Category Archives: Photography

Gold! Gold! I have struck Gold!

Wow, what a stroke of luck! I have discovered gold! Huge amounts of it! I have been labouring for a few days now, trying to get as much of it out of the ground before somebody else will find it. … Continue reading

Posted in Italy, Photography, Sicily, Travel | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Don’t build a tower when you are drunk!

This is Arg-e Karim Khan in Shiraz, Iran. I took the photo on my first trip to Iran in 2008/2009. Inside is a beautiful garden with ponds and orange trees, as well as a museum. When I visited, there was … Continue reading

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“I ran Iraq for 24 years, and all I got was a port named after me?”

When I saw this in Tallinn, I wondered why on earth any city would name its harbour after Saddam Hussein. Especially so far away from Iraq. Until I realized that “sadam” is Estonian for “harbour”. (Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Fundstücks.)

Posted in Estonia, Language, Photography, Travel | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Garibaldi was here

Italy is full of commemorative plaques and statues, many of them about the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy, and the independence wars from 1861 on. There are plaques and statutes to commemorate the landing of troops, successful battles, sustained defeats and … Continue reading

Posted in History, Italy, Photography, Sicily, Travel | Tagged , | 9 Comments

A Horse needs Fuel too

I bet these two vehicles, which I saw parked about 100 meters apart from each other in Palermo, belong together. (Seen opposite the Cathedral in Palermo, Sicily.)

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Swordfish

(Discovered at the corner of Corso dei Mille and Via Rocco Pirri in Palermo, Sicily.)

Posted in Food, Italy, Photography, Sicily | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Symmetric Cemetery

“We need to build a new cemetery in Palermo,” ordered King Ferdinand II. “This bloody cholera is killing people faster than we can dig graves.” Chewing tobacco and speaking in his typical mumble, the king pronounced it “cemet’ry”. The architect, … Continue reading

Posted in Italy, Photography, Sicily, Travel | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Lipari – Day 1

Lipari, Salina, Vulcano, Alicudi, Filicudi, Panarea. Don’t worry if you can’t immediately pin down these names on a map. Until two months ago, I couldn’t either. Then I moved to Sicily. If I add the name of the seventh and … Continue reading

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Exclusive: Chinese moon landing is fake

The media are full with stories on a Chinese rover landing and driving around on the moon. In an exclusive scoop I have however uncovered that this whole story is a hoax and a swindle. Last night, when the moon … Continue reading

Posted in China, Photography, Technology | Tagged , | 28 Comments

Etna is causing trouble again

Since yesterday, Mount Etna in Sicily has been active again. It has been spewing lava and ash, forcing the airport at Catania to suspend operations. (Photo taken on the road to Caltagirone on 15 December 2013.)

Posted in Italy, Photography, Sicily, Travel | Tagged , | 4 Comments