Travel Russia Today

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

If you have long wished to travel across Central and Eastern Europe in luxury but without the need to dress for dinner each night the solution has arrived in the form of the Danube Express. Launched in 2008 this Hotel on Wheels appeals to anyone with a sense of adventure and a love of trains.

Departures from the train’s home base of Budapest is prefaced with champagne served in the Royal Waiting Room and breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the elegant dining car with the landscapes of Romania, Poland and Slovakia as the backdrop. Imagine waking up to a hot cup of tea or coffee delivered by a smiling cabin attendant as the outskirts of the Bulgarian city of Kazanlak slide by the window.

If you thought that train travel in Europe had to either be a back-packing experience involving a multi-country rail pass and volumes of train time-tables or was restricted to black-tie and ball gowns – think again. The Danube Express brings understated luxury to all who yearn for a private bathroom and the clickety clack of the rails to lull them to sleep each night!