Berlin - Its Beautiful and Not-So-Beautiful Sides

It's an early morning trip to Berlin with the intention of seeing its historical architecture. It's a brief stay, just enough to experience the good and the not-so-good side of the city.

I am not a newbie in travelling. But, when I am in another country, I have the tendency to react and compare whatever this country have that others don't. True enough, the bad experience in Berlin is something that a tourist like me will not expect. Besides, I have high regard to this city prior to my trip.

The incident is not the focus of this blog, but rather the places that I consider a treasure in this cosmopolitan city. Nevertheless, I am obliged to keep you aware when you decide to pay a visit to the city of Berlin. It may or may not happen to you, but, just the same, I will tell you exactly what you should avoid and the things you should know about Berlin.

Brandenburg Gate - Berlin

My hosts from Hamburg, who are also my cousins, spent little time in convincing me to include Germany on this particular European journey, saying that their country is one of the best in the world. 

Obviously, I believed them. 

As I always try to see as many attractions as I possibly can in every country, my hosts purchased a whole day bus tour to explore the neighbouring Berlin. 

You also have the option to buy a hop-on hop-off City Sighgtseeing valid for one or two days or the Berlin Pass good for whole day tour to 20 different stops including Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, Berliner Dom, Altes Museum, Alexander Platz and Brandenburg Gate to name a few.

Travel Advisory : Philippines' Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

Travellers from anywhere in the world are advised to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to the Philippines. Officials fear that Typhoon Haiyan may have killed as many as 10,000 people in one Philippine province alone. 

Magina Fernandez was among the survivors who had lost her home and business. And she was desperate to leave on the next military plane from Tacloban Airport. She made an anguished plea for help. "Get international help to come here now -- not tomorrow, now," she said. This is really, really bad, bad, worse than hell, worse than hell." This statement was reported by Andrew Stevens and Paula Hancocks of CNN.

Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada advises against non-essential travel to the Eastern, Central and Western Visayas, as well as Bicol Region, Mimaropa and Calabarzon due to damages caused by the typhoon.  

Tourists helping in Coron in the island of Busuanga, the Philippines
Photo Credit: Lowell Estepa

Many travellers in the Philippines will remain stranded for the weekend as hundreds of flights were cancelled and a dozen airports were closed in the wake of typhoon damage. Twelve airports had been closed across the Philippines on Friday. These airports are Tacloban, Surigao, Kalibo, Roxas, Caticlan, Iloilo, Romblon, Legaspi, Masbate, Dumaguete, Busuanga (Coron) and Bacolod.

Passengers with Fake Tickets and No Visas Aboard Air Canada

A Toronto-bound flight was stopped shortly before departure from Caracas when four Iranians and an Afghan were found aboard with fake tickets and no visas, Venezuelan officials said Saturday.

The captain of Air Canada Flight 075 discovered there were five extra passengers aboard his flight as it was scheduled to depart late Friday, said Luis Graterol, the head of the Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.

Photo Credit: Adrian Dennis (AFP)

All those on board were forced to disembark and military officials identified the suspicious passengers, Graterol told the state-run Venezuelan News Agency.

The Iranians and the Afghan "did not have a visa to enter Canada, nor legitimate tickets," Graterol said.

He added that the flight had been delayed for five hours due to the incident.

Why Museums are Almost Always Not in my Itinerary

I have been to over 30 countries since I started travelling. I have 7 European countries lined up and not sure if these countries are famous for museums that I may not be able to resist. This will be my 4th trip to Europe and I do not even remember a single museum that I have visited on my first three. That's how bad my memory can be when it comes to museums.

So don't get me wrong if I seldom include it in my itinerary. I go on a holiday for three main reasons -- architecture (old and new), nature and people.

Royal Ontario Museum

Just the same, I need your feedback on why I should or shouldn't bother visiting museums in any of these towns/cities and countries: Southampton and London England, Oslo Norway, Copenhagen Denmark, Tallinn Estonia, St. Petersburg Russia, Helsinki Finland and Bruges Belgium.

The European countries I am visiting are beautiful in their own right, that's for sure, and that's the reason why I am so excited and can hardly wait for this trip.

Don't be surprised why I am writing this. I must admit ~ I feel guilty at times. For myself, because I feel am missing the history of a country that can be found and discovered in a museum. And feel guilty for the country that I am visiting for not giving appreciation for the effort of the curators and the other human beings manning the memories that the local people consider as a treasure of historical value.

So, there you go, my friends. Tell me. Is it worth visiting the museums in any of the countries I mentioned? 

Appreciate Art and Culture of New Zealand

Written by Brian Mcquillan

The beautiful country of New Zealand also possesses a wealth of cultural attractions with its great Maori culture, places of performing arts, museums and art galleries that makes it a perfect destination for art and culture buffs.

Tourists from around the world keep flocking to this destination to explore its various art and cultural offerings, though it is not the main achievement for this relatively young country on the map of the world.

Photo credit: nzstatic

Here we acquaint you with the major art and culture destinations of the country.

Museums

Museum offers an authentic insight into the art and culture of the region, and museums in New Zealand are no exceptions. On their visit to these museums, the tourists can see the cultural and historical artefacts.

If you are interested to have a glimpse of the Maori and Polynesian culture, then Auckland Museum should be your pick where a large collection of artefacts are rearing to educate and entertain you.