Sights Archives ⋆ Page 6 of 141 ⋆ The Passenger

May 9, 2024June 29, 2024

Kensington Gardens

We all know the famous Hyde Park at London and when looking on a map you’ll see one big green rectangle between Paddington and South Kensington – but in fact the West Carriage Drive going from North to South in the center of it divides the Hyde Park in the East from the Kensington Gardens in the West. The latter is named after the Kensington Palace that was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in 1689 for William of Orange to cure his asthma.

May 8, 2024June 27, 2024

Battersea

Well, Battersea is just a city quarter of London at the river Thames, but it has two important highlights that first time London visitors might not drop by. The first is the Battersea Park, a vast garden opened in 1858. It is great for a walk, for doing some sports like jogging, or playing tennis. But it also has a large lake on which you can ride a paddleboat, the Peace Pagoda and good bars to sit outside and enjoy nice weather (if there is some).

April 23, 2024June 29, 2024

Swartberg

The Swartberg pass near Oudtshoorn is the most absurd road I’ve ever taken. Stunning views, steep ascents, interesting rock formations and a tiny little bit dangerous. The still unpaved road was created from 1884 to 1888 by Thomas Bain or better said by 200 convicts. It connects the small and the large karoo; the peak of the Swartberg is 1585 meters high. Road conditions are poor but you don’t need to have a four-wheel drive – I did it with a manual-shift VW Polo.

April 19, 2024May 20, 2024

Bo-Kaap

Between the city center of Cape Town and Signal Hill you can find a special city quarter that is mostly known for its colorful painted houses: Bo-Kaap. It has narrow and steep streets and is obviously not the prime location to built a city quarter on (even though it is really close to the city center); it is the place that the so-called Cape Malays were allowed to settle in. They’re a Muslim group whose ancestors were enslaved by the Dutch East India Company and brought to South Africa.

April 17, 2024May 20, 2024

Two Oceans

Cape Town is a city at the sea or better said near the point where two oceans meet: the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. For sure a city like this needs an aquarium and here it is – the Two Oceans Aquarium at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. It was opened in 1995 and shows 300 fish species in 30 tanks plus penguins and seals. You can find all the inhabitants of the seas here, from jelly fish, klipfish, moray eels and anemonefish to sea horses.

April 17, 2024May 20, 2024

Waterfront

A place that tourists visit frequently at Cape Town is the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (or short V&A Waterfront) – the area around the harbor of the city. It is named after Queen Victoria of England and her son Alfred who laid the foundation for the wave breaker in front of the harbor. The area is fascinating as it consists of the still active harbor, wharfs where ships are repaid as well as a very touristy section with bars, restaurants and a vast shopping mall.

April 14, 2024April 16, 2024

District 12

Krokodil, Landschaftspark Nord, Duisburg

The city of Duisburg is part of the Ruhrgebiet, a former industrial zone in Germany that had to cope with the shrinking importance of mining in Germany. A structural change happened over time and the service sector gained a lot of economic importance, but nevertheless a lot of cities of the Ruhrpott are not as prosperous as other parts of Germany. Why should one travel to Duisburg? If you’re interested in industrial heritage it is a nice place to be – from the converted river port to the old steelworks that can be explored here.

April 13, 2024May 19, 2024

Tiger & turtle

In the south of Duisburg, close to the industrial zone of Angershausen you can find the magic mountain: it is a good example of conversion at the Ruhrgebiet. The 35 meters high hill was once a waste disposal site of a zinc manufacturing company. When the Ruhrgebiet became European Capital of Culture in 2010 it was decided to create an artwork in this location and the design of Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth won the contest.

March 30, 2024April 7, 2024

Hintersteiner See

One could say the Hintersteiner See is just a lake in the mountains used to generate electric power, but that would really underestimate this natural beauty located at height of 882 meters above the Adriatic Sea (that’s the way how they measure elevation in Austria). Once created by a glacier this lake near Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser offers a nice bathing area and a round course leading you through the mountains with nice views on the lake.

March 29, 2024April 7, 2024

Bavarian Sea

In the Southeast of Germany you can find the Chiemsee, the largest lake of Bavaria and after the Lake Constance and the Müritz the third-largest one of Germany – therefore it is also called Bayerisches Meer (Bavarian Sea). It is named after the settlement of Chieming close to the lake and was originally created by a glacier 10,000 years ago. Within the lake you can find four islands (Herreninsel, Fraueninsel, Krautinsel, Schalch) of very different sizes.