7 . The number one thing you'll probably do is book your flight if you want to travel to another country. But in some countries, you won't be able to fly directly.

Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, as a 109-acre area in the middle of Rome, doesn't have its own airport, but visitors can easily get there via Italy's capital.

Similarly, San Marino, the fifth smallest country in the world, is also surrounded by Italian land. It has a population of a little more than 33,000 and sits just nine miles from Federico Fellini International Airport in Rimini, Italy.

The second-smallest country in the world is Monaco, with a population of more than 38, 500. To get there, you'll have to go through France's Nice Cote d' Azur Airport, which is just a 25-minute car ride away from Monaco. Perhaps that's why developers didn't bother creating anything like a short flight.

Interestingly enough, the third and fourth smallest countries, Nauru and Tuvalu have their own airports, but the fifth and sixth smallest don't We already mentioned San Marino, and to get to Liechtenstein, you'll have to go through Switzerland's St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport, 24 miles away from the capital.

No such luck trying to fly into Andorra, which only requires a 25-mile drive to get from one end of the country to the other. Situated in a mountain range valley, Andorra has too much difficulty in building an airport runway. But for visitors there is no difficulty in going Andorra. Both Spain and France have access to Andorra. The closest way to Andorra's capital is Girona-Costa Brava Airport in Spain.

8 . A solar-powered car that can be charged as it runs is being tested in Germany.

Munich-based manufacturer(制造商)Sono Motors has built the new type, named Sion, and will likely help the European powerhouse hit its national target of 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020.

Sono Motors has solar cells fixed into Sion’s bodywork, with a total of 330 solar cells built into the roof, bonnet and sides of the vehicle. These enable the vehicle’s battery to be charged when sunlight is hitting the solar cells, whether it is on the road, or parked in the sunny spot in a car park.

The solar-powered vehicle is set to be launched in Germany in 2019.

Sono Motors wants Sion to be universal and allows the car to be charged using solar energy as well as conventional outlets(电源插座), so car owners aren’t left on cloudy days.

The firm has made a 2019 date for mass production, which will be undertaken(承担) by a European manufacturer. Some 6,500 people have already placed orders for the electric vehicle. Prices for Sion tend to start from € 16,000 next year. The all-electric vehicle will offer a range of around 250 km before the battery runs out completely and it needs recharging either by solar power or using a wall plug, the company said.

Sion was designed originally as an environmentally conscious car, but will also include a number of features designed around comfort to help it compete with other modern vehicles.

“We have a seat heater, air conditioning, and a large entertainment system where I can also connect my phone, which means I really have a full vehicle,” Laurin Hahn, co-founder of the company told Reuters.

9 . Increasing numbers of airports, especially in Europe, are promoting a “silent airport” idea. It is to reduce noise pollution, such as airport-wide announcements, without sacrificing timely and helpful updates of information.

International airports were once characterized by their high voices, competing gate announcements and so on. This is all changing. Angela Gittens, director general of Airports Council International (ACI), says there is a growing desire among airports and airlines they serve to create a calm, relaxed atmosphere without being disturbed by announcements. “Passengers can relax while they wait for their flight to board in the common airside lounges(休闲区), and food and drink areas,” she says.

In June, Helsinki Airport in Finland—a country where the tourism slogan(口号) is “silence, please”—became the most recent airport to adopt the silent concept. As part of its commitment to quieting things down, announcements for flights are made only in boarding gate areas.

Lost track of time in the shops?

Too bad.

Nobody’s going to call you to your flight, as announcements in all terminals will be made only in exceptional（尤其） emergency circumstances.

Heikki Koski, vice president of Helsinki Airport, says that improved flight information display system and interactive kiosks(交互式自助服务机), together with advances in mobile technology, are changing the way airports communicate with passengers. At Munich airport, InfoGate kiosks allow for video-based face-to-face conversation with a live customer service representative in the traveler’s language of choice. Interactive signs, on the other hand, give directions at the touch of finger. Passengers can tap a “you are here” display to get directions and approximate walking time to their destinations.

Of course, an airport will never be as silent as a temple. There will continue to be a need for airport-wide emergency announcements along with boarding calls. But at silent airports, the latter can be restricted to specific gates, as has adopted in Helsinki.