One of the most insane places that we traveled to in the Swiss Alps.🇨🇭 The Kleine Scheidegg is a mountain pass that rises to an elevation of 2,061 m (6,762 ft), and sits below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn mountains in the Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland region. If you’re traveling to the Alps, it’s definitely worth taking the train up to Kleine Scheidegg from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald, and spending a day or a few days hiking around up there. The hiking trails start right from the train station—this man-made lake was a short walk up the hill towards the Eiger—but there’s a whole network of hiking trails to check out. Pretty surreal to be hiking in the shadow of giants like Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau

Volcanic craters, fumaroles, forests, waterfalls, black-sand beaches, and some epic rocky coastline along the Atlantic—you can kind of see why people sometimes call São Miguel, or the Azores in general—the Hawaii of Europe. These are some videos that I took throughout our week on São Miguel (Also, props to Tori for getting that great shot of the dolphin.) It’s the largest of the nine islands that make up the Azores—an autonomous region of Portugal way out in the mid-Atlantic—and probably the most spectacular. Definitely enjoyed our time exploring the island. . . . . . . #artofvisuals #travel #tlpicks #wanderlust #earth #vanlife #beautiful #cabin#portugal #love #azores #saomiguel#camping#lake #optoutside #adventure #hike #beach #mountain #Wander #summer #hiking #europe #nationalpark #adventure#tlpicks #outdoors #ocean #photography #reels

A collection of photos that I took in Switzerland. It’s been good to have a few days back at home in the Hudson Valley between trips. I finally had a little time over the past few days to upload all of the photos from Europe, and to start going through them. It’s been cool to look back on the past month in pictures; it was definitely a trip that we’ll remember for a long time. Anyway, I’m starting to gear up for the next one. Heading out to the Eastern Sierra next week and then road tripping and hiking all over from there. Glad to be rested and stoked to get going again.

Our three-day itinerary for the Swiss Alps.🏔 Tori and I only had a few days to spend between the Azores and Ireland, so we decided to go to one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Europe—the Swiss Alps. Ideally, I would love to have weeks or months to spend exploring Switzerland, but sometimes when you’re traveling, it’s just not possible to get that kind of time. We just barely scratched the surface, but these are the places that we went and hiked to make the most out of our short time in the Swiss Alps: 1. Kleine Scheidegg: This was my favorite place that we went. You can take a scenic train ride from Grindelwald up to this mountain pass, and right from the Kleine Scheidegg train station there’s a whole network of hiking trails to check out. Insane views of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau the entire way. 2. Lake Oeschinen: You can take a gondola or hike from Kanderstag to get to this glacial blue lake. Again, there’s a number of trails from the gondola that take you directly to, or up above the lake. We opted to hike the panorama trail, skip the last gondola, and hike out at sunset. Great evening. 3. Lauterbrunnen: Has to be one of the most beautiful valleys in Europe. It kind of reminds me of being in Yosemite a little bit, surrounded by massive granite walls and cascading waterfalls. You can hike up to Wengen for some better views of the valley, or just walk around the town. We got to Lauterbrunnen before sunrise and more or less had the streets and lookouts to ourselves. 4. Lake Thun: An alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland near Interlaken. Our friends in the Emmantale (also another beautiful region that we went to), recommended driving up the eastern shores of the lake and visiting the medieval Oberhoften Castle. Beautiful place, but what we liked most was the cafe right next to the castle—Pier 17. One of the best places I’ve sat and had a coffee for sure. 5. Harder Kulm: At 4,000 feet, the Harder Kulm is the nearest mountain to Interlaken. There’s a great panoramic lookout from the top with views of Interlaken, the Eiger, Monch and Junfrau. It’s also a really good jumping off point for more serious hikes across the ridge from Harder Klum.

