Journeys Near and Far

Christmas in Royal North Zealand, Denmark

The Christmas Market in Hilleroed Town Museum - Image/VisitNordsjælland Hillerød

Happy holidays to all from Journeys Near and Far! 

 

One of my favorite places is Denmark, so I thought I'd send holiday wishes to everyone with a photo from the Christmas market in Hilleroed, in Royal North Zealand, Denmark.  I visited the country last November and can't wait to go back as there is so much I want to see. I spent a few days in Copenhagen, then took a  trip to Elsinore (Helsingør) where my friends Finn and Henrik showed me around. 

Elsinore, in Royal North Zealand, began it's days in the year 1231 as a small market town. Not long after that, the town grew wealthy when "Sound dues" were initiated, and all foreign ships that passed through the strait had to moor at Helsingør and pay a toll. Revenues went directly to the king.

Kronborg Castle, built at the seaward approach to the Sound Øresund, was the result of this wealth, and it is one of northern Europe's most important Renaissance castles.

                              Kronborg Castle

Kronborg, the most famous castle in Denmark, is known worldwide from Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Each year it becomes the ethereal setting for Shakespeare at Hamlet's Castle.  That's an event I'd love to see.

Enjoy the holidays and keep an eye out for more posts about Elsinore and Denmark!

 

Four books to help you plan a volunteer vacation

Are you thinking about doing short term volunteer work abroad? Making the decision to take a volunteer vacation is easy if you know how you enjoy spending your time away from work.  What's difficult is deciding where to go and which program to choose.  

I love books that give advice about planning life-enriching vacations.  Here are four from my library that I recommend for anyone wanting to learn more about voluntourism.

 

Lonely Planet's Volunteer:  A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World 

Lonely Planet's Volunteer:  A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference  is packed with practical information about all aspects of voluntourism.  It covers everything from why people volunteer and the types of volunteering they do to how to prepare for the experience. 

Chapters about volunteer programs are arranged by the type of program, such as "Organized Volunteer Programs" and "Do-it-Yourself Volunteer Placements", "Religious Organizations", "Structured & Self-funding Volunteer Programs" and even "How to Start your own Charitable Project".

This is a very useful book.  My only complaint is the size of the type -- it's too small and in a few places too light, in my opinion, but hopefully that won't be a problem for you.   And it is available on Kindle which will let you enlarge the type.

 

Five ways to get "in-the-know" for an international trip

Mumbai , India -- My Hindi was either pretty good or pretty funny, judging by this grocer's smile.

You've bought your plane ticket, reserved your room, and picked up a guidebook to carry along with you.  But while you're counting down the days to departure, what else can you do to learn about your destination?

 

1.  Read the travel literature

A guidebook is a good way to start learning more about your destination  But why not read some of the travel literature as well?  For example, I'm planning a trip to New Zealand, so I googled "books to read for a trip to New Zealand" and found a list of recommended books on Lonely Planet's website. When I finish my copies of Bob Moore's   The 1 Thing: A Small Epic Journey Down New Zealand’s Mother Road and  Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson  I think I'll have a better idea of the country and its people.

You can also look for recommended reading lists in guidebooks.

Don't forget to follow the country's tourist board on Twitter and like them on Facebook.  And by reading travel blogs about the destination you'll be exposed to a wide variety of opinions about the country as well as suggestions on what to do there. 

 

10 Things to Love about the New York Renaissance Faire

The New York Renaissance Faire opened it's gates last weekend to another season of medieval revelry.  This is one of my favorite Renaissance Festivals.  The following are ten reasons why.

 

1.  The Color

Vibrant color leaps out at you as you frolic through this Faire, whether it's the bright silk of a medieval merchant woman's gown, the sparkling pink wings of a fairy, or multihued banners flapping softly in the breeze.  Bring your camera, you'll find plenty of photographic inspiration.

Maypole dance   Image:  Mirna L Falkner

A music-themed walking tour in Tallinn's Old Town

 Tallinn, Estonia...

This week, instead of Scenic Sunday, I thought I'd do a photo post about a walking tour in Tallinn's medieval Old Town.  Themed "Estonian music through the ages", the tour began outside the boutique Savoy Hotel. 

