www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Foto: hotelesvive.com
Hotel Es Vive på Ibiza er blitt renovert for 20 millioner kroner, og er kåret til det beste boutiquehotellet på Ibiza av TripAdvisors brukere, skriver Se og Hør.
Takterassen (bildet) alene er vel verdt prisen på kr.2000 per natt for et dobbeltrom.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Grand Cafe, with artist Per Krog’s famous murals in the background. Photo: www.grand.no
Oslo’s Grand Café, patronized by such Norwegian cultural legends as Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Munch, will close its doors for good this autumn after 141 years of operation. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that employees were called in to a meeting Tuesday afternoon where they were told their services would no longer be needed as of September 1, Views and News from Norway – www.newsinenglish.no reports.
Grand Hotel
The historic café on the street Level of the Grand Hotel in Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize winners traditionally reside, has been unprofitable for years, its owners told DN.
“We have tried everything,” café manager Helge Krogsbol told DN. “We have really had a strong desire to make the Grand Café profitable. It hasn’t been possible.”
A total of 40 full-time equivalent jobs will disappear and 55 employees will be affected when the Grand Café Closes. “The employees have had an idea that this would happen, but it’s a shock nevertheless,” Tore Skjelstadaune of their labour organization Fellesforbundet told DN.
The café opened in 1874 and was a regular watering hole for the artists who comprised the so-called “Kristiania Bohemians” at the time. That was when Oslo still carried the name imposed upon it when Norway was under Danish rule.
Playwright Henrik Ibsen would eat lunch at Grand Café every day, leaving his home not far away on Drammensveien (now renamed Henrik Ibsens Gate) and stopping along the way to check his watch before arriving for his midday meal.
The Grand Café was also a favorite watering hole for artist Edvard Munch but he rarely had enough money to pay for his food and drink. He once offered to give the proprietor his now-famous painting Syk pike (The sick girl) in return for for 100 steak dinners, but it was rejected.
Munch and other Norwegian artists such as Christian Krogh and Frits Thaulow did manage on other occasions, though, to swap paintings for a Chateaubriand with beer and aquavit. The cafe has long been adorned with a mural featuring its famous guests on the wall.
“It is a fantastic location,” Krogsbol told DN. Now it may wind up as a clothing store. The hotel’s new owners, a partnership called Pandox controlled by the Sundt family and Christian Ringnes’ real estate firm Eiendomsspar, is responsible for leasing out the locale.
Losses amounted to NOK 20 million last year along, Krogsbol said, noting that the café has faced tough competition from all the new restaurants opening up in Oslo on a regular basis.
While business continues to boom at the rival Theatercafeen in the nearby Hotel Continental, the Grand never managed to pull in the crowds despite various seasonal promotions. Some locals complained of high prices and mediocre food. The café was also used as the breakfast room for hotel guests.
They’ll now be fed in the hotel’s mirrored banquet room.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Slik ser arkitektfirmaet Snøhetta for seg at kaianlegget på Svalbard kan bli seende ut.
Amerikanske investorer har meldt sin interesse for å være med i en omfattende havneutbygging i Longyearbyen på Svalbard, skriver www.travelnews.no
– USA har undertegnet Svalbardtraktaten, og å bygge ut havnekapasitet på Svalbard vil være svært fremtidsrettet, sier Svalbard-eksport Willy Østrem til NRK.no.
Østrem er president i Norsk Vitenskapsakademi for Polarforskning. Han ser ingen formelle hindringer for amerikanske investeringer på Svalbard.
Planene om å bygge et flytende kaianlegg til flere hundre millioner kroner har allerede vært tatt opp med amerikanske investorer. For på Svalbard går diskusjonen nå høyt om hva øygruppen i fremtiden skal leve av.
Hjørnesteinsbedriften Store Norske sliter økonomisk, i den grad at sjansen er stor for at driften blir lagt ned. Da må man ha andre økonomiske bein å stå på.
Utbyggingen av havna blir pekt på som svært viktig, ikke minst om man fremover ønsker å utvide turisttrafikken i området. Det er nemlig stor mangel på kaiplass, samt et sterkt behov for en småbåthavn. Mange tror ellers at Svalbard vil kunne spille en sentral rolle i den økende skipstrafikken, som er et resultat av at isen rundt polpunktet smelter. Lokalstyret på Svalbard har derfor fått laget et utkast til utbygging, som beløper seg til flere hundre millioner kroner.
Det er snakk om en avansert flytekai med to innvendige etasjer, og to påbygg med to til tre etasjer på kaia. Et kombinert kai- og lageranlegg med kontorlokaler, som i tillegg til å ta imot mange titalls tusen turister i året, skal også huse universitetsansatte, studenter og et laboratorium for forskning på marint, arktisk miljø.
