a few days ago, we returned from our botanical excursion to mallorca, the largest of the balearic islands.
i had heard stories from previous excursions to this island, so my expectations were high; but even these high expectations were exceeded: apart from a great group of botanists, the biological diversity was (is) simply stunning.

there will be a separate preview of pictures. for now, here are two group photos: one was taken near the cubre dam, the other on the island’s highest (legally accessible) peak, puig massanella.

botanical excursion to mallorca – group photo: christian, denise, marianne, konrad, chiara, juergen, daniel, marianne, andrea, sigi, markus & hanspeter

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here are some photos of my last-minute trip to turkey – home country of the kebab, baklava, and – probably not – the turkey.
even though we were based in a tourist-oriented area outside the city of side (not far from antalya), we did get to see some of the more authentic turkey, and marketers generally backed away when we greeted them in their own language.
the weather wasn’t too dry, and we stayed at an all inclusive hotel, but who’s going to complain, with a total price of 250 € including air fares?

does anybody else have trouble not imagining a member of the avian group when they hear “turkey”?
mmmhh, turkey!
 

photos: a short visit turkey

day seven: lunch break in a walnut plantation

in this picture, you see our very first actual “lunch break” which lasted more than 15 minutes. after 8 days of biking, we started to feel that we didn’t quite consume as many calories as we should, eating mostly muesli bars all day.

that day, as we drove through lots and lots of walnut plantations, anton remarked “haha, ‘wine country’… all we can see is apple trees.” from that point on, he only made very general descriptions of the vegetation (as in “trees” or “landscape”). :)

the short but perfect bicycle track along part of the rhone river

song of the day: maná – en el muelle de san blas

day six consisted of an incredibly beautiful route along the rhone river, which we had to leave behind near saint-genix-sur-guiers in order to go further south. [more...]

day six: the broken chair in geneva

the sight was chosen after looking through a postcard stand, which proved to be a useful resource for photo background scenes. :)

when we arrived in geneva, (1) we were half a day late because of a cold front with heavy, continuous downpour and (2) all our stuff was double-waterproofed because of (see 1). of course, as soon as everything was twice repackaged into plastic bags, the sky cleared up.
…which is why we decided to at least enjoy our waterproofness one last time and drive through the nearby united nations fountain. [more...]

day five: giant hay bale bike

on our way from neuchatel to geneva, we drove by this giant hay bale bike. we saw lots of bike-related things like little statues throughout switzerland and, later, france (especially since part of our route coincided with the tour de france, which was 10 days earlier), but this was the biggest of them all.

day four: anton and the tasty sandwich man

would you believe me if i told you that i’ve got exactly the same shoes? ;)
 

as a little bonus, here’s another one – it’s one of my favorite biking pics:
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