Travel Guides

If you think about Poland, don’t you dare to say that you think first to Warszaw. It would be totally wrong! The city of Krakow, located in the south of the country, not far from the Tatra Mountains is the natural best and first choice for anyone visiting Poland. And I tell you further why.

The Market Square, or Rynek Glowny, is one of the biggest and most spectacular medieval markets worlwide

If you are a first age teenager or student, you may not forget one basic thing: The Jagellonian University of Krakow is one of the world’s oldest, and today is the country’s most important educating institution. The city itself looks so unbelievably young, despite its respectable age! ( There are archaeological sites going back 20 000 ago.)  During last years Krakow has being  a magnetic attraction for many expats, which found here a new home, the place where they belong. They love Krakow even more than the locals, which are nevertheless very deep in love with their unbelievable city. Some travel agencies offer hen and steg parties in Krakow for the excited tourists around the world.

Vistula (or Wisla, as the local say) in Downtown Krakow

For the people of the second and third age, Krakow is also the first choice for Poland! Krakow is full with old, even very old buildings and interesting museums. During WWII Krakow escaped miraculously, with practically no touch. And another important thing to mention: human settlements in Krakow go back to 20 000 years ago, as this place on Vistula River was an excellent location to live.

Start your visit in Krakow with Kazimierz, a former Jewish quarter in Krakow where you still can find 7 synagogues. There are practically no Jews anymore in Kazimierz, not more than 200 anyway, and the neighborhood emerged in an alternative culture centre. It is fantastic walking there, you feel yourself in another time; remember that Spielberg turned here Schindler’s List. There are many pubs in Kazimierz, I would suggest you not to miss Alchemia, which is a trendy dark and folkloric bar, where you can enjoy the local specialties tatanka and miodowa, both based on vodka.

Walk further through Stare Miasto (Old Town) going to Rynek Glowny (this the market square, one of the biggest and most beautiful medieval squares worldwide). Rynek Glowny is full with bars, restaurants, hostels and museum. It is very advisable to live here at hostel Rynek 7, where for 10$ you can get excellent city views, worthing millions!

The Wavel castle and Museum is a must do in Krakow

Make a necessary stoppover at Wavel Castle and Museum, walk in the Platny park or along Vistula, and you have also the possibility to discover every Sunday the flea markets from Park Nowi and Hala Targowa.

Only 2 km away from Krakow is Nowa Hutta, an industrial suburb build during the comunist regime. Enjoy a comunist tour over there, ending always with steg parties when everybody throws the underwear. 60 km from Krakow is Auschwitz, and maybe we need sometimes to remember the past and learn from the old mistakes. 100 km away from Krakow in the Tatra Mountains is Zakopane, the Polish winter capital, where you can ski in the best conditions.

The Tempel Synagogue in Kazimierz, the former Jewish neighborhood of krakow

Well, Krakow has something for everyone, and has a special charm, and simply wates you with very friendly people.

Milan is one of Italy’s richest and largest cities, and situated on the fertile plains of the
Po Valley in Lombardy. This was originally a large Celtic settlement back in the 7th Century BC, and it was known at that time as Mediolanum. It has always been a successful and affluent place, and has been overseen by many different rulers in its time including the Goths (600AD), French, Austrians and Spanish. Milan was heavily bombed during the Second World War, and over a quarter of the city was completely
destroyed, but despite this many of the cities greatest historic, religious and architectural treasures survived including several priceless masterpieces by world famous Italian artists such as Leonardo da Vinci.

Milan has long had a strong respect its major religion (Catholic), and the city itself was designed with the cathedral (Duomo) as the central hub, with the gilded statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the cathedral being one of the most symbolic images of Milan. There is a network of canals leading in and around the city and this was long a source of wealth for the Milan, allowing large volumes of goods and materials to be
brought into the city for very low costs, and Milan held strong trading links with the rest of Italy and throughout Europe. However the waterways were gradually replaced by rail and road, and the industrial strengths of Milan were soon driving the economy.
Since the end of the 20th Century, Milan has been the capital of the Italian car manufacturing industry, and has also dominated the global fashion scene, with the fashion designers trained here being among the most sought after in the world.

