Thursday, January 31, 2013

Labyrint Drielandenpunt | Atlas Obscura

Labyrint Drielandenpunt | Atlas Obscura

Labyrint Drielandenpunt

A beautiful maze marking where three countries meet

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The Drielanden Labyrinth (or Three Country Labyrinth) is Europe's largest outdoor shrub maze. It was built by British landscape artist Adrian Fisher who used 17,000 hornbeam shrubs to constitute the maze. Not only is the maze the most South-Easterly place in the Netherlands, it is also the highest. The most exciting aspect of the Drielandaen Labyrinth however, is, as its namesake suggests, that it is located where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany all meet. In the middle of the maze, which is said to take up to an hour to complete, is a platform allowing visitors to look off into any of the three countries as well as at their fellow maze travelers as they struggle in the network of hornbeams below.
Surrounding the labyrinth are a handful of other recreational activities for visitors to enjoy. There is a playground for the younger crowd and clay shooting and archery for the older crowd. Fittingly enough, there are also smuggling games for visitors to play, where they reenact the once frequent passage of smugglers looking to save their money by jumping borders. And finally, the Border Stone Tavern is located conveniently across the boardwalk from an inn, for those travelers who are looking to spend the night.

Basilica of Our Lady of Avioth | Atlas Obscura

Basilica of Our Lady of Avioth | Atlas Obscura

Basilica of Our Lady of Avioth

A towering baroque basilica jutting out of the French countryside

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Many travelers visit France specifically for their historic countryside. Pastoral vistas, antique buildings, and quaint stone churches are part and parcel of the experience.
What they don't expect to find, however, are massive 14th-Century gothic basilicas located in the middle of otherwise small and unassuming villages.
That's what makes La basilique Notre-Dame d'Avioth, or the Basilica of Our Lady of Avioth, so unique. Grandiose and exquisitely put together, the basilica would be right at home in Paris or Nice. But instead its in the tiny town of Avioth, proving that you don't need to go to the city to see some phenomenal and inspiring architecture.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

HBO Releases a Slew of New Images from ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3 | nerdbastards.com

HBO Releases a Slew of New Images from ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3 | nerdbastards.com

HBO Releases a Slew of New Images from ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3
Game-of-Thrones-Danaerys-and-the-Unsullied
As of now we’re two months out from the premiere of Game of Thrones‘ third season on March 31st. Covering the events of about the first half of the third book, A Storm of Swords, this will be the season where everything gets amped up to 11. If you were shocked, surprised, dismayed, aghast at anything from the first two seasons get ready to have your brain leaking from your ears come the end of Season 3. Both showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, always said if they made it to this season they knew they were safe. And I can’t imagine HBO tiring of Thrones, or the gold dragons and silver stags it’s making them, anytime soon.
While we’re still awaiting a proper trailer for Season 3 – it must be released soon, it must! – we can share these spectacular portraits of Thrones‘ ever growing cast. These images provide wonderful looks at characters new, like Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer), Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye), Jojen (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), and Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick), and old.
Oooh, I am very, very excited for this season. I excited for Dany to become a commanding presence out in the East and to see her dragons grow. I’m excited for Bran to hook up the Reeds as they’re some of the coolest characters he’ll interact with for some time. I’m excited for Jon, North of The Wall and his budding relationship with Ygritte. And I’m excited for the misadventures of Jamie and Brienne. There’s just so much happening, I don’t even know how they’ll give each storyline the time it deserves. But I know they will. They’ve had to put those extra minutes to good use somehow.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO on March 31st.
Source: Entertainment Weekly