Faremax Blog

Reykjavik

UncleTravelingMatt — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:12:00 GMT

Reykjavik is the furthest north of any capital city in the world, and is only just outside the arctic circle. Staying there are any time of year can be a slightly strange experience for those who are used to more temperate climes. In the middle of winter, Reykjavic gets about four hours of sunlight per day. In the middle of summer, the nights are almost as bright as the days, which can take some getting used to.

But it’s worth it. There are a number of unique sites to see, and a lot of them are connected (directly or indirectly) with the climate and the ways that the locals have learned to cope with it! One of Iceland’s most popular destinations is the Blue Lagoon spa. An unusual nearby lava formation provides superheated water that drives a geothermal power plant, and the after that the warm but cooling waters are pumped into the lagoon, making it one of the biggest and best bathing pools in the world.

The same use of hot water has created the Nauthólsvík, a rather balmy beach that is distinct from Iceland’s other beaches because it won’t freeze you solid in ten seconds flat. Then there’s the Pearl, a large public exhibition centre and market built around the base of a cluster of huge hot-water tanks. The Pearl also commands spectacular panoramic views of the city, and one of the smaller water-tanks has recently been emptied and turned into the Saga Museum of Icelandic history. If it’s history your after, you won’t ever feel much closer to it than by visiting the Reykjavic Museum’s excavated Viking longhouse right in the heart of the city.

On the plus side, the city isn’t actually as cold as you might expect – it’s pretty chilly, but the average low of about 2.7 Celsius (37 Fahrenheit) isn’t anywhere near as extreme as the latitude suggests, mainly because the city is right in the path of the Gulf Stream. Reykjavik’s climate is part of its attraction, and if you’re after a great time, but are sick of melting ice cream and sunburn, it might be the place for you! It’s a great place to see in the New Year, because a celebratory provision in Icelandic law makes it legal for just about anyone to buy fireworks and set them off on New Year’s Eve. A large percentage of the population is delighted at the oppurtunity, and the city traditionally goes a little bit firework-mad, leading to one of the biggest and most anarchic firework displays in the world.

40,000 years of life

UncleTravelingMatt — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:09:00 GMT

It’s thought that there have been people living where Sydney is now for about forty thousand years. For most of that time it wouldn’t have made a great destination for the tourist, but these days it’s of the most beautiful and modern coastal cities in the world, and the perfect gateway to all of Australia’s many marvellous sights. The founders of Sydney thought that the vast expanses of picturesque but harsh outback around the harbour were essentially worthless, so for decades the property prices in Sydney were rock-bottom! Any and all comers could buy up a huge tract of land for a pittance, and the result is that today Sydney has a very low population density by the standards of a city so large.

This might cause a few problems for city administration in years to come, but it also ensures that almost every part of Sydney is spacious, clean and gorgeous to look at! The best places to just go for a stroll and soak up some atmosphere are the Royal Botanic Garden and Centennial Park, although of course the harbour itself is one of the city’s most breathtaking sights. The world-famous and iconic Sydney Opera House is actually home to five different theatres which allows for an amazing variety of performances and shows throughout the year. If on the other hand you’re in the mood for some retail therapy, Sydney’s just about the best place in the hemisphere – it’s particularly worth checking out the Queen Victoria Building and the Strand Arcade.

California is fine, and Hawaii has its moments, but ask any surfer and they’ll tell you that the beast beaches on Earth are in and around Sydney Harbour. Even if you don’t feel like grabbing a board taking on the waves yourself, Sydney is right at the centre of some of the most visually stunning coastline in the world and if all you spend your days in Sydney doing is loafing around catching some rays, you won’t regret it! If you’re looking for something to do in the evenings, it’s impossible to ever get tired to exploring the Rocks – a vibrant district of cafes, restaurants and eccentric souvenir stands, all nestling around the foot of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The City of Dreams

UncleTravelingMatt — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:49:00 GMT

There aren’t many cities in the world that can boast as much to see and do as Los Angeles, and there aren’t many districts with as much going on as Hollywood. Crossing the district boundary is like entering a whole other world – one which sticks in our minds because it’s appeared in front of us on the silver screen a million times over. All the myths and legends of the movie business are concentrated into what is, after all, only a small part of town, and it’s difficult to walk five paces without coming across something that’ll give a flutter of recognition or even childlike glee. Exploring Hollywood can be odd – there are so many well-known sights that you’ll probably find the experience strangely familiar, and yet the fact that you’re there walking around amongst the world-famous landmarks can make it all seem slightly dreamlike and unreal!

If you do take a trip to Tinseltown, try to keep your feet on the ground! There are a lot of great restaurants nearby, but if you go into one hoping to catch a glimpse of an A-list movie star, you might end up disappointed! Hollywood has had a huge pull for tourists for almost as long as it’s been luring wanabee-actors, and a lot of what you’ll see is set up with the same intentions as any other tourist trap in America. Star-spotting tours on open-topped buses aren’t really the best that Hollywood has to offer! If you’re anything like me, you’ll get a much bigger thrill out of taking to the streets on foot and getting a first-hand look at some of the iconic sights – by, for example, following the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, dropping in on Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre or the famous Capitol Records building, and generally soaking up the glitzy ambience.

