Familytrekking (2024)

13/12/2020

Sneek is a small town in the Dutch province of Friesland.
Water sports and the tourist sector have developed widely in Sneek. This is due to the city's location in a wetland area and the presence of an admirable historic city center, including the Waterpoort in the photo.
Sneek is located at the Sneekermeer and is known to many for the Sneekweek, the largest inland sailing event in Europe.

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07/12/2020

The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a Las Vegas landmark funded in May 1959 and erected soon after by Western Neon. A picture of you with this sign is a must-do when in Vegas.
Some consider the sign to be the official southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The sign, like most of the Strip, is in the town of Paradise and located roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the actual city limits of Las Vegas.

05/12/2020

There are no more lakes in any Austrian state than in Carinthia. One of those more than 1,200 lakes is the Millstättersee, which some people call the most beautiful in the state.

A nice way to discover the lake is via the Millstättersee Radweg. This 28-kilometer bike ride surrounds the entire lake. It is possible to start from several places, but if you are by car, Döbriach, Millstatt and Seeboden are recommended as a starting point (in connection with parking). You cycle through the villages, along hidden bays and through beautiful nature.

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04/12/2020

The Minoan palace city of Knossos is Crete's most famous excavation site. It is considered the oldest city in Europe and was also the largest for centuries. The first inhabitants settled there around 7000 BC (BC) and in approximately 1900 BC. the first palace was built on the local hill. The current remains are of the second larger version.
In its heyday, 100,000 people lived in the urban area around it. Between 1380 and 1100 B.C. the palace was abandoned. This is believed to have been related to one of the many disasters that hit the region.
In 1878 the ruin was discovered by the Greek archaeologist Minos Kalokairinos.
Further excavations were then done by British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans who, with his team, completely uncovered and partially restored the site.

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03/12/2020

Central Park is a large urban park on Manhattan Island in New York City. It is the most famous park in New York and perhaps even in the United States. Central Park frequently features in movies and television programs. With about 25 million visitors a year, the park is the most visited park in the United States. The elongated park extends over 4 kilometers and has a total area of 341 hectares.

Although many parts of the park seem natural, it has been completely man-made. It contains several designed lakes, an extensive network of hiking trails, two ice skating rinks, a boating lake, an animal cemetery, open grassy areas used for various sports or as sunbathing areas and several playgrounds. The park is a frequently visited resting place for migratory birds and therefore also popular with bird watchers. The 10 kilometer long road that surrounds the park is popular with joggers, cyclists and inline skaters.

02/12/2020

When travelling the USA, a visit to one of the typical American sport events should be part of your trip.
We enjoyed a baseball game of the Detroit Tigers against the Chicago White Sox in their homebase Comerica Park.
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the oldest of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams play in Major League Baseball: 15 teams in the National League (NL) and 15 in the American League (AL). The NL and AL were formed as separate legal entities in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903. After decades of cooperation they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000.

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29/11/2020

The Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal is the largest, still functioning steam pumping station in the world and turns 100 years old this year. Queen Wilhelmina opened the old steam pumping station in 1920. At the time, the steam pumping station served to prevent excess water. For example, the Woudagemaal pumped the water from Friesland into the Zuiderzee and later the IJsselmeer.

Since 1998, the Woudagemaal has been one of the ten UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands. The steam pumping station owes this not only to its important contribution to Frisian water management, but also to the special architecture and the unique application of steam power by Dutch water management experts.

28/11/2020

Amazing nightview over Schoppernau and the Üntschenspitze mountain in silhouette from our farmers holiday home. Schoppernau is a town in the Bregenzerwald Region (Bregenz district) of the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.
We really want to go back. What do you think? Worth a visit?

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27/11/2020

Sunrise at Bryce!
Bryce Canyon is a National Park located in the southwest of the US state of Utah. Bryce Canyon is famous for its unique geological rock formations.
Due to the cooperating forces of freezing and thawing, the limestone and sandstone formations are slowly eroded and thus form the so-called hoodoos. The worn buds create beautiful formations that look very mysterious in the sunlight. The sun shades the colors of the rocks. The colors vary from pink to orange.

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26/11/2020

Stroll along the harbor of Stavanger and be enchanted by the beautiful cruise ships. Even if you are not a fan of boats, you are guaranteed to look your eyes out here. You have also come to the right place to marvel at yachts of a more modest size. The wooden houses on the quay complete the picture. You can settle down on one of the many terraces for a nice cup of coffee or a refreshing beer. In the meantime you can keep a close eye on the passing ships.

