Most stunning castles

Fairytales, princes, princesses and Disney movies of childhood and even as we get older, the appeal of the castle remains at least partly because they so regularly serve as backdrops in video games, movies and books.

Unless you happen to find that you had a long lost great great grandfather who left you an international conglomerate in mining and shipping then, unfortunately, you’ll probably never get the chance to live in such grandeur. Luckily there are a lot of absolutely stunning castles around the world that are open to the public, some are even converted into hotels where you can stay if only for a night.

Schonbrunn Palace, Austria

Schonbrunn Palace: Anyone who knows much about European history knows about the important influence of the Hapsburg family. The aesthetic preferences of that family are displayed here in the palaces and gardens that make up this amazing castle in the heart of modern Vienna. One outstanding feature is a ‘Roman Ruin’ which

Oldest paintings in caves

A newly discovered mural is one of many in 12 of Afghanistan’s famed Bamian caves that show evidence of an oil-based binder. The binder was used to dry paint and help it adhere to rocky surfaces.
The murals—and the remains of two giant, destroyed Buddhas—include the world’s oldest known oil-based paint, predating European uses of the substance by at least a hundred years, scientists announced late last month.
Researchers made the discovery while conducting a chemical analysis as part of preservation and restoration efforts at Bamian, which lies about 145 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Seen in a 2005 photo, a towering alcove in Afghanistan’s Bamian Valley cliffs shows the former home of a giant Buddha statue. Dating to between the fifth and ninth centuries A.D., the statue was one of a pair destroyed by Taliban officials in 2001.

Coldest places in the world

Verkhoyansk

Verkhoyansk, in the Yakutia region of Siberia, lies within the Arctic Circle, an eight-day drive from Yakutsk. But you can only drive there in the winter, when the lakes are frozen, because there are no land roads! 1,300 people live in Verkhoyansk, the biggest part of whom make their living herding reindeer and fur hunting. The area has abundant natural resources, including gold, but is too cold to develop profitable mining. The picture above was taken at the Pole of Cold in Verkhoyansk. Note the mammoth’s tusks that mark the spot.
Temperatures that have been recorded at the Verkhoyansk Weather Station have shown a record low of minus

Fake street signs

A collaborative project that takes the work of artists from around the world, in the form of fake road signs, and turns the streets of Lyon, France into an enormous gallery without walls.

The round red and white signs look enough like real European traffic signs that you might take them for granted, but weird enough if you notice them to make you stop and think.

This project has a delightful sense of humor, lots playful absurdity and a wonderful scale. Panos 2013 is the second edition of this project.

Incredible cent coins road

In 2008, Amsterdam hosts its first edition of the Biennale, from 18 September to 2 November, under the theme Space and Place – Design for the Urban Landscape.

ExperimentaDesign Amsterdam 2008 highlights urban culture as the playground for the global citizen. The world’s cities are not only home to over half of the world’s population, they are also a metaphor for today’s cultures and a testing ground for new forms of conviviality and interaction. Throughout its three core exhibitions, the Biennale turns the spotlight on innovative urban design as a process of social action, exchanges and experiment. One of the major events is the droog event 2: urban play, the amsterdam route which brings together international creatives to put together 13 newly designed interventions along the central IJ-riverfront, organized by droog design and curator scott burnham. Sagmeister inc., was one of the urban play participants with ‘obsessions make my life worse and my work better’, an installation of 300,000 euro cent coins which have been laid out on a 20 x 42 square meter area. drawing the phrase from one of his old diaries, a team of eight painstakingly

placed each of the coins down to create the visual aesthetic which stefan sagmeister is known for, the use of calligrahy and modern typography with floral embellishments that give the feeling of old script in a contemporary context. with coins representing a certain value, the beauty of the design challenges the passer-by. will they leave the piece in tact because of its beauty? will they take the coins and create their own design in response the the work? or will greed take over?
And the second day, what had happened to these 300,000 euro coins?? Lost!

Bizarre apple festival in Sweden

Apple creative author – Helge Lundstrom. Showing all this was at apple festival in the city Kivik, which is located in Sweden. Each picture went 4 tons of apples, and that about 75,000 pieces. Short, but as beautiful.

Chinese Lantern Festival

The Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place in Toronto features a beautiful display of hand-crafted lanterns made by artisans from the city of Zigong, China. The silk lanterns are a family-favourite, making the waterfront glow with bright, beautiful colours. Forty exhibits have been designed to represent architectural wonders from each continent of the world. The exhibits also feature animals, marine creatures and dinosaurs. The festival impress people of all ages including young children who will be in awe of bright colours and recognizable landmarks. The Lantern Festival also known as the Shang Yuan Festival is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year in the Chinese calendar. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also sometimes known as the “Lantern Festival” in locations such as Singapore, and Malaysia.