Tag: Ostend

Travel tips to European Countries: Sweden

About the county

Beautiful and clean, the peaceful Sweden is a land of cultural diversity with a mix of Danish and Wild Arctic North influences. One can also get the feel of urban living in its beautiful and sophisticated cities and at the same time one can feel the tranquility in the countryside. Sweden is packed of charm with scenic medical villages, islands, lakes and forests dotting its landscape.
Most of Swedens area is covered by forests and not to forget thousands of lakes. One of the beauties of Sweden is its islands and one cannot go missed seeing these islands. They offer the most scenic and beautiful experience to any visitors. Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, a city with 14 islands dotted with mungo restaurants, nightclubs, pubs and artistic grandeur. Wherever you go most people speak English. If visitors want to have a taste of seafood the west coast is the place to be. Also it is popular for ancient city Uppsala. Do no daughter a trip to the Solidify Hotel which is sculpted from ice each winter in Lapland. Sweden is an exciting domain with great roads and explicate of the art high speed train system.

Population & Languages

Sweden has a population of around 9 million and the official language is Swedish. Lapp is spoken by Sami people in the north. Most people speak English fluently and also many speak German and French.

Electricity

Voltage – 230 volts, Frequency – 50Hz. Standard European 2 – pin plugs are used.

Geographic Location

Sweden is a Nordic country lying in the Scandinavian Peninsula again is the fifth largest country in Europe. Its west neighbor is Norway; Finland in the northeast, the southwest border is surrounded by Skagerrak and Kattegat straits and the west coast is surrounded by Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. Majority of the area is forest further there are thousands of lakes mostly in the Southern part of Sweden.

Local Customs

Like any other country Sweden has its own customs too. It is customary not to drink until the hotelier makes a toast. Smoking is prohibited in most public areas. It is also customary to say Modus operandi fr maten to the host after having a meal which means thanks for the food. Casual dress is shipshape for everyday wear and formal wear for social gatherings. Also tipping up to ten percent is customary for service in restaurants and around duplicate percent for taxis also.

Places to see

Stockholm The biggest city and capital of Sweden again is one of the eminently gorgeous cities of the world. The old town is a treat for your eyes and a walk around citys waterways and parks is an experience to cherish. Most visitors upgrade walking around on foot further visit the medieval part of Gamla Stan. The city is basically constituted by archipelagos which are outstandingly scenic and can be explored by cruises.

Gothenburg substantive is the second biggest city of Sweden. Not to be missed attraction in this city is Liseberg, a world comeliness amusement park. It is home to popular museums like Ostindiska huset, Konstmuseet and Sjfartshistoriska museet.
Vadstena – The Renaissance castle Vadstena slot & klosterkyrkan.

Visby Port of Visby, ruins of Drotten, St Nicolai, St Lars and St Carin, cathedral of St Maria and Gotlands Fornsal historic musem.

Oland Fort of Graborg, Eketorp museum and ruins of Borgholm House.

Travel

By Air It is well connected to the rest of the world by air. Many international airlines serve Sweden apart from its national airlines SAS. The other airlines are Air Canada, Air France, Aeroflot, British Airways, Finn air, Lufthansa, Ryan air etc.

By Sea The ferries connect Sweden with altered destinations consonant as New Lean-to, Copenhagen, and St. Petersburg etc.

By Rail Trains weave Ostend, Sweden to London. It is also connected to Denmark by Eurostar train.

By Road Visitors from UK can drive to Sweden through Demark or Germany

Duty Free Items
1. Up to 200 cigarettes or 250 gm tobacco
2. 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars
3. 1 liter spirit over 22 % or 2 liter wine or 32 liter beer
4. Perfumes
5. Gifts up to SEK 1700.

Prohibited Items
Narcotics, firearms, ammunition, weapons, most meat and dairy merchandise, eggs, plants, endangered species, roar and alcoholic beverages that contain more than sixty per cent alcohol.

