Happy Birthday Chopin!

This year Poland is celebrating Chopin’s 200th birthday. Not his actual birthday of course. But there are year long celebrations this year in 2010 to celebrate their romantic composer from the 19th century. He was born to a French-Polish family near Warsaw and so the city will hold concerts, exhibitions and special events in his honour, to celebrate his contribution to classical music and sound.

There are also a few organized itinerarys that follow the composer’s footsteps through Poland. These include also performances in several towns and cities. The complete list of events, news, and happenings are listed here on the official website.

A film society in New York City has also offered its collection of Chopin-inspired films from experimental, fiction, non-fiction, to documentary. These films will be screened between January and May at Walter Rayde Theatre, near the Polish Centre in NYC. Cities around the world are collecting material to contribute to a world-wide appreciation of Chopin. Some even call him the greatest melodist of all time.

The year starts off on the 20th of January at the Polish parliament buildings with a performance with the Polish Philharmonic Orchestra. This is a great set of events for the whole family. It is great that travelling to Poland is easy, anywhere in Europe seems close these days. Cheap flights to Warsaw are around 40£ with Wizz Air. Low-cost airlines are making it really easy to get out and participate in events like this. Now I only have to decide which month is the best one to celebrate Chopin with the Poles!

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Family holiday in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf museums can be interesting places to see for the whole family. Many theatres also have special stage programs for kids, like the puppet and doll shows, not to mention the children’s theatre, or the Spektakulum. The museums in this city have set as an aim to ensure that children learn in a playful and entertaining way, through a wide variety of specials and guided tours, so that they can say “Culture is cool”.

The river Rhine is accessible from almost everywhere in the city and attracts many skaters, cyclists and strollers to its banks. On the Rhine promenade, opposite the Oberkassel side of the Rhine, adults and children are flying their kites; inline skaters have free passage along the banks between Oberkassel and Heerdt. The Köln-Düsseldorfer and Weiße Flotte lines offer various round-trips in and around Düsseldorf for children and adults who have the heart of a sailor. Take a trip to Zons or Kaiserswerth, or simply enjoy the view of Düsseldorf from the Rhine!

Especially during the summer months, Unterbacher See is a popular destination for families: the lake covers 87 hectares, thus invites young and old alike for surfing, sailing, swimming or paddling. If you don’t want to get your feet wet, you can also walk or cycle along the paths on the banks. There are camping sites for staying overnight in Düsseldorf’s biggest recreational area, and if you get prior permission from the authorities, you can even have a barbecue.

There are six indoor swimming pools, four open-air pools and an adventure pool, for swimming, splashing, sliding – even if the weather gets wrong. All the indoor pools offer a family day ticket, with swimming courses for adults, children and young people. Some pools also have exercise programmes like baby swimming, aqua jogging, snorkelling or hydro power. Do your children like to play outside? In Düsseldorf, there are many playgrounds and recreational facilities where they can vent their energies – and parents can also get a bit of rest here. If you’d you like to show your children that cows are not purple as shown on the TV, bring them to one of the zoos, where they can observe, feed and pet the animals. And of course, there’s always the alternative of picnicking at some places nearby, but if you need to find a restaurant in the city, visit http://gastronomie.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/ (they have an English language site too).

For finding your accommodation in Düsseldorf, I’d recommend www.liligo.co.uk, you will find all the necessary info here, cheap flights, car rental possibilities and other useful things.

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