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Stunning Photos Of The Alps

Elizabeth Seward — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Biking, Climbing, Hiking, Skiing, Blogs, Photos, Europe, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Switzerland, Camping, Ecotourism

The Alps is a beautiful mountain range. Spanning through Austria and Slovenia all the way through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, France and Monaco, the Alps are a go-to spot for mountain-loving folks living in or passing through these areas in Europe. Taken from the Latin word Alpes, which may have been derived from the word Albus, which means "white," the Alps are certainly that. If you enjoy perusing jaw-dropping photography, you'll be happy to know that Nature Pictures has an Alps series up on their website here. This stunning collection of photos features the snow-capped peaks in several scenes. Whether partially lit from the sunrise, towering over a lake or contrasted against green pastures, this photo collection is worth the look.

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Stunning Photos Of The Alps originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 10 smallest countries in the world

Alex Robertson Textor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Oceania, Maldives, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, St. Kitts & Nevis, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu, Caribbean

The world's ten smallest countries in terms of area fall into two general categories: European microstates (Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) and small island nations of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Caribbean (Maldives, Marshall Islands, Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Tuvalu.) Some of these countries are quite new as independent nations: Tuvalu gained independence from the UK in 1978, while the Marshall Islands gained full independence from the US in 1986. Others have been around for a very long time. San Marino dates its founding as a republic to 301. These countries vary greatly from one another along other axes as well: population, income, life expectancy, industry, tourist facilities, and membership in various international organizations.

Gallery: World's ten smallest countries

[Image of Tuvalu: Flickr | leighblackall]

The 10 smallest countries in the world originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Schengen and the disappearance of European passport stamps

Alex Robertson Textor — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Cyprus, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City

Creative new use for border crossing posts at German/Austrian border.

In the late 1980s, an American spending a summer traveling across Europe with a Eurailpass would see his or her passport stamped possibly dozens of times. With a few exceptions, every time a border was crossed, an immigration agent would pop his or her head into a train compartment, look at everyone's passports, in most cases stamp them, and move on. Every Eastern Bloc country required visas, some of which could be obtained at the border and others of which had to be applied for in advance.

Today, an American can enter the Schengen zone in Helsinki, fly to Oslo and then on to Amsterdam, proceed by train through Belgium, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, then by bus to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and then by ferry back to Helsinki before catching a flight to Athens and landing in Greece without once needing to submit a passport to a border guard's scrutiny.

The development of the Schengen agreement across Europe has altered the geopolitical map of the continent in many ways. For tourists, the development of the Schengen zone has simplified travel by drastically reducing the number of times a passport can be checked and stamped as national borders are crossed.

The Schengen Agreement is named after the town of Schengen in Luxembourg. It was here in 1985 that five countries-Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, and France-signed an agreement to essentially create borderless travel between them. A model for this agreement had been created years before by the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), which eliminated border controls back in 1948. The Nordic countries also did away with internal border posts, in 1958.

In 1995, the five original Schengen countries plus Portugal and Spain inaugurated the zone. In 1997, Austria and Italy joined. Greece followed in 2000 and the five Nordic countries joined in 2001. In late 2007, nine more countries joined the Schengen zone; most recently, Switzerland signed up in 2008.

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Schengen and the disappearance of European passport stamps originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Luxembourg matters

Andrew Evans — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Hiking, Europe, Andorra, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Vatican City

Europe has lots of tiny countries. The rest of the world reminds itself of this fact periodically, almost as a running joke. How Vatican City is the smallest "independent" state, but (come on people), is it really a country? Andorra sounds charming, too, until you go there and discover it's only the European Union's largest outlet mall. Likewise, Monaco's just a casino with a racecar track, and Liechtenstein's a drive-thru bank for dodgy Russians with Austrian passports.

Despite the less-romantic realities of present-day Europe, we travelers still get a kick out of these nifty, little hold-out principalities and monarchies. Somehow, they've prevailed in the tempest of European history, avoiding absorption into their larger neighbors all the way into the 21st century when we can ironically celebrate quirky existential nationhoods in the face of supranationalist sentiments.

I first visited Luxembourg on a whim--hopped a train in Brussels and three hours later, stepped off somewhere deep in the Ardennes. I was young, brave, and poor and it was late at night. I walked away from the one-room station in Arlon and disappeared into the forest, bumbling in the woods until the sounds of passing cars disappeared. When I found a comfortable spot, I pushed away the pine needles and lay down on the cold ground, using my lumpy canvas backpack as a pillow.

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Why Luxembourg matters originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Norway world's best place to live

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Congo, Niger, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, United States, Australia

I'm not sure if everybody wants to live in Norway, but it's certainly at the top of the global list. The United Nations Development Program determined this based on data GDP, education and life expectancy - among other metrics - to find the best of the best, as well as the other end of the spectrum. The data's from 2007, though, so it doesn't reflect a post-financial crisis world.

Joining Norway are Australia and Iceland, the latter of which was a hot location until a year ago, when the entire country got an International Monetary Fund package normally reserved for the third-est of third-world countries. Yet, even with the recession in mind, Iceland (a favorite destination of mine) is still far better than Niger, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, which sit at the bottom of the list. Several other sub-Saharan African states also ranked toward the bottom because of ongoing war and the proliferation of HIV/AIDS.

