Before the sunrise in Montreux

A sunrise, of course, is an awesome experience in pretty much any place. But there's something else that is also quite attractive to me. It's that serene time between the night and the sunrise. In some places they last just minutes, in others it might take a long time. But it's the quietness and the crispness of the air that makes this moment so special. Even the birds are still quiet. There's nothing that can distract you from meditation and calm observation of the beauty around you.

Have you ever seen a tree this big?

These monsters grow in Redwoods National Park, California, USA.

Paris pigeons

Moody day in Paris - but not for the pigeons!

Black tulips exist! :-)

Did Cornelius van Baerle (from Alexandre Dumas novel “The Black Tulip"), who was obsessed with the tulipmania and attempted to cultivate the elusive black tulip, know what would be the final result?

Would fascinating Black Parrot Tulip that resembles colorful tropical birds let him win the prize sooner?

Time for some sea!

There are things I get used to and barely notice them after a while. Or take them for granted. Or whatever. My emotions just get quite neutral then. But every time I see Mediterranean Sea, I never get enough of it. I can stare at it for hours and never get tired of it. Just like I never get tired of blueberries, no matter how much I eat them day after day. :-) Those two things can never get boring for me.

This is what the sea looks like from the Monaco's Jardin Saint-Martin (St. Martin Garden).

A random photo of Monaco

New Year's Eve in Disneyworld

NewYear's Eve in Disneyworld is a special experience. I normally don't go to Disneyworld but this time I did - to celebrate the NewYear's Eve at the Magic Kingdom. Already, at 11 AM they had closed the gates and didn't let any new visitors in as they've filled the allowed quota (by the fire regulations) of 100,000 people. The park was packed! Waiting lines everywhere. But I was rewarded at night with a fabulous view of the Cinderella Castle. 

Weekend mood

Sunrise in Venice

One of my best travel experiences is getting up early in the morning and watching the sunrise. It's a torture for me to wake up at 5 AM, but this is the only time when I'm actually looking forward to getting up. :-) I have seen many sunrises in various places - in fact, it's almost like a ritual that must be done in a newly visited location. But so far, besides the Grand Canyon, nothing could beat the sunrise in Venice.

Smiles

Quedlinburg - a well-hidden German gem

It was in Quedlinburg that in 1945 one of the biggest art thefts in the 20th century occurred. An American soldier had stolen several medieval artifacts from the Collegiate Church of St. Servatius and mailed them back to his home in Texas. For years, these treasures (now worth about $200 million) remained hoarded in obscurity. But after some of the relics surfaced on the international arts market in the late 1980’s, a waterfall of events led to a United States District Court case against the soldier’s brother and sister, who had attempted to sell the stolen items. By 1993, the looted relics had been restored to the Quedlinburg church.

Eiffel Tower: here, there, and everywhere

The Eiffel Tower is so popular that besides the original tower in Paris, there are quite a few large and small copies in the United States. I will tell you about only two of them today.

The original tower was built in 1889 for the World's Fair and today it is one of the most visited monuments in the world. It's interesting that the Parisians at first disliked the structure, but today it's hard to imagine Paris without this "Iron Woman" that is 330 metres (1,083 ft) tall.

The other side of the Palace

This is what the Prince's Palace looks like from another angle. This part is a private section of the palace.

The Prince's Palace of Monaco

The Monte Carlo Casino might be a widely known iconic symbol of Monaco, but I personally think that the Prince's Palace of Monaco is more significant. Just because it's been there for centuries before the Casino was even projected on paper. In fact, the Prince's Palace of Monaco was founded over 800 years ago (to be specific, in 1191). The Grimaldi family captured it some hundred years later (all right, if you really need to know the date, they did that in 1297). Because Monaco was - and still is - such a small country, the royal family didn't have any other official residences, like, say, the royal family of England does. There was no more room for palaces, not even small ones (and why would a royal family want a small palace in the first place, right?), so the Grimaldis lived in the same palace for 700 years. Quite unusual, isn't it?