Hamburg for Easter
I decided to head up to Hamburg for Easter. I'd been there once before in the dead of winter, which is cool but extremely cold, but thought that a nice spring weekend would really bring out the best in the city. Unfortunately, the first two days were overcast, cold, and rather rainy. The last day was cold, but with absolutely beautiful skies. Hamburg is 120km from the sea, but given the size and depth of the Elbe here you would never know it. Even the largest sea vessels can reach the city, and it is Germany's largest port. In addition to the Elbe (which reaches almost to the horizon), the city is surrounded by large and small lakes. It has more bridges than Venice.
The Alster, the large lake that surrounds and protected the Altstadt
The Binnenalster, another, smaller lake that leads to the Elbe via locks and canals
City Hall
City Hall from the Arcades
City Hall from the St. Nikolai Tower, with the Binnenalster and Aussenalster
The world's only fountain capable of operating at -30 C
Hamburg Harbor
In the middle ages Hamburg was the greatest port of Northern Europe, and the principle member of the Hanseatic League- a trade federation of independent and semi-independent cities that stretched throughout the Baltic and Northern Europe, from Belgium, through Scandinavia, all the way to Novgorod. After the end of World War II Hamburg was situated around 40 km from the iron curtain, and much of its economic hinterland was located in the DDR. This, combined with the effects of Operation Gomorrah (the 1943 air raid) reduced Hamburg's importance. Today, with the reopening of the Baltic to trade from the entirety of the old Hanseatic area, Hamburg is on the rise again.
Praguers are so sophisticated that even their grafitti is intellectual- this on'es for Dr. It. Can you identify the equation?
Seeing this was posted three years ago, I realize I'm a bit late with my reply. Howsomever, if anyone is interested the first line is Euler's identity and the second is the definition of the Fourier transform.
I really enjoyed seeing places I visited years ago (Dinkelsbuhl, Prague), and some I will visit next month (Switzerland). And I enjoy your (irreverent) commentary!
Weimar and Buchenwald
Romanticism is a reaction against the dehumanization of the Industrial age- a revolt against rationalism, quantification, fordism, the concept of man as mechanistic and animal. At its best, it values the subjective, the individual, beauty as the root of aestheticism, liberalism as the mode of political organization which allows the fullest development of the soul. At its best, it is not against progress not science, but recognizes that there is much to be lost in the past when you set your eyes solely on the future and on the now and the real.
At its worst, it degenerates into primitivism, tribalism, the exaltation of your particular branch of the human on the back of the dehumanization of others, a turning of the back upon progress, science, and civility. A drowning of the person in the group, and the support of that group identity on buttresses of hate.
As usual, the German variant of Romanticism carried these to their extremes of good and of evil. And Weimar, as the capital of German romanticism, is a symbol of the root,the flower, and the rot that Romanticism contains.
If you want to visit Weimar, you should do it twice. Once in the summer, to see the Weimar of Goethe and Schiller. And again in the winter, to see the Weimar of Ilse Koch, die Hexe von Buchenwald.
We went in Winter. So the good Weimar doesn't come out much in the photos.
Goethe and Schiller
Historischer Friedhof
Buchenwald
the flogging tree
The Nazis seemed to have a penchant for putting mordantly weird proverbs on the entrance gates of their concentration camps. "Arbeit Macht Frei" is, of course, the most famous. The one here reads "Jedem das Seine"- which means "to each his own," or perhaps "everyone gets what he deserves." Why they felt the need to do this is beyond me.
Zoo and Crematorium
Auschwitz is more of a Grotesque death factory, and on a much bigger scale, but Buchenwald reveals a smaller, more intimate picture of the evil of the people who ran these places. And its a scary evil, not because its a ravening, demonic, glowing eye of Sauron hovering over Mordor evil. It isn't. It's workaday evil. The people carrying it out weren't obviously nuts. They were the man in the grey suit.
This is the private zoo for the children of the camp's support staff. Their kids played here. Beyond the fence, in plain sight, is the crematorium. The Unthinkable has been normalized. That's where Daddy works.
wow - i have a photo of this exact window too
I also loved Dinklbühl and the bulls danglies - beautiful town and you photo reminds me that I need to get back to that part of Germany this year hopefully!
