 species of fish that inhabit its 3 million lakes and 3000 rivers, all to be had by fly-fishing, saltwater fishing, freshwater fishing, and ice-fishing.
2. Kayaking - A popular addition to hiking, taking a guided kayak tour through Alaska's waterways is an unforgettable way to get close and personal with the beautiful natural surroundings. Paddling through rivers and lakes, you will see untamed coastal regions, wild rivers, granite mountain peaks and soaring glaciers, while getting a visit from the occasional sea otter and puffin. The mighty Yukon river is a popular kayaking and rafting point, with gold panning an interesting activity offered at a stop along the way.
3. Wildlife Viewing - As comedian Michael Moore says, the bald eagle is the mascot bird of the United States, yet you never see one in the lower 49. But go to Alaska, and you'll see plenty. Alaska is also home to polar bears, humpback whales, orca whales, gray wolves, grizzly bears, lynx, moose, and hundreds of other species.
4. Hiking - Alaska has an expansive network of trails that wind through the wilderness from city to city. There's a trail for every taste here, from a simple trip through the woods to a rugged trek up the side of a mountain that will challenge the brawniest explorer.
5. Playing in the Snow - It doesn't always snow in Alaska, and the winter is not always dark. But during that winter, you can choose to ski, snowboard, sled, skate, play hockey, and yes, even ride with a team of sled dogs. In fact, the legendary Iditarod - the great sled race - is run every year, and it's still one of the most physically challenging sporting events in the world.
6. Soaking up the History - Alaska's unique culture has roots from as far away as Russia and France and as close as the natives who still live there today. Participate in a blanket toss, attend an authentic Eskimo crafts festival, learn how to carve your own totem pole, browse the intricate Russian iconography, or visit the many cultural and historical museums.
7. Sight-seeing by Air - "Flight-seeing", as it's called, has become an enormously popular way to explore some of the less accessible parts of the Alaskan wilderness. Helicopter tours are available everywhere, taking you to the peaks of glaciers. Or you can charter one of the country's many "bush pilots" for a tour in a small aircraft that's just right for getting into and out of the dense wilderness.
8. Bike Tours - A great way to see the sights and keep fit at the same time, while not being as strenuous as a day hike or a river raft. Alaskan bicycle tours are organized around a theme, which may be to explore points of interest related to the gold rush or visit places important to Alaskan native heritage.
9. Whale Watching - Whales are the largest life forms on our planet, and they're all only too happy to come up for a picture in Alaska. Until you've experienced it, you can't imagine how thrilling it is to be right next to a creature so massive that its tail fins are bigger than your car.
10. Tour by Railway - Alaska was lucky enough to be settled largely in the same time period as when America was first laying railways everywhere. As a result, Alaska boasts an extensive network of train routes that wind their way through mountains and wilderness, across bridges, over mirror-clear lakes, and across open tundra. It is the best way to see that part of Alaska you can't see from the sea or road, while remaining in absolute comfort.
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Thursday, November 22, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
International Watchmaking Museum in Switzerland
As the historians in our time were want to say, "Time does not stand till; neither do the makers of watches." This we learned at the end our vacation in Switzerland at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchatel at the western tip of Switzerland. There for two whole days my wife and I rested our weary bones after a three week holiday by enjoying a walk through the scenic view all around the town, taking the fresh and clear air of the Jura mountains, tasting the delights of good fare offfered by the restaurants, and saying 'Bon Jour' to the goodly citizens. Yet there was time to do a bit of sightseeng, namely visiting International Watchmaking Museum in the city and see their collection of clocks and watches, interest ourselves in the manufacture of time pieces, and to learn about watch making in Switzerland. www.mih.ch
It was quite easy to find the museum, as a carillon stands at the entrance to the museum and every fifteen minutes little hammers strike the twelve bells of the carillon, playing lively tunes, according to the season. Truly it is a work of art, but a functioning clock as well, hidden in a stainless steel casing using color, light and sound as it chimes the quarter hour. No need of glasses to read the characters on the digital clock, as the large numerals shine brightly.
The exhibition in the museum was enlightening and quite interesting. We were able to understand that the watch is a very complex item, and it requires a number of quite different skills to take it from the designer's board to the wearer's wrist. It was astonishing to learn that a simple mechanical watch contains roughly 130 components. More complex watches contain hundreds of parts; a complex watch displays much more information than simply the time of day, such as the week and day etc.. Nearly ninety per cent of the watches made in Switzerland are electronic, but mechanical watches are still manufactured.
