Forwards4all: 12/23/12

[forwards4all] Canal Streets of the World

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Canal Streets of the World

Bruges, Belgium.
The capital of West Flanders is lovely and underrated, and the well-preserved city centre of brick Gothic architecture was once the stomping ground of Flemish old master painters. Tour the canals that seem to make a moat around the old town: Dijver runs between antique shops and the Church of Our Lady; Groene Rei is tree-lined and tranquil; and Spinolarei has stepped gable houses.

Bangkok, Thailand.
This go-go Asian metropolis is all bright lights and flashing signs, catcalling lady boys and honking tuk-tuks, and street vendors slinging pad see ew noodles to locals and backpackers. But sooner or later you will be confronted with a canal scene. Of the many khlong (canals) that looped around the city in the 1800s, only a fraction remain in the downtown Thonburi neighbourhood and in the outlying Green Lung area, where farmers and fishermen get around via canals and elevated walkways.

Annecy, France.
When the light hits the canals of Annecy just right, they gleam startlingly green-blue like sea glass. Visit one of the canal-side restaurants and bars that fill up with locals swapping stories over plates of delicate lake fish and glasses of wine. On a triangular islet in the Thiou River, the Palais de Isle has been re-imagined as a residence, a courthouse, a jail and currently, a museum.

Giethoorn, Netherlands
This small town outside of Amsterdam grew up in swampy marshland, and the solution of 12th century peat farmers was to dig canals to transport their goods. Giethoorn still possesses 6.4km of waterways, crisscrossed by more than 150 wood footbridges, with lush front yards sloping from thatched-roof houses down to the water's edge. Roads do not extend to the central old town, so 2,500 residents get around mostly by punting.

El Gouna, Egypt.
Despite its location, El Gouna has more in common with that newish subdivision in your hometown than it does with, say, the pyramids. It is a resort town that began development in the 1990s, and the lagoons, stemming from the Red Sea, create turquoise channels between islands whose ocher-coloured hotels and private villas blend into the arid desert landscape. When the going gets too hot, cool off at one of the nearby beaches.

Tigre, Argentina
Take the train from Buenos Aires to Tigre and when you arrive at the waterfront all tile, iron railings and old-timey street lamps you will see that life here is oriented around el agua (the water). Instead of museums or libraries, the lovely old buildings are canoe clubs -- and that is only the beginning. Tigre, built on the delta of the Paran River, is a hodgepodge of islets with elegant vacation homes, ramshackle fishing abodes and camp-style resorts. Some waterways are big enough for water taxis and private boats while others, thick with pussy willows and ceibo trees, accommodate only a single skiff.

Hamburg, Germany.
Neoclassical buildings ring central Lake Alster, from which canals branch off to various neighborhoods, notably: Altstadt, with its 17th- and 18th- Century merchants mansions.

Grand Canal, Venice.

Netherland.

Dal Lake, Srinagar in India.

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[forwards4all] Republic of Croatia.

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Republic of Croatia

Croatia is a country situated in the Central Europe. It is to the east side of the Adriatic Sea, to the east of Italy. It is bordered by Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the north, Bosnia to the southeast, Serbia in the east, and Montenegro to the south.

Of all the gifts of Helsinki's year as World Design Capital, travellers might be most grateful for the Suvanto lounges at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The 22 islets - created as part of the biennial event that sets out to raise the profile of cities that use design to improve social, economic and cultural life - have a comfortable lounge with a plywood surround in which passengers can make phone calls or read documents in relative privacy.

The lounges are free and at gates 16, 17, 26 and 36. And no matter if you miss out on a seat; wi-fi is free throughout the airport and mobile devices can be recharged wirelessly with PowerKiss, a Finnish innovation, of course.

Readerly types can also get new material on the way to board a flight at its Book Swap station. Travellers can mark their book's journey on a sticker on the inside cover for future readers. Meanwhile, another legacy of the design year in a country of 37 national parks will be the nature-focused centre Haltia, 25 kilometres from Helsinki on the edge of the Nuuksio National Park. Set to open in March, visitors will be able to get close to the country's environment and wildlife, with several installations in the three-storey wooden building powered chiefly by thermal and solar energy.