4th of July, American Independence day, is a big summer holiday in the United States commemorating the declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4th, 1776. The holiday is celebrated in many different ways, but fireworks are pretty much always part of the celebrations.
This year, we had an opportunity to celebrate the holiday by visiting the “Living History Day” at Washington Crossing historic park in Pennsylvania. Washington Crossing is a very appropriate location as it is where George Washington crossed the Delaware River on the night of December 25-26, 1776 in the American revolutionary war. This led to victory at the Battle of Trenton and is considered one of the turning points in the war for independence. The “Living History Day” celebrated Independence day at this historic site by reenactments, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, the shooting of a cannon and living historians demonstrating crafts. In the evening, we had an opportunity to go to Quakertown, PA, to see the fireworks.
You can find some photos of the Washington crossing celebrations and the fireworks below:
Experience the shooting of the cannon by visiting this 360 panorama here:
You can also look at the wide version of the panorama here:
We also took a few videos of some of the activities, including the music, the shooting of the cannon and the reading of the declaration of independence. Have a look at the video to experience attending the event:
October has arrived, which is beautiful time of the year in Pennsylvania. The trees change color resulting in some of the most beautiful displays of color in the USA. I have previously posted fall pictures. I wanted to complement this with a number of 360s I have taken over the last year in October.
The first one is of Lumberville footbridge. Lumberville is a small town along the Delaware in Pennsylvania. There is footbridge connecting Lumberville with Bull’s island, a beautiful park along the Delaware in New Jersey. This picture was taken from relatively high above the bridge and gives you a good view of the bridge, the river and the trees changing colors.
Lumberville Footbridge
You can explore the panorama interactively here:
The second panorama is along the Delaware canal path, a beautiful hiking path between the Delaware and a disused canal. On this specific panorama you can see a ruin, the canal as well as the trees changing colors.
Ruin and fall colors along the Delaware Canal Path
Again, you can explore the panorama interactively here:
Finally, this panorama is taken in the woods along the Delaware and gives you a good sense for some of the color display in the trees.
A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit “up North” lower Michigan. We started in Grand Rapids, went up to Mackinaw City via Sleeping Bear, Traverse City and Charlevoix and returned back to Grand Rapids spending time in Muskegon, Saugatuck and Holland.
Michigan is beautiful in summer with beautiful sandy beaches and stunning sunsets. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, the two large lakes we saw during this trip are part of the “Great Lakes”, a series of five huge interconnected lakes in North America. The lakes are so big that they have waves and dangerous weather just like an ocean. There are also large ships transporting goods on the lakes.
As usual, we took a number of 360 panoramas. You can find the full set of panoramas here. Below is a selection of panoramas to give you a flavour of Michigan.
Sleeping Bear is a beautiful National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan with large dunes. This panorama was taken close to sunset when people were gathering in the park. If you look closely you can see people climb the steep sides of the hill:
Sleeping Bear Lakeshore
Explore this panorama by clicking on the image below:
In Traverse City there were a large number of Seagulls which were nice enough to pose for the photo:
Seagulls by Traverse City Beach
Have a closer look by looking around this panorama:
Along the way, we stook a stop at Charlevoix, a pleasant town with a nice harbor and lake connecting Lake Charlevoix with Lake Michigan.
Charlevoix Harbor and Round Lake
Have a closer look by looking around this panorama:
The sunsets in Michigan are amazing. We witnessed an example of such a stunning sunset in Mackinaw City, while looking at Mackinac bridge:
Sunset over Mackinac bridge
Experience the moment yourself by looking at the panorama here:
And as if that not enough, very soon after the sun had set, the moon rose on the other side of the straight, resulting in a beautiful combination of a moonrise on one side and the last sunlight on the other side:
Moonrise in Mackinaw City at Dusk
Have a closer look by exploring the panorama:
There is also some exercise to be had. For example, when you climb these long stairs you end up on a sandy path that takes you to Oval Beach by Saugatuck over mount Baldhead.
Stairs to Oval Beach
Have a closer look here:
The beach you reach on the other side is a lovely sandy beach along Lake Michigan:
Oval Beach
Have a closer look at this panorama here:
As with any large body of water, Lake Michigan has a number of lighthouses, including this one in Muskegon which we took a photo of at dusk:
Lighthouse in Muskegon
Have a look around in the panorama here:
For more beautiful photo’s of Michigan you can find the full set of panoramas from our Michigan trip here.
As a Belgian living in Switzerland it is really great to see one of our Swiss panorama pictures from last year featured in a Belgian app magazine. The 2014 summer edition of the free VAB Magazine app featured the panorama we posted last year on this blog of the cabrio lift going up Stanserhorn. The panorama features the first cabrio cable car in the world.
One of the highest mountains in Central Switzerland is Mount Titlis, a 3,238m high mountain that can be visited throughout the year – in summer, visiting the gletscher offers a great opportunity to be amongst the snow and provides fantastic views over the surrounding mountains. In winter, it is a good destination for skiing and the mountain provides one of the longest ski-seasons in Switzerland with skiing possible from October to May.
We have visited Titlis on a number of occasions both in winter and summer and, as usual, took some panoramas while we were there.
