World tour guides to Neue Synagoge

World Tour Places: The Neue Synagoge or New Synagogue was built 1859–1866 as the main synagogue of the Berlin Jewish community, on Oranienburger Strabe. Because of its splendid eastern Moorish style and resemblance to the Alhambra, it is an important architectural monument of the second half of the 19th century in Berlin. The building was designed by Eduard Knoblauch. Following Knoblauch's succumbing to illness, Friedrich August Stuler took responsibility for the majority of its construction as well as for its interior arrangement and design.

It was inaugurated in the presence of Count Otto von Bismarck, then Minister President of Prussia, in 1866. It was badly damaged prior to and during World War II and subsequently much was demolished; the present building on the site is a reconstruction of the ruined street frontage with its entrance, dome and towers, and only a few rooms behind. It is truncated before the point where the main hall of the synagogue began. The front of the building, facing Oranienburger Strabe, is richly ornamented with shaped bricks and terracotta, accented by colored glazed bricks. Beyond the entrance, the building's alignment changes to mesh with pre-existing structures.

The synagogue's main dome with its gilded ribs is an eye-catching sight. The central dome is flanked by two smaller pavilion-like domes on the two side-wings. Beyond the facade were the front hall and the main hall with 3,000 seats. Due to the unfavorable alignment of the property, the building's design required adjustment along a slightly turned axis. The Neue Synagoge is also a monument of early iron construction. The new building material (iron was previously not used in building construction) was visible in its use for the outside columns, as well as in the dome's construction.

World Tour Guides to Portugal

World tour places: One of the famous travel destination places is Portugal, located in Southern Europe, shares the Iberian Peninsula at the western tip of Europe with Spain. Geographically and culturally somewhat isolated from its neighbor, Portugal has a rich, unique culture, lively cities and beautiful countryside. Although it was once one of the poorest countries in Western Europe, the end of dictatorship and introduction of Democracy in 1974, as well as its incorporation into the European Union in 1986, has meant significantly increased prosperity. However it may be one of the best value destinations on the Continent. This is because the country offers outstanding landscape diversity, due to its North-South disposition along the western shore of the Iberian Peninsula.

You can travel in a single day from green mountains in the North, covered with vines and all varieties of trees to Rocky Mountains, with spectacular slopes and falls in the Center, to a near-desert landscape in the Alentejo region and finally to the glamorous beach holidays destination Algarve. The climate, combined with investments in the golfing infrastructure in recent years, has also turned the country into a golfing haven. Portugal was recently named Best Golf Destination 2008 by readers of Golfers Today, a British publication. Fourteen of Portugal's courses are rated in the top 100 best in Europe.

If you are into visiting beautiful monuments and enjoy remarkable views, then Lisbon, Sintra, and Porto are the top three places, and all of them are well worth a visit. But don't overlook Viana do Castelo, Braga, Guimaraes, Coimbra, Tomar, Aveiro, Amarante, Bragança, Chaves, Lamego, Viseu, Vila Real, Lagos, Silves, Evora, Angra as they also have wonderful monuments and places of interest. The most popular beaches are in the Algarve, which has stunning coastlines and gobs of natural beauty. The water along the southern coast tends to be warmer and calmer than the water along the west coast, which is definitely Atlantic and doesn't benefit of the Gulf Stream. For surfing, or just playing in the surf there are great beaches all along the west coast, near Lisbon and Peniche. And even if you wish to observe wild life in its natural state, Madeira and Azores Islands are places to remember, not forgetting of course the Natural Reserve of Peneda-Geres, the Douro Valley and Serra da Estrela.

World Tour Guides to Barcelona

World tour Places: One of the Great World tour location places is Barcelona. It is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, the urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 within an area of 803 km (310 sq mi), being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Ruhr area, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. Barcelona is today one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair/exhibitions and cultural-sports centers, it is the fourth richest city by GDP in the European Union. Barcelona is the seventh most important fashion capital in the world.

Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural center and a major tourist destination. Several of these buildings are World Heritage Sites. Barcelona was also home to Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion. Designed in 1929 for the International Exposition for Germany, it is an iconic building that came to symbolize modern architecture as the embodiment of van der Rohe's aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details."

Barcelona has a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the City History Museum, the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Archeology Museum of Cantaloia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the private-owned Egyptian Museum. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while Cosmocaixa is a science museum that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.

