Category Archives: Around Europe with a camera

#PhotoFlashback: The Roman Theatre at Gubbio, Umbria

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Gubbio was one of the visits on my recent vacation this September, in Umbria, Italy. It was  recommended by Rebecca, the kind provider of our prize in the 2011 Passports with purpose competition. When I asked for typical Umbrian towns and villages to visit for a short hike, this was one of her selections. Then she said there was a gondola type lift where you stood inside a cage to take you up the mountain, I just had to go there!

We did end up hiking to the Basilica of St. Ubaldo on skyline in this photo. One of my friends even came down using the lift. For a number of reasons, that I will not bore you with, we hiked down again. Then spent the best part of the day exploring the town before heading to the old Roman Theatre where I took this HDR photo with a Panasonic TZ6 set to autobracket at -1, 0, +1 and then processed in Photomatix Essentials.

Plaes to stay:
Our prize in the Passports with purpose competition was a week’s stay at Brigolante Guest Apartments which was a couple of hours drive through some breathtaking countryside.

Getting there:
The nearest train station is Fossato di Vico at about 20 km away. A bus service connects Gubbio to the station. There is also a bus from Perugia to Gubbio. Nearest airport is Perugia.

#PhotoFlashback photo: Portree harbour, Isle of Skye, Scotland

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The harbour at Portree on Scotland’s Isle of Skye.
Portree, Isle of Skye,The Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye is an awe-inspiring landscape of rocks breaking out of verdant hills. If you are looking for a touring base for the area, then Portree is a good choice. The capital of Skye it has an ample supply of hotels, restaurants and shops.

Misty Mountain Hop

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A companion post to Sunrise from a Welsh Castle on the VisitBritain SuperBlog. Look it up for more photos of misty valleys at sunrise.
Llangollen drowned in a sea of mist
The sun sinking in a blaze of red skies is the first clue. The second is hints of frost on the windows the next day. This is the cue to get climbing above the Vale of Llangollen, for a sight that has to be witnessed to be appreciated. The previous day’s sun has warmed the valley and pulled some moisture from the River Dee into the air. As it cooled overnight the this air became thick with mist filling the U shaped valley formed by a glacier in the last Ice Age.
Climb up high above the valley and the river of mist lit by the orange rays of the rising sun and just marvel at nature and the science of mist formation.

Before I sink like a Led Zeppelin. Here is the Misty Mountain Hop.

Getting ready to hop

Brusselicious art

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Belgium cuisine has an excellent reputation. My own view is that it offers the quality of French cooking, without the stingy ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’ portions. In 2012, Brussels is celebrating its food with a series of events falling under the ‘Brusselicious’ umbrella.

Brusselicious art,

Dining events included a meal in the sky which saw diners hoisted on an aerial platform to enjoy food prepared by Michelin Starred Chefs, with unrivalled views over the Belgian Capital. Many other tasty experiences still await gastronomes, the Tram Experience being one that caught my eye. A tram has been fitted out as a mobile restaurant to allow diners to sample delicious Belgian foods as they trundle between place Poelart and the tram museum and back, and enjoying the views as much as the food.

Brusselicious art
This post is about the accompanying art work that go with the Brusselicious. The five metre high sculptures come in five varieties: Brussels Sprout, Chocolate, Beer, mussels. and  fries (frites). The idea is similar to the Cow Parades staged in other cities (in fact Brussels was host to a Cow Parade in 2003.

Local artists were asked to make a statement about Belgium using one of the five foods. The pieces were originally displayed at locations all around Brussels. Before realising that they were to be relocated to Parc Royale at the start of July, I went out on Villo! bikes to discover them all.Brusselicious art

At least one makes an environmental statement, another was inspired by a Jacques Brel song, and  another was influenced by Magritte. My favourite though is the cone of fries by Oli-B. I first saw one of his poster art pieces in my street in Brussels. Now he is mainstream as evidenced by his appearance in the Brusselicious art as well as making the cover of the August edition of ‘Agenda’.
Anyone wishing to visit the sculptures can find them all in Brussels Park Royale until 23 October 2012.

Cesky Raj rural and industrial use by

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The Cesky Raj, North of Prague has some exceptional rock formations. Covered in “Cesky Raj a bohemian paradise”. This photo essay covers some of the other attractions of the region.

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More of the sandstone that forms such picturesque structures.

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Traditional house and more of those sandsyone cliffs.

