Bregenz is a city that is located in Austria and is the capital of the state of Vorarlberg. It is situated on Lake Constance’s eastern shore and is at the base of Pfander Mountain. This city covers an area of eleven square miles and has a population of twenty-seven thousand residents. Bregenz has a rich history that goes back thirty-five hundred years. Its first settlements go back to 1500 BC. During the fifth century BC, the Celts founded Brigantion, a settlement that was heavily fortified. Around 15 BC, the Romans conquered this city and it was turned into a Roman camp. Brigantium received municipal status in 50 AD and become the seat of the Roman admiralty for Constance Lake. In 260 AD, the city was destroyed by a Germanic tribe known as the Alemanni, who lived in the area until 450 AD. During the seventh century, St. Columbanus and Saint Gall did missionary work in Bregenz. From the tenth century the castle served as a home to the ruling dynasty of Vorarlberg, the Udalrichinger. The son of the first Ulrich was born in 947 and would go on to become St. Gebhard. St. Gebhard became the Bishop of Konstanz and would later become the patron of pregnant women.

The settlement then went through several historical events, begining with its sale in the fifteenth century to the Hapsburgs. It would remain under Bavarian rule from 1805 through 1814. In 1850, the harbor was constructed and later enlarged in 1883. In 1884, Austrian ship service was established. Today, the city of Bregenz is the seat of the provincial government of Vorarlberg. It is also home to most of the provinces authorities such as supervisor of the schools and police headquarters. Other government institutions in the city include Office for Environmental Protection, Chamber of Pharmacists, Economics Chamber, military regional headquarters, Chamber of Labour and the provinces sanitarium Landeskrankenhaus. Other public facilities in the city include Pfander mountain cable car system, Theater am Kornmarkt and Festival and Congress Center. The economy of Bregenz is dependant on small business in the trade, industrial and service sectors. Important industries in the city include iron works, textiles, machine construction and glass processing. The city is also dependant on its two tourist seasons. In the winter it is known for winter sports on Pfander Mountain, and in summer its known for its wide range of tourist attractions.

Bregenz has several landmarks located within the city. These include Lake Promenade, Martin’s Tower, the Art House, the Post Office Building and St. Gallus Church. In the upper part of town are several buildings which were built between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. These include the Martinsturm, parish church of St. Gall and Herz-Jesu parish church. Lower town attractions include Bregenz Town Hall, Seekapelle, Landhaus, Kornhausmarkt, Protestant church of the Sacred Cross, Tourismushaus Tourist Center, Cistercian monastery of Mehrerau, Maria Hilf parish church, Kunsthaus Bregenz and Hohenbregenz Fortress.

Another prominent attraction in Bregenz is the Voralberg Provincial Museum. The Voralberg Provincial Museum is situated on the northern side of Kommarktplatz in the city. The ground floor of the museum contains exhibits from the Stone, Iron and Bronze ages. It also contains Roman artifacts that were taken from various archaeological digs around the city. The next floor up is dedicated to the Gothic and Renaissance periods. Items that can be found here include weapons, armor, crafts, homestead items, costumes and musical instruments. The third floor contains more valuable items from these periods, as well as items taken from the Carolingian period. Items here include paintings, coins and metal work. A very popular attraction in the city is the Breganz Lake District. Around the lake are parks and musical pavilions where visitors can take a rest from the hustle and bustle of the city. To the south of the pavilions is a bathing area, tennis courts and a stadium. There is also a floating stage that has seating for over four thousand people. On the bank is Congress Hall and Festival Theater.

The Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is another attraction that must be seen while in Bregenz. This is a Cistercian monastery that is located on the outskirts of the city. The first monastery that was erected on this site was built by St. Columbanus in the seventh century. Not long after, a nunnery was built nearby. The monastery was reformed in the eleventh century by the monk Gottfried and the Rule of Saint Benedict was started. At the end of the eleventh century, the abbey was rebuilt once again by Count Ulrich. During the Reformation, the abbey was a staunch supported of Roman Catholicism in the state of Vorarlberg. The monastery suffered heavy damage during the Thirty Years War and after the war had to be once again reconstructed. By the eighteenth century, work on the monastery was complete, as well as the work on the monastic buildings surrounding it. The beginning of the nineteenth century saw the church closing its doors and many of is buildings sold at auction. In 1809, the church was torn down and the material used to build Lindau Harbor. In 1853, the buildings were bought from their previous owner by permission of Emperor Franz Joseph I. The following year, the Cistercian Abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau was reopened. That very same year a monastery school was also formed. Many of the monastic buildings were extended and in 1859, a new church was built.

