Kaukomieli

Below the surface a large chunk of ice broke off Perito Moreno glacier in southern Argentina.

The hills of the Tuscany (known as Toskana to the locals) have inspired artists for centuries. Warm colours, smooth contours dotted by hamlets and farmsteads.

Interior view of the Cathedral in Wetzlar (de).

The cathedral was built of several centuries and has several predecessors, the earliest built probably around the year 900. Work on the cathedral started in the year 1230 and continued with interruptions for plagues, wars and a financial crisis until around 1500.
The cathedral looks like someone tried to incorporate every architectural style that was en vogue during all construction stages. Each side shows a totally different image, from unadorned and frugal to ornate and ostentatious.

Still and calm lies lake Öskjuvatn (de) in Askja (de) Caldera. Being 220m deep it was formed only recently, 1875, in a large eruption. In the following 32 years it slowly filled with water, until it reached todays levels.

Öskjuvatn is cold, but on the shores close to Viti (de) you can dig your feet into the ground and sense some fleeting warmth. Viti with its warm, milky blue water is a popular tourist attraction.

The caldera is often visited by scientists measuring the rise and fall of the ground as magma flows in and out of the magma chamber underneath.
Other measurements include micro gravity measurements (example) to calculating the mass of moving magma based on changes in gravity. Metering devices are calibrated in the kitchen at Herdubreid (de) hut where a small pin shows the point where gravity is “normal”.
Updates April 2012: The Iceland Volcano and Earthquake blog reports that Öskjuvatn was ice free during winter, even though Myvatn (de) was frozen over. This might signal changes in geothermal activity. (more Updates: 1 and 2)
Island Blog reports likewise.

Once the chunks of ice produced by the calving of Breiðamerkurjökull are small enough to float towards the sea, the surf washes them up on the beach.

They decay slowly on the black sand, producing unique shapes that only last for a couple of minutes.

The moon crests a hill in Davos (Switzerland) (de).

Yachts moored in the harbour of Antibes (de) at the Côte d’Azur (de) in winter. The port was the old center of the greek city of Antipolis and has room for over 2000 boats, yachts and even ships with a length of more then 100m and the height of a 5 story building.
According to locals the waiting-time for a mooring is over 10 years and people are reluctant to let go, even when that means living on their boat instead of a flat.

Even in late December temperatures reach 15+ degrees Celsius. The wind might be cold sometimes, but the sun has enough power that people can take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea (photographers note: not advisable when you already have a light cold…).

Ducks in the evening sun – somewhere in the hinterland of the Cote d’Azure, close to Mougins.