Jaap van 't Veen's photos

The Fraeylemaborg originates in the year of 1300 as a strong stone house with thick walls (in the Dutch province of Groningen they were called “borg”). In 1475 there was already a farm with the name “Frealemaheerd”. In the archives of 1504 the name is found of one Remmer Fraeylema. In the 16th century, the house was expanded and became a moat. From 1670, both wings were added, resulting in a U-shaped building. Through the centuries many powerful families have made the Fraeylemaborg their home. In 1781 the Fraeylemaborg was sold to “Hendrik de Sandra Veldtman”. He rebuilt the Fraeylemaborg into its present shape. The Thomassen à Thuessink van der Hoop van Slochteren family lived until 1972 in the house. It was sold to the “Gerrit van Houten Stichting”. Nowadays is the Fraeylemaborg a museum, with an interior that illustrates how people lived in a luxury house. The interior consists of precious antiques and everyday personal objects and the collection includes works by the Dutch painter Gerrit van Houten (1866-1934). The museum is combined with a wide range of cultural events and temporary exhibitions. (During my second visit to the “borg” - second half of December 2018 - the rooms of the Fraeylemaborg were beautifully embellished with Christmas decorations: see PiP’s).

Breese im Bruche is a so called Rundlingsdorf or Rundling . Such a Rundling is a more or less circular village and were typical in the Early Medieval period. These kind of villages were originally found across a strip of central Germany from Kiel to Bohemia. A Rundling was a relatively common village form used by the Slavs. It usually comprises a central, circular village green owned in common with about 10 or 15 individually owned Low German houses, radiating out around it like the spokes of a wheel. There are no contemporary historical records of the founding of these circular villages, but most probably they were founded in the 12th century; although Breese im Bruche is dating back to the 13th century.

The Brecon Beacons National Park covers an area of 1.345 square kilometers in Mid Wales between the English border and Swansea. The national park has four mountain ranges with the Brecon Beacons in the north nearby Brecon. Most of the area consists of high plains with grassy slopes, interspersed with moorland. Welsh mountain sheep and ponies run through the entire park. The park was founded in 1957, but only opened to the public nine years later. Twyn y Gaer is a grassy and fern-covered mound north of the visitor center, locally known as the Mountain Centre. It has a height of 367 meters and is the highest point in the area. On the top of the hill some remnants of an Iron Age hillfort can still be found in the landscape. Because of its detached location Twyn y Gaer offers stunning views over the soft rolling hills of the national park and as well as a patchwork pattern of farmland stretching out towards the north.

The (ancient) theatre of Epidaurus is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics. It was part of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. At a maximum capacity of about 13.000 spectators, the theatre hosted music, singing and dramatic games that were included in the worship of Asclepius. It was also used as a means to heal patients, since there was a belief that the observation of dramatic shows had positive effects on mental and physical health. The monument shows the characteristic structure of a classical Hellenistic theatre with an auditorium, orchestra and staging building. It was built in the late 4th century BC and enlarged in the mid-2nd century AD. During Roman times, the theatre (unlike many Greek theatres) did not suffer any modifications. The auditorium has 55 rows of seats resting on a natural slope and facing the stage area set against a backdrop of lush landscape. It was divided into two parts: a 21-rows of seats part, aimed for the citizens and a 34-rows of seats part aimed for the priests and rulers. The theatre is famous for its exceptional acoustics. Any sound on the open-air stage, whether a stentorian voice or a whisper, a deep breath or the sound of a match struck is perfectly audible to all spectators, even in the topmost row of seats, that is nearly 60 metres away. For centuries the theatre remained covered by a slope of trees until the year 1881, when several excavations took place. Since 1938, when modern dramas started to be presented again in the theatre, it has hosted hundreds of plays. The famous Athens Epidaurus Festival begun in1954 and is held every summer with famous ancient dramas or modern plays.

With ‘only’ 196 metres above sea level Ascona is Switzerland's lowest lying city. The town is located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore (also called Lake Langen), at the mouth of the Maggia River. Ascona is famous for its old town, the South European promenade (PiP 1) with its many terraces and its mild climate. In ‘Borgo’ - the old center of town - lies the San Pietro e Paolo basilica (PiP 2), dating back to the 16th century.. The high bell tower of the church is the landmark of this holiday resort. The many alleys in the old center lead to the car free promenade with its charming street cafés. In the past Ascona had four fortresses, of which only ruins are left. By the end of the 19th century, writers and artists moved to the attractive fishing village, later followed by tourists later. It is now a sophisticated holiday destination.

