Loket Castle (Czech: Hrad Loket) is a 12th-century Gothic style castle located about 12 km from Karlovy Vary on a massive rock in the town of Loket, Karlovarský kraj, Czech Republic. It is surrounded on three sides by the Ohře river. Once known as "the Impregnable Castle of Bohemia", because of its thick walls, it is one of the oldest and most valuable historical stone castles in the Czech lands. It is administered by the Loket Castle Foundation since 1993 and preserved today as a museum and national monument.
Every year the town plays host to an Opera festival, with performances by the Czech National Opera in an outdoor amphitheatre with the castle as a backdrop, and is also host for the Czech motocross grand prix. The town centre and castle were both used as locations in the film Casino Royale as the town in Montenegro where Bond meets his contact René Mathis.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Loket Castle, Czech Republic
Hirosaki Castle. Aomori. Japan
Hirosaki Castle. Wow! (Explored) This image 8,000 visits. Thank you., originally uploaded by Glenn Waters ぐれんin Japan..
Hirosaki (弘前市 Hirosaki-shi?) is a city located in southwest Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is a castle town and was the Tsugaru clan ruled the 100,000 koku tozama han Hirosaki Domain from Hirosaki Castle during the Edo period. The city is currently a regional commercial center and the largest producer of apples in Japan[citation needed]. The city government has been promoting the catchphrase "Apple Colored Town Hirosaki", and "Castle and Cherry Blossom and Apple Town" to promote the city image.
Spoonbridge and Cherry, Minneapolis, MN USA
Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-1988
aluminum, stainless steel, paint
354 x 618 x 162 in.
Gift of Frederick R. Weisman in honor of his parents, William and Mary Weisman, 1988
Claes Oldenburg is best known for his ingenious, oversized renditions of ordinary objects, like the giant "soft" three-way plug and overturned bag of french fries in the Walker's own collection. He and Coosje van Bruggen, his wife and collaborator, had already created a number of large-scale public sculptures, including the Batcolumn in Chicago, when they were asked to design a fountain-sculpture for the planned Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The spoon had appeared as a motif in a number of Oldenburg's drawings and plans over the years, inspired by a novelty item (a spoon resting on a glob of fake chocolate) he had acquired in 1962. Eventually the utensil emerged--in humorously gigantic scale--as the theme of the Minneapolis project. Van Bruggen contributed the cherry as a playful reference to the Garden's formal geometry, which reminded her of Versailles and the exaggerated dining etiquette Louis XIV imposed there. She also conceived the pond's shape in the form of linden seed. (Linden trees are planted along the allées that stretch before the fountain.) The complex fabrication of the 5,800 pound spoon and 1,200 pound cherry was carried out at two shipbuilding yards in New England. The sculpture has become a beloved icon in the Garden, whether glaceed with snow in the Minnesota winters or gleaming in the warmer months, with water flowing over the surface of the cherry and a fine mist rising from its stem.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Η Ελλάδα κυρίαρχος στη λίστα με τους καλύτερους παραθαλάσσιους προορισμούς 2011 του TripAdvisor
[[posterous-content:pid___0]]
| ||
 | ||
