Illustration by Pep Boatella pepboatella.com

Panenka, a soccer magazine anyone can read, transports us to other countries through their passion for the sport. This time they take us to the German capital where they show us their perfect eleven, both for those places related to the football game and for those touristic places.

SPORTING ELEVEN

1 Olympiastadion | Scenario where Jesse Owens gave four Olympic slapping to Adolf Hitler . It is worth just for this.
2 Alte Pumpe | A statue recalls here the old and charming Hertha stadium before the division of the city in August 1961.
3 Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark |One ‘national’ stadium -that of the GDR, which was next to an international border- the Wall.
4 Alten Försterei | Fans of Union, Eastern rebel team, collectively and selflessly renewed this stadium of Bundesliga 2.
5 Dynamo | Miiss its past as a regime’s club. Instead of communist bureaucrats, now neo-Nazi fans support it at 9th Division.
6 Karl-Marx-Allee | On Good bye Lenin the reunified city celebrates 90′s Football World Championship in this avenue of Stalinist architecture.
7 Hanne am Zoo | Run by a Hertha and Bayern’s former central defender, this bar was here until it closed in 2010. One of the references for lots of football fans
8 Puerta de Brandeburgo | Every May hosts a massive party to mark the end of the German Cup (DFB Pokal).
9 Columna de la Victoria | The first thing that crossed the 40,000 participants in the Berlin Marathon, ideal for brand.
10 Germania 1888 | It proclaims the oldest football club in Germany. He has not done much in the past 125 years. Just survive.
11 Charlottenburg | Bourgeois neighborhood where Jerome Boateng grew.However, Kevin-Prince matured in Wedding, far more screwed.

TOURISTIC ELEVEN

A Potsdamer Platz |No Man’s Land during the Cold War, is now the city center. Houses the Berlinale in February.
B Unterwelt | World War II devastated 50% of the city. On this metro station you will visit one claustrophobic shelter.
C Alexanderplatz | The television tower, the tallest building in Berlin and fleeting vestige of the strength of the GDR in the 70s.
D Normanstrasse | Another memory of that country that no longer exists is the headquarters of the Stasi: it scares as much as Life of the others.
E Friedrichshain | Techno clubs at night and indie markets during the day. It is the youngest district in the youngest capital of Europe.
F Wansee | Who says that Berlin has no beach? In summer, the lake Wannsee are crammed, though green water no invite to swim.
G Carnaval de las Culturas | In May, the city explodes with the color and warmth of the multiethnic Carnival. Winter is over.
H Kreuzberg | A neighborhood that seems Istanbul, and holds a pretty cheap food market on Thursdays .
I Tempelhof | Old airport that nurtured Berliners during the 1948 air blockade decreed by Stalin.
J Club der Visionäre | Drink summer nights relaxed in this bar’s garden, in a bend of the Spree.
K PrenzlauerBerg | Frenchified streets full of small cafes and designer shops. More cool, impossible.Ilustración de Pep Boatella pepboatella.com

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here! 

In addition to its canals, the dockside in the old harbour, the Gravensteenor Castle of the Counts of Flanders, the City Hall and the Korenmarkt, one of Ghent’s major attractions is an altarpiece. Granted, it might not sound overly exciting or novel at first glance. If we add that it is one of the masterpieces of Flemish painting and the cornerstone in the transition from medieval to Renaissance art, it might start arousing some interest. And, that it is one of the artworks which, in the course of history, has been stolen most often, as well as having travelled through many countries, you are bound to see it in a different light.

The masterpiece in question is the Polyptych of The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,also known as the Ghent Altarpiece, the work of the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. It is located on the high altar in St Bavo Cathedral and was executed in 1426, commissioned by Joost Vijdt and his wife, Lysbette Borluut. The altarpiece consists of 12 panels painted in oil on both sides and measuring 3.5 m high by 4.6 m wide. It remains closed most of the year, and is only opened on festive holidays, revealing all its splendour. The paintings on the outer panels are more sober, with a marked sculptural air, the central theme being the Annunciation. A noteworthy highlight of the inner panels is their colouring, with a Deësis of Christ the King, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist as the prominent upper feature, and the Adoration of the Lamb in the lower centre. Without going into the subject, the symbology and details behind the scenes of the altarpiece would fill a whole book.

