There Exists Only One Pearl In The Caribbean – Jamaica

What do you think when you hear the word Jamaica, what first comes to your mind is the worlds fastest Athlete, Reggae, Rum, Red Stripe beer, Rastafari just to mention some.

Coming to Jamaica is always a nice adventure, even in these modern times.
The word Jamaica sounds like colorful dressing of the people, sun, reggae and lots of more. When thinking of the word Jamaica it is or it sounds like some magic maybe – Voodoo?

I just remember the movie with Steven Seagal where he was persued from a Jamaican drug dealer and Steven didn’t live in peace until he killed that person or I think there were two brothers. Anyway, this is an island where you have all year round sun and last not least where you can lay on the beach the whole year. It is just wonderful. It sounds like paradise on earth. But what am I telling you…don’t believe me just go for it and try it out.

For the coffee drinker is important to say, that Jamaica has one of the best coffee – “Mountain Blue” a famous coffee that is being exported to all over the world. That is what I like from Jamaica…even when drinking coffee you taste that black magic…don’t believe me – taste it and tell me afterward what do you think about it. As a coffee lover you won’t regret it. You feel the magic all over the island.

Jamaica is really blessed from Nature, you have miles of white-sand beaches, numerous rivers and waterfalls, and mountain and valleys. You can look at the natural wonders and also at the man-made works of art almost all over the country. But what most attracts me is their cuisine - a real ‘paladar’.


Jamaica is a pearl of the Caribbean with its famous Montego Bay where the day never ends. But to live up in Montego Bay you might need some energy pills or energy drinks to keep with the path. But you are on vacation and you should really forget everything for a few days.

Talk to you soon


Anton

Frankenmuth –“Little Bavaria in Michigan”?

When immigrating to other countries there is no need to forget your own custom. And Frankenmuth is no exception. Even so the original purpose of bringing Christianity to the Chippewa tribe was the main driving power and has lost over time its strength. But maintaining there custom and living style is a strong pattern to keep when living outside of your own country and Region.



Frankenmuth is a small city in Saginaw Country in the U.S. State of Michigan. The city is located within Frankenmuth Township. But it is politically independent.

When you come the first time to the city you will be impressed of the size of Bonner’s Christmas Wonderland, which states to be the world largest Christmas Store and looking at the size just by driving by you’ll believe it. When driving the first time to Frankenmuth my first impression was I’m driving into a German town. When many years outside of your home country you’ll appreciate and recognize the typical house construction of your country and you just feel like at home.



History

Conservative Lutheran immigrants from Franconia (which is now Bavaria) came to this part of the States in 1845 according ‘wikipedia’. The German word “Franken” represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria and the German word “Muth” means courage, therefore the city name of “Frankenmuth” means “courage of the Franconians”.

The whole area around Frankenmuth is like a magnet for other Germans from the same Region. The names Frankenlust, Frankentrost and Frankenhilf illustrate the origin of the people that is Franconia or Franken.

Tourism

Tourism is the main source of income for domestic people. Over 3 million tourists come annually to the city and spend their money in Bavarian shops and taste Bavarian food and Bavarian beer. But not only Bavarian themed shops and products attract tourists, no, not at all. Frankenmuth also attracts tourists with festivals and other events whole year long. But I also can imagine that the strong influence of Franconian-style architecture attracts lot of people.

Entertainment

Talking about entertainment there is to mention:

* The World Expo of Beer (this event is mainly a community fund-raiser).

Dog Bowl and Great Lakes Hot Air Balloon Championships
The Dog Bowl is like an Olympic-series of many dog events. This event is held
over Memorial Weekend in late May.

* Bavarian Fest

The Bavarian Fest began in 1959 in working together with the Grand Opening Celebration of the Bavarian style addition to Fischer’s Hotel on Main Street of this small city.
The visitors are invited to hear Bavarian music played by authentically dressed German bands and watching the parades, enjoy dance music, face painting and lot more.
And as all this type of events you get offered German foods and dessert, and last not least the German and domestic Beer. Each year thousands of people enjoy the annual Sunday Bavarian Festival Parade.

