This week’s Travel Tuesday highlights a whimsical umbrella art installation in Brno, Czechia.
After the rather sunny image in last week’s installment of Travel Tuesday, it’s time to prepare for a little rain. Or rather, it wasn’t really raining during that day in Brno, Czechia, when I captured this week’s image, but everyone was prepared!
Here’s that abundance of preparation…
Let it rain!
This rather fun, whimsical art installation in one of the main shopping streets in Brno is definitely a great way to bring a little color. With this splash of shades from these umbrellas, one cannot help but smile! It certainly made me smile and look up for this photo!
Memories of a day spent at the port of Rotterdam with aunt Marlies, featuring ‘de Ballentent’
It’s been an intense day today, so a little tardy in getting my post on-line. In this one I’m going back to June of 2011, as I was sauntering along the port of Rotterdam with my aunt Marlies. We were simply enjoying the sights and company, as we were taking in some of the classic locales of the city of Rotterdam, one of which is featured in this post.
Here’s that classic ‘kroeg’ along the Parkkade…
De Ballentent
This establishment is named De Ballentent, which was established just after World War II at this location on the edge of Het Park, which was noted in a Travel Tuesday post a while back. First of all, the name ‘Ballentent’ is what we call a fair attraction where one throws balls at objects for prizes. Also, this establishment is what in Dutch we would call a ‘kroeg’ or a pub in English. It’s one of those places where people sit down, have a drink and chat with each other.
Time to revisit the Mediterranean, reflecting on a 2017 trip to Tuscany’s and the hamlet of Colordesoli. We did find our gelato in the neighboring town of Chiusdino!
We’re staying around the Mediterranean after last week’s excursion to Scotland in our Wednesday Window installment.
Chiusdino Streetview
During our trip to Italy in 2017, we stayed in a small town in Tuscany, named Colordesoli. When I say small, the town of Colordesoli has about 17 residents and is in the municipality of Chiusdino. This photo is from our first day’s exploration, as we needed some gelato, because we’re in Italy. Sauntering around Chiusdino we found a Gelateria and experienced our first bit of charm of the Tuscan hills. It’s just amazing there!
This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.
Reminiscence of a work trip to Israel and getting to visit Apollonia National Park. A great location with stunning views.
After last week’s visit to wonderful Scotland in our installment of Travel Tuesday, it’s another opportunity to visit a warmer climate. This week’s photo goes back just over 9 years, when I had just started working for Red Hat. My first work trip took me to the warmth of the Mediterranean coast in Israel.
Here’s a photo from that visit…
Apollonia National Park
As I was staying in Herzliya and had some time on my first day, I walked up to Apollonia National Park, which is just up the coast. This site has been occupied from around the Persian period (500 BCE) and prospered during Roman rule. The remains of a Roman villa were excavated in 1980.
During the Crusader period, a fort was constructed, the remains of which are still evident across the entire site. It’s a great location and with the gorgeous blue Mediterranean Sea, you just can’t go wrong.
We’re still in Scotland this Wednesday with a visit to one of its strongholds, Dunstaffnage Castle in Oban.
Just like in the Travel Tuesday posts, we’re going from Egypt to Scotland this week for our window. Even though Scotland doesn’t have quite the same ancient structures as one finds in Egypt, there are plenty of reminders of an often turbulent past. Castles, churches and monasteries tell the stories of battles in a distant memory, as people battled over power, control and religion.
Here’s a window view from that past…
Dunstaffnage Castle
Dunstaffnage Castle, in Oban, was once a stronghold of the MacDougalls, built in the 13th century. It was captured in 1308 by Robert the Bruce and remained in royal hands until 1469. The grounds are a pleasure to visit, as they give a real sense of the Middle Ages and how people built their keeps.
This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.
Traveling through Scotland we find a memorable location on the Isle of Mull. Idyllic scenes abound!
After visiting the desert climate of Egypt in last week’s Travel Tuesday, I’m taking you to a country with a bit more rainfall. Scotland might be known for getting more than its fair share of nimbus clouds, but during our trip there in 2013, the weather was nothing if not delightful. During our week and a half there, we may have seen about 45 minutes of showers. We brought so much sunshine with us, that some of the locals asked us to stay longer!