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25/11/2020

The Horseshoe Falls, also known as Canadian Falls, the most famous part of the Niagara Falls.
About 90% of the water of the Niagara River flows over Horseshoe Falls, while about 10% flows over American Falls. The name 'horseshoe waterfall' comes from the semicircular shape that this waterfall has. This part of Niagara Falls is on the border of the United States and Canada, mostly Canadian territory, between Terrapin Point on Goat Island in New York State and Table Rock House in Ontario.

The Horseshoe Falls is 671 feet wide. In the center of the Horseshoe Falls, the water is about 3 meters deep and it passes the edge of the waterfall at 20 mph. The height of the waterfall is 53 meters. The depth of the river at the base of the falls is even more than the height of the waterfall, which is an estimated 56 meters.

24/11/2020

Pacific Park is an oceanfront amusement park located in Santa Monica, California. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looks directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Catalina Island. It is the only amusement park on the West Coast of the United States located on a pier and LA's only admission-free park. There are a total of twelve rides in Pacific Park, including the world's first and only solar powered Ferris wheel that provides a magnificent view of the beach and the Pacific Ocean and a roller coaster that circles the majority of the park.

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22/11/2020

This photo was taken near the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park near the town of West Yellowstone in Montana on the border with Wyoming. The elk (wapiti deer) is a well-known and often seen resident of the park. The population in the park is the largest population in the world and consists of 35,000 individuals. There are three main herds in the park: the largest herd of 19,000 animals lives between Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley.

At almost 7,000 feet above sea level and almost exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole, West Yellowstone experiences a subarctic climate with cold — sometimes bitterly cold — winters and brief but generally warm summers. West Yellowstone is snow-covered from the beginning of November until the beginning of May and holds the record low of any residential community in the contiguous United States at −66 °F (−54 °C).

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21/11/2020

This picture is taken at the cliffs near Reykjanesvíti Lighthouse on the Reykjanes Peninsula looking southwest over the Greenlandic Sea and Atlantic Ocean

Reykjanesvíti lighthouse was first build in 1878, although it was damaged beyond repair just eight years later following a major earthquake. The current building was raised in 1907–1908 and has remained little-changed since.
Due to the erosion of the cliff on which it stands, however, it is expected that a new building will be needed in the next few years.

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20/11/2020

The small peninsula of Marken is one of the tourist attractions of the “Old Dutch heritage” just north of Amsterdam, which is often visited in a day trip.
Those who go to Marken cannot miss the small wooden houses. Until the seventeenth century residents built their houses on mounds, which they called "yards" themselves. This was a flood protection. Then the residents started building houses on stilts.
Since the construction of the Afsluitdijk, the island no longer has to contend with flooding, but the typical houses have remained. In the Klompenmakerij, located next to a park, you can see how wooden shoes are made from a block of wood. A visit to the Marker Museum, with an exhibition about traditional costume, is also worthwhile.

17/11/2020

Today is my birthday. This day in 1997 I celebrated in the Canaima National Park, one natural spectacle follows one another. From the world's largest waterfall, Angel Falls, and the highest table mountain on earth, to the pale pink sand beach and red waters of the Laguna de Canaima as seen on the picture.

The Canaima National Park has so many highlights and sights that it is indispensable during any tour in Venezuela. Covering an area of three million hectares, this park is one of the largest national parks in the world. To get an idea: Belgium is about the same size.

Nowadays due to political instability and unsafety for travellers it is not a good idea to visit. Hopefully this changes anytime soon because the country is gorgeous.

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15/11/2020

Smögen is best known for its colored fishermen's houses, the boulevard, the rugged coast and various opportunities for swimming.

The boulevard is officially called Smögenbryggan (Smögen Pier), a 1,000-meter long wooden path along shops, restaurants, the harbor, a grassy meadow and various beaches. It is a wonderful walk, which is especially popular in the evening. It ends on the undulating rocks of the island.

In the summer there is therefore plenty of swimming. Also in the harbor, as well as in the various natural swimming pools between the rocks. There are also various springboards above the sea that are popular with the youth, which in large numbers make it a summer party island.

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14/11/2020

View from Brooklyn on Manhatten at the water taxi pier near the Brooklyn Bridge.

13/11/2020

In 1940, the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch gave his entire oeuvre to the city of Oslo, where it is housed in the National Art Museum.

There is a great misunderstanding about his best-known painting “The Scream” from 1893, here in the photo with two of our children. Many think that the person in the foreground is screaming, but it is nature that 'screams'. That is why he keeps his ears closed. It is considered Munch's most poignant painting, expressing the spiritual distress and emotional torment the painter felt during certain periods in his life.

