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5 Interesting Facts about Chernobyl
Thirty-four years later, the Chernobyl disaster continues to be a topic of great discussion. It has come to the forefront once more, thanks to the HBO series released in 2019 and the burgeoning tourism industry in the area. Here are five interesting facts about Chernobyl
Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?
When you think about visiting a place like Chernobyl, the primary and immediate question on your mind is: Can I safely visit an area where nobody is allowed to live? The short answer is, yes, provided you take the necessary precautions. Here are some very important things to consider before you visit Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone.
Trip review: Kiev & Chernobyl
At Expat Club we put an incredible variety of destinations on our trip calendar, including some awesome industrial places. Would you like to have some examples? What about car factories? We visited the Audi plant in Brussels several times to live observe the A1 production. Also, we travelled the Netherlands for an exclusive visit to the Tesla factory. So cool to test drive their P90d model in ludicrous mode (google it if you don’t know what that means). We also several times explored the Port of Rotterdam, until recently the world’s largest harbour. Seeing the world’s largest crane, largest ship, and also the largest refinery, is something you don’t do every day. And what to think about a midnight visit to Europe’s largest shipment facility from UPS at Cologne...
Top 11 things that can go wrong in Venice
Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but it's also one of the few that can bring about many holiday irritations. Here are some of those pesky little details that can spoil your Venice experience and how Expat Club takes that worry away!
There’s no party like a Venice Carnival party
The Venice Carnival is a celebration unlike any other. Elaborate costumes and masks adorn the streets of the fabulous destination once a year. We love the colourful display and that's why we choose to travel there during that period of time. Here's a snapshot of one of the activities during our trip, the masked gala ball!
A Little Louvre in Lens
With more than 10 million visitors a year, the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum. It’s also the world’s largest, so it’s not surprising that it can be a bit overwhelming. But if you want to see some of the world’s great treasures, you don’t have to venture into Paris. The Louvre has smaller museums in Abu Dhabi and Lens, Pas-de-Calais, a mining town located about 200 kilometres north of Paris. In October, Expat Club journeyed to Lens. The Louvre-Lens is the baby brother of the Louvre and home to 200 masterpieces on loan from the Louvre Museum in Paris. From a Coal Mine to a Museum The Louvre-Lens opened in 2012, transforming a former coal mine into a regional jewel. The museum was built in Lens to re-energize the city and give it an economic boost. It’s also part of France’...
Trip Review: Chateaus of the Loire Valley
Nowhere is the sheer opulence of French life in centuries past more apparent than in the chateaux of the Loire Valley. Each year, more than 3.3 million travelers visit the 42 chateaux that comprise the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yet, there are more than 300 chateaux scattered across the Valley. It’s no surprise that the region is the nation’s second-biggest tourist attraction behind Paris. Most of the chateaux were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries. They offered royalty and noblemen a welcome escape from Parisian politics. Over Bastille Day weekend, they offered 26 Expat Club members a romantic glimpse into the past. DAY ONE We were ready to start on a “chateaux sampler,” discovering the magic and mystery of these elegant edifices. Our luxury coach arrive...
Remember the Fallen
War site trips are excellent opportunities to not only understand what took places on those sites but to also experience them and pay respects for the fallen. For us at Expat Club, these trips are very special. Every single one of the war site trips we host has proven to be an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. Here are 6 war sites we believe are a must for every traveller.
Trip review: D-Day 75th Anniversary
After every trip I organise and host I ask myself the question what could have been done better. For our recent D-Day trip to Normandy I certainly have some (very) small points for improvement for a next edition (see 2020 trip). But overall I can look back to a successful and deeply impressive project. We got so much more than I had hoped for, despite that traffic on the small hedged-border Normandy coastal roads sometimes threw a spanner in the works. With a long Pentecostal weekend ahead, we departed on Friday evening towards our first destination in Upper Normandy, Le Havre with its harbour. The city was not part of the D-Day offence, but it was part of the larger Operation Overlord. Being at the end of the Seine river, it was an essential stronghold for the Germans and a key objective ...
D-Day 75th Anniversary: Our 3 favorite movie and TV biopics
75 years ago today, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy. D-Day was a turning point in the Second World War. It was a pivotal moment to defeat the Nazi regime 11 months and 1 day later. The significance of this military operation has been epitomized in countless movie and TV productions. Here are 3 notable examples The Longest Day (1962) IMDB One could say this movie was the first ever large-scale, massive movie production tackling this subject. The Longest Day boasted an all-star ensemble cast from multiple countries, and its production meticulously looked at every detail with the help of military consultants. The film follows the Normandy landings from the perspective of both Allied and Axis forces. It’s shot in a documentary drama s...
Discovering the Castles of Bavaria
Fairytale castles, royal residences and a busload of international travellers! What more could you ask for? Yes, you may have guessed already! It’s another exciting adventure with Expat Club. This time, I travelled in a beautiful, double-decker coach to Bavaria, in the South of Germany, from Wednesday afternoon 29 May to Sunday evening 2 June.
Meet the Castle: Château de Chenonceau
Did you know that Château de Chenonceau was a gift from King Henry II of France to his mistress Diane de Poitiers? She didn’t get to keep it, though. Chateau de Chenonceau is the third castle of the Loire Valley we visit during our weekend trip. One of the most remarkable aspects of this chateau’s history is its almost uninterrupted succession down the line of fascinating women. Here’s a brief overview of the chateau’s history and why we love it so much.
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