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Up Helly Aa: Shetland's Viking fire festival http://bit.ly/2DlQQb0

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Up Helly Aa: Shetland's Viking fire festival

Standing almost horizontal against gale-force winds and the sort of rain that makes you want you 'd spent your life savings on waterproofs, I begin to question my intentions for checking out Shetland in January. I'm pressed up against a cold stone wall, counting down the minutes.

The climax of Shetland's Up Helly Aa festival includes the burning of a Viking longship © Andy Buchanan/ Getty Images

Suddenly all the streetlights are snuffed out and the tiny town of Jeff J Mitchell/ Getty Images You can hardly imagine a more proper setting for a Viking fire festival. Yet the event as we understand it today does not date from the late 8th century, when the Vikings rushed ashore, swords and spears in hand. It is, as Lerwick regional Trevor Jamieson describes, a fairly contemporary invention.When not masterfully playing the banjo in the Up Helly Aa band, Jamieson works at the Shetland Museum & Archives and is a walking exhibit on all things Shetland.'The parade and the torches, that's just the pointer of the iceberg,'he states.'Up Helly Aa has to do with more than the Vikings and fire, it's about the neighborhood. 'Up Helly Aa reaches into the past and throughout generations © Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images The origins of Up Helly Aa date back only to the early 1800s. At this time, the festival was more like one

big Christmas knees-up, with Shetlanders taking to the streets to drink, dance, set barrels of tar on fire and roll them through the streets. Naturally, as time used on authorities could no longer disregard the dangers associated with unruly flaming objects steered by folk under the impact, and a modification was called for. In 1870 a group of young Lerwegians increased to the challenge, reforming this night of celebration into an arranged event, pressing the go back to the last Tuesday of January and emphasizing the Viking elements and theatrics that now attract visitors from throughout the world.The heart of Up Helly Aa For all its global fame, locals are still the beating heart of Up Helly Aa. A couple of days before the festival I get a sneak peek of the Viking galley(longship )as it gets its last licks of

paint from a dedicated team of slightly hungover chaps, quiting their Saturdays at a time when any normal animal would still remain in bed. The galley shed is packed with over 1000 torches, all handmade by local volunteers.'There's very little going on in winter season so it offers us a sense of function, something to do,'describes one bearded onlooker. And between the sheer volume of props and event logistics it seems there is a horrible lot to do, and a small army of residents behind it. Volunteers put the final touches to the replica Viking galley © Louise Bastock/ Lonely World I'm presented to Robert Geddes, Secretary of the Up Helly Aa Committee. His enthusiasm for the festival is transmittable, and he discusses that it's an important part of regional life.' Kids discover the celebration from when they're about three,

making helmets and shields in school, 'he states,'so they're a part of it from an early age.' Beyond his Up Helly Aa responsibilities, Geddes runs the regional leisure centre in Lerwick( though it's difficult to imagine a male who looks like the descendant of a Viking king reserving squash courts ), and he associates much of the ongoing success of the celebration to its cooperative relationship with regional businesses. 'Organisations fund it,' he discusses,'however they get back from it through the tourism and economy that the festival draws in. That method it offers everyone a sense of ownership.'The entire town fires up On the day of the celebration this belief proves out. Throughout Lerwick the excitement is palpable as countless locals and visitors flood the streets to follow the Jarl Team's very first march around town. Throughout the day's lineup of media event and

pleased, axe-wielding

roaring, the Jarl Team will check out local schools, medical facilities and care houses to bring a piece of the action to those who might not have the ability to make it out in person. But it's the events after dark that really set the town abuzz, and have regional merchants selling out of the essential fight gear for tonight's spectators. The Guizer Jarl provides the Expense for the festival, which mixes useful details with regional satire © Louise Bastock/ Lonely World No matter where you stake your pitch, each people going head-to-head with the components has a front-row ticket for the best bonfire show in

the world. As the legions of torch-bearers stream past, it's as though the entire town is ablaze. A heady odor of paraffin swallows up the crowd

as the wind whips at the torches, showering us with stimulates that tumble like irregular Catherine wheels. The cacophony of cheers and bellows echoes around the streets, culminating in a swirling mass of fire as the marchers turn off the roadway and start circling around the galley, which has actually come to its final resting place in a walled park in the middle of the town.By day this area is a children's play location, however tonight it has the feel of a battle arena from Video game of Thrones. The drum beat heightens, the singing reaches fever pitch and the torches are held aloft, poised to send the galley to Valhalla. Exit the dragon: the galley meets its intense doom in a Lerwick play ground © Jeff J Mitchell/ Getty Images The blaze sets everybody within a 10m radius steaming and we're all advised that we're adhered the bone. Revellers discover respite in the warmth of the halls. Occupying regional leisure areas, town halls and school gymnasiums, these are