But if you want to get up close and personal with the magic of the movies, nothing beats a tour of the backlot at Fox or Universal Studios. This was where the motion picture industry got started over a hundred years ago, when the lots weren’t much more than empty stretches of dusty ground. Nowadays, the studios boast enough visitor attractions to rival small amusement parks, with movie-themed rides and, of course, complete movie sets both classic and modern. The studios aren’t just a tourist trap, though – the tours will take you right through the heart of the business while it’s still in operation, so it’s the only way to get an authentic look behind the scenes – unless you manage to make it in the movie business yourself, of course…

Oslo: taking the helm

UncleTravelingMatt — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:00:00 GMT

The tourist trade has crept into almost every city in Europe in the last few decades, as far as even the smallest Mediterranean island or the most remote Romanian village. But even though the desire for tourist revenue has transformed some of Europe’s finest attractions into high-price amusement park rides, there are still one or two well-kept secrets around. One of them, funnily enough is the Norwegian capital!

Oslo’s resistance to the tacky excesses of more popular European tourist destinations means that a great deal of the city’s marvellous heritage is still on display in its natural state, and the visitor can enjoy the city’s sights just as much as the natives do! Even a brief wander around will leave you in no doubt that this is a city of contrasts; a magnificent steel-and-glass skyline, modern to the point of being futuristic, rises about some of the best 19^th-century neo-classical architecture on the continent.

There’s been a settlement where Oslo stands for over a thousand years, and many museums of history and culture commemorate this – including the excellent Vikingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum) and Edvard Munch Museum - but if art, history and architecture aren’t what floats your boat, the city also has a thriving nightlife. The riverside Grunelokka district is home to most of the city’s classiest and liveliest restaurants and clubs – and you can tell because it’s where a great many of the citizens of Oslo all congregate on their nights out. The district is also where you can find the spectacular Den Norske Opera, which puts on a great variety of thrilling performances that will appeal to anyone, not just the touring opera lover.

There’s a quote from Henrik Ibsen that seems appropriate - "A community is like a ship, everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm." Enjoying Oslo is all about getting involved, and the city’s fiercely individualist attitude means that it’ll accept no excuse for not flinging yourself head-first into whatever is going on! Oslo’s mad for sports all year round, so winter visitors should follow the locals down the city’s huge artificial ski slopes and summer visitors are advised to check out the harbour’s huge 1000-boat sailing regatta, if not hire a boat and take the rudder themselves.

The Bay of Naples

UncleTravelingMatt — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:56:00 GMT

The 22^nd August 79 A.D. would have been a very bad day to be visiting the city of Pompeii or the town of Herculaneum. In the course of that day and the day after it, the two Roman settlements were famously destroyed and buried under volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of the nearby Mount Vesuvius. At the time, news of the destruction would have spread to every corner of the Roman Empire, although as the centuries wore on the locations of the towns were forgotten. Pompeii and Herculaneum became time capsules, buried under the Vesuvian ash until workmen happened across the ruins one thousand six hundred years later. The historical, cultural and archaeological value of the find was not lost on the inhabitants of eighteenth-century Naples, and luckily for us, the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum survive to this day.

Vesuvius is still active, and it will probably remain active for thousands of years yet, but thankfully modern Vulcanologists are a bit better at seeing eruptions coming than the ancient Pompeiians were – which means that the twenty-first century is a great time to visit the Bay of Naples! Naples itself is one of the great jewels of the Mediterranean, a wonderfully-preserved maze of streets ranging from huge broad plazas to tiny narrow alleys that just beg to be explored. A mixture of architecture from the last two thousand years makes this a must-see for anyone who’s passing through or even near the Campania region. A thriving modern nightlife that seamlessly mixes with traditional street-festivals makes a night out in Naples one of the best times you can have on mainland Europe, all set against the backdrop of a magnificent medieval harbour and the forbidding fortifications of the Castel Nuovo, the Sant’Elmo fortresss and the island Castel dell’Ovo. For the best views in the area, walk to the summit of Mount Vesuvius. A bus will get you half way up, and you have to do the last stretch yourself, but it’s more than worth it. In front of you the bay stretches away magnificently to a distant horizon, and behind you there’s a steep, horrifying slope that leads down into the impossibly deep crater of the volcano.

Pompeii and Herculaneum themselves could, of course, occupy a visitor for days or weeks. A small branch railway exists to take visitors along the bay to the ruins – it’s a short journey which is worthwhile in itself for the idyllic view. The ruined towns are one of Europe’s most beautiful, humbling and eerie sights. The huge networks of empty streets are perfectly preserved, and in places the solid style and uniform construction of the Roman architecture seem strangely modern. The most macabre sights of all are the sets of reconstructed eruption victims - the ash that fell on Pompeii hardened around the corpses of its suffocating citizens, and their bodies rotted away to nothing in the centuries that followed. The cavities left deep within the solidified ash were later filled with plaster and excavated by enterprising archaeologists, leaving only plaster casts that show exactly how the unfortunate Romans died. A grim but fascinating sight.