travel photography and more
Nature
"The world is always open,
Waiting to be discovered."
Dejan Stojanovic
Slovenj Gradec
Here, in the mountains of Slovenia, I had the luck to celebrate the turn of the year with friends.
Everything was so far away and the important things were very close.
Although it was only a few kilometers as the crow flies to Austria, it felt completely different.
The villages in the mountains are very spacious and one hardly sees the next neighbor.
You have to like to drive the curves to get here and you shouldn't want to go to the next shop because of every little thing.
Those who can do without it will get solitude with the company of their choice and idyllic country life with really wide views.
Valentia Island
Much further to the west than to Valentia Island one cannot drive in Europe.
Exactly here, at this point, about 370 million years ago, a tetrapod left its footprints when it was walking through the mud near the shore.
The tracks are fossilized and today are perhaps the oldest signs of vertebrates on land.
Not far from here, from 1866, the first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable connected the European continent with the American continent.
The island has a wild, rocky coastline where you can feel the power of the North Atlantic up close.
Also worth experiencing is the hiking trail to Geokaun Mountain, the highest mountain on the island.
You reach Valentina Island easily via a bridge that branches off in Portmagee not far from the Ring of Kerry.
From March to October there is a car ferry between Reenard Point near Caherciveen and the capital of the island, Knightstown.
Black Moor - Rhoen
I like moorlands very much, especially in autumn when it gets foggy - they have something so mysterious and also something scary.
The black moor is part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön.
Fortunately, it has remained largely untouched by peat extraction and is therefore in a very original condition.
The climatic conditions in the Highrhön - high rainfall and low soil temperatures - favor peat growth.
In order to make it accessible to hikers, a wooden walkway was built.
A special feature of this bog is the frequency of bog eyes. These are cracks that form in the moor and then fill up with water. They arise because the moor is in motion.
Nowhere else in Central Europe can you find so many bog eyes as here. The largest has a surface of nearly 500 square meters and has a depth of roughly 2.5 meters.
Ross Island
Formerly an island, today connected to the mainland, Ross Island lies on the east side of Lough Leane not far from the city of Killarney.
It was here, about 1 kilometre from Ross Castle, that the first copper mines in Ireland and Britain were located, probably the first in Western Europe.
The mines started their operation from about 2400 B.C. and were operated until about 1900 B.C.
Due to the high copper demand during the industrial revolution, the mines were then reopened in the 19th century.
However, since there were serious problems with water infiltrations from the lake and also because Killarney's importance for tourism was growing, it was decided to replenish the mines, to remove the buildings and to renature the entire area.
The island is part of the Killarney National Park, the whole park is excellently connected with hiking trails and can be easily reached via the city centre of Killarney.
A Swamp in Berlin
Sometimes you can find nature even where you don't suspect it.
Hard to believe, but this swamp is located within the city limits of Berlin, Germany's capital.
Not far from the Müggelsee it is located close to the Wiesen Graben.
Against this background, the fact appears that every year there are more than 100 accidents with boars in Berlin under a completely different light.
Liberecky Kraj - Czech Republic
Fantastic winter landscapes - wide views and you will always find a hut or an inn nearby.
I love the crunch of the snow under my feet and in the woods you are on your way through Rübezahl's home country.
What could possibly go wrong.