Barcelona contains 68 municipal parks, of which 12 are historic parks, 5 are thematic (botanical) parks, 45 are urban parks and 6 are forest parks. They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. It is followed by Parc de la Ciutadella, the Guinardo Park Park Güell (designed by Antoni Gaudi, Oreneta Castle Park, Diagonal Mar Park, Nou Barris Central Park, Can Drago Sports Park and Poblenou Park, the Labyrinth Park, named after the garden maze it contains. There are also several smaller parks Parc de les Aigues. A part of the Collserolla Park is also within the city limits. PortAventura, one of the largest amusement parks in Europe with 3,000,000 visitors per year, is located one hour's drive from Barcelona.

Tour Your New York City Vacations

New York Vacations suggest something for all and sundry. Not only is the Big Apple a symbol of the United States, known around the world, it also offers a great place for a romantic getaway or family vacation. Planning a trip starts at home, and is the first step in enjoying an unforgettable New York vacations. New York offers a range of hotel accommodations for travelers to choose from. Hotels range from budget accommodations at hostels and bed and breakfast inns, to luxury suites near all the city attractions. New York bus tours depart from Times Square or other locations in downtown New York. Some offer hotel pickup, but given that a lot of hotels are close to Times Square, hotel pickup is not necessary.

The New York museums are a place for everyone to enjoy. Visitors can get a glimpse of crime history at the New York City Police Museum, delve into the early history of the United States at the American Indian Museum or explore the natural world at the American Museum of Natural History. The city also offers world class art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. New York Sightseeing places offer a wide variety for vacationers. Travelers visiting the city during the Christmas holiday season can take a spin around the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the green spaces of Central Park. History buffs can explore the exhibitions of Ellis Island. Animal lovers can get a glimpse of species from around the world at the Central Park Zoo and all visitors can take in the view from the top of the Empire State Building.

A New York vacations can be a trip of a lifetime. Visitors can enjoy Broadway performances, national sporting events and world class museums. Getting started on a New York City vacation can begin at home, and can offer a great deal of enjoyment. New York Tours website should provide you with a lot of New York travel related information, like the best places to eat in New York City and experience its unique culinary adventures, or maybe check the many cool places for shopping in New York City, or if you are interested instead in New York history.

World Tour Guides to Lake Toba

World Tour Guides: One of the beautiful panoramic tours of Natural is Lake-Toba-Sumatra. It is a lake and super volcano. The lake is 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide, and 505 meters (1,666 ft) at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 meters (2,953 ft) it is the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world. Lake Toba is the site of a super volcanic eruption that occurred an estimated 69,000 to 77,000 years ago a massive, climate-changing event. It is the largest known explosive eruption anywhere on Earth in the last 25 million years.

The Toba eruption (the Toba event) occurred at what is now Lake Toba about 67,500 to 75,500 years ago. The Toba eruption was the latest of a series of at least three caldera-forming eruptions which have occurred at the volcano, with earlier calderas having formed around 700,000 and 840,000 years ago. The last eruption had an estimated Volcanic Explosively Index of 8, making it possibly the largest explosive volcanic eruption within the last 25 million years. Smaller eruptions have occurred at Toba since. The small cone of Pusukbukit has formed on the southwestern margin of the caldera and lava domes. The most recent eruption may have been at Tandukbenua on the northwestern caldera edge, since the present lack of vegetation could be due to an eruption within the last few hundred years.

Some parts of the caldera have experienced uplift due to partial refilling of the magma chamber, for example pushing Samosir Island and the Uluan Peninsula above the surface of the lake. The lake sediments on Samosir Island show that it has been uplifted by at least 450 meters (1,476 ft) since the cataclysmic eruption. Such uplifts are common in very large calderas, apparently due to the upward pressure of interrupted magma. Toba is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. Large earthquakes have occurred in the vicinity of the volcano more recently, notably in 1987 along the southern shore of the lake at a depth of 11 km (6.8 mi). Other earthquakes have occurred in the area in 1892, 1916, and 1920–1922. The 2004 earthquake physically rolled the Sumatran Island and altered the shape of the Earth as was detected by the GRACE satellite. Recent highly localized earthquake activity may initiate magmatic activity of this colossal global climate modifier.

The flora of the lake includes various types of phytoplankton, emerged macrophytes, floating macrophytes, and submerged macrophytes, while the surrounding countryside is rainforest including areas of Sumatran tropical pine forests on the higher mountainsides. The fauna includes several species of zooplankton and benthic animals. Since the lake is oligotrophic (nutrient-poor), the native fish fauna is relatively scarce, and the only endemics are Rasbora tobana (strictly speaking near-endemic, since also found in some tributary rivers that run into the lake) and Neolissochilus thienemanni, locally known as the Batak fish. The latter species is threatened by deforestation (causing siltation), pollution, changes in water level and the numerous fish species that have been introduced to the lake.