Hiking to the panorama above Lake Oeschinen.🇨🇭 Definitely one of the highlights of our time in Switzerland, the blues of this lake are awesome when the sun hits the water. We did it as a day trip from Interlaken, which made for a good way to spend the afternoon. One of the cool things about this lake is that there’s a whole network of trails that lead down to, and up above the lake. So you can hike as far or as little as you want, and the views are spectacular either way. We opted to go up above the lake, and then hiked all the way out at sunset after the last gondola had left. More or less had the whole place to ourselves, which was pretty cool. Definitely worth checking out on a trip to the Alps. . . . . . . . #earth#earthfocus #wanderlust #vanlife #swiss#cabin#europe #love#switzerland#swissalps#camping#lauterbrunnen #optoutside #wander #hike #shotoniphone #mountain #Wander #hike#optoutside #travel #nationalpark #paradise #tlpicks #trek #lake #adventure #mountain

The Azores have one of the most unique landscapes that I’ve ever seen. I’ve really never been to another place like it. This is some drone footage that I shot at Sete Cidades, located at the western end of São Miguel Island. It sits right in the middle of a massive volcanic crater three miles across, and the colors of its iconic twin lakes are just unreal. One thing that I really liked about the Azores is that they were pretty easy to get to from the East Coast of the States. They’ve been called the “Hawaii of Europe,” and it was a relatively short, direct flight from NY to Ponta Delgada. They’re more than worth checking out on your way to mainland Europe, but probably best done as a trip all on its own. Tori and I had just under two weeks on Sao Miguel and Terceira, and would love to go back and see more of the nine islands that make up the Azores someday. One of a kind, for sure. . . . . . . #artofvisuals #travel #tlpicks #wanderlust #earthpix #vanlife #beautiful #cabin#portugal #love #azores #saomiguel#camping#lake #optoutside #adventure #hike #beach #mountain #Wander #summer #hiking #europe #nationalpark #adventure#tlpicks #outdoors #ocean #photography #mountain

Of all the places that we explored in the Azores, this coastal walk on the eastern shores of São Miguel was probably the one that I’ll remember the most. If you’re visiting São Miguel, it’s definitely worth making the drive out to Nordeste. Definitely one of the most spectacular areas on the island. . . . . . . . . . #artofvisuals #travel #tlpicks #wanderlust #earthpix #vanlife #beautifuldestinations #cabin#portugal #love #azores #saomiguel#camping#lake #optoutside #adventure #hike #beach #mountain #Wander #summer #hiking #europe #nationalpark #adventure#tlpicks #outdoors #ocean #photography #mountain

A collection of photos from the past few weeks of this trip—taken in Switzerland, the Azores, and Ireland. (These were all taken with my iPhone 14 Pro Max, which has really been awesome for shooting travel photos and videos on this trip, in addition to the other cameras that I use.) The past six days in Ireland with the Barthels have been great. Enjoying the scenery, pubs, and learning about the history of this place. 1. Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland 2. Nordeste, Azores 3. Sete Cidades, Azores 4. Oeschinen Lake, Switzerland 5. Kandersteg, Switzerland 6. Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland 7. Sete Cidades, Azores 8. Oeschinen Lake, Switzerland 9. Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland 10. Carrick-a-Rede, Northern Ireland #shotoniphone #iphone14promax

Deep blues of Oeschinen, one of Switzerland’s most impressive mountain lakes.🏔 I’d been to the lake once nine years ago, and had been looking forward to returning at some point. Tori and I were finally able to make it back to Switzerland last week and hike the panorama trail up above the lake. The colors on the water were awesome when the sun came out—we really had a good evening up there. It’s one of Switzerland’s most well-known lakes, so we opted to take the gondola up to the trailhead for the hike, and then walked all the way out well after the last gondola had left. This seemed like a good way to do it—we more or less had the lake to ourselves at sunset. Definitely one of the best days of the trip so far.

Some photos from our past three days in the Swiss Alps. Always amazed by this place. 1. Lauterbrunnen Valley 2. Harder Kulm 3. Oeschinen Lake 4. Kleine Scheidegg 5. Lake Thun

It’s been awesome to finally be back in Switzerland with Tori and exploring the Alps. This has to be one of my favorite places. We took the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and did some hiking yesterday. It was pretty incredible to be walking in the shadow of some of the world’s most famous and imposing peaks—Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. This was one of the views along the trail.

No place like the Swiss Alps.🏔 I’ve been wanting to come back to this place ever since the first time I visited nine years ago. These mountains are just as awesome as I remembered. Tori and I took a little hike up at Kleine Scheidegg this morning. This was the view along the trail. . . . . . #artofvisuals #discoverearth #earthfocus #wanderlust #earthpix #vanlife #beautifuldestinations #cabin#europe #love#switzerland#swissalps#camping#lauterbrunnen #optoutside #wander #hike #alps #mountain #Wander #italy #optoutside #travel #nationalpark #paradise #tlpicks #trek #lake #adventure #mountain