Jaap van 't Veen's photos

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford between 1795 and 1805. The aqueduct over the valley of the River Dee has 18 pillars; the highest ones come 38 meters above the water. The Llangollen Canal runs over the aqueduct through a cast iron trough, which is more than 300 meters long, 3,7 meters wide and 1,6 meters deep; just enough for the narrow boats. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the longest and highest in Great Britain. The aqueduct carries a water passage for a single canal narrow boat as well as a towpath for pedestrians. It connects the Welsh villages of Froncysyllte and Trevor. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the length of the Llangollen Canal from the Horseshoe Falls to Gledrid Bridge is now a World Heritage Site.

White topped dunes in the ‘Noordhollands Duinreservaat’ (North-Holland Dune Reserve). This reserve is controlled by the provincial water company and stretches from Bergen aan Zee till the North Sea Canal, nearby Wijk aan Zee. The area is open to the public (walker and cyclist), however an admission ticket is needed. The photo is taken along the Verspijckweg (a bike lane through the dunes) just north of the village of Bergen aan Zee. PiP the same area with blooming heather in August.

The ‘Oosterpoort’ (East Gate) is the only remaining city gate of Hoorn. The tower was built in 1578 and the gate keeper’s house on top of it was added in 1601. The gate is located at the defensive moat ‘Draafsingel’ - or better the piece called ‘Oosterpoortsgracht’ - around the then walled city, which was dug out in 1577. Originally there was a wooden bridge leading to the gate, but that was replaced in 1763 by the current stone arch bridge with iron fences Oosterpoortsbrug . In 1876 the “Oosterpoort” was restored and is now owned by ‘Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser’, an association for the preservation of historic houses in the Netherlands. Hoorn was probably founded around the year 1200 and became important as a harbour town in the 14th century. In 1356 Hororn became a chartered city and was one of the most wealthy towns along the so called ‘Zuiderzee’. In the 17th century it was one of the six cities with a chamber of the Dutch East-Indies Company VOC and a prosperous and powerful trading town. Ships from Hoorn sailed around the world. Cape Horn was named after the city when two ships were the first to sail around the southernmost tip of South America in 1616.

Beach huts on the beach in Camperduin. Beach and dunes were developed by means of sand supplementation in front of the Hondsbossche Zeewering (Hondsbossche Sea Defence) in order to increase the safety. The 5.5 kilometers long dike was expanded in the year of 2015 with a beach and dune strip with the size of more than 400 football fields.

Blooming tulips around the village of Julianadorp. Julianadorp is located in the so called Top of North Holland, a region offering vast fields of tulips, hyacinths and narcissus in all kind of colours.

Uluru is considered being Australia’s best-known natural landmark. The huge ancient monolith is located in the (hot) heart of Australia’s “red centre” and is part of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is the Aboriginal and official name; it is also known as Ayers Rock, a name given in 1873 by William Gosse in honor of the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Uluru is an ancient landscape, rich in Australian indigenous culture and spirituality. The Aborigines of the area, who are known as the Anangu (traditional custodians of Uluru) believe this landscape was created by their ancestors at the beginning of time. They have been protecting these sacred lands ever since. Uluru did arise about 600 million years ago; originally the rock sat on the bottom of a sea. Nowadays the highest point is about 348 meters above ground. The rock is 3.6 km’s long, 1.9 km’s wide and has a circumference of 9.4 km’s. The surface is made up of valleys, ridges, caves and weird shapes that were created through erosion over millions of years. Surface oxidation of its iron content gives Uluru a striking orange-red hue.

Freshly harvested peppers in a pickup truck in a street in Ierapetra. Ierapetra is the centre of agriculture on the south coast of Crete. Besides the traditional olive cultivation, the area also exports large quantities of fruit and vegetables. These are grown in plastic greenhouses, which are spread over an area of 15,000,000 square meters around the town of Ierapetra.

The Chinese House (Chinesisches Haus) is a garden pavilion in Sanssouci Park. King Friedrich II had it built between 1755 and 1764, southwest of his summer palace, to adorn his flower and vegetable garden. The pavilion was designed by Johann Gottfried Büring in the then-popular style of Chinoiserie, a mixture of ornamental rococo elements and parts of Chinese architecture. Friedrich der Große modeled the Chinese House on a trefoil-shaped garden pavilion in the palace grounds of Lunéville in France. The central building contains three rooms. Rounded windows and French windows that reach almost to the ground let light into the pavilion's interior. The ceiling is supported by sandstone columns in the shape of gilded palm trees. The pavilion was used for drinking tea and during the summer as dining hall. People from the area stood as models for the eating, tea-sipping and music-playing gilded sandstone figures in front of the pavilion The cupola crowning the roof is surmounted by a gilded Chinese figure with an open parasol.

