The Stadtschloss was once a German palace for William 2 prior to WW1 it was largely destroyed during WW2 and eventually demolished during the 1950’s by the East German Government to remove traces of the former Empire. In its place the Palast der Republic was built as East Germans Parliament. Opened in 1976 it was a modern building that contained galleries, restaurants, a disco and a bowling ally. The Palast was built as a symbol of East Germany’s strength and pride and many former East Germans have fond memories of their time there. Today the Palast is slowly being demolished with work expected to finish in 2008. Much of the Palast’s interior was removed in the late 1990’s after asbestos was found in the building. The empty shell was then used as an art space for a time until it was decided to demolish the building all together. Since work began on demolition there are groups who have been pushing the idea to rebuild the former Royal Palace Stadtschloss while other groups are lamenting the loss of the Palast der Republic claiming the current government is trying to wipe out Berlins socialist past in the same way the East Germans tried to wipe out Germany’s imperial past. Some people are just glad to see the back of an ugly 1970s building and would be happy if the area is replaced with grass. The German Parliament has recently decided to rebuild most of the castle with a modern interior, work will start in 2010 and it will be known as the Humboldtforum. Read the rest of this entry »
You might remember four years ago the panic in getting all the Olympic venues finished for the Athens Olympics, well it was hoped the New Acropolis Museum would open be ready for the thousands visiting for the games, well the Greeks were running a bit late on this project, infact four years late, and it is expected it will open in September just missing the Beijing Olympics, but there is still a chance of delays which might even push the opening date out to early next year. The museum will feature three levels and 25,000 square metres of exhibition space and house some of Greece’s greatest treasures and one day they hope to have on display the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles which are controversially held by the British Museum in London. Read the rest of this entry »
When you think of spending your night in a drain pipe you think of raw sewerage, rats and other nasties, but not at the dasparkhotel. They have very fancy drain pipes turned into cabins complete with all the comforts like double bed, lighting, woolly blankets and power, but best of all the rates are “pay as you wish” you just pay what you can to support the project. The concrete pipes are quiet spacious and there are toilets, showers and minibar close by so you have everything you need. The hotel Ottensheim on the beautiful Danube is open May to October over the warmer months, bookings are pretty much done on line and you receive a pin number to enter into the drain pipe to enter your ‘room’- sounds like fun. Read the rest of this entry »
We have featured some weird museums on Tripandom, like the parasite museum, the ramen noodle museum and the Bangkok forensic museum and we have found another, the French Fries Museum or Friet Museum as the Belgium’s like to call it. Located in Brugge in Belgium only 200 metres from the Grand Palace of Bruges the Friet Museum offers hours of entertainment for the visitor. You can learn about the history of fries, visit a mock fries shop, On the ground floor you can learn about the fascinating history of the potato which originated in Peru more than 10,000 years ago. On the first floor, the visitor can discover the history of the fries and how they came to Belgium and in the basement of the building, in the medieval cellars, it is even possible to sample some. The museum claims to be the only museum dedicated to potato fries in the world, it’s just hard to imagine no one else has thought of this great idea. The questions most frequently asked by visitors are: Where does the potato come from? Was the fry invented in Belgium? and What is the secret of making good fries? -well you will have to visit the museum to find out the answers! and I wonder what they goodies they sell in the gift shop? Read the rest of this entry »
Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie was the main crossing point for foreigners into East Berlin during the Cold War and has become the symbol of the war, with thousands of tourists flocking to the area to see the replica of the allied checkpoint building and the nearby privately run Checkpoint Charlie Museum (Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum). according to this USAToday story a former East German minister is proposing a cold war museum be built an a vacant block of land near Checkpoint Charlie. The vacant lot near the checkpoint was where the East German checkpoint watchtower once stood but was torn down in 2000 to make way for new development that ultimately never happened. The watchtower was the last original part of the checkpoint that stood at the site. Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s You Tube video is a very classy advertisement for Greece called Explore your Senses. With some magnificent imagery of some of Greece’s heritage and some very beautiful young people combined with a clever soundtrack this ad just makes you want to get on the first plane to Greece and head to their crystal clear blue waters or beautiful courtyards. The ad was produced by the EOT or the Greek National Tourist Organization last year. It was very successful in the USA and other countries. Tourism is one of the major lifeblood’s of Greece’s economy with over a billion euro of revenue generated every month. Over 16 million visitors visit the country every year, a number which has increased about 10% every year for the past few.
Fancy a dinner with 22 of your friends sitting at a table dangling from a crane 50 metres above the ground- well the Dinner in the Sky is the place for you. This novel attraction is the latest hit sweeping Europe and with plenty of interest from the rest of the world. The 9 x 5 metre platform is transported to just about anywhere to give you the best views in town. The table can include three chefs and if you need to go to the bathroom, there’s no need to go off the side, the crane lowers the table so you can simply jump off and visit the ground level facilities. Guests wear seat belts for safety and even heating can be arranged. Currently the dinner in the sky is for rent out of Hungary, the Netherlands, South Africa and Belgium, but other countries are getting on board quickly and there has been quiet a bit of interest from people wanting to purchase their own dinner, so it probably won’t be long before there’s one just about everywhere.
You may have noticed we love fun parks, we also think water slides are pretty cool too but when it comes to water slides we never imagined there would be much in the way of new styles of slides. Most slides work on the process of lay down in a tube and let gravity do its thing to get you to the bottom. The slide in the German video above differs in the fact you start off on the slide standing up, once the trap door below your feet pops open you are then propelled around a loop that seems to defy gravity. It all looks pretty cool, we would like to know where this one is so if you are familiar with it hit up our comment section below. Read the rest of this entry »
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril or Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril in French is one of the premier rides at Disneyland Paris, and with the launch of the latest blockbuster film The Kingdom of the Crystal Scull the ride is even more popular than ever. Unlike the American and Japanese Indiana Jones ride which is set in an amazing indoor sound stage the Temple of Peril is an outdoor thrilling roller coaster adventure where brave travellers hop aboard a runaway mine train through the Temple of Peril. The 1968 feet track has a maximum height of 52 feet above the ground and the experience lasts 1 minute 30 and rival’s the other huge Adventureland ride The Pirates of the Carrbbean for both fun and excitement and was one of the rides which helped kick start Disneyland Paris after it’s less than successful start as Eurodisney in the early 1990’s.
Looking a bit like one of Walt Disney’s castles the Fisherman’s Bastion or Halászbástya gives one of the best views over Budapest looking out along the Danube River. Built in 1905 and designed by Frigyes Schulek it was built on the site of a medieval fish market and it’s walls are believed to be guarded by the guild of fisherman. Being in the castle district it is only a short stroll from the magnificent Matthias Church. One great photo opportunity is at the south end of the bastion there is a lovely statue of Hungry’s first king, King St. Stephen (Szent István)