* Summer Music Fest

For Polka-lovers there is the Summer Fest. This week-long Polka Festival takes place in Frankenmuth’s Heritage Park. But there is every weekend entertainment with Bavarian Music.

* Oktoberfest

And as in every Bavarian related festivity there is also the famous Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest has been celebrated the first time in 1990. According to ‘wikipedia’ Frankenmuth is the first Oktoberfest outside of Munich to be sanctioned by the Parliament and the City of Munich.
When celebrating the Oktoberfest it is usual or chic to wear the typical and traditional garments like Lederhosen, Dirndl, Trachtenmode, and typical shoes. All this together makes the atmosphere you live at the original Oktoberfest in Munich.

* Frankenmuth Snow Fest

Frankenmuth is also host of the top snow-sculpting events in North America, called the Frankenmuth Ice Festival.

There is really all-year around activity for Bavarian-culture lovers and people enjoying entertainment from different cultures.
And you should not forget the largest Christmas Market where you can supply for Christmas season almost everything you can imagine.

So, why not organize the next escape to one of the festivals in Frankenmuth?

Anton Winkler

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Anton Winkler loves to write about different subjects. You can read more at his blog antonwinkler.com and antonsexclusivevacationtips
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Travel By Car VerseTravel By Plane

Sometimes you should decide before leaving your home whether to travel by car or travel by plane. But you never know what awaits you on the route nor what can happen at the airport. This was my longest travel to Veracruz. It took me 7.5 hours, okay, I took my breakfast in the beautiful city of Puebla. Not exactly in Puebla but in the Holiday Inn alongside the autobahn to Orizaba and Veracruz.

But it still was more than 6 hours travel time what normally takes me only 3.5 hours. More than half way to Veracruz I was seriously thinking if it would not have been better to fly instead of drive. But in my opinion you enjoy more of the trip and the country side by traveling over the autobahn.

Even so the temperature is very high at this time of year and especially when you come down the hills and enter the valley of Cordoba. When you are closer to Cordoba you are almost at sea level and the high percentage of moisture makes the temperature worse. You just feel how the sweat drops down your back. But the visit to Veracruz makes worth the sacrifices.

Veracruz has lots of places of interest, like San Juan de Ulua Castle. A visit to this colonial place takes us back in time and some how led us understand a little bit about the history of this beautiful port.

There are other places like Baluarte de Santiago one of the four bastions which still exists. This bastion was the protection against assaults of the pirates.

Another attraction is Sacrifice Island in front of the Port of Veracruz. This island was discovered in 1518 by the Spanish man Juan de Grijalva

Naval Museum

The Cathedral which dates back to 1662 and is called: “The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Asuncion”. It has a base with basilical form with five ships; the highest of all is the central ship.

Municipal Palace that is opposite of the park of the city; the construction was initiated in 1600.

Convent of San Francisco which is now the Holiday Inn of Veracruz Historical Center was founded by the first franciscanos that arrived at America and the building dates back to the end of century XVI and beginning of the XVII. It was reconstructed in 1715 with the sponsorship of the University of Merchants of Seville.

And of course for the Gulf-of Mexico-water-lovers there are the beaches. The port of Veracruz is and has been with all his beaches an important attraction of this region. The important beaches are called: Villa del Mar, Yacht Club, Iguana Beach, Marti Beach and Mocambo Beach.

For shopping-lovers there are the malls to acquire all kinds of souvenirs, beach clothes, postcards and lots of other items.

We should not forget to mention the restaurants of Veracruz where you can try the typical food of the region and of course international food. If you prefer the veracruzian atmosphere you should go to the famous ‘Café de la Parroquia’ with traditional food and also economic prices.

But the jewel of Veracruz is the people, with their friendliness and humor.

Talk to you soon

Anton

Travel to Dolly Wood

Not many entrepreneurs care about their home but there is one particular personality I have in mind, the self proclaimed Barbie, the country singer icon Dolly Parton. Everyone who likes country music has heard in some way or another the name Dolly Parton with one of her famous song ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home’

It is amazing what some entrepreneurs do for their home town and Dolly Parton is no exception.

