Fotoeins Fotografie

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Posts tagged ‘Oberes Mittelrheintal’

Osterspai, Rhein, Rhine, Oberes Mittelrheintal, Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on the Middle Rhine: Osterspai

24 May 2016.

This image is of the town of Osterspai, near “kilometre 575” (distance north of the Rhine Falls in Switzerland). In town at left-centre is the Catholic St. Martin’s church, first established in town in 1076 AD/CE. Accompanying the scene are two river boats and two bicyclists in the foreground.

I’m on board a Deutsche Bahn IC (InterCity) train from Heidelberg north to Cologne, along the left (west) bank of the Rhine river. The slower train along the river bank and more scheduled stops allows further opportunities to photograph the right (east) bank of the Rhine. Although overcast, the mid-morning early-afternoon train means any diffuse light will originate “behind” me from the south, and the landscapes will either be front- or side-lit.

In this series, I show images of the Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz which is the area included within the Oberes Mittelrheintal (Upper Middle Rhine Valley) inscribed in 2002 as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I made the image above on 24 May 2016 with a Canon EOS6D mark1, 24-105L glass, and the following settings: 1/160-sec, f/9, ISO1000, and 70mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-hMk.

St. Goarshausen, Burg Katz, Rhein, Rhine, Oberes Mittelrheintal, Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on the Middle Rhine: Sankt Goarshausen

24 May 2016.

This image is of the town of Sankt Goarshausen, near “kilometre 556” (distance north of the Rhine Falls in Switzerland). Above town (at upper right) is historical landmark Burg Katz, a reconstruction of a medieval castle and is under private ownership.

I’m on board a Deutsche Bahn IC (InterCity) train from Heidelberg north to Cologne, along the left (west) bank of the Rhine river. The slower train along the river bank and more scheduled stops allows further opportunities to photograph the right (east) bank of the Rhine. Although overcast, the mid-morning early-afternoon train means any diffuse light will originate “behind” me from the south, and the landscapes will either be front- or side-lit.

In this series, I portray images of the Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz which is the area included within the Oberes Mittelrheintal (Upper Middle Rhine Valley) inscribed in 2002 as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I made the image above on 24 May 2016 with a Canon EOS6D mark1, 24-105L glass, and the following settings: 1/250-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 75mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-hMa.

Kaub, Burg Gutenfels, Rhein, Rhine, Oberes Mittelrheintal, Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on the Middle Rhine: Kaub, Gutenfels

24 May 2016.

I’m on board a Deutsche Bahn IC (InterCity) train from Heidelberg north to Cologne, along the left (west) bank of the Rhine river. The slower train along the river bank and more scheduled stops allows further opportunities to photograph the right (east) bank of the Rhine. Although overcast, the mid-morning early-afternoon train means any diffuse light will originate “behind” me from the south, and the landscapes will either be front- or side-lit.

In this series, I portray images of the Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz which is the area included within the Oberes Mittelrheintal (Upper Middle Rhine Valley) inscribed in 2002 as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This image is of the town of Kaub, near “kilometre 546” (distance north of the Rhine Falls in Switzerland). Above town sits historical landmark Burg Gutenfels on the slope accompanied by vineyards.

I made the image above on 24 May 2016 with a Canon EOS6D mark1, 24-105L glass, and the following settings: 1/200-sec, f/9, ISO1000, and 50mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-hLW.

Lorch am Rhein, Rhein, Rhine, Oberes Mittelrheintal, Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany, Deutschland, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on the Middle Rhine: Lorch am Rhein

24 May 2016.

I’m on board a Deutsche Bahn IC (InterCity) train from Heidelberg north to Cologne, along the left (west) bank of the Rhine river. The slower train along the river bank and more scheduled stops along the way allow further opportunities to photograph the right (east) bank of the Rhine. Although overcast, the mid-morning early-afternoon train means any diffuse light will originate “behind” me from the south, and the landscapes will either be front- or side-lit.

In this series, I portray images of the Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz which is the area included within the Oberes Mittelrheintal (Upper Middle Rhine Valley) inscribed in 2002 as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This image is of the town of Lorch am Rhein, at “kilometre 540” (distance north of the Rhine Falls in Switzerland).

I made the image above on 24 May 2016 with a Canon EOS6D mark1, 24-105L glass, and the following settings: 1/160-sec, f/9, ISO1000, and 55mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-fYw.

Koblenz: 1st and 2nd Deutsches Eck (German Corner)

Above: West view to Deutsches Eck from Ehrenbreitstein. 2015 photo by Taxiarchos228 (Wladyslaw Sojka). I’ve added the following labels: (1) Seilbahn/Gondola, (2) St. Kastor Basilica, (3) Deutschherrenhaus, (4) first Deutsches Eck, (5) Memorial to German Unity (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial), (6) reclamation in the late 19th-century, (7) second Deutsches Eck.

Many will know, have seen, or have read about the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) in the German city of Koblenz. The river city has plenty to provide: visitors wander into the vineyards to sip on crisp white wine from local grapes, vacation on long cabin-boats to enjoy the river scenery, or explore the surrounding Upper Rhine River Valley.

But Koblenz is also well known by virtue of its name after the junction where the rivers Moselle and Rhine meet. By the first-century AD/CE, the Romans had built for strategic protection a fort1 called “Castellum apud Confluentes“, Latin for “the castle at the confluence”. What most commonly acknowledge as the Deutsches Eck (German corner) is not the original location. Half concealed among the trees some 200 metres back near the Deutschherrenhaus is the first location of the Deutsches Eck.

