Travel Russia Today

I must confess, I am not a huge opera fan but I was blown away by the design of the new Oslo Opera House. Less than a year old, the Opera House is the pride and joy of Norwegians and rightfully so. This masterpiece of architecture is located on the edge of the Oslofjord, appearing to rise out of the water. On either side of the large glass atrium, the roof slopes down right to the ground allowing people to walk up the angled slopes to the rooftop. Here they can witness breathtaking views of the city and Oslofjord. Many people take full advantage of this, even having picnics on the roof on sunny days.

Inside the Opera House is no less stunning, featuring a minimalistic design. The walls are a study in contrasting textures, one being stark white with numerous geometric shapes to represent glaciers and ice crystals and the opposite wall is textured curving oak with various finishes. Another wall is floor to ceiling glass, offering great views of Oslofjord.
There are numerous stages, vary in size. The main theater features oak walls and orange cushioned seats, which is in stark contrast to its stage curtain which resembles crinkled tin foil.

The Opera House also features a fantastic restaurant, Argent. The restaurant is designed all in white, with light fixtures streaming down from the ceiling that change colors ever few minutes. The food and service is top notch!

The Opera House will be set in an even more spectacular setting once the underground tunnel is completed and the six lane highway situated right next to the opera house will be re-directed underground. A park will be designed in the place of the existing highway.

The Oslo Opera House is truly a masterpiece of architectural design.

The New7Wonders Foundation, which focuses on the documentation and conservation of monuments of international importance worldwide, has started a campaign called ‘The Official New7Wonders of Nature’ in which some 260 natural sites are competing to make it to the ‘Top 77” which are separated in 7 categories such as ‘Mountains and Volcanoes’, ‘Islands’, ‘Seascapes’, and ‘Caves, rock formations, and valleys’. Only 3 candidates in each category (a total of 21) will be short-listed until finally, in 2011, the winners in each of the seven categories will be declared. Everyone has a chance to vote for their preferred natural site on the foundation’s website where a live ranking is posted and regularly updated.

Interestingly, besides popular natural wonders and tourist attractions like the Galapagos Islands, the Niagara Falls, and the Great Barrier Reef, many “new” sites, tucked away in countries which until recently were generally closed to tourists, are still largely unknown and waiting to be discovered by foreign travelers. Moreover, visiting these spectacular natural sites also offers authentic cultural experiences and some remarkable historic monuments. The Belogradchik Rocks are also the site of an impressive medieval fortress, while the Lake Ohrid (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is famous for the historic towns and monasteries dotting its shores.

Here are the natural sites in Central and Eastern Europe which are currently occupying the top 11 spots in some of the categories:

1. Landscapes and Ice Formations – the Masurian Lake District in north-eastern Poland
2. Mountains and Volcanoes – the Vlasic Mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina
3. Caves, Rock Formations, and Valleys – the Belogradchik Rock Formations in north-western Bulgaria, the Djavolja Varos (Devil’s Town) Rock Formations in southern Serbia, and the Pravcice Gate Rock Formation in Bohemia in the Czech Republic;
4. Forests, National Parks, and Nature Reserves – the Bialowieza Primeval Forest located in the border area between Poland and Belarus, the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in south-western Germany, and the Retezat National Park in central Romania
5. Lakes, Rivers, and Waterfalls – the Danube, the Lake Ohrid between Albania and Macedonia and Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia

You can imagine the worries I sometimes face being that I work for a company that sells and promotes luxury products. In times like these, where people are cutting back and scaling down, I sometimes think- how can we stay afloat? The answer is easy, time is not something you can save or cut back on.

You can wait until next year to buy that new Mercedes but you cannot wait a year to take your wife on that 25th anniversary cruise around the world. Time does not stand still and because of this travel does not either! Since we all have just one life to live, we all must make it a priority to fill it with as many experiences and opportunities as possible- in good and bad times.

Travel is invigorating, uplifting, and most of all travel is a shared experience between families, friends and cultures- what could be more rewarding? You may need to cut a lot of things out of your life during tough times but please keep traveling.

You may not look back 30 years from now and be upset that you switched from premium cable to basic but you will be upset that you did not take your wife on that 25th anniversary cruise.

