www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Nå kan man gjøre oppholdet i Paris – kjærlighetens og lysenes by – om mulig enda mer romantisk. I et tidligere gledeshus på Montmartre har nemlig det reneste kunstverk av et hotell åpnet, skriver Se og Hør.
Hotel Maison Souquet er tegnet av Jacques Garcia i belle epoque-stil, med sensuell luksus i alle detaljer, og med eget spa med hamam.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
På Åland, den svenskspråklige selvstyrte finske øygruppen i Østersjøen, er det for første gang i historien registrert at over 10,000 av regionens innbyggerne er innflyttere, Finland inkludert. Det skriver avisen Nya Åland på sine nettsider www.nyan.ax
Innflytterne utgjør dermed 35 prosent av befolkningen på vel 28000, og tallet på innflyttere fortsetter å stige, heter det i utredningen fra de regionale myndighetene.
Antall innflyttere til øyene økte med 235 personer i fjor, til 10102.
De fleste kommer fra Finland, Sverige og andre nordiske land, mens de som er født utenfor Norden økte med nesten 120 til 1900, og utgjør 7 prosent av befolkningen.
8 prosent – 2240 – av øyenes innbyggere kommer fra Sverige, og 70 svensker flyttet til Åland i 2014.
Det var innflyttertilvekst i nær alle de 16 kommunene på øygruppen, med størst vekst i hovedstaden Mariehamn, der hver tiende av de 11000 innbyggerne er født i et ikke-nordisk land.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Moscow will support resuming railway traffic between Sukhumi and Tbilisi, but the final decision should be made in Georgia and Abkhazia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Abkhazian counterpart Vyacheslav Chirikba, TASS reported.
“The Russian side is ready for such consultations, considering that the Russian Railways company is operating part of the Abkhazian railroad in accordance with inter-state agreements,” Lavrov said. “However, the final decision should be made by the direct participants in the process – Abkhazia and Georgia,” he added.
“Armenia is interested in this as well,” the minister noted.
Talking about ensuring control over border between Russia and Abkhazia, Chirikba said that it is important to ease border crossing between the two countries.
“Our aim is to ensure the most convenient regime of border crossing,” Chirikba said. “We are not talking about opening the border, we need to make it transparent, so that people can freely cross the border on foot or by car,” the minister added.
“This process cannot move forward without simultaneously strengthening the Abkhazian-Georgian border along the Ingur River,” Chirikba said.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Magasinet Business Destinations har kåret Oslo-hotellet Comfort Hotel Grand Central til Norges beste hotell for forretningsreisende i 2015. Foto: Nordic Choice Hotels / mynewsdesk / boarding.no
-Da jeg fikk nyheten om at vi er Business Hotel of the Year, ble jeg så utrolig glad. Tenk å kunne fortelle det fantastiske crewet på Comfort Hotel Grand Central at arbeidet deres blir lagt merke til – ikke bare i Norge, men også internasjonalt! Ja, vi har god beliggenhet og flotte lokaler, men når alt kommer til alt er dette medarbeidernes fortjeneste, sier Robert Holan, hotelldirektør ved Comfort Hotel Grand Central i en pressemelding.
Over to sider beskriver Business Destinations Oslo som et eksepsjonelt reisemål med fjell, sjø og mark rett utenfor det urbane miljøet i sentrum. Comfort Hotel Grand Central, som ligger i Østbanehallen på Oslo S, omtales som et godt utgangspunkt for å oppleve alt byen har å by på. Ved siden av beliggenhet trekker magasinet frem smilende betjening, miljøengasjement og unik romdesign som bakgrunn for utmerkelsen.
-I Nordic Choice Hotels tilbyr vi ikke én standard hotellopplevelse. I stedet prøver vi å tilpasse atmosfære og fasiliteter etter det gjestene våre vil ha. Med Comfort Hotel Grand Central har vi forsøkt å lage et lekent og annerledes hotell som med sin beliggenhet passer forretningsreisende ekstra godt. Det er kjempehyggelig å få en slik bekreftelse på at vi har lykkes, sier Torgeir Silseth, administrerende direktør i Nordic Choice Hotels.
Business Destinations kårer hvert år de beste destinasjonene for forretningsreisende i ulike regioner. Magasinet gis ut kvartalsmessig og artikkelen om Oslo og Comfort Hotel Grand Central blir å se i utgaven som kommer i mai.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Namibia is the latest major beneficiary of Germany’s global effort to preserve cultural heritage by restoring a historic steam engine train, said Ullrich Kinne, the deputy head of the German embassy in Windhoek, the www.starafrica.com website reported.
Since 1981, Germany has been supporting the preservation of cultural heritage across the globe as part of the Federal Foreign Office’s Cultural Preservation Programme. Namibia is one of the major recipients. Since 1985, approximately 10 million Namibia dollars (about $843 000) have been made available for projects which preserve the rich cultural heritage of this country, he said in a statement.
The German diplomat was speaking during the handing-over ceremony for a newly restored narrow-gauge steam engine train took place at Arandis, in Erongo region.
The historic steam engine, its coal wagon as well as three other historic wagons, one for passengers, one for goods, and one for cattle was restored by students of the Namibia Institute for Mining and Technology (NIMT), with financial support by the German Embassy at a sum of up to N$250 000 (about $21 000).
Kinne noted that the train symbolises the beginning of the railway age in Namibia and is therefore of great cultural significance.