There are lots of different entertainments and attractions in Milan, and here are just a few of the most popular:
* Duomo – the cathedral was originally designed to be the heart of the city and truly that still is the case, and this huge, gothic masterpiece is well worth a visit. Many people visit in May and September to take part in the holy ceremony that involves one of the most important relics in Italy, a nail said to
be from the cross of Christ, which is brought down from its permanent display over the high altar (it has been here since the 15th Century) by the bishop.
The magnificent flying buttress, soaring archways, intricate spires and ever vigilant gargoyles are stunning examples of the skill of the master stonemasons who have worked on the cathedral over the centuries.

* Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – this stunning shopping arcade has some of the most exclusive shops, wine bars and coffee houses in the city, and is a wonderful place to wander around during the heat of midday and stop for a sophisticated lunch.

* Theatre Museum at La Scala – Milan is famous for its world class opera house La Scala, and as well as seeing one of the performances you can also visit the excellent Theatre Museum, which has exhibits devoted to memorabilia from prominent operas and also the legendary composer Verdi, including some of his original hand written scores.

* The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci – this painting is one of the most famous pieces of art in the world, and was painted by da Vinci in the 15th Century on a wall in the Dominican church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Despite the degradations of the years, the masterwork of da Vinci’s skilled hand can still be seen, and the painting attracts thousands of visitors every year.

It is hard to describe or to explain the fascination exerted agains us people, by the elevators. I am sure that, for a jungle or countryside raise child, the elevators are by far the most interesting and fascinating thing in a big city.

In my opinion, there is a strange similarity between elevators and caves. Many people are O.K. in an elevator even due to this similarity, while other people are deadly  frightened by both, elevators and caves. Another important issue are the sexual fantasies that everyone had in an elevator. Most of the people have even fulfilled for real these fantasies. In the most unusual situations (e.g. hostel sex) the elevator is the safest and most exciting place for having sex. Unfortunately, you must avoid the peak hours and the outdoor glass elevators.

Many different reasons can make a certain elevator be interesting, amazing or fascinating. The fastest  elevators are for sure fascinating, they ensure accelerations bigger than a plane! (People with heart diseases must pass this experience!)

Outdoor elevators are also amazing through dimensions, but many of them are causing serious environment issues.

Another class of elevators is tightened to the cities who developed themselves at more different levels. The elevators linking the parts of the city from different heights are very useful, and became iconic landmarks of that city.

But now let’s see the world’s most fascinating elevators!

1.Taipei 101 is one of the world’s tallest building. It hosts  67 elevators, and two of them reach the unbelievable speed of 3300 feet per minute ! ( To your information a normal plane descend or ascension is made with 1000 feet per minute). This is for now the world’s fastest  elevator.

Taipei 101 is the world's tallest building. Two of its 67 elevators are the world's fastest.

2. The wonderful city of Lisbon needed a solution for linking its neighbouring parts at different heights (downtown with Carmo Square, or Placa de Carmo as the local say). This elevator is called Santa Justa Lift and it is very important to the city, a landmark of Lisbon. It is more than 100 years old, and its exterior neogothic architecture had an important contribution to the history of this lift!

Santa Justa Lift is an iconic landmark of Lisbon

3. If you happen to be in St. Louis, Missouri (United States), I give you a tip: don’t miss the Gateway Arch! It is must see, even it is not very similar with any elevator you used in the past. Five passengers travel in an egg shaped cabin, and eight cabins are linked together building a sort of train. The cabin has glass panes and rotates 5 degrees per second, alowing an excellent view of this architectural masterpiece.

Gateway Arch in St Lois, Missouri is an experience you may not miss if you are there!

Agfa is a European multinational corporation which develops, manufactures and distributes analogue and digital products and systems for the making, processing, and reproduction of images. Recently they have announced the launch of their upcoming camera code name “DC-600w”

According to the company it is an underwater digital camera that is waterproof up to 10 meter. To make sure you capture all the special moments and produce stunning results it features a 6 Megalpixel CCD image sensor along with a fixed focus lens and 5x digital zoom.

