Photographs taken July 2024, 35mm film on Yashica FX-3
Portraits of Porto
Portraits of Tarragona
Portraits of Barcelona
Portraits of Nice
Photographs taken July 2024, 35mm film on Yashica FX-3
Tarragona
Our journey to Tarragona began with a packed train ride down the coast from Barcelona. The train was filled with a mix of tourists and locals, all heading toward the seaside. As we rode along, we enjoyed the views of the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the hills on the other, despite the 75 minutes standing on the carriage.
Arriving in Tarragona, we immediately headed in to the old town to see the city’s rich history and Roman heritage, one of the main reasons for our trip. The Roman ruins here are some of the best-preserved in Spain, and one ticket gets you into all the ruins (albeit not the cathedral as we found out). Our first stop was the impressive Roman amphitheater, which sits right on the edge of the sea, with the stunning blue waters of the Mediterranean providing a dramatic backdrop. The amphitheater is incredibly well-preserved and you are permitted to visit all of it. From there, we wandered over to the Roman Circus, another incredible site where chariot races were once held. The scale of the Circus is huge, and it’s fascinating to see how much of the structure has survived through the centuries. The site also offers fantastic views of the city and coastline, making it a perfect spot to pause and take in the scenery. This particular day was about 33 degrees, so we didn’t pause for too long and headed to find some much needed shade (a constant theme of our travels I’m sure you may note). While seeking this out we had a chance to chat with some friendly locals. They spoke enthusiastically about Tarragona’s history and its growing popularity as a tourist destination. They were proud of their city’s heritage and were happy to see more people coming to appreciate its unique blend of ancient history and coastal beauty but struggled with the new businesses that had taken to serving tourist tat along their high streets. Tarragona had no music playing anywhere as such, but this was a welcome break for us. The streets were hushed and quiet, befitting of a basilica town. I found myself maintaining a lower volume, and keeping to the shaded side of the street. This quiet contrasted with the bustle of Barcelona, and I didn’t mind it, it reminded me of home. The idea of accumulating music on this trip had now been muddled in with noticing sounds on a more macro scale. The absence of sound is just as loud as a heavy metal band.
We decided to relax in one of the bustling squares, where we enjoyed a few cold beers (Mahou I love you). The square was lively with locals and tourists alike, all enjoying the warm weather and laid-back atmosphere. The cool drinks and lively chatter around us provided the perfect break before our next destination. Later in the afternoon, we hopped back on the train and headed to the seaside town of Sitges. By the time we arrived, the day had grown even hotter, and we couldn’t resist heading straight to the beach. We ended up wandering to the northern side of the beach, finding an alcove where I believe they were dredging the sand out of the bay. This created a huge smell of fish in the air. We spent the rest of the day swimming and soaking up the sun. The lively, relaxed atmosphere of Sitges was the perfect contrast to the historic charm of Tarragona, and there was lots of european pop music coming out of rival speakers from bars straddling the beach. This battle for superiority reflected the growing issue this area has with tourists (of which we were a part of). We ended the day heading back to Barcelona, ready for our next trip onwards.
Canals to Cathedrals: Discovering Northwestern Europe’s Structural Heritage
Both early in their careers, Elizabeth Paikoff and Kate Wishewan are excited to expand their personal and professional knowledge in heritage conservation by exposing themselves to the history of the cultures in Northwestern Europe. They will describe their findings in a case study booklet, detailing the history of particularly exciting items.
Nordic Echoes in World Heritage Cities
Cultural project manager Martha Skyrianou will take you on a journey through several Nordic World Heritage sites to gain a better understanding of Scandinavian history and legacy. On this trip, she will be documenting her experiences through a combination of creative blog diary and photo project.
cycling in france
we have mixed emotions about our cycling experience in france. strasbourg for example has a great infrastructure, you always have a lane for you or at least one with the cars. the traffic in the UNESCO-zone is very calme, it’s mostly car free.
from strasbourg to nancy we took a cycling path along the marne au rhin canal, which was very well developed. a big part of it led through the vallée des écluses, very very beautiful.
the rest of the french cities we visited were ok to cycle, like in germany. we would say: at least they tried.
the rest of the journey through france we cycled along the moselle. quite easy to do and nice but not very interesting. there is a lot of abandoned industry, because they used to use the river for transportation.
strasbourg – regensburg but with better cycling infrastructure
strasbourg:
it is in a way similar to regensburg with the ‚grand ill‘ which is free of traffic. that is the island in between the canals. everything seems to be new (or newly renovated) and polished. it’s a small city in between some canals, so yes somehow very similar to regensburg.
we liked the flair in krutenau, a part of the city near the university.
what we noticed is that nobody is going for a swim in rivers or canals, we yet don’t know why.
we met an old lady who didn’t want to tell us her name. but we talked a lot about the war and how it affected her and her family as well as the streets she grew up in.
we think strasbourg is making the same mistake as regensburg with trying to keep the heritage as a touristic experience. we would like to see the daily life more integrated into the UNESCO-zones.
we also visited the european parliament. we were very impressed by the louise weiss – building and the big wooden egg.
Heritage Cities through Analog Lenses
Follow Lukas Unterreitmeier as he travels through Central and Northern Europe and the East Coast of the US. Fascinated by the mixture of modern architecture and historical buildings that World Heritage Cities offer, Lukas will document his travels through his signature style of capturing moments – analog photography.