#644 Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, UK

It is easy to see what this magnificent natural formation is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has inspired and sustained legends and while there are similar formations (like Fingal's Cave on Scottish isle Staffa on the other side of the sea), it is unique. At most 12 meters high and around 28 meters thick in the widest places, they were formed during a volcanic eruption during the Paleogene period 50-60 million years ago as the lava cooled near the limestone forming a similar structure to dried, cracked mud. However, the stones just form part of a 3800 square kilometer area including the surrounding 100m cliffs, which form the largest remaining lava plateau in Europe.

Part of the Antrim peninsula in Northern Ireland, people have been visiting as tourists since the 1693 'discovery' by the Royal Society. It was a popular feature on The Grand Tour as well, popularized by Miss Susana Drury's paintings.

An aerial photo from the http://www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com/ website.

The coastline is dotted with similar coves,all part of the same formation, although not all have the unique columns!

Known as Clochán an Aifir or Clochán na bhFomhórach in Irish, it's name comes from the legend of Fionn mac Cumhaill, who built the causeway when he was challenged to a fight by Scottish giant Benandonner. Benandonner was tricked when he discovered when Fionn's wife Oonagh pretended he was a baby. From the size of the Fionn 

'baby' and speculation as to the size of the father, Benandonner fled to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him. so that Fionn couldn't follow.

Seen from above.

Unfortunately, a rainy day when wen went!

Stepping stones as perfectly fit together as in a jigsaw puzzle. There are supposed to be around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, most of six sides (hexagonal), but a few with more or less.

The narrow gap between the causeway and the mainland. Other features at the site include a 'Giant's Boot' and an 'organ' (stacks).

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant's_Causeway
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/369
http://www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com/

#655 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Have spent the day in Amsterdam - what a great city! Historic and picturesque canals, but a living modern city at the same time. A plane full of bachelor party-goers, many shops filled with raunchy sex images and strong red light district contrasted with hundreds of toddler bicycle seats, children enjoying ice creams everywhere and child-friendliness and safety being the vibe.

One of my favorite thing were the buildings, or more precisely the very apparent age of the buildings - many tilting over! I love all of the crane hooks at the top of the buildings because so many were used as warehouses.

I've had a whole evening filled with glorious Dutch cheeses, and of course I had to try the Dutch Meatballs (Gehaktballen).

Other attractions include the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum, Anne France House, the Hermitage Museum, the Amsterdam Museum, the Stedelijk Museum and of course its infamous red-light district.

The Netherlands is known for their flowers, especially the tulips, and this flower market was full of bulbs and seeds for everything from azaleas to geraniums to dahlias. There are even special 'For the USA' packages.

Don't forget the cannabis shops! It's even available in your corner shop.

Deriving its name from Amstelredamme, literally a dam of the river Amstel, it began as a fishing village in the 12th century, and reached a peak during the Dutch Golden Age (of trade) in the 17th Century, where it was a hub for diamonds and finance; in fact, it has the world's oldest stock exchange. The floods of 1170 and 1173 brought about the damming, but compared to other cities in the Netherlands like Nijmegen, Utrecht and Rotterdam, it is relatively younger, and its city rights were not granted until 1300.

The canal district surrounding the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage monument, which was built to expand Amsterdam's port city at the end of the 16th Century, and involved moving the city's fortified walls (the Singelgracht), draining the swamps and building an intricate system of canals and filling the spaces with gabled houses and monuments. Contrary to expectation, it was not built from the centre outwards, but from west to east. The three canals residential canals known as the Grachtengordel can be translated as 'canal of the ruling lords' (Herengracht), 'emperor's canal' (Keizersgracht), and the 'prince's canal' (Prinsengracht). Singel is the oldest inner canal, but the collective name for all the canals is Singelgracht, which is also the name of the fourth and outermost canal. What a great way to meet the needs of defense, water management and transport all at once, and the city did not grow outside this structure/these borders for two centuries.

Aerial view of the canal ring from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1349

 

Sources: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1349
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam

#714 Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Although most visitors to Iceland arrive by air into Reykjavik, some lucky travelers ferry in from the Faroe Islands/Denmark and arrive in the idyllic bohemian hamlet of Seydisfjordur, on Iceland's eastern coast. I have to say it was one of my favorite places in Iceland, though as I was very lucky with the weather there, I'm sure that helped!

With pretty multicolored wood houses (built by Norwegian merchants), only two restaurants and one supermarket, and a handful of hotels, one would never call it bustling, but its spectacular location can't be beaten. The sheer snow-capped mountains surround it on all sides, with beautiful waterfalls cascading down creating lovely gushing water music, but also causing a large avalanche threat (an 1885 tragedy killed 24 people and in 1996 a factory was flattened). The steep mountain pass leads the only way out of the valley, snow-laden even in mid-summer, and the only way to get to Egilsstadir and the rest of Iceland.

 

The fjord is 17km long and a rough dirt track winds its way to the end. The main settlement began in 1848 as a trading center and it found a boom product in herring. During the second world war it was a British and American base (an oil tanker suffered a close German bomb sinking to the bottom of the fjord), but now bases its economy on fishing, the ferry and a growing artist/musician/crafts community.

Seydisfjordur is a technology leader as well as being the connection with the rest of the world, offering the location for the first submarine telephone cable to Europe (1906), the first high-voltage hydro electric power station (1913). Skiing, kayaking, bird-watching, hiking and even Settlement Era archaeology (at Skalanes on the mouth of the fjord) are just some of the possible pursuits available.

Source: Lonely Planet Iceland 7th Edition, 2010