Europe Trip-#5, Chamonix

I went from Geneva on a quick overnight trip to Chamonix, France, a few hours by train. Unfortunately the trip ended up being a bit of a dud, as the beautiful Alpine views I'd been hoping for were replaced by beautiful views of rain clouds. Nevertheless, I was able to get at least a few nice shots of the town, and one or two of the mountains...

Europe Trip-#3, Wangen (Alsace)

I visited the Szobody family, formerly missionaries in Chad, in the small village of Wangen, France, about 30km outside of Strasbourg. After being in Paris and then Strasbourg, it was a really nice change to get out to the countryside.

Paul & Teresa, who I first met in Gounou-Gaya, Chad.

With a few of the kids (l-r): Matthias, Micah, Mercy, Phillip, and Tytus.

Walking along the fields in the countryside...

Europe Trip-#2, Strasbourg

After leaving Paris, I went on to Alsace in eastern France, where I stopped in the city of Strasbourg. I'd been there before in 2005, but this time I went to visit the Szobodys, a family of American missionaries who I met in Chad when they were living in Gounou-Gaya, the village I served in as a Peace Corps volunteer.

As with the previous post, all the photos (and larger versions of them) can be seen by clicking on the photo in the slideshow. Same as before, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite photos from the album...

The Strasbourg Cathedral, incredibly imposing- this is one of my
favorite pictures I've ever taken, and was another long-exposure.

Inside the cathedral, with the organ, the columns, the stained glass
and everything else you'd expect from a 500+ year old church.

A section of the Old Town of Strasbourg, with the
traditional Alsatian construction preserved.

A small canal linking up to the Rhine, which

serves as the French/German border.

Followed by the rest of the album...

Europe Trip-#1, Paris

I began my two-and-a-half week European vacation with a couple days in Paris; naturally it was quite a change from the (relative) heat of Cameroon to go somewhere cold and almost snowy. Strange as it may sound, it was actually a really nice change. You can see all the photos in the album below, and can see larger versions by clicking on any of them, but there are a few standouts that I want to highlight first...

Notre-Dame Cathedral, early evening- I tried a long-exposure
photo, to make sure I had enough light.

Along the Seine, just across from Notre Dame

Inside the courtyard at the Louvre

One of the buildings of the Louvre palace- also a long-exposure.

...And the rest of the album.

CA-Baltimore-Cameroon, July 09

The journey to begin my new job, with a week in Baltimore, and a long trip...