<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Flavour of vacation &#187; mountain</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/tag/mountain/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com</link>
	<description>www.virtualtraverse.com</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:07:10 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>Single Traveler</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/single-traveler/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/single-traveler/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 May 2011 23:53:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[airport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[airport train]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aren]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[being]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[body]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[body language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brochure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[burglar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[destination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[equipment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[everybody]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[front]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hotel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hotels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justyou]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[middle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Single]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[station]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[train]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[train station]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel destination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveling around the world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trouble]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[useful resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[word]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=84</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes when we got lots of thing such as problems or mountain of jobs and trouble, after we got away from it, we would like to entertain our self. Either walking on the mountain or beach, or might be traveling around the world. For some traveling in light and single are more cheaper rather than [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes when we got lots of thing such as problems or mountain of jobs and trouble, after we got away from it, we would like to entertain our self. Either walking on the mountain or beach, or might be traveling around the world. For some traveling in light and single are more cheaper rather than in a group.</p>
<p>And the question that used to be on everybody minds is &#8220;Aren&#8217;t you afraid traveling in single? don&#8217;t you got afraid with it?&#8221; The word afraid in here, specifically doesn&#8217;t mean about security or safety, but also afraid being alone in some places that are totally new. But don&#8217;t worry some useful resources and information from the internet will guide you, if you&#8217;re looking for it, make sure you also check on <a href="http://www.justyou.co.uk" target="_blank">Justyou</a><br />
<span id="more-84"></span><br />
The first thing you should brought when traveling in light are money, clothes and other equipment, but most important is your travel destination. You don&#8217;t want to travel blind in the middle of no where, because there&#8217;s a big chance that you&#8217;ll get lost. If your travel destination is in a country that able to speak your language or at least English, that would be great, but what if they don&#8217;t? Make sure that you have lots of information before you go, and usually you could take some brochure that available in every corner of the international airport.</p>
<p>Be confident, some country are not totally safe from burglar, your body language could be written by them when you get out from airport, train station, or other transportation transit. You might also found some people offering some hotel, or cars in front of those transportation transit. So be prepared and be confident when you&#8217;re facing them up, and be brave on saying no. </p>
<p>Always pick hotel that are quite secure and usually you could found the references of those recommended hotels from people that already been there. Remember that money not always as useful as it could be, but information are way lots more important when traveling.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/single-traveler/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Meandering through the Yorkshire plains</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/meandering-through-the-yorkshire-plains/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/meandering-through-the-yorkshire-plains/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:42:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accommodation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anything]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bath]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breathtaking countryside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[case]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[catering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[catering cottages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[countryside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[destination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[difference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exploration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[failure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holiday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holiday of a lifetime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holidays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hotel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hotel rules]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lifetime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[location]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[master]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nightmare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[past]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[perfect vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[place]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quarters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[right]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rule]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self catering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[simplicity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solitary land]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sort]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[timetables]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wilderness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yorkshire]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=77</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Where you stay in Yorkshire can be the difference between a nightmare and the holiday of a lifetime. Being an increasingly sort after destination, Yorkshire is far from being a comfortable solitary land that it was in the past. There could be many in numbers at one hotspots the really does make your trip different [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Where you stay in Yorkshire can be the difference between a nightmare and the holiday of a lifetime. Being an increasingly sort after destination, Yorkshire is far from being a comfortable solitary land that it was in the past. There could be many in numbers at one hotspots the really does make your trip different and a complete failure sometime. Normally, you would want a virgin location to be quiet where you can get drunk on the mountain air and the surrounding wilderness. But the very presence of so many visitors right from the time you start changes it all.</p>
<p>There are hour long spots scattered all around the place but make sure you cover them in their own natural beauty. The self catering sites like <a href="http://www.selfcatering.co.uk/" target="_blank"> self catering </a> do a great job of it. You get the quarters that present you that quiet stay in the heart of the nature that you so long have desired and imagined. <span id="more-77"></span><a href="http://www.selfcatering.co.uk/yorkshire-holidays.php" target="_blank"> Self catering Yorkshire </a> can be the ideal place to search for you accommodation whereby you become the master of your timetables. At least during the holidays you would want to get a life of complete freedom but this is not the case with the normal resorts and hotels. There are people around that may be bothering you and spare the hotel rules. In the self catering cottages you can choose when to take your food, when to bath, how long to rest and when to start out for your exploration. There is no rule to anything \and that’s what a perfect vacation means.</p>