Traditions plays a great part in the Swiss watch making industry. A good deal of the work is carried out by workshops and small factories, which make the components and to others where the watches are assembled; the company that assembles the basic parts, adding extra components known as 'complications' and sells the final product under its own name. The watches of different brand names can range from from sober classic, through diamond-studded, to cheap and cheerful.
Swiss watchmaking started in the sixteenth century in the city of Geneva developing through the years. More than one hundred clock and watchmakers are recorded as working in this city in 1686 and their overall production amounted to five thousand watches per anum. At the same time, watchmaking also developed in various other places in the Jura mountain area, notably in the towns and cities of Neuchtal, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le locle, Fleurier and Travers.
The development of Swiss watchmaking throughout out the eighteenteenth century followed the commercial outlets throughout the world, despite British competition, which challenged the Swiss for markets. Commercial expansion was in the favor of Swiss watch makers by their relatively low sales price. During the nineteenth century, this advantage was further improved by mechanized production and establishment of small factories. Swiss watchmakers attained a dominant position in the manufacture of watches by having a leading position in technical skills.
The largest center of watchmaking was Geneva, where in 1869, seven thousand skilled workers were involved in the horological industry. Other active workshops in other towns also produced chronometers, precision watches and ordinary watches. The Canton of Vaud in the Joux Valley attained the skill in the production of 'ebuaches' (rough movements) used in the process of making highly complicated watches.
The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the rise of of firms which are well known to this very day. These included Audemars-Piguet, Patek Phillips, Girard-Perregaux, Longines, Omega, Rolex and Ebel. www.swissworld.org
Marc Chagall, French artist coined an appropriate saying, "Time is a river without banks." And for my wife and myself the minutes and hours were overflowing and passing by in our tour and it was time to take leave of this fascinating watchmaking musem and to return to our hotel.
NOTE:
1) The Swiss watchmaking industry today is concentrated in western Switzerland, in an area formed by the Jura mountains which stretch from Geneva in the south to Basel in the north, called by the Ministry of Tourism the 'Watch Valley'.
2) Swiss watchmaking terminology:
a. 'etablisseur' - a firm that buys the basics parts, assembles them and sell it under it own brand name.
b. 'termineur' - an independendent workshops under contract to a company which supplies the components, then assembles the watches and sells the final product under the required brand name.
c. "ebauche' - a set of sixty parts that makes up most of the internal mechanism of the watch.
Source
It was quite easy to find the museum, as a carillon stands at the entrance to the museum and every fifteen minutes little hammers strike the twelve bells of the carillon, playing lively tunes, according to the season. Truly it is a work of art, but a functioning clock as well, hidden in a stainless steel casing using color, light and sound as it chimes the quarter hour. No need of glasses to read the characters on the digital clock, as the large numerals shine brightly.
The exhibition in the museum was enlightening and quite interesting. We were able to understand that the watch is a very complex item, and it requires a number of quite different skills to take it from the designer's board to the wearer's wrist. It was astonishing to learn that a simple mechanical watch contains roughly 130 components. More complex watches contain hundreds of parts; a complex watch displays much more information than simply the time of day, such as the week and day etc.. Nearly ninety per cent of the watches made in Switzerland are electronic, but mechanical watches are still manufactured.
Traditions plays a great part in the Swiss watch making industry. A good deal of the work is carried out by workshops and small factories, which make the components and to others where the watches are assembled; the company that assembles the basic parts, adding extra components known as 'complications' and sells the final product under its own name. The watches of different brand names can range from from sober classic, through diamond-studded, to cheap and cheerful.
Swiss watchmaking started in the sixteenth century in the city of Geneva developing through the years. More than one hundred clock and watchmakers are recorded as working in this city in 1686 and their overall production amounted to five thousand watches per anum. At the same time, watchmaking also developed in various other places in the Jura mountain area, notably in the towns and cities of Neuchtal, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le locle, Fleurier and Travers.
The development of Swiss watchmaking throughout out the eighteenteenth century followed the commercial outlets throughout the world, despite British competition, which challenged the Swiss for markets. Commercial expansion was in the favor of Swiss watch makers by their relatively low sales price. During the nineteenth century, this advantage was further improved by mechanized production and establishment of small factories. Swiss watchmakers attained a dominant position in the manufacture of watches by having a leading position in technical skills.
