Jungfrau Top Secrets Photo Contest – Win a Holiday in Wengen

The Jungfrau Region of Switzerland where the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau and the Shilthorn Mountain Peaks are split by the Lauterbrunnen Valley of Waterfalls, a land of awe inspiring Swiss Alps landscapes, where the Jungfraujoch Mountain train and mystical mountain lakes and secluded picnic spots offer an opportunity for an enterprising photobug to win a week-long holiday for 2 in the region. Share a photo of your “Top Secret” of the Jungfrau Region and win great prizes. Post or send them your “Top Secret” photo of the Jungfrau Region by the end of October and with some luck and a bit of social media magic, you could win a holiday for two in one of the exclusive Wengen Classic Hotels, a prize which includes half-board meals and a fondue dinner. Also included is a trip up to the exciting World of James Bond on the Schilthorn Summit – Piz Gloria Rotating Restaurant, and the signature a James Bond 007 Breakfast.

The Top Secrets contest works by uploading a photo from the area. The photograph that gets with the most “votes” wins the trip. Check out the Jungfrau Region Facebook page for details and rules. The photos need to be your own. The online contest is through Facebook and a valid Facebook account is required to participate. The promotions provider gets to collect your list of friends, likes and profile information from Facebook. Jungfrau Region Facebook Page

Landslide Accident on Swiss Rheatian Railway

AP Photo – Arno Balzarini

The amazing Rhaetian Railway route of narrow gauge track between St Moritz and Chur, the UNESCO World Heritage route of both the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express scenic trains of Switzerland suffered a rare landslide accident on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, when a rockslide between two tunnels in the steep terrain hit the cars of a regional train near Tiefencastel.

About 140 people were on the train according to the AP, when the slide of rocks hit the second car just behind the engine, throwing it off the tracks, sliding about 30 feet down the slope, only kept from falling down the deep ravine by a thick stand of trees. Five passengers were seriously hurt in the accident with another six having slight injuries, according to Graubunden police investigators. The injured included 8 Swiss passengers, 2 Japanese tourists and 1 Australian. Air rescue helicopters aided in the removal of the injured as the accident site was not near a road.

The route is one of the most scenic and popular of the Scenic Switzerland Train Routes, known for its high viaducts and turning tunnels through the granite mountains. Accidents are rare on the Swiss railways, though in 2010, the Glacier Express derailed on a different section of the 8 hour journey of that train through the Swiss Alps. Switzerland’s rail system otherwise has a very safe record as one of the most efficient railways in the world, despite the difficult landscape terrain.

Tall Ships Festival 2014 – Port of Los Angeles

Festival of Sail – 5 Day Family Waterfront Event in San Pedro – August 20-24

In days past when the route to the gold of California was around the horn on South America or from the far shores of the China Sea, the sleepy pueblo of Los Angeles and its then silt filled natural harbor at San Pedro would see tall-masted sailing ships, of cutters and barks dock ashore for supplies for the last leg of the journey to the north. Soon, one of the world’s busiest shipping harbors will see the sails of tall ships return.

For five days this summer from August 20 – 24 the Port of Los Angeles will be hosting the Tall Ships® Festival along the LA Waterfront. The event will showcase more than a dozen majestic international and home grown sailing ships. The event starts with the opening-day “Grand Parade of Sail”, presenting the ships in their full rig glory, and this year will be led by the curious sight of world’s largest floating Rubber Ducky, an art project of a multi-story floating replica of the bathtub toy. The five day long event will offer a variety of family-friendly activities and entertainments from boat tours to pirate sword fights, and live music to beer and wine tasting held run along the San Pedro portion of the LA Waterfront, from the Cruise Ship center and Battle Ship Iowa to the point. The Tall Ships only visit Southern California intermittently, the last time was 2008, so this is the time to experience them.

The Port of Los Angeles will be just one of three West Coast ports to host the Tall Ships® this summer. Among the vessels in the line-up will be two square-rigged  sister ships recognized as  the Official Tall Ships of Los Angeles – The Irving Johnson and The Exy Johnson, the  Spirit of Dana Point, an accurate replica of an American Revolution era privateer, the schooners, Curlew and Bill of Rights and Amazing Grace. Ticketholders for the festival events will also be able to tour San Pedro’s historic Battleship USS Iowa and the WWII Victory Ship the S.S. Lane Victory.

