The Holy Lake in Potsdam

16 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  5 minutes

Heiliger See, with Marble Palace © Matthias v.d. Elbe/cc-by-sa-3.0

Heiliger See, with Marble Palace © Matthias v.d. Elbe/cc-by-sa-3.0

Heiliger See (English: Holy Lake) is a lake within the city limits of Potsdam, located northeast of the city center and bordering the historic park known as the New Garden. Together with the lakes Sacrower See and Groß Glienicker See to the north it forms a chain of lakes resulting from a glacial tunnel valley. The lake is 1.33 km long and 300 metres wide on average.   read more…

The islands Île de Ré, Île d’Oléron and Île-d’Aix in the Atlantic

16 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

The island Île de Ré

Île de Ré - Saint-Martin de Ré © Brice Rothschild

Île de Ré – Saint-Martin de Ré © Brice Rothschild

Île de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d’Antioche strait. The island highest point has an elevation of 20 m ; the island is 30 km long and 5 km wide. A 2.9 km bridge, completed in 1988, connects it to La Rochelle on the mainland.   read more…

Theme Week Canary Islands – La Gomera

15 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Environment, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

San Sebastian de La Gomera - Marina © Jojo

San Sebastian de La Gomera – Marina © Jojo

La Gomera is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group. The upper reaches of this densely wooded region are almost permanently shrouded in clouds and mist, and as a result are covered in lush and diverse vegetation: they form the protected environment of Spain’s Garajonay National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The slopes are criss-crossed by paths that present varying levels of difficulty to visitors, and stunning views to seasoned hikers.   read more…

England’s Lake District

15 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Lake Windermere © geograph.org.uk - Mari Buckley

Lake Windermere © geograph.org.uk – Mari Buckley

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains (or fells) but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets.   read more…

Rue des Rosiers in the Marais district

14 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Abxbay/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Abxbay/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Rue des Rosiers, which means “street of the rosebushes,” is a street in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It begins at Rue Malher and proceeds northwest across Rue Pavée, Rue Ferdinand Duval, Rue des Écouffes, and Rue des Hospitalières Saint-Gervais before it ends at Rue Vieille du Temple.   read more…

The spa town of Bad Bentheim

13 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Bentheim Castle - Rose 'De la Grifferaie' from 1845 with an yet unidentified wasp © Kleuske

Bentheim Castle – Rose ‘De la Grifferaie’ from 1845 with an yet unidentified wasp © Kleuske

Bad Bentheim is a town in Lower Saxony, lying in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders with North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km northeast of Enschede. It is also a state-recognized thermal brine and sulphur spa town, hence the designation Bad (“Bath”). In Bad Bentheim is also found the castle Burg Bentheim, the town’s emblem.   read more…

Monaco on the French Riviera

13 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Georges DICK

© Georges DICK

Monaco is a sovereign city state, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea, its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy, and is only 15 km (9.3 mi) north east of Nice, France. It has an area of 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi), and a population of 35,986, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco has a land border of only 4.4 km (2.7 mi), a coastline of 4.1 km (2.5 mi), and a width that varies between 1.7 km (1.1 mi) and 349 metres (382 yards). The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, which is 161 metres (528 feet) above sea level. Monaco’s most populated Quartier is Monte Carlo, and the most populated Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco’s total area is 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi), with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.   read more…

Issyk Kul, the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan

12 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Tamchy on Lake Issyk Kul © Vmenkov/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tamchy on Lake Issyk Kul © Vmenkov/cc-by-sa-4.0

Issyk-Kul is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the tenth largest lake in the world by volume (though not in surface area), and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes; hence its name, which means “hot lake” in the Kyrgyz language. Issyk-Kul Lake is 182 kilometres (113 mi) long, up to 60 kilometres (37 mi) wide, and its area is 6,236 square kilometres (2,408 sq mi). It is second largest mountain lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca in South America. It is at an altitude of 1,607 metres (5,272 ft), and reaches 668 metres (2,192 ft) in depth. About 118 rivers and streams flow into the lake. The first nature reserve in Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul State Reserve was established in 1948 to protect unique nature landscapes and waterfowl at Issyk Kul. In 1975, it was acknowledged as a Ramsar site. Biosphere Reserve Issyk Kul covered by UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves was established in year 2000 within the administrative borders of Issyk-Kul Region.   read more…

The three-masted barque Alexander von Humboldt

12 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Tall ships Reading Time:  7 minutes

All sails set © Winfried Huber

All sails set © Winfried Huber

Alexander von Humboldt is a German ship originally built in 1906 by the German shipyard AG Weser at Bremen as Reserve Sonderburg. She was operated throughout the North and Baltic Seas until being retired in 1986. Subsequently she was converted into a three masted barque by the German shipyard Motorwerke Bremerhaven and was re-launched in 1988 as Alexander von Humboldt.   read more…

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