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12/11/2020

Lagos is situated on the beautiful western Algarve, and is a fantastic destination for a beach holiday.

This region is blessed with a stunning coastline of towering cliffs, hidden coves and vast expanses of pristine sands.

These glorious beaches are also varied; there are sheltered beaches for families, relaxed beaches for sunbathing, rugged beaches for exploring and windswept beaches for surfing.

Within walking distance of the historic centre of Lagos are four wonderful beaches (Meia Praia, Praia Dona Ana, Praia do Camilo and Praia da Batata).

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11/11/2020

The bridge between two continents on Reykjanes Peninsula at Sandvík is a small footbridge over a major fissure where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are continuously drifting apart.

The bridge over the Mid Atlantic Ridge was built as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America.

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10/11/2020

Open-air museum Poble Espanyol ("Spanish Village") is located in Barcelona on Montjuïc mountain and was built for the 1929 World Fair. The intention was to demolish this Spanish village after the exposition. It never got that far, because the village was very popular among the locals and tourists.

The village gives a nice picture of the forms of architecture in Spain, although you will not find a village like this anywhere in Spain, because here architectural styles from all over Spain are brought together and mixed.

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09/11/2020

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become a world-famous symbol of London. As a result, it is sometimes confused with London Bridge, about half a mile (0.8 km) upstream.

The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge's twin towers, high-level walkways and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, for which an admission charge is made.

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08/11/2020

Have you ever heard of the Romantic Road? It is a route through beautiful landscapes and romantic cities in Bavaria, in the south of Germany. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the towns along this well-known tourist route.

The city, as the name suggests, is located on the river Tauber and was founded around the year 1000 AD by a noble lord. The city has 11,243 inhabitants and is still completely in the medieval style and is a real tourist attraction.

An American air raid in 1945 reduced almost half of Rothenburg to ashes, but fortunately the medieval center was largely spared. In the city you will still find an intact city wall with dozens of gates and towers. In addition, the center of Rothenburg is full of historic buildings.

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07/11/2020

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (1,857 meters).

The canyon is the result of erosion which exposes one of the most complete geologic columns on the planet.

06/11/2020

The Royal Palace (Norwegian: Slottet or formally Det kongelige slott) in Oslo was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of Charles III John of Norway, who reigned as king of Norway and Sweden. The palace is the official residence of the current Norwegian monarch.

The palace is located at the end of Karl Johans gate in central Oslo and is surrounded by the public Palace Park (Norwegian: Slottsparken) with the Palace Square in the front.

The picture is taken on this palace square with the palace (entrance) behind me.

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05/11/2020

Cretan goats are the mascots of the island. They climb everywhere, on the rocks, on your car, on the trees. They are unpredictable, omnipresent and friendly.

There are now over one million goats and sheep in Crete creating quite a severe overgrazing problem in many areas.

The largest and best known mammal of Crete is without doubt the Cretan wild goat, also known as kri-kri. Larger than a domestic goat the male grows huge curved horns. Once common all over Crete it became threatened with extinction once people started hunting wth rifles. Trying to prevent its extinction led to the creation of the Samaria National Park where about 700 species of the goat live.

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04/11/2020

The Park is a dynamic park, dining and entertainment district on the Las Vegas Strip that features landscape designs from Dutchman Jerry van Eyck, founder of the leading landscape architecture and urban design firm !melk.

The Park is a central gathering place on The Strip’s west side connecting New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts as well as the new 20,000-seat world-class T-Mobile Arena.

The Park’s unique design elements include green initiatives, such as an integrated environmental sustainability program; natural landscaping that uses native and desert-adaptive species of plants that thrive in hot and dry environments with minimal water; and cooling elements, such as mature trees, vegetation, water features and artful shade structures will create comfortable environments.

“When you’re Dutch, you know what it’s like to live in a place that really shouldn’t be there, since the Dutch created large parts of the Netherlands out of water,” Jerry van Eyck told a newssite.

In Vegas the same thing applies, except there it’s not an excess of water, but a lack of it that signifies this. I think that when you build a city you need to be constantly aware of the importance of Mother Nature.

03/11/2020

The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3 million visitors annually.

The structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). When it opened to the public in 2000 it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel.

The London Eye used to offer the highest public viewing point in London until it was superseded by the 245-metre-high (804 ft) observation deck on the 72nd floor of The Shard, which opened to the public on 1 February 2013.

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Familytrekking