Tourists describe Norway experience in two words; Fjord and Midnight Sun.

Situated in Scandinavia in Northern Europe, Norway has rugged coastline surrounding thousands of island and huge fjords.  These Fjords are inlet seas between steep slopes famous for their unadulterated nature and visual beauty and tranquility. On the other hand, because of Norway’s high latitude it has four distinct seasons including colder winter and warmest summer and gives distinct variations in its daylight. From months of May and June Norway has 20 hours of daylight and experience the so called “midnight sun”. From November up to the later part of January, daylight is shorter as the sun never rises above Norway’s northern horizon. These two “Norway Gems” keep tourists flocking this northern part of Europe.

One best time to visit Norway is from May to June to enjoy various fjords tours; a typical offer from hotels and tour agencies with inclusive tours in Sognefjord. A journey along Sognefjord is like traveling on the road to fairyland. The long hours of daylight make it possible to visit different tourist attractions in Oslo, Bergen and Tranheim. These beautiful and vibrant cities of Norway offers summer activities like trekking, camping and even time for  shopping and sightseeing. With its thousands of islands, island hopping through cruises and by land offer diverse experiences most especially when driving. Tourists who want to travel and experience on their own the route to fairyland, hiring a car is highly recommended. Tourists who are booked in any Oslo hotel wound find Hire a Car Oslo offering great deals. Many of these car rentals accept major credit cards and offer the latest car model. They offer easy requirements and their rate would fit any travel budget. They also offer assistance for acquiring the necessary permits and driving papers. They have professional staffs that offer great customer service. Those who are billeted in Bergen, a bilutleie bergen company offers almost same quality of service for those who would embark their midnight sun adventure through driving.

Those who are free-spirited won’t deny themselves some pieces of Midnight Sun adventure driving around the scenic roads of Norway. Touring from one place to another is an exciting Norway experience while beating past the midnight sun riding in car from a car hire (bilutleie). Many restaurants, café and bars offer exclusives menu and drinks to celebrate each midnight sun experience.

Midnight Sun is a fascinating sight and experience and people who are also attracted to the beauty and charm of Trondheim spare sometime of their vacation to experience this nature attraction and drive a car from rent a car Trondheim as  driving around Norway is experiencing Midnight Sun and Fjords; truly the Norwegian’s charm.

Switzerland is one of the more interesting countries in Europe, especially when it comes to history. Records show that this gem of a country in Western Europe adorns its history with armed neutrality. That means, the country did not participate and has not been in a state of international war since 1815. On the other hand, it did not also take part at the United Nations for a very long time, joining only in 2002.

A Walk Back to History

The earliest settlements in Switzerland have been found about a hundred and fifty thousand years old. There were also farm settlements that were traced, which dated back to 5300 BC. The earliest known cultural tribes that existed were found on the North of Lake Neuchatel. The La Tene culture flourished until the Iron Age.

Helveti is one of the more important, more popular tribal cultures in Switzerland. That’s probably because it was influenced by Etruscan and Greek civilizations. The popularity might also be caused by the fact that during 58 BC, Julius Caesar’s armies defeated the Helvetii through the Battle of Bibracle.

Modern-day Switzerland was divided between two kingdoms. On one hand, there’s the kingdom of Alemannia; on the other, there’s the kingdom of Burgundy. Just like other European countries, Switzerland went through different rules and empires. What impacted the country the most was the Napoleonic era, a time which revolutionary French government conquered the country and imposed a unified constitution. Napoleon’s government was quite unpopular. That’s why when war broke out between France, Russia, and Austria, the Swiss refused to fight alongside the Helvetica Republic that was charged by Napoleon. Instead, they sat down in a meeting that restored Switzerland’s autonomy.

Since 1815, the Swiss government imposed neutrality and the European powers respected that as well as the country’s independence. After several violent clashes and a civil war that lasted for less than a month, unity became the goal of all those sections in the society. While the most part of Europe was plagued by uprising, the Swiss government is working its way towards a unified constitution with a federal layout, which is mostly based on the example of the American government.

Switzerland was very fortunate that they were not invaded by any of the two world wars that came by. It was mostly a combination of military deterrence and good fortune as well.

Switzerland imposes a certain kind of independence, of richness in culture, of exciting marks. It is not surprising that a lot of people find interest in traversing the country and discovering its wealth. There are many exciting sights to see and things to do when in Switzerland and all those are laid by the groundwork of the ancient people.