The Tall Ships® Festival’s Grand Parade of Sail opening on August 20 will start at approximately 2 pm as the featured ships will enter the breakwater of Los Angeles Harbor, led by the more than six-story tall Rubber Duck built by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. The floating urban art installation has been featured in ports and harbors from Hong Kong & Sydney, to Amsterdam, London and Azerbaijan. The Rubber Duck will be on display throughout the Festival.

The Festival will include tours of the ships, cannon battles, an authentic privateer encampment, real sword fights, as well as knot tying demonstrations and sail rigging training. Artists from CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles will also be on hand to help children create hand-made, one-of-a-kind treasures, like rubber duck hats.  Live music – from country to rock – will entertain throughout event. More than 30 regional food trucks will serve up their savory delights alongside the craft  beer and wine tasting venues.

To avoid long ticket lines, organizers recommend that Festival attendees buy tickets in advance online . The price of a “Single-day Dockside Viewing Festival Pass” is $7; a Multi-day On-Board Ship Tour Pass, which includes ship boarding and tours, is $19.  Children aged 4 years or younger are free, except for day sails, cannon battle or pirate battle sails. Tickets for these more specialized ship-related experiences can be purchased online as well.

Go to TicketFly.com or call 877-4FLY-TIX to purchase advance tickets for both the event and parking. Once purchased, event tickets are not refundable, exchangeable or transferable. Pre-paid parking must be purchased online, not at the event site. The Tall Ships® Festival LA is presented by the Port of Los Angeles and Draw Events and will take place rain or shine, but hey, it’s LA!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Walt Disney Meets James Bond

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Gen II at Beaulieu Motor Museum

I recently had a chance to watch one of the classic family movies from the 1960s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, with the perspective of time as well as having traveled to some of the places associated with the film to make some curious connections between the famous film spy and Walt Disney. Some of the connections become obvious when you pull back the hood of the vehicle and look at the working parts.

Firstly, the movie of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was produced by Cubby Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond movies, based on a book by the author of the James Bond books, Ian Fleming. From there the coincidences grow clearer with the casting of Dick Van Dyke to begin with and the hiring of the Sherman Brothers, who wrote the music for Mary Poppins, to write the songs for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The musical numbers sound very similar in tone, and one number of Dick Van Dyke’s dancing with a stick at a carnival, virtually identical to him dancing with chimney sweeps on London rooftops in Mary Poppins.

Neuschwanstein Bavaria – “Baron Bomburst’s Vulgaria”

The casting of Gert Frobe as the buffoon baron in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is fairly obvious, but Frobe had also just come off as one of James Bond’s greatest villains, Auric Goldfinger. Frobe spent much of his English language movie career as the comic German buffoon, hanging from airplanes in “Those Magnificent Men in the Flying Machines” and comic relief riding a donkey with banging pots on D-Day in the oh-so earnest “The Longest Day”. Curiously, though the name for the Chitty movie came from the book “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – The Magic Car”, “Mr. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang” was a nickname for James Bond from an Italian film critic and the title of a John Barry theme song written for “Thunderball” not used in the movie.

When the flying car of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies to the fictional land of “Vulgaria” and the castle of Frobe’s “Baron Bomburst” it is the castle of Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria where the car lands. The fairytale spires of the faux castle built by Bavaria’s “mad” King Ludwig II, was such an icon it inspired Walt Disney’s design of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at his Disneyland park. A number of exterior scenes were filmed at the castle and its nearby lake, while the village scenes with the child catcher were filmed much farther north in the storybook medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber on Germany’s Romantic Road.

A number of prop cars of the Chitty Chitty flying car were built for the film, for flying scenes, water scenes and driving scenes. The cars now live in different car museums, two in England, at Cars of the Stars in Keswick North England, and one at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu on the English south coast.

RMS Titanic in Tap Shoes – Titanic Dance!

Since the anniversary events of 2012, Titanic Belfast has won a new award. Located at the Belfast dock of the Harland and Wolff shipyard where RMS Titanic was built more than 100 years ago, the iconic six-floor attraction of angular reflective sheeting features nine interpretive and interactive galleries that explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of the famous “unsinkable”  ocean liner.

The Titanic story’s relationship to Northern Ireland has now even inspired a spectacular all-new Irish dance show sensation from the folks that brought us the River Dance. Titanic Dance, a stage extravaganza retelling of the Titanic story with tap shoes and songs had its world premiere in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry in May, and is working on a world tour. Titanic Dance presents the story of the world’s most famous ship from its beginning in the Belfast shipyard to its tragic loss in the Atlantic Ocean. With stars from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames behind its creation, the new show is already getting standing ovations.

