Jun 10th, 2013 at 10:00AM: The little nation of Slovenia is situated on a crossroads. On the southeastern edge of the Alps and on the way to the rest of the Balkans and to central Europe, it's seen more than its fair share of invading armies.
No wonder, then, that this country that's slightly smaller than New Jersey has some 700 castles. Many are in ruins thanks to those invading armies, while others were dismantled ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
architecture posts
Like Castles? Go To Slovenia
Jun 10th, 2013 at 10:00AM: The little nation of Slovenia is situated on a crossroads. On the southeastern edge of the Alps and on the way to the rest of the Balkans and to central Europe, it's seen more than its fair share of invading armies.
No wonder, then, that this country that's slightly smaller than New Jersey has some 700 castles. Many are in ruins thanks to those invading armies, while others were dismantled ...Photo Of The Day: Alhambra's Palacio De Carlos V
Jun 9th, 2013 at 6:00PM: Mike Rowe, Flickr
Capturing a stunning combination of architecture and weather, Flickr user Mike Rowe took this black and white photo at the palace of Charles V, contained within the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain.
Commissioned as a royal residence close to the Alhambra palace, the 16th-century building is a square, two-level structure done in the Renaissance style. It's also home to two museums: ...Ljubljana: Why Slovenia's Cool Capital Needs To Be On Your Bucket List
Jun 7th, 2013 at 12:00PM: Sean McLachlan
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, has been trumpeted by travel writers for a good 10 years now, yet this artsy little city of 270,000 still doesn't get overrun with tourists. Perhaps it's because it's surrounded by better-known countries like Italy and Croatia; perhaps people confuse it with Slovakia; perhaps people still have old Communist imagery in their heads. Whatever it is, ...Photo Of The Day: A Gorgeous Moscow Metro Station
May 24th, 2013 at 6:00PM: Mariusz Kluzniak, Flickr
One of the most beautiful subway systems in the world is the Moscow Metro. The system was originally built under direct orders from Stalin to create gorgeous stations that the people of Moscow would admire for its depictions of a "radiant future." Mariusz Kluzniak took this fantastic panorama of the absolutely beautiful Novoslobodskaya Station. The station's architect, ...Photo Of The Day: Sunset At Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto
Apr 30th, 2013 at 6:30PM:
It's difficult to describe the magic of Kyoto, Japan, but today's Photo of the Day comes awfully close. Taken at sunset from the Kiyomizu-dera temple, the image showcases the traditional architecture of the temple, the bright reds and oranges of the fall foliage, the city below and the mountains in the distance. Capturing the shot wasn't a simple endeavor, but Flickr user Chung Hu ...A Cast-Iron Church In Istanbul
Apr 22nd, 2013 at 10:00AM:
This church on the shoreline of Istanbul looks ornate yet pretty normal – that is until you go up and take a closer look. The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church isn't made of stone but rather of cast iron. It's a rare survival of a 19th-century craze in prefab cast-iron churches.
Also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, its parts were cast in Vienna in 1871 and shipped down the Danube in a ...5 Overlooked Castles Close To London
Apr 16th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
England is famous for its castles. Giant fortresses such as Bamburgh Castle and Lincoln Castle attract thousands of visitors a year, but people tend to overlook the many smaller, lesser-known castles close to London. These are often as interesting as their more famous cousins and make for enjoyable day trips from London. Here are five of the best.
Hadleigh Castle
Near the town of Hadleigh ...Photo Of The Day: Parc Güell In Barcelona
Apr 9th, 2013 at 6:30PM:
Parc Güell is one of artist Antoni Gaudí's masterpieces: a 17-hectare garden complex with whimsical architectural elements overlooking the city of Barcelona. One of the park's many highlights is the preponderance of Gaudí's famous tiled mosaics, one of which is captured in all of its multicolored glory in today's Photo of the Day from Flickr user Gus NYC. ...Photo Gallery: The Colonials Of Asuncion, Paraguay
Apr 7th, 2013 at 2:00PM: I've always had a deep love for decrepit colonial or colonial-style buildings; in fact, I appreciate decrepitude in many things, such as classic cars, port cities, barns and houses (but not men). Even after a week in Paraguay, I'm still constantly reaching for my camera to capture shots of Asuncion's seemingly endless restored and crumbling historic buildings (many of which are also gothic in ...
