Strasbourg isn't the only Christmas paradise in France. Actually, there's a city named Colmar very close to the region's capital that is equally magical when it comes to the yule spirit. But it's not only a Christmas destination, of course, the town itself is outstandingly picturesque, straight out of a Disney film.
Colmar is quite small, having merely 70000 habitants. The climate is very convenient for wine production, so it's the capital of Alsatian wines. It's an hour away from Strasbourg by bus, so it is a great opportunity for a daytrip at any time of the year. It has a similar history as the rest of alsatian cities - initially it was established in Germany around 1226 but then through the centuries it was passed between Germany and France to become permanently french after 1945.
Strasbourg, a large city in the french region of Alsace, is dubbed the capital of Christmas. Not by chance I chose my time of visit it in december, I heard a lot of rumours about the splendor of alsatian christmas markets. I can promise you, you havent seen a christmas like that before.
I wanted to visit Norway for a very long time. The beauty of fjords, lakes, waterfalls, mountains small cottages. Bergen was a preludium to all of that. I spent three days there with my friends, but it was enough to experience the wonders that Norway has to offer.
Bergen is unreal. It is the second largest city in Norway but it has only 280,000 inhabitants. It lies on the western fjords of Norway by the sea, but its hidden behind a series of smaller isles that blocks the view to the open sea. The sea can only be seen from the mountain tops. The geography of Bergen is peculiar, the city sprawled between a number of high mountains that surround it and the peaks are visible from everywhere so there's no chance of forgetting where you are. The city was supposedly founded in 1070 by king Olav Kyrre and was named BjΓΈrgvin, what means "the green meadow among the mountains". A fair name, I must admit. It served as Norway's capital in the 13th century, and as a bureau city to the Hanseatic League. It was the largest city until Christiania (Oslo) surpassed it in 19th century.
Even when strong trading traditions of Bergen faded a bit, but what remained was a unesco-sited old town that still attracts a bunch of tourists. And trade as well. Its greatest value lies in the picturesque architecture and mindblowing nature that surrounds it, so let me show you.
Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso.
This is how sting sang about Valparaiso. At the end of our journey we visited this colourful gem for one day. It's fantastically located, about 100km from Santiago, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It used to be the main port of Chile, one of the biggest and busiest in South America. Actually, it still is the third largest metropolian area in the country, right next to it there's another large city named Vina del Mar. Valparaiso spreads on a few steep hills so walking around means going up-and-down all the time, but this in one of the factors that give Valparaiso its unique charm. Established in 1536 it used to be a significant trading point with Europe and the US. Notable features include Latin America's oldest stock exchange, the continent's first volunteer fire department, Chile's first public library, and the oldest Spanish language newspaper in continuous publication in the world, El Mercurio de Valparaiso. A number of times devastated by earthquakes and uprisings, but somehow it always managed to regain its strength.
In general, Chilenos are said to be one of the most artistic nation in Latin America when it comes to painting, poetry, music. For example it was home to Pablo Neruda, a poet known worldwide. Valparaiso is an explosion of art and colour that embraces all the artistic features. Yes, I have seen many bohemian-street-art districts in a few cities so far, but here it was definitely the most vivid and spectacular of them all. Most of the city is colourful, either by the basic colours of the houses to murals and art installations hiding behind every corner. It was a pretty successful attempt of turning something neglected and unwelcoming into something valuable. It attracts milions of tourists every year. But there is no main plaza, a central spot that everybody is cramped in, that's the beauty of it. The whole city seems to be kept in this manner, the centre might be the most spectacular but other discticts are enjoyable too. There are just so many viewpoints opening up to hills covered in small colourful buildings, and to the ocean as well.
