Hotel du Nord

Advantages: Beautifully filmed, poetic, magnificently acted masterpiece of cinema rarely matched today
Disadvantages: Nothing... genuinely nothing

...I first saw Hotel du Nord as part of a double bill with a film by Jean Renoir (I forget which - though I think the brilliant Le Crime De Monsieur Lange) and I was frankly going to see the Renoir film and thought, hmmm, I'll just have to sit through Hotel du Nord and grin and bear it. Something about the film just really didn't appeal. Then right from the opening shot that tracks down from the bridge over the canal Saint Martin and along the side of the canal to where the two lovers, played by Annabella and Jean-Pierre Aumont, settle against one another on a bench, despairing and apparently doomed I simply didn't look back. I couldn't. Since that Sunday afternoon I have always had something of a soft spot for Hotel du Nord. It is firmly placed in the traditional of French cinema of the thirties. Like his contemporaries, Renoir...

No_name 11.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Du Nord (Subtitled) (DVD)

Hotel Du NOrd, Interlaken

Advantages: excellent service, location
Disadvantages: none

......

mabi 18.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Du Nord, Interlaken

The Flying Archangel of Northern Russia

Advantages: Good service, good food, reliable.
Disadvantages: Poor check in, old aircraft

...Ever since I played the travel game "Go" as a kid, back in the 70s, I have always been fascinated by the idea that there is a city in northern Russia called Archangel - or Arkhangelsk, to give it the proper name. When I read the excellent thriller, Archangel, by Robert Harris, I decided that one day I must visit. And I still feel the same - I must get there one day. No, this rambling preamble is not to explain that I have been; that remains a vague note on my "must do, one day" list. But I have flown on their airline. Who are Aeroflot Nord? In 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up, Aeroflot was by far the largest airline in the world, as they were the sole operator of anything that flew in the Soviet Union - scheduled flights, government jets, air ambulances, even crop sprayers. As the Soviet Union fragmented, so too did...

Vodkaboy 24.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Aeroflot Nord

An Aural Nightmare

Advantages: Hugely atmospheric, original, well executed
Disadvantages: Its abstract nature will not be to everyones taste

...After the interesting if not wholly successful flirtiation with ambient/industrial that was their 2005 EP 'Thematic Emanations of Archetypal Multiplicity', the ever esoteric Blut Aus Nord collapsed in upon themselves once more with this, their 2006 full length 'MoRT'. Whilst some elements from the earlier EP do remain- the disturbing chanting, swathes of eerie feedback ambience and periods of silence, weird, lethargic, tortured riffs and meachanical, alien-sounding programmed drums that clatter and craw in the background like some ancient malfunctioning machine- 'MoRT' pushes this weirdness to a whole new level that has alienated and delighted the band's fans in equal measures. On the cover of the album (the version I have anyway) there can dimly be made out a severely decomposed figure slumped against the wall, with the word 'Mo...

Burning_Darkness 01.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mort - Blut Aus Nord

Oh la la the best in Calais by far

Advantages: Relaxing hotel, easy to get to
Disadvantages: maybe a little pricey

...I had to travel to Germany, in fact it was the furthest part of the old West Germany you could get to, so I needed to break my journey (after travelling from the West Country), just coming out of the Channel Tunnel, Calais seemed a good place to stop off over night. *** Where is it *** The Holiday Inn "Calais - Nord" is located just out of the centre of Calais near the car ferry port. So it is very convenient for both the Channel Tunnel and the ferry ports. It took me about 10 minutes to drive there from the Channel Tunnel. The hotel is located at 6/8/10 Boulevard des Allies 62100 Calais France Tel +33 321 34 6969 Fax + 33 321 97 0915 www.holiday-inn.com/calais-nord The hotel is very easy to find, in fact the directions on the Holiday Inn website are perfect. The hotel is located right next to the car ferry...

lazza123 13.03.2008 (25.03.2008) · Read review
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Review of Holiday Inn Calais Nord

Cheap and cheerful in Paris

Advantages: Well priced. Great location
Disadvantages: Basic hotel.

