Tag: nature
Motsuji Temple and Kanjiziao-in, Hiraizumi – a Pure Land temple and noble pleasure garden
Located slightly north of Ichinoseki （一関), Hiraizumi is a small, unassuming town. Mostly consisting of houses and small businesses, you might easily overlook this town in the Tohoku region of Japan. However, if you did, you would be missing out on a lot. That is because it is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Historic […]
Hydrangea Festival at Takatôyama Park (Kitakyushu, Japan)
If you know anything about the Japanese, it is that they love their monoculture gardens. Many Japanese people also know when different flowering plants are in full bloom. Plum blossoms early in the year, cherry blossoms in April, Wisteria in mid-May, Peonies in late May/early June, etc. So what about mid-June? In mid-June the hydrangeas […]
Pen y Fan, Wales – At the head of the Valleys
In the centre of Wales lies Brecon Beacons National Park, which contains a mountain range of the same name (Brecon Beacons). One of these mountains is Pen y Fan. Pen y Fan is the highest mountain in central and southern Wales. It sits just southeast of the town of Brecon, which is related to the […]
Rest and Be Thankful – Scotland A83
In 1753 there had been a recent Jacobite rebellion; General Wade had the task of subjugating Scotland. One of the many things they built were roads to improve connectivity, This would allow troops to move faster and react to these crises in the future. One of the results was Drover’s Road (the old A83) and […]
Brean Down, England – Down to the Sea
On the Somerset coast just outside Weston-Super-Mare is a small holiday village: Brean. Apart from the beach and holiday homes, there really isn’t much there. There is just one exception: Brean Down. History Brean Down formed about 60,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age in southern England. Glaciers retreated across the […]
Caumasee, Switzerland – Ice blue water in winter
Like the Rheinschlucht nearby, the Caumasee is a lake formed due to the largest known pre-historic landslide in the Alps. The lake itself (which is how See translates from German in this case) sits upon the debris deposited by the landslide. The lake is located near the ski resort town of Flims in the Swiss […]
Rheinschlucht, Switzerland – The Grand Canyon of Switzerland
The Ruinaulta or Rheinschlucht is a large canyon in the Canton of Grisons in Switzerland. It was formed approximately 10,000 years ago. when a landslide brought millions of tonnes of debris into the valley, creating this canyon area. The term Ruinaulta refers to this high heap of rubble (the literal meaning), while the name Rheinschlucht […]
Bohemian Switzerland (Böhmische Schweiz), Czech Republic – A Walk in the Park
On the German-Czech border lies a national park split by the two countries. The German side is Saxon Switzerland, named so by two artists employed by the court in Dresden who were from Switzerland (the Saxon part comes from the name of the state in which Dresden lies, Saxony). The Czech side is Bohemian Switzerland. […]
Peak District, England – The land of inspiration
The Peak District in England is a national park that draws an estimated 20 million people every year. They hike around the rural areas, including farmland, moorland, hills and the peaks themselves. History Historically this area has been very important to England and the UK as a whole. Settlements of the area have been dated […]
Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft, Germany – The sea is calm tonight
You may not connect Germany with the ocean in your mind. However you would be remiss to forget that Germany actually has two coasts. One the eastern side of the country, directly north of Berlin, lies the Baltic Coast. On the Baltic Coast lies the Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft, or the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National […]
Cap Norfeu, Spain – A small peninsula in the large Mediterranean
If you are ever near Girona in Spain and have some time, check out Cap Norfeu! It is a area of natural beauty on the Mediterranean coast in Catalonia, Spain.
Schiefergebirge, Germany – My Heart’s in the Highlands
The Thüringer Schiefergebirge, known as the Thuringian Highlands in English, is an area of the German federal state Thuringia (German: Thüringen) featuring steeply hilly areas on the border between Bavaria and Thuringia, through which the Saale River cuts. As the German name suggests, this area contains a lot of slate rock. There are very few […]
Crestasee & Felsbachschlucht, Switzerland – Winter Wonderland
When you say “Grisons, Switzerland”, what comes to mind? For most people this Swiss canton conjures up images of skiing in the Swiss Alps, for example the ski resort in Laax/Flims/Falera. But what happens when you can’t or don’t want to ski? What else is there to do? Here is one option:
Monasterio de Obarra, Spain – Monastery in a valley
In the foothills of the Pyrenees near Roda de Isábena lies a Romanesque monastery. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Santa Maria), mountains surround it on all sides and you can only access it by hiking or through a small road that goes between Ballabriga and Bonansa. Because it is difficult to access, not many tourists […]
