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	<title>Flavour of vacation &#187; sea</title>
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		<title>Sichuan</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/sichuan/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:36:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adventure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[banks of the river]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buddha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buddha statue]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Sichuan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sichuan cuisine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sichuan province]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[site]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spicy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[UNESCO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unesco world heritage]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[world heritage sites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=106</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sichuan is one of province in China which also famous as tourist magnet. Located in southwest of China, capital of Chengdu, is a province rich in historic sites.
For tourist coming from Asia, the word Sichuan might be familiar in their ears, Yes, because some of Chinese food using Sichuan province in their names. Sichuan cuisine [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sichuan is one of province in China which also famous as tourist magnet. Located in southwest of China, capital of Chengdu, is a province rich in historic sites.</p>
<p>For tourist coming from Asia, the word Sichuan might be familiar in their ears, Yes, because some of Chinese food using Sichuan province in their names. Sichuan cuisine are famous with its spicy food, instead of those spicy food there are others tourist sites in Sichuan which are quite popular such as below:<br />
<span id="more-106"></span><br />
1. Chengdu Panda Habitat.<br />
These place is the largest panda breeding places in China, located in Chengdu, Sichuan. Here we could see different kinds of pandas, and are also hybrid of these pandas.</p>
<p>2. Leshan Buddha<br />
Are also called the highest sitting Buddha statue in the world, located on the banks of the river Leshan.<br />
Because of its highest, Leshan Giant Buddha is included in one of the Unesco World Heritage Site.</p>
<p>3. Mount Emei.<br />
In here there is a Buddhist temple, located in a location fairly high, about 3000 meters above sea level. To get into this place (Mount Emei), you have to jump in the cable car, it will take you to the top more easily, of course if you like adventure, then climbing or tracking would be another option you could get. These place also included in the UNESCO world heritage sites. Like many temples / temple in China, here again we can see hundreds or even thousands of locks, which hung all the way up toward the temple. Padlock in China.</p>
<p>Visit Sichuan and spent your <a href="http://www.travelsphere.co.uk/destinations/asia/eastern-asia/china/" target="_blank">China holidays</a> and experience one of the world heritage site combine with the culture and its cuisine.</p>
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		<title>Echoes of the Ancients</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/echoes-of-the-ancients/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/echoes-of-the-ancients/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:31:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adventure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adventure worth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aeolian islands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agrigento]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancient greeks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arab architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[avola]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Baroque]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cascade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[century]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cerulean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[citrus orchards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clearest]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Sicilian]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=31</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Standing in the Sicilian sun with your feet washed by the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to the tri-corner island than beauty. The beaches are magnificent—turquoise waters stretching out to the horizon, soft sand, gentle waves and some of the clearest water in the world. In the distance, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/sicily.jpg"><img src="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/sicily-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="sicily" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-33" /></a>Standing in the Sicilian sun with your feet washed by the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to the tri-corner island than beauty. The beaches are magnificent—turquoise waters stretching out to the horizon, soft sand, gentle waves and some of the clearest water in the world. In the distance, on the rockier portions of the coast, volcanic rock juts out of the sea, its dark color and jagged edge adding drama to the vista. </p>
<p>Inland, the hills rise up and greet the sun, patched with golden fields of grain, vibrant citrus orchards, and the vineyards that produce Sicily’s fragrant nero d’avola wines. The skies are blue, the weather is warm, and somewhere, a few steps down a narrow street, someone is rolling fresh pasta to tempt you back from the shore. <span id="more-31"></span></p>