The spread is most evident in life expectancy, where a mailing address in Norway would add 30 years relative to Niger. In Niger, the current average life expectancy is 50. And, for every dollar that someone earns in Niger, the same person would pick up $85 in Norway. In Afghanistan, one can expect to live only 43.6 years.

Money matters, still. Lichtenstein continues to boast the world's highest GDP per capital at $85,383. The 35,000 people who live there share the small principality with 15 banks and more than 100 wealth management companies. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the lowest income in the world: $298 per person per year.

The top climbers on the list for 2007 were China, Iran and Nepal.

Norway world's best place to live originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Europe's Wee Nations

Erik Olsen — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 12:44:00 EST

Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Europe, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco

You know all the big ones by heart, the ones who loom in your remembrances of Western Civilization class and, well, perhaps many a vacation or period living abroad. The names are so familiar: France, Britain, Italy and so on. But what about the little ones? The wee nations of Europe who have their own flags and governments, perhaps their own currencies, and who certainly deserve a look should you be planning a trip to the continent any time soon...or later, for that matter.

Well, this tidy little guide from Fodors takes you on a brief tour of Europe's wee states. Places like Andorra, given its independence by Charlemagne when they helped fight the Moops, er, Moors centuries ago. There is Monaco, which many backpack travelers know for its casinos and as the parking place for vast and unfathomably pricey yachts of the rich and discreet. There is Lichtenstein, the sleepy, but wealthy little haven along the Rhine between Switzerland and Austria where if you blink while on the road, you miss it. And so on...

It's a cool, useful little list and made me think that someone should do a book about the world's smallest countries. Hmmmm...

Europe's Wee Nations originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 10 Jun 2007 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rent a Country For Your Next Company Event

Justin Glow — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

Sick of the boring company picnics at your local park? Try renting an entire country.

Along with a hand full of small villages in Austria and Germany, Liechtenstein -- a small, landlocked country between Switzerland and Austria -- can be rented from RentaVillage.com. Aimed at luring in large corporations, the company promises to "turn your events into an unforgettable experience."

How do you even go about putting an entire country up for rent? Does the public get to vote on it? I don't know that I'd want my entire country over run by Google or Sprint or whoever for an entire weekend.

Rent a Country For Your Next Company Event originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 5 Smallest Countries in the World

Justin Glow — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:40:00 EST

Filed under: Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, Nauru, Tuvalu

Traveling through Europe as a teenager, we made a stopover in Liechtenstein, a small, landlocked principality nestled between Switzerland and Austria. Crossing the border, I remember thinking to myself, "wow, this country has a lot of letters in its name. I'm hungry." And so we found a place to eat, but then I realized that all of Liechtenstein was less than 70 square miles! I couldn't believe it. I lived in Texas at the time, which was roughly 4,000 times larger, and it was only a state! This was an entire country, and I could probably run from one side to another in a few hours! Insane.

I was sad to find out, then, that Liechtenstein didn't even make the cut in the "5 Smallest Countries in the World" profile by Neatorama.com. What a bummer. Here are the countries that did make the list:

Vatican City - 0.17 square miles
Monaco - 0.8 square miles
Nauru - 8 square miles
Tuvalu - 9 square miles
San Marino - 24 square miles

Liechtenstein comes in sixth. Sixth. So close. If I would have visited any of these on that trip, my head probably would have exploded for the shear novelty of being in such a small country. What can I say? I'm easily amused.

The 5 Smallest Countries in the World originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eurail Announces New Options for 2006

Dave (Blogsmith, old) — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:03:00 EST

Filed under: Business, Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Slovenia

For the first time ever, the company will introduce a single-country pass, the Eurail National Rail Pass. Travelers can choose to explore one country from three to 10 travel days (within one month or two) for these nine countries: Finland, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain or Sweden.

Another expanded offering is for the existing Eurail Regional Pass, with seven new combinations to choose from: Austria-Czech Republic, Austria-Switzerland, France-Benelux, France-Germany, France-Switzerland, Germany-Austria and Germany-Switzerland.

Finally, the Eurailpass will now be valid in 18 countries with the addition of Romania in 2006. The complete list includes: Austria (including Liechtenstein), Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France (including Monaco), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. (The Eurail Selectpass is also valid in Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro and Slovenia.)

As a reminder, don't forget to check out the bonuses available to rail riders, including discounts on boat crossings, rental cars and a free map when you buy tickets. All these new options will be available for purchase beginning January 1, 2006.

Eurail Announces New Options for 2006 originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Milk and the Munchies

Erik Olsen — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:43:00 EST

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Food and Drink, Liechtenstein

Alas, now I understand the popularity of the famous Liechtensteinian milk shake.

Farmers in Liechtenstein are being stopped from feeding cannabis to their cows, according to this AP news piece. Turns out the stuff the cows and other livestock been eating - hemp - contains THC, (the molecule to the right), the active substance in hashish...the stuff that gets you HIGH. And it turns out traces of the drug have been filtering through to the milk of dairy cows fed with the plant. So the tiny Alpine state decided they needed some cool new rules, pronto, or they'd be bogus, too. (reference, anyone?). Needless to say milk and Fritos sales are expected to decline simultaneously.

Milk and the Munchies originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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