From the Campanile in St Mark’s Square, the uniqueness of Venice reveals itself quite impressively. This much-described city is spread across several larger and smaller islands and has therefore always had a close relationship with the water. Read more
The climate-favoured coast of Liguria in western Italy, near the French border, rises steeply from the blue waves of the Mediterranean. In some sheltered coves, fishing villages have nestled between the narrow valley walls, while further inland, other villages perch on the mountain ridges. This 12 km long coastal section, with its five villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, is known as Cinque Terre. The slopes are covered with olive groves, vineyards, and small gardens, which, alongside fishing, provided a livelihood in earlier times. Like the rest of Italy, Liguria is an ancient cultural landscape, cultivated by people over a long tradition. From this tradition, the much-praised Italian cuisine developed, enticing travellers to the table with the sensual aromas that fill the land.
A trip to Rome means not only a return to the roots of European culture, but also an encounter with over two and a half millennia of eventful history, which many of us found dry and boring at school. Yet how vibrant the remains from the times of ancient Rome appear, when the city was still the centre of the known world. Today, these Roman historical witnesses present themselves as welcome havens of peace in modern Rome and the capital of Italy, emerging from the cityscape like islands of time. Thus, a fragmentary picture of those days forms before our eyes, and all the familiar figures from our school days are brought to life.
Just a few hundred metres from the Vatican, the Papal State, and its landmark, St. Peter’s Basilica, stands Castel Sant’Angelo on the Tiber in Rome. Originally built as a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD, it suffered the same fate as many ancient buildings: over the course of history, its use changed. While temples were converted into churches for the one new God, the mausoleum was expanded into a fortress. As a result, this building is imbued with a peculiar atmosphere. Despite faded colours and crumbling plaster, it only takes a few rays of sunshine to conjure an intense glow onto its defiant walls, which then radiate immense warmth and highlight the southern character of Italy’s capital.
At the end of the last Ice Age, which shaped Norway’s landscape so uniquely, the country began to be settled 10,000 years ago. From the south, the first people soon pushed northwards and inland, always following the retreating glaciers. In the climatically more favourable fjord valleys, larger tribes soon developed. Their close relationship with the sea led to the development of shipbuilding skills, which formed the basis of the Vikings’ reputation as successful seafarers and fierce conquerors. With their ocean-going longships, the Norsemen unsuccessfully attempted to conquer England, but during their raids, they sailed up Central European rivers far into the continent and even sailed to North America multiple times, thus being in the “New World” centuries before its official discovery by Columbus.
In the eleventh century, Christianity spread throughout Norway. Subsequently, believers developed a novel style in building their churches, as the Stave Church in Lom impressively demonstrates. The art of woodworking, which also produced the magnificent Viking ships, is evident in the equally solid and richly decorated stave churches. Dragon riders on the roof ridges and animal depictions on the portal are not an unusual sight, as Christian symbols and images of pagan myths are signs of the integration of old customs into the new religion. Of the originally over a thousand structures, only about thirty of these pure wooden constructions remain today, which, supported by a central structure of columns and sealed externally with thick tar paint, withstand the harsh wind and weather.
The race of giants, as the origin sagas of the Edda tell, is older than the divine race of the Æsir. There are two mighty tribes among the giants: the Thurses, meaning the Dry Ones, and the Jötnar, the Devourers. The latter dwell in Jötunheimr, also called Utgard, but also in clouds and waters, rocks and mountains, in ice and snow. Thiassi and Thym are storm and thunder giants; Witolf was a forest giant. The lord of the seas is Ægir, the Dreadful; he wears the Helm of Ægir, which no human can behold without turning to stone in terror. The king of the giants is Surtr with the flaming sword. The mightiest among them is called Utgard-Loki; not even the thunder god could overcome him. As they are of ancient lineage, many of them possess that primordial wisdom which Odin forever seeks. But the giants are mortal enemies of the Æsir. Magnificent sagas tell of the battles between them and the gods, among whom Thor was a particularly fierce adversary. On the day of Ragnarök, this ancient race will then fight the final battle with the Æsir.
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