From time to time users come back with questions about this site. Some of those questions have come up more than once and I like to post them on this page making the answers to them here:

» What browser shouly I use for this website?
With more than 10 years online this site has seen quite a lot of browser recommendations. Of course the number one choice in the early days was Netscape. By the time Internet Explorer 5.5 made it to the web, this changed; actually because of a lack of a serious competitor, the prefered choice became IE 5.5. By today, things seem to change again, and most of the new content is optimized for Mozilla Firefox, which I consider to be the best browser as of 2007/2008. Almost everything on this site should work well on most modern browsers, but some stuff like Google Maps integrated content is optimized for Firefox. With a huge range of browsers available these days, I simply cannot run tests on all of them and optimize for all browsers.  Sorry if some pages do not work for you.

» Which screen resolution should I use?
This website has been designed to be viewable on screens with resolutions as low as 640x480 which even allows for modern PDAs to display many pages in full screen. Some pages however, require higher resolutions, e.g. the photo gallery sections (1024x768 and 1280x1024), the panorama sections (1280x1024) and some advanced stuff like the panoramas for 1920x1200 screens. 24" TFT screens have dropped as low as 400 Euros as of early 2008, getting resolutions of 1920x1200 pixels within reach at a reasonable price. Furthermore, TV screens are dropping quickly in terms of prices and e.g. 37 inch screens with a resolution of 1920x1080 are available for less than 1000 Euros now as well. The trend is higher resolutions combined with bigger screens and technological obstacles reaching them have recently been overcome.

» What type of internet connection do I need?
Most text based pages do not require any specific kind of fast internet connection. However, if you want to enjoy e.g. the panorama sections, with Quicktime files of up to 15 Mb it is highly recommended to have an ADSL or cable modem connection. If you use a cellphone operator's network, speeds of 768kbit or more are highly recommended. General performance and viewing experience may improve with faster internet connections.

» What about printing a page?
Since the 2006 overhaul and re-design of this website, almost all pages have been tested to be printable on a DIN A4 standard sheet, without any adjustments to your printer, with only a few exceptions, namely the panoramas, some maps, some galleries and some specials. Nevertheless, depending on the orientation of a page and the capabilities of your browsers, you may still succeed printing all pages, particulary if your printer driver allows you to adjust the orientation of the page and fitting content to it. A special CSS file is active for printing with the latest browsers.

» I cannot see the panoramas properly.
All panoramas on this page are based on Apple™ Quicktime because it is probably the most reliable tool to show panoramic images. Taking into account today's malware, viruses and harmful code on webpages, modern browsers often block Active-X components, which also adversly affects a lot of clean code and components. You might get a warning from your browser that this website is trying to execute an Active-X component; you will have to allow this in order to be able to watch the panoramas. Possibly, your browser's security settings are set to block any kind of Active-X which results in not being able to see any panoramas either. Please make sure, that Quicktime is installed properly. Then make sure your browser settings allow for Active-X components. If you still cannot enjoy the panoramas, reboot your PC or send in an e-mail with all details necessary to resolve the problem. Maybe I can help out.

» May I use content, photos, etc. from this site?
The entire content of this website is copyright protected. So no copies of the website, neither in full nor in parts are permitted. If you are interested in using any of the content of this website, you must obtain written permission to do so. You may send in an email asking for authorization. Please note that permission for commercial use will not be granted at all. If it is for educational purposes, you stand a good chance to receive authorization for a specific purpose; however, please consult before using any material or content of this site.

» I like to place a link to this website. May I?
Of course you can link to this website, as long as it opens in a full browser window. Links which will open this website or any section of it in a frame, in an inline frame or in any other way as part of another website are not permitted. 

» Why is this website offline towards the end of some months?
There is a certain amount of traffic each month that can be handled. If traffic passes that limit, the site might go offline and remain offline till the end of the month. Please bear in mind, that this page generates little income from the ads you see and that money has to make up for all hosting related costs. I kindly like to ask you for your understanding for not being able to have a proper unlimited traffic hosting solution right now.

» Can I contribute to this website?  Yes, you can, and you are very welcome to do so. First of all, critics are welcome to make their comments and find mistakes on the site. If you have pictures or any other content you like to contribute to this site, feel free to send them in and describe how and where you would like them to appear on the site. I will then evaluate whether the content fits well into the page and if so, add it where necessary.

» I spotted myself on a photo on this website and I would like it to be removed?!
There are a few photos on this website, where people are shown who could not be asked for permission of publication, as they were at a public location. In principle taking photos at public locations is very common and there are millions of website where you find that sort of photos. All those photos have carefully been checked and no person shown seems to appear in an unfavourable way. However, if you spot yourself on any photo on this website and you would like the photo to be removed, you may send in an e-mail with a request for removal

» Who is in charge of this website?
The person responsible is Mr Andreas Prange. For further details please check here .