Railay is a small peninsula located between the city of Krabi and Ao Nang in Thailand. Accessible only by boat due to the high limestone cliffs cutting off mainland access. These cliffs attract rock climbers from all over the world, but the area is also popular due to its beautiful beaches and quiet relaxing atmosphere. Accommodation ranges from bungalows and medium-priced resorts in East Railay to a collection of five-star resorts focussed on West Railay though one, Rajavadee, spans both waterfronts and also has a beachfront restaurant at Pranang. The four main areas of Railay consist of Pranang, West Railay, East Railay and Tonsai. Tonsai caters to climbers and the backpacker set and is more rustic in character than the glitz of West Railay and the shops and restaurants of the East Railay boardwalk.West Railay Beach -- connected to the East side by paths through the large resorts or by trails through thin jungle cover -- is the primary destination for beach-goers in Railay. The beach, as pictured in the panorama below, is flanked by high limestone cliffs on either side. Long-tail boats are available to hire for transport to Ao Nang, 15 minutes north of Railay. In addition, ferries departing Railay for Koh Phi Phi and points west including Phuket depart from the West beach. The focal point of West Railay Beach is centered on a short promenade lined with restaurants and shops.

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The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction.The apostles were formed by erosion: the harsh and extreme weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 metres high.The site was known as the Sow and Piglets until 1922 ;after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine stacks.In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermens Association unsuccessfully attempted to block the creation of a proposed marine national park at the Twelve Apostles location,but were satisfied with the later Victorian Government decision not to allow seismic exploration at the same site by Benaris Energy; believing it would harm marine life.The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from the waves. On 3 July 2005, a 50 metre tall stack collapsed, leaving eight remaining. On 25 September 2009, it was thought that another of the stacks had fallen, but this was actually one of the smaller stacks of the Three Sisters formation.The rate of erosion at the base of the limestone pillars is approximately 2 cm per year.Due to wave action eroding the cliff face existing headlands are expected to become new limestone stacks in the future.

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Bamboo is a tribe of flowering perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. In bamboos, the internodal regions of the stem are hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement.The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, even of palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering.Bamboos are some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. Bamboos are of notable economic and cultural significance in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, being used for building materials, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product. High-quality bamboo is stronger than steel, a property that has made it a choice in building materials and weaponry.Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, with reported growth rates of 250 cm in 24 hours.However, the growth rate is dependent on local soil and climatic conditions, as well as species, and a more typical growth rate for many commonly cultivated bamboos in temperate climates is in the range of 3–10 centimetres (1.2–3.9 in) per day during the growing period. Primarily growing in regions of warmer climates during the late Cretaceous period, vast fields existed in what is now Asia. Some of the largest timber bamboo can grow over 30 m tall, and be as large as 15–20 cm in diameter. However, the size range for mature bamboo is species dependent, with the smallest bamboos reaching only several inches high at maturity. A typical height range that would cover many of the common bamboos grown in the United States is 4.6–12 metres, depending on species. Anji County of China, known as the "Town of Bamboo", provides the optimal climate and soil conditions to grow, harvest, and process some of the most valued bamboo poles available worldwide.Unlike all trees, individual bamboo stems, or culms, emerge from the ground at their full diameter and grow to their full height in a single growing season of three to four months. During these several months, each new shoot grows vertically into a culm with no branching out until the majority of the mature height is reached. Then, the branches extend from the nodes and leafing out occurs. In the next year, the pulpy wall of each culm slowly hardens. During the third year, the culm hardens further. The shoot is now considered a fully mature culm. Over the next 2–5 years, fungus begins to form on the outside of the culm, which eventually penetrates and overcomes the culm. Around 5–8 years later, the fungal growths cause the culm to collapse and decay. This brief life means culms are ready for harvest and suitable for use in construction within about three to seven years. Individual bamboo culms do not get any taller or larger in diameter in subsequent years than they do in their first year, and they do not replace any growth lost from pruning or natural breakage. Bamboos have a wide range of hardiness depending on species and locale. Small or young specimens of an individual species will produce small culms initially. As the clump and its rhizome system mature, taller and larger culms will be produced each year until the plant approaches its particular species limits of height and diameter.Many tropical bamboo species will die at or near freezing temperatures, while some of the hardier or so-called temperate bamboos can survive temperatures as low as −29 °C. Some of the hardiest bamboo species can be grown in places as cold as USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5–6, although they typically will defoliate and may even lose all above-ground growth, yet the rhizomes will survive and send up shoots again the next spring. In milder climates, such as USDA Zone 8 and above, some hardy bamboo may remain fully leafed out year-round.

