Cathar Castle: Usson

Upstream from Axat in the Aude Gorge, carved out of the foothills of the the high Pyrenees, is the little known castle of Usson. It dates from the eleventh century (perhaps earlier) and during the Cathar period marked the eastern boundary of the territories of the Counts of Foix. In the twelfth century this was the capital of the Donezan region. Before the Défilé was cut through the mountains to link Quillan to Axat, this was an inaccessible outpost providing succour for faidits and other persecuted Cathars.

More photo and info at my Flickr set >>

3 places to visit in South of France

May 2008 and some few visits in the region Languedoc-Rousillon. Including:
Eus - on the list amongst the most beautiful villages of France
Ille-sur-Tet - the natural organ pipes of sand stone cliffs
Leucate - walks along the cliffs of Leucate
Enjoy 47 photos from those inviting places at my Flickr Set
- just klick here >>

Nimes & Around

A small photo collection from a meeting with some friends from TrekEarth in Nimes, France, April 2008.
The photo above from the famous aquaduct - Pont de Gard.
Klick the photo for a Flickr Photo Set..

Photos at National Geographics website

Screenshot from the website of National Geographic
A chance for beeing published in NG is near zero for the most of us. A bit easier then to be included at their website where a photo editor makes a pick of 12 photos daily. I had the pleasure to be included in February and March and must say that I feel most comfortable amongst the other photos selected at these days.
You have btw only 1 chance each month to suggest a photo.
Klick the photo above for my entries at NG's website..

Collioure - Seasons. A photo Video

Daily life in Collioure

My Photo-Video: Collioure - Seasons is made from a selection of more than 60 photographs from Collioure in all seasons over the last 2-3 years. A different, and hopeful, interesting way to present this village in the South of France. In a little less than 9 minutes you will experience some moments typical of this place. A good way to enjoy this Photo-Video could be by sitting down with a glass of good wine...

Collioure is found on the Languedoc-Rousillon coast, just north of the border with Spain.
Historically a fishing village, Collioure attracted many artists in the early 20th century including Matisse and Derain, and was central to the fauvist movement in art. Picasso as well as Salvador Dali also passed some time in the town.
The town now is a pleasant place to stop if you are exploring this coastline, with a couple of small beaches, and the mountains accessible behind the town.
There are two particular sights in the town. The church, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, sits almost in the harbour and its belltower previously acted as the lighthouse. The second sight is the castle that dominates the town, the Royal Castle, once occupied by the templars.
It is the region between these two monuments that will most interest you, with cobbled streets to explore, pretty pastel-painted houses, and palm trees lining the seafront.

Camp Joffre - your detention Camp in South of France

Camp Joffre, internment camp in Rivesaltes from 1938 - 1970.
KLICK on the photo for my PHOTO-VIDEO

Rivesaltes, situated on a rail route and 40 km from the Spanish border, was considered a strategic position. Five km from Rivesaltes, the army occupied 612 hectares between Rivesaltes and Salses, to construct a camp, which was originally intended as a military base.

Three years later, it became the Camp Joffre In 1939, at the start of WW2, the camp became a military transit base and in 1940 a refuge for Spanish refugees fleeing the Franco dictatorship.

After the signing of the armistice, France was split into two and the « zone libre » in which the Pyrenees-Orientales was included, came under the administration of the Vichy government. It was at this point that the sad and sinister history of the camp Joffre began to unfold. Gradually, the camp became a place of internment for families of gypsies, Jews and Spanish refugees. With a capacity of 8000, it was not long before the camp was overcrowded, families were separated, and conditions deteriorated enormously.
In 1942, under German pressure, the camp became a ‘Centre national de rassemblement des Israélites’ - a ‘sorting centre’ for Jews who were then sent on to the death camps such as Auschwitz, via Drancy. Two thousand five hundred and fifty one Jews are recorded as having been deported from Rivesaltes - four hundred of them were children.
In 1942, when the Germans occupied the ‘zone libre’ they closed the camp.

When the south of France was liberated in 1944, Rivesaltes was reopened until 1948 for collaborators and traitors, and in 1945 housed German soldiers and prisoners of war.

In 1962, the camp at Rivesaltes once again became a ghetto; this time for the hundreds of thousands of Algerians or ‘harkis’ who left Algeria at the time of the battle for its independence from France. Many of these families did not leave the camp until its closure in the late sixties.

For the whole photo serie: Go to flickr>>

OR: See the photo-video>>

There are no plains at Northern Corsica

"There are no plains at Northern Corsica"

Weekend visit in September 2007 to some friends from Trekearth - visiting several places at Northern Corsica as: Bastia, Cap corse, Corte and Porto.
Beside the title photo you are welcome to visit:

My Corsica photo set at Flickr >>

MS "Color Magic" - premier cruise

Detail from the 160m long interior promenade deck.

