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Caption: #bestof2019 Travel retrospective
Caption: “ My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.”
~Marcel Proust
Remembering the trips or activities I did in 2019 makes me feel blessed as I was able to see exquisite places this year and for the profound experience I gained and the memories that was created in the process.
Composing the best five moments of 2019 is fun but has not been a walk in the park either. Either way, this photo collection sums up some of my memorable ones for me.
📍Cover photo:
Cliff of Moher
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Caption: ☘️-First time in the Emerald Isle I heard a lot of great things about Ireland from friends and co- workers. So last spring, my friend (his second time) and I decided to start our spring European vacation to this country. From Dublin to Belfast, we enjoyed some of the most stunning landscapes on earth. Beautiful country with the most friendliest people. Certainly, Ireland did not disappoint.
We had a lot of craic. 1 📍Cliff of Moher
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Caption: 📍Branaunmore Rock The Cliff of Moher in the region of County Clare. Rugged yet stunning natural landscape.
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Caption: Is it worth the risk?
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Caption: “ In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” John Muir
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Caption: 📍Giant’s Causeway
County Antrim
Northern Ireland A geological wonder and a legend worthy of telling others, with humor.
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Caption: Obligatory pose or copycat!😄
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Caption: It was a beautiful spring day then when my friend and I took another day trip to Lucerne, this time from Bern. This is like retracing our steps from our first trip to Lucerne in 1997, my first trip to Europe really. Maybe something has changed but the captivating beauty of this city has not. What has changed this time around was the train ride to the top of Mt. Pilatus in the steepest cogwheel railway in the world. Last time we rode on a cable car both ways. ⌚️Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus
Second time around! 2
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Caption: The Lion of Lucerne, a rock relief designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen, commemorating the Swiss Guards massacre in 1792 during the French Revolution.
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Caption: The Kapellbrück, a covered wooden footbridge is Lucerne’s iconic symbol.
One of the bridges that straddles the glassy River Reuss. It is popularly recognizable due to Wasserturm, or water tower (see following photos).
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Caption: Wasserturm.
The water tower with octagonal roof.
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Caption: Cogwheel train on the way up.
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Caption: Going back down to Pilatus Banhoff via cable car. Amazing view of Lake Lucerne in the distance.
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Caption: Pure delight,
Swiss perfection!
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Caption: Our summer vacation took us to Vienna. It is a great base city to travel around parts of Austria and other countries. But we are determined to visit Hallstatt despite many reviews that this place is tourist packed in the summer. My friend and I decided to book a private day trip, five people on board a minivan. Our driver and tour guide extraordinaire brought us to Attersee, Sankt Gilgen then to Hallstatt. It turned out to be one of best day trips we’ve ever had.
......and we didn’t mind the crowd. 🚙- Day Trip to Austria’s Lakes Region 3 📍Unterach am Attersee
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Caption: 📍Unterach am Attersee A village on the southern shore of Lake Attersee in the center of the Salzkammergut region. Gustav Klimt spent time here in 1915 and painted panoramic landscape of the village.
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Caption: Klimt’s monument
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Caption: 📍Sankt Gilgen St. Gilgen, also in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, is situated in the north-western shore of Lake Wolfgangsee. This village is so colorful with beautiful buildings adorned with summer flowers. There is a statue of Amadeus Mozart in front of the city hall although he had never been to this village. Mozart’s mother was born in the village, his grandfather worked here and her sister got married here. So it could be a Mozart village.
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Caption: Rathaus Sankt Gilgen
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Caption: 📍Hallstatt Hallstatt is picture perfect. I have seen photos of this town on Instagram, fell in love with this place instantly. When I finally got here, it is what I imagined it to be, despite the sea of tourists there that day. It is such a magical place.
This is a glimpse of Hallstatt.... more to post later!
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Caption: 📍Gosaumühlstraße This iconic view of Hallstatt from Gosaumühlstraße is what I always see on Instagram and different social media platforms.
I can’t even begin to describe this place in words. Picturesque, über in many ways. Delightful no matter the time of day.
Purely splendid.
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Caption: 📍Schönbühel-Aggsbach
Lower Austria.
Embarking on a Danube River Cruise is one of the best birthday treats I had ever done. Talking about self care, right! My friend and I first took a bus tour from Vienna that took us along the glorious Wachau Valley with stops at Dürnstein then Spitz where we began the cruise onto our final destination, Melk. It was a birthday to remember. 🎁- My birthday on a Danube River Cruise 4
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Caption: 📍Dürnstein
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Caption: Frank Liszt “Without imagination, there is no art neither science.”
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Caption: 📍Spitz
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Caption: 📍Melk
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Caption: Melk Abbey grounds
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Caption: Clockwise from left:
Goulash
Wienerschnitzel
Locally caught fish
Benediktiner Torte
🥂Birthday lunch for two....unexpectedly great!
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Caption: 📍Jamaica Pond
Boston, Massachusetts Travel and photography are absolutely two of my favorite hobbies. I am very fortunate to live in an area where I can hop in my car and go around the nearby towns and be rewarded with beautiful sceneries to photograph and what a better time to do that than in autumn. It just gives great pleasure for me.
So for my last top five ( but certainly not the least), here is autumn 2019 around my neighborhood. 🍁-Chasing Autumn in my neck of the woods! 5
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Caption: One dreary autumn day, drizzly and foggy but the mood was quite nice nonetheless. 📍Jamaica Pond
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Caption: 📍Arnold Arboretum
Roslindale,Massachusetts
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Caption: 📍Larz Anderson Park
Brookline, Massachusetts
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Caption: 📍Brookline, Massachusetts
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Caption: John Keats “The poetry of the earth is not dead.” 📍Jamaica Pond
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Caption: 📍Brookline, Massachusetts Thank you very much for your time and appreciation. Dante #bestof2019 Special thanks to Ruben, my friend and travel compañero for photos with me in it on pages 3, 7 and 11.
