This covered bridge was apparently famous for the hanging of 3 soldiers for treason during the Battle of
Gettysburg. The field to the right of the bridge was used as a Civil war hospital
People visit here to go "ghost hunting" .
Photo courtesy of Brad Mikulka, Director Southeast Michigan Ghost Hunters Society
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The Reinhardswald is a range of hills up to 472.2 m above NN and covering an area of over 200 km²[1] in the Weser Uplands in the district of Kassel, Hesse (Germany). Of this, 183 km² are part of the unparished area known as Gutsbezirk Reinhardswald.
The Reinhardswald – home to countless myths and legends, like the Grimm's Fairy Tales – is reknown country-wide, especially for the Sleeping Beauty castle of Sababurg.
The Reinhardswald is located in the north of North Hesse between Kassel and Bad Karlshafen, Hann. Münden and Hofgeismar. In the north and east this woodland area runs up against the Weser and, in the southeast and south against the Fulda; both rivers form locally the border with Lower Saxony. In the west it borders partly on the Esse and, in the northwest, on the Diemel.
To the north of the Reinhardswald, on the far side of the Weser, is the Solling, to the northeast is the Kiffing and to the east, the Bramwald. To the southeast, beyond the Fulda, is the Kaufungen Forest; not far away to the southwest of the Reinhardswald the Habichtswald looks down on the Kassel Basin.
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Mespelbrunn earns its livelihood above all from tourism, and is known for its charming Mespelbrunn Castle (Wasserschloss Mespelbrunn), expanded beginning in 1551 by the family Echter. In Mespelbrunn and at the moated castle, several scenes of the 1950s German classic film Das Wirtshaus im Spessart were made.
@wikipedia
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Big Ben is one of London's best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.
The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high. Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped.
The name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the thirteen ton bell hung within. The bell was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.
This bell came originally from the old Palace of Westminster, it was given to the Dean of St. Paul's by William III. Before returning to Westminster to hang in its present home, it was refashioned in Whitechapel in 1858. The BBC first broadcast the chimes on the 31st December 1923 - there is a microphone in the turret connected to Broadcasting House.
During the second world war in 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the Commons chamber of the Houses of Parliament, but the clock tower remained intact and Big Ben continued to keep time and strike away the hours, its unique sound was broadcast to the nation and around the world, a welcome reassurance of hope to all who heard it.
There are even cells within the clock tower where Members of Parliament can be imprisoned for a breach of parliamentary privilege, though this is rare; the last recorded case was in 1880.
The tower is not open to the general public, but those with a "special interest" may arrange a visit to the top of the Clock Tower through their local (UK) MP.
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Potsdamer Platz
(English Potsdam Square) is an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin, Germany, lying about one kilometre south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corner of the Tiergarten park.
It is named after the city of Potsdam, some 25 km to the south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate.
After developing within the space of little over a century from an intersection of rural thoroughfares into the most bustling traffic intersection in Europe, it was totally laid waste during World War II and then left desolate during the Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its former location, but since the fall of the Wall it has risen again as a glittering new heart for the city and the most visible symbol of the new Berlin.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 (it was actually breached at Potsdamer Platz before the Brandenburg Gate), ex-Pink Floyd member Roger Waters staged a gigantic charity concert of his former band's rock extravaganza The Wall on 21 July 1990, to commemorate the end of the division between East and West Germany. The concert took place at Potsdamer Platz - specifically an area of the former "No Man's Land" just to the north of the Reich Chancellery site, and featured many guest superstars.
Ironically it was preparations for this concert, rather than historical interest, that brought about the first detailed post-Cold War survey of the area with a view to determining what, if anything, was left of Hitler's bunker and any other underground installations. Although sections of the main Führerbunker were found, partially destroyed or filled in, another bunker complex was found further north that even the East German authorities had apparently missed, plus other cavities beneath land bordering the east side of Ebertstraße, although these turned out to be underground garages belonging to a former SS accommodation block.
