Europe

This past May, I had the opportunity to visit Sweden to make a presentation about my photographic research at the international Geomedia 2017 conference. The conference was held at Karlstad University in the town of Karlstad. Lovely city located about halfway between Stockholm and Oslo, Norway. We had the opportunity to ride both high-speed trains and slower, vintage Cold War era trains between Karlstad and Stockholm. While in Stockholm, we did get to visit Gamla Stan or the old Stockholm. This portion of the city dates back to the 13th century, around 1252 CE. Just as a side note, my ancestral family name originates in this part of Scandinavia. Maybe there’s some deep genetic root that made me feel so comfortable and “at home” in Sweden!

Alley leading to square in Gamla Stan, Stockholm.

Polaroid Instamatics, Camera Shop, Stockholm, SE

Sandbäcksgatan Bridge over the Klarälven River in Värmland County, Sweden. View from hotel room.

View across the Klarälven River in Karlstad, Sweden

Gamla Stan town square, Stockholm, Sweden

Dr. Zac Gershberg and Dr. Yolonda Youngs, Karlstad, Sweden.

Last month after attending a conference in Sweden, we flew south to Sicily to celebrate 30 years of marriage. Sicily feels like you are stepping back in time, yet there certainly is modernization all about. Especially wind and solar farms. While there we visited four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, the Greek Theatre and Roman Ampitheatre in the Latomie area of Syracuse, the Roman Villa del Casale (famous tile mosaics) near Piazza Armerina, and Mount Etna (great winery and vineyard at Gambino‘s). We also visited Taormina just a few days before the G7 global conference. As a retired military member, we tapped some of our benefits and stayed in very nice lodging at NATO Village, which is part of Sigonella Naval Air Station. Below are a few samples of some of the historical places visited. More images to come on the food and flora of the area!

The staircase of St. Mary in Caltagirone, SI, Italy, lined with potted flowers to create floral design when viewed from the bottom looking up. Each riser of staircase is lined with handmade ceramic tiles made in the city. This city is known for its ceramics.