<p>Stay right in the heart of the traditional countryside of Yorkshire and enjoy the virgin culture of the place. You will be enchanted what simplicity can achieve when you stay in one of the wooden roofed cottages in the breathtaking countryside.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/meandering-through-the-yorkshire-plains/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The flavor of Austria</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/the-flavor-of-austria/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/the-flavor-of-austria/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:27:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accidental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alpenhaus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alpine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alpine meadow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[André]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[answer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Austrian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bike]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brewery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chatty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cold winters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[couple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dinner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emmenthaler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[everything]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flower]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flower boxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foliage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fondue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[full bloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[german dishes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Germania]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Mountains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[greenway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[half]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herb]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innsbruck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inquire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaesespaetzle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kitsbuhl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leaf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leaf peepers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lederhosen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lodge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Long Trail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lunch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[macaroni]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Magic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[matter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meadow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[menu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mount Mansfield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mozart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mozart festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mushroom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Noel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[none]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northeastern U.S.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northern Lights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[notch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[number]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[offer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pancake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[path]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[patio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paved bike path]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[place]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plethora]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[private residences]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pub]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resort]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restaurant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[right]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[river]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[road]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[room]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Salzburg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sauce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scenery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Schnitzels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[setting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sound]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[state of vermont]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephensplatz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stowe Mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stowe mountain resort]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strudel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Swisspot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[symbol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[theme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Touring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[town]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trapp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trapp family lodge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trapp lodge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tyrol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[variety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vegetarian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vermont]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vienna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[view]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[village]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[visible symbol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Von]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[von trapp family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weizen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weizen beer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white flower]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wiessner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Woods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wursts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[year]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=29</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The view of the valley is perfect from the alpine meadow, as we sit warm in the sun, listening to The Magic Flute at the annual Mozart Festival.  This could easily be Salzburg or Kitsbuhl, but actually is the mountain village of Stowe in the Northeastern U.S. state of Vermont.  Stowe lies in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/austria-valley.jpg"><img src="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/austria-valley-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="austria-valley" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-37" /></a>The view of the valley is perfect from the alpine meadow, as we sit warm in the sun, listening to The Magic Flute at the annual Mozart Festival.  This could easily be Salzburg or Kitsbuhl, but actually is the mountain village of Stowe in the Northeastern U.S. state of Vermont.  Stowe lies in the heart of the Green Mountains, where the cold winters make for fantastic snow sports, and the fall brings leaf peepers to see the foliage.  I’m most fond of the summers though, when the forest seems to be in full bloom, and the weather is pleasant. <span id="more-29"></span></p>
<p>It’s not accidental that this small town feels like the Alps, and there is no more visible symbol of this than the Trapp Family Lodge.  The Austrian inspired lodge and resort is operated by actual members of the Von Trapp family, whose story was told in the Sound of Music.  The main lodge is right out of the Tyrol, with dark woods and balconies lined with bright red and white flower boxes.  This theme is carried on by a number of other lodges (Northern Lights Lodge, Innsbruck Inn), and private residences around town.   </p>
<p>While you will rarely encounter hikers in Lederhosen, there are outdoor activities of all kinds including miles of trails at the Trapp Lodge and Stowe Mountain Resort Touring Centers, Wiessner Woods and the Long Trail, all of which are free off season (and off-leash dog friendly).  There is also a scenic greenway and paved bike path that winds lazily for five and a half miles from the village center, crisscrossing the road and river leading to Mount Mansfield past shops, restaurants and a pub or two.  Make sure to stop at the Shed Brewery for a local brew on the patio overlooking the path…if you’re lucky they may have their Weizen beer on tap.  </p>
<p>Alongside the pubs, Stowe is dotted with excellent chef-owned restaurants specializing in regional and seasonal fare, often using local ingredients.  A few offer Austrian and German dishes, and the most authentic of these is an unassuming (and unadvertised) place called the Alpenhaus, where chatty owner André Noel will greet you, inquire as to whether you have a reservation, and regardless of your answer, lead you to an almost always empty dining room.  </p>
<p>Despite the lack of crowds, the dinner menu is authentic and extensive, with everything made extremely well from the highest quality regional products.  The dishes include a whole page of Schnitzels, potatoes in pancake, dumpling and soup forms, and quite a few vegetarian options, including one of my all time favorites, Kaesespaetzle, a decadent macaroni and cheese made with top notch New York Emmenthaler.  Attached is the Vienna Tea Room serving lunch and decadent pastries that are seriously worthy of Stephensplatz. </p>
