Over the Alps

I spent my birthday in Pompeii, visiting the ruins there and making the short drive to nearby Herculaneum. The day before, we were in Pæstum to visit the old Greek temple complex before taking the winding Amalfi coastal road and turning east over the mountains back to Pompeii.


But the story of those trips will have to come another time. Here instead are some photos I took, using my phone camera, during the flight back from Naples to Frankfurt the following day.

It wasn't the first time I had flown over the Alps, but previously they had been shrouded in clouds, or it had been after dark, or I hadn't gotten a window seat. My first view of the Alps, however, was in 2009, on a clear day with the sun shining with much greater intensity than it is in these photos. It struck the peaks and turned them into a pure glimmering white. I had never seen such beauty in my life. Alas, my camera was nestled in my check-in bag. But life gives you a do-over, so now I have these images as well.