Category: Rail Travel

Kopaonik in Serbia

Skiing in Kopaonik, Serbia is becoming a growing trend for skiers looking to move away from the commercial skiing facilities of Central and Northern Europe in search of more naturally occurring skiing trails. With a snow range of 1770-2017 metres and a village positioned 5,000 feet above sea level Kopeonik in Serbia is seen as the answer to many skiers dreams. With a three hour journey from the nearest airport Kopaonik is surely worth the effort, having cross-country skiing, night skiing, skydiving, sleigh rides, ice-skating, indoor tennis and many other activities for the winter sports enthusiast to enjoy.

The mountain climbs 35,000 feet into the cold Serbian sky, whilst ski lifts only climb to 6,617 feet. The skiing facility is yet to host a major skiing event; despite being home to several international snowboarding competitions and cross-country skiing as well. The living quarters are apt for pricing that would delight the weariest of tourists. Skiers can experience national cuisine such as Burek (pastry, cheese, spinach) and Pljeskavica (grilled mince) for well under $10 a meal. The old favorites such as burger, chips and pizza are still on the menu, and the price of $1.50 a beer might delight some holiday makers looking to do slightly more than just ski! The living area can handle over 5,000 tourists at the same time, whilst the bars and clubs around the area make the holiday destination more suited to the younger holiday-maker. Another issue that is quite prominent is the mistake that many make in travelling to Kopaonik to celebrate Christmas the celebrations are of slight comparison to western culture, despite its labelling as a winter heaven.

With different piste types Kopaonik caters for beginners, intermediates and experts with the following ratio.

?15 beginner
?8 intermediate
?6 expert

Having 21 lifts and an uphill capacity of 15,000 (an hour) Kopaonik is more than capable of catering for its millions of visitors each year. With slopes facing N, N/E and N/W you can be sure to experience the densely populated villages that surround the region. Thriving from the tourism the mountain provides, Kopaonik has recently became home to a 4 star luxury hotel providing entertainment and accommodation to skiers and executives alike.

With the longest run covering 3.5 KM and expert tuition on hand, Kopaonik has recently benefited from its appointment of English speaking instructors across skiing and snowboarding disciplines. The advanced runs down the Kopaonik mountain-face are a primary incentive for many skiers to choose Kopaonik as their skiing holiday destination. The 6 runs that fit into this category must be epitomised by the Konaci – which a local holiday village was recently named after.

The Konaci has an angle of 79 degrees at a certain point, which it is said that – if you go too slow, and fail to position yourself correctly, it would be perfectly feasible to fall forwards merely travelling in a straight line. The Konaci sees skiers travelling at speeds of over 50 MPH and jumps that allow airtime of over 8 seconds. The Konaci is praised and feared by the top skiers from Europe and further a field. Despite this, the run featured in the 2005 snowboarding event that took place in the Kopaonik mountains.

With snow falling on the slopes between August/September all the way through to early March, skiers should plan their trip with that in mind. The slopes of Serbia and the warm generous nation make Kopaonik an ideal holiday destination for any traveler looking to have a good time on a set of skis. The package deals start from around $400 a week, whilst amazing savings can be made through booking online.

The destination expects 10, 000 visitors a week by 2009, and with its intention to develop further runs across every piste you can be sure that Kopaonik, Serbia will be a skiing location that will stay firmly on the map.

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Geilo in Norway

Geilo in Norway stands 800 metres high, and has one of the highest ski lifts in the world, stretching 3,887 feet. Geilo is positioned three and a half hours from the capital city, whilst having good road and rail links to the village. Set amidst amazing scenery just off the banks of Fjord, Geilo is at the heart of Norways Winter Wonderland. Maintaining its reputation as an excellent family resort, Geilo has seen visitors from Europe and beyond since early 1900s. Geilo remains unspoilt, with true Norwegian character firmly intact.

With more than just skiing facilities Geilo is home to the 4 star Highland Hotel, as well as numerous lodging houses, and the famous Holms Ski Bar. Although primarily a ski resort Geilo also offers sleigh rides, wildlife adventure tours, ski orienteering, tobogganing, snow shoe walking, dog-sledging, kite-skiing, night-skiing, snowboarding, freestyle snowboarding and much more.

Geilos reputation as one the worlds top skiing resorts lies mainly in its ability to cater for family vacations. With over 10,000 families visiting the slopes each year, Geilo also offers excellent tuition in packages it refers to as the Family Starter Pack. This involves tuition for your entire family for the equivalent of $200 a day. This means, that not only can your whole family learn together, but is also means that families with no skiing experience, can go along and after the first day, they will be able to ski on their own.

Geilo has also increased its reputation amongst Snowboarders in recent years beating off Lillehammer, Voss and Hemsedal in its bid to host the Norwegian Snowboarding Championship. With four sides of mountain each dedicated to snowboarding and skiing, Geilo is now able to call itself Norways first skiing location to offer 5 runs dedicated to snowboarding. With 110 runs in total, Geilo has 14% expert allowing experienced skiers to enjoy themselves on the slopes, whilst maintaining the rest of its facilities for intermediates and beginners that account for a larger number of their yearly visitors.

