20th Century
Altdorf to Lucerne
At the end of a Goldfinger car chase through the Furka Pass, Bond and Tilly Masterson stand beside a white Ford Mustang whose tyres have just been shredded by the optional extendable tyre shredder of [more…]
Nostalgia Album
20th Century
Addressing the Furka Pass
If, in the mid-1960s, you visited a provincial northern cinema to watch the latest James Bond and, during a car chase through the mountains, a middle-aged couple sat nearby were heard muttering to each other [more…]
20th Century
Washerwomen by Lake Lugano
Taking a look at the map, our redoubtable Ford Popular must have continued its 1954 road trip along the valley from St Moritz heading southwest towards the border whereupon it, and my father and grandfather, [more…]
20th Century
Rendezvous with Bond at the Palace
As we head into Switzerland on my father and grandparents’ 1954 Continental road trip, Puffins will be horrified to hear that not only was that year a World Cup year but that the tournament was [more…]
20th Century
A Motor Through The Alps
Here we see caped cyclists rolling downhill from the Brenner pass summit which marks the border between Austria and Italy. The sign to the left, in both English and German, reads ‘Good bye again in [more…]
19th Century
Murder Most French
Every once in a while, as one turns a page in an old family photo album, one runs the risk of falling across a cause célèbre or even a grisly murder. If, after braving the [more…]
20th Century
Small Towns in Austria
Lans A sign to the right of the crucified Christ announces that we are arriving at the Tyrolean hamlet of Orfsende Von Lans. That’s certainly what I thought. Further investigation shows we’re leaving, and not [more…]
20th Century
Postcard From Innsbruck
Zurück in den Tag Am I allowed to say that back in the day I loved Austria? Yes, it was too expensive, yes it was full of unrepentant Nazis, and yes the whole place was [more…]
20th Century
Postcard From West Germany
Donaueschingen Strict privacy laws and the German people’s well-practiced challenges to any risk posed to that privacy means that Street View isn’t available in the Federal Republic. Identifying the locations of old photographs, in this [more…]