EUROPE 02-France-Paris 4 and Endnote (21/02/08)

The Louvre, one of the most famous museums in the world.

The Venus de Milo, one of the three most important artifact in the Louvre. The other two are the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

The Paris Opera House.

Our souvenirs from Europe.

EUROPE 02-France-Paris 3 (20/08/02)

Fountain in the Place de la Concorde, one of the most important, and I considered the most beautiful square in Paris.

The obelisk in the center of Place de la Concorde. The obelisk once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple. It was a gift from the Egyptian government in the nineteenth century.

The Champs-Elysees, probably the most well-known street in the world, with the Arc De Triomphe in the far end.

The Pont de la Concorde, an arch bridge across the River Seine in Paris between quai des Tuileries at place de la Concorde (Right Bank) and quai d'Orsay (Left Bank).

The Trocadero, site of the Palais De Chaillot, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower at night.

The Arc De Triomphe at the night.

Sculpture on the Arc De Triomphe.

EUROPE 02-France-Paris 2 (Versailles) (21/08/02)

The Palace of Versailles is one of the most famous palace in the world, symbol of the French imperial power, and perhaps, also symbol of the fall of the French monarchy.

The main palace building and the gardens of Versailles.

The Royal Chapel in the palace.

The ceilings of the Palace are covered with paintings, typical of European palaces.

The Queen's Bedchamber.

The Bassin d’Apollon ("Apollo Fountain") in the garden. The fountain depicts the sun god driving his chariot to light the sky and forms a focal point in the garden

EUROPE 02-France-Paris 1 (Notre Dame) (20/08/02)

The city of Paris needs little introduction. We spent two days here visiting the major sights before taking the flight home.

The Notre Dame de Paris is among the best known cathedral in the world.

The rose window stained glass of the transept in the cathedral.

The Pieta on the high altar of Notre Dame.

Surrounding the high altar are murals depicting the story of Christ.

The Notre Dame from the northern bank of the Seine.

EUROPE 02-Switzerland-Bern (19/08/02)

Our last stop in Switzerland in this trip was Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Actually, it was more of a stopover from Interlaken for us to take the TGV (bullet train) to Paris. So it was a bonus as we did not plan to visit this beautiful city orignally.

Bern's city center is largely medieval and has been recognised by UNESCO as a Cultural World Heritage Site.

The Zytglogge ("Time Bell"), an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. We skipped our lunch to wait for the puppets to move at the stated time (can't remember the time) but nothing happened!

The Bern Town Hall.

There are many fountains in the narrow streets of Bern. Can't remember what is the name of this one.

Old town of Bern and the Aare river.

The tower in the background is the Berne Munster (Cathedral)

The bear is a symbol of Berne. Since the 16th century, the city has had a bear pit.

The entrance to the Munster has the most complete late Gothic sculpture collections in Europe. This collection represents the Christian belief in a Last Judgment where the wicked will be separated from the righteous. This sculpture shows the wicked naked on the left, while the righteous stand clothed in white on the right. In the center is Justice, with Saints and the wise and foolish virgins around her. In the center stands Micheal the Archangel with a raised sword.

The Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) houses the swiss national parliament.

EUROPE 02-Switzerland-Interlaken 5 (Mannlichen) (18/08/02)

Our last excursion here is to Mannlichen, which lies on a ridge that extends out from the high mountain range and separates the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen valleys. Mannlichen (2,345m) is the name of the small peak at the end of the ridge. It can be reached from Europe's longest gondola lift from Grindelwald follow by a short hike.

The Grindelwald valley from the Mannlichen. The peak in the center is Wetterhorn (3,701m) and in the right is Schreckhorn.

The classic view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau triumvirate from the Mannlichen. The small peak in the center is Tschuggen (2,520m)

The infamous north face of the Eiger, where many mountaineers gave their life to conquer it.

Kleine Scheidegg, Monch and Jungfrau. We hiked to Kleine Scheidegg from Mannlichen to take a train back to Grindelwald.

At the top of the photo is the Jungfrauoch viewing platform/observatory.

The Eiger, taken from our hotel room.

Close-up look at the Eiger peak.

Before we left the region the next morning, we took the funicular from Interlaken to Harder Kulm. At 1,323m on a mountain north of Interlaken, it offers superb view of the Bernese Alps to the south. However, the weather that day was not as good as the previous two days.

EUROPE 02-Switzerland-Interlaken 4 (First-Bachalpsee) (18/08/02)

The First region, with more than 90km of hiking and Alpine paths, is an exceptionally delightful excursion region. It can be accessed from the Grindelwald-First panoramic gondola lift. We took the hike to Bachalpsee.

The peak in the center is Schreckhorn (4,078m).

The Bachaplsee, with the magnificant mountain backdrop.

This incredibly awesome view of the Bachalpsee with the mountain backdrop is what attracted me to the Bernese Alps initially, when a saw a photo of this in a swiss tourist office brochure.

The Grindelwald valley with Eiger in the center.

EUROPE 02-Switzerland-Interlaken 3 (Lauterbrunnen) (17/08/02)

As mentioned earlier, there are two main valleys in Bernese Alps, the Grindelwald Valley and Lauterbrunnen Valley, separated by Mannlichen in the center. Looking southwest from Interlaken, Grindelwald is in the left and Lauterbrunnen is in the right. We stayed at the Grindelwald valley.

We left Jungfrauoch in the early afternoon and proceeded to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Here is the Jungfrau as the train descended from Kleine Scheidegg to the valley.

The two peaks behind the valley is Breithorn (3,782m, left) and Tschingelhorn (3,557m).

The lush Lauterbrunnen Valley, with the towering Staubbach Waterfall which plunges 300 meters from a hanging valley that ends in overhanging cliffs above the Lütschine River.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley, Breithorn and Staubbach falls.

Spotlight on the Breithorn peak.

Spotlight on the Staubbach Waterfall.