The largest center of watchmaking was Geneva, where in 1869, seven thousand skilled workers were involved in the horological industry. Other active workshops in other towns also produced chronometers, precision watches and ordinary watches. The Canton of Vaud in the Joux Valley attained the skill in the production of 'ebuaches' (rough movements) used in the process of making highly complicated watches.
The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the rise of of firms which are well known to this very day. These included Audemars-Piguet, Patek Phillips, Girard-Perregaux, Longines, Omega, Rolex and Ebel. www.swissworld.org
Marc Chagall, French artist coined an appropriate saying, "Time is a river without banks." And for my wife and myself the minutes and hours were overflowing and passing by in our tour and it was time to take leave of this fascinating watchmaking musem and to return to our hotel.
NOTE:
1) The Swiss watchmaking industry today is concentrated in western Switzerland, in an area formed by the Jura mountains which stretch from Geneva in the south to Basel in the north, called by the Ministry of Tourism the 'Watch Valley'.
2) Swiss watchmaking terminology:
a. 'etablisseur' - a firm that buys the basics parts, assembles them and sell it under it own brand name.
b. 'termineur' - an independendent workshops under contract to a company which supplies the components, then assembles the watches and sells the final product under the required brand name.
c. "ebauche' - a set of sixty parts that makes up most of the internal mechanism of the watch.
Source
See the Real Santa in Lapland, Finland
The northernmost part of Finland is called Lapland and is part of the Arctic Circle. As such, it is rich in the culture of Jul, or Christmas. Many of the towns in Lapland have December-centric themes for that very reason. Not only can you find plenty of reindeer in their natural habitat, you can wallow in wonderful Scandinavian foods and treats.
Located in the far north end of the country, you will need to bring plenty of warm winter clothing if you plan to visit Lapland. Snow will no doubt greet you the majority of the year. No worries though. If you get too cold and have seen all you wish to see here, you can simply jump on a train to the southern end of Finland and warm up in Helsinki.
Founded in 1229, Turku is the oldest city in Finland. Turku is also known as Christmas City. This is where the Scandinavian Santa resides when he is not off delivering the presents of the world on Christmas Eve. This is a city rife with history, culture, and lots of ooooh and ahhhh moments.
Beginning in the first week of December, Santa (Joulupukki ) comes down off his high hill of Korvatunturi and makes the rounds of the various villages to kick off the season with tales of festivals past and future. Children of Finland are given Advent Calendars, which contain various surprises hidden behind the doors of each day on the calendar. They are allowed to open them on their respective days and claim their treat.
One place you will want to see is Turku Castle, which dates from the 14th Century and is a must see. It is very large, very impressive, and very romantic. This castle is host to a display of holiday place settings throughout the years since forks and napkins were introduced in the 16th century.
Not into history? Visit Rovaniemi, the Capitol of Lapland, and the spot where rock group Lordi was given a plot of land andSampo Square was renamed the Lordi Square. In case you haven't kept up to date on the Scandinavian rock scene, Lordi were the winners of the 2006 EuroVision competition. They're the ones all dressed up like various monsters.
Right by Rovaneimi is Santa Clause Village... complete with airstrip, restaurants, Jolly Ol' St. Nick, gift shops, hotels, and much more. Oh yes. They have made it very easy for you here. The nice thing is that prices are not outrageously unaffordable for the traveling family on a budget.
In nearby Suomi, you can relive your childhood at Santa Park by visiting Santa's magical grotto. This is a recreation of Santa's 'actual' home in Korvatunturi. Lots of great souvenirs are available here, too, of course.
Riisipuuro (Rice Porridge)
1 quart water
1 1/2 c. rice (long-cooking, "pudding rice" if available)
3 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
Place the rice in hot water, bring to boil and let simmer. Add milk and bring to boil, then let simmer till very soft and sticky, at least 40 minutes. Stir often to avoid scorching. Add salt. Serve either with luumukiisseli or sugar, cinnamon and milk.
Source
Located in the far north end of the country, you will need to bring plenty of warm winter clothing if you plan to visit Lapland. Snow will no doubt greet you the majority of the year. No worries though. If you get too cold and have seen all you wish to see here, you can simply jump on a train to the southern end of Finland and warm up in Helsinki.