What follows:

  • a map to the area and my photos from the present-day,
  • a short history of the “Deutsches Eck,” and
  • archival images from the mid-16th century to early 20th century.

( Click here for images and more )

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal, Rhine river, Rhein, Moselle river, Mosel, Deutsches Eck, Koblenz, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Koblenz’s Deutsches Eck at night

Koblenz lies at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers, which respectively are at the far-left and -right in the picture above. The present-day Deutsches Eck or “German Corner” includes the towering Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial (at centre in the picture above). Flags placed at the Deutsches Eck represent the Federal Republic of Germany, each of the 16 German federal states (Bundesländer), the European Union, and the United States of America (in place since late-2011). The monument and surroundings are a part of the designated UNESCO World Heritage Site for the Upper Rhine River Valley.

However, this city landmark is the second version of the Deutsches Eck, and that’s the subject for subsequent explanation.

Thanks to Koblenz Touristik and Romantic Germany for their advice and support. Koblenz is one of the cities in the Historic Highlights of Germany. I made the above photograph on 25 November 2015 with the Canon EOS6D, 24-105 zoom, and the settings: 1/10-sec, f/4, ISO25600, and 24mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7Kd.

Deutsche Bahn, IC 2218, Oberes Mittelrheintal, Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany, fotoeins.com

The nebulous transition

I’m racing past kilometer 554.

The simple black and white sign on the east flank of the river counts down to the end, to the river’s mouth where the mineral-rich mud and silt enter the North Sea. Another sign tells me what this famous rock-face landmark is.

There’s barely enough time at Loreley to detect the hint of a siren’s call, as the train marches to the next bucolic town. Though small in size, the town and its buildings seem to stand fast in a “group hug” of the river bank in a futile attempt to hold back the rush of the Rhine.

This feels like routine, a journey in western Germany which I’ve repeated many times over the last 15 years. With heavy heart, I’ve departed my adopted hometown of Heidelberg for the umpteenth time. I’m traveling north to meet with friends I haven’t seen in a couple of years.

( Click here for more )

Hygiea, Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Firmungstrasse 11, Kulturdenkmal Rheinland-Pfalz, Altstadt, Koblenz, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Koblenz “Hygiea” Jugendstil heritage

In Koblenz’s Altstadt, the building now at Firmungstrasse 11 between Jesuitenplatz and Josef-Görres-Platz is one of many in the list of “Kulturdenkmäler” or cultural monuments, as compiled by the Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe (General Directorate for Cultural Heritage) in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

Built in 1903 for the chemist/pharmacist Fritz Oetelshofen, the building is a three-story cladded row-house with mixed residential and commerical usage and surface decor in the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) style. The top of the building is adorned with a woman’s head with flowing blonde hair. This is “Hygiea” (or Hygeia), the ancient Greek goddess of clean living and preventative health, and daughter to the god of medicine, Asklepios. Given her disposition to good “hygiene”, Hygiea is also the patron for apothecaries (pharmacists). The cultural monuments are also part of the 2002 UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the surrounding Upper Middle Rhine Valley.

Listing of memorials in Koblenz: Denkmalverzeichnis Kreisfreie Stadt Koblenz (PDF, in German)

Koblenz Touristik and Romantic Germany for their advice and support. Koblenz is one of the cities in the Historic Highlights of Germany. I made the photo above on 26 November 2015 with the Canon EOS6D, 24-105 zoom, and the settings: 1/400-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 60mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7Tm.

Jesuitenplatz, Altstadt, Koblenzer Weihnachtsmarkt, Koblenz, Germany, fotoeins.com

Koblenz: Christmas markets in the Old Town

Someone once said to me: “when the weather gets cold and crappy, it’s never too early for Weihnachtsmarkt.”

I replied that depends how early into opening week it is, how many people are aware the markets are open, and how many people are around.

It seems early, but I’m having Glühwein at one of Christmas Market stalls in the southwest German city of Koblenz.

Markets have been set up at six plazas in the city’s Old Town:

  1. Jesuitenplatz (J)
  2. Liebfrauenkirche (L)
  3. Münzplatz (M)
  4. Am Plan (P)
  5. Willi-Hörter-Platz (W) and
  6. Zentralplatz (Z).

At the intersection of the Mosel and Rhine rivers, within this special wine-growing region, it makes sense to have a ‘white’ Glühwein: it’s hot, it’s got alcohol, and it’s goin’ down somethin’ awful smooooth, like throwing on warm tonic to ward the late-autumn humid chill.

What’s also important is how all of this fuels the remaining two of my four weeks in the country.

( Click here for more )

Willy-Hörter-Platz, Altstadt, Koblenzer Weihnachtsmarkt, Koblenz, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Christmas stars in Koblenz

I’m on a 4-week 13-city cross-country tour throughout Germany, and beyond the hectic schedule, I’m definitely taking time to enjoy this opening week of the Christmas market in Koblenz, a city several millennia in the making at the special junction of the Mosel and Rhine rivers. Next to the Rathaus in the city’s Altstadt, stands are up with the usual array of food, drink, and a variety of wares to look and buy, including illuminated Christmas stars. Time I find me some GlĂĽhwein …

Thanks to Koblenz Touristik for access to Forum Confluentes and the Romanticum, and to Romantic Germany for their support in various cities along the Rhine river. I made the photo on 25 November 2015 with the Canon EOS6D, 24-105 zoom, and settings: 1/200-sec, f/4, ISO1600, and 58mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7tS.
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