Walking past the Soak shop in Hastings, with an excellent selection of ducks!
February 25th, 2012 – 16:57
The Grand Place or Grote Markt (Dutch) is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guildhalls, the city’s Town Hall, and the Breadhouse. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels, along with the Atomium and Manneken Pis. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 360 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
February 25th, 2012 – 16:51
The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the King of the Belgians in the centre of the nation’s capital Brussels.
However it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Castle of Laeken on the outskirts of Brussels. The website of the Belgian Monarchy describes the function of the palace as follows: “The Palace is where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with affairs of state. Apart from the offices of the King and the Queen, the Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King’s Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King’s Military Household and the Intendant of the King’s Civil List. The Palace also includes the State Rooms where large receptions are held, as well as the apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits.”
The palace is situated in front of Brussels Park. A long square called the Paleizenplein/Place des Palais separates the palace from the park. The middle axis of the park marks both the middle peristyle of the palace and the middle of the facing building on the other side of the park, which is the Palace of the Nation (the Belgian Federal Parliament building). The two facing buildings are said to symbolize Belgium’s system of government: a constitutional monarchy.
February 25th, 2012 – 11:25
The Espace Léopold is the complex of parliament buildings in Brussels (Belgium) housing the European Parliament, a legislative chamber of the European Union (EU).
It consists of a number of buildings, primarily the oldest, the Paul-Henri Spaak building, which houses the debating chamber and the President’s offices, and the Altiero Spinelli building which is the largest. The buildings are located in the European quarter in the east of Brussels, with building starting in 1989.
The complex is not the official seat of Parliament, which is the Immeuble Louise Weiss in Strasbourg, France, but as most of the other institutions of the European Union are in Brussels, Parliament built the Brussels complex in order to be closer to their activities. A majority of the Parliament’s work is now geared to its Brussels site, but it is legally bound to keep Strasbourg as its official home.
December 17th, 2011 – 15:50
This is Travis the travelling duck and his wife Betty at Longleat, looking at the animals!
Longleat Safari Park, in Wiltshire, England was opened in 1966 and was the first drive-through safari park outside Africa.
The park is situated in the grounds of Longleat House, an English stately home that attracts tourists and is the current home of the 7th Marquess of Bath.
The safari park was the first of its kind anywhere in the world and was considered to be a massive breakthrough in the way in which captive animals were kept, with the animals roaming freely and the visitors in cages (cars).
November 18th, 2011 – 14:38
A travelling rubberduck in full mc gear at Liertoppen shopping mall, Norway
October 30th, 2011 – 22:15
Zurich Airport (IATA: ZRH, ICAO: LSZH) also called Kloten Airport, is located in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, and managed by Flughafen Zürich AG. It is Switzerland’s largest international flight gateway and hub to Swiss International Air Lines.
The picture is from the train tunnel between the terminals.
September 22nd, 2011 – 14:59
Strömstad is a locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,110 inhabitants in 2005.[1]
Strömstad is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city.
Originally, the province Bohuslän, where Strömstad is situated, was Norwegian territory, which was transferred to Sweden according to the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658.
At Strömstad, there was a small fishing village known as Strömmen. The town got small privileges as a merchant town (köping) shortly thereafter, which seems to have made it expand, because it is documented to have gotten a charter in 1676 by King Charles XI of Sweden, although some documents show it was already considered a city in 1672. As it was the seat for a merchant navy, the coat of arms was designed with such a ship, and has remained that way even after the use of sailing ships was discontinued in the 19th century.
September 21st, 2011 – 10:56
The Koster Islands situated 10km west of Strömstad, Sweden comprises an archipelago surrounding the two largest islands, South Koster and North Koster. South Koster has an area of 8 km² and North Koster an area of 4 km². The landscape, dominated by smooth bedrock, bears witness to volcanic activity and subsequent wear due to the Ice Age. The rocky coastline is broken by many sandy beaches the largest being Kilesand on South Koster’s east side overlooking the 200 meter deep Koster Fjord.
South and North Koster are lively communities with a permanent population of around 340. There is a school, sports hall, shops, church and galleries where handcrafts and arts are exhibited. Both farming and fishing are important, and already during the 1600’s Koster exported lobster to Holland. There are several small harbors, popular with sailors from both near and far. Rooms can be rented from the Ekenäs Hotel or from private homes or cabins. There is also a campsite on North Koster.