<p>The Trapp Lodge also offers an Austrian Tea Room with a variety of Wursts, baked goods and desserts, while their Dining Room provides a more formal setting with a few German inspired dishes including an excellent mushroom strudel in a fresh herb cream sauce with cranberries.  In the center of the village, comprised of a couple blocks of storefronts and restaurants is a Swiss restaurant called the Swisspot offering all kinds of wonderful fondue and European dishes.     </p>
<p>In all, Stowe offers beautiful alpine scenery, a plethora of outdoor activities no matter what time of year, and for those of us who are in love with Germania, an authentic experience like none other I have seen in the United States.  </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/the-flavor-of-austria/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Southern Norway</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/southern-norway/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/southern-norway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:05:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alaska]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[allemannsretten]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[altitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[american continent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[August]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automobile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bag]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baltic Sea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blessed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bristol Bay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cabin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[canal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[car]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Caribbean Sea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[century]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chilly summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cliff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Columbus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[continent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Copenhagen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cradle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dalen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[difference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eighth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eighth wonder of the world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[end]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entrance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[everybody]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exaggeration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fifteen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fjellveien]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaustatoppen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gentle hills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gulf stream north]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardangervidda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heddal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hiking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hotel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[house]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hydroelectric power stations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[isn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[itinerary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jens Esmark]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[king]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kjerag]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Krokan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lake Bandak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lake Norsjoe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[level]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[longships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lysebotn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lysefjord]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mackenzie River]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[masterpiece]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Meandering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medieval]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[middle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[morning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mouth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Museum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[narrow fjords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national roads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Newfoundland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[night]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[north]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Sea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[north sea oil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Norway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Norwegian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Notodden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[offer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[option]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oslo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paddle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[path]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[place]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plenty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Preikestolen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[professor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pulpit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quiet lakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[raft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[raft wood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recreation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[region]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resort]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[right]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rjukan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[road]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roaring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sauland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scenery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sentence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Skagerrak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Skien]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[skiing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[southern neighbors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steep mountains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Telemark Canal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Textiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the Gulf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Today]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tourism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tourist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[town]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[troll]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tuddal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vemork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vestfjorddalen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Via]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[view]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[visitor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waterfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waterway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[west]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wonder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[year]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=14</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Admittedly, it takes some will power to peel off your sleeping bag and get out of a car when mist still creeps across the fjells – the mountain plains in Norway – at 45°F on a chilly summer morning. However, traveling by car is the best option to explore this country, which would reach from [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/southern-norway.jpg"><img src="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/southern-norway-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="southern-norway" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-46" /></a>Admittedly, it takes some will power to peel off your sleeping bag and get out of a car when mist still creeps across the fjells – the mountain plains in Norway – at 45°F on a chilly summer morning. However, traveling by car is the best option to explore this country, which would reach from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Bristol Bay in the south-west of Alaska, if you transferred it from Europe to the American continent – or, in other words, it would stretch from Maine to Alabama.</p>
