Mittenwald | Fotoeins Fotografie

Posts tagged ‘Mittenwald’

Am Quicken, Mittenwald, Karwendel, Bayern, Bavaria, Oberbayern, Upper Bavaria, Werdenfelser Land, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: winter scenes, six (Klais)

In the present-day town of Klais just west of Mittenwald, traces from 2000 years of history are revealed through the existence of a Roman road and a 8th-century church. A short venture through the forest to the “back” (south) side leads to an area called Am Quicken. There are a number of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing with views southeast and southwest facing the Karwendel and Wettersteinwand, respectively.

I made the image on 1 Mar 2017 with a Canon EOS6D mark1 and these settings: 1/1000-sec, f/22, ISO1000, and 35mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-o5r.

Karwendelbahn, Karwendel, Dammkar, Bayern, Bavaria, Oberbayern, Upper Bavaria, Werdenfelser Land, Germany, Deutschland, Tirol, Tyrol, Austria, Österreich, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: winter scenes, five (Karwendel)

Above Mittenwald and next to the mountain station of the Karwendelbahn cable car is a tunnel “underneath” the mountain to its “backside” whose alternate route is down into the Dammkar valley. Experienced and adventurous skiers make the short 400-metre trek through the tunnel to the Dammkar ski run (black diamond, off-piste). This is what it’s like to stare into the unknown maw of a deep mountain valley. When the snow’s gone in summer, the Dammkar is a mountain-hike down past a couple of alpine huts.

In southern Bavaria, Mittenwald is 23 km east from Garmisch-Partenkirchen; frequent trains between the two towns is only 20 minutes each way. Mittenwald is also served by trains north from Innsbruck.

I made the image on 27 Feb 2017 with a Canon EOS6D mark1 and these settings: 1/400-sec, f/22, ISO500, and 24mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-o2H.

My Mittenwald: mountains, masks, music, Mahlzeit!

Above/featured: From the regional train: facing southwest over Schöttlkarstrasse and the eastern end of the Wettersteinwand at right.

In 1786, the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described the alpine town of Mittenwald as “lebendes Bilderbuch” – a living picture-book. Images and descriptions in print and provided by visitors became a real draw and lure. Funny thing is I’d stayed in nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen several times, and I hadn’t taken the easy 20-minute train hop to Mittenwald.

I took care of that with two visits within a span of 15 months: with snow and without snow.

Wandering through Mittenwald is pure delight because of abundant fresh mountain air, picturesque surroundings, and the compact nature of the town. The description becomes a common refrain for alpine towns.

Mid-winter is special with the combination of seeing mountains freshly frosted with snow, people of all ages wearing masks and costumes during carnival season, houses painted in colourful “Lüftlmalerei”, and the town’s special place in music history. When the warm sun dominates in spring and summer, it seems like an endless vista of blue skies along with green meadows and mountains to accompany your time outside on walks and hikes in the area.

( Click here for images and more )

Am Quicken, Klais, Krün, Mittenwald, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Upper Bavaria, Oberbayern, Bavaria, Bayern, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Am Quicken im Schnee (Mittenwald)

The town of Klais has over one thousand years of history. That’s not obvious looking out from the train passing through between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. But within easy reach on foot are the ruins of the Scharnitz monastery, the remnant of a Roman road, and open fields with views like the one above to Wettersteinspitzen.

(The approach on foot in winter is possible on groomed paths from Mittenwald or from Klais itself.)

I made the picture above on 1 March 2017 with the Canon 6D, 24-105 glass, and the following settings: 1/800-sec, f/20, ISO1000, 47mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-aMa.

Fasching, Maschkera, Oimrausch: pre-Lent shenanigans in southern Germany

This ain’t no Hallowe’en¹.

In southern Germany, this is Fasching, known also as Werdenfelser Fosanacht, to go along with the masks for Maschkera. It’s also about about distinctions and differences by comparison with Karneval on the Rhein.

Festivities take place before Catholic Lent, and the key idea behind the wild colourful costumes and wooden masks is the very pagan origin and ritual of driving out or driving away evil spirits of winter lurking inside people and their homes and welcoming the friendly spirits of spring for a productive growing season.

( Click here for images and more )

Bundesstrasse 2, B2, Mittenwald, Karwendel, Bergwelt Karwendel, Bayern, Bavaria, Oberbayern, Upper Bavaria, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Karwendel soars over Mittenwald

On the Bundesstrasse 2^* in Upper Bavaria between Munich and Innsbruck is the German Alpine town of Mittenwald next to the Isar river. Towering above town to the east-southeast is the snow-covered wall that is the Karwendel mountain range. The Karwendelbahn gondola takes visitors, hikers and skiiers, and employees of Bergwelt Karwendel up to over 2240 metres (7350 feet) in elevation. The ridge line along the very top is the Germany-Austria border.

^* The road signage at the intersection of Mühlenweg and Weidenweg points the way towards German highway Bundesstrasse B2. B2 also has the European (B-class) road label E533.

I made the picture above on 27 February 2017 with the Canon 6D, 24-105 lens, and the following settings: 1/640-sec, f/16, ISO1000, and 24-mm focal length. Die Fotoaufnahme ist mit Wasserzeichen versehen worden. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-aMd.

Petrikirche, Taufkirche, Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, fotoeins.com

Tracing Martin Luther’s steps in 16 German cities

Above/featured: “Luther war hier. // Luther was here.” Eisleben, Germany – 27 Oct 2016.

In pre-teen years, I attended a Catholic elementary school by weekday, and a missions-oriented Protestant church by weekend. I already had multiple questions running around my pre-scientist brain, like electrons appearing and dissipating in a fuzzy halo. When various disparate elements began to settle with few satisfying answers, I left behind the churches and their respective religions. But one thing that’s remained is my love of history. History has never been boring, because I carry the past (as offspring of immigrants), and I’m determined to bring history’s lessons into the present.

Even in youth, I had to ask: why was one set of churches called “Protestant”? What was under protest? How did one man help spark a movement that would help merge and create a version of a language that continues today, that would bring accessible means to literacy for the public, and that would begin to change rule by religion to rule by law?

Martin Luther (‘Luder’, at birth)

From his birth in Eisleben; to formative years in Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Erfurt; to the bulk of his working and teaching years in Wittenberg; to his death in Eisleben, Martin Luther set upon a course that helped change language, education, culture, religion, and governance. In many ways, Luther had much to thank Jan Hus for the latter’s efforts to reform the Catholic Church in Bohemia one hundred years earlier.

Every year on the 31st of October, a number of cities, regions, and federal states in Germany mark an important event in this movement. It’s widely understood Martin Luther walked up to the Castle Church in Wittenberg and pinned his 95 Theses to the church doors on 31 October 1517. Even if direct evidence Luther actually posted papers to the doors is debatable, what’s not is that 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Germany.

Martin Luther, Reformation, German Reformation, Wittenberg, Marktplatz, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

The illuminated Luther memorial stands tall in front of Wittenberg’s town hall at Market Square. As UNESCO World Heritage Site, the town hosts 4 sites: Luther House, Melanchthon House, St. Mary’s Town Church, and the Castle Church. 2017 is the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Reformation in Germany. Various German federal states, regions, and cities will mark the quincentenary throughout the year. Photo at Wittenberg Marktplatz on 30 Oct 2016.

( Click here for images and more )