Courtyard of Schloss Tenneberg.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30324] A “Schloss Café” occupies the gallery on the courtyard of Schloss Tenneberg, a Renaissance castle in the small town of Waltershausen, southwest of Gotha. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Knödel in Weimar.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30435] In Restaurant Scharfe Ecke in Weimar knödel (Klösse) are a local speciality. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Zum Frosch' in Bad Köstritz.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30529] The facade of the old village inn 'Zum Frosch' in Bad Köstritz is decorated with a plaque showing a beer drinking frog surrounded by hop. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Ganymedes in the Stadtschloss Museum of Weimar.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30489] The plaster replica of Thorvaldsen sculpture 'Ganymedes watering Zeus as an eagle" in the Stadtschloss Museum of Weimar dates from the middle of the 19th century. Bertel Thorvaldsen, a Danish sculptor working in a neoclassicist style, created the original sculpture in 1817. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30269] ’Cyclist near windmill ‘Zeldenrust’ in Dokkum’.

HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30269] ’Cyclist near windmill ‘Zeldenrust’ in Dokkum’. Cyclists are having a break near windmill ‘Zeldenrust’ in the historical centre of Dokkum. This smock mill with a stage (‘stellingmolen’ in Dutch) was built in 1862 to produce pearl barley (‘gort’ in Dutch) by removing the hulls from barley grains (a process called ‘pellen’ in Dutch) but it can also grind corn. The mill is located on one of the bastions of the town. The green embankment on the left is also part of the fortifications of the town. Dokkum is one of the eleven historical towns of the provence of Friesland. Towns that are famous for the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Towns Tour), a 200 km long ice skating tour which visits each of them. Dokkum is the eleventh town in the itinerary of this tour. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[FRANCE.ALPSSOUTH 29840] ’St. Anthony nursing a monk in Clans.’

[FRANCE.ALPSSOUTH 29840] ’St. Anthony nursing a monk in Clans.’ The ceiling and walls of the medieval Chapelle Saint Antoine l‘Ermite in Clans are decorated with thirty six scenes from the life of Saint Anthony the Great, that were painted by an anonymous artist in the 15th century. Here we see a scene which shows Saint Anthony nursing an ill monk. Anthony the Great (ca. 251 - 356 AD), also known as Anthony of the Desert or Anthony of Thebes, was an early Christian ascetic who chose the life of a hermit in the desert of Egypt. He is said to have lived in a tomb and an old abandoned Roman fort, where he was harassed by phantoms and wild beasts. Eventually he gathered a group of followers who sought spiritual enlightenment, thus becoming the Father of Monasticism. The monastery he founded is located in the eastern desert of Egypt, 150 km southeast of Cairo. The village of Clans can be found in the French Alps, 35 km north of Nice. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Luther in Weimar

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30432] Between 1518 and 1540 Weimar was frequently visited by Luther who preached on these occasions in the Herderkirche. Even today the Reformator is no unknown figure in the streets of the town. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Bakery in puppet town Mon plaisir in Arnstadt.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30390] The Baroque miniature doll town ‘Mon plaisir’ was created between 1716 and 1751 for Princess Auguste Dorothea von Schwarzburg-Arnstadt. The dolls were never intended as toys; they represent society in the style of a Baroque Cabinet of curiosities (Wunderkammer). The around four hundred figures have delicately made heads of wax and are distributed over 82 miniature rooms in specially made cabinets.The collection was created near Arnstadt in Augustenburg Castle, which no longer exists, and is now in the Schlossmuseum in Arnstadt. Here we see the sales-room in a bakery. The pastry is real, but due to preservational reasons salted dough was used. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Drinking beer in Mühlhausen.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30558] On the pavement terrace of café 'Brauhaus Zum Löwen' at the Kornmarkt in Mühlhausen a family enjoys its beer and ice cream. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[FRANCE.PROVENCE 11228] ’Fountain in Vaison-la-Romaine.’

[FRANCE.PROVENCE 11228] ’Fountain in Vaison-la-Romaine.’ Although Vaison-la-Romaine mainly attracts visitors with its Roman heritage, it has more on offer. Such as the picturesque streets in the Medieval part of town. Here, the fountain on the Place de l'Orme offers a welcome drink. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[Egypt 29978] ’Divine milk in Ramses II Temple at Abydos.’

[EGYPT 29978] ’Divine milk in Ramses II Temple at Abydos.’ Ramses II drinks milk from a cow who is the bovine manifestation of the goddess Hathor. The relief is located in a chapel which is dedicated to Ramses II and Osiris and is accessed from the northern end of the portico in the Ramses II Temple at Abydos. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[FRANCE.PROVENCE 10915] ’Châteauneuf-du-Pape.’ Around 1400 AD two popes fought each other for divine supremacy of the Holy Church. One was based in Rome and the other in Avignon. The popes of Avignon really liked a good swig of wine and that caused the emergence of vineyards close to Orange where focus on quality was more important than elsewhere. This was the cradle of the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. There is also a geological reason for the good quality of these wines: the big pebbles that cover the earth between the vines. They suck in the heat of the sun during the day and radiate warmth during the night. The pebbles are a gift of the Rhône, which deposited them during its more turbulent behaviour in the Ice Age. Gilles Sylvain, chef de culture of the renowned wine-grower Brotte, can tell you all about it. In the background the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Photo Paul Smit.