After 1990, the square became the focus of attention again, as a large (some 60 hectares), attractive location which had suddenly become available in the centre of a major European capital city. It was widely seen as one of the hottest, most exciting building sites in Europe, and the subject of much debate amongst architects and planners. If Berlin needed to re-establish itself on the world stage, then Potsdamer Platz was one of the key areas where the city had an opportunity to express itself. More than just a building site, Potsdamer Platz was a statement of intent. In particular, due to its location straddling the erstwhile border between east and west, it was widely perceived as a "linking element," reconnecting the two halves of the city in a way that was symbolic as well as physical, helping to heal the historical wounds by providing an exciting new mecca attracting Berliners from both sides of the former divide. Whether fairly or unfairly, a great deal was riding on the project, and expectations were high.
The Berlin Senate (city government) organised a design competition for the redevelopment of Potsdamer Platz and much of the surrounding area. Eventually attracting 17 entrants, a winning design was announced in October 1991, that from the Munich-based architectural firm of Hilmer & Sattler. They had to fight off some stiff competition though, including a last-minute entry by British architect Richard Rogers.
The Berlin Senate then chose to divide the area into four parts, each to be sold to a commercial investor, who then planned new construction according to Hilmer & Sattler's masterplan. During the building phase Potsdamer Platz was the largest building site in Europe. While the resulting development is impressive in its scale and confidence, the quality of its architecture has been praised and criticised in almost equal measure.
Daimler
The largest of the four parts went to Daimler-Benz (later Daimler-Chrysler and now Daimler AG), which charged Italian architect Renzo Piano with creating an overall design for their scheme while sticking to the underlying requirements of Hilmer & Sattler's masterplan. A major development bordering the west side of the former Potsdamer Bahnhof site, some of its 19 individual buildings were then erected by other architects, who submitted their own designs while maintaining Piano's key elements. One of these was Richard Rogers, who played a part in the development after all (his great British rival, Norman Foster, was putting the new dome on the Reichstag at about the same time). The 19 buildings include the remarkable Potsdamer Platz No. 1 by Hans Kollhoff, now home to a number of prestigious law firms. Potsdamer Platz No. 1 is also home to the "Panoramapunkt" viewing platform, located 100 m above ground level, which is accessed by riding Europe's fastest elevator. From the Panoramapunkt one can see such landmarks as the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Federal Chancellery, Bellevue Palace, Cathedral, Television Tower, Gendarmes Market, Holocaust Memorial and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The complex also contains the former Weinhaus Huth, now restored to its former glory and occupied by a restaurant, café, and Daimler AG's own art gallery ("Daimler Contemporary"). The first spade at the start of the Daimler-Benz development was turned by the Mayor of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen, on 11 October 1993, and the finished complex was officially opened by the Federal President of Germany, Roman Herzog, on 2 October 1998, in a glittering ceremony featuring large-scale celebrations and musical performances.
Sony
The second largest part went to Sony, which erected their new European headquarters on a triangular site immediately to the north of Daimler-Benz and separated from it by the re-routed Potsdamer Straße. This new Sony Center, designed by Helmut Jahn, is an eye-catching monolith of glass and steel featuring an enormous tent-like conical roof, its shape reportedly inspired by Mount Fuji in Japan, covering an elliptical central public space up to 100 m across, and thus differing substantially from Hilmer & Sattler's original plan for the site; yet it is considered by many people to be one of the finest pieces of modern architecture in Berlin. Its 26-storey "Bahn Tower" is so named because it houses the corporate headquarters of Deutsche Bahn AG, the German state railway system.
Surviving parts of the former Hotel Esplanade have been incorporated into the north side of the Sony development, including the Kaisersaal which, in a complex and costly operation in March 1996, was moved in one piece (all 1,300 tonnes of it), some 75 metres from its former location, to the spot that it occupies today (it even had to make two right-angled turns during the journey, while maintaining its own orientation). Nearby is a new Café Josty, opened early in 2001, while between the two is "Josty's Bar," which is housed in the Esplanade's former breakfast room. This, like the Kaisersaal, had to be relocated, but here the room was dismantled into some 500 pieces to be reassembled where it stands now.
