Jaap van 't Veen's photos

The single arched bridge is known by many as the ‘Venetian Bridge’, but although the style is Venetian the bridge was built in 1850 by the monks of the nearby monastery. The bridge comprises of two inclined stone laid levels of 13,30 meters width and 7,60 meters height. The construction is highly regarded both from the architectural and the aesthetic points of view. Right by the bridge is a summer taverna (PiP) and just up the road from the bridge are the ruins of Kato Moni Preveli. The bridge crosses the river Megas Potamos (literally ‘Big River’) which flows towards the sea through the palm forest of Preveli. It is one of the few rivers in Crete which has water all year round.

Timber framed houses along the river Rur in Monschau. The city originated around 1195 and takes its name from the castle situated on a hill above the river Rur (PiP2). It is mentioned for the first time in 1198 as Mons Ioci and then in 1217 as Munioie and as Monjoje in 1226. Monjoye dominated the written form during the Late Middle Ages and in the Early Modern Times. Around 1800, the Montjoie form arose during the French rule in the Rhineland. By official decree, the name was ‘Germanized’ into Monschau in autumn of 1918 as the result of the lost First World War and the ensuing Francophobia.

Portmeirion is a coastal resort on a peninsula in North Wales with hotels, cafe and tearoom, restaurants, shops and self catering cottages. Situated in the heart of Snowdonia it is overlooking the stunning coastal scenery of the estuary of the River Dwyryd. Portmeirion was created by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976. He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it. Clough Williams-Ellis had conceived of a tightly grouped coastal village on some romantic clifftop site, perhaps on an island or a remote estuary. This idea stayed with him for about 20 years until in 1925 he found the Aber Iâ estate on the Dwyryd estuary near his home. He did not feel Aber Iâ was appropriate as it could mean 'frozen river mouth', which was not ideal for a holiday resort. He changed the change the name to Portmeirion: ‘port’ to put it on the coast. and 'meirion' the correct spelling of Merioneth, the county in which it was located. The Italian-like village of Portmeirion was built in two stages, from 1925 to 1939 and then once post war building restrictions had been lifted, from 1954 to 1976. Today Portmeirion is owned by a charitable trust and can be visited on payment of an admission fee.

Penguin chick just left its burrow for a couple of seconds, so I could take this picture from nearby. Magellan penguins live 25-30 years and always come back to the place where they were born for the mating season. They usually have one or two offsprings. Males and females take turns to watch and feed the little ones. They swim for food every eight hours and dive 30 to 35 metres deep. Couples are always the same and they come back to the colony only for the reproduction season. The Seno Otway Penguin Colony is located 65km from Punta Arenas , in the southern part of Chile and can be visited through a self guided. There is a wooded trail of about 1 ½ km with a couple of observation points. During our visit (more or less summer) it was freezing cold and very windy.

The Kourtaliotiko Gorge (Κουρταλιώτικο Φαράγγι) is considered being one of the most beautiful gorges in Crete. It follows the Kourtaliotiko River flowing southwards between the mountains of Kouroupa (984 m) and Xiron (904 m). Coming from the north the gorge starts nearby the village of Koxare winding almost three kilometers among bare vertical cliffs, which reach a height of hundreds of meters. The elevation difference between the entrance point and the outlet is hundred and fifty metres. The Kourtaliotiko Gorge is named after the clapping sounds which can be heard when a strong wind is beating against the rocks of the gorge. These sounds are called “kourtala” in the local dialect PiP1: the entrance of the gorge seen from the road below the village of Frati. PiP2: Agios Nikolaos, about halfway the gorge steps are leading to this picturesque chapel

The Grote Markt (Market Square) is the heart of the old city and covers an area of about 1 hectare. It is lined with stepped gabled houses, the Provincial Palace and the 83-metre high Belfort.

Chester Rows can be found in the four main streets in the centre of Chester. They consist of covered and continuous half-timbered walkways at the first floor with shops and other premises. At street level there are also retail premises, which can be entered by going down a few steps. Some original 13th century buildings, have survived the ravages of time, but many of the impressive facades are Victorian copies. The Rows, with its double-decker architectural design, are unique in the world. The earliest written records of the Rows date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, but it’s possible they actually existed in some form for many centuries before that. Most probably they may have been built on top of rubble remaining from the ruins of Roman buildings. Still their origin is subject to speculation. Undercrofts were constructed beneath the buildings in the Rows. The undercrofts were in stone while most of the buildings in the Rows were in timber.

The original Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche was built in the late 19th century, but was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The new building - church, foyer and a separate belfry - was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall. The new church is constructed of concrete, steel and glass. The walls of the are made of a concrete honeycomb, containing 21.292 stained glass inlays with a predominant blue colour. The crucifixus, which is suspended above the altar, is made from so called tombak.

Unlike many other churches we visited in Greece and Crete this church (Saint Peter and Paul Church or Saint Raphael Church ??) is a quite modern one, being built in the early 1990’s in a tasteful way. The church is located just outside the village of Spili - at the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Lambi, Sivritos and Sfakia. It is home of a theological seminary and most probably one will see many priests (in training) in and around this little town. We were free to walk around and admire the arched entryways, marble-floor courtyard, nicely decorated church and numerous illustrations of religious motives.