Bregenz is also home to a number of pubs, restaurants and hotels. Popular restaurants in the city include the Tokyo japanisches Restaurant, Germania Viersternhotel, Matt Gasthof-Pension and the Neubeck Restaurant. Popular hotels in the city include the Hotel Kaiser, Messmer Hotel Am Kornmarkt Ges, Hotel Deutschmann, Hotel Germania & Steinenbach Kulinarium, Hotel Schwarzler, Hotel Mercure, Hotel Schwarzler and the Hotel Bodensee. The city is also home to a number of notable shops and two fairs which take place each summer and spring. The summer festival is known as the Bregenzer Festspiele and brings thousands of visitors to the city each and every year.

Jacksonville is the seat of Duval County, Florida and the largest city in the state. It covers an area of eight hundred and eighty-five square miles and has a population of over eight hundred thousand people. Jacksonville is located on the banks of St. John’s River and is twenty-five miles south of the Georgia border. It is also three hundred and forty miles north of Miami. Jacksonville’s economic strength comes through its diversity. Its economy is based on financial services, distribution, consumer good, biomedical technology and manufacturing.

Jacksonville can trace its history back to the sixteenth century, when the Spanish built a military establishment name Fort San Nicolas to protect their colony St. Augustine. In the eighteenth century, Florida was ceded to the British, who in turn handed the area back to the Spanish twenty years later. In 1791, a town called Cowford was established in what is now modern Jacksonville. In 1821, Florida was sold to the United States, and the following year Cowford was renamed Jacksonville. It was named after Andrew Jackson, who was the military governor of the Florida Territory. In 1832, Jacksonville was incorporated as a city. During the Civil War, the city was a supply point for cattle leaving Florida and giving aid to the Confederates. Most of the war saw Jacksonville encamped by Union forces who had a naval blockade of the city in effect. After the war, the city became a popular destination for the rich and famous during the winter. It lost some of its importance as a winter resort when the Florida East Coast railroad was extended to Palm Beach and Miami during the 1890s.

Today, Jacksonville is a major tourist destination. Each year the city receives over three million visitors who come to enjoy the history, nightlife and attractions that the city has to offer. One of the most popular attractions in the city is the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. This zoo is situated at the opening of the Trout River and sits on one hundred and ten acres of land. It has over two thousand animals in its collection and is considered to be one of the premiere attractions in the city. It originally opened in 1914 in the Springfield neighborhood of the city. In 1925, it was relocated to a thirty-seven acre site on the Trout River. Over the years, the zoo has continued to grow and feature a collection of animals that has progessively become larger. In 2003, the zoo was changed its name to Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Current exhibits of the zoo include African Exhibits, Plains of East Africa, River Valley Aviary, Giraffe Overlook, Elephant Plaza, Wild Florida, Great Apes of the World, Range of the Jaguar, Children’s Play Park, Australian Adventure, Asian Bamboo Garden, Stingray Bay, Komodo Dragon Exhibit, Monsoon Asia and Renovation of the Plains of East Africa. Animals included in the zoo’s collection include Southern Three-banded Armadillo, North American Black Bear, Slender-tailed Meerkat, Red-necked Wallaby, Dutch Belted Rabbits and Guinea Pigs. The botanical gardens exhibits include Gardens of Trout River Plaza, Savanna Blooms and Asian Bamboo Garden. Another popular attraction in the city is the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. This museum is dedicated to American and European paintings. It also contains a large collection of Meissen porcelain. This museum was founded in 1961 at the former residence of Arthur Cummer. The grounds has three flower gardens that date back to the beginning of the twentieth century. This museum contains over six thousand pieces of art in its collection.

Kingsley Plantation is another attraction that one shouldn’t miss during a trip to Jacksonville. This plantation was named after its original owner, Zephaniah Kingsley. It is situated at the tip of Fort George Island and is a part of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. At one point in time, the plantation covered an area of one thousand acres. Most of it has now been reclaimed by the forest, and it only consists of about sixty acres. The main house of the plantation is a two story home that was constructed in 1797. The house has a large center room and four one story pavilions located at each corner. Located on the estate are twenty-three of the original thirty two slave houses. These are situated about one thousand feet south of the main house. Only one of the cabins has been restored to its previous nineteenth century state, the other ones are in various stages of disrepair.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is one of the biggest contemporary art museum in the Southeastern portion of the United States. It was founded in 1924, as the Jacksonville Fine Arts Society. Twenty-four years later it was incorporated as the Jacksonville Art Museum. In 1978, it was accredited by the American Association of Museums. Exhibitions here include “The Shape Of Things: Selections From The Permanent Collection”, “Essence and Materials Works by Minoru Ohira”, “Coherent Structures Recent Silverpoint Paintings by Carol Prusa”, “Contemporary Visions A Focus on Jacksonville Collections”, “Ultra-Realistic Sculpture: By Marc Sijan” and “Raddle Cross & Dowsing Installations by Martha Whittington”.

