Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts tagged ‘fotoeins’

My Berlin: Schöneberg 2009–2017

Above/featured: Entrance to U-Bahnhof Rathaus Schöneberg.

It seems as universal as the common opinion about how cool and interesting Berlin is.

Both residents and visitors mention the same names in conversations throughout the city: Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, and the hybrid “KreuzKölln”, even as Wedding and Lichtenberg begin weaving their way into the dialogue.

Of the neighbourhoods within the city’s Ring, what about Charlottenburg or Schöneberg? The answers often arrive as expected. Why would anyone visit there or live there? It’s boring! It’s too quiet! It’s dead! Lots of sniffy snobby dismissive exclamation points! That few choose the area is precisely why I’m in Schöneberg for three months at the tail end of my year-long around-the-world.

For many in Berlin, they’re living, working, and playing in areas where they’re close to the action and housing costs may on average be slightly cheaper. There’s something to be said about proximity and small “stumbling distances” after a night of drinking. For some, Schöneberg is too far, too expensive, too quiet, or all of the above. I don’t mind the 20-, 30-, or 45-minute travel times to places where friends eat, drink, or hang out.

It’s always a matter of choice for me to be in Schöneberg. There’s a comfortable stillness here that always sets me at ease, where I can tune out or turn down the noise, and find my calm. For a very special time, this area in Berlin, “der schöne Schöneberg,” is home.

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BC Shellfish and Seafood Festival, Comox Valley Economic Development Society, Comox Valley, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Comox Valley BC Shellfish & Seafood Festival (2015) (IG)

As guests of the Discover Comox Valley (Economic Development Society), fellow travel blogger Megan and I were invited as participating travel media to attend the opening weekend of the BC Shellfish and Seafood Festival. The following visuals highlight a number of the activities in Comox, Courtenay, and Campbell River.

  • ‘Fresh Fest’ public event with food and music, 12 June
  • Gartley Point Hatchery, 13 June
  • Lunch at Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa
  • Mac’s Oysters
  • Flying Fresh lobster extravaganza, industry & public event
  • BC Seafood Expo & Workshop Series, 14 June
  • Cermaq Canada’s Venture Point aquaculture facility, 15 June

‘Fresh Fest’ – 12 June

Site Tours – 13 June

BC Seafood Expo – 14 June

Norway's ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Mona Elisabeth Brøther, BC Seafood Expo, Courtenay, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Via Skype from Ottawa: Her Excellency Mona Elisabeth Brøther, Norway’s ambassador to Canada (HL)

South-central coastline – 15 June

Cermaq, Venture Point, Okisollo Channel, between Quadra Island and Sonora Island, Campbell River, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Cermaq’s Venture Point aquaculture farm, Okisollo Channel, BC, Canada (HL)

BC Shellfish and Seafood Festival, Comox Valley, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Thanks to Discover Comox Valley, Comox Valley Economic Development Society (EDS), Cermaq, and the BC Salmon Famers Association for supporting and providing access to venues and activities along central Vancouver Island, and to Old House Hotel & Spa for a generous and comfortable stay. The first (featured) and last images are generously provided by the Comox Valley EDS. I made the other photos from 12 to 15 June 2015 inclusive. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-6Uj.

Sächsisches Staatsweingut, Schloss Wackerbarth, Radebeul, Saxony, Germany, fotoeins.com

Celebrating Saxon wine tradition at Schloss Wackerbarth

I have a confession.

Red wines and I have rarely gotten along.

With the exception of the Chilean Carménère, reds generally feel I’ve been pouring scarlet poison down my gullet, burning and tearing the esophageal lining on the way down to my stomach, into a slow boil, scalding and churning with fury.

Dear crimson nectar, you’re all hot and alluring dressed in your tannins, but I cannot have you any more. The subsequent days of post-red churning-gut syndrome are over. I’ve left you for the clean, smooth, sharp, sexy blondes, because frankly, I’m having a lot more fun with the whites. I admit I’ll occasionally stray to the familiar Carménère, but I will always bring white wine back home.

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Weimar: Duchess Anna Amalia Library, UNESCO WHS

As one of over ten buildings, residences, and properties making up what is called “Classic Weimar”, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library (Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

To consolidate her love of books into a larger holding space, Duchess Anna Amalia commissioned in 1761 the State Architect to rebuild and convert the Renaissance-style French (Green) Castle into a library, which opened in 1766. Becoming one of the most important libraries in the country, the collections included some of the finest written and produced in German literature, art and culture, history, and architecture. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe himself was Library Director between 1797 and 1832.

The library has had its fair share of names: initially called the Ducal Library (Herzogliche Bibliothek); in 1815 renamed as the Grand Ducal Library (Großherzoglichen Bibliothek); in 1918 renamed as the Thuringia State Library (Thüringische Landesbibliothek); in 1969 renamed as the Central Library of German Classics (Zentralbibliothek der deutschen Klassik); and in 1991, renamed as Duchess Anna Amalia Library (Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek) in honour of the library’s founder.

An electrical short from aging damaged wiring sparked a fire on 2 September 2004; the fire held on for over two days before the final hotspot was put out. Over 100 thousand books were damaged or destroyed by fire, water, and smoke. The fire was the largest to strike a German library in post-war history. Subsequent donations and volunteers poured into Weimar from throughout Germany and Europe to help with rescue and preservation efforts. After conclusion of extensive restoration work to the building, the interior Rococo Hall, and to thousands of rescued books, the library was reopened on 24 October 2007, the birthday of the library’s namesake (Anna Amalia born 24 October 1739).

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An der Frauenkirche, Dresden, Germany, fotoeins.com

The bright side of Dresden (2015)

It’s 6am in southeast Germany, and I’d like to know how this city will look on a spring morning. Unfortunately, there’s mid-level cloud and there won’t be any direct sun this morning. I’m no longer in a rush, and by 7am, I’m on the Carolabrücke over the Elbe river for the following view of the Dresden skyline.

Later that evening I’m in Pulverturm Restaurant near the Frauenkirche, and I’m among about two dozen other travel-trade and -press representatives from around the world. I have a Saxon version of the Sauerbraten, accompanied by red sauerkraut and a big potato dumpling: the right combination of sweet, savory, and sour, representing Saxony.

Pulverturm, Frauenkirche, Dresden, Saxony, Sachsen, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

At Pulverturm: Saxon Sauerbraten with apple red-cabbage slaw with raisins and a King-size potato dumpling. Photo on 22 Apr 2015.

The evening ends with a guided-tour of the interior to the city’s famous Semperoper opera house. Other groups outside are waiting to enter the opera house to have a look inside; we’re fortunate to leap ahead and have a look inside.

Semper Oper, Theaterplatz, Dresden, Sachsen, Germany, fotoeins.com

Classic night shot of the Semperoper – 22 Apr 2015.

I made all of the photos above on 22 April 2015 with a Canon EOS6D mark1. I’m grateful to Germany Tourism and Dresden Marketing for supporting and providing the activities. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-6L3.