Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place & home

Posts tagged ‘Fernweh’

Festival of Lights, Berlin, Germany

Covering Germany’s central corridor this fall (2017)

… time I got the hell outta this dodgy town, and recharge for a few weeks …

Earlier this spring, I clinched my 17th consecutive year of setting foot inside Germany with a mostly Bavarian itinerary where I got some more Luther learnin’ done. But as the calendar switches from late-summer into autumn, I’ve been thinking about how I’m writing and photographing the country, whether I’m covering as much of her varied cities, towns, and regions as much as I can, and whether I’ve been covering a sufficient number of her World Heritage Sites.

Below is a map of my coverage of Germany thus far. Places I’ve already visited are shown as stars, and the country’s five largest cities* are shown as red stars. Despite a lot of traveling across the country over the years, there are still clear gaps to fill, particularly the corners, the centre, and the coastline.

Germany, fotoeins.com

( Click here for more )

Marktplatz, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, all-free-photos.com

Germany: back home again this fall (2015)

One might think it’s relatively easy to exhaust many good, beautiful, and interesting places in Germany, especially a country I’ve visited at least once every year since 2001. While there are notable and important repeats, the upcoming itinerary includes some first-time visits:

  • 10 November : arrival in Berlin (Spandau, with short turnaround time)
  • 11-13 Nov : Rothenburg ob der Tauber (via Hannover and Steinach)
  • 13-15 Nov : Regensburg (via Steinach and Würzburg)
  • 15-17 Nov : München
  • 17-19 Nov : Karlsruhe
  • 19-21 Nov : Speyer
  • 21-23 Nov : Worms
  • 23-25 Nov : Mainz
  • 25-27 Nov : Koblenz
  • 27-29 Nov : Bielefeld
  • 29 Nov – 1 Dec : Köln
  • 1-3 Dec : Magdeburg (via Hannover)
  • 3-6 Dec : Hamburg (via Hannover)
  • 6-10 Dec : Berlin
  • 10 December : departure from Berlin

Nicht nur Fernweh, sondern auch Heimweh …

I’m looking forward to these highlights:

  1. First time in Bavaria’s Middle Franconia and Upper Palatinate regions
  2. I haven’t set foot in Munich since mid-December 2012
  3. SCHUM Cities
  4. Despite a bunch of time in and around Heidelberg, first visits to cities along the Rhein
  5. Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) begins again 20 November
  6. American Thanksgiving once again with some fine people in Bielefeld
  7. First visit to next year’s host city for GTM16
  8. I haven’t set foot in Hamburg since early-October 2011
  9. The list for Berlin remains agonizingly long
  10. Döner Dürüm, Maultaschen, Mohnschnecke, Quarktasche …

In the next post, I’ll describe how I’m saving (yet again) with an advance purchase of a 10-day German Rail Pass. What I planned and saw last autumn 2014: here with a German Rail Pass.

Berlin-Tegel Airport, TXL, Flughafen Berlin-Tegel Otto Lilienthal, 20090401 Wikimedia, by Simisa, CC3.0

Flughafen Berlin-Tegel Otto Lilienthal (TXL), by Simisa on Wikimedia

The first photo of Market Square in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is from all-free-photos.com. The second photo and panorama of Berlin-Tegel Airport is by Simisa on Wikimedia. Both photos are used with the Creative Commons license. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com at http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7j1.

Germany: back home to visit this fall (2014)

… nicht nur Fernweh, sondern auch Heimweh …

In late-fall 2001, I moved sight unseen to the university town of Heidelberg, Germany, equipped with only three phrases in German. When I departed in 2003 to the U.S., I learned some things about myself and about Deutschland; I had also left a big piece of myself behind.

When I’m away for too long, it’s more than possible I’ve a yearning to go somewhere (“Fernweh”), accompanied by the simultaneous longing for home (“Heimweh”). It’s in Germany where I miss friends throughout the relatively compact country, and I miss the little things which are always specific to the big D.

Great Circle Mapper, YVR-FRA

Approximate path for YVR-FRA (Vancouver – Frankfurt), courtesy of Great Circle Mapper

I’ve gone “home” to Germany at least once every year since 2003, and the streak continues for the 11th consecutive year this fall. With flights in and out of Flughafen Frankfurt am Main Airport, I have the following itinerary:

  • 20 November : arrival in Frankfurt
  • 20-24 Nov. : Köln (Cologne)
  • 24-26 Nov. : Heidelberg
  • 26-28 Nov. : München (Munich)
  • 28-30 Nov. : Bielefeld
  • 30 Nov. – 9 Dec. : Berlin, with an excellent chance of Leipzig
  • 10 December : departure from Frankfurt

“Only” 8100 kilometres (5000+ miles) separates Vancouver (YVR) with Frankfurt (FRA). I’m looking forward to catching up with some very good people around the country, as well as the following ten of many things:

  1. Back to K-Ehrenfeld, “mein Kölner Kiez” (my Cologne `hood)
  2. Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) begin the week of 24 November
  3. Seeing my old “hometown” HD, squeezed on the Neckar between two hills
  4. American Thanksgiving, with some fine people in Bielefeld
  5. At long last in L-Stadt, for Bach, Mendelssohn, & largest train station in Europe
  6. Reopening of C/O Berlin, my mecca of photography in the B
  7. Days in Berlin nowhere enough to do all the things I’ve planned
  8. Number of Bratwurst, Currywurst, Döner, Kartoffelpuffer (Reibekuchen) consumed
  9. Number of Glühwein, Kuchen, Plunder, (Obst)Schnecke, (Quark)Tasche consumed
  10. Moments of anticipation, reflection, & loss on Deutsche Bahn’s InterCityExpress trains

Over these three weeks, I’m on trains crossing the country “yet again”. In between gleeful bouts of stuffing me gullet with food and drink, I’ll describe in the next post how I’m saving money with an advance purchase of a 10-day German Rail Pass.

Flughafen Frankfurt am Main, Terminal 1, Halle A : by Sven Teschke (Wikipedia)

Flughafen Frankfurt am Main, Terminal 1, Halle/check-in area A : by Sven Teschke (Wikipedia)

The latter photo is from Wikipedia, used with the Creative Commons license. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-5G3.

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