Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan or Old Town is the centre of Stockholm and the place of the first settlement. It's located on one of Stockholm's many islands.

Pictures:

Gamla Stan seen from Slussen

The Royal Castle

Although most of the tourists visit Gamla Stan when they come to Stockholm, it's a lovely place to have a wander around. It can get crowed throughout the day but in summer it's also nice to visit Gamla Stan in the evening when most of the tourists are gone. The atmosphere on the cobbled streets is unique and you can find small squares or interesting streets around every corner. You can reach Gamla Stan easily with the metro because it has it's own station and then walk around as much as you like.

There are many attractions in Gamla Stan and one that should be named is the Royal Castle. You can argue if you like the outside of the castle or not but the inside is quite impressive. The changing of the guard is also an event that you shouldn't miss when you are there at the right time. You can have a look at different churches, for example Storkyrkan or Tyska Kyrkan. You don't need to pay to get into Tyska Kyrkan (German Church) and it's worth a visit but not as big as Storkyrkan. A couple of museums are also located in Gamla Stan, like the Nobel Museum.

You can find many shops in the small streets of Gamla Stan, where you can buy typical tourist souvenirs but also clothes or handicrafts. I guess everybody will find a nice place in Gamla Stan and the food there is good too. One of my favourite cafés is still a Swiss pastry shop where you can get tasty pies and cakes. There are also many picture opportunities in Gamla Stan but you aren't allowed to take pictures in every museum.

Have a look here if you want to read more:
http://www.visitstockholm.com 

Fanø

The Danish island Fanø is located in the North Sea and has beautiful beaches and nature with different animals, which are living on the island.

Pictures:
Fanø beach

Fanø belongs to the Danish Wadden Sea Islands and the only way to reach it is via ferry from Esbjerg. The island is only 16 km long and 5 km wide and originated from a sandbank. The main town on the island is Nordby where you arrive with the ferry. Other towns are Sønderho, Rindby and Fanø Bad. Fanø is a tourist island, so you will find many people there in the summer and you have to book in advance when you want to rent a hotel room or a summer cottage but you can also get some last minute. Even more people are on the island when the International Kiteflyer-Meeting is held there in June.

You can explore the island with a car, on foot, with your bike or from the back of a horse.
The beaches are mostly on the western shore and you are even allowed to drive with your car directly down to the water. There are even bus stops on the beach. In the north-west of the island is a huge sandbank, which is called "Søren-Jessens-Sand" and you can explore it on a guided tour. There are huge dunes on some parts of the island but you can also find heath and a pine wood. You will probably spot quite a lot of animals like rabbits, deer and different birds when you wander around. There is a boat tour where you can watch seals when you are lucky but it also gives you a great view of the monument "Men at Sea"

Most of the guided tours and other activities are in the summer months but you can always have a look at the two churches or different museums on the island. You have many options for taking pictures especially with the sometimes fast changing weather.
When you have enough from nature, you can always take the ferry to Esbjerg and spend a day there.

If you want to read more, you can go here:

Wikipedia

Arches National Park

“There are several ways of looking at Delicate Arch. Depending on your preconceptions you may see the eroded remnant of a sandstone fin, a giant engagement ring cemented in rock, a bow-legged pair of petrified cowboy chaps, a triumphal arch for a procession of angels, an illogical geologic freak, a happening—a something that happened and will never happen quite that way again, a frame more significant than its picture, a simple monolith eaten away by weather and time and soon to disintegrate into a chaos of falling rock"
                                               Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire



These two photos are only a small sample of the magnificent views that you can expect to see at "Arches National Park". The park is located in eastern Utah just outside the town of Moab, a Mecca for all kinds of outdoor activities, especially hiking and dirt bike riding. Climbing the arches within the park has long been banned by park regulations although the wording of the regulations was deemed unenforceable by the park attorney. Climbing some other features (other than named arches) is allowed but highly regulated.
Delicate Arch (The photo) has become an unofficial symbol for the state of Utah (it appears on car license plates) and is probably the most famous in the whole park. Some of the other interesting sites are Double Arch, Devil's Garden (with the amazing sandstone fins) and the longest, Landscape Arch (just to name a few of the many amazing sights in the park).

The park is open all year round, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Although it is crowded in the summer, the temperature can be extremely hot. In my opinion, the best time of the year to visit is Spring (April and May).

 

You can read more about the park, and plan a visit, on the National Parks Service site and on Wikipedia.

Atomium

The Atomium was built for the Expo 1958 in Brussels and shows the structure of an iron crystal.

Pictures:
Two sides of the Atomium
© www.atomium.be - SABAM 2011 - kostolany244

The Atomium consists of huge spheres, which are connected by tubes. The highest sphere is 102 meters tall and shows the best view over Brussels. Today the Atomium is a popular tourist attraction and became the symbol of Brussels. You can get everything with the Atomium on it, from postcards over mugs even small models.

Because of safety reasons only five of the nine spheres are open for visitors. One sphere houses a permanent exhibition, which shows pictures and models of the Expo in 1958. Another sphere is used for temporary exhibitions, which have a scientific theme. You can move between the different spheres via escalators or stairs but the top sphere is reached by an elevator. There is even a kid's sphere where group of kids with accompanying adults can stay for the night.
The outside of the Atomium is already spectacular but the inside is worth a visit as well. The views from the upper sphere are brilliant but you can already see parts of Brussels when you move between the other spheres. In the top sphere is a restaurant where you can dine high above the ground. Some of the escalators are lit in changing colours, which gives the ride up a bit of a surreal feel. When it gets dark outside the spheres are lit up by 2970 lights, which looks really beautiful but the reflection of a sunset on the spheres is beautiful as well.


Read here if you want to know more:
Wikipedia
The Atomium