Sunday 17 January 2010

Vancouver Games 2010

Vancouver 2010

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler nearby. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).



The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. These will also be the first games to be held in a National Hockey League market since the league allowed its players to participate, starting at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Islamabad, Pakistan

Travel to Islamabad, Pakistan

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, and is the tenth largest city in Pakistan with an estimated population of 1.74 million in 2009. The Rawalpindi/Islamabad Metropolitan Area is the third largest in Pakistan, with a population of over 4.5 million inhabitants.


Islamabad is located in the Pothohar Plateau in the north of the country, within the Islamabad Capital Territory. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, Margalla pass being a gateway to the North-West Frontier Province. The city was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. However, the capital was not moved directly from Karachi to Islamabad. It was first shifted to Rawalpindi and then to Islamabad after all the developmental works were finished.



Islamabad is one of the greenest and most well-planned cities of South Asia. According to a survey, Islamabad is considered the cleanest city in Pakistan. The city is well-organized and divided into different sectors and zones. Islamabad was ranked as a Gamma world city in 2008. The city is home to Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in South Asia and the sixth largest mosque in the World. Islamabad has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan. The top ranked university in Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University, is located in Islamabad. The top two engineering universities in Pakistan, Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences and National University of Sciences and Technology are also located here. Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad is the world's second largest university by enrollment.

Visiting Berlin, Germany

Travel to Berlin, Germany

Berlin is the capital city and one of 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Area, comprising 5 million people from over 190 nations. Geographically embedded in the European Plains Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city´s territory is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.




Berlin History
First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was successively the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945). During the 1920s, Berlin was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city was divided; East Berlin became the capital of East Germany while West Berlin became a Western exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of all Germany hosting 147 foreign embassies.

Travel to Vienna, Austria

Travel to Vienna, Austria - The city of music

Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area, which means more than 25% of Austria's population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC. Vienna lies in the east of Austria and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2005 an Economist Intelligence Unit study of 127 world cities ranked it first equal with Vancouver for the quality of life. This assessment was mirrored by the Mercer Survey in 2009.



The English name of Vienna, the official German name Wien, and the names of the city in most languages, are thought to be derived from the Celtic name of a settlement, but opinions vary on the precise origin. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning "forest stream", which subsequently became Venia, Wienne and Wien. Others claim that the name comes from the name of the Roman settlement Vindobona, probably meaning "white base/bottom", which became Vindovina, Vídeň (Czech) and Wien.