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The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles and is the 17th largest island in the United States.Maui is part of the State of Hawaiʻi and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and unpopulated Kahoʻolawe. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444, third-highest of the Hawaiian Islands, behind that of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island. Kahului is the largest census-designated place on the island with a population of 26,337 as of 2010 and is the commercial and financial hub of the island.Wailuku is the seat of Maui County and is the third-largest CDP as of 2010. Other significant places include Kīhei; Lahaina; Makawao; Pāʻia; Kula; Haʻikū; and Hāna.Maui's diverse landscapes are the result of a unique combination of geology, topography, and climate. Each volcanic cone in the chain of the Hawaiian Islands is built of dark, iron-rich/quartz-poor rocks, which poured out of thousands of vents as highly fluid lava, over a period of millions of years. Several of the volcanoes were close enough to each other that lava flows on their flanks overlapped one another, merging into a single island. Maui is such a "volcanic doublet," formed from two shield volcanoes that overlapped one another to form an isthmus between them.The older, western volcano has been eroded considerably and is cut by numerous drainages, forming the peaks of the West Maui Mountains (in Hawaiian, Mauna Kahalawai). Puʻu Kukui is the highest of the peaks at 5,788 feet. The larger, younger volcano to the east, Haleakalā, rises to more than 10,000 feet above sea level, and measures 5 miles from seafloor to summit, making it one of the world's tallest mountains.The eastern flanks of both volcanoes are cut by deeply incised valleys and steep-sided ravines that run downslope to the rocky, windswept shoreline. The valley-like Isthmus of Maui that separates the two volcanic masses was formed by sandy erosional deposits.

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Myrtos Beach is in the region of Pylaros, in the north-west of Kefalonia island, in the Ionian Sea of Greece. Myrtos beach lies between the feet of two mountains, Agia Dynati and Kalon Oros.The surrounding sediment at Myrtos Beach is generally made up of marble material, a metamorphosed limestone. The beach is made up of round, white cobblestones. The sediment gradually becomes smaller as you approach the shoreline. Because the slope angle has an abrupt drop near the edge of the shoreline, the wave energy is very high and causes the gradation trends from cobbles to pebbles along the beach.Longshore drift, along with wave energy, has shaped the shore. As waves curve along the beach they also pick up the finest bits of marble; this creates sediment plumes that follow the curve of the beach with the direction of the waves giving the water a shade of turquoise.[3]A steep, winding road, about 2 km in length and with hairpin turns, leads down to the beach from the village of Divarata.During the high tourist-season in the summer, the Municipality of Pylaros runs a public bus service to and from Myrtos Beach, departing from the harbour area in Agia Efimia. Timetables can be found at the Tourist Information office in Agia Efimia and may also be listed online. The bus stops on the road leading down to the beach, with a brief walk down. Private-car parking is available at the base of the cliffs.There are several tavernas at the top of the road leading down to the beach in the village of Divarata, and a beach bar.

