Archives: 2008 June

Austria is a landlocked country surrounded on all sides by other European and Eastern European countries which include Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The capital of this very beautiful and dramatic country is Vienna which is located on the banks of the River Danube.

However, along with the spectacular vistas that both Vienna and Salzburg offer this country has a lot more to offer its visitors. There are mountains, lakes and rivers where a variety of different outdoors activities take place from mountain climbing, to skiing and even kayaking.

When it comes to what time of year is best to visit this European country then it depends upon the kinds of activities you are looking to do. For example if you want to enjoy some hiking or mountain biking then summer is the best time. As for skiing and snowboarding well of course then the winter is the best time of the year to visit Austria.

The warmest months that Austria has occur between April and October, but these two months can be slightly cooler than the ones in between so bring some warm clothing if visiting at these times. For those who do not like it too hot then avoid the months of July and August as temperatures can become very high and unbearable in some cases. Plus you will also find that this is their high season and so prices on accommodation etc. are much higher.

When I think of Cuban cigars, I think of how hundreds of years ago it was discovered and officially discovered by Christopher Columbus. The history of Cuban cigars is just part of the whole deal and a very small part too.

Just look at how a Cuban cigar is cut before it is ready to be enjoyed by you and me. If you cut the cigar right, you’ll have a great time but if you mess up, than you are going to be in trouble. There are various ways of cutting your Cuban cigar, it all depends on what your style is and how you want to go about it.

Once you hold your cigar in your hand, have a look at both of the corners. You’ll notice once is open ended and one actually has a ‘cap’ on it. Now this is the place where you have to make that precise cut so you can draw on your Cuban cigars. Be careful as too deep of a cut can cause the wrapper to unload and than your cigar wont be so pleasurable.

You want to make sure that you never clip this part of the cigar off entirely as it will cause problems with unrolling, something that makes cigar smoking very unpleasant. You only really want to open up the end about 75% which typically leaves plenty of the cap to keep the cigar together properly.

If you ever get surrounded by a bunch of Cuban cigar lover, you’ll hear how much each of them enjoy them. The fact of the matter is each Cuban cigar is very unique, especially the taste. The tobacco used in Cuban cigars comes from pre-selected highly guarded areas within Cuba. These farms are known as Vegas de prima or best of the best. So when it comes to the taste, Cuban cigars range from mild to strong. The popular ones are mostly strong with aromas of wood, chocolate, pepper, vanilla and more. Please note these are not added flavors, its just the beauty of the tobacco that grows all around Cuba. A truly blessed country in this matter.

Yes their are not that many mild Cuban cigars but the ones like Fonseca are good to get started on. Since the best Cuban cigars are strong, the best thing is to climb up the ladder. Cuban cigars are ranked by other factors too such as gauge size, length and overall construction. Also 99% of the Cuban cigars made in the world are hand rolled. The Cuban tradition of hand rolling cigars goes centuries back and has hardly changed at all.