m̌ ḫ's photos

Did you know that the world’s largest shark ever, the Megalodon, once lived in Denmark? This gigantic prehistoric shark could grow over 20 metres long, and its fossils have been found in the Gram Clay Pit in Southern Jutland.

Stepping into Den Blå Planet feels like being slowly drawn into an underwater world rather than just visiting an exhibit. You move through dim corridors where the main light source is the aquariums themselves, so your eyes adjust to glowing blues and shifting reflections, and the outside world drops away.

Boys in India claim whatever space they can find as a cricket ground, just as boys in Europe turn any patch of concrete or grass into a football pitch. A narrow lane between houses, a side street with parked scooters, or a dusty open corner near apartments becomes enough as long as there is room to bowl and swing a bat. The pitch is simply the flattest strip of ground available, and the boundaries are imaginary lines drawn between a doorway, a tree, and a parked car. Everything is improvised and slightly bent to fit the surroundings. The ball is usually a tennis or rubber ball so that windows and passing people are a little safer, and stumps are whatever stands upright: a backpack, a crate, or three chalk lines on a wall. Rules shift from place to place: one particular balcony might be “out,” a six hit onto a neighbour’s roof might end the innings, and a one‑bounce catch might still count, because nobody wants to lose the ball or break anything. The tight space forces the boys to keep their shots low, find gaps between obstacles, and react quickly when the ball kicks off a stone or edge in the road. The rhythm around the game feels very similar to street football culture. As school or chores end, someone arrives with a bat, another brings a ball, and teams are picked quickly, usually with a bit of bargaining over who gets the best batter or fastest bowler. Play is filled with chatter: appeals, mock outrage, laughter, and endless arguments over close decisions that are settled by a mix of loudness and compromise. Younger kids start at the edges as fielders, gradually earn a turn to bat, and slowly become part of the core group. For the boys, these informal matches are more than a way to pass time; they are their daily tournament, a place to copy the stars they see on TV, test themselves against friends, and carve out a little piece of the city where they feel completely at home.

Just a short drive from Bratislava, the hills between the city and Stupava are covered by quiet Central European forest, mostly beech and oak with soft light filtering through the canopy. After rain, puddles on the path turn into small natural mirrors, reflecting tree crowns and sky and offering a calm, slightly surreal view of the Carpathian forest turned upside down.

This fallen trunk is not the end of the tree’s story but the start of a long, quiet phase in which it hosts mosses, lichens, beetles, fungi and small vertebrates. By holding water, releasing nutrients and adding physical structure to the forest floor, dead wood increases biodiversity and helps the forest become more resilient to disturbances such as storms, drought or pests.

Sitting at the end of The Mall, the Victoria Memorial is a massive, 82-foot marble monument dedicated to Queen Victoria. Completed in 1924, it is so white and layered that Londoners call it "The Wedding Cake." The statues act as symbols for the values of that time. At the center sits the Queen, surrounded by figures of Motherhood, Truth, and Justice. At the very top, a gold-leafed Winged Victory symbolizes success, supported by figures of Courage and Constancy. The lower section highlights Britain’s global reach. Carvings of mermaids and sea creatures represent the nation's naval power, while bronze lions symbolize Progress and Industry. It wasn't just a grave marker; it was built to show the world the strength and growth of the British Empire during her long reign.

Kensington Gardens is effectively a curated outdoor arboretum, with more than 3,000 trees ranging from towering London planes to veteran sweet chestnuts that have stood here for around two centuries. The grand avenues are dominated by London planes, lime and chestnut trees, whose tall canopies create that “cathedral” effect of green vaults overhead while also helping scrub pollution from the city air. Scattered among them are oaks, hornbeams, rowans and more exotic species such as tulip trees, mulberries and Indian bean trees, so that a short walk can take you past both native woodland species and trees originally imported from North America or Asia. Many older trees have deeply furrowed bark and hollowing trunks that now function as miniature high‑rise systems for bats, fungi, beetles and nesting birds like woodpeckers, treecreepers and even little owls, making this very formal royal landscape an important pocket of urban biodiversity.