Journey Around the Globe [12] Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Aran Islands

A trio of islands sitting in the cold, northern waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Aran Islands are home to very few, but offer up a rich history stretching back several thousand years. Inishmore is the largest of the three, followed by Inishmaan and Inisheer. Accessible solely by ferry, the island is home to the fort of Dun Aengus and a series of ruinous stone churches (including Teampull Bheanáin, one of the oldest religious sites in Western Europe).

It's a forty minute boat ride from the mainland town of Rossaveal to Inishmore.

Answer: Amsterdam

While Amsterdam is one of the most important cities in The Netherlands due to its population, industry, and location, many of its outlying towns and cities also hold a rich history. Durgerdam, part of the town of Ransdorp and only a short distance from the capital in North Holland, is on the edge of the IJsselmeer, a man-made lake created with dykes and dams in North Holland.

While the province of North Holland reaches the furthest into the North Atlantic, it's not actually the northernmost region in The Netherlands-- that would be Groningen, on the German border.

Answer: Burkina Faso

Ouagadougou is, of course, the interestingly-named capital city of Burkina Faso, found in West Africa and surrounded almost entirely by savannah. While the Sahara borders the country to the north, the flat nation is still dry for most of the year, and most of its citizens actually live in the lands surrounding the centralized capital.

Originally known as Upper Volta prior to 1984, Burkina Faso was occupied by the French as early as the 1890s, influencing its culture into the present day. The country is also known for its significant gold mining.

Answer: Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, was founded in the 14th century, and most of its most famous landmarks can be found in Old Town. While St. Anne's Church is one of the most iconic Roman Catholic Gothic churches in Northern Europe, much of Old Town was influenced by Jewish heritage in its history. Along with the varied cathedrals of this city center, Old Town is also home to several palaces (including the Lithuanian Presidential Palace), Vilnius University's sprawling courtyards, and the original city wall, built to protect Vilnius from Crimean forces in the 1500s.

Answer: Adriatic Sea

Both Fort Bokar and Fort St. Lawrence flank the openings of the bay on which Dubrovnik sits, and they have for over five centuries, built to protect the Croatians from Roman invasion. Similar forts and walls can be found up and down the Adriatic coastline throughout the country.

While Dubrovnik is one of the most-visited locations on the coast, Croatia's capital is actually Zagreb, much further north and settled more than one thousand years earlier. The Adriatic Sea also makes up the coastline for Eastern Italy, Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, and about twenty kilometers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Answer: True

Sure enough, he was born just outside the town of Vinci in the Tuscany region of Italy. Known for its wine, rolling hills, and culture, Tuscany was the central home of the Italian Renaissance, much of which radiated out from the regional capital, Firenze, known to English-speakers as Florence.

While Da Vinci's alleged family farm can be found just outside Vinci proper, one can visit the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci within Vinci. It takes an hour to get there, northward, from Florence.

Answer: Mumbai

Kolkata is in West Bengal, Jodhpur is in Rajasthan, and Varanasi is in Uttar Pradesh, all different regions of India from Maharashtra. Mumbai (aka Bombay) is in Maharashtra, one of the largest states in the country, and it's home to one of the largest concentrations of population in India.

A coastal city, Mumbai's western edge sits on the Indian Ocean, much unlike the other major cities in the country. Nonetheless, Mumbai grew from its humble beginnings as a fishing village to become a metropolis. Aside from the traffic circle known as Kabootar Khana, Mumbai is also home to the Gateway of India, the Elephanta Caves, and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel...even though Agra is over twelve hundred kilometers northeast.

Answer: Osaka, Japan

The Umeda Sky Building-- actually two structures joined by a bridge at the top-- is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in Osaka, Japan, the second-largest city in the nation. From here, visitors can see across the skyline of Osaka to see Osaka Castle, Dōtonbori, and Nakanoshima Park.

The city is built around the edge of the Osaka Bay and, while the expectation would be that the city was built around the fishing industry, Osaka is actually better-known for being a major city for commerce and banking.

It has since become one of the most expensive cities to live in worldwide.

Answer: Taiwan

Found toward the northern edge of the island, Taipei is a metropolitan area founded within a dried-out lakebed in the nineteenth century. Now, Taipei is a major commercial city and home to millions. The island of Taiwan is quite small and, considering its location in the Pacific, it's often battered by typhoons during the rainy season. Nonetheless, the island is home to more than twenty million citizens, most of whom are of Chinese descent.

Originally known as Formosa, Taiwan is approximately one hundred miles off the coast of China.

The next-closest country, The Philippines, is more than three times that distance to the south.

Answer: Alaska

Kenai River, though shorter than many of the others in Alaska, is a popular chinook salmon run right outside the city of Anchorage, and 20-Mile Glacier, found right off the Seward Highway. Because of its isolation, Anchorage is a short ride away from many protected nature reserves and glacial lakes.

In fact, getting up to Anchorage is impossible by car-- you'd need to take a plane or a boat a great way from anywhere in the the U.S. or Canada to reach it. Just under half of Alaska's entire population calls Anchorage, and the surrounding wilderness, home.