BBC News (March 14, 2023) – Once the lifeline of Bhutan, the 403km Trans-Bhutan Trail connected the affluent western districts of Haa to the remote far eastern Trashigang. The trail dates back to the 16th Century, and was used by monarchs, traders, pilgrims and messengers for hundreds of years, but fell into disuse soon after Bhutan developed its highway in the 1960s. Now, more than 60 years later, the historic trail has reopened.
A local walks in a field in Paro; 70 percent of the kingdom is covered with greenery.
Smithsonian Channel – In 2001, Daniel Libeskind was hired to design a tasteful extension to the Bundeswehr Museum of Military History, in Dresden. His vision was an ingenious feat of architecture that managed to be both modern and respectful of the city’s tragic past.
The Military History Museum in Dresden, Saxony is one of very few museums in Germany that has German war equipment from both World Wars. Some of the most famous large items in the museum include a V2 flying bomb and Germany’s first submarine. The museum aims to explain how the military, armies and war influenced politics and society, and vice versa.
It was originally designed by architect Henri Labrouste. Photo by Marchand Meffre
Dezeen (December 26, 2022) – French practice Bruno Gaudin Architectes has completed a 15-year project to renovate and open up the historic rue de Richelieu site of the National Library of France in Paris, incorporating new public routes and spaces.
It took 15 years to renovate and open up the historic building
Completed in the late 19th century by architect Henri Labrouste, the library is considered a masterpiece of the Beaux Arts style, with vast, skylit reading rooms framed by slender steel columns and highly decorative arches.
Piers Court, the house where Evelyn Waugh wrote his nostalgic masterpiece Brideshead Revisited, was used as a safe house for Royalists during the Civil War. He lived there from 1937 to 1956 – apart from during the war years when it was taken over by nuns.
December 16, 2022
It seems a sad state of affairs for a famed house whose previous owners — who bought Piers Court in 2010 — had done much to enhance a place described by Pevsner as ‘dignified and elegant’, which, behind its classical 18th-century façade, caters for both formal entertaining and informal family living. The standard of fixtures and fittings is really something – as this picture of one of the bathrooms demonstrates.
Relaxing WALKER – The Magdala hotel is one of Israel´s newest and most uniquely situated hotels in the Galilee. Found in the recently discovered first century town of Magdala, at the shores of the Sea of Galilee, guests can experience an ambience of serenity, extraordinary natural beauty, and ancient history.
Magdala was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, 3 miles north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya, and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea, literally the place of processing fish. It is believed to be the birthplace of Mary Magdalene.
Luxury, romance and a fairytale atmosphere — that’s how we imagine life at the medieval Eltz Castle. But what is it really like to live there? Spoiler: there are 80 rooms, all of which require a little maintenance. DW’s Hannah Hummel asks owner Jakob Graf zu Eltz about life at the castle back then and now. The castle resident has even set up his home office there. Would that be something for you, too?
Eltz Castle is different. It remained unscathed by wars. It has been owned and cared for by the same family from when it was built until today. Its architecture has no comparison and many of the original furnishings of the past eight centuries still remain in place. It houses rustic suits of armour, swords and halberds as well as magnificent courtly gold and silver artefacts. It towers high on a large rock set deep in a valley. It stands in the midst of the Eltz Forest, a nature reserve of serene beauty, which offers numerous hiking trails and outdoor areas for sports and recreation for all age groups.
Many visitors to Schloss Neuschwanstein combine their visit with the Museum of the Bavarian Kings, also located in Hohenschwangau in the former Grandhotel Alpenrose. The museum that opened in 2011 offers more than 1000 m2 of exhibition on the history of the dynasty of the Bavarian Kings.
Old objects, interesting stories and interactive media take you into the history of the Wittelsbach dynasty. In particular King Maximilian II, who made the Hohenschwangau Castle into a summer residence, and King Ludwig II, who built Neuschwanstein , play a central role in the museum. From the first floor you have a magnificent panorama over the Alpsee lake.
Kashan is an ancient oasis city in Iran, famous for its architectural wonders and ancient sites from the dawn of civilization. Tepe Sialk is a large ancient archeological site in Kashan, Its first settlements are 8000 years old, and the Sialk ziggurat was built around 3000 BC.
Video timeline: 0:00 Agha Bozorg Mosque 0:45 Old Town 3:02 Borujerdi House 4:05 Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse 4:42 Tabatabaei House 5:20 Bazaar of Kashan 6:24 Tepe Sialk 7:32 Bagh-e Fin Garden
The Fin Garden (16 century) is one of the most beautiful historical gardens of the middle-east, together with other prominent Persian gardens it is on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (The Persian Garden). The Borujerdi house is well known for its unique architecture.
ScarboroughTourist – The Scarborough & Whitby Railway was a railway line from Scarborough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The line followed a difficult but scenic route along the North Yorkshire coast.
The line opened in 1885 and closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe. The route, now a multi-use path, is known as “The Cinder Track”
The track was subsequently lifted in 1968, although speculation about a potential potash mine near Hawsker meant that the track from there to Whitby remained in place until 1972.
The line is now used as a bridleway for cycles, pedestrians and horses, known as the “Scarborough to Whitby Rail Trail”, “Scarborough to Whitby Cinder Track”, or simply “The Cinder Track”.
In the 1980s an area of the former line in the Northstead district of Scarborough was briefly used as football and cricket pitches.
In 2018 plans to spend £3.5 million to repair and improve the Cinder Track were backed by the borough council. The plans would see the route resurfaced, drainage improved and the creation of a new management body to oversee the development of the track. There is also the possibility of introducing a visitor centre, cafe and pay and display parking to generate ongoing funding to maintain the route. Work upgrading the track began in January 2020 and the first stage is now complete.
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