What was first tried out at Chambord Castle in 1952 has since become very popular not only in other regions of France but also worldwide: the illumination of historical monuments utilizing special lighting effects and often combined with background music or storytelling. The sound and light show at the pyramids of Giza, for example, is very well known.

Extraordinary illuminations can be seen at various locations in Lorraine. Different cities use the most modern media technology to offer a spectacle to guests and locals alike, but also to draw attention to buildings and the exciting history of the region in an entertaining and sophisticated way. In summer, for example, there is video mapping at Metz Cathedral, a sound and light show at Toul Cathedral or the illumination at Lunéville Castle.

Hotel de Ville during the illumination, rm, kasaan media, 2019

But one of the most impressive is undoubted "Son et Lumière" on Place Stanislas in Nancy.

Duke Stanislas, former King of Poland, lived in France as Duke of Lorraine between 1733 and 1766. Through his building activities and ideas, he had a decisive influence on the present appearance of Nancy. The Place Stanislas, which was built according to his plans, is an architectural gem due to its uniform baroque architecture and is rightly considered one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. This square, which has also been included in the Unesco World Heritage List or, to put it correctly, the buildings around the square have been providing the canvas for spectacular illumination since 2007. Once only thrown onto the façade of the Town Hall, the show now comprises a total of five buildings, including the Opera House, the Grand Hotel and the Museum of Art.

Nancy Opera on the Place Stanislas, rm, kasaan media, 2019 

Between 15 June and 15 September 2019, anyone can experience the 20-minute event, which is free of charge to viewers, on the square at 10.45 p.m. in the evening, or 10.00 p.m. since 16 August. A warm summer evening with a good meal in one of the many street restaurants and then a spectacle of the extra class. The technology is realised via eight projectors and seven media servers. About eight kilometres of cable had to be laid for this. But an effort that is enjoying increasing popularity. In 2019, around 900,000 visitors were expected to come to Place Stanislas in the evening.  

Scenes from the history of Lorraine are presented in eleven individual sequences and reminded of prominent personalities from the region, including the famous astronomer Charles Messier, who came from Lorraine.   

A particular focus in 2019 will be on a homage to the opera of Nancy, which celebrates its 100th anniversary.

And as the crowning finale to the opera, the Queen of the Night.

Year after year, some of the sequences are exchanged so that a visit is always worthwhile.

Lorraine and the city of Nancy are worth a visit - especially in summer.

Son et Lumière, kasaan media, 2019

Nîmes is undoubtedly the pearl of southern France, located in the region of Occitania. Nîmes incredible history is still evident today in the urban development and lifestyle of the more than 2000-year-old metropolis.

Street café near the station, kasaan media, 2019

Nîmes was once a Roman settlement with today the only amphitheatre in the world still preserved in its original form.

Nîmes railway station, kasaan media, 2019

Nîmes is a city of extraordinary beauty, with Napoleonic and neoclassical buildings lining its streets. Here, too, the last few years have seen high levels of social dislocation, which began with the wave of refugees from Africa.

Amphitheatre forecourt, kasaan media, 2019

But Nîmes is also the starting point for fans of French bullfighting. Like a shining jewel, the former Roman arena in the centre of the city stands out almost majestically from all the other buildings.

Front yard, kasaan media, 2019

A visit to this 2000-year-old building is a must to do. At present, it is being restored. At the cash desk, you can get a recorder, which informs you about the eventful history of this monument. The view in the arena is breathtaking. One feels deeply connected with history. It is the breath of the journey through time. The Roman arena has lost nothing of its charm. Museums of Roman history complete the picture.

Street in Nîmes, kasaan media, 2019

Countless cafés and restaurants offer visitors the cuisine of Southern France. Here you can feast to your heart's content, enjoy a bottle of red wine and let your soul dangle.

Prefecture in Nîmes, kasaan media, 2019

Nîmes is on the edge of the Camargue, which stretches from there like a headland to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. One can observe wild horses and flamingos in the Étang. Nîmes is exciting, captivating for the visitor because it is here that antiquity meets modernity and has developed a flair that cannot be found anywhere else in France or the South.

Prefecture in Nîmes, kasaan media, 2019

Promenades are the order of the day on the wide boulevards and desired, the history of the houses is told on numerous buildings - like here at the residence of a famous writer.

Side Boulevard Victor Hugo, kasaan media, 2019

Nîmes is léger and always offers a surprise. In the heart of the city, there is a park that blends in with the otherwise modern city centre. Hotels are a dime a dozen in Nîmes.

