Europa 1977

This was the trip that started it all. Airfares had dropped bringing Europe into reach. A chance to see a bit of the world before settling down - little did I know that I’d see something better. Armed with a rail pass, I rolled between London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen, Paris, Rome, Munich, Salzburg, Luxembourg and Zurich. Included was a cruise down the Rhine. I don’t know which was worse. Castle after castle under grey skies or the awful elevator music blasted on the boat. As sparingly as I was taking photos, for some reason I went snap-happy overlooking Bergen, Norway (so you’d better enjoy the view). My cheap pocket camera broke in Austria and Switzerland, so those images reside in my memory for you mindreaders out there. As all roads lead to Rome, guess where this show ends. The musical accompaniment is Tutta Va Bene by Camille Bazbaz.

Scandinavia 1979

Back in 1979, I travelled from Oslo to the west of Norway to work on a farm in a village called Grimo, tacked to the side of a steep fjord. There I picked apples, pearls, plums and strawberries in the chilly rain. The discomfort was offset by inhaling the wonderful scenery that never grew mundane. When that ended, I hopped a train to Stockholm, Sweden. I stayed in a hostel that was once a sailing ship, the af Chapman (cool). In Denmark, I took only one photo, which was a funny billboard advert. As it’s The End appropriate, I’ve included it. The razor sharp imagery was taken with a pocket instamatic camera.  And the musical accompaniment is Äppelknyckarjazz by Movits!.