a nod to the old tradition of open houses. Today, the same concepts still apply: we are fed and watered, and

captivated by each squad of guys from in the procession-- a particular emphasize is watching a group of blokes dressed as Mrs Brown's Boys gyrating to a Pussycat Dolls song. After the spoofs, the entire hall-- dolled-up teens and all-- gets up to dance a conventional Scottish ceilidh. The live band strikes a jubilant chord and the party-goers are swept into a stepping, whooping swirl-- it's wonderful to see all ages of the neighborhood enjoying this local tradition.The vision of the festival developed by those young Lerwegians who connected together old and brand-new in the late 1800s still sounds true today-- and the outcome is stunning. Encapsulating the fascinating Viking heritage of Shetland and embodying the belief of the people who call this remote archipelago home, Up Helly Aa brings light and heat to a dark time of year. Its traditions may not extend that far back-- and it's difficult not to observe the limited existence of women in the festivities-- however the passion and dedication of the neighborhood for this event runs deep. You 'd like to envision a celebration that prioritises its people can only grow into something more brilliant as brand-new generations of Lerwegians take the reins.Louise took a trip to Shetland with support from Check out Scotland. Lonely World factors do not accept giveaways in exchange for favorable protection.

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Día de Muertos: dancing with the dead in Mexico http://bit.ly/2MRaIqK

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Día de Muertos: dancing with the dead in Mexico

Visitors headed to Mexico at the start of November utilized to be startled and amazed by at sight of streets adorned with apparently macabre decorations. City streets would come to life with papier-mâché skeletons, kids eating sweet skulls, shops selling marzipan coffins and residents going about their days dressed in skeleton costumes.Today, however, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of the main factors people flock to this Mexico this time of year. The annual occasion is a remembrance of departed souls, encapsulating the country's upbeat treatment of immortality and making it one of the world's most universally familiar festivals. And as strange as the vacation may sound to newbies, Mexicans and visitors alike take this occasion as a time to commemorate life, too. The event is complete of music, food and household, and has actually even been designated an 'intangible cultural heritage' by Unesco since 2003.

The elaborately costumed revelry of Día de Muertos even reaches Mexico's

cemeteries © MARIO VAZQUEZ/ Getty Images The Día de Muertos custom In a belief system acquired from the Aztecs, Mexicans think their dead are prowling in Mictlan, a kind of spiritual waiting room, and they can return to their houses at this time of year. It initially fell around August, but the Christian conquistadors, intending to take in the heathen holiday through their favoured technique of cultural mestizaje (mixing), moved it to the day after All Saints' Day.While Día

de Muertos takes location on the night of 1 Nov on through the next day, festivities celebrating the event can last a complete week starting in October. In Mexico City, for example, locals take part in a vibrant parade called Grand Procession of the Catrinas. These parades highlight the vacation's most popular skeleton character (who represents an artfully aristocratic variation of Death herself popularized in art by Diego Rivera) called La Calavera Catrina, in late October as a lead-in to primary occasions.

Día de muertos altar with pan de muerto © Romana Lilic/ Getty Images How residents get ready for the holiday

To prepare for Día de Muertos, households make ways to assist spirits find their way house and be welcomed, beginning with an arch made from bright-yellow marigolds-- a symbolic entrance from the underworld. An altar is set up and piled high with offerings to the undetectable visitors: flowers, ribbons, coloured candle lights, tamales (steam-cooked cornmeal dough), fruit and corn. 2 essential additions are a container of water (spirits show up thirsty after their journey), and pan de muerto (bread of the dead). This loaf is made with egg yolks, fruits and tequila or mezcal, and is decorated with, or shaped as, a sign of death. Families also cook the preferred meals of their deceased liked ones.The occasion

climaxes with a visit to the cemetery. There may be a funfair en route, with neon-lit trips and stands selling crucifix waffles and cooked cactus treats. Households will devote a day to cleaning up the graves, embellishing them with candles and flores del cempasúchil (marigold flowers of the dead), having picnics and dancing to mariachi bands. By now, the streets have lots of papier-mâché and papel picado skeletons in dresses, jewellery, flowery boas and hats. A cigarette dangles jauntily from a white hand, a hoop earring hangs versus a bare jawbone.

