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Tag Archives: history
Wine Villages of Alsace
The glories of autumn are only just starting to fade now as we head into the more changeable and darker days of November; nevertheless, when the sun shines it can still look wonderful at this time of year. Vineyards in … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Europe
Tagged Alsace, castles, Colmar, germany, Gewürztraminer, Haut Koenigsbourg, history, Kaysersberg, Kientzheim, legends, Middle Ages, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Route des Vins, Strasbourg, Sylvaner, Vosges
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New Life in Scotland’s Ancient Forests
On the banks of the River Tay by Dunkeld in Perthshire stands the ancient “Birnam Oak”, reputedly the sole surviving tree of the famed Birnam Wood of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s “Scottish” play, Malcolm’s soldiers camouflaged themselves with branches from Birnam Wood before capturing Macbeth’s stronghold … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged ancient woodland, birch, Birnam Oak, Cairngorms, Caledonian Pine Woods, charcoal making, community woodlands, coppicing, Forest of Spey, forest schools, Glen Finglas, Glenmore Forest, Highland Birchwoods, highland clearances, Highlands, history, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, Loch Tay Woods, Macbeth, native woodlands, oak, Pass of Ryvoan, Perthshire, Scots pine, spirit of place, tanning industry, Trossachs, wood pasture, wood turning, Woodland Trust
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Ghost Trains in the Urban Jungle
It could be a vision straight from a post apocalyptic sci-fi movie; a real-life “Planet of the Apes”. Trees and dense shrub vegetation encroach over former railway tracks, sidings and marshalling yards. Abandoned steam locomotives, rusting water towers and mysterious structures loom out of the … Continue reading
Posted in Current Affairs, History & Culture, In Europe, Trees & Greenspaces, Urbanism
Tagged Berlin, Environmental Art, environmental education, graffitti, Green Networks, history, Industriewald, pink floyd, planet of the apes, Südgeländ, Society for Urban Ecology, spirit of place, SURE, Urban Forestry, Urban Greenspace, woodlands, zombies
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Tummel and Tay: Exploring Scotland by Canadian Canoe
In an age dominated by road transport, most journeys these days involve jumping into the car. This was not however always the case; for our ancestors rivers and lochs formed the main communication routes through the landscape. On the River Tay in Perthshire, for example, log … Continue reading
Posted in Canoe Trips, History & Culture, In Scotland, Wild Places
Tagged Aberfeldy, autumn colours, Big Tree Country, Canadian Canoeing, Canoe Trips, Dunkeld, Highland Perthshire, Highlands, history, In Scotland, Kenmore, Killin, Loch Faskally, Loch Tay, Loch Tummel, mountains, nature, outdoors, wellbeing
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Setting up an Adventure Tourism Business: a case of bad timing
Has it ever seemed like the day job is not quite enough ? For years I’d had a nagging feeling that there ought to be more to life than the 9-5 office job staring at computer screen. In some ways I was one of the lucky … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Mountain Treks, Wild Places
Tagged Adventure Tourism, Business, family, Green Tourism, Highlands, history, In Scotland, landscape, legends, mountains, nature, outdoors, Perthshire, spirit of place, walking
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Castles, Vineyards and Ancient Villages
In the shadow of Burg Thurant: The austere twin towered fortress of Burg Thurant stands impressively on a hill top overlooking the winding streets, ancient houses, inns and vineyards of Alken, a medieval wine village situated on the lower Mosel. This dramatic scene symbolises everything … Continue reading
Posted in Canoe Trips, History & Culture, In Europe
Tagged Bernkastel Kues, Burg Eltz, Burg Thurant, Cochem, cultural heritage, Enkirch, folklore, Germany travel, history, Hochmosel Bridge, kayaking, Koblenz, mosel, Mosel Radweg, Mosel wine villages, Punderich, Riesling, St Aldegund, Traban Trabach, Trier, Vineyards
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Winter market
Warming scenes from the “Weihnachtsmarkt” in the medieval old town of Stolberg near Aachen. Gluhwein and crepes with African music ! All of a sudden Christmas seems nearer…
Going Home – A view of Scotland from Europe
I’ve been living in Aachen for over a year and in early November I decided it was time to head home, to reconnect (albeit briefly) with past roots and all things Scottish. Most interestingly I wanted to see how Scotland appeared to me from … Continue reading
Living in Aachen: Ancient Capital at the heart of Europe
Introducing Aachen: Over a year ago, I moved from Edinburgh to the City of Aachen located in the “Euregio” on the border of Germany, Holland and Belgium. Living in Germany’s most Westerly City has given me a great opportunity to learn about the history, … Continue reading
Posted in Aachen & Euregio, Current Affairs, History & Culture, In Europe
Tagged Aachen, Charlemagne, Culture shock, Euregio, germany, history, legends, outdoors, travel
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Mosel Less Travelled
Everyone knows about the Romantic Rhine; stereotypical landscapes of half timbered villages clambering up steep, vine bedecked slopes, crowned with dramatic medieval castles. These landscapes inspired a whole generation of 19th Century romantics, poets, travellers and artists including Byron and Turner. However the little … Continue reading
Off the Beaten Track 