This first panorama is at the bottom of Titlis in the village of Engelberg and provides nice views of the surrounding mountains. As always, click on the image for a larger view or go directly to the interactive version below.
Titlis bottom station
Have a look around this interactive panorama by clicking on the image below:
The top of Titlis at 3,238m provides stunning views of the surroundings and has a number of activities to offer, including a permanent ice-cave, the ability to take a chairlift over the glacier and the “Titlis Cliffwalk”, the the highest suspension bridge in Europe. This panorama was taken from that suspension bridge. Clouds rolled in during the day which made walking on the bridge a special experience where you feel in the clouds.
Titlis Cliff Walk
Have a look at the interactive panorama and feel on top of the world in the clouds:
We also had the opportunity to be on the mountain during the night. We stayed at a hotel about half-way up the mountain which also has a lake nearby. Walking around in a mountainous area after sunset was a special experience. This panorama captures some of that experience at dusk:
Dusk on Titlis
Experience being in the mountains right after sunset in this interactive panorama:
Luzern is a beautiful city close to where we live. When the conditions are clear, the sunsets over the lake are breathtaking. We had an opportunity to take some panoramas during one of those sunsets a few days ago while the city was decorated for Christmas. I let the pictures speak for themselves:
Sunset over Luzern
Sunset in Luzern at Christmas time
Click on the interactive version to have a look around:
Another sunset photo over Luzern
Sunset over Luzern
Have a look at the interactive version below:
Christmas lights across the city:
Christmas lights over Luzern, including across the bridge
In September, we had a chance to to go the top of Stanserhorn, a mountain in Central Switzerland not too far from where we live, on a very clear day with beautiful weather. What makes the trip so unique, apart from the stunning views at the top of the mountain, is that you go to the top with the world’s first convertible-style cable car.
The double-decker cable car has an upper deck that is outside so that you can really enjoy the beautiful surroundings and feel the fresh mountain air as you go up the mountain. The photo below shows you how the cable car looks like from the outside:
As you can see in the photo, you can ride on top of the cable car. To give you an impression on what the experience is like, check out the interactive panorama below which I took during this trip. Click on the image for a larger version.
Check out the interactive version below by clicking on the photo:
Taking the panorama was very challenging as the cable car moves remarkably fast and in order to make the panorama, I need to take a series of four shots in all directions. This made the stiching of the photos difficult. I am, however, very happy with the result. The photo was selected as an “editors pick” on 360 cities and received over 2000 hits to date.
Once you reach the top, you can enjoy the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. You can also go for some nice walks from short and easy ones to more challenging and difficult ones. Many people also use Stanserhorn as a base for paragliding and towards the end of the day, the cable car is full of paragliders.
This panorama was taken at a viewpoint right by the top station and shows you some of the stunning views. As always, click on the photo to see a bigger version:
Click on the interactive version if you want to have a look around in this fully immersive panorama. Have a look at the sign at the bottom for more information on the mountains you are seeing:
A very short walk away from the top station you can see a very different view of the surrounding mountains with views of Pilatus, Rigi, Titlis, lake Lucerne and lake Zug:
You can explore this interactive immersive panorama here:
Of course, we took some regular photos as well. You can find a selection of the photos we took in the Album below:
Some of our panoramas are becoming famous. One of our Inside the Volcano panoramas was featured in a recent issue of travel + Escape magazine for iPad! The special issue about Iceland has an article about the Inside the Volcano trip we mentioned in a previous post and included one of the panoramas to show an immersive experience. Check out the free app in the App Store and the “Wild Weekends in Iceland” issue (1.99 USD)!
Another one of our panoramas is featured on a blog about James Bond. The blog describes Schilthorn where the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was set. We visited the mountain a couple of years ago in summer during clear weather and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surroundings, including views of Eiger, Mönch and Jungrau. As usual, we took the opportunity to take a panorama of the surroundings.
This year, we had an opportunity to visit the 10th annual Entlebucher Alpabfahrt (descent from the Alps) at the end of September 2013 in Schüpfheim, Switzerland.
Every year, farmer families take their cows into the mountains in spring and they return in the fall. Traditionally, different families came back at different dates depending on the weather and the pastures, but for the last 10 years, several families have co-ordinated when they return and the date is announced in advance so visitors can join in the festivities.
The custom of going up and down the mountains has always been filled with tradition. In the photos you can see some of the traditional clothing and decoration of the cows. The event is also very popular and crowded as you can see in the photos. And of course, there were lots of cows – about 200 in total! Not just any cows, this is where the Emmentaller cheese comes from (“Swiss cheese” to you Americans). These are some of those very cows. Give these ladies a toast with your next ham-n-Swiss.
As usual, we took some panorama photographs. Click on the photo to have a closer look:
Alpabfahrt in Schüpfheim, Switzerland
Or look at the interactive version by clicking on the image below:
A second panorama:
Cows coming home in Schüpfheim, Switzerland
Click on the image below to interact with the panorama:
The sound of the cows coming by is very loud due to the large cowbells they have around their necks. Have a look at the video below to get an impression about the sound:
At the event, we also saw a Jodling choir performance on street. Jodling is a specific type of singing that is typical for the Swiss and Austrian mountains. You can see a brief video of the choir singing here:
Of course, we also took tons of photos! Click on the link below to have a look at some selected photos from the day.