<p>There’s no mistaking Sicily for part of mainland Italy. Though Sicily has been officially part of Italy for nearly 150 years, it has also been ruled in turn by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Normans, and the island has kept the flavors of each passing wave of conquerors. Only a few blocks beyond the monuments to Vittorio Emanuele II outside the train station in Palermo are palaces and churches with the domes, mosaics, and geometric loveliness of medieval Arab architecture. </p>
<p>Baroque details line graceful, decaying buildings that shade sprawling markets and tanned children playing soccer in the streets. Most visitors come to Sicily for the weather: the climate is warm year-round, and in the summer months the sunshine is constant and temperatures hover around 86 degrees Fahrenheit. But in Sicily, history, culture, and natural wonders are layered on so thick that the trouble is in choosing the adventure, not finding it. </p>
<p>One adventure worth having, though, is a voyage to the Aeolian Islands off the north coast. The ancient Greeks and Romans called these islands the home of the winds, and their breezes offer some relief from the constant beat of the sun. One boasts the forge of the fire god himself: Vulcano, a volcanic island reachable by ferry or hydrofoil with sulfur baths and dark umber beaches. </p>
<p>Here, the intrepid and long-winded can climb to the top of the sleeping volcano that spewed forth much of the island and peer into the crater once said to be the entrance to Hades. Though it hasn’t erupted in a century, Vulcano’s main crater is far from extinct, its peak smoking with sulfur from multiple exhaust holes and the giant divot of its mouth still muddy-looking and dangerous. </p>
<p>The rock that surrounds the crater is as brittle and sharp as ceramic. Signs warn that hikers should spend no more than a few minutes at the top, lest the fumes intoxicate or poison them. Still, with the wind blowing freely on the sweat spent making it up, the feeling and the view are well worth the scorching hour-long climb.</p>
<p>While the ancient Greeks assigned their gods’ homes on the outer islands, though, they worshiped them on Sicily itself. And after experiencing Vulcano’s primordial power, you can remind yourself of the force of human culture in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. Here a complex of Greek temples was hewn from the native red sandstone and erected on a ridge overlooking the countryside, with the hazy cerulean smudge of the Mediterranean visible below the swell of the fields. Modern Agrigento rises to one side, and majestic sandstone forms cascade down the slope, linked by a pale road the Romans called the Sacred Way. </p>
<p>Each temple has its own appeal. The temple to Hera offers the best view and perhaps the most picturesque profile, perched atop the high point on the temples’ ridge. The sanctuary to Concordia is nearly intact despite the twenty-odd centuries since its construction, and dark shadows hide its inner depths even at the height of the day. </p>
<p>The temple of Zeus, meanwhile, is massive and almost completely destroyed, its ruins now poetically crumbling courtyards and staircases among the aloes and olive trees. The temple of Heracles demands humility, one row of its massive columns still standing and each one three times as wide around as the arm span of the average man. Together, the complex inspires awe—after two millennia, its structures are not only standing, but ethereally beautiful and seemingly indestructible. </p>
<p>Sicily’s mysteries are too many and too varied to explore in one short trip. But like the striking beauty of the island itself and the cultural marks so many have made on it, the memory of them will surely endure.<br />
<a href="http://www.pacificadvance.com" target="_blank">payday advance</a></p>
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		<title>Places of interest in Australia</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/places-of-interest-in-australia/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/places-of-interest-in-australia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:23:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Australia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accommodation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accommodation option]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adelaide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[admire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Airlines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alice Springs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[area]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[array]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[australia one]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Barrier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beautiful island]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[bridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bridge 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brisbane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bush]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bush areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cairns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Canberra]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=66</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Australia one of five continent in the world has something special and unique rather than any other continent. It has cultures and modernity mixed in one place and really enjoyable place just for everyone. From simple holidays to culture filled excitement, there are all sorts of options