Marktplatz (Market square) in Heppenheim during blue hour with the town hall (l) and half-timbered houses. The town hall (Rathaus) was built in 1561. After the city fire of 1693 the baroque half-timbered Rathaus was rebuilt in 1705/06.

The Prodromou Monastery (Moni Timíou Prodrómou - Μονή Τιμίου Προδρόμου) is one of the most famous monasteries in the Peloponnese. The particularly picturesque and visually stunning monastery is situated on/against the eastern cliffs of the Lousios River Gorge with its stone buildings and ramshackle wooden balconies, seeming to hang from the overhanging cliffside. The three-storied east and south wings and the two-storied north wing contain cells, storerooms, and service areas. It is said to date back to the year of 1167, but reliable sources estimate the foundation somewhere in the 16th century. The monastery is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, who in the Orthodox tradition is usually called Pródromos (the Forerunner, meaning the one who came before Jesus). The monastery houses a literally hidden gem: a very small (2.25 x 4.90 m) domed, rock hewn church (PiP 3) with an iconostasis from the 16th century; frescoes were painted directly on the rock walls (PiP 4) outside the church. Due to its inaccessible location Moni Prodromou played a large role in the Greek War of Independence in 1821 as a medical and supply station for the Greek soldiers and as refuge for civilians. The original door is still intact and the bullet holes are indicative of the fighting that occurred in this area. The monastery still houses a monk community and during our visit we were welcomed by one of them with Greek coffee, water, bread and honey sweet loukoumia. It can be reached from the main road between Stemnitsa and Dimitsana through a 7 km long particularly steep, winding and narrow road and a 15 minutes walk.

St. Peter’s Church in Melverley is situated on the banks of the River Vyrnwy. The church was rebuilt in 1406 to replace the wooden chapel, which was burnt down during the Welsh uprisings in 1401. All that remains of the old building is the Saxon font, which is still used for baptisms today. It features also a Jacobean pulpit and a lectum (1727) with a chained bible. The current timber-framed, wattle and daub, black and white church is one of only three such churches to be found in Shropshire and one of twenty-seven in England and the oldest of its kind. There is not one nail in the building.

In the early 18th century monks of the Order of the Recoletos arrived in this area. The order was disbanded in 1822. The garden of the convent was converted into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. The cemetery is built around the former convent and the Our Lady of Pilar church (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar), built in 1732. Recoleta Cemetery has a surface of 5.5 hectares and contains almost 4.700 vaults. The entrance to the cemetery is through neo-classical gates with tall Doric columns. The cemetery has many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. Materials used between 1880 and 1930 in the construction of tombs were imported from Paris and Milan. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. Many notable people (presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy and a granddaughter of Napoleon), are buried on the Recoleta Cemetery. Perhaps the most well known of all is Eva Perón. Main picture: Recoleta Cemetery, seen from the top of Hotel Etoile. PiP1: one of the side ‘streets’ PiP2: plaque on the mausoleum of the Eva Peron mausoleum

The legendary view from the Nebelhorn at a height of 2.224 m towards ‘400 mountain peaks’ with Zugspitze, Lechtaler Alps and Swiss mountains.

Gortys, (also called Gortyn or Gortyna) was the most important Roman town on Crete, but its origins go back to the end of the Bronze Age. It is one of the most important cities in Crete with an unbroken history of 6.000 years and one of the most extensive archaeological sites in Greece. The city was destroyed in the 9th century by Arab raiders and the area has been uninhabited ever since. At the end of the 19th century Italian archaeologists began excavating ancient Gortys, which continues until today. The pictures show a small Roman amphitheatre, where musical recitals were staged. There are still four carved stone stepped rows of seats and two flights of stairs. The stage is paved with brick and marbles; the semicircular orchestra has white and grey marble slabs. The north wall of the stage has four niches, which were used for statues.

Most of the timber framed houses in Shrewsbury are dating back to the 15th and 16th century and were erected in the ‘golden years’ of wool trade in the city. Abbot’s House in Butcher Row in the centre of town is one of the oldest timber framed houses in Shrewsbury. The house was built in 1459 by the Abbot of Lilleshall as an investment for his abbey. The windows at the bottom of were all separate butchers' shops, used until the mid-1800s; on the floors were tenements.

The single nave ‘Witte Kerkje’ (White Little Church) is dating back to the year of 1639. The tower is made of wood and has an octagonal spire. It is located on a so called ‘terp’, a man made elevation. In 1825 the church was thoroughly restored. During World War II the building was used as a school. German soldiers have pulled the bell from the tower for use of the material in the war industry. A new bell was donated and replaced by the municipality of Schoorl in 1949. Since 1972 the ‘Witte Kerkje’ has been recognized and protected as a Dutch national monument. Nowadays the church is still used for services. During my visit the church was closed, so I couldn’t take an interior picture. If interested take a look at: www.goo.gl/aTcZC6

Snow fence on the slopes of Schwarzköpfle, a 2.300 meters high mountain peak in the Silvretta Montafon ski area.