If you are traveling with your family to the Nashville area I would say 'Dolly Wood' is a must see in your travel guide. The theme park is celebrating his 25th anniversary and has a lot of attractions to celebrate his birthday. Without any doubt there will be a lot of activities to celebrate this ‘birthday’.

Born in the country, loving the country as she does and express her love to the country and folks with her songs, Dolly Parton set a signature at Dolly Wood. It looks that her dream of a female Walt Disney has come into reality.

For some decades now there have been visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains Park but when she signed her name as a co–founder the change was big. She has turned the park into a 2.5 Million visitor’s attraction per year that is not bad for an entrepreneur like she is.

So, if you don’t know where to spend your vacation this year, think about it, Dolly Woodland can be very attractive…and just imagine you see Dolly Parton in person…my gosh what a coincidence.

Dollywood theme park is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The park hosts a number of concerts and musical events each year. The park is open from early spring until around Christmas.

Talk to you soon

Anton

Shanghai: The Bund Is Back

China shows the world that if you want to attract tourism you can do it the right way

Every bad place can be refurnished like a house. The only thing you need is the idea to change something, put the money into it and change the face of a Harbor, or City, or whatever part you want to change to attract more tourists. Nothing is impossible. And China has gone the way for change. The Bund in Shanghai is one of most famous tourist destinations of the City. And Now the Bund is back for tourism.

Shanghai: The Bund Is Back

Name: According to Wikipedia the name "Bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Hindi word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms "bind," "bond" and "band," the German term "bund," etc.). "Bund" is pronounced to rhyme with "fund".



The term was brought to Shanghai by the family of Victor Sassoon, a Baghdadi Jew. There are many "bands" to be found in Baghdad, even today. There are numerous sites in India, China, and Japan which are called "bunds" (e.g. the Yokohama Bund). However, "The Bund" as a proper noun almost invariably refers to this stretch of embanked riverfront in Shanghai.

History:

The Shanghai Bund has lots of historical buildings, along the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. This was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbourside.
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What Is The Obligation When You Win The World Travel Award For Excellence In Travel?

Dear Reader and Friend

The other day on my flight to Guadalajara I read an article about “Mexicana”: The Best Airline in Mexico and Central America.”

And further on it stats, “Recognition is among the best types of feed back that people and organizations can receive – and it is even better when experts are the ones noting the effort and passion that goes into our work.”

Let me ask you a question, “Wasn’t the world travel awards” created to recognize and celebrate excellence in travel.

I sometimes get confused about the word “excellence.”

What means excellence?

Is this word misleading in Latin America or are the patterns for excellence different than in any other part of the world. Or maybe people are not aware what excellence in travel means. Doesn’t mean to be “excellent” improving yourself constantly in your organization or business? Is apologizing to people not part of being excellent or is that a strange word for organizations in Latin America. Has a human creature no value – is a human creature part of a package, without value.

Why don’t experts use more often the travel service provided from award winning organization? Why can’t an organization and it doesn’t matter how big it is apologize and explain to their customers what happened? Is the word apologizing so difficult to pronounce?

Is the system so complicated to manage or are the people (employees) are insufficiently trained? It is ridiculous how sometimes excuses are made only to say something. You know it seems to me that the people open only their mouth to say something and to see if the listener is satisfied but on the other hand they get upset if you ask them something different they have no reply for it.

This day there have been cancelled two flights, first explanation – “fork” in Guadalajara. Why isn’t it possible to say it in the first time, why do you have to investigate what happened? Secondly they tell you the system failed because we where waiting almost an hour in the plane to take off.

You know it is easy to say the system failed. But as everybody knows a system doesn’t fail unless you have a power failure. A system only fails when it is managed incorrectly - that means human failure.

Isn’t it human to offer something to your customers after waiting 3 to 4 hours in the airport or is it normal to leave them all on their own. I understand that people are treated unfair in Latin countries mostly from all big organizations. But is that a reason to be quiet?

