Every day Lonely Planet’s Destination Editors scour the web and curate the top stories from around the world: today’s edition features Mongolian maps, Latvian flashmobs, bourbon tourism, Kenyan restaurants and illegal Irn Bru.
EUROPE
Stories by Lonely Planet’s Europe Destination Editors: Jo Cooke, James Smart, Brana Vladisavljevic, Kate Morgan and Gemma Graham.
Sarajevo at night. Photo: Gabriel Hess, CC BY-SA 2.0
Pope’s visit to Sarajevo for WWI anniversary not confirmed yet
There have been reports in Bosnian media that Pope Francis will visit the capital Sarajevo on 21 June, to send a message of peace on the centenary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which was the event that triggered the outbreak of WWI. The visit is unconfirmed at this stage, according to Cardinal Vinko Puljic. Source
Ibiza-bound flight just missed UFO
Flight data has revealed that a plane flying over Buckinghamshire in England just missed a silver, rugby-ball-shaped flying object last year. The flight, between Manchester and Ibiza, was flying at 10,000m when the pilot spotted the object, which has still not been identified. Source
London tube line shut after cement floods control room
London’s Victoria Line was part-suspended for most of yesterday afternoon after a signal control room was flooded with cement. Contractors were working on an upgrade to Victoria station at the time – pictures show cement filling the room and covering equipment. Service has now been restored. Source
Mild winter causes drop in tourist numbers at ski resorts across Balkans
Ski resorts in Romania, Bulgaria and Montenegro are suffering a sharp decline in tourist numbers in comparison with last year, as winter has been unusually mild in the region this year. Guests have been cancelling or rescheduling their reservations, and resorts are forced to use artificial snow. Source
Poets honoured in Azerbaijan
Two of Azerbaijan’s most famous poets have been honoured with cultural centres in Gəncə (Ganja), the country’s second largest city. The Nizami Ganjavi Museum and the Mahsati Ganjavi Center are now open to visitors, with exhibitions displaying books and monographs of the 12th century poets. Source
Flashmob in Riga to support people of Kyiv
Residents of Riga in Latvia are organising a flashmob outside the Ukranian embassy at 5pm today. Organisers are asking participants to wear blue and yellow (the colours of the Ukrainian flag) and stress that the demonstration will be peaceful and is being held to ‘support the ordinary people’ of Kyiv. Source
New express train from CDG airport to Paris
Plans for a new high-speed rail link between Charles de Gaulle airport and Gare d l’Est station in Paris have been given the go-ahead.The CDG Express will do the non-stop trip in 20 minutes, twice as fast as the current RER B suburban train, and is expected to cost around €24 for a one-way ticket. It’s due for completion in 2023. Source
Switzerland’s Grand Hotel Kronenhof rated as the world’s best
The results of TripAdvisor’s …read more