Posting
Hi, I am having posting picture, loading attachments, etc. How do you load multiple pictures with descriptions like you have on one single thread? What formats/process do you use? If you or anyone with some input could help, I would greatly appreciate. Thank you!
Hi, I am having posting picture, loading attachments, etc. How do you load multiple pictures with descriptions like you have on one single thread? What formats/process do you use? If you or anyone with some input could help, I would greatly appreciate. Thank you!
Hey jpaul, When you reply, look at the bar of icons in the box above your reply. You'll see things like a "B" for making bold text, etc. In the second row, 14 icons over, is a little yellow box that looks like a picture with a mountain in it or something. Click on that, and dialogue box will appear saying "enter the url of your image." If you right click on an image and click "view image" it will have a unique url. Copy and paste that into the dialogue box. Presto!
Orange Rocks! Côte de Granit Rose- Brittany
Yes, O you naysayers of photographing in Europe. We too have orange rocks. Not like those in Bryce Canyon, 'tis true, but orange, rocklike, and impressive none the less.
The "Pink Granite Coast" lies in the Côte de Armor section of France (formerly the Côte du Nord), known in Roman times as Armorica.
Our destination, Lannion, was about a twelve hour drive from Mannheim.
On the way, we stopped for a quick look at the Chartres Cathedral.
And, of course, Lunch
Two awesome things that have been around since 1973
Enough of the Churches and Crepes, lets get to the rocks!
]
The locals here are not exactly French. They have a lot more in common with their brethren over the sea in Ireland, and the signs are usually bilingual.
When they aren't, people get irritated.
The small seaside port where we were staying was hosting the third annual "world championship of insults and disputes in the Breton language." Kind of like a giant franco-celtic "yo' mama" contest.
Other celtic remnants include cromlechs, standing stones, and the like.
The area has pretty divergent high and low tides, so when hiking one should be careful not to get cut off. The currents can be pretty treacherous as well. But it does make an excellent place to have an impromptu snack of very fresh oyster.
Salty, but good
Speaking of Oysters, Brittany may well be the nearest thing to heaven on Earth in terms of eatign and drinking. Think about it- Celtic Whiskey and French food.
The area away from the Sea is full of apple orchards, and accompanying distilleries, from which they make an excellent spirit called Lambik. One of the distilleries had, inexplicably, a boat in the front yard.
Speaking of Oysters, Brittany may well be the nearest thing to heaven on Earth in terms of eatign and drinking. Think about it- Celtic Whiskey and French food.
Comments
I decided to head up to Hamburg for Easter. I'd been there once before in the dead of winter, which is cool but extremely cold, but thought that a nice spring weekend would really bring out the best in the city. Unfortunately, the first two days were overcast, cold, and rather rainy. The last day was cold, but with absolutely beautiful skies. Hamburg is 120km from the sea, but given the size and depth of the Elbe here you would never know it. Even the largest sea vessels can reach the city, and it is Germany's largest port. In addition to the Elbe (which reaches almost to the horizon), the city is surrounded by large and small lakes. It has more bridges than Venice.
The Alster, the large lake that surrounds and protected the Altstadt
The Binnenalster, another, smaller lake that leads to the Elbe via locks and canals
City Hall
City Hall from the Arcades
City Hall from the St. Nikolai Tower, with the Binnenalster and Aussenalster
Still uploading, so I'll add more later.
The Chilehaus
The world's only fountain capable of operating at -30 C
Hamburg Harbor
In the middle ages Hamburg was the greatest port of Northern Europe, and the principle member of the Hanseatic League- a trade federation of independent and semi-independent cities that stretched throughout the Baltic and Northern Europe, from Belgium, through Scandinavia, all the way to Novgorod. After the end of World War II Hamburg was situated around 40 km from the iron curtain, and much of its economic hinterland was located in the DDR. This, combined with the effects of Operation Gomorrah (the 1943 air raid) reduced Hamburg's importance. Today, with the reopening of the Baltic to trade from the entirety of the old Hanseatic area, Hamburg is on the rise again.
Ship building facility
floating drydock
150 year old shipbuilding slips
cranes
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Seeing this was posted three years ago, I realize I'm a bit late with my reply. Howsomever, if anyone is interested the first line is Euler's identity and the second is the definition of the Fourier transform.
I really enjoyed seeing places I visited years ago (Dinkelsbuhl, Prague), and some I will visit next month (Switzerland). And I enjoy your (irreverent) commentary!
