Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is the name of the 10 kilometers long seacoast that goes from Punto Mesco to Punta di Montenero, including five villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, aligned in this order if you come from Genoa.

They are part of the Liguria region -with Genoa as the capital city- and not just five random villages. Along with Portovenere and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, the setting was declared World Heritage site and it’s considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

These five traditional villages have some odd architectural characteristics. For instance, most of the houses were built on the steep rocks of the coast and are somehow suspended between the sea and the land.

These are little fishing villages, very well preserved over the years, protected against the massive urban growth and not altering the delicate ecological balance.

From Genoa you can reach Cinque Terre easily by train, taking the regional train that goes from Genoa to Pisa and across all these villages. This is the best option to get to Spezia province, because traffic to vehicles in the narrow cobbled streets of the Cinque Terre villages is limited.

Therefore, the best option is to walk within the routes that connect all the five fishing villages, to discover stunning landscapes, beaches, hills and pines forests. The most famous is the Blue Route, a 12 kilometers walk. Or, if you’re looking for something easier, get the Via dell'Amore, between Riomaggiore and Manarola, with a nice view over the Liguria coast.

At Cinque Terre you’ll enjoy a colorful mosaic in one of the most beautiful areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Also the gastronomy, with regional specialties and great fresh fish from the area or wines with their own designation of origin, like the delicious Sciacchetrà.

Riomaggiore by rdesai | Manarola by Mathias Ripp | Corniglia by sailko | Vernazza by AnticheSere | Monterrosso by Mauricio Pellegrinetti

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Windmills, wooden shoes, dykes, bicycles, canals, Gouda cheese –all of these symbolise the Netherlands, but the tulip has an even greater claim to emblematic status, and, along with other flowers, is one of the country’s main exports.

The tulip’s name is derived fromdulband, an old Persian word for “turban”, and the flower was originally cultivated in the region comprising today’s Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where it had religious connotations and adorned the tents and palaces of sultans.

The Flemish scholar and pioneering horticulturalist Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) was the first person to manage to cultivate tulips in Europe, and is regarded as the founder of the Dutch tulip industry.

The tulip was initially a luxury item for which large sums were paid, and in the 17^th C. a speculative “tulip bubble” expanded to gigantic proportions –a sale of 40 bulbs for 100,000 florins was recorded in a year when a Dutch workman earned about 150 florins a year. But the bubble soon burst.

Today, entire fields carpeted with the colourful flowers adorn the Netherlands, especially in the northeast, the Kop van Noord-Holland region, and Bollenstreek with its famous Keukenhof, the world’s largest floral park, with as many as seven million tulip bulbs sprouting every spring.

This year’s National Tulip Day falls on Saturday, 17^th January. It is regarded at the start of the tulip season, which finishes when late tulips are picked and the end of April. It is celebrated throughout the Netherlands, but Amsterdam’s Damm square is the place to be.

Tulip growers show their best early flowers there, turning the square into a mosaic of colours and textures, to the delight of tulip fanciers, including many foreign visitors, who are regaled with bouquets to take home.

In the course of the tulip season Dutch growers will sell more than 1,700 million flowers. Most of them to export markets.

Serious tulip fans should also visit Amsterdam’s Tulip Museum, which tells the story of the tulip in its historical context. The museum is in the Jordaan neighbourhood, just across the bridge from the Anne Frank house.

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Report by Scanner FM

Photograph by Kang-min Liu

Based on the statistics, we could say that the country’s national sport is beer consumption and the average 132 liters a year per person confirms it. Considered by many part of their national heritage, the Czech Republic has ideal conditions for growing hops and that is why the tradition dates back hundreds of years, being the oldest brewery in Prague "U Fleků".

Despite having become a place of pilgrimage for tourists (including a gift shop), this huge place has been opened since 1499 and still retains the atmosphere of yesteryear with live music and traditional food to accompany your jar. Find out how to go undetected, there are certain things you should know before ordering beer ... 'Jedno prosim pivo'!

1. Let the waiter keep serving you without saying a word: This applies to both Czechs and tourists. Of course, if you do not want to end up really wasted let them know that you have had enough or just put your coaster over your jug.

2. Their menu is measured in degrees. And this does not mean anything other than the amount malt. Keep in mind that the more degrees ... more alcohol.

3. After touching glasses with everyone you should touch the table and look into the eyes of your companions as you say "na zdravy". If you do not, your sex life will suffer. Or so says tradition.

4. The foam is a must. Do not even complain because for them it is very important and has to be very thick. If it continues intact once you are done the server did a good job.

5. Do not forget to tip. From a 10 to 15% is the usual, but they always thank generous customers.

Image from Zobacz Zasady

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Green pastures and sharp cliffs are the regular landscape of Wales, a land full of myths and legends. At Snowdonia, northeast of Wales, it is said that King Arthur was born. Here you can find the tallest mountain in England and Wales, and the highest lake in Wales. It is located exactly at Snowdon – which refers to ‘snowy hill’ in old English – is the highest point of the park, which is named after it.

The best way to discover Wales is follow the coastline path, the longest in the world. To fully enjoy this wonderful natural environment, a 1.350 kilometers long path was inaugurate in May, 2012, Wales Coastal Path, which follows stunning landscapes.

It’s easy to get to the Welsh coastline. You should take into account that everybody around here doesn’t live further than one hour away to the beach. This is one of the most recommended destinations to nature lovers, as it goes by 11 natural parks and many other natural reserves, this route is accessible to hikers and parts of it are also accessible by bike, trolleys or people with reduced mobility.

Wales Coastal Path right from Chepstow (South Wales) to the mouth of river Dee, in the north, that is by the border between Wales and the Cheshire Country, in England. The route follows all the Welsh coastline in a path that will take you to the Gower peninsula – with sandy beaches by the area of Pembrokeshire-, the strait of Menai in the isle of Anglesey – that links to the land by an iron suspension bridge -, the seafront in Cardiff bay, the cliffs in Porthcawl or the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Along the way, you can enjoy rich and varied wildness species. The cliffs, bays and sandy beaches are great viewpoints to sight sea birds like guillemots, puffins, razorbills, gulls, glaucous and shearwaters. The popular Cardigan Bay is famous for the dolphins, gray whales and porpoises that visit the shore often to play with the waves.

Picture from Wales Coastal Path by Hogyn Lleol | Strumble Head by Hogyn Lleol | Pembroke by JKMMX

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