Principal dancer and former Lord of the Dance star Raymond Sweeney said: “People love the Titanic story and always want more of it. Titanic Dance offers drama, romance, triumph and tragedy, as well as the finest Irish dancers telling its story.” The show has been choreographed by world-class dancers Louise Hayden and James Keegan under Raymond’s creative direction.  Maybe this will add a new phase to the lexicon along with “rearranging the deck chairs” or “fiddling while Rome burns” – “dancing while the ship sinks”… Titanic Dance

World War I – Belgium Centennial Anniversaries 2014

100 Year Commemorations in Wallonia and Brussels by Train

The year 2014 marks the centennial anniversary of the start of World War I. For Britain a number of ceremonies and memorials will be taking place, just a two hour train ride from London on the Eurostar to Brussels. The German Army crossed the border into Belgium on August 4^th of 1914, with the first major battle taking place in the city of Liege. The fight lasted for 12 days before Liege fell to the German advance, beginning a four year long story of blood, glory and tragedy. Celebrations and memorials will be held all across Europe, with a number in the Wallonia region of Belgium and in Brussels. To commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Liege, His majesty King Phillipe of Belgium and the Belgian Federal Government have invited the President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the President of France, Francois Holland as well as other heads of state to attend memorials in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium.

The state dignitaries will be attending the anniversary commemoration ceremony in Liege at the Memorial Interallies on the 4^th of August 4th. This monument was erected in 1925 by the International Federation of Allied Ex-Servicemen to honor Belgium’s sacrifice during the War. The memorial complex is composed of several monuments representing eight different nations; Italy, France, Romania, Spain, Greece, Great Britain, Poland, and Russia who participated and sacrificed in the war which was supposed to end wars. In addition to this memorial, the French government also gave the Legion of Honor to the city of Liege in 1914 in recognition of their resistance.

Prince Harry will join his brother William and Catherine at the St. Symphorien Military Cemetery Memorial also on the 4^th to represent the United Kingdom. This cemetery is located near the city of Mons, where the first battle fought by the British Army took place on August 23rd-24th, 1914. The cemetery is unique in that British, Canadian, as well as German soldiers are buried together there. The first British soldier killed during the war, Private John Parr and the last Commonwealth soldier killed, Private Gordon Price, are both buried at St Symphorien.

In Brussels, the Royal Army Museum is commemorating the First World War with special exhibits continuing through 2014 until April 26, 2015. The exhibition offers an examination of the wars which left Europe battered.. The weapons of war and objects of everyday life during the occupation of Belgium Belgian is an important feature of the exhibition. Discover through authentic artifacts, testimonials and multimedia and film presentations how this conflict has profoundly influenced the history of the 20th century.

In Stavelot near Spa, the Museum of the Abbey de Stavelot presents the images of 1914 in the form of the photographic inspiration of the particular Belgian art of the Comic Strip. The “Once Upon A Time in 1914” exhibition centers around the comic strip made by nine cartoonists from Brussels and Wallonia. It tells the story of a lady discovering nine photographs dating back to 1914. The pictures belonged to her grandfather, a former war photographer. Each of the images deal with a different theme, from a day in the life to resistance to occupation, taking place in the different towns of Wallonia, Liege, Mons and Brussels. The Stavelot Museum exhibition runs until November 16, 2014.

Over Christmas of 1914 something quite remarkable happened in Comines-Warneton in Walloon. In what is now known as the Christmas Truce, a ceasefire between English and German troops across the soggy trenches resulted in a temporary halt in the firing for the holidays. Soldiers on opposite side who had been shooting at each other, for a brief lull exchanged gifts, sang Christmas carols, and were even friendly enough to play a game of soccer. Author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called it “one human episode amid the atrocities which have stained the memory of war.” In the  carnage of the years which followed, the event would not happen again, until 100 years later when the Christmas Truce will be commemorated by the UEFA on December 17th, 2014 with a reenactment of the soccer match. If traveling by train, a Benelux rail pass will allow visits to all of these sites. More at Visit Belgium.

Ireland Craft Brewery Tour – Brewery Hops

Ireland Brews Up a Storm of Craft Beer on the Southern Coast

In the last year alone, an explosion of craft breweries have appeared on the Emerald isle, producing quality, flavorful and unique brews, as if the leprechauns have become suddenly thirsty. A baker’s dozen of 13 new breweries have opened bringing the total on the island up to 35, each with a different brew and their own to tell and one of the best ways to sampling these artisan hand-crafted beers is on a Brewery Hops of Ireland three or five-day holiday tour. The tour starts and finishes in Dublin, with small groups visiting several established and emerging micro-breweries on a route south to Waterford and Cork for the shorter tour, and continuing on too Galway for the longer tour. And the best of all, you don’t have to worry about driving!

