Stress is a distant memory as we glide, in defiance of the passage of time, in a houseboat on Kerala’s placid backwaters. For centuries people survived on board these vessels without watches, mobile phones and laptops, so for the three day duration of this trip I’ve packed mine away and pledged to undertake a digital detox.
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Members of a band wearing Tyrolean style felt hats stand playing jaunty, accordion-led music under the entrance to the log cabin. The scent of pine makes me think of the Alps but this is the Roncalli Christmas Market in central Hamburg.
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The explorer Samuel Champlain named the landmark le Rocher Percé, which means ‘pierced rock’, because of the arches, worn into the vast, cliff-like rock by the sea. Around 433 metres in length and 88 metres high, it is reminiscent of a stone iceberg jutting from the water. Around 150 types of fossil have been found in the limestone rock, which forms part of Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, along with the nearby Bonaventure Island.
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The museum’s strapline is Kunst, Kultur und Kitsch meaning 'art, culture and kitsch'...the SchweineMuseum has exhibits which appeal to adults and others that kids will love. It’s a quirky, fun place to visit and well worth a look next time you’re in Stuttgart.
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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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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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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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