Norway 2009
Pictures from a Trip to Norway in 2009
South England, Stonehenge & Glastonbury
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. One recent theory, however, has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC, whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC.
The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument. It is a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.
Archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found on the site indicate burials from as early as 3000 BC, when the initial ditch and bank were first dug. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years.
London, England
Venice, Italy
My advice for Venice if you arrive by car:
Park in either Treporti or Punta Sabbioni and take the ferry to Venice, stop along the way in Murano and Burano for lunch! High quality hotels are dirt cheap on Lido around Oktober till November. I stayed at a 4 Star hotel that usually charged up to 650 Euros per night for only 85 Euros (double bed, including breakfast).
A few things from Wikepedia about Venice:
Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, with a population of 271,367 (census estimate 1 January 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The city historically was the capital of an independent nation. Venice has been known as the „La Dominante“, „Serenissima“, „Queen of the Adriatic“, „City of Water“, „City of Bridges“, „City of Canals“ and „The Amsterdam of the South“. Luigi Barzini, writing in The New York Times, described it as „undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man“. Venice has also been described by the Times Online as being one of Europe’s most romantic cities.
The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000[3] in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.
Český Krumlov – Krumau
A few things from wikepedia about Český Krumlov:
Český Krumlov Castle is unusually large for a town of Krumlov’s size; within the Czech Republic it is second in extent only to the Hradčany castle complex of Prague. Inside its grounds are a large garden (my favourit part of the city), an extensive bridge over a deep gap in the rock upon which the castle is built and the castle itself, which in turn consist of many defined parts dating from different periods of time. Church of St. Vitus (Kostel Sv. Víta) is a Gothic church dating back to the 15th century with frescoes from the same period.
Český Krumlov Castle preserves its Baroque theatre (completed 1766), complete with original stage machinery, scenery and props:, one of only a few such court theatres that still exist. Due to its age, the theatre is only used three times a year (only two are open to the public), when a Baroque opera is performed in simulated candlelight. The castle’s last private owner was Adolph Schwarzenberg. It was here that he received President Edvard Beneš and gave him a large contribution for the defence of Czechoslovakia against the growing threat of Nazi Germany. His property was seized by the Gestapo in 1940 and then confiscated by the Czechoslovak government in 1945.
Krumlov has a museum dedicated to the painter Egon Schiele, who lived in the town. Ten kilometers from Krumlov is one of Bohemia’s oldest monasteries, Zlatá Koruna („The Golden Crown“). About 30 km from Krumlov is the Hluboka Castle, established in the twelfth century and later remodelled in imitation of Windsor Castle. Krumlov is close to the Šumava National Park, the Czech Republic’s largest national park. The Šumava mountains lie along the border with Austria and Germany and offer a range of natural habitats – peat bogs, Alpine meadows, old-growth forests, lakes, and rivers. The area is popular with walkers, cyclists, and canoeists on the Vltava. Cesky Krumlov is only a short distance from the man-made Lake Lipno, on which many people take boat trips to various small towns on the lake and also to the Dam, which is a Hydro-electic power plant.
Český Krumlov is home to Pivovar Eggenberg brewery. It has also been used as filming locations for movies such as the 2006 films The Illusionist and Hostel as well as the 1970s German movie Traumstadt.
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag (parliament), and the official residence of the Swedish monarch as well as the prime minister. Since 1980, the monarch has resided at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm and uses the Royal Palace of Stockholm as his workplace and official residence.
Founded circa 1250, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden’s cultural, media, political, and economic centres. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the south-central east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-. In The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in Scandinavia. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks. It is sometimes referred to as Venice of the North. Stockholm is the second most visited city in the Nordic countries, with around one million visitors in 2006.
Germany, Bavaria
Argentinia, Salta
Argentinia, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
