The most important sight at Dublin, Ireland – and all tourist guides and guide books share this view – is a jail. Kilmainham Goal is a typical jail of the Victorian era located in the city quarter Kilmainham in the west of the city. It was built in 1796 and plays an important role in the history of Ireland: when in 1916 the Easter Rising happened and Irish rebels fought against British occupation, this was the place the caught fighters were brought to. The Easter Rising was unsuccessful, the rebels were executed in Kilmainham Goal – but their goal was partially achieved in 1922 when Ireland became a free state.
Continue reading “Kilmainham Goal”Air Line
Did you know that there is a cable car in London, United Kingdom? It is a quite unexpected opportunity to take a flight over the river Thames. The Emirates Air Line has been opened in 2012 for the Olympic summer games and connects the Greenwich peninsula (the station is close to the Millenium dome) with the Royal Victoria Dock where you can switch to the DLR. During the day a ride takes you five minutes but in the evening hours they lower the speed and you can enjoy 13 minutes of good views on the docklands.
Continue reading “Air Line”Millennium dome
The Millennium dome (nowadays called ‘The O2‘) is a giant dome made of synthetics and shaped by wire ropes on the Greenwich peninsula of London, England. It was opened on the 1st of January 2000 and contained an exhibition to celebrate the new millennium. Today it is a giant sports arena, concert hall and it contains a cinema and some restaurants. Because of its special shape and construction, the building itself also attracts visitors.
Continue reading “Millennium dome”Drachenschlucht
A narrow valley, a beautiful gorge: the Drachenschlucht (dragon canyon) at Eisenach, Germany is a good place for a nice walk; in fact one of the most beautiful I‘ve ever done in a gorge. Through the Mariental you can walk on a well-maintained path consisting of wooden and sometimes metal walkways. It leads along and above the water of the small river and sometimes the gorge is very narrow (at minimum 68 cm) – only one person can pass at a time.
Continue reading “Drachenschlucht”Goldener Löwe
The Goldener Löwe at Eisenach, Germany was once an ordinary restaurant (first mentioned in 1533). But on August 7th, 1869 an important event happened here: August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht founded the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei (SDAP) during a congress. It was later merged with the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (ADAV) founded by Ferdinand Lassalle. The organization created is today known as the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) – the oldest still existing political party in Germany.
Continue reading “Goldener Löwe”Wartburg
High above Eisenach, Germany you can find a wonderful castle that played an important role in German history: the Wartburg. It was created in the year 1067 CE and is today a UNESCO world heritage site. The castle is well known as the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the bible from Latin to German between 1521-1522 (using the pseudonym ‘Junker Jörg‘ to hide away).
Continue reading “Wartburg”Helfensteine
It’s a bizarre landscape. A vast area without bushes and trees, strangely formed rocks on one of the surrounding mountains, many people walking around and climbing these rocks and gliders starting on an airfield in between. That is what you can all find close to Zierenberg, Germany (15 kilometers northwest of Kassel). The strangely shaped rocks are called Helfensteine and are visible because of the erosion of the surrounding area over a very long time.
Continue reading “Helfensteine”Unused waterfall
It is a lost place within the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe at Kassel, Germany: the Neuer Wasserfall (new waterfall). During the ancient water show the water runs from down from the Herkules monument to the Steinhöfer Wasserfall. It passes the Teufelsbrücke and the Aquädukt ruin before a large fountain starts. But there was another section that was added in 1826 – another waterfall. It was last in operation in 1943 before it was hit by bombs. It hasn’t been destroyed much but it can’t be used until today and most people don’t know about it.
Continue reading “Unused waterfall”Aschrottpark
The Tannenkuppe (fir summit) is a hill in the city quarter Vorderer Westen (fore west) of Kassel, Germany – not far away from the railway station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. It consists of limestone (like nearby Kratzenberg) which was gathered and until the mid of the 19th century also burned there to receive Calcium oxide; a material needed for buildings and industry. In the 1880s local industrial Sigmund Aschrott bought this place and converted it into a landscape garden.
Continue reading “Aschrottpark”Miners monument
The city of Mitrovicë, Kosovo is mainly known for two things: that river Ibër splits the city and the country itself into the Serbian north and the Albanian south and for its mining tradition. On Serbian-controlled territory in the northeast you can find the Miniera e Trepçës or Rudnik Trepča – the largest mine for lead and zinc ore in Europe (which is additionally also gathering silver and gold). Up to 23000 workers were once employed there at the same time.
Continue reading “Miners monument”