In former times, villagers took their livestock to higher ground for summer pastures. Significant work went into building and maintaining the winding trails from the lower valleys to high ground. Not much livestock moves on these trails these days, but they are still used by hikers. In this picture : the trail down from the…
Author: noitsnotme
Winter patterns
It is surprising what you can see from the window of a commercial aircraft. Here : patterns in the snow : Afghanistan. La vue du hublot d’un avion de ligne surprend parfois : Ici : images de l’hiver : Afghanistan
Remote villages and mule trains
Thines, a remote village in the southern Ardeche, clings to an oval space on a rocky out crop dominating the valley below. Until the 20th century there was no road access to this village. All commerce and exchange depended on mule trains. The mule trails are still usable for hikers and this is the only…
Bell gables
In Romanesque architecture the bell gable is quite common. In regions of France such as the northern Gard and the southern Ardèche, romanesque churches are common and hence the accompanying bell gable. Some have 4 eyes, some 3, and often there are fewer bells than eyes. Le clocher à peigne est assez courant dans les…
Lauterbrunnen and the Jungfrau
Waterfalls and mountaintops : the essence of Switzerland is found in the Lauterbrunnen valley. Chutes d’eau spectaculaires et sommets enneigés, l’âme de la Suisse se trouve dans la vallée de Lauterbrunnen.
The view from Schynige Platte
Schynige Platte : an alpine garden, altitude 6500 ft, in the Bernese Oberland near Interlaken. On a good day, apart from appreciating the alpine flowers, the visitor is rewarded with excellent views on the emblematic mountains of the area : the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau. On this day, the views were not ideal….
Gingerbread house and fairytale castle
Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein : perched on hilltops in the Bavarian Alps near the Austrian border, these 2 castles, built by the Bavarian kings leave you pondering the strange obsessions of people with too much money. Hohenschwangau et Neuschwanstein : ces 2 châteaux, construits par les rois de Bavière dans les alpes bavaroises prés de la…
Logs at the lookout point
September light on the Corniche des Cévennes highway – Altitude : 3000 feet. Logs dominate the viewpoint while waiting to be moved on to the sawmill. Lumière de septembre sur la Corniche des Cévennes – altitude 900 m. Des troncs de résineux qui partagent le belvédère en attendant la suite.
Under the Dachstein
The village of Hallstatt is on the cover of most of the tour guides for Austria. With good reason as it is picture postcard pretty. And overrun with tourists in summertime. The town exists and became prosperous in past centuries due to the nearby salt mines on the flanks of the Dachstein. Sandwiched between the…
Scenes in the park
Tete d’Or park in Lyon : Legend says there was a golden statue of the head of Christ buried in these marshes, which, in the 19th century were converted into a large city park. No golden statue was ever found, but strange encounters are still possible in the park. Parc de la Tête d’Or à…
*Daibutsu
The statue of the Buddha in different guises is a key feature of the Buddhist temple. Sometimes the statues are very big. Here are some examples : Tian Tian Buddha : the biggest statue of Buddha in the world and not very old (built in the late twentieth century). The bronze statue is 34 m…
