a u s l ä n d e r [ i n ] @kenyahuezo - Tumblr Blog

Ljubljana, Slovenia (by Project 1080)

Nice example of an urbanized waterfront.

Route des Vins d'Alsace

Our first day visiting the Alsace region of France, we explored the town of Colmar, where we stayed for the weekend. The next day, we took a tour with a local tour company that took us to different sites, starting with Kaysersberg in the morning, followed by the larger village Ribeauvillé, then the hillside castle Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, which I'll post about in more detail later.

The Alsatian landscape is characterized by mountains, vineyards, and plains. Between these natural features, there are many villages that are located along the Route des Vins, which is a huge wine-specific tourist attraction for the area.The area specializes in white wine, which we drank plenty of! We especially enjoyed the Pinot Blanc and Riesling varieties.

After visiting the castle, our tour included a wine tasting at one of the local wineries. Instead, our guide took us to a small village called Bergheim that happened to be having a local parade and celebration. We stumbled on the parade just in time for the start! It was such a cool experience to see all the self decorated floats, bands, and women and children in traditional outfits. We also tasted a Pinot Blanc and a Riesling (of course!) while enjoying the parade.

#alsace #france #weekendgetaway #Summertime #summerineurope #travel

Visiting the Alsace Region of France

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!

#weekendgetaway #alsace #france #summertime

The Island of Mallorca, Spain

We flew to Mallorca a few weeks ago, for a little beach time and relaxing in the sun. Our friends from the US were traveling here as well, and it was really great seeing them again after two years!

We stayed in the town of Paguera, about 20 km from Palma with plenty of shops, restaurants, and three beaches. The weekend was full of sunbathing, swimming, and sangria!

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.

#mallorca #palma #weekendgetaway #summertime

Fuck yeah naps on computers. fuckyeahdogsoncomputers

#rodgerthechoco

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."

#expat #europe #travel #dadwithiscamcorderinhistoricplaces

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.

#stuttgart #expat #expatlife #frühlingsfest

soundbitecity

The Pipes of Berlin

Pipes are a common but strange element in Berlin streetscapes. They seem to snake up, down, and around for blocks at a time, usually in bright shades of pink or blue. My first impression was that they must be some sort of massive public art project, but I later realized that they always start or end at construction projects.

Leave it to Berlin to take ugly construction objects and turn them into funky and fun visual elements.

The BBC did a small piece to explain this strange practice. Check it out below:

The Mystery of Berlin’s Pink Pipes (on Youtube)

Photos taken April, 2014

kenyahuezo

They are ubiquitous and I noticed them immediately when I first visited the city. However, I found them intriguing, thinking they couldn't just be temporary utilities during construction because they looked integrated into the street scape. The colorful pipes are something I remember as uniquely Berlin-esque.

atinashoe-deactivated20201030

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.