Ice FIshing Festival in South Korea’s

 Ice FIshing Festival in South Korea’s
Every year in the month of January, over a million people flock to the quiet town of Hwacheon to participate in the Sancheoneo Ice Festival. Located about 20 km south of the demilitarized zone separating South Korea from North Korea, Hwacheon is one of the first regions in the country that freezes over in winter, and the Bukhangang River is covered with a thick layer of ice.

The Swedish 17th Century Warship Vasa now in Sweden

The Swedish 17th Century Warship Vasa now in Sweden
In 1628, the Swedish warship Vasa set off on its maiden voyage from Stockholm harbor towards Poland, where a war was raging in the Baltic. Built by 400 craftsmen at the royal shipyard at Stockholm, the ship was richly decorated as a symbol of the king's ambitions for Sweden and himself. It was 69 meters long and was fitted with 64 cannons, and upon completion, it was of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world of that time. Unfortunately, Vasa was too top heavy and dangerously unstable.

Amazing Sky Cycle, A Pedal Powered Roller Coaster in Japan

Amazing Sky Cycle, A Pedal Powered Roller Coaster in Japan
Located in Washuzan Highland Amusement Park in Okayama city in Japan, the Sky Cycle is a pedal-powered roller coaster that requires riders to pedal all the way around, rather than just sit back and enjoy. The roller coaster is built over a hilly terrain and consists of a pair of elevated rails.

The Lärchwandschrägaufzug Inclined Lift in Austria

The Lärchwandschrägaufzug Inclined Lift in AustriaThe Larchwandschragaufzug is an inclined lift, also known as funiculars, located at Kaprun in Austria inside the Hohe Tauern National Park. Stretching 810 meters over a vertical distance of 431 meters on 8,200 millimeter gauge, it is the largest funicular system in Europe.

Santos Express Train Lodge: A Hotel in a Real Train

Santos Express Train Lodge: A Hotel in a Real Train

Photo credit: Santos Express Train Lodge

An old train parked on Santos beach in the harbor town of Mossel Bay in the Southern Cape of South Africa has been converted into a pretty little hotel. Called the “The Santos Express Train Lodge” or simply “Train”, the lodge sits on a pair of abandoned rails roughly 30 meters from the sea.

Chimney Rock in Nebraska,

Chimney Rock in NebraskaThe Chimney Rock is one of the most famous and recognizable landmarks in Morrill County in western Nebraska in the United States. A remnant of the erosion of the bluffs at the edge of the North Platte Valley. Chimney Rock shot to popularity during the middle of the 19th century when emigrants traveling along the Oregon, California and Mormon Trail spotted it on their journeys across Nebraska. Approximately 350,000 settlers passed by Chimney Rock, and hundreds of them mentioned it in their journal entries.

Free Diving with Hammerhead Shark

Free Diving with Hammerhead Shark

 A terrifying moment a diver came head to head with a shark as it swims inches away snatching a bite for dinner. The close encounter, captured off Bimini Island in the Bahamas, shows the hammerhead approaching diver Eli Martinez who bravely stands his ground as the giant beast approaches.

The City of White Marbles

The City of White Marbles 

Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan and the country’s largest city. Ashgabat is a relatively young city having grown out of a village of the same name established by the Russians in 1881, which itself grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of the 2nd century BC, Konjikala.

Villages of Shirakawa and Gokayama

Villages of Shirakawa and Gokayama

 Shirakawa and Gokayama are two Japanese villages located in Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture, respectively, known for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, many of which are more than 250 years old. Gasshō-zukuri means “prayer-hands construction” and is a style characterized by a thatched and steeply slanting roof resembling two hands joined in prayer.

NASA Photos from Space

NASA Photos from Space

 Breathtaking images captured in space by real astronauts will remind you of Alfonso Cuaron’s thrilling movie Gravity.

Zalipie, The Painted Village

 Zalipie, The Painted Village

Zalipie is a village in southeastern Poland, 68 km east of the regional capital Kraków, known for its wonderfully painted houses.
The tradition of decorating both the exterior and the interior of houses originated at the end of the 19th century when old-fashioned furnaces were replaced with new furnaces with chimneys. Early furnaces had little more than a hole in the ceiling for smoke to escape, which being inadequate led to blackening of the walls by soot.

Diomede Islands

Diomede Islands

The Diomede Islands are a pair of rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia. Though the two islands are only 3.8 km apart and clearly in a single group, they are separated by the International Date line which also marks the international border between Russia and the United States.

Meoto Iwa, the Wedded Rocks

Meoto Iwa, the Wedded Rocks

Meoto Iwa, also called the “husband and wife rocks” or “wedded rocks”, are a pair of small rocky stacks in the sea right in front of the Futami Okitama-jinja Shrine in Futami Bay, Japan. According to Shinto beliefs, the rocks represent the union of the creator of kami – the spirits, and therefore, celebrate the union in marriage of man and woman.

Fire Rainbows: A Rare Cloud Phenomenon

Fire Rainbows: A Rare Cloud Phenomenon

“Fire Rainbows” are neither fire, nor rainbows, but are so called because of their brilliant pastel colors and flame like appearance. Technically they are known as circumhorizontal arc - an ice halo formed by hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals in high level cirrus clouds. The halo is so large that the arc appears parallel to the horizon, hence the name.Fire Rainbows: A Rare Cloud Phenomenon

Irohazaka Winding Road, Japan

Irohazaka Winding Road, Japan

Irohazaka are a pair of winding roads connecting the lower elevation around central Nikko, in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, to the higher elevations of Oku-Nikko located in the northwestern part of Nikko. "i-ro-ha" are the first three characters of the 48 syllables of the formerly used Japanese alphabet (which is now known as "aiueo"), and "zaka" means "slope".

The Ancient Sea Wall at Batroun

The Ancient Sea Wall at Batroun, Lebanon

Batroun is a coastal city in northern Lebanon lying 50 km north of Beirut and 30 km south of Tripoli. It is one of the oldest cities in the world with a history of human occupation going back to at least 5,000 years.

Dean's Blue Hole, World's Deepest Blue Hole

Dean's Blue Hole, World's Deepest Blue Hole

Blue holes are so called for the dramatic contrast between the dark blue, deep waters of their depths and the lighter blue of the shallows around them. The intense blue color is created by high transparency of water and bright white carbonate sand.

The Colorful Island of Burano, Italy

The Colorful Island of Burano, ItalyBurano is an island in the Northern Venetian Lagoon, just 40 minutes away from Venice by boat. Burano is an old fishing village, and the fishing traditions of Burano date back to Roman time. The island is famous for the art of lace making and its bright multicolored houses.

Cool Colorful Interventions at Ice Hotel

Cool Colorful Interventions at Ice HotelJapanese artist toshihiko shibuya is best known for his colorful interventions within snow and ice filled landscapes. for his latest project, ‘the ice pallet‘, he has transformed an interior guest room at the the ice hills hotel, in sweden hills of tobetsu, japan into a vibrantly tinted winter wonderland.

Wonder Lake Superior Iced Caves

Wonder Lake Superior Iced Caves

While this year's bitter winter has created its share of problems, Mother Nature has provided a beautiful and rare treat for those living in the upper Midwest. For the first time in five years, people can visit the mainland sea caves of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore by walking on a frozen Lake Superior.