Quebec Travel

Archive for June, 2011

Those people who decide visiting Hawaii will be confronted with a very unique handwriting of the mastermind behind nature. Those who exhibit qualities to see further ~and to perceive creation in the process~ will be rewarded with exhilarating feelings when they unveil what they have unlikely seen before.

For great many centuries, the people of Hawaii enjoyed the peace, tranquility, and graciousness of their islands. It has been that quality and gracious way of life the one which promoted for them to naturally develop a peaceful mind, and a big heart filled with kindness. What Hawaiians are naturally embedded with since the day they are born is known as the Aloha Spirit. A knowledgeable visitor will much better enjoy a visit to the land of the Aloha Spirit if he chooses to learn what that spirit is all about.

To the Hawaiian people, the Aloha Spirit is all about sincerely and honestly offering affection, kindness, and love to others; being peaceful and respectful to everyone including animals; denoting compassion and mercifulness; and being graceful and pleasing. The Aloha Spirit lives permanently inside their hearts. When one hears someone telling us “Aloha”, it is one of those people passing on to us the kind-heartedness and the goodwill of the Aloha Spirit.

All of the above means that when a traveller visits California, Montana, Florida, Ontario, or Quebec ~for instance~ he is going from one state or province to another. On the other hand, it is vital to comprehend that when a traveller is visiting Hawaii, he is arriving not just to a place; but to the land and the home of the people of Hawaii.

Visiting Hawaii, therefore, is a splendid experience in one’s life rewarded with exhilarating feelings when one unveils the handwriting of the mastermind behind nature; but it is also a test for each visitor to denote if he possesses ~or not~ the high human qualities needed to understand that Hawaii is not another state or province, but the land and the home of the people of Hawaii. A visitor passes that test by respecting nature’s environment at all times, and spending every minute visiting Hawaii in the Aloha Spirit.

“The good life in our land can only be perpetuated in righteousness.” – King Kamehameha III

Zurich, with its population of about 400 000 is the biggest city in Switzerland. This charming city combines old districts with the carefully restored historical buildings and contemporary office structures. The city stands between 2 mountains, on the banks of the river Limmat and Zurich Lake.

Zurich was founded in XV century BC, but became a city in X century AD. Its rise began in XIX century when Zurich became a business center. After the foundation of the International Currency Market Zurich occupied the forth place after New York, London and Tokyo.

Zurich is the financial and banking center not only of Switzerland, but also of the whole world. It’s the largest (along with London) gold market and a very significant currency market. Due to its huge amount of banks, Zurich is sometimes called “the purse of the world”. Head offices of the world’s five leading banks are situated on Bahnhofstrasse, the main avenue of Zurich. However, here you can not only store your money deep down in depository. Zurich has a lot of places where one can spend money with the great pleasure.

The above-mentioned Bahnhofstrasse is the most beautiful street in the city and its main shopping artery. Here you can find such big shopping centers as Globus and Jelmoli. Old Zurich is a district with the cozy narrow streets. Along the embankment you can watch baroque style villas. Zurich appearance is manly formed by three main cathedrals on the river banks.

The oldest one, Roman Grossmunster looks like the rock and dates back to the distant times of Karl the Great. Refined Fraumunster is a Gothic style structure with the stained-glass windows by Marc Shagal. Saint Peter’s Cathedral is also called “Fat Peter” boasts a clock with the largest face in the whole Europe.

Zurich has rich and saturated cultural life. It can offer its famous Opernhaus am Bellevue and Tonhalle. November is the month of jazz festival in Zurich. This event always attracts a lot of music fans to the city. As for painting, Kunsthaus am Helmplatz exhibits the masterpieces of the leading European masters. The best view of the city opens from the Polyterasse, especially impressive at night. Zurich is one of the main Swiss tourist centers and attracts more than one million of visitors a year. They arrive in the largest airport of Switzerland – Kloten. Zurich has a lot of excellent hotels – one of them is the legendary Savoy. You can think that Zurich is a reserved and conservative city, but it’s not so! Its intense night life can be compared with Amsterdam. Zurich is a very picturesque city in its nature too. Zurich Lake adds a unique charm to the city. Its embankment is one of the main places in Zurich.

There are some cities which are ideal for a one day visit. When you have left the city in the evening after a long day of walking and sightseeing, you wouldn’t comment ‘I want to see more’. Maastricht belongs surely to the group of cities which offer enough for those who like short trips. Although Maastricht belongs to the Netherlands, the city has more connections to Belgium, Germany (Rhineland), Luxemburg and partly the north east of France. Maastricht is literally situated between these countries. So, you might be able to visit the city not only when you are in Amsterdam, but also from Brussels, Cologne or Luxemburg. But the city’s relation to these areas is not only geographically. Also culturally it is a mix of different styles and tastes. In this sense it is one of the cities in the Netherlands which has not the typical Dutch flower on it. From architecture to food, the French- Belgium influences are very clear. While wandering through the city, one can perfectly enjoy the mixture of cultural differences that are melted in the old city center along the river Maas. By exploring Maastricht you even don’t need a guide. Just use your instincts and you will see until the end of the day you will have discovered the landmarks by yourself. A visit during the month of December will have an additional value as Maastricht offers many activities during the Christmas season.

Maastricht also has an interesting historical heritage. It is known as one of the earliest area of Celtic settlements. The city was build by the soldiers of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. During the middle ages it was one of the main posts of the Franks and Christian activities. After the middle ages it was regularly handed over between the French and the Dutch kingdoms and republics. The long history has left its traces. Those who like to be discover the past also don’t need more than a day to dive in.

Speaking about the past we should not forget Europe, for which Maastricht also plays an important role. The famous ‘Maastricht Treaty’ which introduced the Euro was signed here in 1992. Expectations from the city were high. As a perfect ambassador of Europe it had to benefit more of the Union. The city couldn’t benefit from its crossroad situation. Maybe because of the decline of economic potential of its German neighbors.

Whatever, Maastricht offers what we might call the north-west European culture and has enough to be the cultural and political center of this area in the coming decades. Unfortunately, its destiny is related to that of Europe, more than any of another city in the Netherlands.

(resource: www.tobook.com)