Easter Island - or Rapa Nui as the locals call their island - is well known for its moai , the great carved stone statues staring stonily across the island’s barren hills. The islanders used stone tools to carve a statue out of volcanic tuff. The statues were secured by bark rope attached to tree trunk capstans at the top of the ‘moai factory’. Then they were lowered down the slope into pits where, upstanding right, they were carved in the familiar shape. From there they were transported over the island to their final resting places. Each statue was carved to represent a specific deified ancestor - moai means “for the progeny” or “for the descendants” - that’s why there are no two statues alike. There are almost 900 moai recorded on Rapa Nui; almost 400 still in the quarry, between 164 and 288 on an ahu (a raised rectangular platform used as a place of worship) and 200 remain on the spot were they fell or were left during transport. The average moai weighs 12,5 tons and stands 4 metres high. The largest site on Rapa Nui with standing moai is Ahu Tongariki. It has fifteen stone statues lined up and also the largest moai ever erected on the island with a weight of more than 86 tons. One of them is wearing a so called pukao , topknots or hats. They were carved out of a relatively soft red volcanic stone and number around a hundred. The fifteen moai were toppled in the 17th century, as were all other of these statues on the island, during a tribal war. An earthquake off the coast of Chile in 1960 produced a tsunami that tossed the moai of Ahu Tongariki - some weighing up to 30 tons - more than 600 metres inland. In October 1992 an agreement was signed between the Government of Chile and the Moai Restoration Committee of Japan to restore Ahu Tongariki, which as finally completed in 1996.

The Fellhorn/Kanzelwand ski area is located on the border between Germany and Austria. It has fourteen cable cars and lifts with a total of thirty-six kilometers of slopes. The winter sports area is situated between the elevations of 920 and 1.967 m. The main picture shows the view from the Obere Geren-Piste nearby the mountain station of the Fellhornbahn into Kleinwalsertal (Austria).

Arkadi Monastery is located on the edge of the Psilorítis Mountains at an altitude of 500 metres, on a fertile plateau with olive groves, vineyards, pine, cypress and oak trees. The exact date of the foundation of the monastery is not precisely known. Sometimes it is attributed to the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and sometimes to the emperor Arcadius, somewhere in the 5th century. However, in Crete, it is common for monasteries to be named after the monk that founded the building, which lends support to the theory that Arkadi may have been founded by a monk named Arkadios. The building of the present Venetian church - with its striking façade of golden stone - started in 1562 and took twenty-five years. The two-nave church with its graceful bell tower stands in the centre of the courtyard. Inside is a beautifully carved iconostasis of cypress wood, executed in 1902 (PiP 2). The surrounding buildings were added during the 1600s (PiP 3) . By the 19th century it had become one of the most prosperous monasteries on the island and was a centre of resistance against the Turks. During the 1866 rebellion, nearly 300 guerrilla fighters and some 700 women and children took refuge in the monastery. The Turks laid siege to it and after three days broke through the gates on 9th November. As they rushed in, the abbot ordered the ignition of the gunpowder magazine (PiP4), even though civilians were hiding inside. Hundreds of people, Cretans and Turks alike, were killed in the massive explosion. The angry Turks slaughtered most of the survivors. The tragic event in 1866 made Arkadi Monastery to a national symbol of Crete’s heroic struggle for independence. Arkadi became certainly the most historic monastery of Crete the most sacred symbol of the struggle of the Cretans for independence. It is the theater of the tragic battle of 1866, which opened the way for the liberation of the island in 1898. UNESCO has designated Arkadi as a European Freedom Monument.

When nowadays visiting Ransdorp, it is almost unbelievable this rural and pastoral village once was a medium sized trading village with more ships at sea than Amsterdam. During the Golden Age of this area - about 1450-1570 - numerous shipping entrepreneurs and skippers lived in Ransdorp. Around 1545, more people from Waterland than from Amsterdam sailed to the Baltic Sea. The richly decorated flat and oversized church tower - late gothic style - reminds the people of Ransdorp of the heyday of their village. A lovely village - just 8 km’s from Amsterdam - with wooden green coloured houses. It is a tiny place with about 250 inhabitants. At thirty-two metres in height it is far-and-away the tallest building, not just in the village but in all the villages in the area. Started in the first half of the 16th century, the tower was supposed to have a spire but was never completed, most probably due to a lack of money. The church itself was built in 1719 and replaced an church from the Middle Ages. Nowadays it use for expositions, receptions and other cultural events. During the summer season the church and tower are open for visitors and you can climb the 155 stair steps to the top of the tower for a stunning view over the surrounding area.

The ‘Salzspeicher’ (Salt Warehouses) are six gabled brick buildings on the banks of the Obertrave, next to the well known ‘Holstentor’. The warehouses were built between 1579 and 1745 in the style of the Brick Renaissance. Originally, the buildings were used to store the salt that was mined in the Oldesloe saltworks (nearby Lüneburg) and brought to Lübeck over the Stecknitz canal and Trave. From the ‘Salzspeicher’ in Lübeck the salt was transported to Scandinavian and Baltic countries, where it was used for the preservation of fish. This salt trade from the late Middle Ages onward was a major reason for the wealth and power of Lübeck.

