_ photos on Flickr

Even best things finish. For all of you, enjoy every single remaining minute of this crazy year. Cheers. Nico. (Russia, Moscow, Red Square, July 2006)

Home for the Holidays by Al Lowe

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St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

Volcán Tolhuaca desde el noroeste. by Mono Andes

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Parque Nacional Tolhuaca, límite región Biobío - Araucanía. Chile central.

Slea Head stone walls by kevin

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County kerry

api by Colloid Farl

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Four seconds. That was how long I opened the shutter at 2 full stops of (over)exposure. Night was dark and the flaming lamp was basically the only light source at the backstage of the arena where the popular kecak dance was held.

Rife with frenetic dancers scurrying for positions, the area was actually off-limits but it was Idul Fitri Hari Raya and the performance was sold out. Somehow we convinced the box office tenders that we only wanted a peep. Little did they know that for me, this free spot is the best.

Pura Uluwatu, Nusa Dua, Balu, Indonesia

more pics and journeys in colloidfarl.blogspot.com/

Trafalgar Square.....(EXPLORE#120) by davidezartz

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Into the light. ... Trafalgar Square is the most photographed square in the world !

Grateful thanks to all my friends , contacts & all flickr members for their support , comments & visiting my photostream , that this image has made Explore.

Without their support this would not have been possible.

So thanks to EVERYONE. Thank you ALL.

Volando de vuelta. by Mono Andes

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Volcanes San Pedro y San Pablo. Desierto de Atacama. Chile.

Predjamski by Jumpin'Jack

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Every castle in the world is unique in some way. No two are the same.

But this one - even though it's rather small and humble compared to some - is unique in more than one way. Probably the only one in the world, really integrated in a cave system - actually the second largest cave system in Slovenia.

It's located 9km from Postojna (where another cave is located - world-famous Postojnska jama - one of the largest in the world).

Its name Predjamski grad literally means Castle in Front of the Cave. And the village in front of it is also named Predjama.

This castle wasn't built in one go. First written records exist from 13th century, though the first part (left wing) was probably built in the first half of 12th century. Middle part was added in renaissance, and the right wing was build around 1570. Some things were added and changed later, but since 1990 renovation work is in progress, restoring it to the original 16th century look.

A medieval knight's tournament is held each summer in front of the castle and it's really worth a visit (though it's quite crowded then - as far as I heard).

Castle changed quite a few owners, but probably the best known was notorious rogue knight Erasmus Lueger, aka Erazem Predjamski. In 15th century, when he lived, only the first part of the castle existed. And it more resembled a robber's den than a castle. Wasn't very large or comfortable - but virtually impregnable.

Erazem was once a guest of Austrian emperor Friederich III. When one of emperor's friends (or relatives, as some sources state) insulted one of Erazem's good friends, Erazem drew the sword and killed him. For this, he was sentenced to death, but managed to escape and made it back to his stronghold.

Then he started attacking caravans, robbing whomever and whenever he seemed fit and generally acting as a major pain in emperor's behind. Therefore Triest's governor Ravbar was ordered to find and kill him.

Legend says that none of Ravbar's men knew where Erazem's stronghold was. So Erazem himself, cheeky as he was, put on a diguise and offered to lead them to it. Be as it may, as they found out the location, they laid the siege to the castle for months. When they froze their bums off in the middle of winter, Erazem mocked them and allegedly even catapulted a roasted ox from the castle and wished them good appetite. (Could be that the Monty Python crew borrowed this legend for their French Taunting sketch - or perhaps it's just a funny coincidence.)

When the next spring arrived, Erazem started to send them freshly picked cherries. Ravbar was thoroughly puzzled by this. There were rumours among his men, that there was a sort of paradise land in the caves behind the castle, that yields all sorts of crop throughout the year...

Little did they know, that there's a passage through the cave, which exits on the other side of the hill. Probably this passage and the elaborate cave system were the main reason why the castle was built there in the first place.

Though Ravbar received these fruity gifts from Erazem, the siege itself proved fruitless - until the summer of 1484, when Ravbar managed to bribe one of Erazem's servants. This servant told him, that though castle's walls can easily withstand cannon fire, the walls of the outhouse (see notes on the photo) are quite another matter. A well aimed cannonball could penetrate its wall and kill whomever is using it at the moment.

So, when Erazem was relieving himself, the servant gave Ravbar's men a signal and they fired at the outhouse. The cannonball passed right through and missed Erazem. But when it hit the back wall, an avalanche of rocks buried Erazem beneath it, ending his rebellion.

(That's the official version anyway. Another source (see here), states that he was killed by "sniper fire" through a window, after the treacherous servant placed the lamp so that it outlined Erasmus' silhouette in the window.)

