Hamburg: Sunday. Part I
Sunday 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
We 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.
Entry tags:
Odonata. Libellen.
German 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 )
Entry tags:
Picture dump: Flowers and butterflies in May.
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 )
Entry tags:
Yellow iris at the pond.
Have 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
In German Laacher See - or Lake Lake, as Laach is from Old High German lacha - which is related to English lake of course.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Maar II.
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... )
Entry tags:
Maar.
You may know the common German word for lake, which is der See. Yes, it looks a lot like sea, but that's more commonly known as das Meer unless you're being poetic and then you can call it die See. German is NOT straightforward - a claim I've heard recently and which I find a little naive.
To make it all the more complicated there is also das Maar, which is a special kind of lake (and even that is not always true).
The word derives from the dialect of the Eifel region for the lakes of the region and in its most scientific definition it pertains to a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). Thanks, wikipedia! Often, these craters fill with water and then you get a Maar lake, but they also dry out (on their own or through human intervention) and then they become known as dry maars or Trockenmaare.
Among the most famous Maare are three lakes situated in close proximity in the Eifel near Daun. Here is one of them, the Schalkenmehrener Maar named for the village of Schalkenmehren which you can see in the background.
( Read more... )
To make it all the more complicated there is also das Maar, which is a special kind of lake (and even that is not always true).
The word derives from the dialect of the Eifel region for the lakes of the region and in its most scientific definition it pertains to a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). Thanks, wikipedia! Often, these craters fill with water and then you get a Maar lake, but they also dry out (on their own or through human intervention) and then they become known as dry maars or Trockenmaare.
Among the most famous Maare are three lakes situated in close proximity in the Eifel near Daun. Here is one of them, the Schalkenmehrener Maar named for the village of Schalkenmehren which you can see in the background.
( Read more... )
Saturday a week ago.
A week ago on Saturday we took out the bikes for the first excursion of the year.
The weather was so beautiful and we didn't want to go on Sunday when everyone else was going to be outside.
We headed off in a different direction this time, because we were hoping the kid would be able to handle a longer trip. (He was great.)
( Pictures )
The weather was so beautiful and we didn't want to go on Sunday when everyone else was going to be outside.
We headed off in a different direction this time, because we were hoping the kid would be able to handle a longer trip. (He was great.)
( Pictures )
Autumn picture dump.
Autumn at the playground.
Took the bikes out yesterday and had a look at a playground that we hadn't been to. The kid got a handy little map at school showing all the best spots in town, so there was a new place to discover.
Kid liked it - I didn't think it was that spectacular but one of the better-maintained ones around.
While the kid played, I took my first real autumn pictures of the season.
( Autumn at the playground )
Took the bikes out yesterday and had a look at a playground that we hadn't been to. The kid got a handy little map at school showing all the best spots in town, so there was a new place to discover.
Kid liked it - I didn't think it was that spectacular but one of the better-maintained ones around.
While the kid played, I took my first real autumn pictures of the season.
( Autumn at the playground )
Late summer.
We've had a couple of sunny days, some of them even rather hot, but today there has been quite a bit of rain, too. Yesterday the sun was out, but there was already this late summer feeling in the park - lots of spiderwebs, fading flowers and the first yellow leaves.
Here are some of the pictures I took:
( Plants )
Here are some of the pictures I took:
( Plants )
St. Ives.
St. Ives is a very pretty place and of course everyone else thinks so, too, so it's teeming with tourists, but not horribly so. It's just very full. Parking is only possible outside the town which I think is absolutely fine, but it's a bit on the expensive side. They could probably pedestrianize more of the area around the harbour - at least during the summer months when they already restrict parking in several streets.
But yes, very very pretty, especially in the evening light:
( Pictures )
But yes, very very pretty, especially in the evening light:
( Pictures )
Common butterflies.
Instead of playing Pokémon Go which is hugely popular here (and played by children and adults) I decided to catch some living creatures with my camera.
They might not be imaginary, but I think they are still fantastical - at least when you look closely at them.
( Butterflies )
They might not be imaginary, but I think they are still fantastical - at least when you look closely at them.
( Butterflies )
Sunday evening stroll.
The kid being at the grandparents' and this being the summer holidays I indulged in a little picture-taking in the parkland close to our house.
I did not spot the cormorant again (yes, really) who somehow has been hanging out on the local river, but there were lots of butterflies, dragon-/damselflies, several species of waterfowl and all sorts of creepy-crawlies.
I'm doing this photo project on twitter called MissionFoto and the theme this month is Gegenlicht, i.e. Contre-jour or backlighting. I've been playing around with that a bit but there are also some more straightforward pictures.
( Under here )
I did not spot the cormorant again (yes, really) who somehow has been hanging out on the local river, but there were lots of butterflies, dragon-/damselflies, several species of waterfowl and all sorts of creepy-crawlies.
I'm doing this photo project on twitter called MissionFoto and the theme this month is Gegenlicht, i.e. Contre-jour or backlighting. I've been playing around with that a bit but there are also some more straightforward pictures.
( Under here )