Theme Week Upper Middle Rhine Valley – Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

31 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Phantom3Pix/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Phantom3Pix/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (German: Festung Ehrenbreitstein) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.   read more…

Theme Week Upper Middle Rhine Valley – Stahleck Castle

29 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Hotels, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

© Harald Nachtigall/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Harald Nachtigall/cc-by-sa-3.0

Stahleck Castle (German: Burg Stahleck) is a 12th-century fortified castle in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley at Bacharach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It stands on a crag approximately 160 metres (520 ft) above sea level on the left bank of the river at the mouth of the Steeg valley, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Koblenz, and offers a commanding view of the Lorelei valley. Its name means “impregnable castle on a crag”, from the Middle High German words stahel (steel) and ecke (here: crag). It has a water-filled partial moat, a rarity in Germany. Built on the orders of the Archbishop of Cologne, it was destroyed in the late 17th century but rebuilt in the 20th and is now a hostel.   read more…

Theme Week Upper Middle Rhine Valley – Stolzenfels Castle

27 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Rolf Kranz/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Rolf Kranz/cc-by-sa-4.0

Stolzenfels Castle (German: Schloss Stolzenfels) is a former medieval fortress castle (“Burg”) turned into a palace, near Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Stolzenfels was a ruined 13th-century castle, gifted to the Prussian crown prince, Frederick William in 1823. He had it rebuilt as a 19th-century palace in Gothic Revival style. Today, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley. After substantial renovation work the castle and its parks were reopened in 2011. The castle is open to the public.   read more…

Croft Castle in Herefordshire

25 April 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Tabbipix/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Tabbipix/cc-by-sa-3.0

Croft Castle is a country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923. In 1957 it was bequeathed to the National Trust. The castle is a Grade I listed building, and the estate is separately listed as Grade II*. The adjacent Church of St Michael is listed Grade I.   read more…

Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska

9 April 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Environment Reading Time:  12 minutes

Denali and Wonder Lake © BillC/cc-by-sa-3.0

Denali and Wonder Lake © BillC/cc-by-sa-3.0

Denali National Park and Preserve, until 1980 known as Mount McKinley National Park, is a United States national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali (federally designated as Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve encompass 6,045,153 acres (2,446,387 ha; 9,446 sq mi; 24,464 km²) which is larger than the state of New Hampshire. On December 2, 1980, 2,146,580-acre (3,354 sq mi; 8,687 km²) Denali Wilderness was established within the park. Denali’s landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga, with tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, snow, and bare rock at the highest elevations. The longest glacier is the Kahiltna Glacier. Wintertime activities include dog sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. The park received 594,660 recreational visitors in 2018.   read more…

Dunrobin Castle in the Scottish Highlands

28 March 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Architecture, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Dunrobin Castle and Gardens © geograph.org.uk - Andrew Tryon/cc-by-sa-2.0

Dunrobin Castle and Gardens © geograph.org.uk – Andrew Tryon/cc-by-sa-2.0

Dunrobin Castle (mostly 1835–1845 — present) is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland, as well as the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland, Chief of the Clan Sutherland. It is located one mile (1.5 kilometres) north of Golspie and approximately five miles (eight kilometres) south of Brora, overlooking the Dornoch Firth.   read more…

Dam Square in Amsterdam

11 November 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Royal Palace © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

Royal Palace © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

Dam Square or the Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country.   read more…

High Line in New York City

6 November 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Living, Working, Building, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Dansnguyen

© Dansnguyen

The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line’s design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf. The abandoned spur has been redesigned as a “living system” drawing from multiple disciplines which include landscape architecture, urban design, and ecology. The High Line was inspired by the 4.7 km (2.9 mi) long Coulée verte (tree-lined walkway), another elevated park in Paris completed in 1993.   read more…

National Mall in Washington, D.C.

5 November 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Natioanl Mall from the Washington Monument © 54conphotos/cc-by-sa-4.0

Natioanl Mall from the Washington Monument © 54conphotos/cc-by-sa-4.0

The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System. The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year. Designed by Pierre L’Enfant, the “Grand Avenue” or Mall was to be a democratic and egalitarian space—unlike palace gardens, such as those at Versailles in France, that were paid for by the people but reserved for the use of a privileged few.   read more…

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