The ICEHOTEL - officially one of the wonders of Sweden..!!

What are the 7 wonders of Sweden? And who votes for the 7 wonders of Sweden?

The Seven Wonders of Sweden really do exist. In mid-2007, amongst all the talk about the new "7 Wonders of the World", the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet called upon all readers to vote for their country's own favorite wonders. Having not been able to make the list of "7 Wonders of the World", over 80,000 Swedes voted and proudly selected the following wonders to be the "Seven Wonders of Sweden":

1. The Göta Kanal: With the most votes, Göta Canal came in first place. This 150-mile canal was built in the early 19th century and is highly popular. The canal stretches from Gothenburg on the west coast all the way to Söderköping on the east coast of Sweden.

2. Visby's City Wall: In second place, there's the city wall of Visby which was erected in the 13th century and stretches around the entire city, 2 miles in length. This location is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

3. The War Ship Vasa: The Vasa was built by King Gustavus Adolphus II in 1628 and is a major attraction in Stockholm. The king made his ship much too shallow and it had major design flaws. On her virgin voyage, the Vasa tipped over and sank only 900 ft from shore where the public was watching. See it at the Vasa Museum!

4. The ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjarvi/Kiruna: The ICEHOTEL in Sweden's Lapland region is the biggest attraction in the area. Originally, the creators started out building a simple igloo, which later turned into the elaborate and now famous ICEHOTEL. This place is made only from the waters of the nearby river Torne and melts each summer!

5. The Turning Torso: Swedish wonder number five is the Turning Torso, a skyscraper in Malmö, Sweden. The tower has 54 stories and is more than 600 ft high, with a unique design based on twisting bodies. The Turning Torso is one of the tallest buildings in Scandinavia and is Malmö's most popular landmark.

6. The Oresund Bridge: The bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden comes in at place 6. The world-famous Oresund Bridge has 4 lanes, 2 rail tracks, and runs for almost 28,000 ft (8,000 meters) to connect two countries. It crosses the sea held by cables.

7. The Globe: Last but not least, Swedes felt that Stockholm's Globa Arena should be included in Sweden's 7 Wonders. Found in southern Stockholm, Globen (The Globe) is the world's largest "round" spherical building. It is highly visible from all sides and hosts sporting and music events year-round.

Check out Sweden's amazing 4th wonder for yourself with the world's leading tour operator to the ICEHOTEL, Discover the World!

Iceland opens 100% naturally powered facility

Icelandic Water Holdings ehf, makers of Icelandic Glacial mineral water, the world’s first CarbonNeutral certified bottled water, for both its product and operations, has begun production of its multi-award winning water from its new 100% naturally powered bottling facility in Ölfus, Iceland. 

The facility increases production capacity of Icelandic Glacial mineral water to meet the growing consumer demand for this exceptionally pure Icelandic water in an environmentally responsible fashion.

The new 71,688 square foot bottling facility opens as one of the world’s greenest, maximizing output while minimizing expenditure of energy resources thanks to an array of environmentally efficient and modern bottling equipment. Like the former bottling operation, the new facility harnesses Iceland’s natural green energy, operating entirely on geothermal and hydroelectric power.  The combination of modern equipment and use of natural green energy means that Icelandic Glacial mineral water is able to roll off the production line with an even smaller carbon footprint than before and one that is considerably smaller compared to other bottled waters in the industry.

“Environmental stewardship has always been a core part of our company’s philosophy – it’s a natural part of being from Iceland,” comments Icelandic Glacial Chairman and CEO Jon Olafsson. “Beginning today, we move production to one of the world’s most environmentally advanced bottling facilities ever constructed, further reinforcing our commitment to delivering consumers a product they can drink with a clear conscience.”

At the grand opening, Icelandic Glacial co-founders Jon and Kristjan Olafsson paid tribute to Iceland and the environment as they officially open the new facility, pushing the production line button for the very first time. 

Icelandic Glacial is currently expanding its UK rollout and is available at Whole Foods, Fresh & Wild, Waitrose, Pure California as well as select premium delicatessens, coffee shops, premium grocers and up-scale clubs and bars in London.

To find out more about the secrets of Iceland and exactly what this island has to offer, visit the world's number one tour operator to Iceland, Discover the World, at www.discover-the-world.co.uk

Expedition team embarks on the 25th Antarctic expedition

China's 25th Antarctic Expedition set off on a six-month scientific research mission from the port of Shanghai. During this period, team members will build China's first research station on Dome A, the highest point on the Antarctic Inland. This accomplishment will signify that the Antarctic expedition of China achieved the leapfrog development from the rim of the Antarctic continent to the key areas of the interior.

On the morning of October 20th, a short and warm farewell ceremony was held at the domestic base of Arctic and Antarctic expeditions in Pudong and 204 members of the expedition team boarded the vessel, Snow Dragon, to embark on the 25th Antarctic expedition.

According to sources, the expedition team is the largest one since China started its first Antarctic expeditions in 1984. The major task is to build Kunlun, the first inland scientific research station, on Dome A, the highest point on the Antarctic inland icecap. This is the third Chinese Antarctic research station after two previous installments named The Great Wall and Zhongshan.

