Cuckoo Clock

A cuckoo clock is a kind of clock. Cuckoo clocks have a wooden case that looks like a small house, and there are wooden doors that open. It gets its name because at the start of every hour, the small doors on the clock open up and a little wooden bird comes out of the door. The clock then makes a noise which sounds like a bird call ( "Koo-Koo" or "cuckoo").

The clock makes the sound one time for each hour it is. Whether it is morning or night does not change the number of times the bird makes the sound.

The cuckoo clock is a favorite souvenir of travelers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and particularly the Black Forest region of Germany.

The cuckoos are birds of of the Cuculidae family.

There are approximately 140 species of cuckoos found throughout the world.

They are found on all continents except Antarctica.

• Souvenir of Germany in Cuckoo Clock Shop

Black Forest

The Black Forest is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest corner of Germany, which is very close to Switzerland. It stretches from the lovely town of Baden-Baden to the Swiss border and, from the western and southern side, is bounded by the Valley of Rhine River.

The Black Forest (German Schwarzwald) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany.

The name Black Forest comes from the general dark color of the numerous pine trees that grow in this region.

The Romans were the first to use the name “Black Forest.” The Roman soldiers were walking through Germany and their path was blocked by a dark, dense forest. They called it “Silva Nigra”, which means “Black Forest” in their Latin language.

The Black Forest region is almost rectangular in shape with a length of 160 kilometers (99 miles) and breadth of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles).

The Black Forest is a mountainous terrain at about 200-1500 meters (650-4900 feet) above sea level.

The largest natural lake in the Black Forest, Titisee stretches for some 2 kilometers (over 1 mile). It is one of the most famous places for tourists in the Black Forest.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, sits on the coastal islands of Zealand and Amager.

1.Denmark most likely means “Land of the Danes.” The first mention of the name of the kingdom Denmark comes from about A.D. 900 in King Alfred the Great of England’s translation of Orosius’ Geography.

2.In Denmark, it rains or snows every second day. On average, Denmark has 171 days with precipitation of more than 0.004 in. (0.1 mm). In 2009, Denmark had 184 days of precipitation.

3.Denmark has more than twice the amount of bicycles (4.2 million) than cars (1.8 million). Copenhageners pedal more than 1.13 million km on their bicycles each day.

4.Scandinavians, including Danes, are the world’s highest per-capital consumers of coffee, with Danes (who drink an average of four cups a day) coming in third after Sweden and Finland.

5.Denmark is considered the “least corrupt” country in the world.

6.Denmark actually has a place to surf called Cold Hawaii, and it is one of the best beaches in Scandinavia for surfing.

7.Education is also free, they even receive money/SU from the government to live for while studying.

8.Denmark has been awarded 14 Nobel prizes and with 5.6 million that is one of  the highest per capita ratio in the world.

9.Denmark has 444 islands, but only 76 of them are inhabited.

10.They have some of the finest drinking/tap water in the world.

DisneyLand

Disneyland Paris is the kingdom of magic and the stuff of fairytale dreams…but it’s also home to some seriously awesome rides and some even more awesome facts.

1. The official opening date and time of the park was 12th April 1992 at 9.01Am.

2. At any time, only a single Mickey is present in the entire park, so that children really get the sense that the character exists and is unique.

3. The Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris is the fastest of the five in operation. It is also the only one that goes upside-down.

4. To propel the Space Mountain cars to 46 mph in two seconds, the ride uses technology like that used in aircraft carriers to propel jet fighters.

5. On Main Street in Disneyland Paris, as in all Disney parks, you'll find a real barber at work, because Walt Disney wanted to pay tribute to his father, who was a barber himself.

6. The barbershop in Disneyland Paris is decorated with authentic furniture and accessories from a barber in Chicago who was retiring at the time the park was being created.

7.To guide Mickey's parade floats, drivers use cameras that allow them to view their surroundings on monitors.

8.Some parade floats dispense scents as they move through their routes.

9.The lighting on the thirteen parade floats alone amounts to a total of 700,000 bulbs.

10.As in all Disney parks, there are hundreds of Mickey heads hidden in Disneyland Paris.These "hidden Mickeys" are all over the park: in tiling patterns, on clocks, railings, doors, or even as ventilation holes.

11.The park features 450 different plant species and has about 35,000 trees.

12.Similarly, to preserve the magic, characters such as Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto never address visitors, and the actors inside the suits never reveal themselves, even when they're backstage.

