Our picture of the day takes us to the Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen, where the Staubbach Falls shimmers in the distance beyond a quiet alpine valley. This is the landscape a young traveler, J.R.R. Tolkien, crossed during a hiking trip in 1911, long before he became the storyteller behind "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit." Its soaring cliffs, silver waterfalls, and crisp mountain air left a lasting impression and are believed to have inspired his vision of Rivendell, the elven refuge hidden deep in Middle-earth.
J.R.R. Tolkien Day
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Plate ice along Lake Superior, Grand Marais, Minnesota
-
Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
-
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
-
A courtyard scene from Spain
-
Happy Panda Day!
-
Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
-
50 years of World Heritage Sites
-
World Penguin Day
-
Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
-
Wildlife crossing, Wierden, Netherlands
-
A keel-billed toucan in Costa Rica
-
Glowworm caves in Australia
-
International Womens Day
-
The smoke before the bonfire
-
National Hispanic Heritage Month
-
Happy World Whale Day!
-
Yarn bombing in the village of Gurnard, England
-
Grab onto the handlebars, kid
-
Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe
-
Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
-
World Honey Bee Day
-
Antarctica Day
-
Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
-
Puma in Patagonia
-
Go Fly a Kite Day
-
Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
-
International Day for Biosphere Reserves
-
World Otter Day
-
Did they forget to fly south?
-
Handmade gnomes at a Christmas market
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

