[ITALY.PIEMONTE 11078] 'Chimney sweep Takeo Onozowa in Santa Maria Maggiore.' Chimney sweep Takeo Onozowa and his daughter, wife and friend get a thundering applause during the parade of chimney sweeps in the streets of Santa Maria Maggiore, here in front of the town hall. He is the only chimney sweep from Japan. The parade is part of the International Chimney Sweeps Gathering (Raduno Internazionale dello Spazzacamino) in Valle Vigezzo. Photo Paul Smit.

[SWITZER.JURA 6326] 'Carnival in surreal surroundings.' A family of clowns and other strange folk entering the Theater Passage during the carnival in Basel. Photo Paul Smit.

[FRANCE.ALPSNORTH 10997] 'Enjoying the Vanoise national park.’ One of the best ways to enjoy a hike high up in the Vanoise national park, without a long climb to begin with, is by first taking the car from Termignon, in the Haute Maurienne, to the Bellecombe parking. From there it is an easy walk to the Refuge du Plan du Lac. This mountain hut, overlooking the glaciers of the Vanoise, is a good starting point for day hikes or small walks. Photo Paul Smit.

[FRANCE.ALPSNORTH 10988] 'Young family at Lac Blanc.’ One of the best ways to enjoy a hike high up in the Vanoise national park, without a long climb to begin with, is by first taking the car from Termignon, in the Haute Maurienne, to the Bellecombe parking. From there you can walk to several mountain lakes, situated on the same plateau as the parking and therefore easy hikes. One of them is Lac Blanc, with its superb view over the glaciers of the Vanoise. Photo Paul Smit.

[ITALY.LOMBARDIA 01791] 'Nostalgia.' Going back down from the Sasso del Ferro above Laveno in a funny bin from the seventees. It is the only panorama mountain where you can see the snow capped Monte Rosa rise behind the Lago Maggiore. Photo Paul Smit.

[SLOVAKIA.WEST 03553] 'Bratislava old town tour.' Kitschy old town tour 'oldtimer' coming out of the narrowest alley of Bratislava, Bastová Ulica. Photo Paul Smit.

[FRANCE.ILEDEFRANCE 11055] 'Musical Fountain Show of Versailles.' During a Musical Fountain Show - in french "Grandes Eaux et Jardins Musicaux" - the fountains of the Palace Gardens of Versailles come to life for about 10 minutes, one bassin after another, in a choreography based on music from the period the particular fountain or garden was created. Seeing the fountains work is a must; the Versailles Gardens without fountains is like a nightingale without voice. This picture shows the Neptune Fountain (Bassin de Neptune). The family in front of the camera is dressed in white because it participated in the White Picnic ("pique-nique en blanc"), which is organized on Bastille Day, the 14th of July. That day thousands of people come together with their picnic baskets and have a festive meal on the banks of the Grand Canal. Photo Paul Smit.

[VIETNAM.NORTH 21.410] ’Red Dao family.’ At Ta Phin village near Sapa the Red Dao family of Zu-u-me (right) lives in a traditional house with few windows and a floor of stamped earth. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[FRANCE.ALPSNORTH 10994] 'Refuge du Plan du Lac.’ One of the best ways to enjoy a hike high up in the Vanoise national park, without a long climb to begin with, is by first taking the car from Termignon, in the Haute Maurienne, to the Bellecombe parking. From there it is an easy walk to the Refuge du Plan du Lac, a mountain hut in splendid surroundings, overlooking the glaciers of the Vanoise. There you can have lunch before continuing the hike. Photo Paul Smit.

[FRANCE.ALPSNORTH 10989] 'Young family at Lac Blanc.’ One of the best ways to enjoy a hike high up in the Vanoise national park, without a long climb to begin with, is by first taking the car from Termignon, in the Haute Maurienne, to the Bellecombe parking. From there you can walk to several mountain lakes, situated on the same plateau as the parking and therefore easy hikes. One of them is Lac Blanc, with its superb view over the glaciers of the Vanoise. Photo Paul Smit.

[GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 14] 'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.' Fountain at the base of the stairs climbing the terraced vineyard garden towards the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. In the evening, when most of the tourists have left, the park seems to dream towards the night, a vision of the world as the Prussian kings imaged it in their romantic fantasies. Sans souci - an illusion that became reality in Potsdam. The terraced garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. It has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.