Over the past years, we've traveled across the globe by car, train, plane, boat, cruise, and whatnot. Based on that experience, we've created comprehensive itineraries, along with route maps, GPS locations, tips, and tricks. Through this series of articles, I intend to share our travel itineraries with our fellow photography and travel enthusiasts. I hope they help you plan your future travels!
The multicultural Qatari capital Doha is dubbed as the Pearl of the Middle East where the old and the new coexist. Being a city steeped in culture, tradition, and heritage, it is home to some of the most striking museums, galleries, and public art projects in the region. Traditional dhows (wooden cargo boats) bob on the water, palace guards still ride camels to patrol the streets, and in the city's century-old souk, traditional fabrics, fragrances, and even falcons are on sale. That my friends, is Doha for you!
Located in the Middle East at the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, the thriving nation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a federal, elective monarchy made up of seven emirates (autonomous city-states) namely Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah. In addition to marine boundaries in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran, as well as with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, it shares land borders with Oman to the east and northwest and with Saudi Arabia to the southwest. The largest of the seven emirates, Abu Dhabi is the capital of UAE, and the most populous port city of Dubai is an international financial and commercial hub housing hundreds of global companies in a forest of skyscrapers.
Uniquely situated on the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates at the junction of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, the island nation of Iceland is aptly dubbed as the ‘Land of Fire and Ice,’ due to the presence of some of Europe’s largest glaciers and most active volcanoes at the same time. Iceland is a country with dramatic diversity in climate and geography ranging from volcanoes, lava fields, mountains, glaciers, ice caves, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, hot springs, and black beaches. And due to its vicinity to the North Pole, it’s also an iconic destination to chase the Northern Lights. All of these together, create an enchanting otherworldly ambiance that cannot be expressed in words but has to be experienced in person. And probably that’s the reason why Iceland has been the backdrop of several Hollywood and Bollywood movies and TV Series like Starwars, Tomb Raider, Die Another Day, Batman Begins, Thor: The Dark World, Interstellar, Fast and Furious 8, Game of Thrones, Vikings, and Katla to name a few!
To me, Switzerland is all about mountains, lakes, waterfalls, alpine villages, and historic towns. So you need to choose an itinerary combining one or two of each of the above to experience the beauty of Switzerland in its entirety. Also, having too many of each of these may be overkill and turn out to be a very expensive Swiss drama. So, in our itinerary, we chose the best of each of the above to ensure we capture the true essence of Switzerland in our hearts forever, while keeping the itinerary cost-effective.
The lavender fields in Provence are among the most well-known in the world. Every year between mid-June and mid-August, when the Provence lavender fields begin to take on their distinctive purple tint, and the countryside gets inundated by their sight and scent, it reminds us that even when life is about to come to a standstill at the whim of the sun's powerful rays, the earth can still ripen, that there can be joy amidst misery. And that, my friends, is not a sight to be missed! Today I’m going to take you along with me on a ride across the best lavender fields of Provence. Let the journey begin!
The inverted letter ‘Y’ shaped (or ‘lambda’ for science students) lake of Como (also known as Lario) is a gorgeous glacial lake in the Lombardy region of Italy, 50 km north of Milan. After Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore, it is the third-largest lake in Italy with a surface area of 146 sq. km. With a depth of 425 m, it is the fifth-deepest lake in Europe. Home to picturesque villages, elegant villas, luscious green mountains, and sparkling blue shores, Lake Como is a place where gleaming red Ferraris glide through little lakeside towns and aristocrats, royals, and celebs vacation in neoclassical villas. Here the 2006 Bond film ‘Casino Royale’ was partly shot and many of the opulent lakeside hotels are priced like 007 properties. Hollywood star George Clooney is known to spend the summer months at his 25-room Villa Oleandra in Laglio on Lake Como.
Tuscany in central Italy is not only one of the most well-known regions of the country, but it's also unquestionably one of the most picturesque travel destinations in all of Europe. A few of the attractions that make a trip to Tuscany unforgettable include the fascinating hilly landscapes, pine forests, cypress avenues, rolling hilltop vineyards, golden yellow fields, olive groves, idyllic medieval villages, an immeasurable wealth of art treasures, authentic cuisines, and locally brewed wines. In addition, it is regarded as one of the most significant Renaissance cultural landscapes, having numerous sites and attractions on the UNESCO World Heritage List. No wonder photographers from all over the world come to Tuscany to shoot the best photos of their lifetimes!