The startling vicissitudes affecting this artwork date from 1566, when the retable had to be dismantled and concealed in the City Hall to preserve it from an assault by Calvinist iconoclasts.

In 1781, the two upper panels, depicting Adam and Eve, were removed from the ensemble, as Joseph II of Bohemia and Hungary found the nakedness of the figures disagreeable. In the 19th century, the panels were replaced with clothed versions of Adam and Eve, executed by the Belgian painter, Victor Lagye.

In 1800, the Napoleonic troops regarded it as the spoils of war – the wings were sectioned off and sold, while the central panels ended up in the Louvre. Once Napoleon had been defeated, the panels were restored to their rightful place in Ghent. But not for long.

In 1816, the vicar of St Bavo sold several of the side panels, which passed through a number of hands before coming into the possession of Wilhelm II, King of Prussia. They ended up being displayed at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. To provide a better view of them, the panels were sectioned lengthwise to reveal the obverse and reverse sides in the same plane. At the end of the First World War, among the multitude of artworks Germany was forced to return were these panels, which were again replaced in their original site.

In 1934, the panel of The Just Judges was stolen and a ransom of one million Belgian francs was demanded for its safe return, but the deal was rejected. It is still missing to this day and has been replaced by a copy, the work of the Brussels Fine Arts Museum curator, Jef Van der Veken.

Needless to say, the altarpiece was not left unscathed by the Second World War either, forming part of the large-scale plunder perpetrated by the Nazis. After a complex hunt for stolen art undertaken by the so-called “Monuments Men”, it was located in the Altaussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps.

The altarpiece is currently being restored, so not all the panels are on display in St Bavo Cathedral. To make up for this, those interested can follow the restoration project live in the Ghent Fine Arts Museum (MSK).

Now that you’re up to speed with all the ins and outs behind this marvellous artwork, we recommend you get hold of a Vueling and see it for yourself. And, don’t leave it too long, in case it gets stolen again!

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

What do Ben Hur, La Dolce Vita, Gangs of New York and Nine have in common? At first glance, we might think… nothing, but, if we pay attention to the credits, we will see they were all shot at Cinecittá. For many of us, these film studios, located on the outskirts of Rome, are inevitably associated with the name of the great Federico Fellini, but they have also been a privileged host to some of the best moments in cinema history, and the spot where a large number of movie stars converged.

This “Cinema City” was built in 1937 after the previous studios were destroyed in a fire, the cause of which has never been accounted for. The construction project was commissioned to the engineer, Carlo Roncoroni, and the architect, Gino Peressutti. The aim was to build a veritable city of the seventh art, capable of competing with Hollywood itself, which would turn Italian cinema into a worldwide beacon. It should be noted that Mussolini’s Fascist regime was in power at the time and, like Germany, the Italian regime regarded cinema as a powerful propaganda tool.

Fortunately for us, not everything produced there was regime propaganda as it eventually became the place that witnessed the passage of great names in the history of Italian cinema – Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti.

Production came to a halt when the Second World War broke out, and the premises were even put to a different use. Two years before the war came to an end, Cinecittá was occupied by the Nazis and converted into a concentration camp for civilians. It was subsequently bombarded by Allied forces and then turned into a shelter for internally displaced people. All this upheaval led to the loss of most of the technical equipment and machinery once housed in the studios.

After weathering those dark years, Cinecittà gradually evolved into its period of greatest splendour. First, it became the site of grand American productions, featuring such unforgettable movies as Ben Hur,Quo Vadis? and Cleopatra. Second, this was where the careers of the great figures of Italian cinema unfolded. And, the presence of the Americans brought a fresh lease of life and modernity to the Eternal City, as so accurately portrayed in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita.

