They build ice hotels and carve ice fountains pouring white wine, make samovars and even kerosene lamps. Photographers went even far and got the hand to use dry ice to create the effect of smoke and fog in picture. In the spirit of holidays, OUTLOOK prepared for you a selection of the world most popular ice arenas.
Thanks to romantic Hollywood movies New York rinks became the most familiar for ordinary cinema-lover. Admittedly, the most well-known is the famous Wollman Skating Rink located in the Central Park. First time it welcomed comers in 1950. Arena is weather-independent and therefore one can safely visit it from October to April. By the way, here was filmed a romantic scene of the popular Christmas movie Serendipity. Curiously, while filming, how many takes were there before Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack managed scenes where they fall and final touching moments with flying gloves? Apart from actors, athletes also drop to the park. Theirs is the second rink located nearby – the Lasker Rink. This dual-purpose recreational site serves as both a pool during the summer and an ice field for hockey teams during the winter. Photo getyourguide.ru
Another favourite spot of Manhattan inhabitants is an ice rink at Rockefeller Center. City residents had it opened by Christmas in 1936, and still it is annually visited by a quarter of a million of skaters. The main star attraction of the arena is the giant Christmas tree in the centre, so be careful otherwise you risk to bang into fence while gapping in wonder at garlands. And not only that! Shops and cafes along the perimeter are so numerous and bright that one may think the rink was constructed not for a flock of skaters, but for the army of gourmands and shopaholics.Photo rockefellercenter.com
No less remarkable is a Parisian tiny rink at the Eiffel Tower. Though up to 100 skaters at a time can enjoy this unusual skating experience, but it remains extremely popular. Entrance fee is included into the tower entrance ticket... But even without such privilege, very few people would have the strength to overcome the temptation to skate at the 57-meter height.Photo pinterest.com
Big fans of a healthy lifestyle, the Canadians also love to tinker with lacing and sharpening blades. The Rideau Canal Skateway is a scenic canal that connects the cities of Kingston and Ottawa in Ontario, Canada. Once it is covered with ice everyone goes there. Fortunately, there is enough space. For comfort of the visitors, along the canal there are dozens of skates rentals... And it's no wonder since the length of the site is about eight miles! Photo by Matthew Perry, 500px.com
Perhaps the most stunning scenery while skating can be observed in the Dutch village of Kinderdijk. From November to February ponds not far from Rotterdam are transferred into great ice arenas. Special machines polishes surface of the site so skilfully that even first-class skater can enjoy a full workout. Photo jacadatravel.com
And for dessert, please meet our frosty cherry – Swiss mountain lake Lej da San Murezzan, lake St. Moritz. It is located at an altitude of 1800 meters above sea level, so none would have a chance to complain about air quality or lack of incredible view. To tell the truth, it freezes just for two weeks in January. But even this is more than enough for tourists to enjoy the incredible state of balancing on the thin blades.Photo twitter.com
After the legendary Frenchman Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his colleagues invented and perfected self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, scuba diving firmly entered the list of the most popular, but unfortunately, unsafe hobbies. OUTLOOK warns and talks about the most extreme places to do scuba diving.
Stores, shopping malls, markets - all these places are an integral part of daily goings-on of almost every person on our planet. It would seem there is nothing special about them: they are all alike, just goods and prices vary depending on country or city. In fact, it is not quite true since some markets are only accessible via waterways. Our today’s story is about them.
Marketing gurus and restaurateurs are enterprising and ready to do anything to increase flow of visitors to their food courts. Quite often, their methods of "flirting" with the public are the same, interior designs and menus are not much different. So, we have collated for you the world’s wackiest, weirdest, out-of-this-world dining establishments.
In 1994, a cave was discovered in the mountains in the south of France, inside which there were more than a thousand rock carvings dating back to the 34th century BC. According to experts, these are traces of the first civilization in Europe. The excellent quality of the preserved drawings of the cave is due to the fact that, as a result of the collapse of stones...
Mon amour, mon ami… All most beautiful words and songs of love sound in French. Review every curve of France and find privacy in province of Provence that gently swings in the south-east of Brigitte Bardot and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Ancient cities from Marseille to Monaco are penetrated with lyric antiquity so ideas of staying at Côte d’Azur keep coming back to your head.