Ireland has long been known for its most famous brew Guinness which you can visit while in Dublin at the Guinness Storehouse Tour, or the long standing red ale of Kilkenny which can be sampled on your own at the Smithwicks Abbey Brewery. But to discover the new varieties and fresh tales of beer inspiration, this guided tour stops at 6 to 10 breweries for a visit and look behind the label to the see the skill, love and enthusiasm which makes each beer distinct. And of course there’s a chance to sample the variety of red, golden, and dark brews.

Included are visits to O’ Hara’s Brewery, Ireland’s largest craft brewer situated in the heart of the country’s hop and malt-growing ‘Barrow Valley’ region in Carlow, where each beer is crafted using classic brewing methods to create the traditional Irish beers styles. You can meet the brewing team and learn the brewing process. The famous Kilbeggan distillery, home of the oldest working still in the country, is also on the tour, as well as the White Gypsy Brewery of Templemore, one of Ireland’s most progressive independent breweries. Some of the newest breweries on the tour include Metalman Brewing, whose pale ale was voted best beer in Ireland at the 2013 Beoir Beer Awards, the multi-award winning Galway Hooker, and the Blacks of Kinsale which opened last year.

But it’s not just about the beer. The tours are led by Mia Tobin of Brewery Hops, offering a traveling experience embracing Irish history, culture, music and food while travelling through some of Ireland’s most scenic areas. There is time between tipples at the brewery stops to visit ancient ruins, small coastal villages and the historic city of Cork with its famous English market, and for those on the longer five-day tour, a chance to explore the magnificent Cliffs of Moher in County Clare and the sights of beautiful Galway. As well as the beer sampling, there are also artisan food tastings, like a visit to the Burren Smokehouse near the Burren Brewery and, on the last day, a gourmet lunch at White Gypsy Brewery.  Overnights hotels are in small, boutique accommodations, while evenings with the group are mostly spent in local pubs or eateries enjoying traditional Irish music and the local craic. The Brew Hops can also arrange for private group tours with golfing or other activities. Visit Brewery Hops Tour Thanks Ireland Tourism

Lake Geneva Launches New Mobile Travel App

The Tourism office for the Lake Geneva Region of southern Switzerland (Vaud) is inaugurating a new mobile phone app for iOS and Android smartphones. This intuitive and innovative app is offered for free as a promotional tool for the regions and promises users a groundbreaking system to customize recommendations for places to visit and things to do, sent to the user in real time.

The app works like an interactive travel guide. After a few questions regarding the traveler’s interests, and taking into account environmental elements and geo location, the app offers recommendations personalized for the user.

The program also includes a map of the Lake Geneva region so the visitor can locate points of interests listed by category. The map can also be activated in “augmented reality” mode so users can view local sites virtually. The app has the ability to send notifications when the user is approaching a point of interest they might be interested in, so they can enjoy the beautiful landscape views while being notified of what sites and activities are in the nearby area. The application currently has a set of six pre-determined  itineraries to guide users on a tour of the key sites of the region’s different areas, with points of interest and start and arrival points marked on the map. A calendar of events and an on-line reservation system are also accessible.

The Vaud: Guide App is free to download and is available in English, French and German and English, and is available from the App Store and Google Play. Once installed, it can be used offline (except for online reservations), so you can avoid roaming costs. To download the Vaud:Guide app for iPhone and Android, go to: Appmobile Lake Geneva Region 

The Peaceful Revolution and The Fall of the Berlin Wall 2014

Berlin Wall Anniversary Events in Leipzig and Berlin

Berlin Wall Memorial

The year 2014 has an extra special meaning in Germany. Marking the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, one of the most defining and memorable events in the country’s history. The fall of the socialist GDR happened almost suddenly, unexpectedly. Most everyone has images of the fall of Berlin Wall, normal citizens in a frenzy of freedom, hacking at the former concrete barrier between east and west, tearing pieces of the graffitied cement in the glare of lights on the night of the 9^th of November 1989. But the fall began with resistance demonstrations in the city of Leipzig, now called the peaceful revolution.

