Walderlebnispfad am Litermont, Saarland

In the sunny Bundesland Saarland, next to the French-Luxembourg-border, there is a walking path which won several awards in the last years. I was especially intrigued by the trolls and the other wood sculptures and games along it.

 

On a very warm and sunny August day it was a great thing to do. Next to some cute wooden trolls, one may try the "Drachenschaukel" (the dragon swing, picture above), walk through the "Weidendom" (house built out of willow trees, second picture below) and enjoy the panoramic view from Litermont hill...

Expo "Wildwonders of Europe" in den Haag, the Netherlands

100 magnificent nature pictures decorate the tree alley Lange Vijverberg in front of the Dutch Parlament in den Haag, the Netherlands. This exposition is part of the "Year of bio- diversity"-event all over Europe.

Seafood restaurant "Le Garage" in Deauville, Normandy

An excellent seafood in Deauville, Normandy, one could enjoy in the fish restaurant "Le Garage". Here you will very friendly service and fresh seafood! Oysters, mussels (the specialty is "moules à la normande" with cider), other shells and plenty of fish...

Everything is yummy. We came already for a second time! This time i had a "brochette de poisson" with mango-sauce and shrimp on the top, while Nico enjpyed grilled sardines...

Les falaises d`Etretat, Normandy...

The cliffs around the village Etretat in Normandy offer a magnificent place of interest. Between rocks and sea one can admire from high this beauty... The most famous part of the cliffs are the three natural made arches.

The cliffs and the associated resort beach around it have attracted plenty of artists in the years such as Claude Monet.

La Route du cidre and Beuvron-en-Auge: fairy-tale in Calvados....

One of my really, really favourite places in France is a part of Normandy. The so called Pays-d`Auge is a magnificent gem of this northwestern area of France, where one can enjoy plenty of local specialties.

This local lady posed very friendly for me in her traditional clothing from Normandy in front of the shop where she is selling local specialties...

My favourite ones are the buchwheat pancakes ("galletes") and cider and peer wine ("cidre" and "poire"). Of course the best place to enjoy both of them is "la Creperie", the house for pancakes:-) As the poster below says, with "galettes" one should drink cider from the area of Pays-dÀuge...I confirm it tastes excellent!

The cute and cozy village Beuvron-en-Auge is where the famous "Route de cidre" starts. Over 40 km one can visit and stop by at local producers for tasting and shopping. The village itself is amazing an d really worth visiting, the half-timbered houses and the flowers everywhere turns it in a very beautiful place. It is one of the 100"plus beaux villages de France" too....

GayPride Amsterdam 2010, the Canal Parade

If you ever wonder what a gay parade looks like, let me summarise it for you in a few words...There is pink everywhere, its crowded and music in the air (on Saturday also some rain). The Boat parade during the Amsterdam Gay Pride seemed to me a nice thing to see if you live in the Netherlands. I honestly did not expect this HUGE amount of people everywhere...especially considering the pretty cloudy weather which at the end became too wet.

Anyway, from the small part I saw it looked quiet fun. The people watching were dancing on boats parked in the canals and next to the canals while some paparazzi (like me) were wondering on what to climb in order to take some pictures to show afterwards...It should be really better in sunshine, but then I am not sure how crowded it will get...

Amazingly different: Château de Brézé or about "the castle under the castle"....

Château de Brézé suprises its visitors with actually two....castles. One rising from another! The original underground castle, the "Rock" of Brézé, begins to appear in historical texts from 1063. You can still visit it nowadays at a depth of 9m beneath the courtyard. The light-well is the oldest part of the castle and a great example of a troglodyte dwelling constructed along defensive lines. One can walk through the underground tunnels, discover the bakery, ice-house and wine cellars as well as the silk-worm farm...

In the 15th century a medieval edifice was erected and fortified by the excavation of immense ditches all around. This one has been replaced by the building visible today, a Renaissance castle restored and extended in the 19th century.

"Les petits plaisirs" in the Valley of Loire...

Next to the huge amount of castles and wineries inviting for a stop and nice time there are also other little pleasures ("les petits plaisirs") for the stomach as well as for the eyes, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed in the Loire Valley...This is definitely the area for goat cheese lovers. Crottin de Chavignol, Vallencay, Selles sur Sere....just name it! Plenty of different names and shapes for fresh and less young goat cheese sorts.

The cozy feeling that little villages manage to create with lovely flower decoration and colorful pots on the walls is really amazing! In the village Ferte Saint Aubin some metal flowers decorates the city showing a good recycling example:)












Another beauty are the signs ("enseignes") on a building, indicating what the owner is doing...In the case below the answer is food...