Despite ongoing development of air transport, many people across the Earth still love to travel by train for various reasons. Though the majority of passengers associate trains with a rather slow way to travel compared with airplanes, and are concerned with low comfort which can be still at the level of last century, reading through our selection below...
Nature bestowed our planet with many sky-high peaks, which at any moment give visitors the feeling of boundless freedom. Cities build skyscrapers boasting to one another and, to satisfy high aspirations, they add observation decks at the height of the bird's flight. Travelling from continent to continent, with bated breath we will admire the world's loftiest views from the summits of supertalls.
There are many things that we can learn from citizens of the United States but what deserves special respect is love to their land. Patriotism of Americans manifests itself in everything, even in internal tourism - without having properly explored own country, an American would hardly travel anywhere outside its territory. Today we tell about one of the most popular internal tourism towns - about Leavenworth.
When we hear about "water city", Venice immediately comes to mind, doesn’t it? Tranquil gondolas, narrow waterways, gentle light of the evening sun and ancient architecture create that heady romantic cocktail which attracts tourists from all over the world to the Italian city.
The word is, Guy de Maupassant hated Eiffel Tower. The famous writer believed that it was uglifying the face of Paris without benefiting the city. Nevertheless, he could be often seen in a cozy cafe on the top of the construction. In such cases the author of “Bel Ami” used to say that “it was the only way the damned tower dropped out of his sight…”
For 1 month spring has been reining our planet, now just watch warm coats to change for thin jackets, cold and mediocrity for the bright sun. And, of course, what sort of spring it could be without green trees and beautiful flowers? Well, in order to make your expectation of long-awaited colours and flavours less agonizing...
There is hardly a person, who did not cancel his or her appointment or a walk due to nasty weather, since it is a challenge to get dressed, to keep warm, to wait in the bitter cold for transport, instead you feel like wrapping yourself in blanket and read a book.
Upon watching movies about Wild West in America, more than one generation of children dragged their parents towards horses nearby a circus to try on well-loved characters and feel that very atmosphere for a minute. However that minute has always seemed way to short for me. Therefore, when I grew up, I headed to Colorado State to work on a real-life horse guest ranch called Sundance.
Euphoria comes with freedom, masterpieces are in museums, and fantastic architecture is done by human and nature… Netherland capital Amsterdam is famous and unknown simultaneous. It might sound strange but Netherlands are not visible in this cosmopolitan and tolerant European city. So, we will try to search for it in the suburbs of the capital, particularly, in the village Volendam.
Sauntering through picturesque nooks of Grand Dame Europe we look around without even suspecting how many interesting things there are beneath our feet. If you are annoyed with standard tours that include marathon race around museums and monuments, we suggest you have a look at good Old World from a different perspective. Or more specifically, look under its feet.
What do you imagine when you hear the word "abbey"? I'm sure most people will first of all think of Westminster. But what if I said that in fact it is no longer an abbey? So what makes these medieval buildings so special? Let's look at the example of buildings from different European countries.
People who for the first time arrive in Toronto have every likelihood to face the local surprises. For example, you may be offered to reach your destination across Yonge Street. When you agree to have this affair, you will be asked once again: ‘Are you going to cross the whole street?' Being astonished you will try to look at the details only to find out...
How many kinds of tourism are there? Gastro, ecotourism, shopping — there are probably as many varieties of them as travelers themselves — everyone choose what they want. Today we talk about people visiting places that have become locations for shoting famous movies.
Lighthouse - this word evokes beautiful associations: sea adventures, storms, huge ships. And we do not want to dispel these thoughts, but rather to add fuel to the fire. There is a great amount of them in the world, they are striking by their beauty and inimitable. Today we are sharing with you the quintet of amazing lighthouses!
Alongside fast food, cola and corn flakes with milk, another product that is obsessively mentioned in almost every American movie is maple syrup. Pancakes, flapjacks, muffins and toasts are ‘dressed’ with it as well as by and large everything that is made of flour. It appeared on shelves of European supermarkets very recently to promptly bewilder customers eager to try formerly inaccessible dishes...
Photo rockefellercenter.com
Photo pinterest.com
Photo twitter.com