– Vi må diskutere hvordan dette skal finansieres, sier leder i lokalstyret Christin Kristoffersen (Ap), som har vært i kontakt med potensielle investorer. – Det legges opp til privat medvirkning i prosjektet, sier hun videre.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
“Aranui 5”
Lasteskipet “Aranaui 5” er siste nyvinning hos Polynesias svar på Hurtigruten – nyhet hos Fijireiser kommende vinter, skriver VG. Kombi-skipet for passasjerer og last minner ikke rent lite om det gamle Hurtigrute-skipet MS “Narvik”.
Skipet seiler mellom øyene, og gjør 14 stopp på rundturen fra Papeete på Tahiti, hovedstaden i Fransk Polynesia. Flere av øyene har nesten ikke biler eller veier.
Og akkurat som på Hurtigruten kan passasjerene ta en tur i land mens skipet lastes og losses.
Om bord er stilen uformell og avslappet, og man rusler gjerne omkring i shorts,
Aranui-turen går blant annet innom øya Fathu Hiva hvor Thor Heyerdahl og hans kone Liv var på bryllupsreise – og til øya Hiva Oa, der den franske kunstneren Paul Gaugin malte noen av sine mesterverk.
Den polynesiske “hurtigruten” er for øvrig kåret til “The worlds best adventure cruise” av Men’s Journal.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Mange kjenner det spanske strandklubbkonseptet Puro Beach, og flere avdelinger skal det bli, skriver Se og Hør.
I slutten av mai åpnet åpnet den første urbane Puro Beach i Barcelona. Oasen ligger på toppen av Hilton Diagonal Bar, har svømmebasseng, balinesiske senger, hengekøyer og restaurant – alt i rent, hvitt design.
Fra før er det sju resorter i Spania, Toscana, Romania og Dubai, og senere i år åpner nye klubber både i Egypt og i De forente arabiske emirater.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
The Taurama Aquatic Centre is one of four to be renamed for the Games and the latest addition to the list is the POM Racquets Club, www.insidethegames.biz reports.
Port Moresby 2015 have announced the Caritas Hall venue is officially open, while Steamships will be the title sponsor of the POM Racquets Club as preparations continue ahead of the Pacific Games, due to begin on July 4.
The multi-purpose hall, which will host bodybuilding, table tennis and boxing during the Games, was handed over to Port Moresby 2015 earlier this month and is expected to be one of the centrepieces of the event.
It has seating for 11,000 and Port Moresby 2015 claim it will be full to capacity for the boxing competitions, which are close to selling out.
“One of the symbolic thing is how we partner with the local communities to deliver the Games,” Port Moresby 2015 chairwoman Emma Waiwai said.
“Caritas is one of the last venues that we had on Our list and I am very impressed with it and I know that every athlete that takes part in the three sports will be very happy with the venue.”
Port Moresby 2015 have also confirmed that the POM Racquets Club will be renamed the Steamships Racquets Club for the duration of the event, widely-expected to be the biggest ever held in the Papua New Guinea.
The venue becomes the fourth at the Games to take on a temporary name in an attempt to reflect the gratitude Port Moresby 2015 have for their vast array of sponsors.
Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea.
The Sir John Guise Stadium, which will host the Opening Ceremony attended by Prince Andrew, will be known as the Bank South Pacific Stadium throughout the two-week long event.
The company are the principal sponsor of the Games and they have also attached their name to the Taurama Aquatic Center, which will temporarily be called the BSP Arena.
Meanwhile, the Sir John Guise Indoor Stadium becomes the PNG Power Dome for the event.
“We are proud to have Steamships and all our other sponsors together with the Government supporting the Games,” Port Moresby 2015 chief executive Peter Stewart said.
“The support they bring is paramount to the success of the country hosting the XV Pacific Games.”
Around 3,000 athletes from 23 nations are due to compete across 28 different sports at the Pacific Games, scheduled to take place until July 18.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Windhoek
About 96 000 of the 322 500 people living in Namibias’s capital Windhoek walk to work.
This was revealed recently by Clarence Rupingena, manager for public transport at the Windhoek Municipality, who said some people travel from as far as Ombili to Prosperita, www.namibian.com.na reports.
Rupingena said this figure does not include those visiting friends or going shopping, but only those walking to work and to school. He said their research was done during peak morning hours.
“Some of those people’s journey on foot starts at 4h00, just to make it to work on time at 8h00,” he said, adding that this may also contribute to social decay as parents who leave home early cannot give proper attention to their children.
Rupingena also said husbands or wives do not have time to spend together as one or both would often be tired after the long walk home from work. He said, on average, low income earners spend 24% of their income for mobility needs while 52 % of them cannot afford public transport. Former chief executive officer Ian Leyenaar of First National Bank of Namibia in 2013 stated that this sector consists of 45 000 people with a monthly income ranging from N$0 to N$1 500, and another 30 000 with an income of between N$1 500 and N$4 600.
Rupingena announced yesterday that, in a move to address the current shortage of public transport, a team from the municipality went on a trip to South Africa to purchase about 20 more buses. The buses are expected to cost N$ 80 million in total. Rupingena said the municipality will cover 50% of this amount, while government donated N$ 40 million to the municipality which it had received as a donation from the German government.