Bullfighting Monument, Boulevard Victor Hugo, kasaan media, 2019

But we recommend the Hotel Campanile in Mas-Carbonnel. The rooms are simple but practical. We recommend the hotel for the friendliness of the staff and the restaurant. There is a daily changing buffet for small money and main courses that are very tasty. With a glass of wine from Languedoc-Roussillon and the "savoir-vivre" is perfect.

La Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Castor, kasaan media, 2019

Amphitheater, kasaan media, 2019

At the Amphitheater, kasaan media, 2019

Amphitheater, kasaan media, 2019

Amphitheater Nîmes, kasaan media, 2019

A remarkable view of the British metropolis

Visiting London on sunny days offers many advantages. You should have enough energy to explore the city on foot.
Here are some impressions:

The Imperial War Museum is one of the most impressive places of the former Empire about the senselessness of war. The house is gloomy and has collected many exhibits from the wars.

The Holocaust exhibition is depressingly real.

The classic among the visitor magnets is the Tower Bridge.

The HMS Belfast is one of the last light cruisers still preserved from World War II. It is now part of the Imperial War Museum collection.

Crime subculture organized in the bunker

A press conference was held yesterday as part of the charges brought by the General Prosecutor's Office in Koblenz against the operators and managers of the bunker in Traben-Trarbach. The shelter had been taken up last September. In the process, 403 servers, 57 mobile phones, 412 individual hard disks, 61 computers or laptops, 65 USB storage media, 16 SD cards and various CDs and floppy disks with a total data stock of more than two petabytes (over 2 million gigabytes) were seized. The operation was carried out by GSG 9 (Special unit) and mobile task forces, as well as hundreds of police officers.

Documents available to the editors speak their own language. Profit at any price and the ruthless pursuit of those who wanted to dry up the "bulletproof host" system. Besides, the collaboration with other groups of perpetrators who were not mentioned in the context of the current indictment, such as the operators of the so-called "southern cocaine route", as well as the many small "water carriers" of the "Bulletproof-Host" system, who nested in the slipstream of the bunker on the Moselle, which was procured by a Dutchman in 2013.

It has to be said that some of the servers could not be evaluated so far because the data is encrypted. 

Now, eight accused persons have been charged by the Landeszentralstelle Cybercrime (LZC) of the General Prosecutor's Office in Koblenz at the Regional Court in Trier, including the Juvenile Criminal Court, as some of the accused still fall under juvenile criminal law.  For reasons of procedural economy, only a few offences were charged. 

Pseudo E-Bay for darknet cave newts

The explanations were very detailed for the fact that the judiciary in Koblenz is entering uncharted legal territory by accusing the accused in the sense of a criminal association, and by mutually attributing the acts to the participants, which made it possible for the perpetrators to commit the acts at all. Drug trafficking, counterfeit money deals, data theft, child porn, computer sabotage, murder orders, bodily injury, cyber-attacks, extortion and money laundering were the business model of the heroes of the digital underground.

Everything was contained in the "colourful bouquet of products" of the men from the bunker.

Like cave newts, they formed the interface to all darkness dealers of the internet. The aggressive advertising caught not only the eye of the knowledgeable observer but also the "Trojanisation" of legal products on the internet, which were then also traded in the legal part of the internet, partly via mailboxes, by affiliated dealers. However, entire shops were also hosted, which, like "Cannabis Road", only existed for a few months and then disappeared from the market, as is usual in the industry. But the cut was made. One example was the Darknet marketplace "Wall Street Market", an invariably profitable market where drugs were traded in the kg range. Other business areas were not limited to drug trafficking from China, but also included fraudulent Bitcoin lotteries, Darknet marketplaces for weapons, counterfeit money, murder orders and child pornography, and identity theft.  This operation was carried out via, according to the LKA and the public prosecutor's office, 6,581(!) Darknet websites. Own distribution rings, organized through the "Bulletproof Host", were directed out of the bunker.  Serious assault on order and an interface to scammers, such as drug and medicine dealers of self-sufficient dealers, were also coordinated from here. 

Not to mention the countless people-smugglers and money launderers, blackmailers. Everything illegal was allowed. The bunker was run according to the latest management and market profitability criteria. Investigators still erroneously assume that "only" drug markets were formed in the darknet or botnets in the digital underground. To reach further groups of buyers, the operators, mainly from the Netherlands, decided early on to enter the Clearnet. Parts of the Clearnet of the network should still exist. 

Data was also collected here against possible opponents of the "bulletproof host" and affiliated shops, for which orders were then placed to silence the people concerned.

Since 2016 there were various hints on the bunker, but they were not seen in context.