Some myths about European cities could do with an upgrade. One of these has Hamburg labelled as an eminently professional destination associated with the work sector. While there is some truth to that, it would be a crass error to reduce Germany’s second largest city to the sole status of business haven. Indeed, under the hood of that metropolis, which forms its own federal state (it covers an area of 755 square kilometres), seethes a cultural scene which is well worth venturing into. This nerve centre of Germanic arts also boasts a highly prominent music scene.

Any fan of The Beatles knows that Hamburg is the place where the group hatched their plot to rise to stardom. There are even routes which take you to the spots trodden by the Fab Four. But, far from aiming to live off the past and beatlemania,Hamburg features a powerful network of concert halls with highly varied programmes, both in terms of live music and DJs eager to blast out any kind of sound. Hamburg is a cosmopolitan capital and this comes out in their open-mindedness about all artistic activity.

A tour of these live music clubs might start at III&70, a venue on Schulterblatt street which spotlights upcoming artists. From singer-songwriters to rock groups, electronic music and jam sessions (the most crowded nights of the week).III&70 also has a café famed for its generous breakfasts and an outdoor terrace with some fabulous table football.

Still in the Schulterblatt area, a short walk away we come to Kleiner Donner, the hub of Hamburg’s hip hop scene. While small, this basement locale packs a punch. Here, DJs and MCs eager to make their mark combine explosive scratches with freakish rhythms. This is one of the city’s coolest clubs – be sure to get there early at the weekend; otherwise you are likely to get shut out, as their capacity is rather limited.

Pressing on with the itinerary as far as Nobistor street, in the city centre, we stop off at Molotow, one of the most respected concert halls in Hamburg. Inaugurated in 1990, in the run-up to the times of alternative rock fever, such groups as The White Stripes and At The Drive -Inhave graced their stage. Their current offerings are headed by punk, as well as independent pop and rock bands. Like Kleiner Donner, this is a basement venue which acts as a pressure cooker when crowded. A hundred per cent rock and roll.

Let’s leave behind the “modern” styles and venture into the world of jazz and swing – the latter on the up and up of late. Indeed, Hamburg’s Cotton Club is a living history of live music in Germany. In fact, it is the oldest venue is in town devoted to jazz – in 2009 they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary. Located near Planten un Blomen, a park and botanical gardens in the heart of Hamburg – their own Central Park, to be sure – Cotton Club offers live music all days of the week. And, their gigs are reinforced by an exquisite array of house cocktails.

Another historic place of mandatory pilgrimage is Logo, sited next door to Universität Hamburg. Opened in 1974, its small stage was honoured by the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Jayhawks, Peaches, Modest Mouse, Rammstein, Blink 182, Ben Folds Five, Dillinger Escape Plan, Phoenix and Oasis before their rise to stardom. Nowadays they feature established groups interspersed with upcoming talent touting to make a name for themselves in pop and rock. Logo also offers an appealing programme of tribute bands.

Fire up and discover Hamburg’s musical scene – book your Vueling here.

Text by Xavi Sánchez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

What started out as a religious festival in honour of the Virgin Mary has become one of Lyon’s – and, by extension, France’s – standout cultural events. Worship of Mary the mother of Jesus in the capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region goes back a long way, its origins steeped in the Middle Ages. During the plague which ravaged France in 1643, for instance, the city was placed under her protection.

To uncover the roots of the Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights), you have to go back in time to 8 December 1852, the date on which a statue of the Virgin was unveiled. Executed by the sculptor, Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, it was placed in the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Fourvière. The event was widely celebrated in the city and, in keeping with the traditional way of marking important commemorations in those times, the facades of well-to-do homes were lit up with candlelight. What might have been just an isolated event in Lyon’s history was later reenacted each year on 8 December, when the nativity of the Virgin is celebrated, gradually becoming the festival of lights which we know today. Over time, the religious nature of the festivity has been replaced by one more akin to cultural entertainment, while the candles have been replaced by grand spectacles of light designed by renowned artists, and the celebration itself has been extended from one to four days.