...I have stayed at the Hotel Aris Nord in Paris on a number of occasions. Whilst it is not a luxurious hotel it is functional, friendly and reasonable and I would highly recommend it. Location It is ideally located for Eurostar trips to Paris being about 5 minutes walk from the Gare du Nord. It is also 5 minutes walk away from Gare du L'est so is in easy reach of the Metro and mainline. The Rue du Fauborg is an exciting street (although quiet enough to sleep). It has many bars / restaurants along it. Due to this being an ethnic quarter of Paris there are many Indian / Albanian and other ethnic restaurants. Of course there are also the traditional french bars and brasseries selling steak, chips, red wine and beer. As these tend to be inhabited by the French rather than tourists they are reasonably priced. Price The hotel...

honey000 19.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Aris Nord, Paris

Exit (Towards the Asylum)

Advantages: Varied and atmospheric
Disadvantages: Industrial parts are a little generic sounding in places.

...Blut Aus Nord's 'Thematic Emanations of Archetypal Multiplicity' EP picks up where preceding full length 'The Work Which Transforms God' (2003) left off, opening with a lumbering, ominous intro that gives way to the dissonant strings, snaking, doomy riffs and slow mechanical drum beats of 'Level 1- (Nothing Is)', perhaps the best track on the album. Tension is built up then released in inharmonious bursts, accompanied by coarse, effect-heavy spoken word parts and ethereal wails and is indicative of the style Blut Aus Nord are to adopt on their following full-length M.O.R.T (2006). This is followed by a fairly conventional industrial track, 'Level 2 (Nothing is Not)', which consists of minimalist beats and a repetitive bassline that die away into a muted distant pulse mid-song before kicking back in. Whilst enjoyable enough, the track...

Burning_Darkness 12.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Thematic Emanation Of Archetypal Multiplicity - Blut Aus Nord

Black Hole Metal

Advantages: Hugely atmospheric, well crafted songs, well balanced as an album
Disadvantages: Disadvantages: May be a little too avant-garde for some

...Blut Aus Nord's fourth full length, 'The Work Which Transforms God', is a very alien and otherworldly sounding piece of black metal, which alternates dissonant crashing riffs and hammering rhythms with warped, drawn out cords and eerie, creeping drum beats. These are interspersed with ambient sections filled with ethereal keys and ominous bells alongside moments of pure silence. It fits together brilliantly as an album, evoking the nightmarish atmosphere of Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' one minute then sucking the listener into a black hole the next with a hurricane of cacophonous sound, before lurching into cold, despondent, riffs and plodding industrial beats suggestive of some ravaged future dystopia. The album is best listened to in its entirety, as the harsh and jarring sections balance out well with the open, lumbering parts...

Burning_Darkness 12.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Work Which Transforms God, The - Blut Aus Nord

Feel like an Englishman in Paris

Advantages: see text
Disadvantages: price

...HOTEL LIBERTEL TERMINUS NORD. Last week, I was sent to Paris for a course (yes, I am lucky sometimes). We had to stay overnight, so a hotel was booked. It was just opposite the station, Gare du Nord, where we arrived with the Eurostar ( pub cue: here you could read my op about, ding dong). So very convenient. The building and decoration are beautiful, in a Victorian style. There are 237 rooms well sized. Mine had 2 different areas : bedroom with 2 single bed together(?), side tables, cable TV, wardrobe and dressing table. There was a separate lounge with 2 armchairs, coffee table, desk and chair, mini-bar and a second wardrobe. It included all the usual commodities: coffee/tea facilities, toiletries, hairdryer, safe, telephone, double-glazing (centre of Paris, but you could not hear a fly). The bathroom was well lit...

carmen999 07.11.2001 · Read review
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Review of Libertel Terminus Nord, Paris

Typical Ibis

Advantages: The rooms and location
Disadvantages: Food, can not open windows

...Ibis hotel was opened in 1974 in Bordeaux. The first Ibis hotel opened in Romania in 2001, and we couldn't miss the chance to test it. The hotel is situated at only 200 m from the main railway station in Bucharest, Gara de Nord. Right across from the hotel there is a subway station as well as a tram station. I would recommend using the subway as it is the fastest way to move around, the trains are quite modern and they take you almost anywhere in the city. The trams might be an interesting way of traveling around for those who live in countries which took out the tram system and some lines are "fast trams" which means they have special tracks and normally do not get stuck in traffic. I think the worst way to travel in terms of how long is going to take you to get from A to B is by bus or car. The traffic is unbelievable and I know...

crisella74 13.10.2008 (20.02.2009) · Read review
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Review of Ibis Bucuresti Gara de Nord, Bucharest