In September of 1897, the work on Namibia’s first major railway line between Swakopmund and Windhoek began.
Before that, there was only a small mining rail line at Cape Cross in operation, built in 1985.
With stations in Wellwitsch, Karibib and Okahandja among others, the railway line eventually reached Windhoek in June 1902. It was constructed as a 600mm narrow gauge railway line and operated until 1960.
The steam engine that was handed over was already in use before the First World War and is the last one of its kind in Namibia. Its restoration thus makes an important contribution to preserving Namibia?s cultural heritage he added.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Den amerikanske hotellkjeden Marriott forsøkte å etablere seg i Norge for noen år siden – uten hell. Nå kommer de tilbake med et planlagt designhotell på Hellerudsletta i Oslo, skriver www.travelnews.no.
Det planlagte hotellet får navnet Moxy Oslo Exporama, og skal bygges på utstillingsområdet på Hellerudsletta mellom Oslo og Gardermoen. Moxy Hotels er et eget brand i Marriot, etablert med det første hotellet i Milano. I tillegg til hotellet på Hellerudsletta kommer det også Moxy-hoteller i Berlin, München, Frankfurt og London.
Moxy Oslo Exporama får 230 rom, og skal etter planen åpne sommeren 2016. Moxy Hotels har ekspansive planer: Innen 2020 skal de være etablert med 150 hoteller med til sammen 25.000 rom.
Åtte hoteller planlegges åpnet i USA om ikke lenge, det første i New York. Moxy Copenhagen Hotel er også på tegnebrettet. Men først altså, Moxy Oslo Exporama på Helleudsletta.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Train service between the capitals of Russia and Estonia has been suspended due to declining demand.
Estonian public broadcaster ERR said it’s the first time in 65 years that Estonia has no passenger rail connections with Russia, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – www.rferl.org
Estonian railway company GoRail spokeswoman Kersti Gorstov said the last overnight train from Moscow arrived at Tallinn’s main train station on May 19.
European Union sanctions against Russia have led to a sharp reduction in the number of Russians visiting Estonia, making the Moscow-Tallinn route unprofitable.
GoRail, which had operated the Tallinn-Moscow route continuously since 1998, also dropped service to St. Petersburg earlier this month.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
A new tourist shuttle bus to Armagh is about to become a familiar sight on the streets of Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast this summer, the www.belfastlive.co.uk website reported.
The new innovative scheme designed to showcase the Cathedral City’s hidden gems.
The new service, which will operate on Fridays and Saturdays every week from May 22 until the end of August, will offer a tourist-friendly “hop on, hop off” service to Armagh, taking in the two world-famous St Patrick’s Cathedrals, the historic Armagh Gaol, Armagh Planetarium and the Observatory.
The new tours also provide visitors with the opportunity to steep themselves in the Orchard County’s famous apple heritage by taking in a carefully-designed trip to the Armagh Cider Company, or engage in the area’s legendary past with a visit to the mystical Navan Centre and Fort.
Tickets for the tours, which are supported by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Tourism Northern Ireland and Visit Belfast, cost £15 per person – and visitors keen for an overnight stay on Friday can use their return ticket to get back to Belfast the following day.
Lord Mayor, Darryn Causby, said:”The historic and beautiful city of Armagh, and its surrounding area, continues to attract families and visitors of all ages from across Northern Ireland and beyond, and I’m delighted that this exciting new tour makes its major attractions, experiences, culture, history, hospitality and charm much more accessible to people across Belfast and Northern Ireland”.
Stephanie Swail from the Belfast Welcome Centre added:”The new Armagh day tours from the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre provide a convenient and cost effective way for not only visitors keen to go beyond Belfast but offers ideas for people here to discover the sites and attractions of this ancient capital city. From the cathedrals and museums to the planetarium; shopping to the great outdoors; and sampling the local delicacies of the “Orchard County”, there’s plenty to see and do for a great day out.”
The service will depart every Friday and Saturday from the Belfast Welcome Centre at 10am and return at 5:30pm.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Sant Francesc Hotel Singular åpnet nylig dørene i et tidligere adelspalass i gamlebyen i Palma de Mallorca. Takterasse med basseng og utsikt, samt en grønn bakgårdshage, er blant høydepunktene på det nye femstjerners designhotellet, skriver Se og Hør.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
A Chinese team of scientists is conducting a seismic survey of the ocean basin between Maldives capital Malé and the airport island for a planned bridge.
Maldives housing minister Mohamed Muizzu last week said the bridge will run from Malé’s surf point, Raalhugandu, to the southwest corner of Hulhulé island’s airport runway, the Minivan News – www.minivannews.com website writes.
The Chinese team is to drill 29 boreholes, 59 meters deep, in the ocean basin to see if it can hold the bridge’s foundation pillars. Designs for the six-lane bridge is expected to be completed by the end of June this year, the government has announced.
China has previously said it would “favorably consider financing” the bridge if the design proves feasible, while President Xi Jinping said he hoped the government would call the bridge “the China-Maldives friendship bridge”.
It is expected to cost between US$100million to US$150million. Construction of the Malé-Hulhulé Bridge, first slated to begin in 2014, will now start by the end of this year, and will be completed within two years.
The bridge, a key campaign pledge of President Abdulla Yameen, will also connect Malé to its suburb Hulhumalé, an artificial island located behind Hulhulé and connected by a short causeway. In March, 227 hectares of land were reclaimed in Hulhumalé for a planned “Youth City”.
