53 photos from Songshan
(Henan, China)

2007-10-31

Mount Song, known in Chinese as Song Shan, is one of the Taoist Five Sacred Mountains and is located in Henan province on the south bank of the Yellow River in China. Its summit is 1,500 meters above sea level. It is home to the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism. The Zhongyue Temple is also located here, one of the earliest Taoist temples in the country. The Songyang Academy nearby was one of the four great academies of ancient China.

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23 photos from Wageningen
(Gelderland, Netherlands)

2007-05-05

Wageningen is a municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. Wageningen is famous for its military history. On May 5, 1945, the German general Blaskowitz surrendered to the Canadian general Charles Foulkes, which ended the Second World War in the Netherlands. The Generals negotiated the terms of surrender in the Hotel de Wereld, which since 2004 has again been serving as a hotel. On May 5, which in the Netherlands is Liberation Day, the city hosts a large festival to celebrate the liberation. At this festival, veteran soldiers parade through the city and are honored for their service. We visited the city on Liberation Day 2007.

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92 photos from Efteling
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2016-08-06

On this third trip to the Efteling, we visited the Sprookjesbos and some other parts of this theme park.

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79 photos from Bruinisse
(Zeeland, Netherlands)

2017-10-20 - 2017-10-21

On our second visit to Bruinisse, we stayed in the AquaDelta park, went crab fishing, and passed by some nearby beaches and harbours.

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60 photos from Amsterdam
(North-Holland, Netherlands)

2013-06-14

We visited the Hermitage Amsterdam and the Bloemenmarkt (Flower Market).

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53 photos from Den Bosch
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2013-02-10

We visited the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, located in the former Sint-Jacobskerk church in Den Bosch.

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121 photos from Efteling
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2006-08-26

In August 2006 Tim and Miaomiao visited the Efteling, the largest and most popular theme park in The Netherlands, and one of the leading theme parks in Europe. It is also one of the oldest theme parks in the world: it was opened in 1952. Originally the park catered towards children with a fairy tale theme. Nowadays Efteling appeals to both young and old with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement rides. In over fifty years the park has evolved from a nature park with playground and a Fairy Tale Forest, into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland (it is actually twice as large as the original Disneyland park and predates it by three years). In 1992 Efteling received the IAAPA Applause Award for Best Amusement Park in the World, and In 2005 the Efteling received the THEA Classic Award.

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38 photos from Bruinisse
(Zeeland, Netherlands)

2018-06-09

A fourth visit to Bruinisse, where we went crab fishing.

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162 photos from Sanya
(Hainan, China)

2012-01-27 - 2012-01-29

During our second visit to Sanya, we visited the Sanya Nanshan Dongtian Park and spent some time on the beach.

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233 photos from Nusa Dua
(Bali, Indonesia)

2017-05-18 - 2017-05-27

Nusa Dua is an area in the southern part of Bali, Indonesia, known as an enclave of large 5-star resorts. It is located 22 kilometers from Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali, and administered under South Kuta District. Nusa Dua means two islands (nusa `island`, dua `two`), because there are 2 islands in the bay of Bali Tourism Development Corporation area. On the southern side lies Peninsula Island, and on the northern side lies Nusa Dharma Island, which is smaller but shadier, and which contains the Pura/Temple Nusa Dharma. We stayed in the Inaya Putri Bali hotel, shopped in the Bali Collection shopping mall and visited some other spots in the town.

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123 photos from Efteling
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2019-05-31

Another trip to the Efteling in the spring of 2019.

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47 photos from Efteling
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2018-04-14

Our sixteenth trip to the Efteling in the spring of 2018.

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136 photos from Teide
(Tenerife, Spain)

2019-01-02

Mount Teide is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its 3,718-metre summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic. If measured from the ocean floor, it is at 7,500 m the highest volcano in the world base-to-peak outside of the Hawaiian Islands, and is described by UNESCO and NASA as Earth`s third-tallest volcanic structure. Teide`s elevation makes Tenerife the tenth highest island in the world. Teide is an active volcano: its most recent eruption occurred in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the northwestern Santiago rift. The volcano and its surroundings comprise Teide National Park, which has an area of 18,900 hectares and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on June 28, 2007. Teide is the most visited natural wonder of Spain, the most visited national park in Spain. In 2016 it was visited by over 4 million visitors, reaching a historical record. We visited the Teide volcano on a day trip from Costa Adeje in January 2019.

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385 photos from Kuranda
(Queensland, Australia)

2014-09-04

Kuranda is a town on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, Kuranda had a population of 2,966. Parts of Kuranda, particularly along its eastern edge, are protected within the Kuranda National Park and Barron Gorge National Park. Both national parks belong to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The town receives thousands of tourists each week who arrive from Cairns either on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, the Skyrail gondola cableway, coach or by public bus via the Kuranda Range Road. The town is surrounded by tropical rainforest which is abundant with wildlife and popular amongst birdwatchers. There are several short walks around the village including the Jum Rum Creek Environmental Park which includes The River Walk. Attractions in Kuranda include a bird aviary, butterfly sanctuary, wildlife rescue/rehabilitation centre, reptile park and koala sanctuary. We visited Kuranda using the Skyrail gondola cableway and the Kuranda Scenic Railway as a day trip from Cairns.