September 18th, 2011 – 18:12
Bagn is the administrative centre of Sør-Aurdal municipality, Norway. Its population is 607.
Attractions include the Valdrestunet mall as well as Bagn Bygdesamling.
September 18th, 2011 – 16:08
Øye stave church (Øye stavkyrkje) is situated in Øye, a village in the municipality of Vang, Oppland county, Norway. It is a triple nave stave church and dates from the second half of the 12th century. The church was situated next to the lake Vangsmjøse in Øye. Here, however, the river Rødøla would flood almost every spring and, corpses would be flushed out of their graves. As a result the church was moved, this time to a location further away from the river. In 1747 the church was torn down and hidden away, and a new church was built on the same location. The new church was renovated in 1935, and below the floor was found the material from the old church. 156 pieces of the church were used to rebuild the stave church. The construction was completed in 1965. Øye stave church is one of the smallest and oldest remaining stave churches in Norway.
September 16th, 2011 – 13:44
Filefjell is a mountainous area between Lærdal and Valdres in Norway. It is the historical, as well as modern, main route, linking West Norway and Østlandet.
Filefjell is at the easter part of the ((Sogn og Fjordane)), borders to Valdres, Vang Kommune in the (( Oppland )). In North it borders the western part of Jotunheimen mountain range. To the south it meets with the Buskerud border. The European route E16 crosses the mountain and reaches it highest point at Varden (1013 meters). The road follows a valley through the mountainous area, and because of this is somewhat protected from the fierce weather of the Norwegian winter. The road is rarely closed due to wind or snow, making it the most reliable of the mountain passes in Norway.
On both sides of the valley the terrain climbs steeply up to plateaus, with rolling hills and numerous lakes at about 1300 meters. The highest peak of the range is Sulefjellet at 1812 meters.
September 3rd, 2011 – 13:09
Unter den Linden (“under the linden trees”) is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden (lime in British English) trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways.
Unter den Linden runs east–west from the site of the former Stadtschloss royal palace at the Lustgarten park, where the demolished Palast der Republik used to be, to Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate. Eastward the boulevard crosses the Spree river at Berlin Cathedral and continues as Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. The western continuation behind Brandenburg Gate is Straße des 17. Juni. Major north–south streets crossing Unter den Linden are Friedrichstraße and Wilhelmstrasse.
Reipå is a village in Meløy municipality, Nordland, Norway, located a few miles north of Ørnes. Its population is 310.
Hakkloa is a lake in Nordmarka (the Oslo forests), about 6 hours walking from Frognerseteren or Sognsvann.
Nidaros Cathedral (Norwegian: Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a church located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Norwegian archdiocese, from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the Lutheran bishops of Trondheim (or Nidaros) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The architectural style of the cathedral is Romanesque and Gothic. Historically it was an important destination for pilgrims coming from all of Northern Europe.
Work on the cathedral started in 1070 and was finished sometime around 1300. The cathedral was badly damaged by fires in 1327 and again in 1531. The nave west of the transept was destroyed and was not rebuilt until the restoration in early 1900s. In 1708 it burned down completely except for the stone walls. It was struck by lightning in 1719, and was again ravaged by fire. Major rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral started in 1869, initially led by architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, and nearly completed by Christian Christie. It was officially completed in 2001. Maintenance of the cathedral is an ongoing process.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland. The mine continuously produced table salt from the 13th century until 2007 as one of the world’s oldest operating salt mines. It is believed to be the world’s 14th-oldest company still in operation.
The mine’s attractions for tourists include dozens of statues and an entire chapel that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually.
Commercial mining was discontinued in 1996 due to low salt prices and mine flooding.
The Wieliczka salt mine reaches a depth of 327 meters and is over 300 km long. It features a 3.5-km touring route for visitors (less than 1% of the length of the mine’s passages) that includes historic statues and mythical figures. The oldest sculptures were carved out of rock salt by miners; more recent figures have been fashioned by contemporary artists. Even the crystals of the chandeliers are made from rock salt that has been dissolved and reconstituted to achieve a clear, glass-like appearance. The rock salt is naturally grey in various shades, so that the carvings resemble unpolished granite rather than the white or crystalline look that many visitors expect. The carvings may appear white in the photos, but the actual carved figures are not white.
