Blog.Pictures

Some impressions of the Christmas Garden 2022 at Pillnitz Castle in Dresden. I was lucky on my visit there, because the snow that was falling the day before nicely contributed to the mystical atmosphere of the place.

The "Sombrero de Chasna" is a table mount that is 2400 meters tall and looks like the top of a sombrero hat, hence its name.

Our hike starts at the área recreativa Las Lajas. It's a public picnic site with a parking area that is sufficiently big, but the poor road conditions of the last few meters make it difficult to reach unless you have rented an SUV. 😅

From there we start the ascent to the summit of the Sombrero. The trail is a little hard to find. At some parts, only cairns show the way. A few minutes away from the Sombrero, there is the caldera edge with a spectacular view on the Las Cañadas plain.

The hike to the summit is a little exhausting. You certainly need good hiking shoes, hiking poles, and a good condition. But the spectacular views are worth it. It's the third time we have been up there now, and definitely not the last time.

In the heart of Tenerife, and 2400 meters above the sea, is the Observatorio del Teide. While its sister observatory on the island of La Palma is mainly used for observing the night sky, this observatory is mainly used for observation of the sun.

There are guided tours every week. We joined one of these tours, and had the chance to see the observatory, the inside of one of the buildings, and we also had a look at the sun with a special telescope.

Chinyero is the name of a volcano in the National Park of Tenerife. Its last eruption was in November 1909, which was also the last eruption of a volcano on Tenerife.

The starting point is a tiny parking spot at the TF-38 that leads from the town Chío to the Teide national park. From there, we just follow the Circular Chinyero route, which is also marked with white and yellow posts. Our hike trip starts in a pine forest, then goes across a plain of volcanic rock, and then returns through a mix of pine forests and volcanic land.

Usually this place is located above the clouds. This time the clouds were rather high, and covered the landscape in a thick fog. It was very spectacular. At the plain of volcanic rock, it felt like we were walking on a foreign planet.

The tour is about 6.5 km long and easy to walk.

If you visit Hamburg and have a few hours to spare, make sure to visit the Miniatur Wunderland in the Speicherstadt. It is the world’s largest model railway, covering an area of more than 1,300 m².

The construction easily degrades your home model railway to a few chipboards with rails attached. Besides model trains, also cars and even planes move there. For example, a fire breaks out in a model palace, and the fire trucks are immediately rushing to the place with blaring sirens. The perfection and the love even for tiniest details is just breathtaking.

The next pictures show just a small extract. There is much more to discover. You could easily spend hours, and wouldn’t have seen everything yet. Make sure to reserve your tickets online, to avoid waiting in a long line.

But enough... It’s picture time!