“Every citizen in this country should be able to access these buses. Even those in wheelchairs,” he said. Additionally, the city is extending its public bus transport service by introducing a pilot project scheduled for Saturday from the Women’s Centre in Katutura to Wernhill Park.
This service starts on 27 June 2015 and it will be running every Saturday between 10h00 and 16h00 at a regular fare of N$5 for a smartcard payment for one single journey. Along the route between the Women’s Centre to Wernhill Park, the bus will serve 10 intermediate stops.
The time intervals are about three minutes between each pick-up point. Rupingena pointed out that they have done a pilot study and taken a route from one stop to another several times to establish that the intervals are practical. Municipality spokesperson Lydia Amutenya in May said the City of Windhoek, and especially the informal areas, are growing at an alarming pace.
“It was estimated that sections of north-western Windhoek grows at a rate of 10% per annum, while the overall city population growth is estimated at 4% per annum,”Amutenya said.
Last year when The Namibian accompanied DTA president McHenry Venaani who joined bus users on a familiarisation tour of public transport as part of his political campaign, it emerged that the buses delay their occupants who arrive late for work. The buses mostly transport domestic and shop workers.
A random search on social networks by The Namibian yesterday revealed that although people appreciate the cheaper fares in comparison to taking a taxi, they would appreciate it if the bus would be on time.
They also pleaded that the city introduces a bus for Havanna, Goreagab and Otjomuise to minimise late arrival at work for people living in those areas.
Currently the municipality has 15 000 people using their 79 buses. Yesterday Rupingena said they only had 50 buses at their disposal, as many of them break down because they are old. He said when there is a shortage of buses, they change their time slots and do pick-ups earlier.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Pointe-a-Pitre cruise port.
Guadeloupe is reporting strong growth in its cruise sector, www.caribjournal.com reports.
Pointe-a-Pitre is the commercial capital of Guadeloupe, situated on the southwest part of the island of Grande-Terre, while the French territory’s administrative capital is Basse-Terre, on the southwest corner of the same name.
The French Department’s Pointe a Pitre port is home to Three Costa Cruises ships, and just celebrated 20 years of strong partnership with the cruise line.
The port reported a near 50-percent increase in passengers during the 2014-2015 season, reaching 320,000 visitors.
With the addition of four new cruise ship, Guadeloupe is forecasting more than 400,000 passengers for the 2015-2016 season.
In the interest of this growth in home porting activities, and in response to the 144-percent increase in charter flights in 2015, the Guadeloupe Pole Caraibe International Airport invested around $11.2 million USD towards the construction of a dedicated cruise ship terminal at the airport.
“The Guadeloupean savoir-faire in home porting activities is well known in the Caribbean,” said Olivier Michel, Cruise Director of the Guadeloupe Islands Tourist Board.
“It is the results of a combined strategy and combined efforts from the Guadeloupe Port Authorities, Guadeloupe Pole Caraibe International airport and the Guadeloupe islands Tourist Board as we definitely work as a team at all Levels.”
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Laos has introduced tourism maps in the Korean language as more tourists from South Korea visit the country, www.ttrweekly.com reports.
Lao News Agency reported the tourist maps, paid for by the Maum Donghaeng Foundation of South Korea, will become a useful tool to guide Korean tourists and help them learn about the key tourist attractions of Laos in their own language.
The tourist maps in the Korean language will help to promote tourist attractions in and increase the tourism market, it said.
The first batch of 5,000 maps were handed over by the Maum Donghaeng Foundation president, Pak Gun Sun, 26 May, to the Tourism Advertising Department, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism’s Deputy Minister Chaleun Valinthalasack.
The second batch of 10,000 copies, will be handed over later this year.
South Korean visitors grew from 27,000 in 2010 to 81,700 in 2013, and to 94,600 in 2014, This year there should be around 100,000 visitors.
South Korea ranks as the fourth largest foreign investor in Laos and is currently financing and managing over 400 projects.
Investment is estimated at around USD712 million. Meanwhile, trade between the two countries reached approximately USD200 million, last year, but of that just USD20 million was earned by Laos on exports to South Korea.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
In a first for Isle of Man, there’ll be the chance to listen to hit music from movie blockbusters next month, in Isle of Man’s capital of Douglas – all against a backdrop of your favourite film clips on the big screen, www.isleofman.com reports.
The Villa Marina is the venue for the official post Douglas Carnival family event
And after taking the family to see the carnival on the promenade on Saturday, July 18, the Royal Hall will be the place to go.
Music from Frozen, Back to the Future, Star Wars and James Bond is among the line-up promised by Manx Youth Band and Manx Concert Brass.
During the evening, they will also be joined by some special guests, including former Manx Stars In Their Eyes finalist, Lyndsey Smart, who will be singing the Adele hit single and James Bond Theme, “Skyfall”.
The family concert starts at 8pm and tickets – priced £10.20 for adults and just £2.55 for under 16?s – are available from the Villa Marina Box office on 600555.
