In a few days, the cornonation of King Charles will take place at Westminster Abbey in London, England. MJ and I spent a little time in London recently, scoping out the facility on behalf of the monarch…..or not. Either way, we toured the Abbey.
I’ll admit it, Westinster Abbey was a highlight of the trip for me. Here are some photos from this wonderful architectural site. As you’ll see, I loved the ceilings and that helped keep people out of the photos.
This simple but beautiful church sits on the south side of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Búðakirkja is a local parish church that dates back to 1703.
This is one of the most photographed spots in the country and you can see why.
Here is a throwback to our 2019 Europe river cruise. We started in this beautiful town in Germany. I loved the medieval architecture, cathedrals and bridges. It just made for a very photographic spot.
On the south coast of Iceland’s Snaefellsness peninsula, there is this cute little black church sitting on the cliff above the Atlantic ocean. There is a small village with a hotel near by (about a mile away) called Buoir. The church was constructed in 1703 by Bent Larusson who was a merchant in the area.
This is from our Iceland trip about this time last year. This large Lutheran church sits upon a hill overlooking downtown Akureyri. Akureyri is the 2nd largest city in the country and sits on the northern coast.
I visited several different religious churches and temples during our visit to Ukraine (pre-war). Some of them abandoned inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, some in small villages and a some in Kyiv.
Here are a few photos from those locations with more in the photo gallery.
Slavutych Ukraine
Church ceiling inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
St. Sophia's Cathedral in Sophia’s Square (Kyiv)
This beautiful little turf church is in the southeast coast of Iceland near the village of Hof. There are only six turf churches left in the country and we got a chance to see two of them on our last trip to Iceland. As you might have noticed, there are graves all around the church courtyard which are the small mounds in the foreground of this photo. None of them have grave headstones or markers, but I assume they have records of who is buried where around the church.
It’s hard to believe it has been approximating 6-month since MJ and I went to Iceland. In the COVID world, everything that happened recently seem like it happened 10 years ago. Or is it just me?
Anyway, here is another photo from norther Iceland. This is the oldest church in Iceland, and I loved it. Small, simple, and beautiful.
From my family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season and happy new year.
At this time of year, I always go back to photos I took of this church many years ago with Brad and Dave. I like them because they are rich, and they scream winter holidays. But it’s also because I haven’t taken many holiday photos over the years.
This turf structure is the oldest church in Iceland. It is located on the north side of the country (Skagi Peninsula) near the village of Hofsos. Parts of the turf church date back to the 17th century. Turf structures like this were often used during that time for houses, churches, and businesses. Weird fact, this church is the only one in Iceland with a circular turf-wall around the graveyard and the church.
This is an iconic photo location in Vik Iceland. There is a little hill above the church allowing for this great perspective.
This is the beautiful St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral. I’ve been to this spot numerous times. Its an iconic urbex location.
This little church in the village of Vik is often photographed from numerous perspectives. There are a couple of cool rock formations in the ocean off the coast of Vik (behind the church from this angle). In the future, I’ll share a photo of this church from a different angle where you’ll be able to see them as well. In this photo, I was trying to frame the church with the purple Lupine wildflowers in the foreground. By the way, the Lupine flowers are everywhere in Iceland. Anyway, I hope you like this photo as much as I do.
Here is another unique location from the city of Reykajvik. Skolavordustigur Street leads right up to the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral in the central city.
I love how the Iceland people embrace all individuals, including the LGBTQ+ community. Their level of inclusiveness is a model for the world.
This photo is from our Shutter Rush weekend in Gary Indiana. This spot was inside the abandoned Methodist Church in the downtown area. This artist actually creates similar murals in abandoned sites all over the Midwest. You can she her work on IG @poetrybyboots
This pretty image has been waiting to make an appearance for a number of years. I took this photo many years ago while MJ and I were in the country of Montenegro. I don’t remember the name of the village, but I remember MJ explored a museum about the history of the country while I ran around the town capturing hundreds of photos.
This is an abandoned church in Pittsburgh called Our Lady Help of Christians Church. I took this photo back in 2019, but just edited it within the last month. This isn’t a very large church, but it is pretty amazing. Just imagine what it must have looked like back in the day.
When the world returns to normal, Blair wants to go back to Ukraine to visit Chernobyl again…and I’m ready as well. This is the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev. It has a Cathedral, bell tower, refectory and gates, which are all built in the Ukrainian Baroque Style.
Blair and I visited this spot while completing a huge photo walk around a number of historic locations in the city near the Dnieper River.
This beautiful cathedral in downtown Bratislava, Slovakia was a cool spot to visit. It was built in the 13th century in a Gothic style. It is the oldest and largest cathedral in Bratislava. Nineteen Hungarian kings and queens were crowned inside this cathedral over the years. The church tower is part of the medieval fortress walls and has a gilded duplicate of the Hungarian crown on the top of the steeple.
This trip was in the spring of 2019, which we took with “The Neighbors” (Kris and Scott) which we booked via Gate1Travel.com. That was our 3rd trip with Gate1Travel and I’d travel with them again.
I took this photo a year ago in downtown Pittsburgh at First Presbyterian…. They do a nice job decorating the church for the holidays.
