The magic world of Joshua Tree NP

As soon as I knew I would be in Southern California this summer, I decided to visit Joshua Tree National Park. From the first time that I saw those peculiar trees and funny shaped rocks many years ago, I knew I wanted to visit it one day. Arriving in the early afternoon, I first drove around all major sights before making the final decision where to be for the sunset.

Photobomb! :)






Cholla Cactus Garden:






Panorama from the Keys View with Salton Sea in the background:



Skull Rock:


Giants Marbles:



Just before sunset:



Waiting for the sunrise:








Oh yes, I will return.

You can see more photos in the gallery here.

Glencoe, Scotland

Scotland is on the itinerary of every self-respecting traveler. :) I was there many years ago, in the summer, and this March I was lucky enough to revisit, partly for work, partly for pleasure. While early spring is a nice time to travel as there aren't many tourists around, it can also get a bit tricky to find accommodation in some remote parts as B&Bs are simply not open!

I'll start with Glencoe - a wonderful glen in the Scottish Highlands.

Every photographer wants to take a shot from this place with Buachaille Etive Mor and the Etive river in the foreground:


A house in Glencoe:


A lake with reeds:


Green (well, not really green yet as it was only March) mountains:


My little Audi was a lot of fun to drive:


In the valley of Glen Etive I hardly met any other people:


After waiting for the sunset for over an hour my Scottish friend and coworker Alastair and I were rewarded with this view over Rannoch Moor:


To be continued...

Mardi Gras in Cirkulane and Markovci

This year I finally made it to eastern Slovenia to see the local celebration of the carnival - or Mardi Gras. There were many masks, but the most impressive were "kurenti", masks with sheep skin, bells around the waist and a huge head covering:

Amsterdam in January

I spent four days in Amsterdam this January. The trip was for work and I caught a bad cold there, but I managed to take a few quick pics. It's a great place and I gotta go back soon.

Boat houses:


Near the Central Station:


Old Church reflection:


Typical Amsterdam:


Reflection:


Fresh mint tea:


Amsteram at sunset:


After sunset:


The canals are now frozen, I am told! :)








West Church during the blue hour:


More photos here.

Skiing and hiking around Zermatt

Skiing in early September, yeah baby! Admittedly, that was a first for me. Usually I wait with the skiing season until late October. :) But this year I found myself on a short, three-day trip to Zermatt, Switzerland. After driving through the night for 8 hours we arrived at Täsch, a small town 6 km from Zermatt, at 5 a.m. As Zermatt is a car-free town, you need to leave your car in Täsch and take a train - yes, with all your luggage and skis and ski boots and everything.
We wanted to go skiing right away, but the cable car wasn't running due to strong winds, and the weather prevented me from taking lots of photos that day, too. Some people spend a week in Zermatt and never see the famous Mt. Matterhorn!


The following morning looked more promising.


Getting to the cable car station meant going down a steep path:


It's funny being dressed in your skiing clothes, carrying your skis on your shoulder, when the grass around you is so green. :) Not to mention it was very warm. But - the cable car takes you to almost 4000 meters above sea level.


I was busy taking photos through the glass of the cable car:


From the top Mt. Matterhorn looks completely different.


The couple of ski runs that were open were full of alpine skiing teams from various countries training for the coming season.


Me and Ivica Kostelić, the best alpine skier in the world. :)


Did I mention that skiing at the altitude of 4000 meters leaves you breathless after a couple of turns? Oh boy, I felt like I had asthma!

By 1.30 p.m. the snow was so soft it was better to call it a day. On the way back to the valley I had to take more photos:






After a hearty lunch back in Zermatt I walked around town a bit. Electric cars, narrow roads, picturesque houses. :)






The third day was a perfect cloudless day from the beginning. Well, a few puffy clouds would actually be nice.


This was my hiking day. I took an underground funicular and a cable car up a mountain on the other side of the valley from Mt. Matterhorn. The views of the surrounding mountains in the morning were spectacular.


But my primary goal was Stellisee, a beautiful lake in an even more beautiful setting.




I hiked down the mountain past some more lakes and streams, with the omnipresent Matterhorn always in view.






Back in Zermatt, it was a 30-minute hike back uphill from the cable car station to the hotel.




As if the trip hadn't been gorgeous enough, I was met with great light on the drive back home.


More photos can be found here.