Desenzano - located on the south-western shore of Lake Garda - was already in the past a favourite vacation spot for the élite from Verona. And today it is till a popular Italian holiday destination, which attracts myriad tourists from everywhere in Europe. The peaceful ‘Porto Vecchio (Old Harbour) - already mentioned in 1274 - was expanded in the current configuration at the time of the Venetian Republic in service of the flourishing grain market. The ancient dock overlooks Palazzo Todeschini, with its arches it is dating back to the end of the 16th century. Nowadays little boats are moored in the harbour, which is lined with several cafes, bars and restaurants. The well restored business houses along the ‘Porto Vecchio’ are reminders of a glorious past of Desenzano del Garda.

Brecon Cathedral - or officially “Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist” - started life in 1093 as the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist, built by the Normans on the site of an earlier Celtic church. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 it became Brecon's Parish Church. It became a cathedral only in 1923 on the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. Adjacent to the cathedral lies the graveyard in one of the most charming, serene and peaceful settings I have ever seen for a graveyard. Old tombstones and Celtic crosses are scattered throughout the yard sometimes overgrown with plants or moss in a park-like area and during my visit with huge fields of wild cyclamen.

Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp Central) is the name of the main railway station in Antwerp. The original station building was constructed between 1895 and 1905; it replaced the wooden train station from the mid 19th century. The stone clad terminus buildings were designed by the Bruges architect L. Delacenserie. It has a huge dome above the waiting room and eight smaller towers of which six were demolished during the 1950s. Fortunately they were reconstructed in 2009 together with several ornaments, including large lion statues. The rich interior is lavishly decorated with more than twenty different kinds of marble and stone. Nowadays the railway station is considered being the finest example of railway architecture in Belgium. In 2009 the American magazine “Newsweek” judged Antwerpen-Centraal the world's fourth greatest train station. Five years later it was awarded by the British-American magazine “Mashable” with the first place for the most beautiful railway station in the world.

Salinas Grandes is a salt flat/lake with a surface of approximately 220 km2 on the border of the provinces of Jujuy and Salta in northwest Argentina. The ‘salar’ lies at an elevation of more than 3.500 metres above sea level. It has a drainage basin extending over 4.600 km2. The origin of Salinas Grandes dates from an extended period of time between 5 and 10 million years ago, when the basin was covered with water with a large amount of salts coming from volcanic activity. The gradual evaporation of such continental saline waters gave rise to this salt having a thick crust.

Central Park (and the northern part of Manhattan) seen from the Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center.

Lake Kournas is the only natural lake in Crete. It is one of the very few areas with plenty of fresh water throughout the year; for this reason, it is protected under the Natura 2000 program. Lake Kournas has been created by accumulation of groundwater coming from the White Mountains. There are also two springs in the lake. Located just a couple of kilometers from the beach it is surrounded by the mountains and olive groves. The lake is not that big with a perimeter of 3.5 kilometres, has a maximum depth of 22.5 metres and lies approximately 20 metres above sea level. The volume of the water is summer is 7.5 million cubic metres. The dark colour of the lake is caused from the seaweeds coming from the depth of the lake. Many species of birds find shelter here, like moorhens, ducks, herons and cormorants. Lake Kournas has always been known for its eels. The surrounding wetlands also host water snakes and terrapins

The river Breitach has cut a deep canyon into the rocks of the Bavarian Alps, almost on the border between Austria and Germany, just south of Oberstdorf. The most interesting part of the gorge is a couple of hundred meters long. On some places the steep walls are more than 100 meters high, where only very few spots ever get the sunlight. There is a secured path along the river, which on the narrowest places has been cut into the steep wall of the canyon. All around is water running down the rocks, gurgles in tiny rivers across the hiking trail into the Breitach. On other place waterfalls are coming down from the cliff walls. At the start of the trail there is still lush green vegetation, but the further you come the scene turns into barren rocks with the noise of the powerful water rushing and tumbling metres below the walkway. (Visited also in winter, which is of course quite different: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/36423358/in/album/742620)

Beekhuizerzand: a Dutch mini desert. It is one of the few remaining drift sand areas in the Netherlands and even Europe. Beekhuizerzand is an area of about 200 hectares. It had to be restored in 2004 from a wooded area to the drift sand in its current shape. Many pines have been cut for this transformation. The top layer of the soil was removed; causing the wind can do its work again. Drift sand areas are unique natural landscapes in western Europe, most of them can be found in the Netherlands. They have their own flora and fauna. Characteristic plants and animals are the lichens and the sand lizards. The temperatures in a drift sand area can vary considerably. Sometimes it freezes at night, but during the day the temperature can rise to 40 degrees Celsius.