EUROQUEST SideTracks

ALICANTE - Guapa, Guapa y Guapa - is the new catch phrase chosen by Alicante Tourist Authorities for their new 2011 campaign, along with the subheading "Quiereme como yo te quiero a ti" (Love me as much as I love you). In deed, Alicante has come a long ways over the past decade or two in revamping its image from an ugly portside duckling to a shining Mediterranean jewel. Much remains to be done, but overall, the city is certainly on the right track. Despite hords of Northern European vacationers taking the city by storm in the summer, Alicante remains quintessentially Spanish with its own infrastructure, traditions and celebrations. No better way to pay tribute to the spirit and beauty of Alicante than to introduce one of its major local festivals, the "Porrat de San Anton". Spain is known for its many festivities year-round from the bull run of San Fermines in Pamplona to the Fallas fireworks in Valencia. Yet many holidays and festivals are of a more loca...

When I first set foot into the Barrio de San Pere in Barcelona, I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet, authentic and unpretetious it is compared to the overcrowded tourist areas of the Ramblas, Plaza Catalunya and the Barrio Gotico nearby. Although only a mere 5 to 10 minutes walk from the main attractions of central Barcelona, the San Pere neighborhood has managed to retain its local charm, quaintness and authenticity. For that reason, this week Euroquest Sidetracks would like to take a closer look at this often neglected part of the Catalan Capital and explore it as part of an alternative itinerary to Barcelona, one that is infused with local culture and experiences. See the full gallery on posterous The Barrio de San Pere is located between the Barrio Gotico to the West, the trendy Born district further south & the Ciudadela Park to the Southwest featuring numerous monuments from the World Expo of 1888, making Barcelona rank among the few cities to host the World E...

Today's title may sound like a contradiction in terms - no other capital city in Central Europe has seen more influx of tourist crowds and revenue than the Czech Capital. Since the fall of Communism, the city has turned from bleak hard-line communist capital to Bohemian Disneyland in less than 2 decades. Most tourist areas of Prague can nowadays no longer be imaginable without crowds of picture-taking tour groups pushing towards the Astronomical Clock at Old Town Square. Many highly unique and interesting sights, such as the Jewish Quarter of Josefov, have become victims of their own popularity, and overcrowding takes a serious toll on visitor enjoyment and the overall cultural experience.  For that reason, it is our mission this week to lay out alternative options for a visit to Prague, one that may not result in clashes with tourist crowds and could thus generate a more genuine confrontation with the cultural Other. To this end, timing is crucial, as the Czech capital rec...

"The Party is over" - a recent Economist article declared about the current state of affairs in Las Vegas. Even casual observers notice a tangible malaise about Sin City that was not there a mere 5 years ago. Since the recession hit in 2008, Southern Nevada has been hit particularly hard, and Las vegas has been trying to reinvent itself again. There is no end in sight to the present crisis with critical voices arguing the Valley's problems may be existential rather than just cyclical, and radical rethinking would be needed to redirect Las Vegas towards a better future.  For those of us who love the Desert Southwest and have called Southern Nevada home at some point, the current dilemma is heart-wrenching but certainly was not unexpected. For that reason, Euroquest Sidetracks would like to present Sidetracks of a different kind this week by taking a closer look at those parts of the city in crisis - away from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas Boulevard ("The Strip...

More than 2 decades since the Fall of Communism, there are few places left behind what used to be the Iron Curtain that truly look and feel different. Particularly close to the former Western border, many cities have adopted the same blend of commercial infrastructure and cityscape as their counterparts in Western Europe. In order to feel some of the remnants of what life under communism used to be like, it is nowadays necessary to travel much further afield to the East, unless we opt for Bratislava, capital of Slovakia and a mere hour away from waltzing Vienna. A journey to Bratislava also has the added benefit of introducing us to a destination much less publicized and thus less crowded than, say, Vienna or Prague and allows us to visit the capital of one of Europe's youngest nations, the Republic of Slovakia, created by the "Velvet Divorce" of the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993. A visit to Slovakia thus also confronts us with the notion of cultural identity at the ...

Most visitors to the Czech Republic focus solely on the capital Prague, with far fewer foreigners exploring the rustic charms of the Czech country side. And there almost all visitors tend head to the UNESCO World Heritage Jewels of the Czech lands, including Cesky Krumlov or Kutna Hora. Very few visitors venture North towards the Czech-German border, although Northern Bohemia has plenty of unique attractions to offer, among them the cities of USTI NAd LABEM and LITOMERICE. Not far from the town of Liberec and the small community of Turnov, we find another hidden jewel of Northern Bohemia, the Chateau Sychrov, an enchanting fairy-tale castle almost entirely devoid of tourist traffic. Following four decades of isolation on the other side of the Iron Curtain, Northern Bohemia is only slowly opening up towards Tourism. For that reason, the area ranks as a worthwhile Treasure off the Beaten Track destination and thus deserves further mention.  See the full gallery on posterous ...

See the full gallery on posterous Nothing better on a sunny Sunday than to escape San Diego's urban area and head 20 miles on I-5 in the direction of Los Angeles to the charming communities of San Diego's North County. Once past the Mormon Temple near La Jolla and the exclusive community of Del Mar, we reach SOLANA BEACH and Encinitas - perfect getaways for a day trip away from the city. Both boast gorgeous coastline and pristine beach areas, but it is the alternative charm of Encinitas that makes it stand out in Greater San Diego, and no better time to witness this than on a Sunday, when the seaside resort's FARMERS' MARKET is in full swing. Our first stop in Encinitas, however, is the San Diego Botanic Garden, formerly known as "QUAIL BOTANICAL GARDENS", a green sanctuary of over four miles of park and trails featuring more than 3300 varieties of plants including the nation's largest Bamboo collection. Admission is not cheap but helps to ensure surviv...