13.In Walt Disney’s own words, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” And Walt wouldn’t be disappointed as just in the last five years Disneyland Paris has opened Toy Story Land with three new rides and Ratatouille.

Louvre Museum

The Musée du Louvre

The Musée du Louvre was not originally museum. It was a fortress that was built in 1190. In the 16th century, it was turned from a fortress into a royal palace. It was only in 1793, after the French Monarchy moved to the Palace of Versailles, that the first Louvre museum was opened to the public, and offered just 537 paintings.

1. The Biggest Museum in the World

Musee du Louvre, is located at the Seine in Paris and makes the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China though it still is the largest of all.

Louvre opened its gates to the public in August, 1793. It houses many great paintings from Leonardo’s famous “Mona Lisa” to “The Death of The Virgin” by Caravaggio. Here are most interesting facts about the museum that not many people know.

It is estimated that the museum is so large that it will take about 100 days to cover each of the paintings. (only if we spent 30 seconds on each!)

2.Napoleon and the Louvre

Napoleon once renamed the Louvre to Musée Napoleon and expanded its collection by 5,000 pieces.

3.The Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre, with people from all walks of life travelling to the museum to catch a glimpse of the world famous painting.

The Mona Lisa painting is not really as big as one thinks. It is just a little more than the size of an A2 paper sheet.

The Mona Lisa also has its own bodyguards and is protected by bulletproof glass; however, it was stolen in 1911 before being returned to the Louvre just two years later.

4.The Louvre’s Galleries

The Louvre’s galleries are displayed across 652,300 square feet – which is nearly 15 acres! 

The galleries contain approximately 7,500 paintings, and The interesting thing though, is that 66% of the paintings are made by French painters. 

That’s quite a lot.

The galleries are also divided into eight departments:

• Near Eastern Antiquities

• Egyptian Antiquities

• Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities

• Islamic Art

• Sculptures

• Decorative Arts

• Paintings

• Prints and Drawings

5. Belphegor- The Louvre Ghost

The Louvre dates back to 1190 – so it’s bound to be the home to some ghosts, right? The museum is thought to be haunted by a mummy called Belphegor. The nearby Tulleries Gardens are also believed to be haunted by a man dressed in red. Spooky

6. The Louvre’s Glass Pyramid

The Louvre’s glass pyramid was built in 1989 and is 21 metres high. It is made solely of glass and metal and is now one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks.

Many are unaware that the glass pyramid is one of four, as three smaller glass pyramids surround the courtyard, Cour Napoleon.

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited attractions in Paris.

Top View of Eiffel Tower

1. Completed on March 31, 1889, the tower was the world’s tallest man-made structure for 41 years until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.

2. It is 324 metres tall (including antennas) and weighs 10,100 tonnes.

3.The Eiffel Tower, as the name might suggest, was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel's engineering company, Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel.

4. Victor Lustig, a con artist, "sold" the tower for scrap metal on two separate occasions.

5. The Eiffel Tower grows in the summer
Did you know that the Eiffel Tower actually varies in height by around 15 cm throughout the year depending on the temperature?
This should probably come as no surprise considering the tower is made up almost entirely of metal.
So as the average temperature fluctuates throughout the year so too does the height of the tower as the metal expands and contracts.
Not just that but the top of the tower might also shift away from the sun by as much as 18 cm due to thermal expansion on the side facing it.

6. You Will Climb 1,665 Steps to the Third Level
If like the Nazi's in WW2, Parisians decide to cut the cables to the lift it's a pretty long walk up the tower.
In total there are around 1,665 steps that need to be climbed to get to the very top of the Eiffel Tower.
But this official figure will only get you from the ground floor to the third level.
You are only officially allowed to climb the Eiffel Tower by foot up to the second floor.

7. The Eiffel tower uses 20,000 light bulbs at night
According to official statistics the Eiffel Tower uses around 20,000 light bulbs.

8. The paint on the Eiffel tower weighs as much as 10 elephants
The elephant, as everyone knows, is the only global standard for measuring the weight of paint.
You might be surprised to hear that all the paint on the tower weighs in at around 10 elephants.
The paintwork also needs to be reapplied regularly in order to keep in good condition and stave off oxidation of the metal structure.
The entire tower has been re-painted about 18 times over the tower's lifetime that's an average of once every 7 years or so.

9. You will find Gustave's penthouse is at the top
Gustave Eiffel had his own private apartment at the top of the tower.
During its design, Eiffel demanded that he have a small living space for himself at the top.