National Geographic

National Geographic Picture of the Year

Most Expensive Scotch in the World

Worlds Top Popular and Most Expensive Scotch Brands :

Have you ever wondered, if you have some spare cash lying around, what would be the most expensive bottle of scotch you can buy?  Realistically speaking, it will probably be a bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold for my case.  But if you find yourself hanging in the company of Bill Gates and the likes, here are some ridiculously expensive bottles of scotch that might catch your fancy:

* Chivas Regal Royal Salute, 50 years old.
       Price: $10,000

Chivas Regal Royal Salute

Chivas Regal Royal Salute

The Chivas Regal 50-year Royal Salute is released in 2003 as a special edition to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II 50 years on the throne (coronation day in 1953).  Each bottle features a hand-engraved 24-carat gold plaque.  There were only 255 bottles in the world.

* The Macallan 1939, 40 years old.  
     Price : $10,125

The Macallan 1939

The Best Wedding Photo Ever

" Katie Young and James Lowder Wedding "

Newly weds Katie Young and James Lowder have shared what is already called the best wedding photo ever, where the whole party is captured running for their lives from an enormous Tyrannosaurus rex.

The picture was taken and tweaked in Photoshop by a Louisiana-based wedding photographer Quinn Miller, and the idea to include a dinosaur came from James’ love for them. While clearly not every bride would agree into something like that, it would be even harder to find one that acts as well as Katie does. All the friends of the couple turned out to be very enthusiastic as well, and when you zoom the picture in, their priceless expressions prove how much they loved the idea.

Quinn says everything went so smoothly that the shoot took only about 2 minutes. “Run right at the camera, away from the T-Rex, as passionately as you can. I need to see fear and actual running, not lame faces and power walking,” were his only instructions to the party, and they were enough to capture the perfect shot with a single take. Now that’s a pic you wanna put on your work desk!

Step International Los Libertarians Argentina

The Paso International Los Libertadores, was similarly called Cristo Redentor, is a mountain pass in the Andes Between Argentina and Chile. It is the main transport route out of Chilean capital city Santiago into Mendoza City in Argentina and remove Carrier Under Heavy Traffic.

National Lakeshore.

'Heaven's Light' over Lake Superior, At  National Lakeshore.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Muskoxen, Wrangel Island

Explore a haven for wildlife, frozen in space in time. Here, two male muskoxen size each other up during mating season.

"Russian Refuge"

 

Comet PANSTARRS Meets the Andromeda Galaxy

In this comet encounter of the extragalactic kind, Comet PANSTARRS and the Andromeda Galaxy met each other in the skies above Earth. This great image by Brendan Alexander in Ireland shows the spectacular view. He said it was “a difficult image to capture due to low cloud, the low altitude of the target and tracking issue. I hope to get the chance to improve on this!”

Ayers Rock in Uluru National Park Australia

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high (rising 863 m/2,831 ft above sea level), with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi).[4] Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.

Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably glowing red at dawn and sunset.

Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or The Olgas, lies 25 km (16 mi) west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is the spiritual heart of Australia’s Red Centre. Located in the Northern Territory, Uluru is about 440 kilometres away from Alice Springs.

Lots of people choose to explore Australia’s outback at their own pace by driving the Northern Territory’s famous Red Centre Way. This gives you a chance to explore Uluru, Kings Canyon, the West MacDonnell Ranges and Alice Springs.

Opening hours -

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is open all year round. The park closes at night and opens:

    5.00 am - 9.00 pm during December, January, February
    5.30 am - 8.30 pm during March
    6.00 am - 8.00 pm during April
    6.00 am - 7.30 pm during May
    6.30 am - 7.30 pm during June, July
    6.00 am - 7.30 pm during August
    5.30 am - 7.30 pm during September
    5.00 am - 8.00 pm during October

Ulluru National Park Map 

View Larger Map

Beautiful Photography

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Driving along the California Coast

Golden Dunes

Green Mist

Sera

Passo S. Bernardino

Hallgrimskirkja Church Iceland

A Very Awesome Place The Reykjavik Rocket

Hallgrimskirkja Church Iceland 

Hallgrimskirkja church is Reykjavik's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. It is located at the top of central arts and designs shopping street Skolavordustigur. It is the largest church in Iceland, and the 73-metre high church tower offers a stunning view.

Opening hours in Hallgrímskirkja: Every day from 9am - 5pm.
 

The concrete building was designed by former state architect Gudjon Samuelson and is meant to resemble volcanic basalt rock formations. The church was built over 40 years and opened in 1986. It is named after Reverend and hymn writer Hallgrimur Petursson. In front of it is a statue of Iceland-born Leifur Eiriksson, aka 'Leif the Lucky', the first European to discover America around 1,000 A.D. Sadly he kind of forgot to tell anyone else where it was, so Christopher Columbus got to do it all over again five hundred years later.

The Hallgrimskirkja church of Hallgrimur is a Lutheran Church of Iceland parish church in Reykjavik, Iceland. At 74.5 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland after Longwave radio mast Hellissandur, the radio masts of US Navy at Grindavik, Eioar longwave transmitter and Smaratorg tower.The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrimur Petursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

State Architect Guojon Samuelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.It took 38 years to build the church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings were completed in 1974,and the name was consecrated in 1986. Situated in the centre of Reykjavik, it is one of the city's best-known landmarks and is visible throughout the city. It is similar in style to the expressionist architecture of Grundtvig's Church of Copenhagen, Denmark, completed in 1940.

The church houses a large pipe organ by the German organ builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. It has mechanical action, four manuals and pedal, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes.It is 15 metres tall and weighs 25 tons. Its construction was finished in December 1992. It has been recorded by Christopher Herrick in his Organ Fireworks.

The church is also used as an observation tower. An observer can take a lift up to the viewing deck and view Reykjavik and the surrounding mountains. The statue of explorer Leif Eriksson (c. 970 – c. 1020) by Alexander Stirling Calder in front of the church predates its construction. It was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament at Pingvellir in 930 AD.

In 2008, the church underwent a major restoration of the main tower, and was covered in scaffolding. In late 2009, restoration was completed and the scaffolding was removed.

The church holds services at 11:00 Sundays. The wonderful acoustics make it a majestic host to classical concerts and musical events. The church organ is the largest of its kind in Iceland. The church tower is open every day from 09:00 - 20:00 and is definitely worth seeing if you like splendid vistas. The price is 600 ISK for adults and 100 ISK for children between 7 and 14 years old.

The cathedral’s stylized facades are the common architecture that is seen all over Iceland, resembling basalt formations that are specific to the country. The church houses a huge organ (1992) bearing the signature of the German organ master, Klais. The bell, located in the huge tower, attracts the attention of all the pilgrims that walk inside. With eight floors, the tower offers to visitors an impressive view of the city and its surroundings. To reach the top of the tower you must use an elevator. The statue in front of the church is Leifur Eriksson's, an Icelandic-Norwegian explorer, considered as the first European to set foot on North American soil. The statue monument is a gift of the United States to the city in 1930. The receiving of the monument took place during the festive ceremonies that celebrated 1000 years of the Icelandic Parliament.

What is a Cathedral?

Beautiful Switzerland

Oberhofen Castle Switzerland

Monch and Eiger Grosse Scheidegg Switzerland

Chateau D'aigle - Switzerland

Chateau-de-Chillon Castle Montreux Switzerland

Oberhofen Castle, Lake Thun,Images in Switzerland