On the Edge of the Earth (part3)

These are large arctic skuas. Birds prefer taking away the other animals' prey. Their world's largest colony lives here, in Hermanesse.

The locals advise to move carefully here as the birds defend their nests and can attack you

But besides the skuas there are hundreds of gannets. They are huge birds with a wingspread of up to 180 cm.

The height of the cliffs is quite impressive, about 200 m.

The water is so clean here.

And this is the fulmar petrel.

There are almost no people in the reserve but lots of sheep...

Who walk along the very edge of the Earth.

From here one can already see the Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, till 1995 - the most northerly inhabited point in Britain.

These are the remains of the hut demolished by the hurricane. Actually, Hermaness can sometimes be quite a dangerous place, especially in winter. Ten years ago, on December 31, two girls died in the fog and hurricane. There were some other deaths when people fell from the 200-meter cliffs. 

The view on the South.

Gannets are everywhere.

Outsta - the last piece of the British land. No land is further from it.

On the Edge of the Earth (part2)

At regular intervals you can see Cattle Grids on the road. Holes in the lattice are so great that sheep are not able to cross it. Even a man should cross it cautiously.

Muness Castle. In 1627 it was burned by the French pirates, then twice resold, and in 1750 finally abandoned.

Wherever you turn your head on the island, everywhere are the ponies.

Another grid...

The last picture of Muness... and continue our travelling.

This is Baltasound, the capital of the island, and its sacred garage (the center of life in Baltasound).

Except for the garage and filling, there is also a shop, cafe, ATM, toilets, cycle hire and the Internet.

Winds are too the northernmost.

The island is 12 x 5 km but somebody still manages to get into a car accident.

On halfway from the garage to Baltasound there is a bus stop. Perhaps one of the weirdest bus stops in the world.

You can sit here for hours waiting for the bus that may not come. There is even not a schedule. In fact, bus stops are no needed on the island because those buses that go on its only road pick up all the walking people.

Local residents equipped the bus stop all by themselves.

Unfortunately, nothing works here. 

Another farmer. Generally, local people are surprisingly sincere, even looking very harsh with their chapped faces. 500 people live on the whole island.

The only hotel on the island. The price for a room and breakfast is 50 pounds.

The guests can use Wi-Fi for free here.

The Hermaness National Nature Reserve begins with a lunar landscape.

On the Edge of the Earth (part1)

When talking about extreme points of Britain, Land's End and John o'Groats first come to the tourists' minds. But Land's End is the westernmost point of England, and John o'Groats is generally unremarkable from the geographical point of view. In spite of it, the places are very popular. But we're not going to visit them today... Our destination is not only the very edge of the British lands but almost the edge of the Earth (as only the North Pole is further from it). This place is called Unst Island.

Among the three Shetland Islands Unst is the smallest. To get there you should take a ferry on Mainland island which is absolutely free to pedestrians.

The pier of Unst island.

Famous shetland ponies graze near the road.

By the way, there is only one road on Unst island.

When you are travelling across other parts of Britain you can see signs indicating in what direction the North is located but here you won't see such signs as Unst is itself the very North.

Belmont turned out to be a small farm.

With no people around.

This is the northernmost hostel of Britain which costs 12 pounds per night. If you decide to spend a weekend in such a wonderful place don't forget to provide yourself with some food because the nearest shop is in Baltasound and that is quite far from here.

This pony seems to be domestic.

Local means of transport. On the Shetland Islands the distance from any point of the land to the sea is never more than 8 km.

The school where 7 pupils go to.

The road to Muness.

The passing by shepherd.

Some megalith. 

Scotland... Sheep are sacred here.

Idling at the Flea Market of Hamburg

Ahead of Easter in all the districts of Hamburg people arrange flea markets. Near Kampnagel there is a market where many old things can be found. However Germans willingly buy secondhand items. Sometimes really worthy things may be bought inexpensively.

Mix of flowers and china.
Kampnagel - one of the boat stations in Hamburg.

"Calculating material - souvenirs production". Soviet propaganda has gone this far, to German flea markets...

Various tableware and pseudo-crystal. Many sellers are just happy to escape from home and idle here...

Attention! Toads!

Miele press! Feel the power of technologies!

Chairs, stools, cupboards - all of the middle of the 20th century - already antiques - right?

A wonderful composition - pails with a female head.

Germans love china...

... and science ... In 20 minutes this man had a line for his test tubes, measuring glass, bottles ...

Such a bottle is a cool gift to Russian Germans.

Guess what is this?

Sometimes the whole cupboards are sold with all staff inside.

Everyone may find something he/she would like.

And here's the only stand that remotely reminds of the theme of the market - antiques.

People rest, eat, drink...

It's not some electric grill: the lady was nervous when she was photographed. Three types of sausages tasting "right from the fire" - prices are on the orange note. 

Quiet and peaceful

And someone's going to open the sailing season...

History of Computer Games In One Place

Everybody likes playing games that may be for children or for adults, intellectual or sports, hazardous or not. After the computer appearance, games came into our lives to stay forever. Nowadays millions of people play them.They gave the possibility to abstract from problems and stress, to have a good time or even to earn a million dollars. May be that world is really better than ours.

Somebody divides the notions "computer" and "video" games. And it is reasonably to say that there is no serious matter how to call them. Only one distinction: computer gamers use computers, video gamers play special TV

Wonders of Hokkaido Island

Akan Lake is first of all unique due to marimo algae, they don't grow anywhere else. Marimo looks like green balls from some millimeters to a meter in diameter. Until recently each Japanese who has an aquarium wanted to have such a ball. As a result of such striving marimo has begun to disappear, and now the special environmental program works to save the unique algae. However it does not prevent street vendors from selling little green balls at each corner near Akan. The pictures of marimo can be seen below.

In Ainu village there live about 130 ancestors of the Ainu - those people who had lived here when the Japanese only began to settle on these lands. Today it's not much that has remained from them. 36 families in Ainu Kotan - the biggest commune of the Ainu in Hokkaido. Though the village is authentic, it's fully tourism-oriented, all in souvenir shops where really cool wooden carved goods are sold, unfortunately quite expensive though. And the traders look very exotic - with big beards. 

Kushiro is famous for its cranes - tantyo, about 900 of them live here. The Ainu used to call these birds "Gods of the bogs". 

Ainu village

The carver - an ancestor of the ancient Ainu.

Owls are the symbol of these places, they sit everywhere and watch what happens around.

The unique algae marimo.

Only here they grow - in Akan Lake.

Kushiro - on these plains tantyo cranes live in the season.

Unfortunately in the dead season they can be seen only in the pens.

Another place to visit in Hokkaido - The National Park Shiretoko. It occupies the further north-eastern part of the island. The word "Shiretoko" itself in translation from the Ainu language means "end of the world". And it's true. There's no civilization there. No roads. But there are many bears, waterfalls and impassable thickets.

If you want to go there you'll have to register and get a visa. There are rangers in Japan even in those places where ordinary people would never go, if one is caught without a permitting document the fine will be huge. Even if you aren't caught you'd better register anyway, as it was written in Lonely Planet: "if you, crossing another impassable gully, break your leg, you may only hope that vessels going by will notice you sooner than bears".

Here is located the famous Siretoko Goko - five lakes that look like "God's five fingerprints". The lakes are wonderful indeed.

Don't forget to wash legs in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Saying Cheese - Mean Holland, Saying Mills - Mean Holland ...

Near Amsterdam in a little village Zaanse Schans there is an ethnographic museum where we can know more about traditional Dutch symbols: mills, cheese and klomps that we have already written about. In a good weather it's especially pleasant to walk here.