By Michael-Leonard Creditor / flexible fotography
The month of August means vacation all across Europe. Most of the EU nations have legal provisions allowing workers up to four weeks of vaycay yearly, and many workers traditionally take it during August.
Of course, that’s ironic for Americans who don’t know better and go on their summer vacations to Europe in August. I was one of them on my first trip there. Before I learned about “shoulder seasons.”
While many of these images weren’t made during August, here’s a glimpse of what you might find walking the streets of any of these places on any day if you were to do a whirlwind European tour this month. I’ve arranged them roughly north to south; west to east.
And, since it’s “nice to go trav’lin but also nice to come home,” next up will be A Photographic Look at some San Diego Street Scenes.
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Outdoor Life, Bergen, NorwayAt first it was the interesting architecture that made me stop here. Then I got the whole of the picturesque (sorry, the word fits) plaza. -
Cycle Parking, Gotëborg, SwedenWhile it started with a bike rack attached to the iron fence, the need has obviously outgrown the location. I love that many of these bikes are just propped there, not even locked up; apparently it’s OK. -
Paris SunriseI swear this view was one block from our hotel. All I had to do was get up early. -
Plaza Pompidou, ParisI guarantee that you will see buskers in this place any day you go there. Also plenty of lively urban life. -
A Street In ParisThere are thousands of views just as picturesque as this one. Pick almost any street. -
Harbor, Marseille, FranceThe plaque commemorates the founding of Marseille in year 600BC near that very spot. Think about that date for a moment. That’s what I love about Europe. -
Philatelic Market, MarseillePure serendipity, of course, that this wonderful anachronism should be occurring on the very day I happened by. -
Plaza España, SevilleA souvenir cart at the entrance to the beautiful Plaza. Like Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama, the buildings of this Plaza, in the Parque María Luisa were built for an international expo, in 1928. Unlike Plaza de Panama, these beauties were built as permanent structures. -
Avenida de Granada, Málaga, SpainThe rain in Spain sometimes falls on the Costa del Sol. -
Three Suns, Nerja, SpainNerja is a picturesque resort town of 20,000 on the Costa del Sol near Málaga, Spain. -
Mercado Plaza Redonda, Valencia, SpainIn a few hours these shops will open and folks will throng the Mercado. -
La Rambla Crowd, Barcelona, Spain, DayYes, La Rambla is everything great and wonderful that you have heard. Alive and vibrant day and night. It’s also very crowded, day and night. -
La Rambla Crowd, Barcelona, Spain, NightYes, La Rambla is everything great and wonderful that you have heard. Alive and vibrant day and night. It’s also very crowded, day and night. -
Scooter Parking, Barcelona, SpainMore cities in the US should promote more use of two-wheeled transport in more ways like this. -
Gaudi Bench and Lamppost, Barcelona, SpainWhile most famous for the still-under construction Sagrada Familia church, Antoni Gaudi left his marvelously curved and organic mark all over Barcelona. This is on the boulevard called Passeig de Gràcia. -
Cliffside Shops, Sorrento, ItalyThe town is built mostly on a plateau overlooking the sea, but the harbor below is important, too. So the people bridged the cliffs between them like this, maximizing the small land area by installing shops on the foundations of structures on the plateau. And you should see the hairpin-turn street that goes between them! -
Grotta Azzurra, Capri, ItalyAh… sitting by the seaside in a café sipping a cool beverage watching the world go by. What this place was made for. -
Subway Station, Moscow, RussiaMoscow’s Metro is famous for the ornate historic interiors of many stations. But this one shows unexpected Art Deco flourishes. -
McDonald's in Moscow, RussiaOpened on Jan 31, 1990 just off Pushkin Square in central Moscow, they served 30,000 customers on their opening day, still a McDonald’s world record. At about 2500 square meters, it’s also the largest McDonald’s in all of Europe. Most of the place is actually out of this picture to the right. -
