Every three years a number of the world’s leading young classical music conductors travel to the German city of Bamberg. Last month, from 7 to 14 June, the fourth International Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition was held.
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I think that the Netherlands does museums incredibly well. It’s fair to say that the country has several world-class art museums. Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Mauritshuis in The Hague all fall within that category.
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For first time visitors to Finland, Tampere may not be the obvious choice of destination, but the country's largest inland city is a pleasant starting point if you want to gain an insight to the cultural soul of this Nordic nation.
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I witnessed a remarkable event in Fatima, Portugal, on 13 May 2011. People standing close to me described what they saw as a miracle.
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Bowes, in Upper Teesdale, has a surprisingly rich history for a quiet English village. One of Bowes' claims to fame is that it provided author Charles Dickens with inspiration for aspects of his novel Nicholas Nickleby.
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The former pit village of Philadelphia in North East England was also named after an American city. The name was chosen after British forces captured the city in Pennsylvania during the American War of Independence.
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Hwange provides habitat to more than 100 different mammals, in excess of 400 bird species, nearly 200 types of grasses and 230 trees. Surely even a poor day by local standards it will impress a visiting Brit to whom seeing anything other than a cat or dog is out of the ordinary?
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In 1215 King John put his royal seal on the Magna Carta. The document is regarded by many historians and libertarians as the most significant ever written in England’s history. It influenced the Constitution of the United States of America and laws in several other countries of the world.
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If you’re into geology, it’s likely that you’ll also appreciate visiting Joggins Fossil Cliffs near Amherst. Guides lead summertime tours of the beach from where you can view exposed, stratified rock. Joggins Fossil Centre is open from July into September.
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Many of us tend to think of efforts to conserve the world’s natural resources as a fairly recent trend. In fact, the mangrove forest of the Sundarbans region has been a reserved area since 1875.
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