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Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km north of Puerto Natales and 312 km north of Punta Arenas. The park borders Bernardo O'Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park to the north in Argentine territory.Torres del Paine National Park is part of the Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado de Chile. In 2006, it measured approximately 242,242 hectares. It is one of the largest and most visited parks in Chile. The park averages around 150,000 visitors a year, of which 60% are foreign tourists,who come from all over the world.The park is one of the 11 protected areas of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica. Together, the protected forested areas comprise about 51% of the land of the region.The Torres del Paine are the peaks of the mountain range, Cerro Paine. They extend 3,050 meters above sea level, and are joined by the Cuernos del Paine. The area also boasts valleys, rivers such as the Paine, lakes, and glaciers. The well-known lakes include Grey, Pehoé, Nordenskiöld, and Sarmiento. The glaciers, including Grey, Pingo, Tyndall, and Geikie, belong to the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.

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Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census.Located on the Western edge of the Silicon Valley, Saratoga is known locally for its suburban small-town feel, wineries, and high-end boutiques. In 2008 CNN/Money ranked Saratoga number 4 in its listing of top-earning towns.Saratoga also was ranked by Forbes in 2009 as one of America's top 20 most-educated small towns.In 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek named Saratoga the most expensive suburb in California.Bloomberg Businessweek also named Saratoga's zip code 95070 the 18th richest zip code in America in 2011.Major attractions of Saratoga include Villa Montalvo, Hakone Gardens, and the Mountain Winery. The 2013 Home Listing Report listed Saratoga as the 3rd most expensive housing market in the United States.The European settlement of what is now Saratoga occurred in 1847, when William Campbell, constructed a sawmill about 2.5 miles southeast of the present downtown area. An early map noted the area as Campbell's Gap. In 1851 Martin McCarthy, who had leased the mill, built a toll road down to the Santa Clara Valley, and founded what is now Saratoga as McCarthysville.The toll gate was located at the present day intersection of Big Basin Way and 3rd St., giving the town its first widely used name: Toll Gate. In 1867 the town received a post office under the name of McCarthysville.Industry soon sprang up and at its pinnacle the town had a furniture factory, grist mill, tannery, and a paper factory. To commemorate this newfound productivity the town was renamed again in 1863 as Bank Mills. In the 1850s Jud Caldwell discovered springs which were called Pacific Congress Springs because the water had a mineral content similar to Congress Springs, in Saratoga Springs, New York. In 1865 the town received its final name, Saratoga, after the city in New York. At the same time a resort hotel called Congress Hall was constructed at the springs, named after the famous resort Congress Hall at Saratoga Springs, New York. California's Congress Hall attracted tourists to the area until it burned down in 1903.These events would eventually lead to Saratoga being listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1950.Downtown Saratoga, facing southwest at the intersection of Saratoga-Los Gatos Blvd. and Saratoga Ave and Big Basin Way/State Route 9, and Saratoga-Sunnyvale road.Saratoga became agricultural, as did much of the rest of the valley; a few vineyards and orchards from this period remain today. After World War II the town quickly became urbanized, and it incorporated in 1956 mostly to avoid being annexed to San Jose. A slogan during the campaign to incorporate the city of Saratoga was "Keep it rural," according to historian Willys I. Peck. Today the city serves as a bedroom community for upper-middle class Silicon Valley tech workers.