<p>The Norwegian Automobile Federation offers 268 camp sites and additionally there are about one thousand other camp and cabin sites as well as parking lots for caravans and recreation vehicles throughout the country and its fifteen national parks. Due to the Norwegian allemannsretten (everybody’s right), you may also park your car somewhere beside the road for just one night, which makes it easy to follow Norway’s national roads and enjoy the quiet lakes, dense woods, gentle hills, steep mountains, roaring waterfalls, sparkling glaciers and narrow fjords alongside.<span id="more-14"></span></p>
<p>While the Vikings, who had discovered Newfoundland in the “new world” long before Columbus explored the Caribbean Sea, once conquered foreign lands with their longships and terrified their southern neighbors, the descendants have become quiet and unassuming, open and hospitable to foreign guests. Blessed with the Gulf Stream, North Sea oil, and plenty of energy produced by hydroelectric power stations, the 4.7 million inhabitants enjoy one of the highest living standards in the world. </p>
<p>Coming from Oslo, we headed southwest for the region of Telemark, the home of skiing. In the town of Skien, we followed the Telemark Canal, which was the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and the most spectacular waterway of Europe in the 1890s. It took five years to build it and was designed to raft wood from the north of Telemark down to the seaports of Skagerrak, where the Baltic Sea meets the North Sea. Eighteen still original, hand-operated locks in eight places level out a difference of 236 feet in altitude between Skien at the south-east end of Lake Norsjoe and the town of Dalen, 65 miles further west at the end of Lake Bandak. Today, you can sail or paddle up and down the canal in the summer months or go for a comfortable, nostalgic boat trip. </p>
<p>“The world’s highest waterfall, I have discovered at Rjukan in Telemark.” geology professor Jens Esmark reported back to his king in Copenhagen in 1810. Well, this was a slight exaggeration, as the waters plunge only 340 feet down into the valley of Vestfjorddalen. However, the sentence made Rjukan the cradle of tourism and the first vacation resort in Norway. Visitors from all over Europe came in the summer months and checked into the hotel of Vemork or booked Norway’s first tourist cabin on Krokan farm above the thundering waters of the fall. Artists came to paint the waterfall and scenery below the cone of Gaustatoppen that towers majestically over the town. With an altitude of 6,178 feet above sea level, it is one of the highest and most beautiful mountains of the region. About thirty thousand people make the trip up to the summit every year to enjoy the fantastic view down into the valley and over the foothills of Hardangervidda that offer plenty of opportunities for hiking and cycling.</p>
<p>At the entrance of Rjukan’s Tinn Museum, troll faces (queer-looking giants and dwarves from the Norwegian woods) greet the visitor, and old farm houses and barns show the history of house building from medieval times to the end of the 19th century. Textiles, old prints, paintings and wood carvings represent the art and traditions of the farmers who once settled in this valley before bold scientists and entrepreneurs discovered the place and started to produce energy from the power of its waters.</p>
<p>A winding road brings you up to the mountains in the south, and a narrow fjellveien (mountain road) leads up to 4,134 feet and over one of the highest passes of Norway. Via the places of Tuddal and Sauland, it isn’t far to Heddal, where you can visit the biggest and best preserved stave church of Norway. Built without any nails and steel parts, the wooden building is an architectural masterpiece of the early Middle Ages. Still being the parish church of Heddal, its doors are open to tourists during the summer season.</p>
<p>If we had known about the annual blues festival in Notodden that takes place in early August, we would have changed our itinerary. However, we went further west to see the fjords at the country’s North Sea coast and the pulpit rock of Preikestolen, which is one of the most visited natural sights in the south of Norway. The 2.5-mile-long foot path from the parking lot took us two hours and 1,100 feet up to the mountains and the famous cliff, which juts out over the Lysefjord that lies 1,980 feet under your feet. Meandering 25 miles into the interior of the country, it ends at Lysebotn, where the cliff of Kjerag rises 3,555 feet vertically into the sky.</p>
<p>Next time we are going to explore Sognefjord (with 126 miles the longest fjord of Norway) and I hope for better weather conditions when we go on hikes in the national park of Jostedalspreen, the biggest glacier in Europe.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/southern-norway/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Great Himalayan</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/the-great-himalayan/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/the-great-himalayan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:01:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[account]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adrian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adventure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Annapurna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[annapurna regions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[asian countries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Barwa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bhutan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Centre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[completion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[completion date]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Continental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[continental divide trail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[date]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[difference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[district]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elevation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Everest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Expeditions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[footpath]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GHT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GPS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Great]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ground]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guidebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[helicopter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Himalaya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Himalayan Trail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holiday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[idea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Integrated]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kathmandu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[length]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[man]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[map]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[money spinner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mugu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Namche]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nanga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nepal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicholas Crane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outfit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outlier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parbat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pennine Way]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presenter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[price]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Programme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[region]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robin Boustead]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[route]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[section]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snowdon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SNV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[source]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steroidal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[television]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tibet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tibetan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[total]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tourism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trans canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trekker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[treks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[undertaking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[version]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[War]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[week]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[western Nepal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[westernmost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world expeditions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[year]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=10</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you got six months off? Do you fancy a long walk? If so, World Expeditions may have just the holiday for you. They have become the only trekking outfit to offer a guided trip along the first completed section of the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT). 
