St Patrick's College

Ireland is known as a Catholic country, and nowhere more so in Ireland this can be said than St Patrick's College in Maynooth.

Walking around is an amazing experience in the tranquility and tradition for a institution that was established in 1795.

BMW Welt

Munich is known for many things and one of them is BMW.  In fact, the BMW logo is the Bavarian flag.  Oddly many Germans consider Munich to be a village in comparison to Frankfurt, the Rhein Valley and Berlin.

What's really cool is when you buy a BMW, you have the option of picking it up at the specially built receiving center where people give you a tour of your new car and the option of getting export plates to have fun on the Autobahn before heading home.

Also is included a ticket to the BMW museum, where they have a nice collection of the older and future prototypes.

View from Deutsches Museum

The view from the observation floor on top of Deutsches Museum is quite nice view of Munich.

I like the weather instruments on the tower

View of Munich altstadt

The English gardens in the distance

Partnach Gorge

The gorge in Garmisch is not the biggest, but it's quite accessible and once you pass it, it's an amazing hike!

Irish Road Traffic

Driving out in western Ireland, you often run into these traffic jams.

Largest Alpine Fortress in Europe

Not many people know about this fort, in fact try searching for the "largest fort in Europe" and it takes you a few minutes to find it.  But the Fenestrelle Fortress is the largest in Europe.

Built and upgraded in the past hundreds of years, the fortress was originally French and then later fell into Italian hands.  This is one reason not many people know about it, but what's interesting is that it's Europe's version of the Chinees Great Wall.

Next time I'm in the area I'll try to get some photos and compare it to the Chinees version.  Inside is also a nice little museum showing how life was like for the soldiers in the 19th century stationed here.

Irish Wine

This must be one of the funniest things I've seen in Ireland - Irish wine!

Romeo and Juliet Balcony

The famous balcony in Verona, Italy.  Millions of tourists come to visit and scribble love notes on the gates and walls.

Dutch Klomp

In Holland one can find these Klomp wooden clogs everywhere in tourist shops.  According to wikipedia, they are still worn today by farmers and considered safer than steel toe boots as the wood will  protect your foot, and not just the toes.

Giant Camera

Just behind the famous Cliff House in San Francisco is this Giant Camera.  It's one of the few remaining items from the fun park that use to be along Ocean Beach.

The pyramid structure on top rotates and reflects the image to a large table inside, where you can see the image of the works around.

Middle of Nowhere

One really begins to appreciate how big the US is when you drive though states like New Mexico and Texas.

This photo was taken when we were driving back from Ohio to California along Route 66.  Note the gunshot holes in the sign, there isn't even a tree to shoot at for miles!

Little Italy in San Francisco

San Francisco has a little Italian quater with a few little stores.  At Molinari's you can get all the goodies and remind you that you may be in a little village back in the 1950's.

Frankfurt Bahnhof

Frankfurt's station is quite big.  The city has a central location in Europe and many long-distance trains pass though there.

I also like the big "Frankfurter Allgemine" ad, reminds be of the Bruno clip.

Coffee and Books

Enjoying a nice Sunday at home with coffee, books and a little Belgium chocolate.