It is very hard to get a good shot of The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles on the tour. The place is lousy with tourists. It occurred to me that without a tripod and a hall empty of people the best I could hope for was a decent shot of the ceiling. By itself it is a pretty great fixture of the lavish palace.
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Hall of Mirrors
Before visiting Holland I had seen a few Castles in France and Belgium but was always disappointed that they didn’t have moats. Any movie I ever saw that had a castle had a moat. I don’t know if this qualifies as a Castle. In Holland Castles and Palaces are called Slot. This is Slot Zuylen outside of Utrecht and it does have a moat! You can see other images from my Europe Gallery and buy prints by clicking here.
One of the greatest museums in the world that is housed in a former castle that is NOT The Louvre is the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Holland. It is not as large as its French counterpart but is too huge to see in a day and has many different wings with different types of art. It is also surrounded by beautiful gardens and worth a visit or two if you are in Amsterdam. You can buy a print of this image and see others on my commercial gallery.
I still have no idea what this was all about. One Gendarme looks totally bored while the other listens patiently while the man’s girlfriend who is out of this frame looks fervently through her purse. The Gendarmes changed direction and walked, albeit slowly in the direction the man pointed. The man and his girlfriend followed them. A robbery? Directions? No clue. This was shot in the gardens of Luxembourg Palace in Paris France. You can see other more traditional images at my European gallery by clicking here.
He went that away!
The gardens at Versailles cover over 800 hectares of land which is over 1700 acres by english measurement. It is really impossible to cover the whole garden in a day. Although there is an admission to get into the Château , the gardens are free to the public as are most gardens in France. The scene is spectacular and this view is from the second floor of the Château through an open window. You can see other images and buy prints from my European gallery by clicking here.
A view form the Palace at Versailles
One of the most beautiful buildings we saw in Amsterdam was Den Waag (The Weigh House) which dates back to the old fortifications of the city. As we walked towards it we knew nothing about it. We thought it was a castle and maybe we could get a tour. Turns out it is now a cafe and quite a good one. Being hungry, we stopped for lunch and the food was as wonderful as the candlelit interior. See more of my photos of Europe by clicking here.
The cafe at Den Waag in Amsterdam
Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria Germany is the castle that Disney models for the centerpiece of their amusement parks. It is sometimes called the Fairytale castle although the life of the creator, Ludwig II was anything but a fairytale. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial site by clicking here.
Neuschwanstein Castle