landscape – Seite 6 – rene bauer photography

Finland – Lapland – Rovaniemi

Long way up north. The weather wasn’t really welcoming, but this way I just cruised across Finland from south up to Rovaniemi.

The Arktikum in Rovaniemi is a museum which explains life and culture on the arctic circle in a interesting and wonderful way. One shouldn’t miss it when up here.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Santa Claus Village just bit north of the town. It’s a tourist trap, no question about that. Next to restaurants, hotel and souvenir shop, there’s also to meet Santa Claus himself. ‚Free Entrance!‘ a sign told me. I found it ridiculous to queue up for a photo with the white bearded, old man in red dress. So I skipped the line and went straight to the souvenir shop, located just after the room where Santa Claus awaited his visitors. There, the young cashier explained me, I wouldn’t be allowed to make a selfie with him anyway, but could buy a photo from the shop, starting prices from €30.

I stepped out from Santa Claus house, passed the famous Santa Claus Post Office and just stepped over the line of the Arctic Circle. Finally i made it to the ‚real north‘!

And with this i made it definitely also to Lapland, the land of reindeers. Along the way i spotted some of these majestic, but shy animals. Still mid-summer, the long daylight allowed me to drive till late, stopping for observing some reindeers and to cook a midnight meal before finally get some rest.

November 25, 2023November 19, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: animal, culture, europe, landscape, nature, reportage, roadtrip, tinatortuga, travelTags: arctic, arcticcircle, arktikum, culture, europe, finland, forest, lake, landscape, landscapephotography, lapland, museum, nature, northerneurope, overland, people, reindeer, renebauerphotography, reportage, rovaniemi, santaclaus, santaclausvillage, tinatortuga, Travel, wilderness, wildlife, wildlifephotography, woods Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

Settled in a big forest just outside of Riga is the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum.

It supposed to be one of the oldest and biggest in the world and held typically buildings and cultural goods from all part of the country.

Beside gathering knowledge and many interesting facts about Latvia and its culture, it’s also a beautiful walk in the woods, what was very welcome after the days in the hustling city.

November 22, 2023November 19, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: culture, europe, landscape, nature, portrait, reportage, roadtrip, tradition, travel, urbanlifeTags: balticstates, building, church, culture, easteurope, ethnographic, farmhouse, forest, handicraft, landscape, latvia, nature, northerneurope, openairmuseum, overland, people, portraits, renebauerphotography, reportage, riga, tradition, Travel, windmill, wood, woodenhouse Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Latvia – Riga

I played tourist in Riga.

Just strolling trough the old town, looked at historical building, visited churches and parks and learned a bit from its history.

Not going to bore you with many details about Riga, what you could find in a better way online, but post some impressions on my walk trough the city, before i found a quite place for the night just at the bank of the river Daugava.

November 21, 2023November 19, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: culture, europe, food, gastronomy, history, landscape, reportage, roadtrip, tinatortuga, travel, urbanlifeTags: balticstates, buildings, cafe, camping, cathedral, church, coffee, coffeetime, daugava, easteurope, historical, history, Landrover, landroverdefender, latvia, market, markethall, northerneurope, oldtown, overland, parks, people, rainbow, renebauerphotography, reportage, riga, river, roadtrip, skyline, sunset, tinatortuga, tram, Travel, urbanlife, vanlife, ww2 Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Along The Coast From Lithuania to Latvia

Just cruising trough the beautiful countryside on minor roads, stopping by some unknown landmarks, watching the local sunbather at the crowded beach or listen to their nightly party music on a picnic spot next to a lake on a weekend.

The Baltic people love the outdoors. They spend the weekends out camping, enjoying fishing at the lake or just chilling at the sea. That’s why there are easily to find picnic spots in beautiful surrounding for a overnight stay including a refreshing dip in the lake after a day driving.

November 20, 2023November 19, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: europe, humansofplanetearth, landscape, nature, reportage, roadtrip, tinatortuga, travelTags: balticstates, beach, bordercrossing, camping, coast, europe, jurkalne, klaipeda, lake, landcape, Landrover, landroverdefender, latvia, lithuania, nature, northerneurope, overland, people, renebauerphotography, reportage, roadtrip, sea, tinatortuga, Travel Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Mitzpe Ramon

Some last impressions from Israel. Enjoying the desert around Mitzpe Ramon. The town is situated on the edge of a cliff and overlooking big dry valley. One of the highlights is a walk along the cliffs and observing the ibex at sunset. With this beautiful and peaceful silence my trip in Israel comes to an end…

Juli 9, 2023Juli 7, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: animal, landscape, Middle East, nature, reportage, roadtrip, travel, wildlifeTags: animal, cliff, Desert, hike, ibex, israel, landscape, nature, negev, renebauerphotography, reportage, sunset, Travel, view, wildlife Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Negev Desert

Leaving the coast of the Red Sea along the border with Egypt, the road leads back into the Negev desert. More rocky and hilly landscape, with dry valleys and small oasis. A few remote settlements along the way. But there are also groups of cyclists on the road, fighting against the heat and covering big distances. Myself prefers a short hike in the desert, enjoying the few colorful plants growing there. At the end of the day i was ending up in Mitzpe Ramon. More about it on my next blog.

