Christmas in Switzerland

For Christmas we went to Switzerland for a week. First we spent some days in Basel and then we went to Thun. There we had sunny days, but unfortunately no snow. The sight was very clear and so we could see all the mountains around like the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. On another day we saw a nice sea of fog, above it, it was nice and warm, below dark and cold.

Well, that's already the end of this year. We'd like to wish you all the best for the new year 2012!

Swans swimming in the lake of Thun, in the
background Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

Swans in the lake of Thun.

Lake of Thun.

Sea of fog and the Niesen behind.

Santa Coloma de Farners

On another weekend in December we rented a car and stayed in a nice 4 star hotel in Santa Coloma de Farners. On the way to this small town (near Girona) we visited Arbucies (village with a few nice buildings) and the Castillo Montsoriu on the top of a mountain with a spectacular view of the landscape with the Montseny in the background. The day after we drove back via Caldes de Malavella and Hostalric, a nice village with a long wall and a castle on the highest point, offering a nice view over the fortified town.



Church and square in Arbucies.



Arbucies



Castillo Montsoriu



Castillo Montsoriu



Santa Coloma de Farners



Spa in Santa Coloma



View over Santa Coloma





Hostalric



Fort in Hostalric



Fort in Hostalric

Palmanova, Mallorca

In December I went for a weekend to Mallorca where I stayed a few days in friend's appartment in Palmanova. From there we went walking along the beach and to a small but nice bay.



Beach in Magaluf.



Coast near Magaluf.





Colmar

Also in November we went for a weekend to Basel, Switzerland. Together with Nuri and Ruben we went on a day trip to Colmar (in France close to the Swiss and German boarder) where we visited a nice Christmas market. In the old town are 4 markets and apart of them the center has nice old buildings.

After Colmar we went to Riquevihr which is nearby. In this small, lovely town (or better village), surrounded by a wall, is also a Christmas market occupying the whole main street of the old town.



1 of 4 Xmas markets in Colmar.



Cathedral in Colmar.




Another Xmas market in Colmar.

 

Colmar





Colmar



With Ruben and Nuri in Colmar.



Riquevihr

Xmas market in Riquevihr.

Valencia

On a extended weekend in November we went by train to Valencia which took us 3 hours. The city has a nice center with quiet streets and interesting monuments to visit as the cathedral, the central market, la lonja (commodity exchange), churches and many nice buildings. Very new and modern is the "Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias" (city of arts and science), constructed by Santiago Calatrava. There's an interesting sience museum to visit and the famous aquarium of Valencia, the biggest one in Europe. The weather was sunny and quite warm for this season, so we could enjoy our stay there.



Mercado Central



Cathedral



View from the tower of the cathedral.



Interior of the cathedral.



Tower of the Santa Catalina church.



Torres de Serranos, city gate.



Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.



Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.



Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.



Dolphin show.



In the aquarium.



Train Station.



Olot

On a weekend in October we rented a car and drove to Olot, about 110 km away from Barcelona towards the Pyrenees. The region called La Garotxa is famous for its volcanic origin, there are many extincted volanoes visible.

Olot is a small but nice town and has also a volcano more or less in the middle of the town. From the top (there are nealy no trees compared to the other one's) we had a wonderful view of the region. On one day we went walking to some volcanoes and we climbed to the top of Mount Croscat. In Santa Pau we stopped to see the lovely old town. On the other day we drove to some villages in the area like Sant Joan les Fonts, Castellfollit de la Roca and on the way back to Barcelona we also visited Rupit, it's said to be one of the most beautiful villages in Catalonia.


View of Olot from the volcano.



The crater of the volcano in Olot.



Main church in Olot.



Plaza Mayor in Olot.



Crater of the Santa Margarida volcano.

View towards the Croscat volcano.

Croscat volcano.



Different colours of the earth.



Santa Pau.



Church and main square in Santa Pau.



Viewpoint to see the La Garotxa area.



A church in Sant Joan les Fonts.





Els Hostalets d'en Bas.



Castellfollit de la Roca.



Our rented car on the way to Rupit.



Rupit



Church and old houses in Rupit.



Rupit above a small canyon.