Daily drupa

Introducing Düsseldorf

Source: Lonelyplanet

We conclude with this article to make sure you can talk to friends and family about this lovely city before returning home after a busy drupa 2012. Maybe some of you have another day to walk around waiting for a  flight, or this could be useful to start preparing for drupa 2016. See you all!

Düsseldorf, the state capital, dazzles with boundary-pushing architecture, zinging nightlife and an art scene to rival many larger cities. It’s a posh and modern city that seems all business at first glance: banking, advertising, fashion and telecommunications are among the fields that have made Düsseldorf one of Germany’s wealthiest cities. Yet all it takes is a few hours of bar-hopping around the Altstadt, the historical quarter along the Rhine, to realise that locals have no problem letting their hair down once those Armani ties come off.

The Altstadt may still be the ‘longest bar in the world’ but it’s increasingly getting competition from the Medienhafen, a redeveloped harbour area about 1km further south. Not only is this a feast of international avant-garde architecture by the genre’s boldest and brightest (Frank Gehry among them), the area is also evolving into a chic and sleek place to hang out after dark.

If you’re more into high-brow culture, you’ll likely more than get your fill at the many top-notch art museums and the renowned opera house, theatre and orchestra hall.

Introducing New York

Source: Lonelyplanet

New York can be anything you want it to be. It’s why countless people have pinned their dreams on the place, thrown caution to the wind and shown up on its doorstep.
If you like a day filled with culture, start with a look at some Tseng Kwong Chi photographs celebrating East Village creativity in the eighties at the Paul Kasmin gallery, before ducking through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the current Japanese art exhibition.

Round out your afternoon with some off beat/experimental theater at the Abrons Art Center on the Lower East Side.
If you rather your city a little grittier, spend some time in the hidden, restful Trinity Church cemetery, then cross to the Lower East Side where the Tenement Museum paints an evocative portrait of early migrant life on the island. Grab a hot dog from a street cart and stroll around the recently renovated Columbus Park, watching the mah jong and domino players compete against a backdrop of basketball.

Just don’t be too shocked if your day of high culture turns into a long afternoon of chicken soup and matzo balls at a downtown diner – or if your bohemian day runs off the rails when you stumble into a gold mine, and walk out with bags of goodies you didn't realize you needed. Whatever. New York is easy that way.

It’s why visitors keep streaming in from all corners of the globe, grasping at their silver-screen visions – and finding them – but discovering plenty more on the way. If you are willing to approach New York with a combination of organization and openness, you’ll be met with some staggering and unexpected rewards.

Today In History

What happened on May 15^th?
1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, marries her third husband
1905: Las Vegas founded by auction of 110 acres (0,45km²)
1928: Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon
1935: Moscow metro is opened to public
1940: McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in California
1958: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3
1960: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4
1970: Birth of Frank & Ronald de Boer, football players

One Perfect Day: 24 hours in New York City

Source: Ali Lemer – Lonely Planet Author

24 hours in New York is nowhere near enough, but if that’s all the time you’ve got, we’ve got an itinerary designed by a local so you can make the most of every New York minute.

Morning

8am – Start your day on the Upper West Side with a pilgrimage to the granddaddy of New York Jewish delicatessens: Zabar’s (Broadway & 80th St). Grab a bagel with cream cheese and lox, a cup of coffee, and walk two blocks west to Riverside Park for a breakfast picnic overlooking the Hudson River.

8:30am – Stroll down Broadway to 72nd St, then head east to Central Park West; on the northwest corner is the Dakota, the 19th-century apartment building where John Lennon lived (and died). Just steps inside Central Park is his teardrop-shaped memorial park Strawberry Fields, with its famous ‘Imagine’ pavement mosaic. Keep heading east through the park to the stately red-brick Bethesda Terrace, where the beautiful ‘Angel of the Waters’ statue sits high above one of New York’s most famous fountains.

9am – Continue east to Madison Avenue and window-shop along one of the world’s priciest shopping strips as you walk a half-mile north to 82nd St.

