Prague travel

by: Mansi gupta

Prague is a well- known old city of Europe that is a host to many tourists all round the year. The aura of the place speaks for itself. Prague is the capital of Czech Republic whose traditional and archaic European ambience is too appealing than ever imagined. Czech is deemed to be the heart of Europe and ahs a population of more than ten million people out of

which 1.3 million are nestled peacefully in the city of Prague.

The Sites Worth Gazing

The Charles Bridge at Prague is a host to many visitors all round the year. This bridge was completed and made public in 1400. It displays grotesque architecture and river views that keep the visitors engaged especially during the summer season. There is also the eminent Wenceslas Square hat is deemed to be the heart of Prague and that grounds some of
the most wonderful restaurants, shops and pubs in Prague. The Old Town center is also a place worth visiting in Prague. The center has on parade some of the marvelous historical sites like the Old town Hall and the Astronomical clock where the visitors get to see the land from the 60 meter elevated tower.

Getting around in Prague is quite simple and convenient. Besides the natural beauty that the place is blessed with, the human technology does not score less. There are trams, metros and buses to explore the charismatic place.

Prague is the land of wonderful museums. There is the National Technical Museum, which puts to display old cars, bikes, planes, trains, cameras, watches and so forth. The best part is the museum itself that is a historical building of 1930's. The Mozart Museum is worth appreciating. The music lovers can have a gala time here for the place offers historical music scores, letters and musical instruments that are exclusive and great to enjoy. Specifically for the artists is meant the Museum of Decorative Arts that presents Czech porcelain, crystal and wood -carvings. Not to overlook is the Wax Museum that has proved its worth across the globe. Apart from these there are many good museums and art galleries that are evenly spread across the city.

Pargue also has some of the magnificent castles like the Karlstejn Castle that was redesigned in 19th century and which is one of the most photogenic castles known so far. Close to the castle place, are sold exotic Bohemia crystals that the tourists often love to take back home. The Konopiste Castle is known for its French style architecture from 13th century. It is located about 44 kilometers southeast of Prague and is thrown open for visitors from May to August. The Krivolat is a 13th century castle that boasts a prison, torture chambers and one of the biggest non-church Gothic Halls in the Czech Republic. Prague is an ideal place for all the music devotees for they can relish the classical concerts at the Sate Opera and at the Rudolfinum or the Municipal House. The Prague Autumn Festival is a big music event that offers lots of classical concerts and music. The Prague Spring festival is famous all over Europe. It is a liked cultural event that goes on from 12th May to 3rd of June every year.

The nightlife of Prague is thrilling and active with music in the air and loads of pubs, discos and bars cuddled in the city. Besides these there are many other attractions that make Prague a perfect holiday destination.

About the Author
Mansi gupta writes about prague travel topics.

Netherland - Land of Most Beautiful Flowers and Windmills

The Netherlands, on the coast of the North Sea, is twice the size of New Jersey. Part of the great plain of north and west Europe, the Holland has maximum dimensions of 190 by 160 mi (360 by 257 km) and is low and flat except in Limburg in the southeast, where whatever hills rise up to 322 m (1056 ft). About half the country's area is below seafaring level, making the famous Dutch dikes a requisite for the use of such of the land. Reclamation of land from the seafaring through dikes has continued through recent times. All drainage reaches the North Sea, and the principal rivers—Rhine, Maas (Meuse), and Schelde—have their sources right the country.

After centuries of foreign rules by the Romans, Franks, Burgunds, Habsburgs, and Spaniards in 1648 the Dutch Republic became a free and sovereign state. During the 17th century, also called the 'Golden Age', the Republic became increasingly prosperous and a major colonial power, thanks largely to the Dutch East Bharat Company (VOC). In 1815, the northern and southern Holland – today's Holland and Belgique – were combined to form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830 Belgique seceded and formed a removed kingdom. The Holland remained neutral in World War I but was invaded in World War II by Germany in May 1940 and filled for fivesome years.Today the Holland is a modern, industrial nation and the ordinal largest exporter of food. The country was a origination member of NATO and the EU, and participated in the launching of the Euro in 1999

Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps (German: Schweizer Alpen, French: Alpes suisses, Italian: Alpi svizzere, Romansh: Alps svizras) are the central portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position they are also known as the Central Alps.

The highest summit in the Swiss Alps is the Dufourspitze, at 4,634 metres (15,202 ft) near the Swiss-Italian border. The highest mountain which lies entirely on Swiss territory is the Dom, at 4,545 metres (14,911 ft). Other main summits can be found in the list of mountains of Switzerland.

Mont Dolent, Mont Blanc

Introduction

The Alps cover 61% of Switzerland's surface area (41,285 km²) thus making her the second most alpine country after Austria. Despite the fact that Switzerland covers only 13.2% of the Alps total area (190,600 km²), many alpine four-thousanders (48 of 82) are located in the Swiss Alps and almost the totality of the other are within 20 km of the country's border. The glaciers in the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1230 km² (3% of the Swiss territory), this represent 44% of the total glaciated area in the Alps (2800 km²).

Geography

The Swiss Alps are situated south of the Swiss plateau and north of the national border. The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are (from west to east): France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.

Subdivision

Like the Alps the Swiss Alps can be divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from the lake Bodensee to the Splügen Pass (in Graubünden).

