Ruby Tuesday - Germany Pavilion at Shanghai Expo

The Germany Pavilion was one of the few pavilions that my hubby managed to visit at the Shanghai Expo. Having heard positive reviews from friends, he was keen on visiting the interactive exhibits at the pavilion. My hubby took tons of shots and I thought I would share some pictures of the modern, creative and innovative face of Germany.

Here are some artistic renditions of the pavilion.


An underwater escalator takes visitors to the Harbour



The theme of the pavilion, is Balancity and it features a thrilling interplay of various urban spaces of buildings and nature and how the country's design and products can help overcome urbanization problems.



For those who have not visited Germany, the Pavilion will be a great eye opener to visitors as it features some of the magnificent landmarks of the city. Moving past these presentations, you can make your way into the city. There are backdrops showcasing almost life-sized images of some of the landscapes.




The pavilion also showcases a variety of contemporary art collections and cultural scene.



Other German innovations include the energy source, the city's power plant which is the main highlight of the exhibition. Interestingly, visitors can cause a ton of sphere to swing by shouting together, a symbol that people can get things moving by working together.

PhotoHunt - Free

This week's photohunt theme is free and it's open to multiple interpretations. I decided to go with the 'free' choice of subject where I could share whatever pictures I like from my photo archives.

For years it had been our dreams to visit the Red Square and we finally made it to Moscow not too long ago. One of the distinctive landmarks that amazes me is the colourful domes of St Basil's Cathedral. It looks fabulous in postcards and on TV but it's even more impressive up close.


The church’s design consists of nine small chapels and each chapel is topped with a unique onion dome featuring swirls, stripes pattern and lovely intricate texture.


While the exterior of the cathedral is breathtaking, the interior is equally impressive. Inside, you'll find narrow corridors, oil paint murals, fascinating artwork and galleries displaying holy relics. Some of the museum exhibits were closed when I was there, but you can still view them behind the velvet rope lines.

Below are some shots of the interior of the cathedral for your viewing pleasure:

WW - Going for a walk in the snow

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Ruby Tuesday - From Russia with Love: Red Square

One of the most remarkable sights in Moscow is of course, none other than Red Square. The word 'red' doesn't refer to the red walls of Kremlin or anything related to Communism but from the Russian word for "red", which literally means "beautiful". True to its name, it's one of the most beautiful squares in Europe I've ever seen.

We spent the last few days of our trip wandering around its corners and with its dazzling array of iconic buildings and the colourful domes of St Basil's Cathedral, they are definitely a sight to behold. It is far more impressive than any great Italian piazzas I've visited.

It was bitterly cold and snowy start to spring on the first day we arrived but we were pleasantly surprised by the radiant sunshine and gorgeous blue skies that greeted us on the next day.



Resurrection Gate is a beautiful entrance that leads you into Red Square. It was demolished in 1931 during the height of Communism to make room for massive parades and later rebuilt in 1994-6.



The world famous, iconic, St Basil’s cathedral stands in the center, the tower on the right is Spasskaya Tower of Kremlin and further to the left is GUM, a large department store which dominates the eastern side of the square. As can be seen, part of the square was empty in preparation for a military parade.



We were fortunate enough to witness the impressive military parade, with Lenin's Tomb and The Nikolskaya Tower in the background. It is not often you get a chance to see such an event in the flesh so it's fascinating to be right there in person.



At the north end of the square is the State Historical Museum, the largest historic museum of Russia. The museum boasts an impressive collection of archeological findings and priceless artworks.



Whilst taking a stroll around the square, you won't miss the impressive Kazan Cathedral. This beautiful structure was built together with the Kremlin but it was demolished during the Communist period and later rebuilt in the 90's.

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PhotoHunt - Open

The shots below were taken during our trip to Athens in March this year.


Panathinaiko Stadium is the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The sports arena is a large open air stadium and it is the only stadium in the world completely built of white marble.



I love the wide open space of the stadium, the vast expanse of the sky and the iconic Olympic rings in the distance. Unfortunately the main entry gate is not open, so we only managed to take some pictures from the entrance.

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