Italy has a very rich, variable history. Early trace of the country has been recorded as early as the 9^th Century BC. It was when the existence of Italic tribes was deemed present in central Italy. Due to its geographic background, there were cultural and linguistical divisions among the Italians but later on, the Latin culture became dominant. It is the culture that has been flourishing since Rome was considered a powerful city-state on 350 BC and beyond.

The Name “Italy”

The name “Italy” has ancient origins. It has mythological and Oscan origins. In mythology, Italy is said to be rooted from a legendary king of ancient times who was named Italus. In Oscan culture, Italy is said to be rooted from “Viteliu”, which bears the meaning “land of young cattle”. It must be understood that at that time, the country was richly an agricultural country.

Initially, the name was designated by Greek settlers to the lower part of the Southern region. Prior to being called “Italy”, the country has been quite popular as Italia. It was the name imposed by the Italic tribes of Abruzzo region. Later on, that was changed to Roman Italy, during the time of Emperor Augustus. It was not until the Western Roman Empire came to its downfall and the Lombard invaded the country that Italy was used collectively to cover the entire peninsula.

Different Seats of Power

Since the ancient times, there were different civilizations that gave birth to the different faces of Italy. There were the Magna Graecia and the Etruscan civilizations, which appeared before the Roman Empire was born.

Italy is the seat of the Western culture as it has been going on in that philosophy for many years. For the years following the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy went on to adopt foreign cultures as it has been dominated by the Spanish, the Austrian, as well as Napoleon I’s empire. Through all those episodes, the Vatican maintained controls over Rome.

During the late 1800s, the new Kingdom of Italy was established, colonizing different countries along the Mediterranean as well as some parts of Africa. Afterwards, it suffered losses in the World War I, submitted to the authoritarian dictatorship of the Fascists, and joined the Axis Powers during the Second World War before the Italian Republic was finally born.

On June 2, 1946, the monarchy drew to a close, giving birth to the first Italian Republic that saw rapid modernization and sustainable economic development in the country. It has also joined the huge arena of international politics, which merited membership in different organizations including the European Union (which was previously named the European Economic Community), the United Nations, the G7, the NATO, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. That’s how the country was known to be a major regional power.

Spain’s history started in the eleventh century BC and been colonized by the sophisticated civilizations of the Mediterranean. The colonization was made first by the Phoenicians, followed by the Greeks and then the Carthaginians. In 218 BC, the Romans came to the country to fight the current settlers of that time known as the Carthaginians. This revolution has sparked the commencement of II Punic War.

The colonization of the Romans was somewhat strict in the sense that they gathered all the mineral and agricultural wealth of Spain. Romans managed to establish cities that come with aqueducts, theaters, and temples.

Sometime in the early part of the fifth century AD, the Roman Empire fell and this was due to the overruling power of the invaders that came from the Northern Visigoth. These people soon assumed power. However, these people had poor political power but this has become an easy prey to the people of North Africa known as the Moors.

It was until in the eighth century that the Moorish took power in the land of Spain. The place being the only major territory of Muslim people, the Al Andalus’ civilization had made it a point to excel in many different endeavors and subjects such as in mathematics, poetry, astronomy, and geography. And during the turn of the ninth and tenth centuries, Europe has had Cordoba as the leading city.

Then came the eleventh century, the kingdoms of the Northern Christians had initiated an army re-conquest of the Al Andalus. And in 1469, the marriage of two famous people known as Fernando Aragon and Castile’s Isabel took place. These people were known during those times as the Catholic Monarchs and during those times, the unity of the Spanish people took place, too.

In 1492, the last kingdom of the Moorish in Granada was taken. On that same year was the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus and this has opened the ways for the conquistadors of Spain. These conquistadors had made it possible to plunder and steal the civilization of Spain’s New World history.

The Habsburg dynasty who was the successor during those times had spent the riches of Spain in its endless foreign revolution. The decline of Spain was exacerbated and strengthened by a great deal of religious oppression and extremely high inflation. However, it was in the eighteenth century when the learning climate took place and this had caused enlightenment in the Spanish government. However, the misfortunes of Spain continued when Napoleon’s troops invaded the land and this was also the loss of many American colonies. Consequently, a new sense of radicalism evolved and created a strong movement of the Anarchists. Dictatorship took place during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and soon became a republican in the 1930s. The death of General Franco in 1975 has become the start of Spain being a democratic country.