In the past eighteen years the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) has grown into a globally renowned platform for the international dance and electronic music scene. The festival (from 15th till 19th of October) is the perfect place to spot the latest musical trends and emerging talents, as well as hear the most recent work of both electronic music pioneers and current superstar acts.

In addition to the extensive live line-up of ADE Festival, ADE Playground offers music enthusiasts a large and varied daytime program including five days of film screenings, music hardware presentations, art shows and exhibitions, exclusive fashion offers, interactive talk shows, promotional activities and pop-up musical performances at 25 creative hotspots around the city, including roof-top terraces, clothing shops, and art galleries, as well as outdoor exhibitions and cinemas.

The business arm of the event (ADE Conference) is recognized as the most important of its kind. Divided into seven themed programs, ADE's comprehensive conference covers every aspect of the modern music industry, featuring dedicated programming for business professionals, start-ups, aspiring producers and musicians, international students, VJs, visual artists and stage designers. The programs also feature in-depth expertise and insight into the harder music genres, the relationship between music and technology, and sustainable, ecologically responsible practices for the global dance music industry.

The ADE Festival features 300 events and 2,000 DJ's over five days in 80 clubs and venues, which together combine to make Amsterdam one of the busiest and most inspiring clubbing cities in the world. Every year the ADE Festival attracts 300,000 festival visitors from around the globe and is truly the biggest international club festival covering the whole spectrum of electronic sub-genres.

Image from Amsterdam Dance Event

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The stalls along the Calle Feria Market, also known as the Plaza de Abastos, have a life all of their own. When you approach the outskirts of the market you will be greeted by colourful stalls, wonderful aromas and the sounds of people talking and enjoying themselves. You may not find many tables free, so a lot of people eat and drink standing up. It gives you that wonderful feeling of having arrived somewhere you know you are really going to enjoy. The Cantina Bar in the calle Feria Market is one of the very best places to eat in all of Seville. After jostling for a table at any of the stalls surrounding the market, which are turned into improvised restaurants serving excellent fresh fish from the market, you order from the bar because it’s much quicker than waiting for anyone to take your order. Prawns, fried fish, squid and spicy chips and chilled beer. The waiter writes everything down on the bricks of the bar wall and asks your name. When your order is ready he calls out your name and you can go to the bar and collect your food.

It seemed like a good idea and I followed the ritual when I was there. When I ordered the food, I ordered the beer and before we could drink them my name was shouted. On that occasion when I returned to the table with the food, I found myself sharing the table with some pleasant locals who told me the pleasures of living in Seville. Good food and friendly conversation. If you are in Seville a visit here is essential.

Image: Anual

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Santiago’s zone of influence stretches through a score of municipalities, ranging from A Coruña to Pontevedra, all articulated around the river Ulla, while various branches of the Road to Santiago run nearby, too.

Hardly 10 km from the city lies a magical spot – Pico Sacro, a legendary hill as far as Galician culture and the Jacobean tradition are concerned. Located south-east of the city, its unusual outline rises sharply to a height of 533 metres. Santiago and the skyline of its Cathedral towers are visible in the distance from its summit.

Galicia is green, and the city of Santiago is also surrounded by green. Nature lovers can go on outings from the city to such amazing spots as the Fervenzas do Toxa, or to Insua; to unique forests like the Fraga de Catasós, with chestnut trees towering over thirty metres, or to mountain ranges like O Candán, with its ancient landscapes and great open spaces.

In a radius of just fifty kilometres you can discover the monumental wealth of such historic towns as Padrón or Melide, both directly related to the Road to Santiago; pazos (country homes) like the Pazo de Santa Cruz de Ribadulla, noteworthy for its camellias and centuries-old olives trees, and even places of quiet and repose like the Carboeiro Monastery, surrounded by splendid natural scenery.

Needless to say, being Galicia, it is also worth planning outings to try the delicious and abundant cuisine in Santiago’s environs, characterised by the use of fresh produce in season. Be sure to try the Padrón peppers, trout and lamprey, cocido (stew), beef, cheeses, melindres (honey fritters), filloa crêpes, almendrados (macaroons) and rosquillas (a ring-shaped pastry), and to end your trip by toasting with a local spirit.

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For further information on Santiago: www.santiagoturismo.com

For further information on the environs of Santiago: www.areasantiago.es

Many books have been written and many films made with the city of Berlin as the backdrop, whether they concern the days of the Second World War or the subsequent Cold War . In all these stories, the wall that divided the city appeared as an undeniable symbol of those years of chaos that changed the world for ever. But if you had to choose one place that summed up the paranoia experienced in the German capital up until 1989, it would undoubtedly be Checkpoint Charlie: the most famous border crossing of all the checkpoints along the wall that used to separate the zone controlled by the USA from that controlled by the Soviets (where today it joins the districts of Mitte and Kreuzberg).

As a memorial to this recent past and the history of the German capital throughout the 20th Century, today you can find a replica of the border checkpoint booth standing in its original position. As a result, tourists strolling down the central avenue of Friedrichstraße can appreciate what it felt like to make the crossing from East Berlin to West Berlin and everything that this meant during those days of political tension. Furthermore, next to Checkpoint Charlie you can find the popular museum dedicated to the history of the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. A chaotic place (as its own history tells), but full of fascinating objects and images, such as a t-shirt signed by Keith Haring or the homemade ultralights that were made to fly over the wall undetected by the soldiers.

One interesting fact to tell you: this border post was christened Charlie as a result of the phonetic alphabet used by NATO. As it was the third checkpoint in the city, it corresponded to the letter C (as the first two were Alpha and Bravo).

By David Moreu

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