to enjoy. Below some places tourists must see [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sydney-opera-house.jpg"><img src="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sydney-opera-house-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="sydney-opera-house" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-70" /></a>Australia one of five continent in the world has something special and unique rather than any other continent. It has cultures and modernity mixed in one place and really enjoyable place just for everyone. From simple holidays to culture filled excitement, there are all sorts of options to enjoy. Below some places tourists must see and events around Australia that you can consider for your next holiday. Although you don&#8217;t have enough preparation, <a href="http://www.lastminute.com.au/flights.html" target="_blank">last minute flights</a> will take you to Australia.<br />
<span id="more-66"></span><br />
1. Sydney</p>
<p>Sydney is Australia’s number one favorite travel destination in terms of number of visitors. Most visited place in Sidney is The Sydney Opera House which is completed in the 1960&#8217;s. The unique design for the facility, coupled with the excellent acoustics, make this cultural icon a must see stop that even persons who are not interested in opera will enjoy.<br />
While in town, don&#8217;t forget to admire the spectacular Harbour Bridge.</p>
<p>2. Cairns &#038; the Great Barrier Reef</p>
<p>Cairns is the main entry point and from there you can travel north or south and out to beautiful island resorts. Luxury holiday homes are a great accommodation option in this part of Australia. Find it in <a href="http://www.lastminute.com.au/hotels.html " target="_blank">last minute accommodation</a>.</p>
<p>The Great Barrier Reef is known as the world&#8217;s largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef stretches along the Queensland coast for a distance of approximately 35 million hectares. Many varieties of fish and other forms of sea life make the Reef home, and there are plenty of opportunities to learn about and observe. As a family opportunity, the Great Barrier Reef is an activity that will fascinate even the most jaded of travelers.</p>
<p>3. Brisbane</p>
<p>While visiting along the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane is the place to go when you need a taste of the big city. Located in Queensland, the city is known for spectacular night spots that offer a little something for everyone, as well as a range of cuisine that is considered to be the best in Australia by many visitors.</p>
<p>4. Melbourne</p>
<p>Melbourne offers a mix of modern architecture and amenities along with some of the most beautiful examples of Victorian architecture in the world. Shopping and food that ranges from fine cuisine to guilty pleasures can easily be found at Federation Square and the New Quay.</p>
<p>5. The Great Ocean Road</p>
<p>No visit to Australia is complete without enjoying the view from the Great Ocean Road. Running for over two hundred miles along the coastline in the area of Victoria, the view is breathtaking any time of the year. There are plenty of interesting local restaurants to try along the way, as well as several great places to stop and enjoy a beer. The Great Ocean Road is a wonderful drive over a weekend or stay a little longer at a holiday rental property. Got unplanned weekend / holiday, don&#8217;t worry there always be <a href="http://www.lastminute.com.au/hotels.html" target="_blank">last minute hotels</a> for your accommodations.</p>
<p>6. The Red Centre including Uluru-Tjuta National Park</p>
<p>Found in the Northern Territory, the Red Centre is considered to be the physical center spot of Australia. Tourists will enjoy viewing the Ayers Rock, which is also known as Uluru. Viewing Uluru is considered to be an ideal activity at sunrise and sunset, when the range of colors across the red rock seem to waver and change in fascinating patterns.</p>
<p>Uluru-Tjuta National Park is an area that functions as both a wildlife preserve and a national park. Along with the Ayers Rock, the part also encompasses such sites as Alice Springs and the Olgas.</p>
<p>7. Canberra</p>
<p>Canberra is the Capital of Australia and a fascinating place to see. Visit Parliament House, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library, National Archives which feature old movies, records, books and artifacts as well as the War Memorial. Four days is Canberra is adequate to see most of the attractions.</p>
<p>8. Tasmania</p>
<p>Tasmania offers breathtaking scenery, hiking and camping. Just off the coast, the main land you can reach Tasmania by car ferry or by short flight. Hobart is a stunning town on the Derwent river and features colonial architecture. The local food produce is deliciously fresh and restaurants reasonably priced.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lastminute.com.au/directory/australian-airlines/qantas.html" target="_blank">Qantas</a> and <a href="http://www.lastminute.com.au/directory/international-airlines/singapore-airlines.html" target="_blank">Singapore Airlines</a> able brought you to feel the delightful and cultures of Australia.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Golan Heights</title>
		<link>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/golan-heights/</link>
