Last minute hotel apps

A visit to an ice hotel isn't exactly the first choice if you prefer to spend your holidays under palm trees in warmer climes. But if you can manage to overcome your fear of freezing, you'll be rewarded with a unique natural experience. Visitors to this hotel spend the night amid ice and snow around 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, in the Swedish locality of Jukkasjärvi. Ice-cold experience: A night in the Icehotel DW reporter Hendrik Welling found out what that feels like. For the "Europe to the Maxx" in DW's magazine "Euromaxx," he regularly explores places in Europe that hold a record all their own. He traveled to Europe's oldest ice hotel in Sweden. Even the journey by snowmobile through the frozen landscape was a bit of an adventure. Find out how he experienced the night in sub-zero temperatures ― and whether he was lucky enough to see the famous northern lights ― in the video. From art gallery to hotel Everything began in 1989, with an … [Read more...] about A night in an ice hotel

Brits are racing to raise their green credentials as eco-conscious lifestyles replace traditional status symbols - with having a vegetable patch a bigger aspiration than a luxury holiday, according to a study. Research polling 2,000 Brits found having an electric vehicle on the drive (22 per cent), a compost heap (15 per cent) and a vegetable patch (24 per cent) are among the top things adults currently aspire to. But only six per cent would like to own an expensive handbag or piece of jewellery and just nine per cent long for a swimming pool at home. Being able to say you use mostly or only renewable energy is the biggest aspiration for green Brits, followed by having a low carbon footprint. A spokesperson for Bulb, which commissioned the research, said: "It's fantastic that so many of us are looking to more sustainable lifestyles to help protect the planet for future generations." It also emerged 62 per cent feel that being environmentally conscious is more important than … [Read more...] about Vegetable patch bigger status symbol than luxury holiday for eco-conscious Brits

A British photographer has achieved his "Holy Grail" of capturing the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, over an erupting volcano in Iceland. Max Milligan, 56, braved boiling lava, noxious gases and temperatures of up to 1200C (2192F) but the travel book photographer's results are as spectacular as the story that goes with them. Mr Milligan had to attach himself to a search and rescue team and wait until everyone else had been cleared out of the area on the night in question and he was the only photographer left. Having been allowed back up to the mountain by the team, he managed to catch the picture he really wanted at 2.58am, just a couple of minutes before it became too light and the chance was gone. Mr Milligan said: "It was my holy grail and it was so dark, I didn't know I'd got it until about 24 hours later when I uploaded it to a laptop." Advertisement He waited, he said, "six years for an eruption and six weeks [after arriving in Iceland] … [Read more...] about Photographer captures his ‘Holy Grail’ of the Northern Lights over an erupting volcano

A MARRIED police officer who was caught organising an affair with his cop lover will be allowed to keep his job after a misconduct probe. Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp was organising a hotel fling with married officer Rachael Johnson over the phone, when her fellow cop husband heard the saucy conversation via a doorbell camera. Sergeant Ross Johnson, 40, then confronted Mr Kemp and reported him to other senior officers at Surrey Police . Now Mr Kemp, 48, has been given a final chance after apologising to a misconduct panel, it was revealed today. Mrs Johnson worked on personnel matters and criminal justice in the Surrey Police force and was understood to have been honest about her relationship with Mr Kemp, following confrontations by her heartbroken husband. Having failed to disclose the sordid affair against police policy which could have caused a "conflict of interest," an independent panel concluded that Surrey Police Deputy Chief Constable Mr Kemp HAD breached … [Read more...] about Married police officer caught organising affair with cop lover on doorbell camera KEEPS his job after misconduct probe

RUSSIA deployed a "decoy army" of inflatable tanks, missiles and fighter jets to "trick the West" amid Ukraine tensions. The superpower's blow-up army was used for nation-wide military exercises. Putin's decoys, which can inflate within minutes, were seen in woods close to the capital city Moscow this week. The army said: “The inflatable equipment is nearly identical to the original thanks to the use of special materials. "It also has the same radiation background so that an enemy does not notice the deception.” Rusbal, the company behind the blow-up forces, said the cost of fooling the enemy is a fraction of buying the real weaponry. Among the armoury is what looks like a MiG-31 and Su-27 fighters under the cover of an anti-aircraft missile system at a mock covert airfield in the forest. A report on the Russian Defence Ministry's TV channel Zvezda said: “Tanks, aviation and air defence systems were moved to Moscow region so that ‘an enemy’ had a chance not only … [Read more...] about Russia deploys ‘decoy army’ of inflatable tanks, missiles & fighter jets to ‘trick the West’ amid Ukraine tensions