A small intro to the newest of the 2 sisterships MS "Color Magic" and MS "Color Fantasy". Sailing daily between Oslo, Norway and Kiel, Germany. Leaving each day at 14.00 and arriving next day at 09.30.
These photos from Sep. 2007 on the 3rd trip for the newest ship MS "Color Magic". Build as cruiseships, still in principle the biggest car ferrries in the world.
Klick for a Flickr photo set here >>

**********************************************
Data of the MS COLOR MAGIC AND COLOR FANTASY
**********************************************
74.500 gross reg.tons
224 m length
60 m height
15 decks
42.400 hp
22 knots
160 m promenade/shopping street
966 cabins
2.750 passengers
750 cars
**********************************************

Summer in South of France

August and September a good time to spend in South of France, for us in the little village right in the heart of the region Languedoc-Rousillon.
The photo above from an early evening in our little town Collioure.
Presently there are some 70 photos in a photoset from different places in the region >>

A weekend in Romania

From some few days, a weekend, in Romania with local friends from TrekEarth. Visiting Bucharest, Arges, Balea Lac and Sibiu in Transylvania. The photo above: The Dome of the old Curtea de Arges.
Klick for a Flickr PhotoSet with more than 50 photos

Contrasts in Varmland

Outside of the urban Sweden with the big cities like Stockholm and Gøteborg you will find, as in Vãrmland: forests, lakes, sparsly populated areas and some contrasts if you look for them...

Klick for a set of 9 selected photos of Varmland contrasts..

Carcassonne the medival city

Carcassonne one of the strongholds of the Cathars in the 1200. Later the city was expanded by the French. Today it presents itself as a giant tourist trap. Maybe a "must" to see in South of France but be there early in the morning or as here a bit out of season on a grey day to avoid the usual "tourist invasion"...

Klick for a series of 9 Carcassonne photos...

..or view all Flickr photo sets...

Carcassonne
City (pop., 1999: 43,950), southwestern France. Situated on the Aude River, it was occupied by the Iberians in the 5th century BC and later by Gallo-Romans. Muslims took it in AD 728. The French soldier Simon de Montfort captured it c. 1209, and in 1247 it was united with the French crown. It was burned by Edward the Black Prince in 1355 when he failed to take the citadel. A 13th-century church and cathedral survive, as do remains of medieval fortifications, the last of which were designated a World Heritage site in 1997. The city's main economic activities are tourism and retailing. (Ref. Brittanica)

Pont du Gard - Oh.. those Romans..

The best time to visit one of France most popular tourist spots must be in February. Being almost alone, taking time to study the place and the details of this facinating 2.000 year old structure.

Just klick here for a Flickr set of photos from the famous place..

Pont du Gard, Roman aqueduct across the Gard River, Gard dept., S France. Built in 19 B.C. to supply Nîmes with water, it consists of three tiers of arches and is c.900 ft (270 m) long and c.160 ft (50 m) high. This famous construction is admired for its architectural proportions. The lowest tier is now used as a road bridge.
It was constructed entirely without the use of mortar. The aqueduct's stones – some of which weigh up to 6 tons – are held together with iron clamps. The masonry was lifted into place by block and tackle with a massive human-powered treadmill providing the power for the winch. A complex scaffold was erected to support the aqueduct as it was being built. The face of the aqueduct still bears the mark of its construction, in the form of protruding scaffolding supports and ridges on the piers which supported the semicircular wooden frames on which the arches were constructed. It is believed to have taken about three years to build, employing between 800 and 1,000 workers.

The Pont du Gard was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.

The Pont du Gard is today one of France's top 5 tourist attractions, with 1.4 million visitors.

Luxembourg in February

Not the best weather these days in February, on the other hand not so many tourists either at the popular place to visit.
(Photo above HDR, 3 photos bracketed, Photomatix)

For more photos of Luxembourg visit my Flickr set..

Luxembourg in the northwest Europe bordering on Belgium, Germany, and France. Created as a duchy in 1354, it was ruled successively by Burgundy, Spain, Austria, and France between 1443 and 1797, and it was made a grand duchy of the Netherlands by the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). In 1839 the greater part of it passed to Belgium. The remainder became autonomous in 1848 and was declared a neutral and independent territory in 1867. Luxembourg is the capital. Population: 468,000. "

Winter days in Collioure, South of France

The little village Collioure in the region Languedoc Rousillon in the South of France. Very popular to visit in the summer.
Not so many to see around in January and February.
The photo above from the 'outside' of Collioure under some January storm 2007.

For a whole set of photos from January/February just click here...

Winter also in 2007

It took some time this year but in the end - like in January we had the snow up in the mountains. As here in our valley Tisleidalen, Valdres not far from the National park Jotunheimen.

You will find 12 selected photos by clicking here..

Beitostølen in December

Where the route 51 enters the high mountains of Jotunheimen there is a little village - Beitostølen. Just outside the village route 51 is often closed during the winter.
Photo: Blizzard at mount Bitihorn.
Be welcome to view the comlete set of 12 photos

December at Aker Brygge, Oslo

Aker Brygge was originally an old dockyard, which was rebuilt in the eighties and has become one of Oslo's main attractions. The unique multitude of shops and restaurants, combined with the special architecture makes Aker Brygge a place not to miss when visiting Oslo.
More people work at Aker Brygge today than in the days of shipbuilding. In the winter the residents more-or-less have the locality to themselves.
In summer and autumn thousands of people use Aker Brygge for recreation, and participate in the many activities that Aker Brygge has to offer.
More photos from Aker Brygge

Photos also in the "Resident" Magazine

After using 3 of my photos of some Cathar Castles, in South of France, in the English speaking magazine "Barcelona Metropolitan" the publisher now also have launched the article - and photos in the "Resident". Another English speaking magazine distributed along estate owners at the Costa Brava - popular region north of Barcelone ending in the border to France. For larger photo pls. click here.

Gioconda - before and now

It was my friend Gae La Rocca from Milan who detected some similarities between the famous painting of Leonardo Da Vinci: Gioconda and the streetshot I did of a young girl at an outdoor stand in Oslo where she displayed some CULT products.