2016's parade in Mexico City © SEASTOCK/ Getty Images

Explore the vacation in southern Mexico

While typically Día de Muertos is a family-oriented celebration, massive events take location all over the country. Their heartland is southern Mexico, where indigenous culture is strongest. Mixquic, a city that was once part of the Aztec empire and lies southeast of

Northern Mexico spots for celebrations

If you do find yourself north of the country's capital, head to Mérida(in Yucatán)and Pac Chen in(Quintana Roo) are not to be missed out on. Pac Chen hosts a parade called Paseo de las ánimas or Passage of the Souls, in which more than 50,000 individuals collect to recreate a path that souls take in the city, numerous altars positioned along the method. You have to work hard to reach little villages and arrange accommodation there

, it's worth getting out of the main towns and cities to capture more standard celebrations. Numerous indigenous towns will celebrate Día de Muertos quite differently, however the differences typically boils down to what offerings are positioned at the altar-- from religious images to mezcal. No matter where you decide to commemorate this distinctive custom, however, you're bound to have an extraordinary experience.

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Ask Lonely World: which Croatian island is right for me? http://bit.ly/2UG4cWj

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Ask Lonely World: which Croatian island is right for me?

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Lonely Planet's best city to visit in 2018 http://bit.ly/2WIwTUH

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Lonely Planet's best city to visit in 2018

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Dazzling designs: top 10 cities for architecture lovers – Lonely Planet http://bit.ly/2WFXcea

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Dazzling designs: top 10 cities for architecture lovers – Lonely Planet

Do flying buttresses, art deco curves and Cor-ten make you weak at the knees? If architecture's your thing you'll appreciate simply just how much influence it has on a city's character. It reflects the ideology of a location at a particular point in history, demonstrates its pioneering spirit, and at times, ends up being the sign of the city-- simply think about the Eiffel Tower.The architecture of Paris, New York and London often gets all the limelight, so here are a few options and why you should visit them. Your eyes will be drawn skywards inside the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona © Stefan Cioata/ Getty Images Barcelona for the vibrant, sculptural developments

of Antoni GaudíOver 2000 years of architectural history litter the streets of Barcelona where Roman ruins and Gothic cathedrals blend with the whimsical, undulating styles of Catalan modernist Antoni Gaudí. Distinguished for his usage of natural kinds and flamboyant colours, his unfinished work of art, La Sagrada Familia, is still taking shape 130 years after it was started. This giant, dream-like basilica is a trippy tangle of organic shapes that breaks all architectural moulds. Wander about the city to see more of his developments such as Casa Batlló and Park Güell. Top pointer: See Gaudí's operate in design by taking in a summer show on the roof of La Pedrera. Chicago, home of the skyscraper, as seen from

street level © joe daniel rate/ Getty Images Chicago for architectural development The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 destroyed the majority of the city's downtown and paved the method for the construction of the world's first skyscraper, the 10-storey Home Insurance Building. Considering that then, Aqua Tower and the geometric glass of the Spertus Institute.

Leading tip: Purchase a beverage on the 96th floor Signature Lounge of Blue Mosque and the Topkapı Palace, when the heart of the Ottoman Empire.Top pointer: Head for

a rooftop bar at sunset to see the city's magnificent horizon at its best. Book ahead and show up early to check out the Colosseum when it's reasonably crowd complimentary © Piotr Jaczewski/ Getty Images Rome for classical elegance and resourcefulness Awash with ancient ruins and Renaissance churches, Rome is house to some of the most significant and influential buildings in the Western world. Wander around the Colosseum and Palatine Hill for a sense of ancient power and glory. Admire the ingenuity of the Pantheon, a 2000-year-old engineering masterpiece, pressure your neck as you appreciate the work of Michelangelo and Bernini in St Peter's Basilica or simply walk the streets and come across many Baroque palaces and flamboyant fountains.Top suggestion: Avoid the Colosseum lines by purchasing your ticket at the Imperial Fora and utilizing the automated ticket barrier rather. India's busiest train station is an architectural gem © Tuul & Bruno Morandi/ Getty Images Mumbai for colonial-era grandeur

Mumbai's architecture is as eclectic and flamboyant as the city. Its temples, mosques and synagogues mix with flashing tower blocks, art deco cinemas and glorious Victorian-era monoliths of colonial luxury. It's these neo-Gothic and Indo-Saracenic structures that give Mumbai its architectural aplomb and most famous of all is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai's greatest museum, or afternoon tea at the Taj Mahal Palace.Top tip: Walk through the High Court where robed barristers include pomp to the grand Gothic-revival structure.

