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Transylvania: of medieval cultures and scenic sights
Transylvania’s diverse background gives rise to a melting pot of cultures while its location offers an abundance of scenic sights. Rich in myth and history, a visit to Transylvania is enough to quench your thirst for all things medieval.
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Snapshot: The enchanting Blue Lagoon
The icy blue vastness stretches into a distant mist, a vision of calm and quiet. Setting foot on the premises feels like you’ve stepped onto a foreign planet- strange and fascinating. The Blue Lagoon Spa in Iceland is a geothermal spa nestled in a lava field where its steamy waters are part of a lava formation.
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Snapshot: the colorful Caño Cristales
For most part of the year, it looks just like other rivers, a bed of rocks beneath a blanket of dull mosses under a steady, clear current. But for a fleeting period every year, the river explodes into vivid shades of yellow, blue, green, black and especially red, earning it the label of “the world’s most beautiful river”.
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Snapshot: A Heavenly Lake
It’s like you've died and gone to heaven. I guess that’s why they call it the Heavenly Lake. Tian Chi, as it’s known in Chinese, is a sprawling crescent-shaped lake with glistening crystal clear waters that reflect the mood of the skies above.
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Snapshot: Mesmerizing Mostar
It’s a picture of spellbinding serenity that will send photographers into a trigger-happy frenzy. This vision of the perfectly preserved medieval old town in Mostar today belies years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the breakup of then-Yugoslavia.
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When you have only 72 hours in Berlin
That’s three days. If you have as this short a time as I did in a city rich with history and culture, you’d be insane not to plan in advance. Lucky for you, I’ve done the agonizing research on what to do and where to go in German’s second largest city. Here’re the top eight places to visit.
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Berlin Reflections
It’s instantly clear where East Berlin ends and West Berlin begins. There’s a line on the ground between east and west where the Berlin Wall once stood. But even without it, you can still see an imaginary divider between the cheerier west and the gloomier east.
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Snapshot: Garden of Abundance
Just like how you’d protect your precious crown jewel, this garden is concealed from all sides, as though to keep from prying eyes. While the other gardens are stunning in their own right with deftly pruned fauna and flora, what makes this Orchard doubly unique is its leaf-shaped design.
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Cochem: Visiting the Medieval town
Colorful half-timbered houses lined the cobbled stone streets with sloping vineyards wrapping the town and ancient castle towering above it. The picturesque town of Cochem is said to radiate so much charm that few other towns in Germany can rival it.
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Enter the magical realm of Efteling
She lay motionless in a glass case, her dewy white skin a stark contrast to her blood red lips and long black hair. And surrounding are seven little guys lovingly gazing at her. Just a little further down the forest, you chance upon a house made of gingerbread and covered with gobstoppers and candy. Welcome to the Fairytale Forest at the Efteling Theme Park.
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Snapshot: The Lion Monument- a visual feast
From far, the majestic creature looks like it’s resting under the afternoon sun, except that its forlorn expression betrays its state of mind
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Mont Saint Michel; stepping back in history
Officially announced as a UNESCO Heritage site in 1979, the island that withstood nature’s wrath and mankind’s rage remains enduring, offering us a wealth of history and culture, a rich lesson in architecture and a vision of natural beauty.
