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Inside Bosnia

Traveling those wo weeks in Bosnia I have the chance to meet local journalists, NGOs workers and of course my hosts were a valuable sources of information.

Meeting Eldina near the famous Holiday Inn, she lived in Sarajevo during the war and covers the news for German newspapers and TV

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Sarajevo’s many cemeteries

In Sarajevo cemeteries are everywhere, the patches of white pillars clinging onto the hills can be seen from afar. I have been fascinated with cemeteries since I can remember. The tranquility is one reason that, another one is the history they tell. In Argentina I once found the overgrown grave of an Austrian in the ruins of a deserted Jesuit mission.

Sarajevo Cemeteries

Patches  of white on green slopes are a common sight in Sarajevo – tombstone closely huddled together in Muslim cemeteries

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Sarajevo – the Jerusalem of Europe

Sarajevo – the Jerusalem of Europe – churches and synagogues all squeezed into the tiny center of Sarajevo are witnesses to the turbulent history of what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina. Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain had their synagogues built and so had their Ashkenazi brothers. Ottoman rule lasted till the beginning of the 20th century and then the very catholic Habsburg annexed the area. Religious and secular architecture alike reveal  the varies rulership that  Sarajevo suffered from and strived.

Churches with Muslim cemetery in the background

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Sarajevo’s Post-War Tourism

Considering the century-long multiculturalism that defined Sarajevo, it is hard to imagine how Bosnia was drawn into the atrocious war (1992-95) that meant the final disintegration of  Yugoslavia. A war where once friendly neighbors turned against each other and that resulted in the genocide in Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo. The Tunnel of Hope,  Sniper Alley or the grave of Sarajevo’s Romeo and Juliet are now part of tourists’ itineraries. Being a history buff I was particularly eager to see them all.

Frontline during siege of Sarajevo

Map of Sarajevo showing the frontline during the siege

 

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Ejminatsin – The Armenian Vatican

Armenians are deeply religious, churches are packed with people of all ages during mass. Around Easter is an excellent time to visit Armenia, lots of fascinating ceremonies like the candle-lightening ceremony or the blessing of small wreaths offer great photo ops. Both of these ceremonies I did not know about, but literally ran into them. Like when I passed street vendors selling little green wreaths on a street corner near my hotel, I simply followed the buyers and ended up at a small church dating back to 1694. A week later I noticed  people in the street carrying small, lit candles.  I quickly walked back to this church and again I stumbled into the most moving ceremony, the lightening of candles.

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Candle Lightning Ceremony

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Windswept Lake Sevan

Being the biggest lake in the Caucasus region makes it a very popular summer destination for Armenians. End of March was certainly not the best time to visit this lake high up at almost 2000m. Windswept, bare and snow-covered mountains in the distance did not allow any summerly feelings. Nevertheless the place was packed, mainly with Iranian tourists who literally let their hair down during those trips.

Lake Sevan - bare and windswept

Lake Sevan – bare and windswept

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A Day of monastery hopping: Noravank – Garni – Geghard Monastery

Armenia prides itself to be the first country that made Christianity its state religion. Consequently, the country is plastered with monasteries that have one thing in common: a setting with a breathtaking view. The inside of these mostly small stone buildings is usually simple: an altar without much décor, no seats, very few paintings, the omnipresent candle tray, that’s it. Those monasteries are Armenia’s main touristic attractions, although I wanted to avoid this touristic itinerary, I ended up doing exactly that, for one long day.

Typical interior of Armenian churches

Typical interior of Armenian churches

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Senja – a photo selection

February 2016 I finally did it. Seeing and photographing the northern lights has been on my mind for a long time. For this photography workshop I chose http://arr.at because of the location, Senja in northern Norway. A great choice. Picturesque fjords, scenic fishing villages and majestic mountains provide great photo-ops during the day, in the evenings we chased the northern lights. Being right on the ocean had various advantages: temperatures were surprisingly mild (given that we were 400km north of the polar circle)  and the weather changes rapidly, bright sunshine and heavy snowfall within an hour. Of course the northern lights are as spectacular in the interior of Lapland, but there you can easily be stuck in a storm for a week at minus 35 degree Celsius. Only the Sami people enjoy this battery-eating temperatures.

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Senja – a winter fairytale

winterlandscape with fjord

wintery landscape on Senja

A blanket of thick snow covered the entire island beginning of February, trees reminded of artful structures, their branches heavily burdened by snow, often touching the ground. Numerous fjords intrude into the island, dotted with beaches, fishing villages and framed by rigid mountains,  the perfect photo-ops.

The island of Senja is a two-hour drive from Tromsø and the perfect place for a photography workshop. The light conditions in February could not be more favourable, especially the blue hour.

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Chasing the Northern Lights

 

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Northern Lights, Senja, Norway

We were about to open a bottle of Austrian red wine to celebrate my birthday. That very minute Marc stormed into our comfy apartment with the news we had longed to hear. The northern lights were in the sky, exactly on my birthday!

Even better, on my very first day of our stay on Senja! Of course I had secretly wished for this birthday present, but for it to really happen?

After hastily wrapping myself in seven layers of clothing, grabbing the tripod and the camera, I dashed up the little hill, right next to our little hotel complex. Eagerly searching the skies I saw nothing, absolutely nothing that looked like the bright green lights I had so often seen marveled at on photos. In the distance drifted bites of wafts that could have qualified as light fog.

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