Legend also says that Erazem is buried under a huge (and really weird looking) lime tree, beside the village church.

---

Best viewed large.

Here is the night view.

And here all my pix of this place.

Oh, and BTW: On May 7th, 2009 Oddee placed this castle third among

"10 Most Fascinating Castles and Palaces" in the world.

They even borrowed the first part of my text above in their description.

LOL I'm flattered! :-)

(And since they didn't ask for permission, nor quoted the source, I'm quite grateful they didn't "borrow" my photo as well.)

Harmonious and antagonistic simultaneously? by Λl℮Roda®

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* Tirada em Balneário Camboriú em 13/10/06 às 22:21hs. ISO 50, 15s de exposição, f/7,1. Um pequeno tutorial de como fazer HDR com um .jpeg apenas pode ser encontrado aqui!

* Taken on Balneário Camboriú/Santa Catarina/Brazil (13/10/06), at 22:21hs. ISO 50, 15s of exposure, f/7,1. A small tutorial of how create an HDR using 1 .jpeg can be found here!

***Please peek 'Harmonious and antagonistic simultaneously?' On Black!

big swim by anzyAprico

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@Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

this tank is the biggest tank in the world. there are 3 whale sharks in the tank.

i LOVE the aquariums..

school bus again by Kevin Meredith

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check out the wider shot

non la by Colloid Farl

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While conical hats are common in Asia- think of the rattan woven version of the Philippines and the bamboo ones in Indonesia and China- the Vietnamese non la are unique for its extreme lightness. Extracted from an indigenous variety of bamboo, the young leaves are first softened by exposure to damp air overnight. Flattened and then sown by hand into 16-18 rims, the leaves are given a final coat of transparent tar to keep the hat shiny and weather-proof. Several years ago I brought home 2 hats for my mom and they still are durable and yes, eye-catching.

Unicorn Island, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

more pics and journeys in colloidfarl.blogspot.com/

Accomplice Mei knows juveniles get less jail time... by J. Young Photos

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goodbye, sarah by nicole schurr

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our friend sarah is leaving berlin at saturday to start again in a new town, so this is part of her farewell present.

website / facebook / twitter

Columbarium/Pigeon Tower by Hamzeh Karbasi Zadeh

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Outside of Columbarium (Pigeon Tower)

Nehchir Fort - Mobarakeh (17th AD) Safavid

Isfahan - Iran

4th Iranian Flickies Gathering

pallonciniiiiiiii by Elena Colombo

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SUN SHADOWS by capsicina 

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Arnarstapi Natural Arch - West Fjords - Iceland by Alessandro Behling

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My Most Interesting - { Planet Adventure BlogSpot }

Hulloooooo... YOU!!! lols♫ by L. Brand

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yeeeees you! lol -thanks to all and im so pleased that everyone has something to say on my egrets’ series :D appreciate tremendously your kind words, emails, fun messages, favs and for all breathtaking giggles, you’re the maximum !!! :)) i’m glad to see new and old Flickr's friends stopping by just to wish me so many marvelous things. yeees, one of my best birthday parties online ever, really great having ya’ll!!!! wish all a great day and loads of happiness. cheers to all!:D here i'm on my Morticia A. Addams' style of The Addams Family :P hahahah.... BEIJOS muuuuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

siiiiiiim, vocês!! rsrs- grata à todos e eu estou tão contente que todo mundo tem sempre algo o que dizer sobre a minha série das garças :D estimo tremendamente suas palavras amáveis, e-mails, mensagens divertidas, favs e por todas as risadas de tirar o fôlego, vcs são o máximo!!! :))) Eu estou muito feliz de ver amigos novos e antigos do Flickr, que deram uma paradinha aqui só para desejar-me tantas coisas maravilhosas. siiiim, uma das minhas melhores festas de aniversário on-line, há tempos, realmente ótimo tê-los todos!!!! que todas tenham um grande dia e muitas alegrias, cheers:D aqui estou eu no meu estilo à llaaa Morticia A. Addams da Família Addams (Monstro) :P ahauahuahauah.... BEIJOS muuuuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Cat Stare by Fofurasfelinas

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Only one eye, not less intense stare

merecido descanso by limay uribe ruberti

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el senior de las valijas y los bultos pesados de retiro tomandose esos 5 minutos de relajo que le dan sus largos dias de trabajo y servicio a los ajetreados turistas...

mas trabajos en:

limeta

shimizu

FIRE SHOT by Julio Salinas

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Location: Changa Beach, Coquimbo.

Misty Stones by Dietrich Bojko

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Sütel-Strand, Baltic Sea, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

View this picture large on black (must)