Stop I: Le Mont-Saint-Michel
The famous monastery island Le Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the must-sees when going to this are of France. Despite being packed with tourists, it’s still a worthwhile and impressive destination for a day trip and sometimes one can even find some quiet spots, especially later in the afternoon when most groups depart.
Stop II: Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a picturesque city with wonderful old houses, narrow streets, fortifications, and a distinct city shape due to the city completely filling a peninsula. Along the borders of the old city center large harbors are filled with yachts.
Stop III: Côte de Granit Rose
Our next stop was the famous Côte de Granit Rose with its distinctly colored rock formations. We found a simple but perfectly located camping ground at Landrellec for this stop (Camping Municipal de Landrellec). Just a few feet away from the beach and a coastal hiking trail this was a great opportunity to enjoy the sunset out in the nature without needing a long walk back to the tent afterwards.
Since we travelled at the end of the French summer holiday seasons, we were also surprised by many public festivities. In Landrellec we ended up at a harbor festival. At night, this festival surprised us with spectacular fireworks launched directly from the tideland. We didn’t expect to see more of them at that time.
In the end, Landrellec was a very nice spot and we probably should have stayed longer instead of rushing further west towards the tip of the Crozon peninsula.
Stop IV: Crozon at Camaret-sur-Mer with Pointe de Pen-Hir
Our next stop was the very tip of the Crozon peninsula at Camaret-sur-Mer. This is a pretty spectacular place with rough cliffs and strong winds. Unfortunately, the weather got pretty bad after one day. So we only stayed one night.
After the beautiful weather in the evening, rain and fog rolled in from the sea and the next morning we visited the famous Pointe de Pen-Hir in heavy fog. This resulted in some very special and moody images.
Stop V: Gulf of Morbihan and Quiberon peninsula
After the bad weather we headed further south and - more or less by accident - added an unplanned stop close the gulf of Morbihan. We found a lovely eco camping ground off the coast in between fields and had a good time there despite some more rain throughout the days we stayed there.
Although the gulf is pretty nice, our highlight at this stop was the Quiberon peninsula with its wonderful coastline.
Stop VI: Île d’Oléron
After all the rainy days, we decided to head further south to increase the chance for sunny days. We left Brittany and chose our final destination to be Oléron island, conveniently reachable with a bridge. The nature at Oléron is a lot less exciting and therefore we could use the remaining days mostly for relaxing at the beach, drinking some local white wine.
Again, we found a harbor festival with fireworks.
Phuket
Our trip started at the airport in Phuket and a hotel in the city center.
We only spent one night there an had a brief look at the slightly chaotic city before heading towards Ko Lanta, the only destination we booked in advanced. Going to Ko Lanta was our first trip with one of those crazy speed boats, which are advertised by the number of engines.
Ko Lanta
In contrast to many of the more popular islands in the Andaman Sea, Ko Lanta is one of the slightly lesser known ones. It is a quite large island without the distinctive karst formations the surrounding islands are known for. This results in a low density of tourists and a very relaxed feel to the island. We spent our time on Ko Lanta in Klong Khong and immediately extended the planned time there just because the atmosphere was so much relaxing.
You can spend some nice time at Klong Khong’s beach bars while watching the sunset.
One of the interesting things we did on Ko Lanta was renting a boat with a guide for a day to visit some of the smaller islands surrounding Ko Lanta.
While Klong Khong beach is nice for relaxing at one of the bars, swimming is not easy due to many rocks. Of course, we also visited other beaches better suited for swimming. At the occasion below, a thunderstorm moved in.
After bringing a lot of rain, the thunderstorm also brought a wonderful sunset for our last evening at the island.
Ko Phi Phi
After the relaxing Ko Lanta, we decided to head over towards Ko Phi Phi for two nights. Despite knowing that this place is extremely touristy and overrun, the distinctive karst formations of this island group are what makes it that interesting and we somehow accepted the amount of tourists to get an impression of the nature there.
In the end, we probably wouldn’t visit Ko Phi Phi again. The village is just a huge number of shops, bars, and drunk tourists and the nature really struggles with the amount of tourism.
Ko Lipe
After the extremely crowded Ko Phi Phi we headed towards Ko Lipe. Despite being well established as a tourist destination, Ko Lipe has more space and you can still find quiet spots on this island. The speed boat ride there takes some hours.
We spent the time on Ko Lipe in the relaxing Pitiusas Beach Resort with just a handful of bungalows at the sunset beach side of the island. The hotel as has a nice little beach, which gives direct access to the huge coral reef of the island.
Like on the other islands, many of the beach bars try to attract visitors with fire spinning shows.
