Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Sunday, August 24th, 2014
Photo of the Day: Resinzbrunnen is the grand baroque fountain that sits in the middle Residenzplatz – right in the centre of Salzburg Altstadt (old town).
We couldn’t resist splashing the water in the fountain as well when we visited the Residenzbrunnen. Photo taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
It is also the fountain that Maria – in the movie “The Sound of Music” – splashes as she sings “I have confidence in me”, on her way to the von Trapp home.
The Residenzbrunnen is located in the middle of the Residenzplatz, one of the most popular tourist spots in Salzburg. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with 24-70mm lens. Sepia effect added with Adobe Photoshop CC (2014). Photo credit: John Tan.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, fountain, full-frame, Maria, photography, photos, potd, Residenzbrunnen, Residenzplatz, Salzburg, Sony, Sound of Music, travel, von Trapp
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Events, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel | 1 Comment »
Thursday, August 7th, 2014
Photo of the Day: Nonnberg Abbey (Stift Nonnberg) is a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria.
This was the convent where Maria served as a postulant before she was sent to look after the children of Captain von Trapp in the musical and movie “The Sound of Music”.
Graves within the compounds of the Nonnberg Abbey, just outside the Abbey Church. The entrance to the church can be seen in the background.
Maria Augusta Kutschera had joined Nonnberg Abbey as a postulant after graduating from college when she was eighteen.
My family and I took a stroll to Nonnberg Abbey after descending from the Hohensalzburg Fortress in the evening.
We wanted to visit the convent from which Maria came from before joining the von Trapp family.
It was really peaceful and tranquil – and free of other tourists.
As a postulant, she was requesting admission into the Abbey as a nun, which may or may not be granted.
The original plan was for her to look after one of Georg von Trapp’s daughters and return after 10 months to formally enter the nunnery.
She eventually went on to look after all of Georg’s seven children and agreed when the latter proposed to her, asking her to stay with him and become a second mother to his children.
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Tags:A7, Abbey, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, convent, full-frame, Maria, monastery, Nonnberg, nunnery, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Sony, Sound of Music, travel, von Trapp
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, travel | 8 Comments »
Sunday, August 3rd, 2014
Photo of the Day: Our first two nights in Austria were at the Villa Trapp, the original mansion of the Von Trapp family, in the suburbs of Salzburg.
The entrance to the Villa Trapp – where the real von Trapp family lived and played.
* All the photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The back of Villa Trapp with the lawn and facing the mountains. We picnic-ed for lunch here upon arrival on the first day.
I first watched the movie, “The Sound of Music” as a child and loved it – so did my entire family.
Fountain on the wall of one of the sheds on the grounds of Villa Trapp.
So when we decided to visit Austria, we jumped at the idea of staying in Villa Trapp, where the real Von Trapp family actually lived from 1923 to 1938, when they migrated to the US.
This house was not the one seen in the movie, which used two other grander houses for exterior shots and a studio set in Hollywood for the interior scenes.
The stately three-storey building was built in 1863 and has 22 rooms.
Georg Von Trapp had bought and moved to the house in 1923 with his seven children when his wife died of Scarlet fever.
Maria Augusta Kutschera came to the von Trapp family in 1926 to take care of one of the children – also named Maria.
Wedding photo of Georg and Maria von Trapp, on a mantelpiece in the lounge of Villa Trapp.
Although she was to stay for only 10 months, she began looking after the other children as well and married Georg in 1927.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, full-frame, hotels, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Sony, Sound of Music, travel, villa, Villa Trapp, von Trapp
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel | 6 Comments »
Sunday, July 13th, 2014
Did you know that there is an actual town in Austria which is called “Fucking”? And less than two hours’ drive to the east from Salzburg, you’ll hit the mountain named “Loser” which is also a popular ski resort.
Pit stop at Fucking, Austria. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Fucking is a tiny miniscule hamlet about 40km to the north of Salzburg. This Austrian town is about 40 minutes’ drive from Salzburg.