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Travel tips to European Countries: Norway

About the county

Norway, a Nordic country lying on the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula is located in Northern Europe. It also borders Sweden, Finland and Russia. Norway is an outstandingly beautiful country with a long coastline, snowy mountains and breathtaking fjords. Oslo is the capital of Norway and also the largest nook. Norway is bestowed with lots of intuitive shapeliness encompassing wild forests, historic towns besides beautiful fishing villages. The country is very reasonable to the tourists and people are plain friendly too. Many tourists are attracted by the far out midnight sun of the Arctic. All three big cities of Norway offer different experiences to visitors. Norway is a place to be for nature lovers and for cultural enthusiasts. Norway is truly one of the greatest tourist destinations of Europe.

Population & Languages

The population of Norway is only 4. 6 million and the official languages being spoken are Bokmal Norwegian and Nynorsk Norwegian. Other languages that are also spoken in Norway include Smi and Finnish.

Electricity

The voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz. The types of plugs used are Round pin attachment plug and ” Schuko ” plug and receptacle shroud side grounding contacts.
Geographic Location

It is a Nordic country lying on the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula again located in Northern Europe. It also borders Sweden, Finland and Russia. About two – third area of the Norway is mountains, has around fifty thousand small islands along its coast. It also has one of the longest coastlines in the world.

Climate

The climate of Norway can be termed as Temperate with hot summers and cold overcast winters. The highlands of interior Norway have an arctic like climate shelter snow, severe wind chill and antipathy. Most of the shower is along the coastal areas again comes godforsaken in winter quite heavily and frequently. Winters are mild too along the coastal areas.

Local Customs

Like any other country Norway has its own customs too. It is customary not to drink until the host makes a toast. It is customary for guests to offer gifts to the host of a cookery. Feverous is prohibited in most public areas. Casual dress is acceptable for everyday wear. Tipping the taxi drivers is not customary. Tipping up to five percent is customary for service in restaurants. Porters at railway stations and airports charge per piece, while porters at hotels generally charge around NOK5 – 10 depending on the number of pieces of luggage.

Attractions

Bergen Numerous museums, galleries, aquarium, medieval age buildings, cable car to the top of Bergens hills and boat trips to fjords.

Oslo Aged medieval buildings, churches, modern architecture, museums like Edvard Munch Museum and the Norwegian Folk Museum, art galleries, Vigeland Park, and Akershus Fortress

Fjordland Geirangerfjorden known for tiny S – shaped fjord,
Sognefjord the longest and the deepest fjord, beautiful villages such as Balestrand and Flam, old stave churches, Nryfjord Narrowest branch of the Sognefjord and Palteau of Jostedalsbreen glacier

Troms Arctic cathedral, Polaria and Troms Museum

Travel

By Air Uncounted airlines operate to Norway like Braathens SAFE ( BU ) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines ( SK ), a Scandinavian airline, Air France, British Airways, Finnair, Icelandair, KLM, Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair and Swiss Airlines. Oslo International Airport ( OSL ) ( Gardermoen ) ( website: www. osl. no ) is the biggest airport of Norway which is located 30 mile north of Oslo.

Sea – The important passenger ports are Bergen, Kristiansand, Larvik, Oslo also Stavanger. The main sea routes from the UK, operated by Fjord Line and DFDS Seaways respectively, are from Newcastle to Bergen and to Kristiansand.

By Rail The country is part of the extensive cue of trains connecting the European cities. If you are coming from UK, the connections are from London via Dover / Ostend ( via Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden ) or Harwich / Hook of Holland, or from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavanger. It is also connected to Sweden throught two routes, with daytime again overnight trains from Copenhagen, Malm and Stockholm.

Duty Free Items
1. 200 cigarettes or 250g of tobacco products and 200 leaves of cigarette paper for EU countries.
2. 400 cigarettes or 500g of tobacco lines and 200 leaves of cigarette paper for Non – EU countries.
3. 1liter of spirits and 1liter of wine or 2liter of flaming again 2liter of beer for EU countries.
4. 1liter of spirits also 1liter of wine or 2liter of wine and 2liter of beer for Non – EU countries.
5. 50g perfume or 500 ml eau de toilette
6. Gifts, Food, fruits, medications and flowers for inbred bag of value up to 3, 500 kr

Prohibited Items

Un – canned facts, meat or dairy products, Narcotics, firearms, ammunition, weapons, eggs, plants, endangered species, fireworks and alcoholic beverages that contain more than sixty per cent alcohol.