		<comments>http://www.virtualtraverse.com/golan-heights/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:14:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.virtualtraverse.com/?p=19</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Much like Kashmir or Iran, the Golan Heights have the dubious honor of appearing more often on newspapers&#8217; front pages than in their travel sections. Since Israel captured the Golan during the Six Day War in 1967, this region, which stretches from the Sea of Galilee in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/golan-heights.jpg"><img src="http://www.virtualtraverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/golan-heights-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="golan-heights" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-48" /></a>Much like Kashmir or Iran, the Golan Heights have the dubious honor of appearing more often on newspapers&#8217; front pages than in their travel sections. Since Israel captured the Golan during the Six Day War in 1967, this region, which stretches from the Sea of Galilee in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, has been one of the world&#8217;s most contested pieces of political real estate. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s also one of the Earth&#8217;s hidden gems. The Golan&#8217;s 1,200 square kilometers harbor a treasure trove of lush farmland and sky-scraping volcanic terrain, the fate of which forms the crux of one of the world&#8217;s most notorious geopolitical disputes. A visit to the Golan Heights grants travelers access to the natural and human worlds behind the headlines, challenging minds with a ground-level perspective of the machinery of conflict and resolution.<span id="more-19"></span></p>
<p>The Golan Heights, which take their name from one of the six biblical cities of refuge, boast some of the most versatile and fertile farmland in the Middle East. The Golan&#8217;s collection of microclimates and multiple rivers provide Israel with almost 16% of its fresh water and allow farmers to grow a wide array of crops. In particular, the plateau is famous as Israel&#8217;s exceptional wine country, producing prize-winning Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots in a land of proverbially bad vintages.</p>
<p>The Golan&#8217;s northern extreme is more rugged, as the farm fields of the south give way to the volcanic highlands of the Anti-Lebanon range. For those outdoor aficionados who can get past the region&#8217;s notoriety, the northern Golan offers year-round opportunities for recreation. The Avital-Bental Nature Reserve, a national park located between the slopes of two dormant volcanoes just miles from the border, are a hotspot for hikers.<br />
During the warmer months, visitors to the reserve have the option of taking a water hike along the Gilabun River, a seasonal stream and tributary of the Jordan River that flows through mountainside forests, beneath thick canopies of underbrush and along sheer basalt and limestone cliffs before finally plunging over the side of a ravine in a spectacular 120-foot-high waterfall. The pool at the bottom of the falls is a popular swimming spot and, though almost uncomfortably frigid, is a refreshing distraction after a long hike through the heat.</p>
<p>On Mt. Bental&#8217;s peak, the Golan Regional Council&#8217;s visitor center offers an Israeli perspective on the Golan&#8217;s history, complete with a reconstructed Israeli Defense Forces bunker, the requisite signpost listing the distances to various capital cities and a mountaintop cafe dubbed Coffee Annan. From the mountaintop lookout, visitors can absorb a panoramic view of the Israeli border, where the greenery of nearby vineyards suddenly and starkly gives way to the UN-administered demilitarized zone. </p>
<p>In winter, tourists flock to the northern Golan to visit Mt. Hermon, the region&#8217;s highest peak. Located at the intersection of the Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese borders, Mt. Hermon&#8217;s southern slopes are home to Israel&#8217;s only ski resort. In terms of difficulty, Mt. Hermon&#8217;s slopes are often compared to those in New England: with eight lifts and a dozen or so runs, the skiing is entertaining, but not too much of a challenge for experienced riders. </p>
<p>In terms of lodging, visitors can choose between a number of on-site and nearby guest houses, which run the gamut from cottages to well-appointed luxury suites, complete with in-room jacuzzis. Beginners can take lessons at Mt. Hermon&#8217;s ski school, and the resort offers equipment rental for those who would rather not lug around their own.</p>
<p>A trek through the Golan does involve some unique safety considerations, the most obvious of which are landmines. The Israel-Syria border is one of the most heavily-mined on planet earth, and with Israel and Syria still not officially at peace, disposal efforts have been minimal at most. Minefields, both marked and unmarked, line many roads and paths, making it exceedingly important for visitors to stay on established trails. </p>
<p>Other reminders of the Golan Heights&#8217; tenuous grip on peace confront visitors at every turn. Trails wind past the crumbling foundations of Syrian bunkers and gun emplacements destroyed during the Six-Days War. Today, the region is heavily militarized, even by Israeli standards; the IDF has active bases and firing ranges throughout the region, and maintains reconnaissance stations on many of the high peaks on the border. Tours and school groups departing for the northern Golan often hire one or more armed guards to hike along with them.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s surprising is how easy it is to get used to it all. At first, the parades of military transports and ominous warning signs are more than a bit distracting, and may leave visitors from less heavily-armed countries nervous. A day or two is generally all it takes to fall into the Golan rhythm and let the conspicuous military buildup fade into the background.</p>
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		<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>
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		<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>
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