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Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean.It is situated on the Hicacos Peninsula, between the Bay of Cárdenas and the Straits of Florida, some 140 km east of Havana, at the eastern end of the Via Blanca highway. The peninsula is only 1.2 km wide at its widest point and is separated from the island of Cuba by the Kawama Channel. This spit of land however extends more than 20 kilometers from the mainland in a northeasterly direction and its tip, Punta Hicacos, is the northernmost point of the island of Cuba. At the northeastern end of the peninsula there is a nature reserve with virgin forests and beaches. The Hicacos Point Natural Park is a 3.12 km2 ecological preserve established in 1974. It contains the 250 m long Cave of Ambrosio, Mangón Lake and the ruins of the La Calavera Salt Works.The cays developed off shore, such as Cayo Piedras and Cayo Cruz del Padre are the westernmost part of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago.Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport, situated west of the peninsula, is Varadero's airport. It is the second-most-important airport of the island after José Martí Airport in Havana, and serves international and domestic flights.Varadero is foremost a tourist resort town, boasting more than 20 km of white sandy beaches. The first tourists visited Varadero as early as the 1870s, and for years it was considered an elite resort. In 1910 the annual rowing regatta was started; five years later the first hotel, named Varadero and later Club Nautico, was built. Tourism grew in the early 1930s as Irénée du Pont Nemours, an American millionaire, built his estate on the peninsula. Many famous and infamous people stayed in Varadero, for example Al Capone.After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many mansions were expropriated from their rich owners. These mansions soon became museums.[citation needed] As a symbol of the new integrated tourism for Cubans and foreign visitors of all social classes, the Park of the 8000 Cubicles was built in 1960. Visitors could leave their belongings in the basement of the park, had access to sanitary installations and gastronomic services on the first floor, and could rent bathing articles and swimsuits. The surroundings of the park became the center of the city. Between the 1960s and 1980s Varadero transformed itself into a cultural centre. During those years the central park saw countless concerts, festivals and sporting events.The 1990s brought the start of another hotel building campaign, mostly in the 4-star and 5-star segment. Many of the hotels are operated or co-owned by foreign businesses like Melia, Barcelo, TRYP, etc.As international tourism was opened up, the local population expanded with the arrival of people, some in key economic positions, from other parts of Cuba. As a consequence, Varadero has lost much of its social and cultural life and its traditions. The central park, the cinema and various cultural meeting places were neglected in favor of a hotel-centred all-inclusive-tourism and finally closed. The International Carnival, an initiative of Cubans and foreigners started in the 1980s, also ceased.In addition to its most valued resource, the beach, Varadero has natural attractions such as caves and a chain of easily accessed virgin cays. There are also cultural, historical and environmental attractions in the vicinity, such as the cities of Matanzas and Cárdenas, the Zapata Peninsula and the resort of San Miguel de los Baños. Varadero, which is a free port, also possesses facilities for scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, yachting and other water sports.Varadero receives more than 1 million tourists annually.Varadero is primarily visited by European and Canadian tourists. The number of U.S. tourists visiting Varadero, although increasing, has been limited because of the U.S. government restrictions that make it difficult for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba as tourists.

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Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, situated on the west bank of the Li River, and bordering Hunan to the north. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography and is one of China's most popular tourist destinations.Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. Guilin chili sauce, used widely in cooking by locals, is made of fresh chili, garlic, and fermented soybeans, and is considered one of the city's Three Treasures. The other two of the Three Treasures are Guilin Sanhua Jiu, a variety of rice baijiu, or liquor distilled from rice; and Guilin pickled tofu.Guilin rice noodles have been the local breakfast staple since the Qin dynasty and are renowned for their delicate taste. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhoea entered this region, a cook created the Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food. Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi, a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped in a bamboo or banana leaf is another popular delicacy in Guilin.

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Kingsand and Cawsand are twin villages in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.The villages are situated on the Rame Peninsula and in the parish of Maker-with-Rame.Until boundary changes in 1844 Kingsand was in Devon; Cawsand, however, was always in Cornwall. On the old county boundary between the two villages there is still a house called Devon Corn, which has the marker on the front of the house. The villages are popular with tourists but retain their traditional character.The villages are well known for their smuggling and fishing past. Although the known smuggling tunnels have been sealed up, there are still old fish cellars and boat stores to be seen along the coast.One notable former resident was John Pollard RN. He was a midshipman in the Navy who served under Nelson and is the man credited with being "Nelson's avenger", since it was he who shot the French sailor who killed the Admiral. Nelson himself has also been said to have visited the village and dined at The Ship Inn. Other notable residents have included Tabitha Ransome and also Ann Davison who was to become the first woman to sail the Atlantic single handed in 1953 and departing from Mashfords boatyard.There are three main beaches in the villages, which are separated by areas of rocks with interesting rockpools. Kingsand Beach is a mixture of sand and shingle which is located along The Cleave. Girt Beach is mainly shingle, but with some sand and can be found along Market Street. Cawsand Beach is mainly sand and is found along The Bound. A swimming beach known as Sandways lies a short walk out of the village across the rocks towards Fort Picklecombe.The water quality has improved over recent years thanks to extensive sewerage works and so all beaches are safe for swimming.

