It is time for the latest blog post by ‘The Climate Change Collective.’ We set up a group of bloggers who take turns writing lead articles about global warming and being ecofriendly. After each post appears, all of us keen eco bloggers add our own thoughts on the matter, whilst linking to the lead piece.
This month’s thought-provoking article is by the brilliant @MidLifeOnEarth who is considering how we can change our attitudes to travelling locally to work, school and shops.
When I went to University my geography lecturer spoke about the need to replace short car journeys with walking, cycling and public transport. I feel that he was ahead of the times in 1996 as he was consulting on cycling access throughout Europe and leading initiatives for sustainable transport.
Twenty seven years later and we still haven’t made much progress in the UK. It is a struggle to cycle alongside cars on roads filled with potholes. I feel ashamed that the UK government are not prioritising walking and cycling routes as these should be priority schemes.
It will take a huge mindset shift for people to transition to making local journeys on foot or on bikes. The results of such a move would be greatly reduced danger from vehicles, due to fewer cars on the roads. Also, fitness would improve due to increased amounts of cardiovascular activity. It would be a win-win situation.
In A Nutshell
Check out the latest article about the benefits of active travel and let us know your thoughts on this important environmental matter. For my last link post, perhaps also have a look at Why Greener Spaces Matter.
Thanks for looking at my post. Please read through MidLifeOnEarth’s fascinating article and drop a comment with your own ways of reducing vehicle travel.
The Climate Change Collective is a group of bloggers who write monthly posts about the environment. This month, Boomer Eco Crusader has published a brilliant article about the impact that going out for experiences can have. Going out and about can have a significant environmental cost, comparable to buying and disposing of material goods.
This is my link post to her blog post which focuses on six ways to try and reduce the effects. I hope that you will take a look at her detailed discussion of this issue and share your own thoughts on the subject.
The Impact of Travelling
Travelling can be a great way to share experiences with family and friends. However, it can also be disruptive to local habitats and the transportation often causes a lot of carbon emissions. We often talk about a carbon footprint which relates to us moving around the planet.
I agree with Michelle that we do need to find ways to make experiences more ecofriendly. Using trains rather than planes is a positive alternative. Planes create a large amount of pollution which is injected directly into the atmosphere, contributing to the layer that insulates the planet. That same layer is the cause of global warming.
Check out this interesting article about ways to have enjoyable experiences while being environmentally conscious.
Thank you so much for checking the latest Climate Change Collective post. If you are a blogger who wants to join our collaborative network of environmental bloggers, reach out in the comments or through the link in Michelle’s article.
Many of you will know that I absolutely love city breaks. I always make sure I choose destinations that I can get to by rail or sea. In the past I have flown to so many places but now I make an effort not to fly as planes have been shown to directly pollute the upper atmosphere. So the Eurostar has become my preferred way of getting into Europe.
Memories
In the last ten years I have enjoyed some wonderful holidays. My idea of a good holiday involves great food, a little bit of culture and plenty of sightseeing (often involving a castle).
In this article I want to share the best European cities that I have visited so far. I am lucky enough to have been to Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, France and Denmark. Out of those countries, here are my favourite cities to visit by train.
Grossmunster Cathedral, Zurich
5) Zurich
As soon as I arrived in Zurich, I was taken aback by the enormity of its grand train station, which was packed with shops and exhibitions.
Zurich was a brilliant place to visit and I was happy to watch a show at the Opera House, take a boat across the immense Lake Zurich and enjoy the bustling centre.
Easy Links
Much like Luxembourg City, it is easy to get a train from Zurich to surrounding places of beauty. I particularly loved a day out where I went up a nearly vertical rail track (Stoosbahn funicular) and had an incredible feast up a mountain.
Influenced by Switzerland, I am now always looking for places to eat cheese fondu since trying it in the city of Zurich. I first saw this tempting fondu restaurant on Travel Man which you can check out for yourself on Youtube.
My favourite fondu at Raclette StubeThe Eiffel Tower, Paris
4) Paris
I have been to glorious Paris several times over the past twenty years. It feels like a home from home. The added bonus is that Disneyland Europe is nearby but even without this, Paris has plenty to keep me coming back for more.
Known for its fashion and food, Paris thrives on its history and grand architecture such as the Arch de Triomphe and the Louvre. Walking up to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower and then taking a lift to the top was an amazing experience which I will always remember happily.
Only one thing stops Paris being my Number 1
As much as I love the museums, the exquisite cuisine and the general vibe, one thing lets me down. Everywhere you go there are smoking rooms. Usually they are attached to the outside of cafes and restaurants so you have to walk through them to get into eateries. Often I have to eat in one of these rooms if a venue is busy and I hate the smell of smoke.
The Christmas market, Antwerp, Belgium
3) Antwerp
My recent trip to Antwerp was so much fun. I had picked Antwerp as a getaway destination based on some Pinterest pictures that I had seen. It turned out to be a great choice.
Antwerp was the most festive city I have been to and felt so safe and welcoming. It was also really affordable compared to many of the other places I have stayed.
There will be a more detailed blogpost about Antwerp which I will link here in future.
Luxembourg City Wall
2) Luxembourg
Luxembourg was just a two hour train trip from Paris. The train had two floors and was really comfortable. Although it is a small nation, Luxembourg has a lot to offer. There is plenty of history there and public transport is now free.
When I visited there in 2019 there was still a small fee to use trains and I popped on one to go and see some beautiful villages and a couple of historic castles.
Plus Points
The city was not too busy but still had a buzz about it. Everything was relatively close together and, due to it being one of the main EU administration places, there were lots of places to be entertained, such as the Luxembourg Philharmonie, where we enjoyed a magical concert.
The Luxembourg PhilharmonieHorse Well, Salzburg
1 Salzburg
Since being a kid, I always longed to visit the set of The Sound of Music. So when I got the chance to stay there I took the guided tour of locations. I also fell in love with this beautiful city, surrounded by imposing mountains.
A wide river splits the old and new halves of Salzburg. As a bonus, when I went it happened to be the Salzburg Festival and lots of classical music events and theatre plays were being put on.
Full of beauty
I developed an unexpected fondness for sauerkraut while I was there and had a great time exploring the houses of Mozart. Salzburg was breath-taking, full of nods to Austrian tradition and home to plenty of tasty baked goods.
I previously reflected on my favourite trip in 5 Reasons To Visit Salzburg if you want to know more about this wonderful city.
Final Thoughts
I hope that you have found one of these cities interesting. It was hard to pick five of my favourites but all of these are destinations that I definitely want to visit again.
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