Topped out on 2 September 1998, the Sony Center was formally opened on 14 June 2000 (although many of its public attractions had been up and running since 20 January), in another grand ceremony with more music - this time with Sony's Japanese Chairman Norio Ohga himself conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. A keen lover of classical music, he had helped to choose the site because of its close proximity to the orchestra's home in the Cultural Forum.
Beisheim
The third part became the Beisheim Center and adjoining buildings, on another triangular site bordered on the east side by Ebertstraße, financed entirely out of his own pocket by the German businessman Otto Beisheim, the founder of the diversified retail and wholesale/cash and carry group Metro AG, based in Germany but with operations throughout Europe and in many other countries around the world.
Park Kolonnaden
The fourth part is the Park Kolonnaden, a range of buildings running down the east side of the Potsdamer Bahnhof site, parallelling Daimler-Benz. This complex occupies the site of the former Haus Vaterland, and its principal building, which for a few years was the headquarters of the large German trade union ver.di (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, meaning United Services Union), has a curving glass facade designed to evoke the shape of that erstwhile landmark.
Leipziger Platz
Other developments, more piecemeal in nature, are gradually recreating the octagonal layout of neighbouring Leipziger Platz immediately to the east. One of these is Kanada Haus, the new Embassy of Canada, on the platz's north-west diagonal. Its turf-cutting ceremony was carried out on 18 February 2002 by the Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, and it was officially opened on 29 April 2005.
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A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
When I first stepped out of the elevator and entered the underground bus tunnel in the downtown Pioneer Square district of Seattle, I couldn't believe my eyes and had to pinch myself. It was as if I had been beamed aboard a ship bound for space travel! The infusion of science fiction inspired artistic style and contemporary architecture in this place is truly something to be marveled.
distinctive arched ceiling is quite a contrast from the sharp, square lines of more conventional bus stations, appearing more like a space-age cathedral. Architect Jerry McDevitt designed the station with lead artist Kate Ericson. Under Third Avenue between Cherry Street and Yesler Way, Pioneer Square Station is perched on the edge of the historic Pioneer Square District and within a block of major government buildings. The station design uses many of the arched forms and materials from the surrounding neighborhood. In addition to the Metro bus system, the station will now also be home to the new Seattle Link Light Rail train system that connects Downtown Seattle to Sea-Tac airport initially and will expand its coverage to additional neighborhoods in the future.
To capture the truly other-worldly feel of this place, I combined 9 exposures together to capture all of the detail in the shadows and highlights. You've really got to see this one large to fully appreciate it!
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HMS Beagle was a Cherokee class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, named after the beagle, a breed of dog. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which she was the first ship to sail under the new London Bridge. After that there was no immediate need for Beagle so she was kept in reserve for five years and "lay in ordinary", moored afloat but without masts or rigging. She was then adapted as a survey barque and took part in three expeditions. On the second survey voyage the young naturalist Charles Darwin was on board, and his work would eventually make the Beagle one of the most famous ships in history.
CAMOGLI – 2km southeast of Recco – was the "saltiest, roughest, most piratical little place", according to Dickens when he visited in 1884. It's had its rough edges knocked off since then, and is one of the most attractive small resorts along this stretch of the coast, well connected by road, rail and boat. The town's name, a contraction of Casa Mogli (House of Wives), comes from the days when voyages lasted for years and the women ran the port while the men were away. In its day, Camogli supported a huge fleet of 700 vessels, which once saw off Napoleon. The town declined in the age of steam, but the crumbling arcades by the harbour and the dark flight of steps into the town centre still have the "smell of fish, and seaweed, and old rope" that Dickens relished.
The train station is just south of the beach; turn right towards the centre for the small tourist office, 50m north at Via XX Settembre 33 (Mon–Sat 8.30am–noon & 3–7pm, Sun 9am–1pm; tel 0185.771.066, www.camogli.it). Summer boats shuttle over from Genoa's Porto Antico in an hour (8), using the old harbour on the north side of town, separated from the unimpressive pebble beach to the south by a promontory occupied by the medieval Castello della Dragonara. You can wander up through the alleyways to the castle, though the aquarium it houses is currently closed for renovation.
