Iceland part II

A few more insights and pictures into the Icelandic culture:

-The Icelanders are very particular about their horses.  There is only one breed on the island and Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.  With manes this long it gives them human-like characteristics.

-There are churches scattered all over Iceland and they are usually all about the same size.  You can see below that they are small and oftentimes have the same red and white color scheme. 

-There is one major road that circles the entire country and it's Route 1 which is also called the Ring Road.  It's 830 miles and many tourists rent a car and drive around the entire country.  If you are going to do this, it's suggested to spend about two weeks to really be able to take in the sights.

-The iceberg lagoon known as Jökulsárlón is an amazing sight to see.  When you arrive you see this entire lagoon filled with floating icebergs.  They are a result of the ice falling off of the glacier on the north end of the lagoon.  It's really amazing to watch these icebergs float by and at first they seem very serene just floating there and all of the sudden you will see one flip upside down and the underside of the iceberg is really bright blue because of the ice being so cold.  As it's exposed to the elements it starts to shift color and becomes more clear or white and then they float off to sea.  I took a boat ride in the lagoon and they pulled a piece of ice out of the water and it was crystal clear.  The tour guide broke it into pieces and we ate it.

Icelandic horses

Brunnholl church

The ring road

Icebergs at Jökulsárlón

Sólfar (Sun Voyager) sculpture in the harbor in Reykjavik

 Most of my blog posts are personal photos that give you some insight to my travels.  I make my living by being an advertising, magazine, architectural, and corporate photographer in Indianapolis, IN.

Iceland

This is the first in a series from my recent trip to Iceland.  A lot of people looked at me with a curious expression when I said my next trip was to Iceland.  It's not on most Americans radar for a travel destination, but I can tell you it's well worth the trip.  This first email is designed to clarify some things about Iceland.  First off, it's not icy everywhere in Iceland.  See, the story goes that the Norwegian vikings decided to call it Iceland when they were settling the country because they wanted it to themselves.  They figured if they named it something like Iceland no one would want to go there.  On the contrary, it's green in lots of areas and it's filled with natural beauty like waterfalls, geysirs, volcanos, hot springs, mountains, moss and lichen-covered lava fields, and, yes, glaciers.  But glaciers only comprise a part of Iceland.  The funny thing is that the vikings also gave Greenland it's name to get people interested in going there and if you know anything about Greenland its' about 80% ice covered.  So the saying "Iceland is green and Greenland is ice" is really true.  Clever vikings.  And the weather in Iceland isn't as cold as you might expect.  In fact, the average high in January in Reykjavik (the capital) is warmer than in New York City.  But, it doesn't exactly get hot here either.  The average high in July/August is around 55° but temps can get into the upper 70's.  The country stays temperate because of the gulf stream even though it's just outside the Arctic Circle.  And in the spring and fall the high and low temperature hardly changes at all. While I was there the forecast showed a high of 57 and a low of 54 for the whole week.  And Iceland is the easiest foreign country I've ever traveled in because everyone speaks English, they drive on the same side of the road as the US and they accept credit cards virtually everywhere.  Stay tuned for the next installment of this series.

Hallgrimskirkja cathedral in Reykjavik and the inspiration for the design is the naturally forming basalt columns you see on the right.

þingvellir national park is where the first Icelandic parliament convened in 930 AD

People photographing in lava fields

Kirkjufell mountain

If you have an interest in buying photos from my travels in Europe you can find them here http://www.europefineartphotos.com

Italy images now hanging at the Conrad Indianapolis

I've got a new show that just went up at the Conrad Indianapolis.  It's an all-Italy show with 12 canvas prints and they're all for sale.  I can print just about any size imaginable if you don't see the size you want.  The images are located in the hallway off of Tastings.  To see more of my travel work visit www.europefineartphotos.com

Grand' Place- Brussels, Belgium

Belgium had eluded me from all of my previous Europe trips, but not this time.  Having seen photos of Brussels' Grand' Place in books, I was anxious to witness it in person.  It did not disappoint.  From the moment you enter the square you realize the grandeur of this place (hmmm....why do you think they call it Grand' Place?).  The Flemish Baroque architecture is so ornate and full of charm and character that you quickly understand why it's one of Europe's finest historic squares.  Most of the facades you see were guildhouses built by different trade guilds.  Some of them have icons above the doors that represent the original building that occupied the site.  The one you see in this photo has a wheel barrow above the door and it represents the tallow (candle) merchants. 

Vienna, Austria

Vienna is a fantastic city.  Whether you want to visit a restaurant like Brezel-Gwölb that claims to have invented the pretzel, eat world-famous Sachertorte cake at the Sacher Café, visit the 700 year old St. Stephen's Cathedral, learn the history of the Lipizzaner Horses or tour the Schönbrunn Palace, there is plenty to see and do.  It's a bustling, clean city that is very inviting and easy to get around by tram, buses, subway or your feet.  If you have an interest in buying photos from my travels in Europe you can find them here http://www.europefineartphotos.com

Spaten Tent at Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany

This was day one at Oktoberfest and it was fun to see how decorative they made each "tent".  We spent the majority of our time at this tent (Spaten).  There were no available seats inside (at 11 a.m.) so we found some seats outside.  The weather was perfect and so was the beer.  The rotisserie that you see on the outside above the entrance was even animatronic.  The Germans don't mess around when it comes to throwing a party.  I don't speak any other languages, but I always learn to say "Cheers" in whatever country I am in.  Prost!!!