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Iceland Listeni/ˈaɪslənd/, sometimes referred to in full as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic island country marking the juncture between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country has a population of 321,857 and a total area of 103,000 km2, which makes it the most sparsely populated country in Europe.The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with the surrounding areas in the southwestern region of the country being home to two-thirds of the country's population. Reykjavík is the most northern capital in the world. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists mainly of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent Norse settler on the island.Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. During the following centuries, Norsemen settled Iceland, bringing with them thralls of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1918, Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. The country became independent in 1918 and a republic was declared in 1944.Until the 20th century, the Icelanders relied largely on fishing and agriculture, and the country was one of the least developed in the region. Industrialisation of the fisheries and aid through the United States' Marshall Plan following World War II brought prosperity and, by the 1990s, Iceland had developed as one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. In 1994, Iceland became party to the European Economic Area, which supported diversification of the economy into economic and financial services.Iceland has a free-market economy with relatively low corporate taxes compared to other OECD countries.It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.In 2013, it was ranked as the 13th most-developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index.In 2008, the nation's entire banking system systemically failed, affected by the worldwide crisis. This resulted in substantial political unrest. In the wake of the crisis, Iceland instituted "capital controls" that made it impossible for many foreigners to get their money out of the country. Though designed to be temporary, the controls remain and are among the biggest hurdles for attracting international investment in the Icelandic economy. Iceland ranks high in economic and political stability, though it is still in the process of recovering from the crisis.Gender equality is highly valued in Iceland. In the Global Gender Gap Report 2012, Iceland holds the top spot for the least gap, closely followed by Finland, Norway and Sweden.Icelandic culture is founded upon the nation's Norse heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old Norse and is closely related to Faroese and some West Norwegian dialects. The country's cultural heritage includes traditional Icelandic cuisine, poetry, and the medieval Icelanders' sagas. Among NATO members, Iceland has the smallest population and is the only one with no standing army. Its lightly armed Coast Guard is in charge of its defences.

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Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland from its position on the Castle Rock. Archaeologists have established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland's national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century onwards, and various restoration programmes have been carried out over the past century and a half. As one of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.Few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval defences were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The most notable exceptions are St Margaret's Chapel from the early 12th century, which is regarded as the oldest building in Edinburgh, the Royal Palace and the early-16th-century Great Hall, although the interiors have been much altered from the mid-Victorian period onwards. The castle also houses the Scottish regalia, known as the Honours of Scotland and is the site of the Scottish National War Memorial and the National War Museum of Scotland. The British Army is still responsible for some parts of the castle, although its presence is now largely ceremonial and administrative. Some of the castle buildings house regimental museums which contribute to its presentation as a tourist attraction.The castle is in the care of Historic Scotland and is Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction, with over 1.2 million visitors in 2011.As the backdrop to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo during the annual Edinburgh International Festival the castle has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland.