Geilo also offers exceptional value for money with weekly family packages starting from $1000 including accommodation, bed and breakfast. The element that stands out the most about Geilo is the way it caters for families, with crches, family diners, and especially their Christmas bonanza which includes Santa visiting the slopes with his reindeer on Christmas day, and the time leading up to christmas. Geilo never fails to be fully booked for Christmas, with so many families choosing to bring their children along to experience Christmas within this winter wonderland.

Although Geilo offers amazing family packages, it would be unfair to say that Geilo is limited to family vacations. Geilo has hosted very serious world sporting events, as well as being the training ground of the national snowboarding and skiing teams. Geilo is available from August/September all the way through to late March and is also considering investing in Avalanche Technology which generates snow from water to provide 24/365 skiing. If you have never been to Geilo then I would recommend that you give it a go, although the family image may put certain people off visiting the slope I would suggest that checking it out is the best thing to do. From their website it is clear to see that consistent snowfall, and a good variation in the difficulty of runs, Geilo is a facility that can genuinely cater for everyone; from beginner to professional.

It has many great options for accommodation, and with good travel links as well their really is no excuse for not hoping on a plane and going to Geilo today. With thousands of people on the slopes, from different countries and different backgrounds Geilo is suitable for families and teenagers alike. With individual price plans starting from $350 a week, and well-known DJs playing at local club venues Geilo is also becoming very popular amongst those teenagers who would have previously seen Ibiza as the only place to be seen on holiday.

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Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge

Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
May 27, 1937 was Pedestrian Day in San Francisco. This kicked off a week-long
celebration of the new Golden Gate Bridge. Pedestrian Day meant that the bridge was
open to foot traffic for 25 cents per person. About 200,000 people paid the fee and
crossed the 1.7-mile span in their walking shoes or on roller skates. For the first time, it
was possible to walk across the San Francisco Bay, from the northern tip of San
Francisco to the southern end of Marin County. Automobile traffic was permitted the
next day at noon.
Before the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed, San Francisco was a relatively isolated
city. It sat at the top of a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water that was difficult
to cross. The Golden Gate itself is a narrow strip of water at the mouth of the San
Francisco Bay. With strong currents and a depth of 400 feet, the Golden Gate strait is
foreboding to sailors. On the other hand, circumnavigating the whole San Francisco Bay
has its drawbacks too: the trip is hundreds of miles long and involves crossing several
rivers, which can become shallow sand traps.
For these reasons, ferry service between San Francisco and Marin County began in 1820.
First the ferry was only for railroad passengers, but later on people could bring their
automobiles in tow. This became booming business.
When bridge proposals became serious, the ferry companies, including the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company, opposed any bridge as competition. The military also
objected to spanning the San Francisco Bay; they questioned whether the bridge would
interfere with war ships. People in general wondered about the sturdiness of a suspension
bridge, which is held by cables and strung between towers. Could such a bridge withstand
the Bays strong gusts of wind? How would the bridge remain rooted in the ocean floor?
Nonetheless, by the 1900s it was evident that ferries alone could not handle travel
demands. The citys growth would be restricted until it overcame obstacles to trading
with Northern California. In 1916 the Chicago-based engineer Joseph Strauss responded
to San Franciscos call for bridge submissions. Immediate local support mixed with
alleged bribery helped him secure support from the city council. Strauss personally
traveled north, too, to lobby Marin County council members and business people. He
assured them that once a bridge was built from San Francisco, their businesses and
property values would grow. He gained their support. By 1932, the founder of San
Francisco-based Bank of America agreed to finance the estimated $30 million project.
Work started in 1933.
The Golden Gate Bridge blueprints were improved upon since Strausss original
submission. Strauss had little experience with suspension style bridges, so he hired a
team of architects who made significant contributions. Today, the Purdue professor
Charles Ellis is widely recognized as being the main architect behind the bridge, while
Strauss is regarded as its organizer and promoter. A San Francisco architect named Irving
Morrow, who was part of Strausss team, also made important contributions. He
suggested painting the bridge a color he called international orange. This would
complement the surrounding blues and greens of nature, and simultaneously make the
bridge visible through fog. (If the bridge coloring had been left to the government or
Strauss, it would likely have been black.) Irving also designed the bridges arches to play
with light throughout the day, making the bridge especially pleasing to the eye. Electric
lighting along the cables adds to the visual appeal at night.
The project was completed within four years and under budget at $27 million. The final
project was built to withstand the Bays high winds; it can sway 27 feet and still safely
hold traffic. It has only been closed a few times since 1937 when winds reached 70 miles
per hour.
Today, ferry service continues between San Francisco and Marin County, but the Golden
Gate Bridge carries over 40 million passengers each year.
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