Art deco and blue skies make the

perfect mix in Miami © pidjoe/ Getty Images Miami for art deco extravagance Set against blue skies and swaying palms, the art deco estates of warm Shanghai Tower. Glittering tower blocks spread in every direction, the most obvious the neo-futurist Shanghai World Financial Centre. Back on the ground look for out the Mountain range Museum with its root-like outside and the Asian Art Centre with its interconnecting hemispherical petals.Top idea: To sample Chinese deco in style have a drink in the Long Bar at the Waldorf Astoria. The stained-glass roofing system of the Catedral Metropolitana is a divine sight © Ingolf Pompe/ LOOK-foto/ Getty Images Brasília, a prepared vision of the future The creation

of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, Brasília is a wonderful experiment in late '50s modernism. Niemeyer's vision of the future centres on the arresting, crown-like Catedral Metropolitana. Its 16 parabolic concrete columns reach for the sky as you sit listed below ground surrounded by soaring stained-glass windows opening to the heavens. Nearby, the half-dome Museu Nacional would not look out of location on a sci-fi movie set, while the 3 Powers Square originates benign authority in the striking judicial, presidential and congressional buildings.Top tip: See inside the Palacio da Avarado, the president's main home and Niemeyer's many gorgeous creation, on Wednesday afternoon trips.

The Flame Towers are an exceptional addition to the Baku horizon © Saiko3p/ Getty Images

Baku for ancient lanes and postmodern wonders

The capital of Azerbaijan, Maiden's Tower before heading for the city's star attraction, Zaha Hadid's sinuous Heydar Әliyev Cultural Centre which increases flawlessly from a big plaza into a fancy series of shape-shifting folds.

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Discover Nuuk, Greenland's blossoming capital city http://bit.ly/2RBzs7f

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Discover Nuuk, Greenland's blossoming capital city

Greenland's capital, Nuuk, is frequently forgotten by visitors who are keen to explore the area's popular glaciers and ice fields. While it holds true that Nuuk is house to long home blocks and commercial buildings, it is presently experiencing a revival, with gourmet restaurants, style stores and edgy architecture springing up around the city.

From contemporary, northern lights-- inspired edifices, to haute cuisine prepared using natural regional active ingredients, Nuuk is quickly shedding its old image and changing into an up-and-coming Nordic cultural capital.

New Nordic cuisine served at Sarfalik © Nellie Huang/ Lonely World Admire avant garde architecture In the middle of the traditional Scandinavian gable-roofed houses of downtown Nuuk stand several newly-built glass-walled buildings that give the city a fresh brand-new look. The launching herown line, and lastly pushed herself to do it after conquering cancer. Visit her boutique 3900 FUTURE (Aqqusinersuaq 1-3 )for garments with Inuit patterns and northern lights styles. Nuuk Couture items on screen at 3900 FUTURE © Nellie

Huang/ Lonely Planet Go beer tasting Beer lovers can take a trip of Godthaab Bryghus and down some of its best brews. The island's oldest and biggest brewery has actually been creating some of the most popular beers in Greenland considering that 2006. Jörg-Erich Sennhenn, the lead brewmaster at Godthaab, will take you on a journey from the start to the end of the beer-making procedure. At numerous stages, you'll get to taste each of the five different beers they produce: consisting of the Godthaab Classic Bâja and the sweet Pullartat champagne beer.Try nouvelle cuisine, Greenland style Greenland's culinary landscape has actually changed drastically since the arrival of a number of gourmet dining establishments in Nuuk.Sarfalik is one fine example, serving New Nordic cuisine using Greenland's natural fruit and vegetables. The fine-dining restaurant's(6 hours)and Keflavik, Iceland (3 hours) direct to Nuuk. The airport is 4km from town; bus number 3 ranges from the airport to the city centre every hour and costs 15 DKK one way.The most upscale hotel in town is Hotel Hans Egede, a slick company hotel in the very centre of Nuuk, just steps far from several dining establishments and bars.

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Best brand-new places for travellers to stay in 2018-- Lonesome Planet http://bit.ly/2Rw80HR

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Best brand-new places for travellers to stay in 2018-- Lonesome Planet http://bit.ly/2RAG4Tm

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Cumberland Path Hiking Series returning after last year's success|Times Free Press http://bit.ly/2G0HDsh

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9 Delaware Trails That Will Take You Off The Grid http://bit.ly/2G61x58

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Why I Endanger My Kids in the Wilderness (Even Though It Scares the Sh!t Out of Me) | The Big Outside http://bit.ly/2UzsrW3