- Zebra church!
Wonderful black and white church walls, made from white travertine and black basalt stone. - Palazzo del Popolo
Is this a dog with a helmet? And a cow sitting on top of it? - 12-sided bell tower
Coat of arms on the 12-sided bell tower, next to Chiesa di Sant'Andrea. - Piazza del Duomo
- Ex Ferrovia Spoleto - Norcia
A super interesting cycling path along the old railway. Plenty of bridges and tunnels. - Ex Ferrovia Spoleto - Norcia
The longest tunnel is 1936 m long. Almost 2 km in total total darkness. Galleria di Valico Caprareccia. - Ex Ferrovia Spoleto - Norcia
One of the last photos with our bikes before they were stolen... - Street sign
- Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The Dome dates from the 12th century. Its 14th century interior is simply divine. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi (~1360). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The ceiling was painted with lapis lazuli. - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
New Testament by Barna da Siena and/or Lippo Memmi (~1345). - Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
- Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The last judgement by Taddeo di Bartolo (1393). The hellish part. - Siena Cathedral
View of the Cathedral from Via Bruno Bonci. - Siena Cathedral
- Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico
Now this is a wonderful window! - Siena souvenirs
Unfortunately they didn't have the right size ;-) - Siena Cathedral
Built in 1196-1215. - Siena Cathedral
The oldest bell in the tower is from 1149. - Siena Cathedral
She-wolf of Siena, surrounded with emblems of confederate cities, dating from 1373. - Siena Cathedral
Detail of Pinturicchio's Mount of Wisdom (1505): Fortuna, holding a horn of plenty and a wind-swollen sail. She, standing on a sphere and a boat with a broken mast, brought the wise men to the island. - Siena Cathedral
- Siena Cathedral
- Siena Cathedral
The Hellespontine Sibyl (detail) by Neroccio di Bartolomeo. She was known for her prediction of Crucifixion. The wolf and the lion represent Siena and Florence. - Siena Cathedral
Detail of Pinturicchio's Mount of Wisdom (1505): Crates of Thebes who is throwing jewels into the sea. - Siena Cathedral
The divine interior of the Cathedral. - Siena Cathedral
More interesting details on the ceiling of the Piccolomini Library. - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
Just a quick stroll through the city. Starting with Santa Maria Novella, built in 1276-1420. - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
One of the many sails on the facade, which was added to the church in 1456–1470. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
The cathedral was built between 1296 and 1436, but the facade was added 1887. I feel like I have been lied to. - Giotto's Campanile
Giotto stared building this tower in 1334. He combined white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato, and red marble from Siena. The tower was completed in 1359. - Detail
Street lamps in Florence have very interesting bases ;-) Oh, and they are of course three-legged. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
Last view of the duomo ... until next time ;-) - Black sand
This is the blackest beach I've seen. And I've seen quite a few, which claim to be black... Not to mention that compass does not work on this beach. I mean... it works ... but the direction it points to is very locally determined. - Night in Caparica
View from our hotel room. - History of Lisbon
A complete Lisbon history in one passage. Mural by Nuno Saraiva. Every city should have a mural like this one. - Rosa dos Ventos
View from the Monument of the Discoveries. A wind rose and a world map. - Ilha do Baleal
There are some oddly specific signs in Baleal... - Levico Terme
How to make a boring fence interesting. - A closed bar
A closed bar, opposite the Powder Tower. - Statue of Felicita Pauļuka
A statue of Felicita Pauļuka by Lea Dāvidova-Medene (1921-1986). Statue is in the National Museum of Art. - Christmas decorations
A giant moon in Bastejkalna parks. - Christmas decorations
The inside of the moon :-) - Christmas decorations
Bastejkalna Park and the wonderful Christmas decorations. The key is the symbol of Riga. - Christmas decorations
Bastejkalna Park and the wonderful Christmas decorations. - Ninja warrior in Cannes!
Unfortunately I did not see the actual show, just the stage. - Des oeufs de bouc
A volcanic cave, within des oefs de bouc. - Des oeufs de bouc
One of the windows/openings of the cave. - Still life
Let's just say: you had to be there to understand ;-) - Royal floors
Pattern in the pavement, marking the reign of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II. - Fuente de los Gigantones
The fountain was built in the 17th century. Moved several times, it now ended up in Plaza de Bib-Rambla. - A wolf!
What a wonderful art in Plaza de los Lobos. - Zellij in Mexuar
This style of mosaic tilework is called zellij. Charles V was not only King of Spain, but also Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Lord of the Netherlands. Maybe I missed some titles. Anyway, the double-headed eagle represents the Holy Roman Empire. - Mosaic in Nasrid palace
- More mosaic
Mosaic in Comares Palace, part of the Nasrid Palaces. Begun by Isma'il in the early 13th century and modified by Yusuf I and Muhammad V. - Zellij in Alhambra
More wonderful zellij pattern in the palace. - Window shopping in Granada
This is a very bold dress. - Alhambra hammam
Ceiling in the Alhambra's public hammam, constructed under Muhammad III. - Alhambra hammam
Every room you enter has more holes in the ceiling. The rooms follow a standard layout: changing room, cold room, hot room, boiler room. - El Bañuelo
These baths are very similar to the Alhambra baths. - Alpine chough
- Alpine chough
It is so dark, it almost looks like a crevasse in the ice. - Panda Bâ
Panda Bâ by Julien Marinetti, it was placed here just two weeks prior to our visit. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The reason why we came to Beaune: The hospices. Founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor by Phillip the Good was in use until 1971. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
Such lovely beams under the ceiling. I think the inscription says Seule * as seule etoile, meaning the founder's wife. - Hospice kitchen
The kitchen in the Hospice. My (second) favourite part in this kitchen is the rotating spit with Mr. Bertrand apparently rotating it. It was made in 1698 by a local clockmaker Defresne. - Hospice kitchen
This is my favourite part in the kitchen. The two swan-like faucets for running hot water. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
View of the glazed-tiled hospice roof from the cour d'honneur, the main inner court. The roof type probably has central European origins, but is now a trademark of Burgundy. - Beaune Polyptych detail
The red angel above Nicolas Rolin's head holds a golden helmet. - Beaune Polyptych
Closed altarpiece shows Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins, who founded the hospice in 1443. In the center are St. Sebastian and St. Anthony with the Annunciation on top. While the wife has a 'proper' white angel, the red angel of Nicolas looks quite devilish to me. - Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune
A magnificent stained glass window. But I have no idea how old it is. May be old, but my uneducated guess would say quite recent. - Château de Chenonceau
One of the many chandeliers in the Gallery across the river. - Château de Chenonceau
One part of the castle kitchen, with modern equipment. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre de Louise de Lorraine, the black room. She was mourning the death of her husband Henri III. - Château de Chenonceau
What a wonderful black room. And matching white flowers. - Arromanches
- Pointe du Grouin
Some art on a WWII bunker. - Basilica of San Francesco
Alabaster windows in the basilica. - Mouans-Sartoux
- Mouans-Sartoux
I love the cat's admiring gaze. - Mouans-Sartoux
Le Mur de Mouans-Sartoux. The wall is repainted every two months by a different artist. This one was made by Mister Copy. - St Francis Xavier church
The interior is basically the same since the 17th century. With an interesting contrast between black/gold/white. - Leoben
A clever installation in a mining town. Glückau'