Nature of Albania
The Alps
The Baltic States
In 2015, I had the privilege of revisiting the Baltic states, marvelling at magnificent medieval towns like Tallinn, and enjoying the equally beautiful nature of these countries. A few impressions.
Palace of Rundale
The Palace of Rundāle is situated in southern Latvia. Far apart from any larger settlement, it is a beautiful baroque building surrounded by nature. Rundāle was erected in 1768 and planned by the renowned Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who mainly worked for the Russian Zars before and was also responsible for the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg and the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. In Soviet times, the palace was used as a school; today, it is refurbished and houses a museum. Part of the historic site is also a beautiful English garden on the rear of the building.
São Miguel
The island of São Miguel is part of the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. In contrast to other islands situated west of Europe, like Madeira or the Canary Islands, the Azores are not tropical but look much more like Ireland. Cows and green grass everywhere! I had a chance to visit this beautiful piece of land back in early April and already posted some pictures in June. But there are more of them on my drive; some of them show off the beauty of the island quite well – so I thought I would give all of us (well, all of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere) a break from grim winter and put these on the internet. I wish you all a good Sylvester party and a happy New Year! See you again in January.
Nature of Latvia
Last summer I had the privilege to spend some weeks in Latvia again. The country is situated in the center of the Baltics in Northeastern Europe. The population is concentrated mainly in the capital, Riga, and in other larger cities, while the countryside still maintains a lot of charm and beauty which is already gone elsewhere in Europe. Some impressions.