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87 photos from Boxtel
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2018-10-05

A fifth visit to the Oertijdmuseum, in the autumn of 2018.

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512 photos from Xiamen
(Fujian, China)

2013-12-26 - 2014-01-17

Xiamen (also known as Amoy) is a major city on the southeast (Taiwan Strait) coast of the People`s Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with a population of 3.67 million. Its built up area is now bigger than the old urban island area and covers all six districts of Xiamen (Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong`an, Haicang and recently Xiang`an). The Jinmen (Kinmen) Islands administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan) are less than 10 kilometres away. Xiamen and the surrounding southern Fujian countryside are the ancestral home to large communities of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. The city was a treaty port in the 19th century and one of the four original Special Economic Zones opened to foreign investment and trade when China began economic reforms in the early 1980s. It is endowed with educational and cultural institutions supported by the overseas Chinese diaspora. We visited Xiamen at the end of our China trip in 2014. Highlights included Gulangyu Island, Zhongshan Road and Nanputuo Temple.

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116 photos from Leiden
(South-Holland, Netherlands)

2019-09-07

A visit to the Naturalis museum in the summer of 2019.

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115 photos from Kuta
(Bali, Indonesia)

2014-09-14 - 2014-09-15

Kuta is a town in southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist development, and as a beach resort remains one of Indonesia`s major tourist destinations. It is known internationally for its long sandy beach, varied accommodation, many restaurants and bars, and many renowned surfers who visit from Australia. It is located near Bali`s Ngurah Rai Airport. Tim visited the town and airport on a stopover on his way from Australia to the Netherlands.

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102 photos from Floriade
(Limburg, Netherlands)

2012-10-07

Floriade is an international exhibition of flowers and gardening, held every 10 years in the Netherlands. We visited the Floriade 2012 near Venlo.

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121 photos from Yantai
(Shandong, China)

2014-01-03 - 2014-01-07

Yantai is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People`s Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively. The largest fishing seaport in Shandong and a robust economic center today, Yantai used to be known to the West as Chefoo, a misnomer which refers, in Chinese, solely to Zhifu Island, which is historically governed by Yantai. The contemporary name of Yantai came from the watchtowers constructed on Mount Qi in 1398, during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (yan—smoke; tai—tower). The towers served to raise alarms against invasions of Japanese pirates. We visited Miaomiao`s uncle, aunt and grandmother in Yantai, as well as the ChangYu Wine Culture Museum.

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188 photos from Grenoble
(Rhône-Alpes, France)

2010-10-22 - 2010-10-25

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, situated at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The proximity of the mountains has led to the city being known as the `Capital of Alps`. We visited the city and the nearby town of Vizille in October 2010.

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24 photos from Arnhem
(Gelderland, Netherlands)

2007-12-16

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city`s development. Arnhem has 144,101 residents (2008). We visited the christmas market in 2007.

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30 photos from Efteling
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2019-08-07

A visit to the Pinokkio restaurant and the Efteling Theatre to watch the show `Caro`.

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55 photos from Munich
(Bavaria, Germany)

2012-09-29 - 2012-09-30

In 2012, we visited the yearly Oktoberfest festival. Oktoberfest is the world`s largest Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair). Held annually in Munich, it is a 16-day folk festival running from mid or late September to the first weekend in October, with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. Locally, it is often simply called the Wiesn, after the colloquial name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) themselves. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modelled after the original Munich event.

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67 photos from Boxtel
(North-Brabant, Netherlands)

2019-02-24

A sixth visit to the Oertijdmuseum, in the winter of 2019.

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94 photos from Cambridge
(England, United Kingdom)

2009-06-15 - 2009-06-18

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. Cambridge is best known as the home of the University of Cambridge, one of the world`s premier universities. The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King`s College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. Tim visited Cambridge and the nearby town of Hinxton for a course at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) in June 2009. He visited King`s College, Queen`s College, the Peterhouse, and more.

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115 photos from Changsha
(Hunan, China)

2009-09-12 - 2009-09-14

Changsha is the capital city of Hunan, a province of south-central China, located on the lower reaches of Xiang river, a branch of the Yangtze River. It had a population of 6,017,600 in 2003. Changsha was important from the time of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). In AD 750–1100 Changsha was an important commercial city, and its population increased greatly. Under the Qing dynasty, from 1664, it was the capital of Hunan province, and it was a major rice market. It was besieged during the Taiping Rebellion but never fell. Changsha was the site of Mao Zedong`s conversion to communism. It was the scene of major battles in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45 and was briefly occupied by the Japanese. Rebuilt since 1949, the city is now a major port and a commercial and industrial center. We visited the city center, Tianxin pavilion, Hunan Provincial Museum, Yuelu Academy and Juzi Island.

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63 photos from Gullfoss
(Southern Region, Iceland)

2018-07-06

Our second visit to the Gullfoss waterfall in the summer of 2018.

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