Lake Plansee - nearby Reutte - is the second-largest natural lake in Tyrol. The lake is fed by the Spiessbach and Torsäulenbach, as well as by Lake Heiterwang and its runoff is the Archbach river. Lake Plansee is characterised by outstanding water quality of grade A. The water is used for generating electricity. Lake Plansee is situated at an altitude of 976 m, has a surface of 280 ha and a maximum depth of 78 m.

The mansion was built in 1785 for Noel Hill, first Baron Berwick. Noel Hill already owned a house on the site of Attingham Park called Tern Hall, but with money he received along with his title he commissioned an architect to design a new and grander house to be build around the original hall. The new country house encompassed the old property entirely, and once completed it was given the name Attingham Hall. Attingham Hall and its beautiful parkland were owned by one family for more than 160 years. The Attingham Estate, comprising the mansion and some 650 acres, was gifted to the National Trust in 1947.

The Iguazú Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazú River on the border of Argentina and Brazil. They are the largest waterfalls system in the world. The Iguazú River rises near the Brazilian city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil; however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. The Iguazú Falls are located where the river tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau. The edge has a length of 2,7 kilometers and numerous islands divide the falls into many separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between 60 to 82 meters high. The number of these smaller waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. Approximately half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrow chasm, called the Devil's Throat (PiP 1).

Ano Zakros, a little village in the eastern part of Crete, is well known for its fresh lush green water source. The crystal waters - about 800 cubic meters per hour - flowing ceaselessly for centuries, making the surrounding land fertile and supplying the olive trees with water. In the past this source gave power to function numerous watermills.

The Cliffs of Møn (Møns Klint) are a 6 km stretch of chalk cliffs along the eastern coast of the Danish island of Møn in the Baltic Sea. Some of the cliffs fall a sheer 120 m to the sea.

Neubrandenburg - founded in the year of 1248 - is famous for its medieval heritage of Brick Gothic. The city centre itself exists of harsh GDR architecture. One of the main features of Neubrandenburg is it largely intact medieval city wall. The wall has a perimeter of 2,3 km and is 7 m high. The four Brick Gothic city gates see PiP’s), dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, gave the city its nick name "Stadt der Vier Tore" (City of Four Gates). Wedged into the stone wall are the 27 half-timbered houses that remain of the original 56 sentry posts. When firearms rendered such defences obsolete in the 16th century, the guardhouses were converted into so called “Wiekhäuser”; homes for the poor, disadvantaged and elderly. Most of the surviving homes have been rebuilt and are now craft shops, galleries and cafes.

Blooming crocuses in front of the famous hotel ‘Des Indes’ in The Hague.

The Beauchamp Chapel is considered being the finest medieval chapel in England. The chapel, situated at the south-east of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, was built at the behest of Richard de Beauchamp (1382–1439), 13th Earl of Warwick, a nobleman and military commander. Richard de Beauchamp's will was made in 1437 and two years later he died. Most of his property was entailed, but with a portion of the rest the will established a substantial trust. The trust endowed the St Mary’s Church and called for the construction of a new chapel there. Construction started shortly after his death with the foundation stone being laid in 1443; the chapel was completed in 1462. In 1475 the body of De Beauchamp was transferred to this family mausoleum. The Beauchamp Chantry is composed of three bays, at the centre of which is the tomb of Richard de Beauchamp with its gilt-bronze monumental effigy. Beside the tomb of Earl Richard is that of Ambrose Dudley, whose effigy wears a gilded iron coronet (PiP). But the grandest tomb of is that of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and his wife Lettice. His tomb is set into the north wall of the chapel, beneath a gilded canopy.

Sunset at 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York.

The palm forest of Vai, is considered being one of the most beautiful natural sights in Crete. Vai is not the only natural palm forest in Crete, but with an area of approximately 250.000 square metres and about 5.000 palm trees it is certainly the largest, even in Europe. Scientists have proven that the Vai palm trees are an endemic species known as Phoenix theophrasti, or Cretan Date Palm. There have been palm trees in Crete since ancient times, as historical sources attest. The name Vai comes from ‘vayia’, the Greek word for palms. Vai beach has fine golden sand and pebbles at its north end. A viewing platform offers a panoramic view of the palm forest and beach of Vai. The palm forest and surrounding area is owned by the powerful Toplou Monastery, which is the largest landowner in eastern Crete.