Other popular attractions in the city of Jacksonville include the Museum of Southern History, Huguenot Memorial Park, Bird Emergency Aid and Kare Sanctuary, Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve, Little Talbot Island State Park, Cimarrone Golf Club, Bent Creek Golf Course, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra , Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Theatre Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, Marsh Landing Country Club, Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, The Champions Club at Julington Creek, Mandarin Museum, Windsor Parke Golf Club, Jacksonville Landing, Valley Course, Hyde Park Golf Club, Ortega River Nature Preserve, Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum, Alexander Brest Planetarium, Prime F. Osborn Convention Center, Fort Caroline National Memorial, Big Talbot Island State Park, Veterans Memorial Wall, Yellow Bluff Fort, Morocco Shrine Auditorium, Westside Regional Park, Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail, Museum of Science and History, River City Brewing Company, Great Florida Birding Trail, Edward Waters College, Jacksonville Municipal Stadiums, University of North Florida National Recreational Trails and Islands Initiative Preserve.

Kihei is a city located in Maui County, Hawaii. It covers an area of twelve square miles and has a population of almost sixteen thousand residents. The economy of Kihei hinges on two key areas, tourism and research. There are a number of research facilities which call the city home. These include Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, DEKALB Genetics Corporation, Monsanto, Air Force Maui Optical and Super Computing observatory, Maui Research and Technology Park, and the Maui High Performance Computing Center.

As of the 2000 census, Kihei had sixty-one hundred households and thirty-eight hundred families. The population density of the city sits at sixteen hundred people per square mile and nine hundred housing units per square mile. The ethnic diversity of the city can be broken down in the following manner: forty-eight percent are caucasian, three quarters of one percent are African Americans, half a percent are Native Americans, twenty-four percent are Asian, eight percent are Pacific Islander and sixteen percent two or more ethnicities. Hispanics make up seven and a half percent of the population. Of the sixty-one hundred households, thirty-two percent had children under the age of eighteen, forty-five percent are married living together, ten percent had females as the head of household with no partner present and thirty-eight percent were non-family members. The median household income in Kihei is $46,200 and the median family income is $50,700. Per Capita income was $21,500.

A popular attraction in the city of Kihei is Haleakala. Haleakala is an enormous shield volcano that makes up about seventy-five percent of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. Its name means “House of the Sun” in traditional Hawaiian, probably because the sun can be seen rising over the eastern portion of the mountain. The depression of the volcano is seven miles across, two miles wide and twenty-six hundred feet deep. It has seen significant volcanic activity over the last few milleniums and as recently as four hundred years ago. This activity has occurred over the southwest and eastern rift zones. These rift zones join together and form an arc that extends from Perouse Bay to Hana. Encompassing the crater is Haleakala National Park. This National State Park is composed up of thirty thousand acres of lush wilderness. Key features of the park include the Summit Area, Wilderness Area and Kipahulu Area.

Other prominent attractions in the city of Kihei include Waimoku Falls, Elleair Maui Golf Club, Palikea Stream, Blue Water Rafting, Maui Eco Tours, Kai Kanani, Pride of Maui, Prodiver Maui, Mike Severns Diving, Maui Dreams Dive Co., Maui Dive Shop, Kelii’s Kayak Tours, Maui Classic Charters, Maui Snorkel Tours, B&B Scuba, Seafire Snorkel Adventures, Boss Frog’s Dive & Surf, South Pacific Kayaks & Outfitters, Dive & Sea Maui, Ed Robinson’s Diving Adventures , Wailea Watersports, Makena Stables, Makena Kayak & Tours, Lani Massage and Spa, The Scuba Shack, Sanctuary Education Center, Kihei Beach Resort, Shaka Divers and Spa Kea Lani. Hotels and restaurants in the city include Da Kitchen, Five Palms Restaurant, Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar, Sarento’s On the Beach, Sea Watch Restaurant, Lulu’s Restaurant, Stella Blues Cafe, Hale Kamaole Condominium, Aston Hotels & Resorts, Sunseeker Hotel-North Kihei, Sugar Beach Resort, Hotel Wailea, Maui Coast Hotel and Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa.
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Manila is one of seventeen cities that make up the area of Metro Manila and is the capital of the Philippines. It covers an area of fifteen square miles and has a population of over one and a half million people. Manila is the eleventh largest metropolitan area in the world and the fifth largest urban area in the world as classified by population. The city also happens to be one of the most densely populated urban areas on the face of the planet. Manila is about four hundred and fifty miles southeast of Hong Kong, more than a thousand miles northeast of Kuala Lumpur and twelve hundred miles northeast of Singapore. The city is borded by a number of cities in the metropolitan area. These include Caloocan and Navotas to the north, Mandaluyong and San Juan to the east, and Pasay to the south. The city of Manila was the colonial seat of Spain for over three centuries. Between 1762 and 1764, the British Empire controlled the city. During this time, Manila was the capital of the Philippines. In 1899, the United States purchased the Philippines from Spain.

