Life’s an ocean with too much commotion

Hi Koen,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released
second edition of our Schmap Spain Guide.

The Schmap Spain guide can be viewed here.

I took this picture on a lousy sunday afternoon, in a small village near Aalter, Poeke. This castle is named after the village it’s located in: The Castle of Poeke .
It’s a castle which had many owners during the centuries. It’s originally built in the 16th century, but it’s shape as you see it on the picture dates from 1660. It has three entries, two at each side of the castle and one below the bridge, which you can see at the right side of this picture.

It’s built in the Barok styl, with it’s pink colour and it’s many white big windows, it’s one of the most beautiful castles in Belgium I’ve seen, and only a 30 minutes ride from my door The surrounding water gives a nice reflection on the castle. I took several other pictures that include this reflecting element, but I still have to find some time processing them.

I finally managed to spend some time processing my holiday pictures.
Let’s go back to Juli, 2007

This particular picture has been taken in Plitvice, a site in Croatia. It’s classified as a world heritage site by Unesco. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. Crystal clear lakes, waterfalls, beautiful nature, it’s a place worth visiting.

Plitvice is also used as a filming location for some very well known movies, i.e. Winnetou.

I think people that never heard of Plitvice or similar scenes, wouldn’t think that these kind of places exist in Europe. They often think of far places with a more exotic climate for these kind of pictures. That’s why Croatia is one of my favorite places to go in Europe. You’re still able to visit some places where you aren’t overwhelmed by tourists (all tough Plitvice isn’t one of them, I admit).

It’s the second time I visited Croatia, this time we only traversed the various islands of Croatia (Krk, Crab, ..). We only entered the mainland to visit Plitvice.