A blazing party
In Sweden, the arrival of spring is celebrated with bonfires and boisterous revelry. The Valborgsmässoafton festival is one of very few traditional festivals not celebrated within the family, but in public, and guests are always welcome.
Denmark, a skiers’ paradise? Yes, but without the snow and only on top of a biomass power plant in Copenhagen harbor. The Copenhill Mountain Activity Centre’s plastic piste, designed by the famous Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG), is 85 meters high and 500 meters long.
We’re all familiar with cheeses from Brie, Parma and Emmental. For a more piquant experience, why not nibble on these more exotic dairy products?
Fossa, a sweetly pungent cheese from Sogliano near Rimini, matures in pits. Legend has it that the townfolk buried their cheeses to safeguard them from plundering invaders – and then discovered they tasted better than ever.
Tens of thousands of merino sheep graze on the arid plains of the Extremadura. Their milk is used to produce La Serena cheese, wich owes its somewhat bitter flavor to the thistle-based vegetable rennet used in its production.
Fanaost, winner of the World Cheese Awards 2018, is a gouda made near Bergen using the milk of only 12 cows. Experts rank Norway as one of the best cheesemaking nations in the world.
Culture clash
Suffering from writer’s block and need a change of scene? Here are three magnificent houses where bestsellers were written – and you can even rent some by the day:
Goldeneye, Jamaica
Ian Fleming, a British ex-spy, wrote all 14 of his James Bond novels here in the Caribbean – and even designed the villa himself. theflemingvilla.com
Naulakha, Vermont/USA
Rudyard Kipling didn’t actually write the legendary Jungle Book in India, but in the U.S. He nicked the name of his villa there from a marble pavilion in Lahore, the still part of India. The villa sleeps eight people. landmarktrustusa.org
Royal Albion Hotel, England
Charles Dickens adored Broadstairs, a seaside resort in Kent, and spent many summers at the Royal Albion Hotel. A Dickens Festival is being held here in his honor from 21 through 23 June. albionbroadstairs.co.uk
The Great Himalaya Trail, Silk Road, Way of St. Jacob: The guidebook 500 Walks covers the oldest long-distance trails and walks around the world. An ideal companion for all avid hikers, it provides detailed routes and plenty of entertaining facts.