The best hotel is the lavish Cenobio dei Dogi, in its own waterfront park at Via Cuneo 34 (tel 0185.7241, fax 0185.772.796; 160–200); once the summer palace of Genoa's doges, it boasts its own beach, pool, tennis courts, restaurants and tasteful guest rooms. La Camogliese, Via Garibaldi 55 (tel 0185.771.402, fax 0185.774.024; 50–65), is a friendly spot excellently situated by the water (take the steps down opposite the station); it has pleasant rooms and they don't insist on full pension. Otherwise, try the spartan Selene, Via Cuneo 15 (tel 0185.770.149, fax 0185.770.195; 35–50). The Camogliese hotel has a quality mid-priced restaurant (closed Wed in winter). The much pricier Vento Ariel on the harbourfront (tel 0185.771.080; closed Wed) serves only fish brought that day directly from the nets into the kitchen. Away from the sea, Don Ricardo on Salita Priaro (the flight of steps up from the fishing harbour) does affordable Mexican food, and Revello is a fine bakery at Via Garibaldi 183.
Fish aside, Camogli makes its living from ferries operated by Golfo Paradiso, Via Scalo 3 (tel 0185.772.091). Departures to tranquil Punta Chiappa, ideal for a spot of swimming and basking in the sun, and San Fruttuoso, are most frequent (May–Sept at least hourly; Oct–April 3 weekdays, hourly at weekends), with a special night excursion offering the most romantic views of the gulf plus three hours in San Fruttuoso for dinner or a stroll (July & Aug 3 weekly; 9 return). There are also boats east to the Cinque Terre (July–Sept 2–4 weekly), which stop beforehand at Portofino and continue to Portovénere, as well as plenty more west to Recco and Genoa.
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Taken just after dawn on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.
We left home at 01:30 saturday morning (two hours sleep) to reach skye for pre-dawn light, we then snapped around Skye until the light got rubbish. At this point we drove all the way to Applecross to see how nice it was before driving back to Elgol for Sunset. After sunset we drove to Glencoe where we put up the tent at midnight and got 5 hours sleep before getting back up, to snap dawn in glencoe and then returned home. Think I might head to my bed and surface around Wednesday :-)
www.billycurrie.co.uk
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My evenings are punctuated with preparation of various rockets for the Black Rock Desert launches later this month. Night launches with LED sequencers on board, video rockets and a bigger V2 – weighing in at 100lbs so far… and I still need to add three parachutes and two flight computers. First flight will with an Animal Motor Works N2801 spewing a shower of titanium sparklers.
Met today with a colleague who has a system to accelerate his rocket from 0 to 1000MPH in 0.25 seconds. Getting the electronics and even the propellant grains to survive over 400 g’s is a challenge!
This looks like the best of the NASA shots, but it is by Nils from Sweden, posted with permission.
(P.S. I don’t have access to my photos right now. Upgrading to Snow Leopard corrupted my hard drive, irreperably. Slowly recovering everything. Almost as bad as a Microsoft OS... I suspected a X.0 install on a near-full HDD, so I backed up everything right before; nevertheless, iPhoto will not open)
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Niedzica Castle also known as Dunajec Castle (Latin: Castrum de Dunajecz, Hungarian: Nedec Váralja / Nedec-Vár, German: Sub-Arx Unterschloss, Slovak: Nedecký hrad), is located in the southernmost part of Poland in Niedzica (Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland). It was erected between the years 1320 and 1326 by Kokos of Brezovica on the site of an ancient stronghold surrounded by earthen walls in the Pieniny mountains.
The Niedzica Castle stands at an altitude of 566 m, on a hill 300 m upstream from the Dunajec River mouth, measured from the center of the dam on Czorsztyn Lake.
The outline of Niedzica Castle can best be viewed from the ruins of Czorsztyn Castle on the other side of the lake. It is known as one of the most picturesque castles in the country and adorns the covers of many books.
