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Awesome
Austria
 Austria
is one of the few destinations in Europe that qualifies as
an all year round holiday destination. The country prides
itself of some of the most impressive architecture in Europe
and an unrivalled musical tradition. Vienna, an embodiment
of architectural gems, also boasts an outstanding musical
ancestry. For the culturally inclined, The Hofburg (Imperial
Palace) nearby was the home of the Habsburgs and is a monumental
repository of Austria’s cultural heritage. Next stop
would be the Museum of Fine Arts, showcasing an unrivalled
collection of paintings and superbly decorated ceilings. The
Sigmund Freud Museum in the apartments contains his furniture,
possessions, documents and photographs. Outside the city centre
is the splendid Baroque Belvedere Palace built for Prince
Eugene of Savoy. The other famous Baroque palace is the Schönbrunn
Palace, once home to Maria Theresa, and later to Napoleon.
It has an interior knitted out with Rococo excesses and contains
the Mirror Room where Mozart played his first royal concert.
Home to Baroque and to Mozart is Salzburg. Mozart exudes in
every facet of this city as museums, houses, squares, chocolate
bars, liqueur’s - all carry a Mozart tag on it. The old
town, on the south bank of the river, is a Baroque masterpiece
of churches, plazas, courtyards and fountains. If you’re
on a musical pilgrimage, you can visit Mozart’s home,
the grave of his father and widow. The country is also renowned
for its host of winter sport activities. Its skiing abode
is St Anton, Arlberg region’s largest resort.
Marvellous Moscow
The Kremlin is the place to which all Russian roads lead and
from which most Russian power emanates. Most visitors are
surprised to see so many churches in what was, for decades,
a den of atheism, but the Kremlin was once the centre of Russia’s
Church as well as its State. The towers lining the Kremlin
include the Secrets Tower (the oldest) and Gothic and Renaissance
Saviour Gate Tower. Central Moscow - A walk up the city’s
most famous thoroughfare, Tverskaya ulitsa, reveals 19th-century
palaces, 1930s apartment blocks and glimmers of colour bouncing
off the domes of half-obscured churches. The Arbat, once the
quarter of court artisans, is also a good place for a stroll,
passing elegant buildings, and souvenir-sellers. Museums of
tourist interest include The Pushkin State Fine Arts Museum,
showcasing a broad selection of European works from the Renaissance
onward. The Tretyakov Gallery, near Gorky Park, has the world’s
best collection of Russian icons and a fine collection of
pre-revolutionary Russian art.
The
Central House of Artists, is one of the places you’re
most likely to find good contemporary art. There are also
numerous literary museums, usually situated in the houses
of famous writers, such as Tolstoy, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol
and Lermontov.
Next To Nothing - Netherlands
A place that abides by no social cliches and decorums, Netherlands
is easily one of the most liberal and radical places on mother
earth and yet it remains one of the most orderly societies
in current times. Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ capital,
is one of the world’s best hangouts, a place where you
can immerse yourself in history, in art, in the head of a
beer or a self-rolled smokestack. A thriving city, and one
of the hardest for travellers to leave. Next is The Randstad,
Netherlands’ most densely populated region, encompassing
the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, and smaller towns like Haarlem,
Leiden and Delft. The area’s most spectacular sight are
the bulb fields which explode into colour between March and
May. Other Randstad attractions include the stately mansions,
palatial embassies and prestigious art galleries of The Hague,
the experimental postwar architecture of Rotterdam; and the
vibrant and attractive city of Haarlem.
For nature enthusiasts there is The Hoge Veluwe, the country’s
largest national park covering 5500 hectares and is a strange
mix of forests and woods, shifting sands and heath moors found
nowhere else on the Dutch mainland. In Netherland’s oldest
city, Maastricht, you can explore a 10km labyrinth of tunnels
on the city’s western outskirts. Today this lively city
has a reputation even in its own country of being a little
foreign. You can pay for a beer in Belgian francs or German
marks.
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