Western Alps

Map of the western Swiss Alps
From west to east, south of Rhône and Rhine:

• Chablais Alps*: Canton of Valais, separated from the Mont Blanc Massif by the Arve, the Dents du Midi are the highest summits.
• Graian Alps (Mont Blanc Massif): Canton of Valais, separated from the Pennine Alps by the Col Ferret. The Aiguille d'Argentière is the highest summit on the Swiss side.
• Pennine Alps (Valais Alps): Canton of Valais, separated from the Lepontine Alps by the Simplon Pass, contains the highest Swiss mountains, the Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa group, the Dom, the Weisshorn and the famous Matterhorn (38 summits over 4000 m).
• Lepontine Alps: Cantons of Valais, Ticino, Graubünden, separated from the Oberhalbstein Range by the Splügen Pass, contains the St. Gotthard Pass.

From west to east, north of Rhône and Rhine:

• Bernese Alps*: Cantons of Bern,Valais, Vaud, Fribourg, separated from the Urner Alps by the Grimsel Pass, contains the Jungfrau and the north face of Eiger (9 summits over 4000 m).
• Urner Alps*: Cantons of Uri, Bern, Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, separated from the Glarus Alps by the Reuss River.
• Glarus Alps*: Cantons of Uri, Glarus, Graubünden, separated from the Appenzell Alps by the Seeztal.
• Appenzell Alps*: Cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen.

Eastern Alps

Map of the eastern Swiss Alps

All following mountain ranges are situated in Graubünden, they are part of the Central Eastern Alps except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps.

From west to east, north of Mera and Inn river:

• Oberhalbstein Range
• Plessur Range*
• Albula Range
• Rätikon*
• Silvretta*
• Samnaun Alps*

From west to east, south of Mera and Inn river:

• Bregaglia Range
• Bernina Range (contains the easternmost summit over 4000 m: the Piz Bernina)
• Livigno Range
• Ortler Alps*
• Sesvenna Range

Travel and tourism

Despite the tourism industry, Zermatt has retained much of its traditional character

In some large resorts, like Cran-Montana, the tourism industry deeply affected the landscape

Tourism in the Swiss Alps began with the first ascents of the main peaks of the Alps (Jungfrau in 1811, Piz Bernina in 1850, Dufourspitze in 1855, Matterhorn in 1856, Dom in 1858, Weisshorn in 1861) mostly by British mountain climbers accompanied by the local guides. The construction of facilities for tourists started in the mid nineteenth century with the building of hotels and mountain huts (creation of the Swiss Alpine Club in 1863) and the opening of mountain train lines (Mount Rigi in 1873, Gornergrat in 1898). 1912 was the year of inauguration of the Jungfraubahn which leads to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch.

Summer tourism

Switzerland enjoys a network of 62,000 km well-maintained trails among which 23,000 are located in mountainous areas. Many mountains attract a large number of alpinists from around the world, especially the 4000 metres summits and the great north faces. Many tourists also love to take nature hike and photographers love the look of the Swiss Alps. The large winter resorts are also the most appreciated destinations in summer.

Winter tourism

The major destinations for skiing and other winter sports are located in Valais, Bernese Oberland and Graubünden. The most visited places are:

• Davos
• Grindelwald
• St. Moritz
• Zermatt (all year round ski resort)

Other large winter resorts are:

• Adelboden
• Crans Montana
• Engelberg
• Flims
• Gstaad
• Klosters
• Saas Fee (all year round ski resort)
• Verbier
• Wengen

Transportation

The Glacier Express on the Landwasser Viaduct, Albula Range
The Swiss Alps and Switzerland enjoy an extensive transportation network. Every mountain village can be reached by public transport, the main companies are:

• Federal Railway
• Rhaetian Railway
• Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
• Golden Pass
• PostBus

Most of mountain regions are within 3 hours of travel from Switzerland’s main cities and their respective airport. The Engadin Valley in Graubünden is usually 4 to 6 hours away from the large cities but the train travel itself with the famed Glacier Express or Bernina Express is considered as an attraction. The Samedan Airport near St. Moritz at an altitude of 1,707 metres (5,600 ft) is the highest in Europe.

The crossing of the Alps is a key issue at national and international levels, as the European continent is sharply divided by them. Since the beginnings of industrialization, Switzerland constantly had to improve its transalpine network. It began in 1882, by the Gotthard Rail Tunnel and was followed in 1906 by the Simplon Tunnel and more recently, in 2007, by the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. The 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel is slated to be open in 2016, it will finally provide a direct flat rail link through the Alps.

Gallery

Jungfrau, Bernese Alps Weissmies from Hohsaas, Pennine Alps

The north face of Eiger, Bernese Alps Matterhorn, Pennine Alps

Aiguille d'Argentière above the Saleina Glacier, Mont Blanc Massif

Ebenalp, Appenzell Alps North of Finsteraarhorn, Bernese Alps

Unteraar Glacier, Bernese Alps Piz Bernina, Bernina Range

Lauterbrunnental, Bernese Alps Bachalpsee, Bernese Alps

Lötschental, Bernese Alps The Klein Matterhorn cable car, Pennine Alps

The Grand Combin, Pennine Alps Stein Glacier from Susten Pass, Urner Alps

Mont Dolent, Mont Blanc Massif Val Roseg, Bernina Range