For the first time since the Covid pandemic, we feel comfortable to resume our travelling to other continents. We selected Canada from our wishlist and travelled from Calgary (Alberta) to Vancouver (British Columbia) on a roadtrip. We drove from Calgary to Banff, Jasper, Prince George, Smithers, Stewart. In Stewart you can easily cross the border to Hyder (Alaska, USA), which we did  to see brown bears catching salmon. From Stewart to Prince Rupert, where we took the ferry to cross the famous Inside Passage to Port Hardy. From Port Hardy we explored Vancouver island from north to south and finally we arrived in Vancouver.
The photo shows the Columbia Icefields in the Rocky Mountains along the road from Banff to Jasper.

For the second time we visit the Marker Wadden, new artificial islands created in the IJsselmeer. The first time we were here (2017), the main island (only one island can be visited by people) was just a pile of sand. Now, it has been developed with walking paths and bird hides and the island has turned green. The photo shows a common tern (Dutch: visdief).

It is the biggest waterfall in Europe and when staying in Schaffhausen, it is a must-see to have a look at it, although the fall does not compare to the falls on other continents like Niagara or Victoria.

Every day we read about people who tragically lost their lives while fleeing. But what does it mean to have to give up your own home, job, family and home? In the “FLUCHT” exhibition, in Zürich, visitors can take on the role of those affected and get an idea of ​​what it means to be on the run. The exhibition is a joint project of several institutions of which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR. and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC. In addition to the fate of the refugees, the project deals with topics such as refugee movements due to climate change and questions of cultural diversity, identity and opportunities through integration.

We have an appointment in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, for a farewell dinner  and we have built a citytrip around it with two days in Zürich and two days in Schaffhausen. The photo shows the skyline of the city along the river Limmat.

We spent a day in a bird hide at The Veluwe. This common backbird (Dutch: merel) is drying up after a bath in the water pool.

For one of my photo projects I desired a few photo’s of folk costumes in The Netherlands, especially for the region The Veluwe. There  are a few villages left in the country where people wear regional clothing in daily life. However, there are many communities who preserve the cultural identity and show the costumes during festivals and celebrations. The photo shows a costume of the community in Nunspeet taken at such an event.

Cemitério das âncoras (The Anchor Cemetery ) is a monument on the island of Tavira (Ilha da Tavira), as a testament to the former tuna fishing period in the Algarve. The anchors had been used in tuna fishing to fix the nets on the sea bottom of the Ria Formosa. The monument is situated at the beach ‘Praia do Barril’.

The western part of the south coast of Portugal has beautiful cliffs and rocks, while the eastern part has lagoons, part of the Parque National da Ria Formosa. The photo shows the impressive rock formations of Ponta da Piedade in Lagos.

We started a 10-day round-tour in the south of Portugal. Starting and ending in Lisbon, we are travelling in Alentejo and Algarve.

Our first experience is enjoying the  endless areas of cork oaks where you can see where the bark has been extracted from the trees. After harvesting it will take many years before a new layer of bark can be extracted.