Yesterday morning at 4am, The Significant Other, Big Boy and myself took to the roads to head down to Italy. Using only my Olympus PEN-F and the 17mm F/1.2 prime lens, I gave myself the assignment to document our 850 kilometers / 530 miles voyage.

From Nuremberg we drove down southwest towards Lake Constance, where we crossed into Austria for a couple of kilometers, then through the eastern parts of Switzerland towards Chur. Big Boy thoroughly enjoyed himself driving my new company car (it turned out he drove us the whole 10 hour trip), while his mother snoozed in the back and I snapped happily away with my PEN-F




From Chur we drove up the Rhine Valley to cross the major European mountain range, the Alps. We crossed the mountains via the San Bernardino pass, which reaches an altitude of 2066m / 6788 ft. Big Boy enjoyed navigating the tight bends of the narrow pass road on his first mountain crossing as a driver. We had beautiful weather and splendid views and really took our time.







We drove down on the South side of the pass into Tessin, the southern most canton of Switzerland, then past Lake Lugano we crossed our third border of the morning into Italy, where we continued past Milan down towards the Mediterranean. Driving across the Northern Italian plains with its lush green rice fields, we stopped for an Espresso in one of the iconic highway bridge restaurants.


Finally we crossed the Italian coastal mountain range, the Appenin, to reach the Ligurian coast near our former hometown Genoa, then turned right for the final 100km stretch along the Riviera Dei Fiori (Flower Coast) to Imperia, where we will be spending the next two weeks in a house with a view in the hills above the coast.


We reached our destination after a relaxed 10 hour drive just in time for the classic Italian afternoon Apertivo, before moving into our home for the next two weeks.

It was a nice challenge for myself, documenting our road trip with only one camera and a prime lens, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Wish you all a great Sunday!
Marcus
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Oh, your pics make me want to pick up my Nikon to shot a lot more and spontaneously. I must admit I so often just use my iPhone… I still think composition, focus and stuff, but I do it more creatively when I hold my camera in my hands. Happy holidays, Marcus.
Thanks, Daniel, your kind words and wished are so much valued! Please take your Nikon, go out and shoot! It is so much fun playing in the creative sandbox! Holidays or not 🙂 ! Marcus
The road trip itself was beautifully recorded. So nice to have such a competent driver that you can sit back and enjoy the view. Looking forward to more photos of one of my favourite countries. If that last photo is a view from your accommodation you’ve hit the jackpot. Have a great holiday.
Thanks, Carol, I really appreciate your kind words! New post is up 🙂 ! And yes, that’s our view 🙂 ! All credit goes to The Significant Other, she’s in charge of finding our holiday accommodations, and she always manages to hit the jackpot 🙂 ! Marcus
Awesome images , Marcus, I have done that trip numeral times, back than when I lived in Germany
Thanks, Cornelia, for your kind words! So you know the beauty of the trip down south 🙂
Oh, absolutely I do know
Enjoy your holiday!! 🙂
Thanks for your wishes, Amy, so much appreciated! Marcus
I love road trips and Your post is awesome. Thank You. I love driving fast on German “Autobahnen” On one of our road trips to Germany we spend a week around “Bodensee”.
Happy and safe travels!
Looks like fun!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, it sure was fun! Marcus
Nice pics! Enjoy your holidays, the table with the view looks fantastic
Thanks, my friend, we’re doing our best 🙂
Enjoy having time w your camera.
Thanks, Allan, so much appreciated! Marcus
Enjoy your vacation, it sounds wonderful. I bet it was nice to be in the passenger seat. That’s a wide lens, but you made it work, indoors and out. 🙂
Thanks, Lynn, so much appreciated! Should have noted that a m4/3 17mm equals 35mm in full frame. Still wide, but about how the eye sees things. Marcus
And I know that, and I wasn’t thinking, because I have that lens. Sometimes the brain just doesn’t work! 😉
🙂
Splendid photos and so nice to have your son as chauffeur. It looked as if he enjoyed the drive! Have the most wonderful holiday ever! Marion
Thanks, Marion, your kind words are so very much appreciated! Marcus & crew
Enjoy your holyday Markus
Thanks so much 🙂
Have a fab holiday. I always think a road trip looks so much fun to start a holiday. Especially when you can take great pictures on the way.
Thanks for your great comment, Jill! Marcus
excellent work, congratulations to big boy for driving so many hours. And good job done from you sir. Nice photos good choice and mix of colourdred and white an black photos. Great memories for you and a nice article for the rest of us. Well done.
Thanks for your feedback, Alexandros, I so much appreciate your kind words! Marcus
Great tour thank you, wishing you a great week
Thanks, Alice, so much appreciated! Marcus
Marcus, that was a true challenge and you were so patient and detailed.
I had a great time watching these series of photos!
Wish you a nice week!
Thanks so much, Kaya, for your kind words, highly appreciated! Also to you a wonderful week! Marcus
This was a great set Marcus! Nice car, have a great time!
Thanks, John, as always! Marcus
Have a fantastic time! Road trips are the best 🙂
Thanks, your kind words mean so much! Marcus
Now waiting for the pictures of the holiday
No worries, they will come 🙂 Thanks, David