Founded in 1229, Turku is the oldest city in Finland. Turku is also known as Christmas City. This is where the Scandinavian Santa resides when he is not off delivering the presents of the world on Christmas Eve. This is a city rife with history, culture, and lots of ooooh and ahhhh moments.
Beginning in the first week of December, Santa (Joulupukki ) comes down off his high hill of Korvatunturi and makes the rounds of the various villages to kick off the season with tales of festivals past and future. Children of Finland are given Advent Calendars, which contain various surprises hidden behind the doors of each day on the calendar. They are allowed to open them on their respective days and claim their treat.
One place you will want to see is Turku Castle, which dates from the 14th Century and is a must see. It is very large, very impressive, and very romantic. This castle is host to a display of holiday place settings throughout the years since forks and napkins were introduced in the 16th century.
Not into history? Visit Rovaniemi, the Capitol of Lapland, and the spot where rock group Lordi was given a plot of land andSampo Square was renamed the Lordi Square. In case you haven't kept up to date on the Scandinavian rock scene, Lordi were the winners of the 2006 EuroVision competition. They're the ones all dressed up like various monsters.
Right by Rovaneimi is Santa Clause Village... complete with airstrip, restaurants, Jolly Ol' St. Nick, gift shops, hotels, and much more. Oh yes. They have made it very easy for you here. The nice thing is that prices are not outrageously unaffordable for the traveling family on a budget.
In nearby Suomi, you can relive your childhood at Santa Park by visiting Santa's magical grotto. This is a recreation of Santa's 'actual' home in Korvatunturi. Lots of great souvenirs are available here, too, of course.
Riisipuuro (Rice Porridge)
1 quart water
1 1/2 c. rice (long-cooking, "pudding rice" if available)
3 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
Place the rice in hot water, bring to boil and let simmer. Add milk and bring to boil, then let simmer till very soft and sticky, at least 40 minutes. Stir often to avoid scorching. Add salt. Serve either with luumukiisseli or sugar, cinnamon and milk.
Source
Friday, November 9, 2007
St. Tropez, France for Beach Lovers
Quickly now: what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of St. Tropez? Is it the masses of rich and famous people that gather here regularly to frolic in the sun or is it the beaches?
If you answered the latter, there is certainly no shame in that, and it is true that this jewel of a city has in fact been the summer and vacation home of more than a few of the world's jet setting elite for quite some time now.
But for an equal number of people, St. Tropez is more about the stunning natural attractions rather than the admittedly impressive celebrities who frequent its shores. The beaches are of course a major part of these natural landmarks, and their sheer majesty and captivating beauty is enough to give even the hottest Hollywood superstars a run for their money!
For the kiddies
As you may have come to expect, there is a wide array of options to choose from in St. Tropez as far as beaches are concerned. If you are planning to take your kids along with you on this trip, you will naturally want to go to any one of the many family-friendly beaches that are around. The Plage de la Bouillabaisse is one of these, and the serene and child-safe waters will provide you and your little ones hours of fun and frolic. Both the Plage des Jumeaus and the Plage des Graniers are equally safe for children of all ages as well, and they have the added attraction of well-appointed playgrounds on the premises.
Playtime for adults
Of course, grownups need to have their own playground to cavort in too, and for that there is the Plage de Pampellone with its vast expanse of sandy beaches stretching up to 3 miles long.
For a bit of fun out of the water, you can go to any number of the several bars and restaurants right by the beach, and if you are in the mood to spend a little-or a lot-of money, there are several shops there that are more than willing to help you do just that! A popular destination for the many tourists who frequent the area, these shops are ideal places to pick up antique treasures as well as interesting curios and souvenirs.
Choices, choices
As impressive as the natural sights of St. Tropez are, they are admittedly made just a little bit more attractive by the stunning array of beauties that walk its beaches at any given time. If you are wondering where these feasts for the eyes come together in perfect balance, look no further than Plage Port Grimaud, where swimsuit-clad beauties vie for attention with their equally awe-inspiring surroundings. Be prepared for a bit of a dilemma however, as you struggle to decide which of these visual attractions you want to pay closer attention to!
Finally, for those of you who wish to walk on the free-spirited side of life, the few clothing optional beaches around may just be the ticket for a fabulous beach experience that you will not soon forget.
Even if you are not particularly enamored of the water and its various associated activities, there is sure to be something in the many beaches of St. Tropez that will keep you enthralled for hours at a time!
How the French People Know You're a Tourist
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