Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt is the largest city in Hesse and is situated at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. The city is known as the financial, trade fair and transportation centre of Germany and the largest financial centre in continental Europe. The city has been Germany’s financial centre for centuries and it is the home of a number of major banks and brokerages. The airport is the third busiest airport by passenger traffic in Europe. Furthermore, it is is Germany’s most expensive city, and the 10th most expensive in the world…
Frankfurt is one of the few European cities with a significant number of skyscrapers, meaning buildings at least 150 m (492.13 ft) tall and 12 out of a total of 13 skyscapers in Germany are located in Frankfurt.
The Römer is a complex of nine houses and the middle house became the city hall, which includes on the upper floor the Kaisersaal (“Emperor’s Hall”) where the newly crowned emperors held their banquets.
Isle of Skye – Neist Point Lighthouse
Neist Point Lighthouse commands one of the finest vintage points in Scotland. The Lighthouse is sitting in the north west of the Isle of Skye (Duirinish peninsula) and presents the most westerly point of the island. It is renowned for the impresive rock formations, which closely resembles the famous Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. A steep path leads down from the road.
The Lighthouse was designed by David Alan Stevenson and was first lit on 1 November 1909. The aerial cableway is used to take supplies to the lighthouse and cottages. Since 1990, the lighthouse has been operated remotely from the Northern Lighthouse Board headquarters in Edinburgh.
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Royal Deeside
The area around Braemar and Ballater is known as Royal Deeside, since Queen Victoria and the Royal Family have spent their holidays at Balmoral Castle. The river Dee has an important role for the nature in the area, because much of the semi-natural pinewoods in Scotland are within the river catchment. The whole area is famous for the rare pinewoods, birchwoods and heather moors and presents a associated wildlife.
The Ballater Railway Station was the terminus of the Royal Deeside Line from Aberdeen. It was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway and was then closed in 1966. The old station was containing Queen Victoria’s waiting room. Nowadays, it is a visitor centre with a replica royal carriage.
Berlin
Berlin is with a population of 3.45 million people the largest city of Germany and is the residence for over 190 nations. The city is the home of renowned universities and research institutes. Furthermore, Berlin shelters great culture, like museums, orchestra and sporting events. The city is famous for the diverse architecture, nightlife and contemporary arts. Its unique and urban settings,plus historical legacy have made it a popular location for international film productions.
Berlin – Potsdamer Platz
The Potsdamer Platz is a public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin, Germany and the history can be tracked back to the year 1685.
In 1924 one of the first traffic lights in Continental Europe were built at Potsdamer Platz in an attempt to control the sheer volume of traffic passing through. More than 100.000 people and more than 60.000 cars, horse-drawn vehicles, handcarts and bycicles passed the place daily.
During World War II almost all of the buildings around Potsdamer Platz were turned to rubble by air raids and heavy artillery bombardment, but commercial life reappeared in the ruins around Potsdamer Platz within just a few weeks of war’s end.
1961, the construction of the Berliner Wall found the Potsdamer Platz physically divided in two peaces and became totally desolate. Only two buildings in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz still stood in the east part of Berlin. Below ground, the S-Bahn line remained open, without stopping at Potsdamer Platz. Therefore, the trains briefly passed through East German territory en route from one part of West Berlin to another and the S-Bahn station became the most infamous of several Geisterbahnhöfe (ghost stations).
After the opening of the Berliner Wall in 1989, Potsdamer Platz was one of the first places to cross the border between East and West Berlin. Nowadays, the square became the focus of attention again and became the key area where the city had an opportunity to express itself.
Stirling
Stirling is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth. The origin of the city name Stirling is uncertain, but folk etymology suggests that it originates in either a Scots or Gaelic term meaning the place of battle, struggle or strife, but other sources suggest that it originates in a Brythonic name meaning “dwelling place of Melyn“.
Wallace Monument
The National Wallace Monument is a tower standing near Stirling (Scotland) and commemorates Sir William Wallace. The tower was constructed in the 19th century and was the design of architect John Thomas Rochead. The monument is a 67-metre sandstone tower in Victorian Gothic style. It is situated on the Abbey Craig, from which Wallace was said to have watched the gathering of the army of king Edward I.
It is possible to climb the 246 step spiral staircase to the viewing gallery inside the monument’s crown and open up the views of the Ochil Hills and the Forth Valley. The Hall of heroes includes a series of busts of famous Scots.
A nice evening at the Clyde
These photos were taken during a very sunny and warm April evening in Glasgow.
The former docklands site on the south bank of the River Clyde is the site of the Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow Tower and the headquarter for the BBC Scotland and STV. At the opposite, the Clyde Auditorium (Armadillo) and other new buildings found their places. In addition, several new bridges spanning the River Clyde have been built, including the Clyde Arc Bridge (Squinty Bridge) and others at Tradestone and Springfield Quay.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is located on Argyle Street, in the West End of the city Glasgow, Scotland. The gallery was opened in 1901 as a Palace of Fine Arts for the Glasgow International Exhibition held in the year.
There is a popular myth in Glasgow, that the building was accidentally built back-to-front, but the grand entrance was always intended to face into Kelvingrove Park.
Mingle-Mangle from Glasgow
These photos were taken during a very sunny April day in Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow is a very interesting city and has a lot of great new architecture mixed with old industrial buildings and beautiful art nouveau houses.