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Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin. Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, Tiergarten was also the name of a borough, consisting of the current Bezirk of Tiergarten plus Hansaviertel and Moabit. A new system of road and rail tunnels runs under the park towards Berlin's Central Station in nearby Moabit.Once a hunting ground of the Electors of Brandenburg the Großer Tiergarten park of today was designed in the 1830s by landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné. In 1894 the Reichstag building by architect Paul Wallot opened as the seat of the German parliament. The lawn between the contemporary Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the Reichstag building was the site of the Krolloper opera house, built in 1844, which served as parliament house after the Reichstag fire on 27 February 1933 and was demolished by air raids in 1943.On 15 January 1919 the socialist Karl Liebknecht was shot by Freikorps soldiers within the park near the lake Neuer See. The corpse of Rosa Luxemburg, murdered on the same day, was found in the nearby Landwehrkanal on 1 June 1919.The first Institut für Sexualwissenschaft of Magnus Hirschfeld was situated at the former In den Zelten street, near the contemporary Haus der Kulturen der Welt, from 1919 until it was closed by the Nazis in 1933.After 1944 the park was largely deforested, because it served as a source of firewood for the devastated city. In 1945, the Soviet Union built a war memorial along the Straße des 17. Juni, the Tiergarten's main east-west artery, near the Brandenburg Gate.The locality houses many parliamentary and governmental institutions, among others the Bundestag in the Reichstag building and the new German Chancellery. The residence of the German President, Schloss Bellevue and the Carillon are also located in the Tiergarten park. It contains several notable sculptures including the four-tiered Victory Column, the Bismarck Memorial and several other memorials to prominent Prussian generals, all of which were located in the ceremonial park facing the Reichstag before they were moved to their present location by the Nazis. In addition, the tree-lined pedestrian avenues emanating from the Victory Column contain several ceremonial sculptures of Prussian aristocrats enacting an 18th-century hunt.The Brandenburg Gate and the Potsdamer Platz are situated on the eastern rim of the locality, the former frontier between East and West Berlin. Nearby is the Kulturforum stretching from the Berliner Philharmonie, a 1963 concert hall by architect Hans Scharoun and home of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra to the Neue Nationalgalerie built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1968. In between are the neoclassical Saint Matthew Church, built in 1845 by Friedrich August Stüler, the Gemäldegalerie as well as the new branch of the Berlin State Library. A villa that stood in the place of the bus station next to the Berliner Philharmonie at Tiergartenstraße No. 4 was the seat of the Nazi killing of disabled persons program Action T4. A memorial marks the site.

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Bali is an island and the smallest province of Indonesia, and includes a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida. It is located at the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, between Java to the west and Lombok to the east, and has its capital of Denpasar at the southern part of the island.With a population of 3,890,757 in the 2010 census, and currently 4.22 million, the island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. According to the 2010 Census, 84.5% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism,12% to Islam, and most of the remainder followed Christianity. Bali is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. A tourist haven for decades, the province has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.The tourism industry is primarily focused in the south, while significant in the other parts of the island as well. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta, and its outer suburbs of Legian and Seminyak, the east coast town of Sanur, in the center of the island Ubud, to the south of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, Jimbaran, and the newer development of Nusa Dua and Pecatu.The American government lifted its travel warnings in 2008. The Australian government last issued an advice on Friday, 4 May 2012. The overall level of the advice was lowered to 'Exercise a high degree of caution'. The Swedish government issued a new warning on Sunday, 10 June 2012 because of one more tourist who has been killed by methanol poisoning.Kuta Beach is a popular tourist spot in Bali.An offshoot of tourism is the growing real estate industry. Bali real estate has been rapidly developing in the main tourist areas of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Oberoi. Most recently, high-end 5 star projects are under development on the Bukit peninsula, on the south side of the island. Million dollar villas are being developed along the cliff sides of south Bali, commanding panoramic ocean views. Foreign and domestic investment into other areas of the island also continues to grow. Land prices, despite the worldwide economic crisis, have remained stable.In the last half of 2008, Indonesia's currency had dropped approximately 30% against the US dollar, providing many overseas visitors value for their currencies. Visitor arrivals for 2009 were forecast to drop 8%, due to the worldwide economic crisis which has also affected the global tourist industry, but not due to any travel warnings.Bali's tourism economy survived the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, and the tourism industry has in fact slowly recovered and surpassed its pre-terrorist bombing levels; the longterm trend has been a steady increase of visitor arrivals. In 2010, Bali received 2.57 million foreign tourists, which surpassed the target of 2.0–2.3 million tourists. The average occupancy of starred hotels achieved 65%, so the island is still able to accommodate tourists for some years without any addition of new rooms/hotels,although at the peak season some of them are fully booked.Bali received the Best Island award from Travel and Leisure in 2010.The island of Bali won because of its attractive surroundings, diverse tourist attractions, excellent international and local restaurants, and the friendliness of the local people. According to BBC Travel released in 2011, Bali is one of the World's Best Islands, rank in second after Greece.In August 2010, the film version of Eat, Pray, Love was released in theatres. The movie was based on Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir of the same name. It took place at Ubud and Padang-Padang Beach at Bali. The 2006 book, which spent 57 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the New York Times paperback nonfiction best-seller list, had already fuelled a boom in EPL tourism in Ubud, the hill town and cultural and tourist center that was the focus of Gilbert's quest for balance through traditional spirituality and healing that leads to love.Since 2011, China has displaced Japan as the second-largest supplier of tourists to Bali, while Australia still tops the list. Chinese tourists increased by 17% from last year due to the impact of ACFTA and new direct flights to Bali.[39] In January 2012, Chinese tourists year on year increased by 222.18% compared to January 2011, while Japanese tourists declined by 23.54% yoy.Bali reported that it has 2.88 million foreign tourists and 5 million domestic tourists in 2012, marginally surpassing the expectations of 2.8 million foreign tourists. Forecasts for 2013 are at 3.1 million.Based on Bank Indonesia survey in May 2013, 34.39 percent of tourists are upper-middle class with spending between $1,286 to $5,592 and dominated by Australia, France, China, Germany and the US with some China tourists move from low spending before to higher spending currently. While 30.26 percent are middle class with spending between $662 to $1,285.