| Μια σπουδαία διάκριση για τη βαριά βιομηχανία της χώρας, τον τουρισμό, αποτελεί η λίστα με τους καλύτερους παραθαλάσσιους προορισμούς για το 2011 που δημοσιοποίησε το tripadvisor.com. Η Σαντορίνη βρίσκεται στη 2η θέση και ακολουθεί η Κέρκυρα και η Κρήτη. Η δημοφιλής Μύκονος βρίσκεται στη 7η θέση και η Ρόδος στη 19η. Το TripAdvisor είναι ο παγκοσμίως μεγαλύτερος ταξιδιωτικός ιστότοπος με εκατομμύρια επισκέπτες καθημερινά. Οι χρήστες προσφεύγουν σε αυτόν, προκειμένου να επιλέξουν τον τόπο των διακοπών τους διαβάζοντας -αλλά και καταχωρώντας- κριτικές για παραθεριστικούς ανά την υφήλιο τόπους, ξενοδοχεία, επίπεδο υπηρεσιών, κατάσταση μνημείων, τοπικές αγορές, κουζίνα κτλ. Το TripAdvisor λειτουργεί "υπό τη σκέπη" του ταξιδιωτικού οργανισμού Expedia. Κέρκυρα: "Μεγαλοπρεπείς βυζαντινές εκκλησίες, επιβλητικά βενετσιάνικα κάστρα, σπουδαία αρχιτεκτονική, πλούσια βλάστηση, άριστες τουριστικές υποδομές, έντονη νυχτερινή ζωή και πεντακάθαρες αμμώδεις παραλίες (Παλαιοκαστρίτσα, Ερμιόνη κ.ά.) καθιστούν της διακοπές σε αυτό το νησί του Ιονίου πελάγους εμπειρία ζωής". Κρήτη: "Το μεγαλύτερο νησί της Ελλάδας κρύβει κάτι για τον καθένα. Η βόρεια πλευρά του είναι περισσότερο πολύβουη και κοσμική σε αντίθεση με τις ακτές που ΅βλέπουνΆ προς τη Λιβύη. Εκεί ο παραθεριστής θα ανακαλύψει παρθένες παραλίες και θα γνωρίσει τους φιλόξενους και εγκάρδιους κατοίκους". Μύκονος: "Νησί διάσημο εδώ και αρκετές δεκαετίες. Παραλίες με χρυσαφένιες αμμουδιές, καθημερινά πολύωρα πάρτι αλλά και πλαζ για όσους αναζητούν την επαφή με τη φύση και τη γαλήνη. Η Μύκονος είναι ιδανική επιλογή για ενασχόληση με οποιοδήποτε θαλάσσιο σπορ". Ρόδος: "Η Ρόδος είναι ευλογημένη από τον ήλιο, που τη λούζει με τις ζεστές ακτίνες του περισσότερες από 300 ημέρες τον χρόνο. Διαθέτει παραλίες μεγάλου αλλά και μικρού μήκους, με κοινά γνωρίσματα τα κρυστάλλινα νερά, την ψιλή άμμο και τις άριστες υποδομές. Όλα τα παραπάνω πλαισιώνονται από μνημεία παγκόσμιας πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς".
Θοδωρής Κουμέλης - Τετάρτη, 20 Απριλίου 2011
| ||
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
mountain...........
The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
This was filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011. I had the pleasure of visiting El Teide.
Spain´s highest mountain @(3718m) is one of the best places in the world to photograph the stars and is also the location of Teide Observatories, considered to be one of the world´s best observatories.
The goal was to capture the beautiful Milky Way galaxy along with one of the most amazing mountains I know El Teide. I have to say this was one of the most exhausting trips I have done. There was a lot of hiking at high altitudes and probably less than 10 hours of sleep in total for the whole week. Having been here 10-11 times before I had a long list of must-see locations I wanted to capture for this movie, but I am still not 100% used to carrying around so much gear required for time-lapse movies.
A large sandstorm hit the Sahara Desert on the 9th April (http://bit.ly/g3tsDW) and at approx 3am in the night the sandstorm hit me, making it nearly impossible to see the sky with my own eyes.
Interestingly enough my camera was set for a 5 hour sequence of the milky way during this time and I was sure my whole scene was ruined. To my surprise, my camera had managed to capture the sandstorm which was backlit by Grand Canary Island making it look like golden clouds. The Milky Way was shining through the clouds, making the stars sparkle in an interesting way. So if you ever wondered how the Milky Way would look through a Sahara sandstorm, look at 00:32.
Available in Digital Cinema 4k.