9:30am – Presiding over Fifth Avenue is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, home to one of the world’s greatest art collections (but closed on Mondays). Spend a couple of hours checking out some of the highlights – the Egyptian temple of Dendur, the ancient Greek and Roman statuary and medieval armour from around the world (including Henry VIII’s!).

11:30am – From the subway at 86th and Lexington catch a train south to Grand Central Terminal. No one will blame you for staring like a tourist at the glorious constellations painted on the ceiling of the marbled main hall. Head downstairs to the excellent Euro-style food hall for a quick lunch, or splash out at one of the posher open-air restaurants on the balconies to either side of the main hall.

Afternoon

12:30pm – Walk west along 42nd St. At Fifth Avenue detour around the marble lions standing guard outside the New York Public Library and then head west through Bryant Park till you get to Broadway; hang a right and walk up through the neon bustle of  Times Square. Join the queue at the TKTS booth and nab a half-price ticket for a big musical or an off-Broadway show for that night.

1:30pm – Hop a train down to Penn Station; escape the basement warren and walk southwest to 30th St and Tenth Avenue for the start of The High Line, New York’s most singular park: a linear greenway built on a disused train bridge, with fantastic river views and street vendors selling ice creams and coffee and the like.

3pm – After you leave the High Line at Gansevoort St, wander through the colonial cobbled streets of the West Village: poke your head into some boutiques, grab a fortifying cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery (Bleecker & 11th St), or even stop for a pint at classic writers’ haunt the White Horse Tavern (Hudson & 11th St). Keep angling southeast to get to leafy Washington Square Park, where you can stop for a rest and some people-watching.

5pm – It’s time for a pre-show dinner, so walk up Broadway to Union Square Park. Depending on your tastes and budget, nearby restaurants such as The Coffee Shop (you can’t miss the neon sign), Chat ‘N’ Chew, Gramercy Tavern, the Old Town Bar or even City Crab should do the trick.

Evening

6:30pm – The N or R train will take you back to Times Square, where you can grab a quick drink at The View, the 360° rotating bar/restaurant at the top of the Marriott Marquis hotel.

8pm – Curtain up! Sit back and enjoy a show in one of the world’s greatest theatre towns.

10:30pm – With the post-show buzz to keep you going, hop any train down to 14th St and take the L train out to hipster Williamsburg, Brooklyn for some late-night carousing. Get off at Bedford Avenue and try Trash Bar for some local alt-rock bands, or the heated beer garden and live jazz at Radegast Hall.

After dark

12:30am – Still going? Slam an energy drink and head north to rock the lanes at the late-night bowling bars Brooklyn Bowl (open till 2am) or The Gutter (open till 4am).

Today In History

 What happened on May 14^th?
1643: Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes king of France
1870: The first game of rugby is played in New Zealand
1925: Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway is published
1935: The Philippines ratifies an independence agreement
1944: Star Wars’ director George Lucas is born
1960: Anne Clarck is born south of metropolis London
1973: Skylab is launched as first space station of the US
1991: Jiang Qing, widow of Mao Zedong, dies (b. 1914)

Introducing Brussels

Source: Lonelyplanet

If ever a city could claim split personality, it’s Brussels. French versus Flemish, historic versus hip, bizarre versus boring. Full of contrasts, contradictions and intrigue, this is a multicultural equation that goes much deeper than just red tape and Eurocrats. An historic heirloom is closer to the mark. And in an age where so much is already discovered, Belgium’s capital seduces as one of Western Europe’s unknowns.

Brussels is a city of fine food, café culture, Art Nouveau architecture and the surreal. Pull up a chair and join laissez-faire locals who value the city’s casual atmosphere. Watch money go down on swish Ave Louise or buy dried caterpillars just blocks away in Matonge, the capital’s African quarter. Some of the world’s most enduring images of surrealist art were created in the nondescript northern suburb of Jette. And the architecture ranges from monumental edifices such as the Grand Place to organic Art Nouveau façades and the EU’s real-life Gotham City.Constant among all this is the quality of everyday life – the shopping’s great, the restaurants fab, the chocolate shops sublime and the pub scene extraordinary. For a long time Brussels didn’t go out of its way to impress, but its stint as Cultural Capital of Europe in 2000 saw the city dusted and polished in a flurry that brought renewed life to historic buildings and decaying streets. A new spirit, just short of cockiness, emerged, flaming outside interest and inner-city regeneration. Nearly a decade on, Brussels is looking better than ever.