Located close to the border between Germany and Austria, the town comprises a cluster of houses on either side of the road.
I wonder what else is not allowed in this idyllic town. But seriously, that’s just a sign to tell you that you’re leaving Fucking behind you. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
It is so tiny that less than 200m after passing the signboard that marks your entry into the town, you see the signboard that marks your exit from the town.
I’ve driven around Europe a fair bit and passed through many one-street towns – but Fucking is one of the tiniest we have driven through.
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Tags:A7, Apple, Austria 2014, Burghausen, Carl Zeiss, Franking, Fucking, full-frame, Galaxy, Germany, GO 2020, GPS, hell, iPhone, navigation, photography, photos, PND, potd, Samsung, Sony, TomTom
Posted in A7, Apple, Austria 2014, Cameras, Events, Gadgets, GALAXY, GPS, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, S5, Samsung, Sony, TomTom, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014
Photo of the Day: We chanced upon this charming town while driving en route from Munich to Salzburg. The castle sitting on top of the hill looked majestic while the houses along the river looked so colourful and quaint.
Burghausen Castle, which has a length of over 1,000 metres, is one of the longest castle complexes in the world, sitting along a narrow ridge above the town. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
We were driving from Munich to Salzburg when we chanced upon the quaint little town right beside the fast flowing Salzach River, which marks the border between Germany and Austria in these parts.
This photo was one of the first few shots that took with the Sony A7 that I had brought along for the trip.
The compact full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera did not disappoint and impressed with fast focusing, strong low-light performance and good detail throughout the rest of the vacation.
This photo was taken using the Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens, which was really versatile for both street photography, portraiture and landscape shots.
If you’re looking for a compact travel camera but still desire good image quality, do check out the Sony A7.
The route that we were driving was a bit off the beaten track and we hadn’t expected to come across any touristy places along the way.
So imagine our surprise when we drove into this charming little town that was obviously a tourist destination.
After driving across the bridge straddling the Salzach, we stopped by the river bank and snapped some photos of Burghausen and its castle from across the river.
We didn’t realise at that time that by crossing the bridge, we had crossed from Germany into Austria, and that we were snapping photos of the German town from the Austrian bank.
The Austrian village on the other side of the river is called Ach and is so tiny you won’t find it if you do a search for it on Google Maps, although it’s actually marked on the map.
View of Burghausen Town across the Salzach River. By driving across the bridge, one crosses from Germany into Austria. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Burghausen, Carl Zeiss, castles, full-frame, Germany, photography, photos, potd, Sony
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Events, Gadgets, GALAXY, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, S5, Samsung, Sony, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Sunday, March 9th, 2014
Photo of the Day: The River Safari in Singapore has a wonderful enclosure for squirrel monkeys, where visitors are allowed to wander freely within the enclosure and view the primates up close.
It’s also ideal for photographers looking to shoot portraits of these New World Monkeys.
Due to their smaller size, they are less bold than the larger macaques and steer clear of the visitors to the enclosure. Here’s one of them peering from behind some leaves. Photo taken with an Olympus E450 with 40-150mm kit lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The squirrel monkey comes from the tropical forests of Central and South America, living in the canopy layer, and eats fruits and insects.
Here’s a squirrel monkey looking me in the eye, from the safety of the tree branches. Photo taken with an Olympus E450 with 40-150mm kit lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
These monkeys are actually slightly larger than squirrels but are smaller than the regular macaque that we’re more familiar with in this part of the world.
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Tags:animals, monkeys, Olympus, photography, photos, potd, River Safari, Singapore
Posted in Gadgets, Olympus, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Singapore | No Comments »
Friday, February 14th, 2014
It’s Valentine’s Day today. This year, it coincides with Chap Goh Meh – the fifteenth and final day of the Chinese New Year – which many consider the Chinese Valentine’s Day. Here’s wishing all lovers a most romantic day/night!