The Moscow Metro is the second most used metro system in the world. It is also famous for its incomparable beauty. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine asked me: “I was impressed by the metro in Paris and Madrid – so grand! But I hear that Moscow’s is the prettiest. Is it true?”

Well, if you are asking my opinion: Yes, it is. The Moscow Metro is absolutely magnificent. Each station is incredibly unique- many of them with outstanding ornate design. And there is a little bit for every taste: From sculptures, mosaics or frescoes to super modern stations. It’s absolutely fascinating!

Another interesting aspect about taking the Moscow Metro is seeing how the Russians are so nonchalant about all that beauty surrounding them! Maybe the biggest metropolitan city in Europe is too busy to take a second look.

And exactly for that reason you should be careful while in the Metro. The Russians show no mercy when they are in a hurry! When I was there in November, I felt like the people in our group could have easily got lost from one another if we were not paying attention. It is very important to be determined and move quickly through the crowd. And once you are inside the actual station, wait until the interval between trains and you will have a little bit of time to admire the beauty, take a look around, and get good pictures… Until then the next train comes.

I have so much respect for parents who have the stamina and patience to travel with their small children. Dividing your attention between bags, strollers, passports and children who run around, throw temper tantrums or annoy other travelers, seems like no vacation at all. I have to trust that experiencing a new destination and seeing it through your child’s eyes must outweigh all the above. Here is my contribution to make your trip easier: a few tips for touring Prague with your children.

Prague is so picturesque that your kids may at first believe you took them to Disney Land. Even the usual sites like the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge and the Jewish Quarter are so impressive that your child will surely enjoy them as much as you will. But when you are up at the Castle, you may want to stop by at the Toy Museum. This wonderful museum has a large collection of toys from Ancient Greece, through medieval wooden toys to the first barbies. If you have daughters that like sparkly things, you should not miss the Loreto, a monastery near the Castle, with a nice collection of heavily adorned ritual objects including the famous diamond monstrance. Before you leave this side of the Vltava River, you could take a short funicular ride to the Petrin Hill, a wonderful public park where you will find a replica of the Eiffel Tower (made for the World Exhibition in 1891) and a small Mirror Maze – it never gets old seeing yourself in various distorting mirrors.

Two sites for the more scholarly children: the Technical Museum on the Castle side of the town and the National Museum on the other side. The Technical Museum has several collections but the most impressive one is the one about transportation as it contains real historic planes, steam locomotives, cars and bicycles. The National Museum, located on top of the Wenceslas Square, is despite its impressive and serious neo-renaissance building probably the quirkiest museum in Prague. While they have many interesting temporary exhibitions, their main focus has always been the Natural History and Anthropology. Whenever I went there as a child, I felt transported back to times when geeky European scientists and explorers traveled the continents and brought their exotic discoveries back to the enthusiastic public eager to learn about the far worlds. The most popular item in the zoological collection is the huge whale skeleton that hangs from the ceiling above the displays of other animals. Although I find the museum interesting, be warned that the zoological collection consists mainly of dissected animals, so it may not be suitable for every child. The Prague Zoo is a good alternative and a trip there can be made by boat from the city center.

Generally, I always try to pack for a trip days (if not weeks) before, so I’m not scrambling at the last minute. The one thing that always holds me up is -“what shoes do I bring?” I love shoes, but let’s face it…you can’t wear just any shoes while in Eastern Europe or Russia. Although when you get over there and see what the natives wear, you might think differently.

With the cobblestone streets and the amount of walking you do, it’s best to go with comfort over looks. I did just that when shopping for warm, slip resistant shoes for my trip.

While in Ukraine and Russia last December, I was prepared for any type of weather (or so I thought). After starting my trip in Kiev (with no problems), I went to St. Petersburg where the weather was cold and snowy, though absolutely beautiful! On our day out to Catherine Palace and Pavlovsk, I fell twice (yes, twice!). Can you say tourist? So much for slip resistant shoes. I was completely embarrassed. I couldn’t figure out how our guides walked around in 2 inch stiletto boots when I could barely get around with my safe for grandma, military proof, said to be slip resistant, FLAT boots. I guess it helps that they do it quite often.

And then it happened—one of our guides went down. I felt so bad for her, but at the time I was secretly happy to know that it could happen to anyone.