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The Río Tinto is a river in southwestern Spain that originates in the Sierra Morena mountains of Andalusia. It flows generally south-southwest, reaching the Gulf of Cádiz at Huelva.Since ancient times, a site along the river has been mined for copper, silver, gold, and other minerals.In approximately 3,000 BC, Iberians and Tartessians began mining the site, followed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. After a period of abandonment, the mines were rediscovered in 1556 and the Spanish government began operating them once again in 1724.[1] As a possible result of the mining, Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic and its deep reddish hue is due to iron dissolved in the water. Acid mine drainage from the mines leads to severe environmental problems due to the heavy metal concentrations in the river. In 1873, the multinational Rio Tinto Company was formed to operate the mines; by the end of the 20th century it had become one of the world's largest mining companies, although it no longer controls the Rio Tinto mines; these are now owned by EMED Mining plc.The ore body was deposited in the Carboniferous by hydrothermal activities on the sea floor. The river area has a history of mining activity since the Tartessans and the Iberians started mining in 3000 BC. The mining continued over the Phoenician era and under the Roman Empire until the second part of the 15th century: primarily for copper but also for iron and manganese. In the nineteenth century the mining operation started in large scale mainly by mining companies from the United Kingdom. After the peak of production in 1930 production declined and ended for copper mining in 1986 and for silver and gold in 1996.The mine closed in 2001. Increased copper prices in the 2010s led to efforts by EMED Mining to reopen the mine, but difficulties in acquiring all property rights necessary, environmental concerns, and obtaining regulatory approval delayed reopening. The mine, which employed as many as 20,000 in the past, would employ 350 people during its startup phase. The firm acquired $250 million in financing for the project. Environmental concerns are centered on disused water reservoirs which might not be able to withstand the stress of renewed waste inputs.

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The Douro is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto.The name, Latinized Durius, may have come from the Celtic tribes that inhabited the area before Roman times: the Celtic root is *dubro- and in modern Welsh dŵr is "water" with cognate dobhar in Irish. In Roman times, the river was personified as a god, Durius.The Douro vinhateiro, an area of the Douro Valley in Portugal, has been classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Traditionally, the wine was taken down river in flat-bottom boats called rabelos to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto. In the 1950s and 1960s, dams were built along the river ending this river traffic on Spanish and border sections. Now Port wine is transported in tanker trucks.