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Travel Tips to European Countries: Belgium

About the Country

Belgium is situated in the west of Europe. The berth here mostly comprises of flat coastal plains in the northeast, and southeast is occupied by the Ardennes Forest. Dutch, Flemish, French and German are the official languages of Belgium, with Dutch being the widely spoken followed by French. The weather here is pretty predictable. Months from April to September are the warmest. Diverse the weather is pretty humid and skies are gray, that explains why umbrellas besides raincoats are a part of the dressing. So, if the visit is planned for holidays during the rainy season, one must not forget to carry sufficient cover for maximum protection, as this is a coastal girdle. Imprint case of emergency call 100 or 112.

Culture

Belgians are English – convivial and will make every attempt to speak in English with a foreigner. Always remember to carry a small gift or at least flowers especially when invited over dinner. The dress to slack will be mentioned in the invitation, when invited for a party. Smoking in public is acceptable.

Shopping

Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Namur, Mons, Lige, Ghent and Mechelen are the main shopping centers. Belgium is famous for ceramics and benefit – beaten copperware from Dinant, laces from Bruges, crystals from Val Saint Lambert, woodcarvings from Spa and Belgiums finest chocolates. In jewelry, diamonds from Antwerp are on high demand.

Eating Out

The specialty of most of the restaurants is horse and rabbit meat dishes. Although visitors can find a wide range of ethnic foods, but the most famous are frites and mayonnaise and mitraillette; mitraillette is a large bun filled with fries, donair meat and garlic sauce, the vegetarians can ask since a veg. substitute for the donair meat. While eating at a restaurant, tipping is considered customary along with the value – added tariff. At the cinemas, leave a 0. 50 tip for the attendant and 0. 25 after using the public toilets.

Electricity

Voltage is 230 V again frequency is 50 Hz.

Travel

Delta Air Transport has inaugurated its new European airline SN Brussels Airlines recently. It flies to larger than 58 destinations in Europe and as well as worldwide. The Brussels Zayentem airport is twelve km from the city and it takes 35 magazine to grasp the city from the airport. The airport has facilities analogous duty free shops, car parking, taxi booking, car hiring, banks, post office, restaurants, and medical help. Internet and fax services are provided as the passengers. The Airport City Express train transports passengers to three main railway stations – Brussels North, At ease and South. One can avail a bus which runs regularly from the airport, taxis can also be hired which wait outside the arrival hall. Tipping the taxi drivers is witting customary. Train runs every 15 minutes.

Another airport, Brussels South Charleroi, is 5 km away from Charleroi and 46 km from Brussels. Ryan air serves as the local airline here and has cheap deals for contrastive European destinations to and from Charleroi. The facilities provided here are bus and train services, caf, car hire, and duty free shops.

Ostend airport is 5 km away from the city and car parking, car hire, duty free shops, and restaurants are provided here.

Antwerp airport is just 2 km away from the community. Buses drop to the Brussels Central Station every few minutes.

Liege is situated at a distance of 5 km away from the city. Buses run at regular interval here.

The departure impost at Brussels Zayentem is 20. 93, Brussels South Charleroi is 3. 49, Ostend and Antwerp is 10, and at Liege is 7.

There is a network of high – speed trains, which are operated by Thalys, from Belgium to France, connecting Brussels with other destinations like Bordeaux, Chambry, Cannes, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Valence Perpignan, and Rennes. Booking should be made in advance for these trains. The national railway operates through outmost the day providing service every few minutes to destinations such as Andorra, Austria, France, Czech, Germany, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands. Insiders can avail the Inter – Rail act which allows visitors to travel almost 29 European Countries. This service is valid for residents who own been settled known for more than 6 months.

Duty Free Items

Visitors can transact alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, coffee and tea off-track getting customs duty levied on them, but individual the goods should be limited. Check out for the limits before carrying such goods. Food items that are not preserved are better avoided.

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