Slowly heading back to Germany
Before heading back to Germany, we spent two more nights on the very calm island Ko Yao Yai, mainly for relaxing. This was well deserved after the long, shaky, cold, and wet speed boat ride back from Ko Lipe. No fancy photos to show from this island apart from the hotel pool 😉.
Before entering the airplane back to Germany, a wonderful sunset at a beach close to Phuket airport finalized our Thailand trip.
Los Angeles
Starting point of the road trip following a conference was Los Angeles.
Zion National Park
The first national park along the route was Zion. This national park is a nice contrast to the others that followed because the nature is extremely pretty but the park is not that crowded compared to the more famous ones.
Not only the valley at Zion is pretty. Along the Kolob Reservoir Road you can also find some pretty nice spots to watch the sunset.
From Zion we headed towards Bryce Canyon. To get there, you have to follow the Zion Mount Carmel Highway that winds up Pine Creek Canyon.
Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon was probably the most impressive experience. Unfortunately, we only had a single day to visit it. The next day, the forecast indicated snow and with a rental car with only summer tires we decided to better leave early.
From Bryce Canyon to Page
From Bryce Canyon we continued to Page with its various attractions nearby. Despite the bad weather forecast and adventurous stories found on the internet, we decided to take the Cottonwood Canyon Road. We made it without getting stuck.
Close before Page, one passes the impressive Glen Canyon Dam
Around Page: Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon
Page is a small town close to the Glen Canyon Dam and a few natural landmarks that have become very famous: Horse Shoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.
Grand Canyon
The next stop was Grand Canyon. We arrived in the evening and watched a beautiful sunset. The next morning everything was covered in clouds, rain, and snow.
Again, we left after only one night to avoid more heavy snow with the rental car.
Joshua Tree National Park
The next stop on our route back towards the coastal San Diego was Joshua Tree National Park.
An interesting hike outside the main valley area is 49 Palms Oasis.
San Diego
The last stop on our road trip was the city of San Diego with its endless beaches.
The Souks of Marrakesh
A common sight are the artfully presented spices, herbs, nuts or color pigments. Sometimes, you can spot some fake ones though.
Shadow Patterns
Most of the narrow market streets are covered by a wooden construction to act as a sun shade. This results in the very typical shadow patterns found in those streets throughout daytime.
Pottery, Clothing, and Other Goods
Pottery, clothing and other accessories can be found as well.
Bahia Palace
Another famous attraction of Marrakesh is Bahia Palace, a collection of impressive yards and buildings from the end of the 19th century. During opening times, this palace is constantly packed with tourists. The photo below is a composite from 10 shots over 20 minutes and still I wasn’t able to get rid of all tourists in all places.
A wooden roof in Bahia Palace.
Saadian Tombs
Jemaa el-Fnaa
Starting in the evening hours, the main square of the Medina in Marrakesh fills up with tourists and various opportunities for them to spend money. Outdoor restaurants fill the place with smoke, orange juice sellers try to grab your attention, and snake charmers are trying to earn some money.
Before sunset, people assemble in one of the roof top restaurants along the borders of the square to get a good view on the scene. Be early enough to get a good table. Below are some views on the square from Cafe de France and Cafe Glacier.
Night-Time Entertainment on Jemaa el-Fnaa
Jardin Majorelle
The most famous attraction in Marrakesh, located outside of the Medina. A nice garden, but not extremely impressive to my mind. A good opportunity for photos is the blue building inside the garden, though.
Getting a View from the Secret Gardens
Essaouira
In contrast to the big and hot Marrakesh, Essaouira is a little town at the coast with a relaxing atmosphere and comfortable temperatures.
The Streets of Essaouira
City of Sea Gulls
Especially at the harbor, Essaouira is without doubt a city full of sea gulls.
The Harbor
The most crowded and busy area is definitely the harbor with many small blue fishing boats and fisherman trying to sell the fresh fish. Without cooling, the smell can sometimes be overwhelming here.
The Skyline
The most iconic part of Essaouira is definitely its skyline with the Medina surrounded by city walls raising high above the ocean.
The Souks of Essaouira
Of course, also Essaouira has markets and shopping streets inside the Medina. In contrast to Marrakesh, people are more relaxed here and you have a lot more time to take a look at their goods before they start talking to you.
CITEC was primarily known for its research on human-robot interaction. One of the prototypical robotics involved there is the colleague below.
My group was, however, primarily researching human-robot collaboration in industrial settings. For this purpose, an industrial transfer laboratory was operated with different industrial settings replicated there.
Inside the transfer lab, one photo series I took documents research on reconfiguring a robotic arm inside a modular production cell using physical human-robot interaction.