The festival has grown so popular over the years that it now attracts up to 4 million visitors who flock to Lyon, eager to witness for themselves the huge, charming and magical display of light. This can be daunting for newcomers arriving in the city to discover and enjoy the Fête des Lumières. We advise you to book your accommodation in advance and to be patient when attending the various light shows, as you are bound to encounter large crowds. What we can guarantee, however, is that you will be amazed by the earnestness with which the Lyonnais celebrate this festivity, and by the sheer number and quality of the visual displays, most of which are held in the old town and around Lyon’s major landmarks.

What’s More…

Apart from visiting Lyon for its Festival of Lights, which this year runs from 8 to 11 December, we recommend you take the opportunity to discover some of the city’s other charms, too. Be sure to visit its historic centre or Vieux Lyon, designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998, where you can breathe the medieval atmosphere, visit Roman ruins – most notably the Roman Theatre of Fourvière – and do a spot of shopping at the Carré d’Or. Cuisine is another of the city’s fortes, and has earned it international accolades. Indeed the city features such standout chefs as Paul Bocuse and Eugénie Brazier. So, make a point of dropping in on at least one of the countless bouchons, as restaurants are known in Lyonnais parlance, and treat yourself to their excellent local cuisine.

Come and experience first-hand this stunning festival of lights – book your Vueling here.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Fulvio Spada

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

The Hermitage Museum is a must-visit for sightseers in Saint Petersburg. It is one of the best ways to delve into the country’s past – that of the Czars – to get an idea of the opulence and splendour they lived in. The figures speak for themselves: the Hermitage has over three million artworks, from both East and West, including paintings, sculptures, archaeological pieces, Greek and Roman antiquities, jewellery and weapons – imagine that! The art gallery rates among the finest in the world, leaving behind other great art museums such as the Louvre and the Prado. What’s more; only about 3% of that huge number of artworks are actually on public display.

That enormous private collection, which became a State Museum in 1917, dates from 1764, when Catherine the Great acquired 225 Dutch and Flemish paintings. It was also during her reign that construction began on the massive architectural complex where the collections are now housed. It is made up of seven buildings: the Winter Palace – the former residence of the Czars – the Hermitage Theatre, Old Hermitage, Small Hermitage, New Hermitage, General Staff Building and the Menshikov Palace, once the residence of the governor of Saint Petersburg.

The Hermitage Cats

What strikes visitors to this magnificent museum – apart from its wealth, splendour, fine execution and antiquity – are the cats that roam about there. In case you think they are there by chance – no, they are there by design, as they are tasked with hunting down rodents to prevent any artworks from deteriorating. Thus far, it might just sound like some quaint story but there is actually a long history behind these feline guardians. In fact, they are the only tenants of the Palace that have survived all the upheavals of the country’s past – the Napoleonic invasion, the Russian Revolution and the German invasion during World War II.

The first cat to appear in the royal palace was brought there by Czar Peter I from the Low Countries. But, it was his daughter, Czarina Elisabeth Petrovna, who in 1774 decreed the use of cats to rid the palace of mice, which she was genuinely terrified of. Cats have lived in the Winter Palace ever since and have witnessed the passage of Czars, courtesans and the Bolsheviks. Nowadays they share the premises with the museum staff and visitors. Only the siege of Leningrad, which lasted nearly 900 days and sowed famine throughout the city, caused them to vanish temporarily.

There are currently over 60 cats of different breeds roaming through the basements, the offices and the area surrounding the Hermitage, although they are not allowed into the exhibition halls. They even have their own caretaker, Irina Popovets. While the museum does not have a budget for their upkeep, funds are raised for this purpose by different means. They are supported through private patronage and the association, “Feline Friends of the Hermitage”. They have even had exhibitions held in their honour.

Whether you like these whiskered creatures or not, we recommend you book a Vueling to Saint Petersburg to discover one of the world’s largest and finest art collections.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by James Byrum, Brent Ozar, Jorge Cancela, RachelH_