Teufelsberg: A Photo Tour Inside Berlin's Secret Abandoned Spy Station
Mar 31st, 2013 at 11:00AM:
Berlin is a city that harbors its share of ghosts. As Germany's premier city marches ever further into the future, shiny new government buildings and designer lofts rising on vacant lots across the capital, vestiges of Berlin's infamous role in two World Wars and a Cold War can still be found if you know where to look. A prime example of this 20th-century legacy is Teufelsberg, an ...Photo Of The Day: The Old And The New In Seoul, South Korea
Mar 26th, 2013 at 6:30PM:
As we've seen in Jonathan Kramer's "The Kimchi-ite" series, South Korea is a country that embraces both its past and its future. That notion is captured perfectly in this Photo of the Day from Flickr user and photographer Ohad Ben-Yoseph, which depicts a colorful old temple set against a sparkling new skyscraper in perfect juxtaposition. Ben-Yoseph's Flickr photo stream is filled with ...Photo Of The Day: Colonial Architecture In Burma
Mar 10th, 2013 at 6:00PM:
When we think of Southeast Asian architecture we often think of old temples and ancient statues, but the influence of colonial times on this area of the world has had just as much of an influence on the local infrastructure and design.
Flickr member R A L F captured this beautiful building facade in Yangon, Burma (Myanmar). The city, also known as Rangoon, has the largest number of colonial ...Castle Drogo, England, Opens To Public
Mar 10th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
The last castle to be built in England is opening to the pubic, BBC reports.
Castle Drogo is more of a stately home than a castle, since it was built long after artillery made castles obsolete. It was started in 1910 by Julius Drewe, founder of the Home and Colonial Stores, near Exeter in Devon. World War I and the Depression slowed down construction and it wasn't completed until 1930. The ...The Kimchi-ite: The Korean Folk Village, A Perfect Escape From The City
Mar 5th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
Seoul and South Korea as a whole are undoubtably modern. But less than a century ago, much of what makes the country so modern today did not exist and people lived much more simply. Farming was by far the most common occupation and people lived in villages, not cities. ...Photo Of The Day: Southern Cross Station
Mar 3rd, 2013 at 5:00PM:
Train stations around the world all have their own personality. Often, they are great works of architecture. This photo from pkorsmok gives a different view of the lines and design of Southern Cross Station in Melbourne, Australia, capturing a quiet moment in a station that serves over 40,000 passengers a day.
Makes you want to get on a train, doesn't it?
Have your own great travel ...Photo of the Day: Love Locks in Paris
Feb 24th, 2013 at 6:00PM:
Paris is a romantic city. The architecture, the lights, the food, the language; it's hard to deny that this city is a place for love.
One of the classic expressions of romance in the City of Light is the collection of love padlocks on some of Paris' most classic bridges. Love locks are a simple thing: a couple writes their names on a padlock, locks it to one of the bridges, and if they are ...Pyramids Discovered In Egypt And Sudan
Feb 24th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
You'd think archaeologists would have found all the pyramids of Africa by now, but two recent discoveries show there's a lot more discovering to be done.
A team of archaeologists working in Luxor, Egypt, have just announced they've discovered the pyramid of Khay, a powerful vizier of the Pharaoh Ramses II (ruled 1279-1212 B.C.). The pyramid was made of mudbrick and originally stood 49 feet ...The Secret Tunnels Under Tallinn
Feb 20th, 2013 at 2:00PM:
Tallinn is an old city, and like many old cities it has its share of secrets. Stories of ghosts, buried treasure and hidden tunnels add to the atmosphere of the medieval streets.
For a couple of years, one of those secrets was revealed when the city opened up the Bastion Tunnels. These corridors were built by Estonia's Swedish rulers in the 1670s and ran under the earthen bastions that ...Exploring A Snowy Traditional Village In Estonia
Feb 18th, 2013 at 1:00PM:
After so many years living in Spain, it was nice to visit Estonia and experience a real winter again. That numbness on the tip of your nose while the rest of your body is bundled up and warm, the way sounds get muffled by the snow, the intricate designs the icy branches etch into the sky – winter is a good season when you don't have to experience it for too long.
The best way to ...Tallinn's Medieval Old Town
Feb 18th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
Tallinn is a medieval wonderland. The capital of Estonia isn't on a lot of people's bucket list but anyone at all interested in history, architecture or art will love this place.
The central attraction is Old Town, a medieval walled city filled with old buildings and fortifications. The sheltered bay and the easily defended Toompea Hill made it a natural place to settle. Sometime about 1050 ...