Milan is the capital of the Lombardy region in northern Italy and the second most populous city in Italy after Rome. It is the most prosperous manufacturing, commercial, financial, and cultural hub in Italy where life is fast-paced, money does the talking, creativity is a major business, and fashion is an art form!
Today I’m going to tell you a summer story. An epic summer story of a 6000 km road run across Milan, Tuscan villages, Florence, Pisa, San Marino, and towns on Lake Como, from the Netherlands.
The annual Amsterdam Light Festival (ALF) fills the Dutch capital's canals with magnificent works of light art every winter. Designers, architects, and artists from all around the world submit hundreds of concepts each year, out of which 20 to 30 artworks are chosen for display in the festival by a selection committee.
When you think of the Netherlands, the first thing that comes to your mind is an endless ocean of vibrant flower fields. Soon after the first tulip was planted on the Dutch soil in the mid-sixteenth century, the country saw a tremendous floral revolution and the founding of a horticultural industry that later converted their lowland country into the global hub of flower trade.
Today I’m going to tell you a Christmas story. An epic Christmas story of a 7000 km cruise and road run across Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden from the Netherlands.
Today I’m going to tell you a summer story. An epic summer story of an 8000 km road run across Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia from the Netherlands.
The Moselle Valley region offers families the opportunity to vacation by the Moselle, spend time with their families, have fun, be active, and learn new things right from a child-friendly guided tour of the Cochem Castle, the Reichsburg, to a ride on the chair lift up to the Pinnerkreuz, the fantastic viewpoint above the small town of Cochem, from where it's not far to hike to the Klotten Game and Leisure Park, which, among other things, has a large enclosure with wild animals, to a must-do boat ride from Cochem to Beilstein, that will leave you awestruck! So based on our personal experience, today I’m going to share with you the tips and tricks on how to get the most of this amazing piece of creation named the ‘Moselle Valley’ over a weekend with your family. Let the journey begin!
Today I’m going to tell you an Easter story. An epic easter story of a 6000 km road run across Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Austria from the Netherlands.
For most travelers, Black Forest is just about Cuckoo Clocks, Triberg Waterfalls, Lake Titisee, or big cities like Baden Baden, Heidelberg, Freiburg, and Feldberg, where you will find most of the crowd. But that surely is anything but the real ‘Schwarzwald.’ Experiencing the real Black Forest is by driving through dense and dark stretches of woodlands, serpentine climbing mountainous roads, lush green valleys, postcard-perfect villages while expecting to run across a wicked witch or huntsman, taking a break to pluck a few apples from the orchards, tasting wine while driving across the vineyard trails, or stopping the car in the middle of nowhere when you spot a deer.
Situated amidst one the most dramatic settings on the planet, the ingeniously constructed isolated hamlets of Cinque Terre (pronounced as Cheen-kweh Ter-reh), or "Five Lands," with no automobiles, winding lanes, seemingly impregnable cliff sides, perfectly preserved architecture, a network of stunning mountain trails, and a 19th-century railway line cutting through a series of coastal tunnels connecting the villages can spellbind even the most adept of eyes.
Monaco is a sovereign micro-country located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. The country is bordered on three sides by France, with the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth, and the Italian Riviera a few kilometers east. According to the 2016 census, Monaco is the world's second-smallest (after the Vatican) and most densely-populated sovereign state, with an area of 2.020 km2 and a population of roughly 38,400 people per km2. Monaco has been a magnet for high-rollers and hedonists since the early twentieth century, and it is home to the annual Formula One Grand Prix.
When it comes to over 90% of Norway, rugged is an understatement. This was one of the primary motivations for the Vikings’ journey south, and many Norwegians chose to depart and settle in the United States. However, with millions of tourists visiting each year, the west coast of Norway, which is endowed with breathtaking mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, fjords, and the sea, has resurrected its former splendor. And why are they flocking to Norway, despite the fact that it is one of the most costly locations in the world? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Copenhagen, which began as a Viking fishing community in the 10th century, has proudly worn the moniker of 'The Happiest City in the World' for years, which I've always found intriguing. However, a visit to the Danish capital would make it very evident. The city has the X factor thanks to its happy-go-lucky snug terraces all along the port, free-flowing wine, fish, and chips, and a laid-back contented attitude among the residents.
Every year in November, the otherwise industrial city of Eindhoven transforms into a magical fairy tale of light, known as GLOW Eindhoven. This annual light art festival attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world who come together to enjoy the breathtaking open-air exhibition of innovative light artworks created by international artists using new media technologies, such as computers, sensors, animations, and projections. The fusion of art, technology, and architecture creates a bewitching experience for visitors of all ages.