It’s bird season! But this is definitely not hunting with guns, but rather, a photographic hunt of the wild mass of noisy smelly birds. Pictured here is a small sampling of thousands of northern gannets nesting on their little mounds, each with at least an egg, hatchling, or in this case, a chick as indicated by an arrow.
I made the image above with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime on 24 May 2024 with the following settings: 1/500-sec, f/13, ISO1000, 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-w8R.
Some 9600 hectares (37 square miles) of green space between Vienna and Bratislava makes up the Nationalpark Donau-Auen. Almost one-quarter of that space lies within Vienna’s borders as the Lobau. It’s in this space I’m looking for signs of Napoleon’s French army in 1809 when they crossed the Danube and fought Austrian troops at Aspern-Essling (May) and Wagram (July).
The light dotted line marks the city limits for Vienna. I visited the Upper Lobau of Nationalpark Donau-Auen up against the city’s eastern border; I’ve marked 7 points of interest in this screen capture of Organic Maps.
Using the ROYGBV sequence (increasing wavelength): Red, Übergang der Franzosen 1809; Orange, Pulvermagazin der Franzosen 1809; Yellow, Friedhof der Franzosen 1809; Green, Napoleonstraße 1809; Blue, Napoleons Hauptquartier 1809; and Violet, Brückenkopf der Franzosen 1809.The 2 grey pins are the last stop for bus 26A (upper right) and a stop for bus 92B (lower left).
Guide to walk to look around the Lobau. I’ll go much farther than this suggestion.
A source for many buzzing mosquitoes
Übergang der Franzosen 1809
French crossing (the Danube)
Übergangsstelle der französischen Armee 1809
Pulvermagazin der Franzosen 1809
French gunpowder magazine
Pulvermagazin der Franzosen 1809
Friedhof der Franzosen 1809
French military cemetery
About 3000 were buried in the area during the Battle of Aspern-Esslingen in May 1809.
Friedhof der Franzosen 1809
Top half: Obere Lobau / Upper Lobau. Red dot marks the present spot.
Napoleonstraße 1809
Napoleon’s Road
Napoleonstraße 1809. Some 75-thousand troops would march on this road north to Aspern, from Napoleon’s headquarters.
Napoleons Hauptquartier 1809
Napoleon’s headquarters
Napoleons Hauptquartier 1809. Some 75-thousand soldiers were assembled after crossing the Danube in May 1809. These troops would soon head north on “Napoleon’s Road”.
Brückenkopf der Franzosen 1809
Bridge head for the French
In front of ÖMV Lager Lobau.
Brückenkopf der Franzosen 1809. While the Austrians kept trying to destroy the makeshift woodframe pontoons, 75-thousand French soldiers successfully crossed over the Danube near this location.
I made all photos above with an iPhone15 on 5 Jul 2024 (and collected multiple mozzie bites). This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
My visit to Rügen island is set mostly on the chalk cliffs as visual inspiration for building art and the ancient beech-tree forest as natural cathedrals for building community.
Königsstuhl (King’s Chair)
The name of one of the most well-known chalk cliffs is the starting point for the visitor centre, the Nationalpark Zentrum Königsstuhl, which provides descriptions of the geography, geology, and biology of this protected area.
Kreidefelsen (chalk cliffs)
A classic case for erosion by water and wind, the tall chalk cliffs have provided inspiration to many, including the 19th-century German Romanticism art movement made famous by local artist Caspar David Friedrich. Perhaps, it’s as simple as recognizing the colour context of the blue sea waters, white chalk cliffs, and the green canopy of beech trees.
Buchenwald (beech forest)
Nationalpark Jasmund: established 1990, Germany’s smallest national park at about 3100 hectares (7600 acres). In about one-sixth of the area (about 500 ha), there are untouched beech trees, which is why Jasmund is included in the pan-European inscription for “old beech forests” as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011.
Welcome sign.
View next to Königsstuhl visitor centre.
Königsstuhl (King’s Chair) national park centre, in a world heritage site.
View near Viktoria-Sicht.
View south near Kolliker Ufer.
View south near Wissower Ufer.
View north near Wissower Ufer. The chalk cliffs themselves are not part of the world heritage inscription …
… But the forest through which a shoreline path can be hiked. The symbol for the Hochuferweg path appears regularly on beech trees; note the relatively smooth tree bark.
Beech trees as “heilige Hallen” or “hallowed halls” (0.5x). Medieval cathedral design in what became the German nation has a lot to do with these trees.
Welterbeforum (World Heritage Forum) with a small display of the world heritage inscription, and a café for visitors and hikers.
Hugging the eastern coast of Rügen island, the high-cliff hiking path, Hochuferweg, weaves its way among beech trees in Jasmund National Park. Locations for the Königsstuhl centre and Welterbeforum are marked in orange.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 3 Jun 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
Sunday morning tradition stays strong in Hamburg’s Altona district. Along the Elbe waterfront, (tens of) thousands will show up early Sunday morning, especially on a warm sunny day, from the hours of 5 and 930am for the fish market. But there’s a lot more than fish: fresh products include fruits and vegetables; meats, sausages, and cheese; and flowers from Holland. The lively flower auction becomes an amusing spectacle, for both auctioneer and audience.
“Das grüne Herz der Stadt”: pre-bagged fruit & veggie bag, for 15€
I chose this smoked eel fillet in a bread roll: smoky, silky, tasty.
Fischauktionshalle (former fish auction hall).
Fischauktionshalle (former fish auction hall).
Flower auction: occasional sets of flowers into the audience, at zero charge. Otherwise, some great deals: colourful bundles for 10€, stuffed boxes for 30-35€.
The little girl on her dad’s shoulders receives a free bonsai, to warm appreciative “oooohs” from the crowd.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 26 May 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
The Church of the Holy Spirit stands tall over Heidelberg’s Market Square. But up top its central steeple is an annual springtime renewal: a new family of falcons.
For a number of years, volunteers have managed the “nest box” in the steeple above the clock face, and run the Wanderfalken website. A couple of falcons pair up, mum lays eggs in the cozy church box on high, and parents raise the chicks over a timescale of weeks: until the chicks “disappear” in flight. All of this is in view of everyone who has Internet access.
The nest’s entrance faces “out” to the east, as seen in “Webcam 1” with Heidelberg’s Karlsplatz and Kornmarkt visible. Webcam 2 faces “in” to the “back” of the box, and Webcam 3 from the outside faces west to the roost next to the entrance.
Church of the Holy Spirit, facing west from Marktplatz (Market Square): 1x digital zoom.
Falcon nest in the square “hole” above the clock face. In shadow to afternoon light, the presence of a falcon on the perch is barely discernible in this 10x digital zoom. At 1535h, on 13 May 2024.
Perched is a winged guardian out front, from the live stream.
Two sleeping chicks, from another live-stream camera.
Two chicks awake 35 minutes later and grooming themselves.
I made the first two images above with an iPhone15 on 13 May 2024, plus remaining same-day screen captures from webcams on the Wanderfalken website. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
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