Albums from Southern Europe | Karl-Ove Vindenes' Photoblog

2008 – Eurovision tour

I drove with a friend from Oslo to Belgrade in Serbia to see the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. On the way, we stopped in Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Timisoara.

Bratislava, Slovakia

We stopped in Bratislava for a few hours on the way from Prague to Budapest.

8 photos.

Budapest, Hungary

We stayed two days in Budapest.

14 photos.

Timisoara, Romania

We also stayed a night in Timisoara in Transylvania, Romania.

8 photos.

Belgrade, Serbia

The southernmost stop on the trip was Belgrade in Serbia, host to the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.

14 photos.

2007 – Spain

I visited the Spanish capital, Madrid, and the nearby city of Toledo at the end of August.

Madrid

Madrid is a relatively young city, but is today, with over 3 million inhabitants, one of the largest cities in Europe.

18 photos.

Toledo

Toledo was once the imperial capital of Spain, and is still the ecclesiastical heart of the country. It is only a 30 minutes train ride from Madrid.

20 photos.

2006 – Istanbul, Turkey

I was one week in Istanbul, on the border between Europe and Asia.

Sultanahmet

Sultanahmet is the historic center of Istanbul.

20 photos.

Hagia Sophia

This was the largest church in the world for 1000 years.

11 photos.

Dolmabahçe Palace

The European-style Dolmabahçe Palace was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1923.

15 photos.

I arrived in Cyprus for a one week holiday two days after the Greek Cypriots rejected the EU and UN's proposed reunification of the island, stopping the Turkish North from joining the EU on May 1st, with the rest of Cyprus. I stayed in Ayia Napa, but also visited Lefkosia (Nicosia), the World's only remaining divided capital.

Ayia Napa

I stayed in the tourist trap of Ayia Napa. In the summer the town is filled with young party people, but this hadn't quite kicked off by the time I was there. In the middle of Ayia Napa is a monastery and a park, providing a calm refuge from the loud music being played all over the town.

12 photos.

Greek Cyprus

I drove around the island, and visited the small village of Polis on the western end, Pyla, Larnaca, Cape Greco and the divided capital, Lefkosia (Nicosia).

18 photos.

Turkish Cyprus

Turkey invaded the northern part of Cyprus in 1974, and the country was split in two. The Turkish call it a rescue operation, the Greek an invation and illegal occupation. I entered the territory in Lefkosia, and took a bus to the northern coast.

15 photos.

The UN zone

A UN buffer zone runs along the border between the Greek and the Turkish areas. Some places this zone is several kilometers wide, and at a small stretch in Nicosia there is no buffer, just a big wall, between the two.

11 photos.

2004 – Portugal

In March, 2004, I spent three days in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon.

Lisbon

I explored central Lisbon, the historical Belém area and the southern bank of the river Tejo, where the famous Cristo-Rei statue stands.

15 photos.

2002 – Italy

I visited Rome with a friend in December 2002. This was my first visit to the Eternal City.

Rome

Rome is the capital and largest city of Italy. In the center of the city is the Vatican City State, which is the smallest country in the world.

24 photos.

2002 – Gran Canaria

Together with 3 friends from Norway, I had a one week vacation in Gran Canaria, off the coast of West Africa, in August, 2002.

Roque Nublo

We hired a car and drove to the Roque Nublo mountain in the center of the island.

13 photos.

2002 – Spain

At the end of February 2002, I went to Barcelona on a conference, and visited the nearby Montserrat mountains.

Montserrat

On the 24th of February I spent almost a full day at the Montserrat mountain not far from Barcelona, Spain.

13 photos.

2001 – Spain

I was in Barcelona a few days at the end of February, 2001.

Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital and the most populous city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain.

17 photos.

2000 – Aegean Sea

Erik and I had a one week holiday in the Aegean Sea from during the spring.

Chios, Greece

We spent most of the time in Chios, the fifth largest of the Greek islands.

19 photos.

Çeşme, Turkey

While on holiday on a Greek island, we took a ferry over to the coastal town of Çeşme in western Asia Minor (Anatolia).

6 photos.