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Hermitage Museum

Art Collections in Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Gosudarstvennyj Èrmitaž or Hermitage Museum, that vast collection of Russian and human art and artefacts, has swollen to fill six buildings, the largest and most appropriate being St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace, once home of the Tzars. This big Baroque building and its contents fit well into the collection began in the mid 18th century by Catherine the Great. Starting with paintings, predominantly from the Old and Dutch Masters, the collection grew to engulf the best private collections put up for sale and expanded from just art into artefacts, relics and gold, including important pieces from Classical cultures from Greece, Rome and Eqypt and a huge collection of ancient gold.

It was Nicholas I who ordered the ordering and opening of the Hermitage to the public. In 1852 the first building was the first purpose built gallery in Eastern Europe. The Revolution nationalised the museum property further and 'absorbed' up the personal collections of the Tzars, including work collected by Catherine’s forebear, Peter the Great and other wealthy families long associated with Russian rulers which bolstered up the collection with those of the Catherine and Alexander Palaces, known for their Old Masters and modern works by Picasso, Matisse and Van Gogh.

With more than three million items and having expanded over six buildings and in other pockets around the world, the Hermitage Collection is best known for it’s Russian regalia and Faberge collections as well as excellent collections of the works of Gaugin, Monet, Rodin, Renior, da Vinci, Rembrant, Michelangelo and Rubens. It also has collections from pre-history and the east, strong in Siberian and Central Asian Art.

If you’re unable to make the excursion to Russia you can go via proxy by watching the excellent film, Russian Ark, you will get to see 33 of The Hermitage’s rooms and wander the corridors filled with actors reconstructing periods in Russia’s illustrious past.

Review by Arnesta Szarkor

Photo by flickr user tore_urnes

Paddling the Zambezi

Rafting in The Zambezi, Mozambique

The Zambezi is the Everest of rivers, but it’s an Everest even first time paddlers can have a bash at (under good supervision.). It’s a big volume, big white water river trip with waves up to 24ft (which you’re tackling in a 16ft raft.) and the added bonus being surrounded by astounding African scenery, meeting some of the more exotic locals and the comfort of sunshine and warm water (around 24 degrees.). This is a proper adventure: from dropping in under the gaspingly thunderous Victoria Falls, riding rapids with names like ‘Oblivion’, ’Devils Toilet Bowl, ’Creamy White Buttocks’ and ‘Stairway to Heaven’, camping in comfort on pristine sandy beaches and being flown out by helicopter at the end of your escapade for an aerial appraisal of your achievement.

A one day trip is like paddlers Disneyland and a four to seven day journey (with a few portages) just keeps getting better. After the initial excitement and scenery of the falls, the rapids are mostly class three and four and well spaced to keep you interested and you’ll rest your paddles overnight on white sandy beaches which look like they‘ve never been dented by footprints. Apart from the falls one of the scenic highlights is 750ft deep gorge of towering black basalt and bush, but it’s worth keeping your eyes peeled along the whole trip for you chance to see hippos, baboons, crocodiles and other wildlife.

Beginners to intermediates can attempt this trip as long as you’re going with a guide. The best time of year for a Zambezi trip is in the low water season between August and October.

Review by Hamish McMaster

Photo by flickr user Zest-pk

Seville Feria de Abril

Festivals in Seville, Spain

The scent of flowers and tasty tapas hangs in the air and the bright frills of multi-coloured flamenco dresses ruffle amongst the legs of the crowd, as they flood the streets of Seville in an explosion of Spanish culture. The Feria de Abril lasts for a full week, following Holy Week at the end of April, and centres around Los Remedios, across the Guadalquivir river. Rows of striped tents topped with flags contain food and drink stalls and hundreds of private parties, and flamenco performances, flower-bedecked horse-drawn carriages and fairground rides provide the daytime entertainment. The aromatic Andalucian sherry continues to flow throughout the night, so do as the locals do and dance until dawn!

Review by larapiegeler

Photo by mikelyvers

Jackson Hole

Skiing in Jackson Hole, United States

Thanks to its spectacular scenery, “wild west” ambience, abundant wildlife and challenging skiing, this spectacular resort at Teton Village in the remote and breathtaking Teton chain is perhaps the finest ski area in the US. The jagged Teton peaks, which resemble giant shark’s teeth, dominate the spectacular valley, or ‘hole’ in the mountains where trappers like Davey Jackson, after whom the area is named, used to trade with local Indian tribes. The town of Jackson, some 10 miles or so from the ski area, is a genuine “old West” community, with wooden sidewalks and bustling cowboy bars. Wildlife includes moose, elk, coyote and eagles, and you can visit what is probably the world's biggest elk sanctuary on the outskirts of town. The slopes are centred on Rendezvous Peak and the more mellow Après Vous mountain. As well as these, the Bridger-Teton National Forest offers 5,000 acres of legendary backcountry terrain with a European-style guiding service. The Bridger Gondola provides links with both peaks. Jackson Hole’s biggest icon, its red cable car, or ‘tram’ was recently retired, but a replacement is due to be unveiled in the winter of 2008-09. The resort’s most infamous challenge is Corbet's Couloir, a rather terrifying gash in the rocks near the top of Rendezvous, which lures only the bravest and best skiers into its jaws. But there are many rather less fearsome ‘chutes’, gullies and cirques to be found all over the mountain, including Alta, Expert and Tower Three Chutes.

Review by Arnie Wilson

Photo by flickr user GGeter