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Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin,Germany, and the only surviving royal residence in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family.It is located in the Charlottenburg district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough.The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was added behind the palace, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War, the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace with its gardens are a major tourist attraction.The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow. Originally named Lietzenburg, the palace was designed by Johann Arnold Nering in baroque style. It consisted of one wing and was built in 2½ storeys with a central cupola. The façade was decorated with Corinthian pilasters. On the top was a cornice on which were statues. At the rear in the centre of the palace were two oval halls, the upper one being a ceremonial hall and the lower giving access to the gardens. Nering died during the construction of the palace and the work was completed by Martin Grünberg and Andreas Schlüter. The inauguration of the palace was celebrated on 11 July 1699, Frederick's 42nd birthday.Friedrich crowned himself as King Friedrich I in Prussia in 1701. Two years previously, he had appointed Johann Friedrich von Eosander as the royal architect and sent him to study architectural developments in Italy and France, particularly the Palace of Versailles. On his return in 1702, Eosander began to extend the palace, starting with two side wings to enclose a large courtyard, and the main palace was extended on both sides. Sophie Charlotte died in 1705 and Friedrich named the palace and its estate Charlottenburg in her memory. In the following years, the Orangery was built on the west of the palace and the central area was extended with a large domed tower and a larger vestibule. On top of the dome is a wind vane in the form of a gilded statue representing Fortune designed by Andreas Heidt. The Orangery was originally used to overwinter rare plants. During the summer months, when over 500 orange, citrus and sour orange trees decorated the baroque garden, the Orangery regularly was the gorgeous scene of courtly festivities.

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Highlight Towers is a twin tower office skyscraper complex completed in 2004 in Munich, Germany. The towers are joined by two bridges made of glass and steel combine to offer the two planned by architects Murphy/Jahn of Chicago. Tower I is 126 m (413 ft) with 33 storeys, and Tower II is 113 m (371 ft) with 28 storey which make them among the highest buildings in the city. Also in the complex are two low-rise buildings between the twin towers, that serve as a hotel and additional office space. Overall, the facility offers approximately 73,836 m2 (794,760 sq ft) of office space.The towers are slightly shifted in the historic sightline of Odeonsplatz on Ludwigstrasse with Victory Gate to the north and form a focal point for visitors coming from the north of the city.The smooth glass facades of the buildings appear to be light and transparent and provide a good exposure of the office space. Openable window structures with wind and sound isolation allow employees in the towers an individual ventilation and are part of an environmentally friendly air-conditioning and ventilation system.

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Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal.The main town of Lagos has a population of approximately 22,000 residents, while the municipality supports a resident population of 31,048 inhabitants. Typically, these numbers increase during the summer months, with the influx of visiting tourists and seasonal residents. While the majority of the population lives along the coast and works in tourism and services, the inland region is sparsely inhabited, with the majority of the people working in agriculture and forestry.Lagos is one of the most visited cities in the Algarve and Portugal, due to its variety of tourist-friendly beaches, bars, restaurants, and hotels, renowned for its vibrant summer nightlife and parties. Yet, Lagos is also a historic centre of the Portuguese Age of Discovery, frequent home of Henry the Navigator, historical shipyard and, at one time, centre of the European slave trade. In 2012, travel website TripAdvisor, classified Lagos as the number 1 travel destination, on a list of "15 destinations on the rise" worldwide.

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Linderhof Palace is in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.The gardens surrounding Linderhof Palace are considered one of the most beautiful creations of historicist garden design, designed by Court Garden Director Carl von Effner. The park combines formal elements of Baroque style or Italian Renaissance gardens with landscaped sections that are similar to the English garden.

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