But all golden ages have their expiry date and the number of large-scale productions began to wane in the seventies, losing out to television. The fact is that the trend of block-buster productions started falling behind, while Italian cinema gradually ceased to be a major player on the world scene. Despite this, the studios can still boast of having been involved in such movies as The Godfather III, by Francis Ford Coppola (1988), The English Patient, by Anthony Minghella (1996), Gangs of New York, by Martin Scorsese (2002), The Passion of the Christ, by Mel Gibson (2004) and the popular television series,HBO Rome (2005-2007).

On a curious note and perhaps as a symbol of our times, Cinecittá is currently the premises of the house and set of Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother, a contest which has become one of the great television hits.

Cinecittá is now a place of pilgrimage for any film-lovers worth their salt, although what remains to experience is merely an exercise in nostalgic reunion with a period in which cinema was different. It is also a good excuse for taking the whole family along to teach the new generations some cinema history and show them one of its landmark venues. In addition to its sets and some of the most popular set designs, visitors can also see the exhibitions hosted in the Fellini Building.

Nowadays, it might feel weird to stroll through those almost ghostly spaces, tinged with the decadence of time, and try to relive the period in which the great American film stars walked those corridors. What is guaranteed though is the flush of excitement one feels when catching sight of its stunning, iconic entrance.

Ready for a trip to the cinema? Check out your Vueling to Rome here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Carlo Mirante

Beaujolais, one of France’s major vinicultural regions, lies some 50 km north of Lyons and stretches northwards through the French department of Rhône and southwards along the Saône and Loire rivers. Midnight on the third Thursday in November is one of the crowning moments in the region when, to the cry of le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! (the new Beaujolais has arrived), local vintners release one of their youngest and most international wines. This red wine, made from the gamay grape – the most widely used in the area – is characterised by its quick, merely weeks-long fermentation and by the fact that the whole production is released onto the market simultaneously. This is achieved through what is probably one of the best known marketing operations in the viticultural sector, with a worldwide reach – Japan, the United States and Germany are among its main importers.

All this marketing madness has its origins in something far simpler, the local tradition of celebrating the end of the harvest. To this end, a young wine was made and consumed solely in the region itself. However, the official birth date of this wine is 1951, when authorisation was granted to release it onto the market on 15 November. It then became popular throughout France and sparked fierce competition between vintners, who vied to be the first to take their bottled wine to Paris. Also significant is the figure of Georges Duboeuf, one of the leading producers in the region, credited with having christened the wine Beaujolais Nouveau and being the leading promoter of the label. In 1985, the release date was moved to the third Thursday in November, while the festival was scheduled for the weekend to boost sales.

A Veritable Wine Festival

But, not everything related to Beaujolais Nouveau is commercial. There is also time for entertainment, the perfect excuse to visit this beautiful grape-growing region during the festival. All types of wine-related festive activities – known as the Beaujolais Days – are held across the region. The most famous one is Les Sarmentelles, held in the town of Beaujeu, the region’s historical capital. It lasts five days and activities include a host of wine-tasting events, and the chance to savour local cuisine, as well as to enjoy their music and dance. Sports enthusiasts will relish the Beaujolais Marathon, a race which takes runners past several chateaux and where wines and cheeses are offered at the aid stations. The whole race is run in a festive spirit, with a large number of participants wearing fancy dress. Even the city of Lyon gets involved in the celebration by organising the so-called Beaujol’ympiades, where you can join in by tasting the twelve Beaujolais AOCs.

Beaujolais Beyond Their Nouveau

Apart from their great festival, Beaujolais has a lot to see, discover and enjoy. Many tourist guides tend to compare this region to Tuscany, and they aren’t far wrong. Visitors to Beaujolais will discover beautiful scenery carpeted with vineyards, with the odd chateaux peeping out, in addition to charming stone villages and excellent culinary offerings.

Ready to toast the first wine of the season? Get your Vueling here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Goproo3, yves Tennevin, Shunichi kouroki