Is the problem in those countries lack of competence or is it just from the CEOs and managers because you have to use the service anyhow because you don’t have much Joyce because there are not many companies to choose from either.

In my opinion we should be more selective when giving our votes for awards. And the fact alone that you win a price doesn’t mean that one can rest on one’s laurels no, it means that you have to work harder to improve yourself as a company. We are human beings and make all mistakes but is that a reason to treat others inhuman?

In today’s economic situation every entrepreneur cares about his customers and treats them well, because he knows that he will loose them otherwise. Isn’t that a good reason to start with?
Respect and care your customers the way you like to be respected and cared.

To get the merit of the world travel awards for excellence in travel…a lot has to be done.

I like the slogan of the Hampton Inn Hotels, “if you are not 100% satisfied we don’t expect you to pay.”

Dear Friend, I never had to test it for real because I had never to complain – but I tell you this is excellence in travel.

Regards,

Anton

P.S. Maybe you can help me in getting my doubts off of my mind. I really appreciated your comment.

What Is The Best Historical Destination For A Mexico Vacation?

When you are talking about history and Mexico there are a few locations that come to mind. One of them that really stand out is the area of the Yucatan peninsula that includes the area once dominated by the Mayan people. In this peninsula you can still find incredible evidence of their advanced civilization. Just a short drive from the tourist regions of Cancun and Cozumel are examples to be found of the height of Mayan architecture and civilization.

Many travel agencies can set you up with tours that will let you enjoy and explore several archeological sites and still put aside time to lounge on a beach to soak in the sun. If you want to combine an educational experience and a relaxing vacation this is the place where you can do it. Spend a few days traveling to several of the most well known ruins as Chichen Itza and Uxmal and then kick back with some typical water activities.

One of the most famous Mayan ruins are Chichen Itza, which is close to Merida, the capital of Yucatan. It is estimated Chichen Itza was established in 432 AD and is one of the finest examples of Mayan architecture ever excavated. Chichen Itza, the most famous Maya temple city served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. This pyramid was without any doubt the greatest of the Mayan temples. Chichen Itza was selected as one of the 7 new wonders of the world. You can climb the pyramid known as "El Castillo" and learn how it is set up to have significance in how the Mayans viewed astronomy. There is also the largest ball court in Mesoamerica located here, which hosted games where the losers may have been ritually sacrificed. The blend of science, religion, and architecture in the city can be very impressive.

Another more recently found site is at Palenque, in which in 1952 the mummified remains of Lord Pakal, a ruler during the sixth century, were found in a large sarcophagus. There are many exquisite examples of Mayan architecture located here, such as comb-like decorations on the roofs of the temples and intricately carved wall panels. There are over 200 buildings at this site, which are probably more than enough to keep you exploring most of the day.

A visit to Tulum can provide some seaside ruins to explore for a half a day or so, but it also gives you the opportunity to snorkel and check out some of the underwater caves that are near there. After that it is a short trip to either Cancun or Isla de Mujeres for some rest and relaxation so you can reflect on all the history you absorbed. And the margaritas are good there, too.

Just south of Tulum you will find Sian Ka'an, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This ecological reserve has a lion's share of natural beauty, but it also highlights 23 archeological sites of Mayan civilization and contains an ancient trade route that serviced the cities of Tulum and Muyil during the Mayan era.

The entire Yucatan peninsula is chock full of the history and architecture of the Mayan civilization and it gives us a glimpse of what life was like in the prehistory of European colonization of the Americas. If your idea of a great vacation to Mexico is to learn about its history and heritage, then this is the number one place to go. There is no other place where you can learn about history and heritage of the Mexican people and enjoy a relaxing and rechargeable vacation. And the best you have no weather problems. You don't have to fear a bad weather vacation. So, enjoy your next Mexico vacation at the best historical destination.

Regards,

Anton


Anton R. Winkler writes on different subjects helping people to live a
better lifestyle with exclusive vacation tips for a better travel experience.
Go to http://antonsexclusivevacationtips.com
Enjoy your vacation the way you always have dreamed of and you'll never forget.