Telling a Visual Story

On July 12, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge1 Comment

Throughout time, people have written down their history through the use of symbols and artwork. The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words was probably even more true in the days before actual photographs when paintings on the walls of caves represented the lives of the people who lived in them. In today’s world with the internet, emoticons, and the overload of information, we tend to miss the forest for the trees and see life in moments and not as an eternal flow of events. Unfortunately, not enough people take the time to understand the roots of culture, the impact of events in the grand scheme of life, or to even comprehend how we’re all linked together in one way or another.

Relief Showing a Young Elgiss in Iceland

The art of telling a historical story has become an exaggerated, thrill-ride, instead of an understanding of what the past means to all of us as we venture forth into the future. All of us who travel with any kind of frequency understand that the world is interconnected in ways that doesn’t expose itself until major events occur. We will continue to look for the patterns of the world and enjoy those visual stories from the past in the places that we visit. This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Collage and we chose to share some photos of that capture the stories of different cultures.

Two-Thousand Years of History in One Statue in Koblenz, Germany

Connecting the World

On July 6, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge7 Comments

In this modern world where almost any destination is an airplane ride away or even an internet search away, it is hard to imagine a time when travel was difficult or sometimes impossible. Since the beginning of civilization, people have always been finding ways to connect with other parts of the world, whether by building roads, learning to sail ships, or building bridges. Many people sacrificed their lives to build the infrastructure that connect the cities and towns that we now take for granted. As we travelled throughout Europe, we used to joke with one another that wherever we went, we would see a castle, a cathedral, and a bridge. There is a reason that bridges have become such a focal point from a historical perspective in almost every city around the world. The next time you visit a city and a bridge is one of the top sights to see, try and transport yourself back in time when that was the only way for the citizens to get in and out of their city and how incredibly important that was to the community. This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Bridge, so we are sharing photos of some of our favorite bridges.

Would You Live on a Houseboat?

On July 5, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Netherlands, Photo Challenge23 Comments

When we were in Amsterdam, one of the common sights on the various canals were the different houseboats that were tied up all along the canal walls. We understand that the cost of buildings is extremely high in Amsterdam and living in a houseboat is an option to live there without having to purchase one of the townhomes that line either side of the canal. We see all of the new television shows about tiny living and having a tiny house on the water would probably suit a lot of people’s desires. We are definitely downsizing since all of our children are grown and live in various parts of the United States, but downsizing doesn’t mean having your bed in your kitchen, at least not to us. There are definitely some larger houseboats, but we’re not sure that we want to deal with all of the headaches that come along with boat ownership. Living on a houseboat might seem like a romantic way to live, but we’d rather live on firm ground. What are your thoughts?

For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Motors for House or Garage, we selected a few photos of the houseboats of Amsterdam. They may or may not have working engines, but it isn’t likely that they ever go anyplace.