Juli 7, 2023Juli 7, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: landscape, Middle East, nature, reportage, roadtrip, travel, wildlifeTags: botanic, Desert, fauna, flora, ibex, israel, landscape, nature, negev, oasis, overland, renebauerphotography, reportage, Travel, wildlife Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Eilat, beach town at the Red Sea

After a long drive trough the Negev desert along the Jordan border, the road ends in Eilat at the Red Sea.

It appears as holiday destination like so many others on this world. Israeli and tourists all over the world coming here for some relaxing days, parties or a foodie weekend at the sea.

There’s not much more than the beaches in front of big hotels, food courts and bars. The landscape around is stunning tho. If you get on an elevated point you can overlook the Red Sea and its riparian states, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. All within a coastline of approximately 35 km.

April 9, 2023April 8, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: food, gastronomy, HOPE, humansofplanetearth, landscape, Middle East, nature, reportage, roadtrip, travel, Uncategorized, urbanlifeTags: beach, beachlife, egypt, eilat, fun, holiday, hotel, israel, jordan, middleeast, negev, palmtree, party, redsea, renebauerphotography, roadtrip, saudiarabia, sea, Travel Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Tsukim, the art village in the desert

Nothing else better than a good coffee for starting a new day. Even better in beautiful or interesting surrounding.

It’s happened i got an overnight stay just in Tsukim, just near the gate to the art village. And it’s just happened i woke up there on a Friday morning, the day when the art village is open for public, as they told me.

The Artists‘ Colony of Tsukim, also know as Zuqim, lies in the Negev desert, far away from a bigger settlement. A perfect place to follow your inspiration and create artsy stuff, as also more handy ones, like roasting coffee.

And coffee i got in the gallery, where beautiful landscape pictures of winterly Turkey were displayed. Ironically i did travel in Turkey just before and was fleeing the cold, while i enjoy the pictures here in the desert now.

Later i roamed trough the little shops, talked with a few artist and admired their art work. Paintings, pottery, fairy puppets, jewelry and wonderful creatures and things made from natural materials. And this coffee roastery, owned by a nice guy and his father. A good reason to stop by for another espresso.

April 7, 2023April 7, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: culture, food, gastronomy, HOPE, humansofplanetearth, landscape, Middle East, portrait, reportage, tradition, travel, UncategorizedTags: art, artcolony, artstuff, artvillage, coffee, Desert, isreal, jewelry, landscape, middleeast, nature, negev, painting, people, pottery, renebauerphotography, reportage, roastery, shops, Travel, tzukim, zuqim Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – En Gedi, The Oasis

There’s not just one En Gedi, i found out when i approached the area. My quick research earlier learned me about a kibbutz and a nature reserve, an oasis, with the same name. It’s not exactly the same spot, as i expected. The nature reserve lies not inside the kibbutz, as i thought, but a few kilometer up north of it. So be aware of it if you want visit it.

There’s a parking lot and big picnic area with some shops and cafe in front of the entrance. A friendly young lady at the booth explained me about the ways and activities within the UNESCO heritage nature park. I was poorly prepared about this spot and already bit late on the day. I was happy to learn, there are some shorter walks along a creek. So i followed the ‚wet trail‘ upstream. Beautifully along the green bushes inside a deep valley with incredible views over the Dead Sea. On some rocks i found to my surprise a couple rock hyrax glaring to wandering tourists. These cute mammals are seen often in Southern Africa, known also as rock dassies.

Along the way are several small waterfalls. Day visitors use the chance to have a dip in the tiny pools to cool off or just having a rest there. My walk ended on the higher and more famous David waterfalls. A cool rest under the spray of the falls, a couple pictures taken and the joy of the view for a few minutes longer. Too soon i had to walk back, but on a slightly different route to enjoy the view over the Dead Sea bit more.

April 2, 2023März 30, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: landscape, Middle East, nature, reportage, roadtrip, travelTags: davidfalls, deadsea, Desert, eingedi, engedi, hike, israel, landscape, mountain, nature, oasis, renebauerphotography, reportage, rockdassie, Travel, unesco, view, wander, water, waterfall Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Masada, The Fortress On The Sky

In the tiny rental car the Judaean Desert felt even more huge. A black bitumen road navigates between stony fields, rocky areas and along deep, dry valleys with some rare, green oasis. I have to admit, i always do enjoy traveling trough lonely deserts. All in a sudden a deep blue surface appeared on the edge of a plateau. I reached the Dead Sea region.

Not far from here i arrived at the foot of a mountain. On top of it is the legendary fortress of Masada.

Built by Herod the Great it has two palaces for himself and fortified city on the plateau of the mountain. Beside the space for the inhabitants it also has huge storage rooms and a clever system of water drains and cisterns. King Herod enjoyed life up here with big, painted halls, terraces overlooking the Dead Sea and even heated baths.

Later the fortified city was occupied by the Jewish on the First Jewish-Roman War. The story tells a sad end of the folks up there. When the Romans besieged the fortress, they even build up a ramp to breach the walls. The people inside the city decided not to go in slavery but rather commit a mass suicide.

Nowadays a cable car brings the tourists on the top. There’s still a long, steep way uphill for the wanderers. I preferred to spend some time up there and wander between the ruins. Some wall paintings are still well preserved, as parts of the Roman bath is too. Even the earthen ramp, which was built to breach the wall, is still good to see.

The view is just stunning. On the back raises the mountains of the desert with its nice rock formations. On the front lies the blue Dead Sea with the Jordan mountains on the other side. It was so beautiful and magic, i spent longer than planned, but regret not one minute of it.