In addition to that it comes with a 2.4 inch LCD display and offers video recording with sounds. It has a hot key button that allows you to toggle between land and underwater mode easy and much more comfortably.

Key features include

• 10m waterproof
• Dustproof
• Underwater videos with sound
• Hot key button
• Robust housing

Furthermore it include working and scene mode including Image shooting , playback , movie clip mode, voice recording, auto, program, portrait, landscapre, night scenery, sunset, back light, fireworks,candle light, beach, auction, underwater DSC and underwater DV mode.

Last but not the least it offers ArcSoft MediaImpression software that lets you manage your media for you, and gives you tons of fun and exciting new ways to create and share projects featuring your photos and videos. ArcSoft you can easily create your own movies or slide shows with soundtracks.

Agfa

Barcelona is a modern and vibrant city, and has a reputation for cutting edge architecture and avant garde design. This was the home of one of the most iconic architects in the world, Antoni Gaudi, who left his signature upon the city in a number of amazing and beautiful buildings and structures, from fountains right through to his masterpiece, the stunning Sagrada Familia cathedral. Barcelona also has a reputation for an energetic and exciting nightlife, and in recent years it has become a Mecca for party people, who come here from all around the world to have a good time. If you are thinking of visiting this wonderful city on a budget, then here are the Top 7 cheap hotels in Barcelona

1. L`Alguer Hotel - this pleasant family run hotel has achieved a two star rating, and is located in a quiet street inthe Les Corts quarter, close to many shops and entertainments. Rooms are comfortable with a good range of facilities including air conditioning, Internet access, safety deposit boxes and minibars, and the room rates are very reasonable, from just €41 per night.

2. Ballestero Hostal Hotel - this clean, well maintained two star hotel has a friendly atmosphere, and is located just a few minutes from the Fabra y Puig Metro Station, with lively shops, restaurants and bars nearby. There are also a few business facilities, including Internet access and refreshments. The rooms all a little on the small side, but they all have private bathrooms, air conditioning and televisions, and are available from just €51 per night. If you do get a choice try and book one of the rooms that overlooks the courtyard out the back, as street facing rooms can be a little noisy.

3. Pension Iniesta - this is a basic budget cheap hotel, and some of the cheaper rooms do have shared bathrooms, but to get a clean, decent room from just €38 per night, right in the heart of the city (the Pension Iniesta is a short walk from Las Ramblas street), is a really good deal, and you will be so busy visiting all of the various nearby shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainments, you will not have time to worry about the lack of facilities.

4. Hotel Royal Ramblas - this excellent 3 star hotel is situated on the busy and popular street Las Ramblas, and  close to the central Plaza Catalunya. The rooms are air-conditioned and comfortable, with mini bars, satellite television and modern furnishings, and standards rooms are available from just €61 per night. The hotel also has a good restaurant, La Poma, which has a range of dishes including and excellent grill menu.

5. The H10 Montcada - this nine-storey hotel has some good quality, reasonably priced standard rooms on offer from around €60 per night, and is situated in Barcelona’s Old Town, just a short walk from the seafront and Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral. The hotel has an excellent terrace area for sunbathing, which also has a spa tub and stunning views across the city. The hotel bar and restaurants are very good, and there are also business facilities and banquet rooms for up to 40 people.

6. The Travelodge L’Hospitalet - this hotel offers some good facilities, including a busy café and bar and guest parking spaces, and is just a few kilometers from the centre of the city. There is a metro station and bus stop just a short walk from the hotel’s front entrance, and there are wheelchair access facilities and disabled bathrooms. Standard rooms are available from around €61 per night.

7. The Express by Holiday Inn Barcelona (Molins De Rei Hotel) - this hotel is situated near the huge El Pla industrial park, and is just a short drive or train ride into the city centre. Rooms are available from €62 per night and have air conditioning, cable television, Internet access and telephones and the hotel has a meeting room (up to 20 people), a business centre (copying, faxing etc) and a laundry service.

TweetMyPC is yet another web based service that uses the Twitter platform. This time to literally control your PC! That is, you tweet, and your PC does!