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Coire na Tulaich, Stob nan Cabar, Stob Coire Raineach (Buachaille Etive Beag), Bidean nam Bian (and others)
This is a 9 image, handheld panorama and I've uploaded about a size equivalent to 15% of the original. Click 'All Sizes' above to see it much larger.
The image is taken after ascending Coire na Tulaich (Stob Dearg) at approx 900m. I took a wee rest here as it was quite an arduous scramble up the last part of the Coire on some pretty steep scree slopes. I kept losing the suggested route and was on my own at this point as my cousin had injured his back lower down the hill and had to return back to the bottom.
Behind me is the summit of Stob Dearg. I've been hiking quite a few hills of late and I'm absolutely loving it. I've hiked 6 Munros in the last three weeks (including the tallest in Britain), my knees and legs are grazed and bruised, I'm covered in midge bites, totally knackered but all I can think about is the next hill I'm going to climb !
Any feedback on the site would be greatfully received.
travelThe National Constitution Center in historic Philadelphia is America's most interactive history museum. Located just two blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, it is the only museum devoted to the U.S. Constitution and the story of we, the people.
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Point of Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, Isle of Muck & Isle of Rum, Scotland
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The lovely little town of Parga, Greece, surrounded by mountains thick with olive groves, is situated in a secluded bay of the Ionian Sea, in the Epirus region of Greece. The position of Parga, with its houses built amphitheatrically from the coast up to the top of a mountain, gives this small town its picturesque quality. Visitors will be charmed by Parga which, although located on the mainland, has an island-like ambiance to it.
This section of Parga, Greece provides much information on history, architecture, museums, villages, weather, excursions, some pictures, maps and much more such as a large choice of hotels to stay in comfort...
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Φθινοπωρινή Ισημερία έτος 1130 Νότια Αμερική, κορδιλιέρα των Άνδεων.
Ο Ίνκα Μάνκο Ρουπάκ, τέταρτος της Δυναστείας των Μάνκο Κάπακ ενηλικιώνεται…εβδομάδες ολόκληρες, ταξιδεύει, σκαστός από τη πρωτεύουσα του πατερά του, να πάει να βεβαιωθεί αν είναι αλήθεια ο θρύλος…τα ασημένια νερά της Τιτικακα προβάλλουν πίσω από την πλάγια…πρέπει να φτάσει πριν χαράξει…πρέπει να περάσει την λίμνη βράδυ…ο ντόπιος βαρκάρης τον περνά απέναντι, αφού παίρνει το χρυσό βραχιόλι που φορά…να κι όχθη…μόλις πατεί το πόδι του στη στεριά διατάζει τον βαρκάρη να τον περιμένει…απομακρύνεται κατ εκεί που θα βγει ο ήλιος….τα μάτια του προσπαθούν να σκίσουν το λυκαυγές…ανεβαίνει…αρχίζει να φέγγει, κάθεται ανακούρκουδα και περιμένει…η πρώτη ηλιαχτίδα βγαίνει από το πανύψηλο Ιλλιμάνι απέναντι, φωτίζει ακριβώς το κέντρο του οροπεδίου που απλώνεται στα πόδια του…φωτίζει ακριβώς την βάση της Πύλης του Ήλιου που είχαν στήσει τα πανάρχαια χρόνια οι προγονοί του οι Τιουανακο…είναι Φθινοπωρινή ισημερία….έγινε άντρας…στο θερινό ηλιοστάσιο θα γινόταν βασιλιάς….
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Remember i said i was having some trouble finding some inspiration a few days back. Not anymore. I think ive found it. Went on a little road trip to Montauk and my breath was taken away at the site of this shot oppurtunity. I hope everyone enjoys this as much as i did. I love it. It's the best.
Where
The Montauk Point Lighthouse
How
3 exposures, -2, 0, and +2 using a Nikon D300 w/ Sigma 10-20mm Wide Angle
Process
Photomatix Pro for tonemapping
Photoshop CS4, made duplicate layer from original, adjusted Levels, adjusted Curves, adjusted Hue/Saturation, and used Unsharp Mask to sharpen a tad
MUST BE VIEWED LARGE ON BLACK TO APPRECIATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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