Lots of lovey-dovey couples here, in the form of hugging salt and pepper bottles. I took this photo at the Hakaniemi Market Hall in Helsinki, Finland in summer. There were plenty of such charming craft stores for tourists and local Finns alike. Taken with a Nikon D600 with AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
In many places in the world that celebrate Valentine’s Day, boys buy flowers, chocolates and gifts for their girlfriends, wives, mistresses or lovers.
Actually, marketing practitioners should examine this so-called unique Japanese culture more closely.
Apparently, the practice has its roots in 1936 as part of the advertising campaign of chocolate makers in Kobe, but has captured the imagination of the Japanese populace such that it is widely practiced today.
Those chocolate makers must have been laughing to the bank, having created nation wide, recurring demand out of thin air.
Brilliant!
Sometimes the girl reciprocates.
In Japan, it is the girl who buys for the guys.
I know – because I received plenty on Valentine’s Day when I was in Japan.
The tradition in Japan is for girls to buy white chocolates (called giri-chocos – 義理チョコ) and give them to the guys.
This does not happen just between couples that are in a relationship.
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Tags:Finland, Finland 2013, Hakaniemi, Helsinki, holidays, Japan, NIKKOR, Nikon, photography, photos, potd, travel, vacation, Valentine's Day
Posted in Finland 2013, Holiday, NIKKOR, Nikon, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 29th, 2014
Have you ever wondered when is the best time to book the air ticket for your travels?
Skyscanner – a global travel search site – recently analysed three years of booking data and found that on average, you can snag the cheapest flight tickets if you purchase 26 weeks ahead of your travel date.
How far in advance are flight prices typically at their lowest? Check out the interactive inforgraphic at Skyscanner.
And do you know that the best time to book airtickets to Thailand is 8 weeks before your departure date?
“The earlier in advance you book, the better, especially for long haul destinations. It is also important to note that prices can really increase at the last minute, especially on budget airlines,” according to Kevin Foo, Skyscanner’s Head of Communications for APAC.
Skyscanner’s Best Time to Book analysis revealed that on average, the cheapest flight tickets from Singapore are available 26 weeks in advance of travel dates.
However, three years of booking data has also shown that price patterns can vary by type of airline and between short and long haul travel, and is very much destination dependent.
| Top 5 destinations by search analysis |
Average return flight price |
Best time to book (weeks before departure) |
| Indonesia |
SGD203 |
16 weeks |
| Thailand |
SGD247 |
8 weeks |
| Malaysia |
SGD155 |
9 weeks |
| Philippines |
SGD257 |
5 weeks |
| Australia |
SGD558 |
22 weeks |
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Tags:flights, infographic, promotions, Skyscanner, tickets, travel
Posted in Figures, Howtos, Infographic, infographics, Internet, Reference, Study, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 1st, 2014
I was just chatting with an Indian friend who works for an MNC yesterday and I remarked that New Year’s Day must be the most prolifically declared public holiday in the world – even more so than Christmas Day.
As we step into the first day of 2014, here’s wishing everyone a great year ahead! Taken with a Nikon D600 with 24-120mm lens, at Suomenlinna, Finland.
He agreed but duly informed me that in India, it was not a public holiday since the country observes the New Year at different times of the year, depending on the local calendar.
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Tags:greetings, New Year
Posted in Events, Finland 2013, Holiday, NIKKOR, Nikon, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 25th, 2013
Merry Christmas to all who celebrates X’mas!
Santa had a chat with Justin on his lap when we visited his “hometown” in Rovaniemi over Summer. He gave Justin this little toy at the end of the chat and it’s become one of Justin’s most prized possessions.
This is a little toy car that Santa gave to Justin when we visited Santa in Rovaniemi, Finland during Summer.
Now it’s the children’s most cherished ornament on our little Christmas tree at home.
Tags:Christmas, greetings, Xmas
Posted in Events, Finland 2013, Holiday, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD | No Comments »
