Topic: Great Britain

The European Route of Historic Theatres

15.10.2016

Renowned architects have made them their individual masterpiece and often theatres and opera houses are named after their talented creators. Art and culture lovers not seldom go to great lengths to visit these awe-inspiring edifices and to inspect every detail of their often sumptuous and lavishly decorated interior. At best, admirers become part of a sublime performance. Even a trip halfway around the world does not seem to deter the truly addicted.

Embarking on a journey of theatre-sightseeing based on a pre-selection of venues is a possibility provided by The European Route of Historic Theatres: 8 routes including 22 countries have been compiled not merely to facilitate users’ choice but also to support better planning, help deepen the experience and to promote the around 120 member venues. In Europe alone, a vast number of formidable treasures are waiting to be lifted. Each route combines about twelve theatres and offers a pleasant journey taking roughly a week.

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Cartoon of a king: The Mayor of London is looking for a Night Czar

The Mayor of London: Desperately seeking Night Czar

12.09.2016

It is probably one of the most peculiar job offers ever made by an official body and it may well be that it was initially considered a hoax by those who stumbled upon it. No joke though. Instead, employer City of London tempts applicants with an unconventional job description and generous remuneration: 35,000 Pound Sterling for a leisurely 2,5-day week’s work. Taking London’s slackening night-life to new realms – or back to the ones of the past – will be the chosen contestant’s assigned task. Whereby the job title’s regal connotation might exercise additional attraction: Having „Night Czar“ embossed on one’s business card may perhaps raise a puzzled eyebrow here and there, but just imagine: Czar!

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Swingin’ in London: Crazy Golf by the foot of the Gherkin

7.07.2016

Many a mini golf course has popped up in Britain over the recent past: in the countryside, in themed parks or on lost islands, on rooftops, in junkyards or – like this one – in a former WWII bunker building situated on one of London’s poshest locations. The two 9-hole courses available are named after the one significant characteristic they each feature: a picturesque windmill with moving blades and a welcomingly illuminated Lighthouse.

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Things one needed for a train ride.

Ireland: Delightful prospects for train lovers

19.01.2016

As of summer 2016, Ireland (Republic and Northern) can be explored by rail luxury style aboard the Grand Hibernian, a new member to the family of iconic trains such as the legendary Royal Scotsman. Between August and October, clients are offered an attractive choice of three journeys – each following a different itinerary, yet all starting and ending in Dublin. The train boasts accommodation for up to 40 guests in private en-suite cabins whose cosy interior has been inspired by the isle’s rich cultural heritage.

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19th century drawing: ladies in the gym. The German Gymnasium: A successful structural modification at King's Cross.

London: The German Gymnasium at King’s Cross

7.10.2015

For the conscientiously-thinking German of the past centuries, keeping physically fit was equal to a national duty to be fulfilled – like going to church on Holy Sundays. Not a chance of ever playing truant. The constant surveillance by a rigorously watchful society saw to these rules not being neglected. Meanwhile in Germany, like in any place else in the world, people who work out regularly on a voluntary basis have become rarer and those zigzagging between sporadic exertion and hard-core couch-potatoing a sad majority.

German discipline was worthwhile being exported to ensure that far-away expats would not forget to stay in shape. And this is how the German Gymnasium at King’s Cross came to be. The money for „the first purpose-built gymnasium in the United Kingdom“, opened in 1865, was raised entirely by the German Gymnastics Society and the German community in London. 6,000 pounds well invested. Even women were allowed to use the facility: a freedom otherwise alien to ladies of that era.

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