Seven « Coolcation » trend destinations for beach muffle | Luxembourg word

This summer trend follows climate change. More and more holidaymakers are turning their backs on the classic beach destinations and oriented themselves north, cooler, fresher. There is already a buzzword for this: « Coolcation ». This vacation is welcome to have a little more content than to only turn a dozen times on the deck chair every day. Here are some suitable options from the trend reports this spring:

Hiken in the Albanian Alps

Albania’s beaches are such a hype that they have long since taken the major organizers in their catalogs. Avantgarde-Traveler is now moving inland: the Albanian Alps rise. In the border triangle with Montenegro and Kosovo, rugged karst peaks and the country of the ski pairs known to all Karl May fans, in which lynxes still cover the valley flower through spruce forests.

Demanding hiking trails combine the Valbona National Park with the hamlet of Kukaj and the village of Theth in the heart of the Albanian Alps. The journey takes place via Tirana and Shkoder.

Collect mushrooms in Finland

Finland’s lake landscape love sauna ginger and angler. In the meantime, some gourmets have also been added. Because the Saimaa region with the largest lake of Finland is Finland’s catering hotspot. The table, chanterelles and blueberries, plus perch and marände from the lake come on the table. Särä, a dish made of fried lamb and potatoes, is a specialty from Lemi, while on the markets of Lappeenranta and Mikkeli everything from Finnish caviar to fresh strawberries and meat pies to smoked reindeer is offered.

In late summer and autumn, the forest swells over with chanterelles, porcini mushrooms and Nordic milk sings. And according to the principles of everyone’s right, the « Supermarket of Nature » is open to everyone.

Whiskey drinking in Wales

Scotland may be the cradle of the whiskey, but Wales also has a centuries -old tradition. However, it went back in the 19th century and only in the 1990s did the craft experience a new upswing. The industry has been flourishing since then-two years ago, British GI status (geographical indication) was awarded to the Welsh Single Malt. He received the same coveted protection as Welsh Lamb and Anglesey Sea salt.

Whiskey friends in distilleries such as « In The Welsh Wind », which is at home in the hilly fields above Cardigan Bay, learn more about the production methods, and « Penderyn » in Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). After that, a visit to the gorges of the Vale of Neath, also known as Waterfall Country.

Houseboat ferris wheel in Scotland

Shipping engines are an eye -catcher everywhere. But this is a very special eye -catcher: Falkirk Wheel is the world’s only boat lift that rotates. There, ships are not lifted and lowered, but moved in a circle as in a ferris wheel. Exactly eight boats each fit into the gondolas, as the bassins are called.

The 24-meter high Unicum is located on the Union Canal between Edinburgh and Glasgow. If you don’t accidentally sail along the canal by accident with a houseboat or sports kayak, you can also test the unique lift on an excursion boat. The ships ride on the floating ferris wheel from June to October, a trip costs the equivalent of around 21 euros. And as an encore, the crossing of a colorfully illuminated tunnel is also included.

Cycling in Emilia Romagna

The Tour de France did not start in France last year, but in Italy. The Grand Départ took place in Florence. But the focus of the first three stages was between the villages and vineyards of the neighboring Emilia -Romagna – in Rimini, Bologna and Piacenza.

This year the routes are free again for hobby cyclists. And if you want to discover the area yourself by bike, you don’t need an accompanying team. Beginners connect Ferrara, Parma and Modena with culinary stops. Cracks set up on the Ciclovia di Dante – from Ravenna, where the poet died in 1321, to his birthplace Florence, past mountain cities and chestnut forests.

Road trip through Norway’s Nordland

Norway’s Nordland is a coastal region with wild glaciers and small fishing villages. The area came into view last summer because the town of Bodø 2024 was elected to the cultural capital of Europe. It was rather daunting for the connoisseurs. You are traveling this year when the Adabeis have long sipped their cocktails in the new cultural capitals Chemnitz and Nova Gorizia.

In addition to the diverse artistic and musical survival under the midnight sun, there is a very special road trip in the area: the curvy route on the E10 from Svolvaer to Å via the Lofoten Islands, which like hunchbacked dragons from the sea, is one of the most exciting coastal streets in the world. Anyone who is afraid of having to spend a beach day there is reassured: the water temperature usually does not increase above 13 degrees.

Arles: Art Spring like God in France

Savoir vivre in Provence: Arles used to call itself the little Rome of the Gauls. But the city has long since had more to offer at the entrance to the Camargue than just amphitheater and Roman forum. Once Caesar’s military colony, later a painter magnet for geniuses such as Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, Arles has reinvented himself again in recent years as a modern art metropolis of southern, lively France.

With the money of the Roche heiress Maja Hoffmann, the culture campus « Luma », a huge art rate in the former railway repair plant, has been created for ten years. In the meantime, the central tower of Frank Gehry is just as open as a public observation tower, as is the landscape park, which was created from ruins, between the buildings and an annual fireworks at magnificent exhibitions. What has remained the cozy old town with its pretty open -air cafes and brasseries.