Stein am Rhein, Switzerland

Just going through some of my images today and came across these photos from my time in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland.  I'm always impressed with the attention to detail in Europe when it comes to design, style, color and form.  They make almost everything with equal attention to both function and form.  Check out these shutters and the garage door.  Not just a simple paint job for this house.  The stripes add a really interesting design pattern to the facade.  And if you look really close you see a heart shape cut out of the shutter.  And you can see the hardware on the wall by the shutter designed to hold them in place.  Yes, these are actually functioning shutters.  Most of what we have in the states are screwed to the side of the house and don't serve a function.  I think I'll go eat some Gruyere cheese now.

Mürren, Switzerland

People often ask me what is my favorite country in Europe? I would have to say Switzerland. It's the most beautiful, quaint, clean, and friendly country I've visited. I enjoy the food and love the architecture for it's sense of style and warmth. It's an easy country to relax and take in the surroundings. To me it is heaven on earth. This is the hotel I stayed in recently. And the other photo is taken from our balcony on the 3rd floor. It was a huge wrap around balcony that works very nicely when you want to sit back and drink a beer and be awed. You can find some of my European photography for sale on both Etsy and Discovered Artists

Mürren, Switzerland

Being from the midwest, I grew up on meat and potatoes. So, it's probably no surprise that one of my favorite dishes in Switzerland is Rösti. It is hash browns with Alpine cheese, ham and a sliced pear. It's total comfort food and it is so good. This was one of the best meals on the entire trip. I had eaten at this same hotel restaurant years ago and I decided I needed to bring my friends to experience it. The hotel name is Hotel Alpenruh and it has one of the best views of the Lauterbrunnen valley from the restaurants outdoor deck.

London, England

This photo was done in "The Tube", otherwise know as the Underground. I saw this billboard and just had to laugh at the British humor. The ad was for shaving cream for a woman's underarms. Directly behind the guy is the woman's armpit. The humor all over Europe is a lot less conservative than what we have in the States. That's probably a surprise to no one. I wanted to get a photo of someone staring at the photo so I sat on the bench and waited for about ten minutes and along came this guy. He had no idea I took this photo.

Stockholm, Sweden

As an Indianapolis photographer my exposure to historic and artistic architectural buildings in my hometown is a bit limited. So, I really appreciate the amazing examples of architectural design and form that you get to experience in Europe. This photo is taken on Gamla Stan, one of Stockholm's Islands. This is Stockholm's oldest town square called Stortorget. A funny thing about this photo: about two weeks after I returned home from this trip I was watching TV and I saw an HP ad that showcased one of their photo printers. It was an extremely cool ad that was filmed from the exact same perspective where I took this photo. That was a very funny experience for me and a chill ran down my spine. Check out this link to see it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOnif6BC0kc

Rothenburg (ob der Tauber), Germany

Rothenburg is a classic medieval walled town located in Bavaria along the Romantic Road. The city is full of small town charm and quaint shops and hotels. I love the striped awnings you see on lots of the storefronts. The town inspired me to paint my studio to mimic the buildings, specifically this bakery I saw there. I also decided to continue with the European theme by painting my address on the garage door to look like the speed limit signs in Europe.

Appenzell, Switzerland

So Appenzell is known for it's cheese. They have this very popular cheese called Appenzeller that pretty much smells like smelly feet. We walked by a cheese shop and could smell the cheese from outside. When you walked in the shop you were bombarded by the aroma. We had to buy some to truly experience Appenzell. I must say it was good cheese with a very strong flavor. But don't expect to make friends on the train if you bring on a bag of it.

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

This home has the most amazing view of the alps. Of course, coming from Indiana, any view of the Alps is amazing. I was hiking in Gimmelwald and came across it and ended up photographing the owners on the front porch.

Spaten tent at Oktoberfest

"Seven more beers please"

Hofbräuhaus, Munich, Germany

Any visit to Munich wouldn't be complete without a trip to Hofbräuhaus. You know, they really seem to like beer around here.........

Oktoberfest, Munich Germany

You need to arrive early to the tents to get a seat. No seat, no beer.

Oktoberfest, Munich Germany

One of the more decorative tents.

Oktoberfest, Munich Germany

I had just arrived to the grounds of Oktoberfest and it was a little bit of sensory overload. There are 14 "tents" where you can take part in the revelry. The tents range in seating capacity from 3,000 to 10,000. They are called tents, but they are really permanent buildings decorated on the inside to look like tents.

Sorrento, Italy

Scooters, scooters, and more scooters.