Here is one of the most overdue blog posts that I’ve written. Last winter (gasp! that was so long ago), Ryan and I took a long trip to Europe. As I mention each time I write about one of our adventures, it is easiest for me to travel in the wintertime, when wedding photography isn’t in demand in Pittsburgh. I enjoy it since the places we go aren’t very crowded and are less expensive than they are at peak season. There is the challenge of some cold weather, but we aren’t afraid to bundle up and get outdoors!
My favorite parts of traveling is being outdoors at all times of day. I love photographing light in unfamiliar places. Taking photos during my travels helps me to learn so much about photography and myself. Another bonus to wintertime travel is that I am usually awake for sunrise and sunset since there isn’t as much daylight. Hooray for two golden hours!
First, Ryan and I flew from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to my favorite city, London.
I LOVE the London Eye. The first time I visited the city upon graduating form high school, the Eye had just opened.
This is one of my favorite buildings, Tate Modern. The cafe on the top floor provides such a great view of the River Thames.
We took a boat ride to Greenwich and stood over the Prime Meridian.
On the way back from Greenwich, I caught this view of the London Eye and Parliament. Since I took this next photo with my iPhone I think it proves that you don’t need a fancy camera to take a great photo.
We also visited Stonehenge. This wasn’t my favorite trip since we had to take a long, bumpy bus ride on a day when I wasn’t feeling great. It was a very cold and windy day too. It was very surreal to visit this mysterious and ancient place.
Ryan’s favorite spot in the city is Trafalgar Square.
His other favorite spot is Gordon’s Wine Bar. I highly recommend seeking out this spot if you should visit London. While the site has been occupied since the 1300′s, this building was constructed in the 1790′s. It’s fun to drink wine and eat cheese in an old cave!
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to Hogwarts.
From London, we took the Channel Tunnel to Paris. The most significant thing about the Channel Tunnel is that you hardly notice it. During the two hour train ride between the two cities, you travel through a long, dark tunnel where your ears pop a lot. I caught this iPhone photo on the way out. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have known you’re passing under the English Channel.
When we visited the Arc de triomphe, I made Ryan wait around for an hour so the sun would set and we would have some photos of Paris at night. Sunset was pretty cool too.
This MAY have been the highlight of Ryan’s trip. During our visit to The Louvre, the tour guide was a Nintendo 3DS that could track your position around the museum. As you walked to different areas, the device would sense your location and play relevant tour information for you.
Another plane took us away to Germany.
We arrived late in Munich. Munich is a neat city, most notably home to Oktoberfest. Here, Ryan is enjoying some Glühwein (mulled red wine) while we watch ice skaters.
Suddenly we are in Prague where most of the natives look like people from Pittsburgh. Seriously, I saw three people who looked like my dad. Ryan poses in front of the very chilly Vitava River.
Of course we are walking UP this staircase. When will we learn to take public transportation to the top of something and walk downhill?
We traveled by train back to Germany, further north to Berlin.
The Pergamon Museum might be my favorite museum that I have ever visited. The structure was restored after Soviet occupation of Berlin had ended. Maybe I was upset that the guided tour wasn’t a nifty Nintendo 3DS.
This area of the old Berlin wall was provocative. I constantly found myself thinking about all of the current citizens of Berlin who were living there in 1989 when the wall was still up.
This subway station was closed for many years since it crossed between the occupied and unoccupied areas. While most subway stations around Berlin have been modernized, here the architecture remains as it was when the stations were closed in the 1960′s.
Our last photo is grainy iPhone photo. But this one is Ryan and I at Voßstraße! That crazy looking “B” is actually a double “S” in German. So we are standing on VOSS STREET!!
.png)
.jpg)
