Photos from New Zealand and elsewhere

Staff at Franz Josef Glacier keeping the steps in good shape.

Cable car in Queenstown, New Zealand. Below is Lake Wakatipu.

Brick Bay Sculpture Trail is a sculpture park about 70km north from central Auckland, New Zealand. A lovely place to go for a walk and see some artworks by established and emerging artists.

Snow-covered houses in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.

First snow on my eurotrip in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. It was sooo exciting to see snow falling from the sky. Last time I saw it about 9 years ago in Russia.

Cargo ship Beka-1 aground in Zatoka, Ukraine. Lonely doggy on the beach.

St. Peter’s Basilica was impressive, magnificent interiors, the largest church in the world, must see.

Siamese cat by the pond in an old Russian town Kirillov. The reflection in the pond is of one of the towers of Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

The Kirillo Belozersky Monastery used to be the largest monastery in Northern Russia. It was founded way back in 1397 on the bank of Lake Siverskoye. The founder was St. Kirill of Beloozero first dug a cave there and then a wooden chapel and loghouse for the monks.

Michelangelo’s David, a prominent fragment of the sculpture. A postcard in Florence.

Land Rover stuck in mud in the forest near Moscow in Russia. The fun begins when you take a four-wheel drive off road and drive it into a swamp. Took about an hour and another Land Rover to get it out.