Almost exactly one month before on Monday, the 9^th October, following a prayer for peace in the city’s historic St. Nicholas Church, for the first time in GDR history, almost 70,000 people peacefully demonstrated in the square, calling out “Wir sind das Volk” (“We are the People”) and “Keine Gewalt” (“No violence”). The Monday demonstrations remained peaceful and set the course of a divided nation’s history.  On the 9^th of November, Günter Schabowski, an East German government official, thinking to assuage unrest announced that “Permanent relocations can be done through all border checkpoints between the GDR (East Germany) into the FRG (West Germany) or West Berlin.” His intent was to calm the demonstrations, not end socialist control, but Berliners hesitantly approached the border, and crossed it. Armed guards on the wall could have opened fire with machine guns, but instead stood by and watched. The GDR collapsed, almost overnight in historical terms – see Stasi Museum.

Now a quarter century on, a unified Germany is inviting visitors to experience a variety of events, exhibitions and historic celebrations in the principal cities of the former east where the seminal events took place, Leipzig, Berlin and Dresden. Many events and exhibits start well before the November dates.

Leipzig Peaceful Revolution Art

Leipzig celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution from October 9 – 12, 2014, highlighted by the ‘Festival of Lights‘  festivities on October 9. Audio/visual  and computerized light installations along the demonstration route will recall and remember the events that took place 25 years ago. Another important event will be the peace prayer in St. Nicholas Church, also on October 9. Many more cultural institutions dedicate events, readings, discussions, exhibitions and concerts to the occurrences of 1989 – a year that changed Germany for the better. Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world are expected to join in for the celebrations.

In Berlin many special anniversary events, exhibitions, and festivities surrounding the division of Germany East and West, the Cold War, and the events leading up to the peaceful reunification are planned throughout the city.

The highlight event will, of course, be the weekend of November 9. A special installation of thousands of illuminated, helium-filled balloons will be set up along the former border where the wall once stood. This border illumination of 7 miles long running through the center of the city for the entire weekend will serve as a “symbol of hope for a world without walls”. Berliners and visitors alike can walk along the course of the Wall and visualize the extent of the former division. At five spots the white balloons will be released into the air as a remembrance of the opening of the wall 25 years ago.

For those seeking more informantion and a sense of the reality of the wall can visit the Berlin Wall Memorial, the location on Bernauer Strasse where buildings ran directly long the border and was the site of some of the first fatalities of the wall occurred now designated as a central place for commemoration of the time of Berlin Wall, where last remaining sections of the wall now stand as well as displays and information, including a movie featurette which explains the events leading to the wall and its end.. A new permanent exhibition, “25 Years Fall of the Wall” will be opened in a festive ceremony on November 9, 2014

Eurail Select Pass – France is Back!

France is now included again in the Eurail Select 4-country Pass.

For few long dark months, France had disincluded itself from the Eurail Select Pass offering (selection of countries and number of days). This was because most people seemed to include France in a pass because it’s big and between where you’re going, so they were getting a larger portion of travelers than other countries, but only getting the same share of revenue as the others. They sought to remedy this by making folks get a France single country pass, but as you can guess, this probably didn’t go as well as they’d hoped. So, France is once again available in the countries which can be selected for a Eurail Select Pass. Also, announced at the same time, is the elimination of the 3-counrty and 5-country pass options, with only a 4-country pass available, narrowing the options, to probably try to increase overall revenue for the select pass and balance the scales.

For the unfamiliar – the Eurail Select Pass, available in North America (and Australia) through Rail Europe, has been one of the most cost effective of the rail passes, providing the option to choose rail travel on the national rail networks in the amount of days and areas you need. Choose 4 adjoining countries connected by train or ship. You can select neighboring countries from the following list: Austria, Benelux, Bulgaria, Croatia/Slovenia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro/Serbia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. You can choose from 5, 6, 8 or 10 days of rail travel to be taken within a two-month period, whether those travel days are consecutive or non-consecutive. The Eurail Select Pass also offers additional bonuses: from select hotel discounts to museum entries, to cruise and ferry discounts.

Eurail Select Pass Conditions: Unlimited travel on the national rail networks of 4 bordering countries connected by train or ship for 5, 6, 8 or 10 days of travel within 2 months. The pass must be activated within 6 months of purchase. Pass needs to be validated by a railway official (conductor or ticket window) on first day of travel. The day of travel most be written in the appropriate box on the pass before boarding the train. The pass days begins when a railway official notes your passport number on the pass. Travelers must either carry a passport or U.S. Military I.D.