Europe

Europe

Balkans

Cathedral Saint Alexandar Nevski in Sofia, Bulgaria

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Cruise ships pull into the Bay of Kotor and offload thousands of tourists into the small town.  Tourism is a mixed blessing as it brings outside money to the area, yet the cruise ships are unsightly, loud, pollute, and the added tourists create congestion and more waste in the town.  

​Small cathedral inside the fortress in Niš, Serbia

This Skull Tower originally had 954 skulls on it built after a battle in 1809 was constructed as a symbol of victory and a deterrent for potential attackers - Niš, Serbia

Public basketball court in Perast, Montenegro

Gas station toilet in Morin, Kukës, Albania

Toilet in gas station bathroom above - Albania

 Ulcinj, Montenegro

Amazing mountains in northern Montenegro

Near Budva, Montenegro

Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

Ruins from around the 6th century, eventually became part of the Byzantine Empire around the year 1000; Aquaduct that used to run water for about 3km - nearly two miles - Stari Grad, Bar, Montenegro

Family vineyard in the mountains of Montenegro

Baltics

Tallinn, Estonia - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - the domes are a symbol of power; and yes if you noticed it is the same exact name as the cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria.  

Beach in Svētciems, Latvia

Love locks on a pedestrian bridge in Riga, Latvia

Central Latvia

Coastal wildlife refuge - Parnu Bay in the Gulf of Riga, essentially the Baltic Sea

Cobble stone streets and old fixtures - Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Driving from Riga to Vilnius 

Much of the drive from Tallinn to Riga was lined with walls of stick straight trees. I went out hiking and the ground reminded me of the peat moss in Alaska - the flies were bad but at least there were no mosquitos

​Tallinn, Estonia - Gargoyle downspout. Interesting fact I learned when I was living in D.C. that the name gargoyle is from the sound water makes when it is going down and out of them - gargle, gargle, gargle

Street scene in Old Town Tallinn

​Outside of Old Town, Tallinn is very modern

Tallinn, Estonia - a woman walking outside a modernly designed shopping mall 

Riga, Latvia - Rooftop bars are very popular in the summer throughout the Baltics and Scandinavia

I had this obnoxiously purple beet soup throughout this region and it was amazing every time.

Belarus, small wooden foot bridges crossing the drainage ditch along a rural road.  My best guess is that people use them to gather wood from the forest to use for heating their homes.

Northern Europe & Scandinavia

Helsinki Cathedral.  Finland is quite different than Sweden and the language is more like Estonian.  The UN recently reclassified Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a region of Northern Europe, removing them from the region of Eastern Europe.

Stockholm, Sweden - cathedral in old town

Malmo, Sweden - the turning torso tower.

Nyhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark

Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral - ​Reykjavik, Iceland

Found a palm tree in Stockholm, Sweden

Basalt formations at Giant's Causeway - N. Ireland, these formed from volcanic fissure eruption and cracked in hexagonal shapes, there are roughly 40,000 of these columns here in Giant's Causeway.

Basalt formations along the southern coast of Iceland; like in Ireland, these were formed from lava cooling and cracking into these geometric shapes.  

Black sand beach, Iceland

Copenhagen, Denmark - during the warm months people gather at the water's edge whether or not there's a traditional beach.

Helsinki, Finland - people gather at a boat dock as they would a beach

Helsinki, Finland - people flock to this floating dock

Wheelchair ramp in Helsinki, Finland, while I never saw a wheelchair on it I did see people using the ramp bikes​

Vassa, Finland - Taking off at 2:01am - notice how light it is... Vassa is 63 degrees north so just south of the Arctic Circle 

Christiania (Freetown Christiania); in Copenhagen, Denmark is an international commune of around 850 to 1,000 residents. It used to be self-regulated by those squatting there; however, now Danish laws apply to Christiania.

Derry, N. Ireland - the site of the "Troubles" ... Bloody Sunday was here in 1972 and now there are murals on many of the buildings.

Dublin, Ireland - shades of Irish greens are everywhere - even in the cities.

Sea cliffs in Northern Ireland 

Sea cliffs in Iceland

Iceland has roughly 80,000 horses and with a total population of 300,000 people that's more than one horse to every four people.  

Northern Greenland over the Arctic Ocean.  Geographically Greenland is considered to be a part of North America; and is politically aligned to Denmark and identifies with a Northern European lifestyle.

near Snaefellsjokull, Iceland - the landscape is distinctive and boasts waterfalls around every turn.

A lot of parallels to popular fonts, packaging and colors to US companies.