Here’s a sunny moment from that trip…
Mull Idyll
There’s nothing better than finding little gems just off the road, where the water cascades amidst an ocean of greens. This lovely spot was on the Isle of Mull during the early part of our journey. A wonderful island with great single-track roads and plenty of opportunity to brake for sheep (they don’t leave the road for a mere car).
Growing up in the Netherlands there were plenty of locations I had not visited until much later, such as Kinderdijk and Leiden. Here I make up for one of those in 2011.
Even though I grew up in the Netherlands, there are a number of locations that I never visited; or is it because I grew up in the Netherlands. One of these was Kinderdijk (until 2022), which was no surprise to our Dutch tour guide, as all of us in the Netherlands can see windmills just about every day. Similarly, it was not until 2011 that I visited Leiden.
Here’s an image from that visit…
Molen ‘De Put’
Visiting my cousins in Leiden made for a very nice walk around the city and just an all-around great time. Of course, one of these cousins lives in Australia, so she traveled the farthest! During the walk we came across this windmill, named ‘De Put’.
Another windmill, you say! This one is actually a replica that was rebuilt in 1987 and sits next to the Rembrandt Bridge. The original windmill was built in the early 17th century and was captured in an etch by Rembrandt, who lived in Leiden in his early life. So, definitely somewhat special!
We explore the beauty of encountering diverse cultures, such as our recent trip to Egypt. Rather than crediting alien influence, we can appreciate the rich mythology and imagination of the Egyptians.
Our travels take us to interesting locations and provide the opportunity to meet with people, learn about cultures and, in general, stand in awe of the world, as we’re speeding through space. This year’s trip to Egypt certainly gave me plenty of opportunity to stand in awe of not only the ancient civilization and its accomplishments, but also the people who live there now. Of course, some of the feats from antiquity make us question how things were accomplished.
Here’s one image that gave me pause for thought…
Ancient Alien?
We’ve all heard the explanation of ‘Ancient Aliens’ to questions about the amazing structures and how they were built, not only in Egypt but many locations on our planet. This stone block at the temple complex at Philae might steer some to that explanation, as does this one…
Otherworldly?
These are some different looking characters that we don’t expect to see walking around. Still not evidence of early arrivals by E.T.
Egyptians had a rich imagination and mythology, in which many unusual creatures feature. I find that these carvings are not any stranger than three-headed snakes with legs or gods with the heads of animals. They were some great thinkers and they still are!
This week features a statue of Queen Wilhelmina, who ruled the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948, located in Het Park, Rotterdam.
In the vein of last week’s post in Travel Tuesday, I posted a lovely statue in the dry climate of Egypt. This week, I figured that another statue might be interesting, especially since it has a very different charm. This time, it’s in the much wetter climate of the Netherlands.
Here’s that statue…
Koningin Wilhelmina
Queen Wilhelmina reigned as queen of The Netherlands from 1890 until 1948, at which time she handed over the throne to her daughter Juliana. This statue of Wilhelmina is located in ‘Het Park’ (the Park) in Rotterdam and was unveiled in 1968. The sculpture aims to capture the queen’s personality in her simplicity, as the mother of the Dutch people, looking up to her people. Her robustness also typifies Wilhelmina’s approach and perseverance in leading the Dutch nation throughout the difficult years of World War II.
Yes, I love travel and scenic locations, particularly Iceland, which remains my top choice for landscapes. And there’s no ignoring Skogafoss!
It seems like this series of posts has been well-traveled over the past number of months (use tag to travel). There are just so many great places and people to visit on this planet of ours! For pure landscape, I’ll admit that Iceland is still tops on my list!
Here’s another magnificent moment in Iceland…
Skogafoss Rainbow
Skogafoss is a stunning waterfall in this land of many great waterfalls. It’s also visited quite a bit, as its location is close to the ring road and not too far from Reykjavik. Every time that I come here, the waterfall presents itself in a unique way for that day, varying based on time of year, rainfall, melt-off, and many other factors.
