September 1, 2010
Europe's UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Connecting With Our Past
The typical family vacation comes in all sorts and sizes but if you want to treat your family to something different, that’s a little harder. If you usually visit a vacation spot in the United States, try going international if you really want to be unique. With the availability of rush US passport services, even if you don’t have much time before your departure, you can get the necessary documents and be on your way.
There are so many sites all over the world that hold a very special significance for our history as humanity. UNESCO, or United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, labels these sites as World Heritage Sites. There are hundreds of these sites all over the world, and each is required to meet special criteria that make it a World Heritage Site. Europe is a country with very many of these sites. Due to its long history and countless cultural contributions, Europe's World Heritage Sites are definitely worth seeing first hand.
If you are going to take your family out of the country, each member will need a passport. A child’s passport is only good for five years so you many have need for a child US passport renewal form and they are readily available from the convenient location of your own home computer.
One of the neatest places to visit in Europe is the Archeological Site of Troy, the same Troy that Homer wrote about in his epic poems. Visiting this site means encountering some of the ancient connections to our past, as well as reliving some of the scenes from the famous epics. Many of the walls of Troy still stand and gazing over the plain of Ilium to the Aegean Sea takes you back to a time when fabled heroes fought to honor the gods.
Italy is the leader for number of World Heritage Sites at 44. As you can imagine, the number of cultural and natural wonders of this country are plenteous. One of these sites is the Rhaetian Railway, which is also shared with Switzerland. This railroad travels through mile-long tunnels, through snow-capped mountains, over huge canyons on viaducts, and through rolling green hills, giving a glimpse of some of the most picturesque landscapes on Earth.
Spain is a close second for number of World Heritage Sites with 41. Some of these sites include old cities, grand cathedrals, and beautiful natural national parks. Teide National Park is listed as one of the Twelve Wonders of Spain. Featuring a monstrous active volcano, this National Park is the most visited National Park in Spain.
Alta, Norway will provide the opportunity to visit one of the most interesting World Heritage Sites found in Europe. Our earliest ancestors dating back as far as 4200 BC created rock carvings and their prehistoric rock art can still be viewed at this location. While this is the best known, over 5000 examples of this type of prehistoric treasure can be found in numerous places in Europe detailing the everyday struggles of our ancient ancestors.
Traveling the world can provide an excellent opportunity for your and your family to enrich themselves with knowledge of mankind’s earliest beginnings. It also presents an opportunity to bonding relationships and creating memories but you have to have a passport to travel to Europe. If you require rush American passport services because you waited longer than you should have, or perhaps a babies passport renewal. Whatever your need, an online passport site can do all the work for you as you seek to open the windows of Europe and its World Heritage Sites to your family.