London, U.K. - children are not a barrier to travel, in fact, I find it easier to travel with children than to stay at home with them.  I travel frequently with my young boys (oftentimes alone) and they help me to see the world from a different perspective.  I will continue to feed their young and curious minds with places around the world. 

Western Europe 

Annecy, France - while most people go to France to see Paris, I highly encourage visiting the smaller towns and villages to get a more thorough bath in French culture.  Here fresh flowers line the walkways throughout the entire town.

Colmar, France - this small French town is near the German border and the architecture resembles that of Germany more than French.  

McDonald's in Freiburg, Germany.  

Innsbruck, Austria - view over the train station with a green roof and in the distance is the old Olympic ski jump venue (1976)

Arguably one of the best ways to see Europe is by train.  The continent is so interconnected by railway and it is an easy and relaxing way to see the many countries of Europe.

Basel, Switzerland - Tuesday afternoon around 1:00pm along Rhine River: people drinking wine and beer in public; women breast-feeding in public; shorter work-days, more vacation days, free health care, mostly-free college education = this is essentially democratic socialism in a nut shell, oh and life-expectancy 82.7 (5th in the world), USA is 78.7 (34th in the world).

Lyon, France - similar vibe as in Switzerland on a Friday afternoon.  People gathering along the shore of the Sabine River (tributary of the Rhone) enjoying wine, beer, and various snacks such as bread, cheese and meats.  Life expectancy in France is 82.23.  ​The countries with the highest life expectancies, including France, Japan and Denmark, all provide free healthcare and free education.

Ghent, Belgium - the bike culture throughout Europe is very apparent

Amsterdam, The Netherlands. There are 12 Administrative Provinces in The Netherlands and two of them contain the name Holland (North and South Holland); Amsterdam is in Noord Holland.

Houses in rural France near the Swiss border - I took this shot for because of the cat in the upper window

Rapeseed fields near ​Liechtenstein

Public toilet in Amsterdam - would you use this?

Houseboat in Amsterdam - a lot of people live in boats on the canals; there are also a lot available as Airbnb rentals if you want a unique place to stay.

Red Light District in Amsterdam - prostitution is legal in The Netherlands but not on the streets. That's why prostitutes stand up behind a window and have their own room. The name of "Red Light District" comes from the red neon lights that highlight the 300 windows where women are working; it is a regulated industry and workers pay taxes.

Locarno, Switzerland.  This southern Swiss town sits adjacent to the border of Italy and while it was snowing this day there are plenty of palm trees dotting the lake.  

Lugano, Switzerland - a lot of trees are pruned back this way across Europe, I've even seen this done in South America - notably Colonia, Uruguay, which has a Portuguese influence.

Germany - Teenagers hanging out on top of a pedestrian bridge over a road and train tracks

Insect in Switzerland - the back looks like a tribal mask; invasive species?

Southern Europe 

Camogli, Italy - haven't heard of it, neither have most; it is on the other side of the peninsula from Portofino - equally as impressive and less expensive. 

Southern Italy - people take advantage of the beach daily.

Santorini, Greece - tourism is the largest industry, followed by agriculture (there are several wineries).  These popular Greek islands (Mykonos, Santorini and Crete) are starting to limit tourists due to supply and waste issues.

Lisbon, Portugal - equally as impressive as the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Genoa, Italy - statue of Christopher Columbus, while he often sailed from Portugal he was born in Genoa.

Genoa, Italy

Andalusia, Spain - wind turbines dot the coastline as an effective and efficient form of renewable energy for the region.

Seville, Spain - rooftop views full of cathedrals, palm trees and even a bull-fighitng ring.

Cadiz, Spain - these small coastal villages still rely heavily on the fishing industry.

Gibraltar - is actually a British Overseas Territory located on Spain's south coast. It’s dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426m-high limestone ridge

Santorini, Greece - the blue and white combination of the architecture compliments the colors of the Greek flag and the preexisting colors in the islands became the strongest trademark of the Cycladic Islands.  Since 1974, all new houses have had to be painted white

Athens, Greece - while there is a lot to see and do in Athens, I tell people that you can see all the popular attractions in a day (Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, etc...)

Southern Italy - it is very common to see clothes hanging outside of windows as most do not have dryers.

Seville, Spain - the Three Kings Parade is popular on January 6 every year.  Here the children ride on the floats and throw candy to the adults (most of it remains in the street). ​It is not Santa Claus who brings gifts on Christmas Day. The tradition here in Spain is that Los Reyes Magos, known as the Three Wise Men or the Three Kings in English, bring Spanish children their gifts on the Day of the Epiphany, January 6th.

Street scene in southern Spain - orange trees and tiled buildings

Over the Azores - pilots' view.