Still confused? Lets put it this way: You’re realize that you are late for work and rush to your car meanwhile your brother abroad is downloading your vacation pictures from your PC that’s acting like a private webserver. Once he’s done he tweets you and you receive his message, in between red lights you tweet to your specific TweetMyPC account with the word “Shutdown” and lo and behold! As you swerve your way into your work place you PC is being shut down!

I mean can you imagine the scope for something like this? With wireless internet becoming widely available each passing day. I don’t think it’ll be long before hobbyists I’ll wire small factor PC’s to their car and the be able to tweet command like “stream playlist from home PC”

TweetMyPc does much more than the `shutdown’ example I gave below are a more detailed list of commands:

Replies : TweetMyPC will reply to you after a command is executed. Replies will be in the form of Tweets.
Lock : This command locks your Windows pc.
Physical memory : As the name says, this command will let you know the Physical Memory of your pc.
Virtual memory : Want to know the virtual memory of your pc? Just tweet virtual memory.
Os : This is one of the command which does not have much value. Tweeting os will make TweetMyPC to tweet about your OS version.
Ip : Know your pc’s ip from anywhere in the world with this command
Standby : Don’t want to shutdown? then make you pc go to standby mode with this command.
hibernate : hibernate your pc with a tweet.
Screenshot : Want to know what is happening in your pc when you are not around? Just tweet screenshot and TweetMyPC will take a screenshot of your desktop and post it to Twitpic.
Getprocesslist : This is one of the very useful command. On receiving this command TweetMyPC will generate a list of running programs, along with the process ID, and email it to a predefined email address.
Kill <process id> : This is used along with the above command. Once you recive the process list you can close a program using the kill command.
Download <url> : Want to download an interesting video but you are on the move? don’t worry just tweet download followed by the download url and TweetMyPC will download it for you and it will be ready when you return back. Note: Twitter automatically converts long urls into short one using bit.ly. TweetMyPC can download files only if the url is in the short form. Please use bit.ly to shorten your url before posting.
Getfile <filepath> : Missed an important document and you are traveling some where? No problem. Just tweet get followed by the file path and TweetMyPC will email the file as attachment to a predefined email. Don’t know the path? dont worry. Just checkout the next command.
Getfilelist <drive> : This command will make TweetMyPC to send you the list of files and folders in a drive. You can use this command to email you a file once you know the complete path of the file.
Custom Command : This is the most interesting feature of TweetMyPC. Do you think the above command are not enough? then create your own custom command. You can choose a command and then chose a file to run. For example you can choose a command winamp and make TweetMyPC to run winamp by tweeting winamp.

If you never thought about Paris otherwise as a luxury destination, I tell you it is possible. Many other people would never agree this crazy idea of Paris on a budget, as they are used to the luxury Paris of fashion shows and fancy hotels.

Hotel Hipotel in Paris is unbelievable cheap.

I wish you that God will spare you from being hit by the crisis, but I tell you again: there is possible to see Paris on a budget indeed! Maybe not even the same misery which experienced Edith Piaf by the beginning of his flamboyant career (she didn’t have ruling hot water) or Hemingway while living in Paris. There is a special atmosphere in some corners of Paris, which I would qualify as bohemian and highly spiritual. Living it alive simply makes you forget the hungry or other needs!

Having a picknick in Paris is always interesting, and very cheap to get. Don't forget the french wine!

First of all, for fighting against the hungry in the budget way I would suggest to have a picknick. It doesn’t seem so obsolete anymore, if you organize your picknick in Bois de Boulogne or Jardin de Luxembourg. Ideal for that is to let a pizza deliverer to bring you the basic things, and thus you are ought to get the wine on your own. Choosing the right wine might not be an easy task for a foreign greenhorn Paris visitor! I would suggest for pizza a Muscat Ottonel or a Pinot Noir from Languedoc, which is easy to find and not very expensive (10 euros a bottle).

Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is silent, very interesting and full with interesting monuments

So, let’s say you passed this exam magna cum laudae with 25 euros and now you are in a much better mood! What to do next? Looking for a hotel, or better said, a place to stay and to sleep. You can find of course private accommodation, but if you really find something satisfactory cheap than I what I tell you next, please let me know. I recommend you next Belleville, a Paris suburb with plenty of immigrants from Africa and Maghreb. I found here in Belleville the Hipotel at 32 Euros a simple. Don’t expect luxury at this money, of course, but you have a roof above your head and now you can go discover Paris on your own, finally!

Still I could recommend you some things to do in Paris for free!

Notre Dame de Paris is an iconic landmark of Paris, and besides is for free!

Start even with one of the Paris landmarks: Notre Dame de Paris, which is the first Gothic church build in The City of Lights. Its construction started at 1160. There are free organ concerts on Sunday, and free guided tour in English on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ( in the other days only in French)

Another highlight, also for free, would be the Cemetery Pere Lachaise, whatever gloomy and scaring it sounds. But it is 200 years old, some prominent people  found here the deserved rest (Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde etc) and many of the monuments have an artistic value.

Musee Carnavalet is a Paris history museum

Musee Carnavalet is a history museum of Paris. There are city plans, paintings, Proust cabinet etc. Entrance is free. Try to compare the painted old Paris to the modern one.  I also did, and found Quai Sainte Denise very much unchanged.

There are so many things to do in Paris, even on a budget.So, not visiting Paris as too expensive is  not an excuse. Paris is friendly even on a budget, check it!

There are many things to know about laos, a former colony in the French Indochina. First of all, it is a landlocked country with no access to ocean, closed by Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and China.

This particular thing made Laos isolated, and even today in the globalization era, Laos is very special, unbelievably special. On a surface of 230 000 sqkm (equally to Britain) live only 6 000 000 people. You have a lot of undiscovered corners in this country, let’s go to work!

Back in time you can discover that the today Laos is the follower of the Kingdom with 1 million elephants, or the Lan Shang, as the local says. Today in this mountain country there are no more 1 000 000 elephants, due to their ever shrinking habitat, but you can still get your elephant driving licence. Later, Laos was a part of the French Indochina, and today many elder people speak very good French. The younger no more, they are English orientated. During the Vietnam war Laos was heavy bombarded, and is good to know for you in order to get the picture: in Laos falled more bombs than in the all Europe during the WWII! Today many people in Laos try to escape the extreme poverty through collecting these unexploded bombs. Sadly, there are many victims, but otherwise many Laotians could barely survive (60 % of the population live with less than 1 $ daily)

The impressive Pha That Luang is the national symbol of Laos

You can discover Laos by by trekking on the country’s many trails, or you can further ride the bike  or drive the car. Also interesting, and even exciting, is a speedboat travel on Mekong River.

The urban life in Laos is represented through its sleepy capital,Vientiane, and Luang Prabang, a former capital with many temples and monuments, which is an UNESCO heritage site. Laos is mainly Buddhist, and the extreme respect showed to the monks is a part of the daily life. You are also supposed to be very decent dressed when entering the temples.

There are many fantastic places in the mountains of Laos,go to work!

Vientiane is a tranquille capital of pleasures. The people here seem to be never in a hurry. If you are there, don’t miss the Buddhist stupa of Pha That Luang, which is actually the Laos national symbol. It shines spectacularily, even breathtaking.

Vientiane is Laos' sleepy capital, lieing on Mekong and looking colonial

Try the brand new bar of Jazzy Brick, which wants to be western styled with Asian touch. About the kitchen: always in Laos rice is the king, of course, but in Vientiane you can let yourself spoiled in Kua Lao, which is an old mansion unofficially classified as country’s best restaurant. Here a meal for two is about 20 $. If you wanna eat more French, you have another important option: Restaurant Le Central.

Sleeping in Vientiane and all Laos would be not difficult. You can get hostels for backpackers at excellent prices. But in Vientiane you can also get splurge in Settha Palace or Green park Boutique Hotel, where rooms start from 150 $.

An absolutely must in Laos is the herbal sauna, which is really fantastic and makes the outdoor heat to be much more bearable.

A lot of things to do and to discover in Laos, don’t you think? You need to hurry up and go!