Like my Facebook Page for updates http://www.facebook.com/TSOPhotography
Follow me on http://twitter.com/TSOPhotography
Press/licensing/projects contact: terjes@gmail.com
Music by my friend: Ludovico Einaudi - "Nuvole bianche" with permission.
Please support the artist here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/una-mattina/id217799399
Thank you to my sponsors:
http://www.canon.com
http://www.g-technology.com
http://www.dynamicperception.com/ (Best dolly in the world!)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Rakaposhi Karakoram, Pakistan
Rakaposhi (Räkapoşi) (Urdu: راکا پہشئ) is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan. It is situated in the Nagar Valley approximately 100 km north of the city of Gilgit. Rakaposhi means "Snow Covered" in the local language.It is ranked 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan
Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK
Whitby is a town and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated 47 miles (76 km) from York, at the mouth of the River Esk and spreads up the steep sides of the narrow valley carved out by the river's course. At this point the coast curves round, so the town faces more north than east. According to the 2001 UK census, Whitby parish had a population of 13,594.
Whitby was founded under its Old English name of Streonshal in 656, when Oswy, the Christian king of Northumbria, founded Whitby Abbey, under its first abbess Hilda. The Synod of Whitby was held here in 664. In 867, the monastery was destroyed by Viking raiders, and was only refounded in 1078. It was in this period that the town gained its current name, Whitby, (from "white settlement" in Old Norse). In the 18th century Whitby became a centre for shipbuilding and whaling, as well as trade in alum and jet.
Tourism and fishing now form the mainstay of the town's economy. There are rail and bus links to the rest of North Yorkshire and North East England. Whitby has featured in literary works, television and cinema; most famously in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula.
Large fossils have been found in the area including entire skeletons of pterodactyls. Whitby is known for its well preserved ammonite fossils, which can be found on the seashore or purchased from stalls or shops in the town. Three green ammonites are featured on the coat of arms of the Whitby Town Council. These ammonites are shown with a head carved on, as "snake stones", which were sold as religious souvenirs in memory of Saint Hilda of Whitby.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Marina of Rethymno, Crete, Greece
Rethymno (Greek: Ρέθυμνο, [ˈreθimno], also Rethimno, Rethymnon, Réthymnon, and Rhíthymnos) is a city of approximately 40,000 people in Greece, the capital of Rethymno peripheral unit in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity (ancient Rhithymna and Arsinoe), even though was never a competitive Minoan center. It was, however, strong enough to mint its own coins and maintain urban growth. One of these coins is today depicted as the crest of the town with two dolphins in a circle.
Monday, April 4, 2011
ότι και να κάνετε εγώ είμαι εδώ...
καποιο δευτεροτριτοι
της ζωης και της πολιτικης,
καποιοι που δεν χωνευουν ουτε τα αντερα τους,
κανουν προσπαθειες να με φιμωσουν!
εχουν χασει....
απλα δεν μασαω,
μου εχετε κανει αναφορες σε ιστολογια σελιδες και οπου αλλου...
συνεχιστε με δυναμωνετε...
ευχαριστω σας καλοι μου φιλοι...
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Alberobello, Bari Italy
Alberobello is a small town and comune in the province of Bari, in Puglia, Italy. It has about 11,000 inhabitants and is famous for its unique trulli constructions. The Trulli of Alberobello are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites list since 1996.
Clevedon Pier. UK
Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, on the English side of the Severn Estuary. It is situated next to the Royal Pier Hotel.
The landing stage at the end of the pier is occasionally used by ships, notably the Waverley and her sister ship, the Balmoral, and is a popular spot for angling. There is a cafe at the pierhead, and a souvenir shop at the toll house. The upper floor of the toll house is an art gallery with a different exhibition every month. The pier is open every day of the year except Christmas Day.
Liechtenstein Royal Castle
Vaduz Castle (German Schloss Vaduz) is the palace and official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle gave its name to the town of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, which it overlooks from an adjacent hilltop.
via wikipedia