As soon as I saw our guide, I knew it was going to be a good tour:

That's him, staring at the modern picture-taking contraption around my neck.  He looks perplexed, no?

How to Learn French on a Budget

Image:  notfrancois

If you are interested in learning French for travel or living abroad, head over to Matador Abroad and read Thais Chalencon’s article How to: Learn French for FREE.

In her article, Thais explains how she learned French in France on a budget, and she provides a range of resources to help you do the same.

 Thais writes,

'Having lived in France since June 2009, I can tell you that it is possible to learn French without spending a single Euro. I studied 20 hours a week, and after five months I was fluent enough to get my first job as a waitress.'

via matadornetwork.com

She also provides a list of resources for learning French online.

In addition to Thais' list, I’d like to add three resources of my own.  Use them to learn the language before your trip or while you are away.

Mango languages

Check with your local library to see if they offer Mango Languages.  This is an excellent online program (free at your library) that offers about 16 languages including the usual such as French, Spanish, German and Russian as well as Greek, Vietnamese, Hindi and more. 

Scenic Sunday: A view of Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia    Image: Visit Estonia

Yesterday I returned from a week in Estonia and Latvia, two beautiful countries replete with verdant forests, cobbled medieval towns and miles of untouched coastline.  

During these long summer days (dark didn't fall until 10 PM at night) we had plenty of time to spend outdoors.

One of my favorite experiences in Tallinn, Estonia's capital, was a bike journey through the city's cobbled streets, where we meandered along ancient roadways, ducked beneath crumbling stone archways and admired the town's pastel-colored churches. Along the way, we peeked in shop windows decorated with brightly colored Estonian handcrafts.

Tallinn's Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Here you can see us as we stopped outside the city gates to admire the view.

At Tallinn's port, we rode by the Tallink ferries, which carry passengers daily to nearby Helsinki and Stockholm, Finland. 

We then visited Tallinn's song festival grounds, where the main gatherings of Estonia's national song festivals take place. 

As our guide told us about the significance of these events to the people of Estonia, it became clear how important music is to the people of Estonia.

McDonald’s around the world: Unpleasant surprise or safe haven?

 

They're not all that bad... this McDonald's on Banbury's Bridge Street, Oxfordshire, fits right in.

While browsing one of my favorite websites, Matador Network, I found an interesting photo piece called McDonald's Around the World:  There is No Escape by Kate Sedgwick, editor of Matador Nights.  Kate writes,

"You can’t escape. Maybe you thought that going to Egypt, Israel, China or Malaysia would spare you the sight of the golden arches. Maybe you thought you could see the iconic structures of Rome, cover every inch of the Louvre, or sightsee in historic Vienna without being jarred by the realization that McDonald's is a world leader in globalization. But you certainly saw quickly that you were wrong."

via matadornetwork.com

While it's a jarring sight to see the big M shining brightly at the world's ancient sites or along cobbled streets in medieval towns, I have to admit that there have been times I actually welcomed seeing a McDonald's while overseas.

Vacation lists make packing easier

Does packing stress you out? It does me.  I actually dread it.  Which is why I've started using lists.

I don't mean the scribbled-on-a-piece-of-paper or two kind of lists, but prepared lists I've saved on my PC.  I've created several, for different types of trips (i.e., overseas, domestic, cruise, roughing-it). 

Before a trip, I customize each list, then print out a copy and place it alongside my suitcase or backpack, crossing off each item as I put it in the bag. 

This is pretty basic, but having a list ready to print out has saved me a lot of time and stress.  I don't have to worry about forgetting something important now.

Recent and upcoming trips 2011

First, if you're wondering why I haven't been posting as much as usual, it's because I'm working on migrating this blog over to Wordpress.org... 

I've been squeezing that job in between writing magazine articles, working, and traveling, but I hope to be launching the new blog in June or July.

For those of you who have asked me where I'll be traveling to next, I have a few definite trips planned and several that are in the "almost definite" category.

The garden of Palmse manor, Estonia

ASJA - New York City

I've just returned from a weekend at the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)  conference in New York City, where I learned a lot about non-fiction writing, using social media, blogging, creating videos, and more.  I plan to use all these new skills soon, so look for podcasts and video soon in Journeys Near and Far posts!