Photography & travel

PEACE & QUIET

Since we were in Spain anyway, we decided to stay a little longer and turn it into a holiday. When we left Zaragoza we agreed to drive direction Balearic sea with no given destination. We stopped at Alcañiz, an old sleepy town located on a steep hill, bordering the Guadalope river, surrounded by mountains and olive groves. You can see The castle of the Order of Calatrava from far away. In reality there was not much to see at Alcañiz. After a light lunch on the terrace of a tiny tapas bar, we drove on to our destination of peace …

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ZARAGOZA

Zaragoza? Why do you plan a trip to Zaragoza?Well, because of the famous cuisine. And that brings me seamlessly to the real reason. Our son Mathijs, a newbie chef, is doing an internship at restaurant Quema, and we’re going to visit him. We were pleasantly surprised by the city. Like Antwerp, Zaragoza is located on a river, the Ebro, adding a special vibe to the city. Having a personal ‘local’ guide when visiting a city is always an advantage. Mathijs did a great job guiding us around, unlocking the secrets of the Zaragoza gastronomic street food. The absolute starting point …

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CINDY SHERMAN @ PLATFORM 10

Platform 10 at Lausanne is one of a kind. It combines 3 museums and 2 foundations (MCBA – mudac – Photo Elysée) on the same premisses. And when they have Cindy Sherman on display we didn’t hesitate to have a look. Cindy Sherman is an American artist who examine themes of representation and identity. Although almost always present in her work, she is never the subject of it. The works presented are photographs of individual parts of her face which are digitally cut & paste into a new composition. The museum (mudac – Photo Elysée) itself is well worth a …

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BATTLE OF THE COWS

On our way back to Lausanne i wanted to stop at Martigny to watch ‘les combats des reines’ or the battle of the cows. It’s really something special. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a combat, but my wife never seen one before. It was the perfect opportunity to show her. The Swiss call the Cow fighting a sport. It involves cows of the Hérens breed, and it is organised in canton Valais, Switzerland, where it is listed as a living Swiss tradition. It’s actually natural behaviour. As the Hérens cow has a lively temperament, you …

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MORCOTE & GANDRIA

About 10 kilometres outside of Lugano you will find Morcote, a small village with a beautiful lake view. Morcote was founded around 1100. At that time, a castle was born to protect and control trade on the lake. 300 years later the church of Santa Maria del Sasso was built. Visible from afar. Visiting the church does not come without an effort, 404 steps separate you from the entrance. But once you reach the top, you will be rewarded with a magnificent panorama. North-East of Lugano lies Gandria, glued to the surrounding hillside of lake Lugano. Access to the village …

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VALLEMAGGIA & VERZASCA

To escape the hustle & bustle of the city, we drove towards destination nature, Vallemaggia. It is one of the most beautiful nature reserves that winds its way through the Alps from Lake Maggiore. We decided to hike from Bignasco to Mondada. It is not the most challenging hike but the natural surroundings are beautiful. After a few hundred meters, parallel with the road, starts a hiking trail. A small rocky path covered in moss beneath the green canopy of oak and beech trees. The whole valley is a sparsely populated area, with approximately 9 people per square kilometre. Which …

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ASCONA – LUGANO

Sometimes everything just works out fine. Ascension on a Thursday, Friday a bridge day and you have a nice long weekend just like that. And with a promising weather forecast we didn’t hesitate at all. Let’s drive to Lugano! You’re still in Switzerland but you’ll get a different experience. More on that later.We decided to take the shortest route possible, not only to save on battery juice, but to experience the Simplon pass. We crossed it around 8:30 in the morning. Perfect timing. The sky was mediterranean ocean blue and traffic fluid. Although it is already spring, there was still …

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LES GORGES DU DAILLEY

An extraordinary walk in a setting that is wild yet easy walkable made possible by a group of enthusiastic volunteers. That’s exactly what we did a year after the route was re-opened for the public. It got partially destroyed in April 2021 by a 4 cubic rock rolling down. We climbed around 600 steps to conquer a 186m height difference with gorgeous views. The history of the path goes back to 1895. In the 1940-ies it got destroyed because of the construction of the Salanfe dam. In 1990 the AAGB (Association des Amis des Granges et du Biolley) saw the …

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ÉVORA #3

It is not always the case that the third time is the good time. We experienced this when were treated with heavy rain showers during our third stay at Alentejo. It was so bad that the day before our departure, Lisbon airport was even closed for several hours. But fortunately for us, the sun occasionally broke through the grey blanket of clouds so we planned several small trips around the area.For our first excursion we picked Monsaraz, a cozy fortified village on the right margin of the river Guadiana near the border of Spain. Which is about a 1hr drive …

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WINTER scene

Winter is a forgiven season. Even a thin layer of snow is able to cover the worlds ugliness. But on the other hand, it also makes other beauty stand out because of this.It also provides peacefulness and a certain divinity. On my way to Lausanne, somewhere between Baumes-les-dames and Lure, i spotted a pair of beautiful chestnut-coloured horses. Research learned they are horses of the Haflinger breed. An ideal moment to park the car and shoot some pictures. During the photoshoot they acted as professional models and walked slowly towards me. As they walked, one of the horses, slightly ahead, …

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