The educational needs of the city is serviced by several institutions of higher learning. These include the University of the Philippines, Philippine Women’s University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, University of Santo Tomas, San Beda College, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Adamson University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Philippine Normal University, Emilio Aguinaldo College, University of the East, Mapúa Institute of Technology, College of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Technological University of the Philippines, Centro Escolar University, Far Eastern University, San Sebastian College, Philippine Christian University and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila at Intramuros.

Manila has a strong and diverse economy. Manufacturing activities in the city include electronics, clothing, textiles and chemicals. Other industries in the city include iron, steel, shoe manufacturing, food production, tobacco and leather products. Because of its enclosed harbor, the city is also the country’s main sea port. Manila is also the publishing hub for the entire country. One of the city’s strongest economic activities however, is tourism. Due to the natural beauty of the country, its rich cultural heritage and the many attractions that are located in the city, Manila attracts over one million tourists each year. The city also has a population rate that is growing at a high rate, and Manila’s population is expected to exceed the population of Singapore by the year 2020.

A popular attraction in Manila is San Agustin Church. San Agustin Church is a Roman Catholic church that was built in 1607, making it the oldest church in the country. This church is two hundred and one feet long, and seventy-five feet wide. The facade is simple, but has Baroque touches added. In the courtyard of the church are lion sculptures made of granite. The inside of the church is shaped like a Latin cross and the church has fourteen side chapels. The ceiling was painted in 1875 by Giovanni Dibella and Cesare Alberoni. Also located in the church are the tombs of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo.

Another prominent attraction in the city of Manila is Fort Santiago. This fort was built by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a Spanish conquistador. This fort was built on the ruins of the palace of a Muslim chieftain named Rajah Suleiman. When the Spanish entered the area, they engaged in several battles with the Islamic natives and the Spanish ended up destroying the palace in 1570. A year later, Fort Santiago was erected. The original fort was composed of logs and earth. It was destroyed during the Spanish Chinese War. In 1589, Fort Santiago was rebuilt, this time using stone. It was completed within three years. Santiago Fort has twenty-two feet high walls that are eight feet thick. The fort has a entrance that is forty feet high.

Avilon Zoo is another must see attraction in Manila. This zoo was opened in 2003 and is situated on seven and a half hectares of land. The zoo has over three thousand animals taken from six hundred species. Avilon Zoo has multiple departments which include Herpetology, Arachnology, Ichthyology, Ornithology, Mammalogy, Wildlife Nursery, Rearing Department, Veterinary Medicine, Quarantine Department, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Animal Nutrition Department and the Leisure and Recreation Department. Animals that are located at this zoo include Civet Cats, Philippine Pond Turtles, Canadian Bobcats, Argentinean Capybaras, Malaysian Tapirs, Luzon Cloud Rats, Mindanao Hornbills, Palawan Porcupines, Burmese Rock Pythons, Orangutans, Tigers, Mouse Deer, Tarantulas, Palawan Badgers, Philippine Sail-fin Lizards and Palawan Pangolin.

A popular attraction in the city is the Manila Ocean Park. This park was built in 2008 and has an eighty-six thousand square foot oceanarium. It also has an eighty-two foot underwater acrylic tunnel that allows visitors to get up close and personal with the fish. Exhibits located here include Agos-a rainforest exhibit with eight freshwater tanks, Bahura-an exhibit featuring artificial coral reefs in forty-eight tanks, Laot-an exhibit that has a long tank containing sting rays, Kalaliman-an exhibit that contains native marine animals of the Philippines, Pating-a shark exhibit, and Buhay na Karagatan. Buhay na Karagatan is the key feature of the oceanarium and has a seventy-five foot tunnel with a two hundred and twenty degree curved acrylic walls.

Other attractions in the city include Corregidor Island, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Robinsons Place Mall, Quiapo Church, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Monastery of Saint Agustin, Old Congress Building, Malate Church, Greenbelt Park, Coconut Palace, Manila Bay, San Miguel Church, Pistang Pilipino, Binondo Church, Intramuros, National Museum of the Philippines, Father Blanco’s Garden, Museo Pambata, Manila Cathedral, Paco Park, San Sebastian Church, Club Intramuros Golf Course, Remedios Circle, Hidden Valley Tour, Pasig River, Malacanang Palace & Museum, Mindoro Beach, Santuario de San Antonio, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Taal Volcano, Philippine International Convention Center, Everest Hills Memorial Park and Manila Hotel.