Pizza Hat, Moscow, RussiaWhy “hat”? The Cyrillic ‘X’ like the Greek letter ‘chi’ has a ‘ch’ sound, like a guttural ‘h’, which is close enough. But there’s no corresponding Cyrillic letter for the short ‘u’ sound. A short ‘a’ sound also comes close. They also coulda gone with ‘e’, which is ‘eh’. Of course, there’s no Russian equivalent word to ‘pizza’ either, but that word is known everywhere. Opened in September 1990, it’s about 1/10th the size of McDonald’s but they still line-’em-up. Please note the architecture on the upper floors of the building. -
Official Temperature, Moscow, RussiaI’ve always liked when civic monuments take practical form, like clock towers or fountains. I’d never seen a commemorative thermometer before, though. Installed in 1947, this commemorates the 800th anniversary of Moscow’s founding. -
L'Hermitage Carriages, St. Petersburg, RussiaThe carriages, though modern and intended for tourists, date from about the same time as the structure, completing the image of timelessness. -
Kiosk Plaza, St. Petersburg, RussiaShot this through a bus window (you can see a reflection over the tree, center). I swear, the very next frame on the roll, just to the right of this, was a man on a horse! Just standing there. I didn’t think that was representative of everyday, though, so I offer this one instead. -
Troika Kiosk, Uglič, RussiaA medieval town of about 30,000 on the Volga River waterway. In olden Russia, a troika was to a regular carriage like a V-8 was to 6-cylinder car: 1/3 more horsepower. -
StephensPlatz, Vienna, AustriaSt. Steven’s Cathedral, built in the mid-14th century, is on the left. -
LerchenfelderStrasse, Vienna, AustriaAgain, it could be almost any street, this time in Old Vienna, I just liked the name. And the idea of Paradise on the corner. -
National Museum, Prague, Czech RepThat statue is Good King Wenceslas; Wenseslas Square, actually a quarter-mile long mostly-paved park, is behind me. -
Hotel Europa, Prague, Czech, RepThis is just a small section of the wonderful architecture lining both sides of Wenceslas Square. How we arrived in Prague is too long a tale for here. -
Wedding Party, St. Mark's Church, Zagreb, CroatiaAgain, pure serendipity. The emblems on the church are the crests of City of Zagreb and the surrounding area. -
Stone Steps, Zagreb, CroatiaSince they are so much older than most American cities and town, urban Europe has a prodigious number of streets that change elevation include stairs Stari Grad -
Tržnice, Zagreb, CroatiaAjvar is a wonderful condiment made from sweet red peppers. Originally from Serbia, it is now found all over the Balkans and much of the Middle East. -
Peppers for Ajvar, Zagreb, CroatiaAjvar is a wonderful condiment made from sweet red peppers. Originally from Serbia, it is now found all over the Balkans and much of the Middle East. -
Outdoor Market, Split, CroatiaThis outdoor plaza has been hosting regular markets literally for ages. You can see the wares are geared for residents, not tourists. -
Outdoor Café, Dubrovnik, CroatiaAnother glimpse of why the upper-class were called “café society”. -
U Staru Gradu, The Placa, Dubrovnik, CroatiaThe Placa is the main drag of the medieval section of Dubrovnik. This probably my favorite place on Earth after San Diego. The first photo looks seaward, toward the beautiful clock tower. The second image turns the other way, showing the companion bell tower. Twenty-nine years and a war separates the two images. -
The Placa, Dubrovnik, CroatiaThe Placa is the main drag of the medieval section of Dubrovnik. This probably my favorite place on Earth after San Diego. The first photo looks seaward, toward the beautiful clock tower. The second image turns the other way, showing the companion bell tower. Twenty-nine years and a war separates the two images. -
Pretzel Vendor, Istanbul, TurkeyOn our way to the famous Grand Bazaar (you can see the entrance at the end of the street) was this wonderful scene. And, of course, Istanbul is as far East as one can go and still be in Europe.
All photos © michael-leonard creditor / full-size images @ flexible fotography
Michael-Leonard Creditor
Born in Tucson AZ; reared in Brooklyn NY; lived in Portland OR; currently inhabiting Clairemont.
Three main professions: photographer, folklorist, radio program host.
Philosopher, Humanist, and life-long Liberal.
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