Today In History

What happened on May 13^th?
1648: Construction of the Red Fort in Delhi is completed
1880: Thomas Edison’s first test with electric railway
1912: The Royal Air Force is established in the UK
1950: First F1 World Championship at Silverstone
1950: ‘Happy Birthday’ to Stevie Wonder
1988: American Jazz-legend Chet Baker dies
2000: Fireworks factory explodes in Enschede (NL)
2005: Binh Bridge opens to traffic in Hai Phong, Vietnam

Introducing Moscow

Source: Lonelyplanet

Moscow is a city of superlatives. It boasts the most billionaires, the most expensive cups of coffee and – coming soon – the most colossal building in the world.

It is also the most expensive and, according to one poll, the most unfriendly city in the world. Is it any wonder that a popular nightclub is called simply The Most?

Moscow may occupy the number one spot, but these lists hardly capture the reality – the vitality – of the capital. Free (relatively) from the strictures of censorship and hardship, Russia’s capital city is experiencing a burst of creative energy, evident in all aspects of contemporary culture. Former factories and deserted warehouses have been converted into edgy art galleries and intriguing underground clubs. World-class venues such as thePushkin Fine Arts Museum are experimenting and expanding. Tchaikovsky and Chekhov are well represented at Moscow theatres but you can also see world premieres by up-and-coming composers, choreographers and playwrights. Foodies flock to wine bars, coffee bars, sushi bars and even beer bars, while night owls enjoy a dynamic scene of exclusive nightclubs, bohemian art cafés, underground blues bars and drink-up dives.

The ancient city has always been a haven for history buffs. The red-brick towers of the Kremlin occupy the founding site of Moscow; churches and monuments remember fallen heroes and victorious battles; and remains of the Soviet state are scattered all around the city. Even history is being examined in innovative ways, as new museums broach subjects long brushed under the carpet.

The capital is even experiencing an unprecedented growth in birth rates (Muscovites are really getting busy). From artistry and history to recreation and procreation, Moscow is a cauldron of creativity. Dare we say that it is so much more than The Most?

Today In History

What happened on May 12^th?
1965: The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the moon
 Cucumber day

Introducing Milan

Source: Lonelyplanet

At first glance, Milan (Milano) can appear like one of the models gracing its catwalks: great bone structure (in the shape of historic and striking new architecture), extravagant taste and no obvious soul. But Milan’s style and, yes, substance, are more than skin deep.
Milan is the engine room of the country’s economy and home of its stock exchange, yet it isn’t driven by tourism. Treasures that survived WWII’s extensive damage include its elaborate cathedral, Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, La Scala opera house and Castello Sforzesco. What really sets Milan apart, though, is its creative streak.

Armani, Versace, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Pucci, Gucci and many more took off on Milan’s runways. Fashionistas make a pilgrimage here to shop at the designers’ flagship stores in the Quadrilatero d’Oro (Golden Quad). Boutiques stocking emerging labels, and chic concept shops also line the city’s streets, while discount outlets selling samples, seconds and last season’s cast-offs are a bargain-hunter’s Holy Grail. Milan is also the world capital of furniture and homewares (the beanbag is a Milanese brainchild), and a hub for risk-taking contemporary art. By night there’s an avant-garde theatre scene, a fabulous aperitivi scene (extended ‘happy hour’ with platters of bar food laid on) and hip, hot clubs.

The city is at its hottest – weather-wise – in August, when locals take holidays, and many places close; though it can provide a tranquil alternative to the crowded coast.

Fashion and finance aside, Milan’s other religion is, of course, calcio (football). The city is home to both AC Milan and Inter, two of Italy’s top teams, and passionate crowds pack San Siro stadium on Sunday in season.

The city also harbours some lesser-known attractions such as the Navigli’s canal-side cafés and old-fashioned gelaterie (ice-cream shops) and the funky design district of Isola.

If you take the time to get under Milan’s skin, chances are you’ll find it will get under yours too.