Romanticism is a reaction against the dehumanization of the Industrial age- a revolt against rationalism, quantification, fordism, the concept of man as mechanistic and animal. At its best, it values the subjective, the individual, beauty as the root of aestheticism, liberalism as the mode of political organization which allows the fullest development of the soul. At its best, it is not against progress not science, but recognizes that there is much to be lost in the past when you set your eyes solely on the future and on the now and the real.
At its worst, it degenerates into primitivism, tribalism, the exaltation of your particular branch of the human on the back of the dehumanization of others, a turning of the back upon progress, science, and civility. A drowning of the person in the group, and the support of that group identity on buttresses of hate.
As usual, the German variant of Romanticism carried these to their extremes of good and of evil. And Weimar, as the capital of German romanticism, is a symbol of the root,the flower, and the rot that Romanticism contains.
If you want to visit Weimar, you should do it twice. Once in the summer, to see the Weimar of Goethe and Schiller. And again in the winter, to see the Weimar of Ilse Koch, die Hexe von Buchenwald.
We went in Winter. So the good Weimar doesn't come out much in the photos.
Goethe and Schiller
Historischer Friedhof
Buchenwald
the flogging tree
The Nazis seemed to have a penchant for putting mordantly weird proverbs on the entrance gates of their concentration camps. "Arbeit Macht Frei" is, of course, the most famous. The one here reads "Jedem das Seine"- which means "to each his own," or perhaps "everyone gets what he deserves." Why they felt the need to do this is beyond me.
Zoo and Crematorium
Auschwitz is more of a Grotesque death factory, and on a much bigger scale, but Buchenwald reveals a smaller, more intimate picture of the evil of the people who ran these places. And its a scary evil, not because its a ravening, demonic, glowing eye of Sauron hovering over Mordor evil. It isn't. It's workaday evil. The people carrying it out weren't obviously nuts. They were the man in the grey suit.
This is the private zoo for the children of the camp's support staff. Their kids played here. Beyond the fence, in plain sight, is the crematorium. The Unthinkable has been normalized. That's where Daddy works.
I also loved Dinklbühl and the bulls danglies - beautiful town and you photo reminds me that I need to get back to that part of Germany this year hopefully!
thanks for sharing!
Jase // www.stonesque.com
Hi, I am having posting picture, loading attachments, etc. How do you load multiple pictures with descriptions like you have on one single thread? What formats/process do you use? If you or anyone with some input could help, I would greatly appreciate. Thank you!
Hey jpaul, When you reply, look at the bar of icons in the box above your reply. You'll see things like a "B" for making bold text, etc. In the second row, 14 icons over, is a little yellow box that looks like a picture with a mountain in it or something. Click on that, and dialogue box will appear saying "enter the url of your image." If you right click on an image and click "view image" it will have a unique url. Copy and paste that into the dialogue box. Presto!
Yes, O you naysayers of photographing in Europe. We too have orange rocks. Not like those in Bryce Canyon, 'tis true, but orange, rocklike, and impressive none the less.
The "Pink Granite Coast" lies in the Côte de Armor section of France (formerly the Côte du Nord), known in Roman times as Armorica.
Our destination, Lannion, was about a twelve hour drive from Mannheim.
On the way, we stopped for a quick look at the Chartres Cathedral.
And, of course, Lunch
Two awesome things that have been around since 1973
Enough of the Churches and Crepes, lets get to the rocks!
]
The locals here are not exactly French. They have a lot more in common with their brethren over the sea in Ireland, and the signs are usually bilingual.
When they aren't, people get irritated.
The small seaside port where we were staying was hosting the third annual "world championship of insults and disputes in the Breton language." Kind of like a giant franco-celtic "yo' mama" contest.
Other celtic remnants include cromlechs, standing stones, and the like.
The area has pretty divergent high and low tides, so when hiking one should be careful not to get cut off. The currents can be pretty treacherous as well. But it does make an excellent place to have an impromptu snack of very fresh oyster.
Salty, but good
Speaking of Oysters, Brittany may well be the nearest thing to heaven on Earth in terms of eatign and drinking. Think about it- Celtic Whiskey and French food.
The area away from the Sea is full of apple orchards, and accompanying distilleries, from which they make an excellent spirit called Lambik. One of the distilleries had, inexplicably, a boat in the front yard.
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