Stretching for 1,700km along the length of Nepal, the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/himalayan.jpg"><img src="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/himalayan-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="himalayan" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-55" /></a>Have you got six months off? Do you fancy a long walk? If so, World Expeditions may have just the holiday for you. They have become the only trekking outfit to offer a guided trip along the first completed section of the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT). </p>
<p>Stretching for 1,700km along the length of Nepal, the GHT will take you a mere 157 days to complete. You&#8217;ll see eight of the world&#8217;s 14 peaks over 8,000m, including Everest, and cross passes reaching up to 6,000m, climbing a total of 150,000m. That&#8217;s a Snowdon every day for half a year. Oh, and it will set you back £20,500.<span id="more-10"></span></p>
<p>The GHT isn&#8217;t the world&#8217;s longest long-distance footpath. The Continental Divide Trail in the US is 5,000km and the Trans Canada will be three times that. But this steroidal version of the Pennine Way looks like being the most coveted of all. Eventually, the trail&#8217;s originators hope it will stretch from the mighty 8,000m peak Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, considered the westernmost outlier of the Himalaya, to Namche Barwa in Tibet. It will connect five Asian countries &#8211; Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. </p>
<p>That version will stretch for 4,500km, but there is no completion date confirmed for such a huge undertaking. For now, the focus is on Nepal &#8211; with the first guided treks starting next year. As well as being an enormous challenge, the GHT could also prove to be a welcome money-spinner for a country still recovering from 10 years of civil war. Some parts of Nepal have benefited hugely from tourism, like the Everest and Annapurna regions. Those areas without such famous mountains, particularly in remote western Nepal, haven&#8217;t fared nearly so well.</p>
<p>Last year, I trekked along a section of the GHT through the Mugu district of western Nepal, a remote region peopled by Tibetan traders and animist tribes. Thousands of people were relying on aid from the World Food Programme, flown in by helicopter with the nearest roads a week&#8217;s walk away. Many young men leave to find work abroad. Tourism, for all its faults, could really make a difference here.</p>
<p>Several adventurous souls have travelled the arc of the Himalaya before, while Richard and Adrian Crane, cousins of television presenter Nicholas Crane, actually ran it in 1983. But the idea of a defined and designated route for trekkers is more recent. In 2006, the Dutch development agency SNV and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development based in Kathmandu committed to developing the idea, and have brought together government agencies and local people.</p>
<p>But it&#8217;s the hard work of one man, Australian trekker Robin Boustead, that has moved the project along most. After years of research (read his account here), he completed the trek in two sections, and has drawn an excellent free map of the trail&#8217;s route as well as writing a guidebook. Every water source, camping ground and elevation has been meticulously logged with GPS, but he says that the route will undoubtedly develop as more people do it and discover better alternatives.</p>
<p>For those without the time – or the knees – to do the whole thing in one go, Boustead has broken the GHT down into nine sections, which you can pick off at your leisure. And if you think 20 grand is a lot of chapatties to spend on an adventure holiday, it&#8217;s still a lot less than the current price of a trip up Everest – and a lot more exclusive. There have been four thousand ascents of the world&#8217;s highest mountain, but only one man has done the GHT.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/the-great-himalayan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

