Hamburg: Sunday. Part I
Feb. 17th, 2018 06:46 pmSunday morning started with snow.
( German and pictures )
The Alster looks pretty on a snowy soggy day. The kid gets wet feet, so we return to the hotel by bus.
( German and pictures )
The Alster looks pretty on a snowy soggy day. The kid gets wet feet, so we return to the hotel by bus.
Hamburg: The journey
Feb. 17th, 2018 04:44 pmWe spent part of the crazy carnival days away from the crazy going to Hamburg by train. Here is my account of the journey - in German.
( Cut for German: Die Fahrt )
English summary: The local train we should have taken to big city to take the fast train was delayed because people were walking near the tracks. We had to improvise and took another fast train an hour later. Then changing trains there were problems again: the train we caught with not much time to spare turned out to have a technical fault so we had to change again. Still, despite all this enjoyed the comfort of first class train travel.
( Cut for German: Die Fahrt )
English summary: The local train we should have taken to big city to take the fast train was delayed because people were walking near the tracks. We had to improvise and took another fast train an hour later. Then changing trains there were problems again: the train we caught with not much time to spare turned out to have a technical fault so we had to change again. Still, despite all this enjoyed the comfort of first class train travel.
Odonata. Libellen.
Jun. 4th, 2017 04:45 pmGerman calls them Libellen.
English has two words for them - dragonflies for the suborder Anisoptera and damselflies for the suborder Zygoptera.
( Pictures )
English has two words for them - dragonflies for the suborder Anisoptera and damselflies for the suborder Zygoptera.
( Pictures )
The river and adjacent pond with parkland are within comfortable walking distance, so whenever there was an hour to spare I walked over (or I stopped on the way home from work in the last couple of days) to take some pictures.
I've been posting them over on twitter @sista_ray but I also want to dump them here in one place. I've started experimenting with twitter moments - which is a handy way to group tweets. Still, I can't quite let go of dreamdwidth and even livejournal (grudgingly accepted the TOS to keep up with what's left of my friendslist).
( Pictures )
I've been posting them over on twitter @sista_ray but I also want to dump them here in one place. I've started experimenting with twitter moments - which is a handy way to group tweets. Still, I can't quite let go of dreamdwidth and even livejournal (grudgingly accepted the TOS to keep up with what's left of my friendslist).
( Pictures )
Yellow iris at the pond.
May. 17th, 2017 11:32 amHave some pictures from last week when the th flowers were still very new - now there is much more but I'm at home nursing a cold.
In German Iris pseudacorus is called Sumpf-Schwertlilie or Gelbe Schwertlilie or Wasser-Schwertlilie (swamp, yellow or water sword lily). For some reason even though they are not closely related to lilies, the whole genus of Iris (a word which is in use in German, too) = Schwertlilie. I can see where the sword comes from - the leaves.
Well, the yellow iris or yellow flag is quite common around here - and it is an invasive species in other parts of the world.
( Pictures )
In German Iris pseudacorus is called Sumpf-Schwertlilie or Gelbe Schwertlilie or Wasser-Schwertlilie (swamp, yellow or water sword lily). For some reason even though they are not closely related to lilies, the whole genus of Iris (a word which is in use in German, too) = Schwertlilie. I can see where the sword comes from - the leaves.
Well, the yellow iris or yellow flag is quite common around here - and it is an invasive species in other parts of the world.
( Pictures )
Laach Lake
Apr. 23rd, 2017 09:45 pmIn German Laacher See - or Lake Lake, as Laach is from Old High German lacha - which is related to English lake of course.

( Read more... )

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After walking half-way around Schalkenmehrener Maar, it was time to tackle the next maar which is called Weinfelder Maar after a small chapel plus cemetery left over from a village abandoned in the 16th century because of the plague. Alternatively, it is also known as Totenmaar or Maar of the Dead.
And right away, the atmosphere is different - it also didn't help that the blue skies had given way to grey clouds:
( Read more... )
And right away, the atmosphere is different - it also didn't help that the blue skies had given way to grey clouds:
( Read more... )