We continue to travel around the world using banknotes in our pocket. Today we are in Russia, Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, where you can find well-known Solovetsky Monastery and Solovki prison camp.
On the 500 rubles bill and far away in the background of the photo - Solovetsky Monastery, the greatest citadel of Christianity in the Russian North before being turned into a special Soviet prison and labor camp (1926–1939), which served as a prototype for the GULAG system. Situated on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, the monastery braved many changes of fortune and military sieges. Its most important structures date from the 16th century when by the end of the 16th century, the abbey had emerged as one of the wealthiest landowners and most influential religious centres in Russia.
Have you ever wanted to put a message in a bottle and wait to hear back about how far it traveled? If so, then you may become an addict of WheresGeorge.com. The website is set up for users to take any US bill and register it online. Then, it is marked with a WheresGeorge.com red stamp, and the next person who finds it next is free to look up where it has been. The fun part is that it tracks how many miles it traveled, and how long it took to get there. People from almost every country in the world have ended up with the marked bills and logged onto the website.
Considering that such a small percentage of US bills are marked with WheresGeorge.com, I was lucky enough to have received one in both New York and California. Most likely this is due to the extremely dedicated Super Trackers—people who have become obsessed with logging and stamping all currency they can get their hands on. In the video, one man even admits he has registered 330,000 bills! The website now hosts friendly gatherings for these tracking stars.
For all of you Canadians out there, the original founder also started WheresWilly.com. Happy currency tracking!
I love to explore new places (countries, cities), and now from Belorussian forest full of warfare gorillas, let’s continue our travel using paper money as guide. Today we will visit some historical and political symbols of United States:
When most people go to a landmark or tourist attraction, they take home a little souvenir to remind them of their trip. Then there's Michael Hughes. He loves to take pictures of the world's famous landmarks - perfectly blended with cheap souvenirs.
Born in Britain and now living in Germany, 56-year-old Michael Hughes is a freelance photographer. Hughes started this hobby back in 1998 and has accumulated a rich collection of over 100 fun images using this blending technique in 200 countries he visited.
"I noticed coffee cups from a shop near the Statue of Liberty had the statue printed on it, so I poured my drink on the floor, and positioned it in front of the statue. Since then, taking the pictures has developed into a hobby and a passion to the point where I have been taking trips recently just to photograph a souvenir next to its landmark".
Michael, who travels extensively with his job, said the hobby has progressed into a 'sport with its own rules': He arrives at the destination, visits the nearest souvenir and buys the cheapest souvenir. Michael then takes up to 50 photographs with a wide angle lens on a digital camera until he has the ornament positioned in exact proportion to the landmark.