Irish pub culture
On the afternoon of that Saturday when I first visited Dublin, I stopped at McDaids, a pub in the city centre. It was relatively empty, and I found a cosy spot in the corner and ordered – of course – a pint of Guiness. But it was not to remain
The Old Library of Trinity College
One of my main destinations in Dublin was this old library and its Long Room. I took care of a ticket first thing in the morning and just made it before the massive stream of tourists entered the room. The library began with the founding of Trinity College in 1592.
Sfera con Sfera
The Sphere Within Sphere (Sfera con Sfera in Italian) is a series of sculptures created by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro depicting an enormous metal sphere with a cracked surface revealing an intricate interior with another cracked sphere inside. Pomodoro originally created it for the Vatican Church in the 1960s, but
Half-timbered on Wartburg Castle
The half-timbered house is a skeleton construction made of wood, in which the horizontal bracing is done by means of diagonally installed struts and the spaces in between are filled with a wooden mesh plastered with clay. The timber used was mostly round logs hewn into beams with a square
Hebetempel in the Palace Park
The Hebetempel is located in the baroque part of Neustrelitz Palace Park and is a classicist building. It was erected in the middle of the 19th century as a point de vue at the intersection of the Baroque visual axis and Tempelallee in place of an earlier structure. A circle
Ladies’ sauna in Moorish style
The centrepiece of Leipzig’s historic city baths was the ladies’ sauna in Moorish style, which is now a listed building. Magnificent columns and arches, filigree patterns with gold ornaments and decorative wall mosaics exuded an oriental flair from the Arabian Nights. The fountain with ornamental tiles in the centre of
L’Arbre blanc de Montpellier
In 2013, Montpellier’s urban planning was given the motto “Folies du XXIe siècle”. The most impressive result is undoubtedly the “Arbre Blanc” on the banks of the river Lez, opposite the Antigone quarter. Around the tower-like residential skyscraper, wildly wide white balconies shoot up like bark mushrooms. Held in place
Carcassonne, the fortress city
The Cité de Carcassonne on the right bank of the Aude is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The medieval fortification is unique in Europe in terms of its size and state of preservation. The Cité is enclosed by a double ring of walls. Inside, the count’s castle (château comtal) was
Canal du Midi and Languedoc
The Languedoc in the Occitanie region is France’s largest wine-growing area with a vineyard area of about 250,000 hectares. We cycled along vineyards for hours. As some of them had just been harvested, we could see the huge machines used to do this. One of the farmers was kind enough
La Poste, from old to new.
In 2010, La Poste unveiled its new logo. It should better reflect its ambitions within the society. The new logo was meant to convey a “more dynamic and contemporary face” and the idea of a stronger company. They were not quite sure about this everywhere and preferred to leave the