Switzerland!

Of all fourteen countries in Europe we visited, Switzerland is absolutely the most beautiful, the purest and best organized place to be.  Especially in summertime, high up in the mountains,  you can find countless species of butterflies and alpine flowers while climbing on the well-marked  trails. You find yourself walking in a postcard scenery, breathing fresh air and after a few hours there’s always a nice restaurant for the odd coffee with “Apfelstrudel mit Vanillesoβe”. No wonder we keep coming back every few years to this little paradise on earth.

From San Francisco to Crater Lake

Having a son living in San Francisco gives a beautiful opportunity for a nice trip. Our aim was Crater Lake, Oregon.  As soon as you have left Sacramento behind, you find yourself in an area with wild refuges and a little further up north with lots of lakes which attract all sorts of (water)birds. We’ve seen black-necked stilts, green herons, western grebes (photo), white pelicans, nutcrackers,  steller’s jay (photo), red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, white-faced ibises  and last but not least the bald eagle. To make this paradise picture complete, the cute mule deer appeared among the flowers every now and again.

Crater lake, immense and impressive because of its size, was an adventure in itself, especially since we wanted to climb down to take a tasty mouthful of the cristal clear water of the lake…

San Francisco itself remains an interesting, hilly and sometimes foggy city. It has perspectives from many crossroads  all the way to the seaside, great bridges, spacious parks, old buildings and a colorful population.

Again, never a dull moment in America!

Rhodos in spring

Being fond of moderate temperatures, young life, rough nature, spring flowers and last but not least a Burgundian way of life, Rhodos doestn’t disappoint.

There are many (not simple ;-) hiking possibilities and in every village you’ll find friendly people (riding on all sorts of motorcycles), fresh orange juice and a grilled octopus. Architecture  is an interesting mixture of neatly painted homes and neglected uninhabited buildings, which can be attractively beautiful in my experience.

If you pay close attention you’ll find (apart from all goats) butterflies, crickets, a single owl, crabs and agamas; you can see the last ones in my photos. 

Contact me through gmail if you’re interested in a canvas photopainting from my collection.

Enjoy!

Tenerifa

Even in times when you want to lighten up the long wintery period on a sunny island, you can find yourself in heavy weather.  We were glad that these rains, which generated beautiful pictures ;-), only lasted for a day or so. The rest of this holiday we enjoyed the impressive and clear largeness  of the Pico del Teide and the wonderful nature and shoreline. To our own surprise we found ourselves several times in the seaside swimming bath, designed by the great Canarian artist and architect César Manrique.  All in all, as you can see, a worthwhile winterbreak!