a u s l ä n d e r [ i n ]

This weekend, we are in the beautiful town of Colmar in the Alsace region of France. It is a wine growing region, with especially good Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers. Today we explored the town, including a few tastings, and tomorrow we are venturing to other villages in the region, including wine tastings. This area is very near the German border--only a short two-hour drive from Stuttgart--which is pretty awesome!

Our last day included exploring old town Palma, with its beautiful historic charm, narrow streets, and open plazas. The Palma Cathedral is the centerpiece of old town Palma. The cathedral is situated atop the former citadel of the Roman city, and overlooks Parc de la Mar along the waterfront.

Fuck yeah naps on computers. fuckyeahdogsoncomputers

This is my dad. Here he is during our trip to Berlin, with the omnipresent camcorder in hand. In this moment in particular, he was walking backward in an u-bahn station while filming us. My dad is not a professional camera man, but for as long as I can remember, during any family moment of significance, he always had his camcorder in hand. My family came to visit us in Europe for two weeks. We went to Rome, Berlin, and Munich together, and they even made it to Paris. Everyday, at every tourist site, my dad had his camcorder in hand, in the air, in the same position. It was hilarious watching this ritual, and reminded me of how the camcorder was everywhere at all times when we were growing up. During this trip, without fail, there was the camcorder at every site like the Sistine Chapel, the Trevi Fountain, the Berlin Wall, and more. This is a series for my dad, "Dad with his camcorder in historic places."

Inside the beer tents at Frühlingsfest this past weekend, an annual festival and carnival held in Stuttgart during Spring. The fest is almost exactly like Oktoberfest (which is also held in Stuttgart during Fall, in addition to its much more famous counterpart, Munich Oktoberfest). The beer tents are massive halls lined with fest tables. The tradition is to dress in trachten, which are lederhosen and dirndls. The photos show two different beer tents on different days, during the day and evening. The atmosphere is very different, with the evening party being a hot, sweaty, overcrowded scene, and the day party being less crowded and a bit more subdued, in my experience.

Dachstein Skywalk in Austria, Aurland Lookout in Norway, and the Titlis Cliffwalk in Switzerland are the viewing platforms I want to visit before moving from Europe.

Golden foliage 🍂 #fallcolors #lifeinstuttgart

2013 Installation at the Serpentine Pavilion in Hyde Park. (at Serpentine Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto)

London town. #london #bigben #summerineurope (at Parliament Square)

Wildlife crossing in southern Germany.

Christopher Girot, Vision in Motion: Representing Landscape in Time

The beauty of Europe on a sunny day: everyone comes out to play :)