16
Japan and India each have 16 public holidays a year. That’s even more than Germany, where the number of holidays varies depending on a region’s dominant faith. Bavaria, in the mostly Catholic south, enjoys 13 public holidays a year, whereas the mostly Protestant north (including Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and the city-states Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin) make do with only nine.
The Kakku pagodas – of which there are over 2000 – have bells in their dainty towers that tinkle in the wind. The 16th-century temple complex is sacred to the Pa-O people, but visitors are now allowed to enjoy the magic, too.
inlelaketourism.com/kakku-pagodas.asp
If you and your family can’t decide where to take your next vacation, try one of these tips: They combine the sea, the mountains and a city getaway in a single destination.
The old town is a World Heritage Site. The ocean laps gently against the wharf while behind you, the Andes tower several thousand meters into the sky. Valparaíso, Chile, is the perfect destination for people who insist on having it all.
Kitesurfing in the morning, a jog up 1127-meter Grouse Mountain in the afternoon, drinks and sushi in the evening on hip Commercial Drive: That’s what awaits you in Vancouver, Canada.
Forget the seven hills of Rome – it’s time for a trip to Seoul! Koreans are avid hikers and their favorite peak is 836-meter Bukhansan. When you’re ready for a swim, head out toward the airport and sandy white Eurwangni beach close by.
Culture clash
So you think if you’ve seen one pair, you’ve seen them all? Wrong! Chopsticks vary greatly from (Asian) country to country – in their design and the way they are used.
forest fruit
Each year, some 25 million trees are felled to produce chopsticks in China alone. A single tree provides 4000 chopsticks, which are generally 27 centimeters long – longer than elsewhere in Asia.
Skewering is a no no
Japanese chopsticks are shorter and more delicate. Ideally, they measure one-and-a-half times the distance between thumb and first finger. Whatever you do, don’t skewer your food or stand your chopsticks upright in the rice. The latter is only done at memorial services.
Spooning is better
In China and Japan, it’s perfectly acceptable to raise your bowl to your lips and shovel rice into your mouth with chopsticks. In Korea, it’s considered bad manners, so the bowl stays on the table and everybody uses a spoon.
The Hamburger Kunsthalle art museum, which holds works from a good eight centuries (such as Caspar Friedrich’s “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog”, pictured here) is celebrating its 150th birthday. A comprehensive program of events kicks off August 23.