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Trosky Castle, symbol of the Cesky Raj

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Ski resort at Josefuv Dul a former industrial valley

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Old Textile factory

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Old Textile factory

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Czech trains

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Soviet era sign on collective farm

The river from Europe’s cleanest lake gets cleaned

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Annecy was built on the banks of the  River Thiou, where the water flows out of Lake Annecy. It has been canalised for centuries now and surrounds the Palais de l’Isle, an old prison dating from the 12th century. It has become a symbol of Annecy and one of the most photographed sites in France. The lake is very clean, as it is supplied with plentiful clean water from a spring, which accounts for 30% of the fresh water, plus of course all of the melt water from the winter snow. In summer, the lake temperature gets up to 24 degrees Celsius and the lake has many beaches, where swimmers can enjoy the lake. I was there in the spring and the lake many of the sightseeing cruises had restarted.

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Fishing in Lake Annecy

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Landing stage at Lake Annecy

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Palais de l’Isle, cleaning the canal on left

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Cleaning the canal

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They even wash down after the Weekly Market

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There are many beautiful shops and cafés on the banks of the river

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Annecy Chateau

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Eglise St Maurice

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Town Hall, with 2018 Winter Olympic bid posters

I have visited Annecy twice this year (2010), once as my direct train to Chamonix was cancelled due to strike action and I had a two hour wait there. The second time as I wanted a return visit. That must say something about the power of attraction the town has.

 

 

Czech observations through a car windscreen (Not closely observed trains.)

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While driving the car along Czech roads, the discoveries came thick and fast.

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Nearly all small roads were lined with orchard trees. The varieties were mainly apple and cherry trees.

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Lots of places had their resident storks.

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Solar power farms were being set up on former industrial sites.

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Of course there were a few wind farms, but I don’t think they get a lot of wind.

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Outside of the cities, villages and towns all had Public Address Systems on telegraph poles. We went through one village as it was broadcasting. Can someone tell me what they are used for?

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The farms grew a wide variety of crops. Who knows what these thistle type plants are?

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The Czech Republic has an extensive rail network. The trains may not be that new though.

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It is not unusual to find deer grazing alongside the road.

Imagination and hotel descriptions

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Czech Trip, July 2010

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Penzion Zámecké Schody

The week before we departed for the Czech Republic, we visited the Czech Tourist Board, which is about 150m or so from our apartment in Brussels. We were after a booklet on walks in the Czech Republic, a copy of which I had picked up from a stall at the Brussels Czech Street Party in June. Joelle said she had already picked one up, so I returned my copy to the stand to save wastage. In fact she did not have a copy of the guide.

We failed in our attempt to locate the walking guide, but had a friendly discussion with the Czech Tourism employee on duty. We told him our first destination would be Cesky Krumlov, where we would meet up with friends coming from Vienna. He then enthused about a Pension that he had personally stayed at. It was located just below the castle, had a view over the rooftops of Cesky Krumlov, was reasonably priced and included breakfast in your room at no extra cost. We imagined sitting in our room with the castle floodlights casting an eerie glow in the room while taking in a vista of Cesky Krumlov’s rooftops and church spires. When we showed interest he telephoned and booked two rooms one for us and one for our friends.

We found the Pension (the Castle Steps in English) easily and checked in. It turned out that what were were told was indeed true. But it was not the picture we had formed in our minds from the information given to us. We ended up with a room smaller than a Formule 1, but it did have an en suite bathroom with power/massage shower. The view over the rooftops was just that, a view of rooftops. No recognisable Cesky Krumlov landmark visible. The breakfast in our rooms option was the only one available as there was no restaurant. The ground floor is a souvenir shop. We did however enjoy our stay and all ate breakfast in our friends’ family room which was much larger than ours. The price was about £38 for a double room including breakfast which compares to most super budget hotels. On the plus side it was located very centrally in Cesky Krumlov. If we had not been meeting up with friends we would have had their room for the same price. It also had an arrangement with a private car park for with parking £5.50 for 24 hours.

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View from outside Pension

Bierhütte – a good name for a German village?

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Czech Republic Trip, July 2010

On our way to Cesky Krumlov in the  Czech Republic, I came across this village in Bavaria perched on a hill. If you zoom in you can see that some houses have their roofs covered with solar panels. This is encouraged by genorous payments by the Bavarian Government for renewable electricity going into the grid. I think they look better than the big solar energy farms in the Czech Republic. What do you think?

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Czech Republic

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Today I am in Liberec in the Czech Republic. Been here a week already but we have been busy walking, taking photos, sampling Czech food and generally having a great vacation. Here are a couple of photos from the fist 2 days of the trip. Day 1: Czesky Krumlov, UNESCO World Heritage Listed Site in South Bohemia.

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Secondly, Holasovice, another UNESCO World Heritage Listed Site. This time listed for its farm houses that were influenced by the architecture in Prague and other cities.

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It is the first time I have driven in the Czech Republic and at first found navigating to be very difficult. It takes a little time to get used to how direction signs are erected. They seem to point in the wrong direction. Then we would go and make long trips out of our way because we misread them. However, I now find the signage to be very informative.Friends of ours who we met up with in Czesky Krumlov also struggled with navigation.