Yang Huigen, chief scientist and captain of the 25th Antarctic expedition of China, said, "We will carry out scientific exploration of the deep ice core at the newly-built base, focusing on recovering meteorological evidence of the earth's history from 700,000 years ago. We believe we will find high-resolution records of the planet dating back one million years."

Find out more about the Antarctica, the great White Continent, and Discover the World's expedition voyages at www.discover-the-world.co.uk/antarctica/

RSS feeds - Calling all journalists

There have been quite a few occasions when I've been speaking to a journalist and I have asked them a question along these lines "...do you use RSS feeds" (to track news on your particular specialist subject and to help inspire forthcoming or current commissions)?

From the answer, there seems to be a distinct gap between those journalists embracing blogging and online media in all its forms and those who don't know what a blog or RSS feeds are.

No matter which one you are, take a look at this blog's Journalism category (below, left-hand side pane - or click here) or this helpful intro to RSS feeds and how they can work wonders for you - whether you are a freelance journalist or a staffer: http://cravingideas.blogs.com/backinskinnyjeans/2006/09/how_to_explain_.html

Why not sign up for this blog's RSS - simply click the RSS button at the top-left of this page having selected a newsreader (I'd recommend Bloglines as it's really easy to use) and follow the instructions.

Feel strongly about RSS feeds - good...bad...useless for journalists?

Let me know what you think by posting a comment.

thanks

Honeymoon bloggers return from Iceland...

This is a fantastic blog by Amy Morris who recently travelled with her husband Alan to Iceland for their honeymoon.   Their trip was organised by Discover the World (naturally!) Click on below to read the full journal

So, you're going to Iceland on Honeymoon?!?! Ok, so not the usual destination, but somewhere different. We'd searched the usual trips, 2 weeks on a beach etc etc, but it just didn't appeal, and having both travelled a bit, we wanted to see somewhere interesting that was also a bit off the beaten track. So I looked at companies that did trips to Iceland. We ended up looking at Discover-the-World, I'd known people who had travelled with them before...

(and yes she was in shorts and flip flops in that picture!)

Discover the World has a close working relationship with wedding consultants at many of our destinations and we have many years experience at preparing wedding itineraries.  All of our weddings are tailor-made and the possibilities are endless!  For information on our weddings and honeymoons service visit our website - Weddings in the North or contact Alexis on 01737 214 294.

What are these blog things?

If blogging just isn't quite your cup of tea (yet), hows about a helping hand from us here at Discover the World and blog guru & ex-journalist Neil Maclean.

With blogs becoming a fundamental part of journalism, it's probably a good time to get familiar so hope the below helps.

A quick explanation: A blog is essentially just like a personal diary only that it is kept on the internet. It needn't be complicated and in any case, most of the necessary links and formats are automatically created for you when you post (having set up your blog).

How to post your first blog in just 10 minutes!

Rather than blinding you with all the options, we suggest you get started with a free trial of some software called "typepad" (at www.typepad.com). Watch this quick video by Neil that talks you through setting up a typepad account (you'll need speakers).

Click here to watch his quick video on setting up typepad

Next, you'll be ready to post in no time thanks to another of Neil's great tutorials :

Click here to watch his video on adding a new post

If you are having problems then email me - alexis@discovertheworld.co.uk - but the above should be all you need to get going. Easy peasy!

Don't forget to visit our other destination blogs - http://www.discovertheworldmedia.com/blogs.html

Good luck

Alexis - 01737 214 294

Telegraph launches online journalism blog

www.telegraph.co.uk has launched a new blog called Upload to cover "the perils and advantages of reporting online and how new technology is changing the media" as reported by www.journalism.co.uk.

Here it is - http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/upload/

Telegraph.co.uk launches 'style' guide for bloggers

www.Journalism.co.uk gives its take on the Telegraph.co.uk's launch of an editorial style guide for its growing band of bloggers. It essentially sets out tips for best practice and production consistency for writers who may not yet be used to the medium. One thing is for certain...it definitely confirms that the Telegraph is taking blogs more and more seriously as a valid modern medium!

Here are the articles:
Journalism.co.uk - www.journalism.co.uk/news/story1863.shtml
Telegraph - http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/upload/may06/styleguide.htm

Ice Cream - Eskimo style!

Needing inspiration for that next house party?

Look no further than 'Akutak' - that's Yupik Eskimo for ice cream. David Howe over in Alaska shows you how to create this speciality in the comfort of your own home!

Click here for David's guide - http://www.alaskablog.co.uk/food_and_drink/index.html

Good luck and happy eating (not too much though!)

Journalists....will you start the blogging please!

www.journalism.co.uk look like they are encouraging a step change amongst journalists by encouraging them to remain relevant to their audience - and even appeal to a new audience - by embracing new social-media platforms including blogging.

Take a look - www.journalism.co.uk/features/story1837.shtml

For all you travel journalists out there, don't forget that you can easily subscribe to our Media Room's RSS feed for regular snippets of info relevant to our destinations that might just inspire your next commission!