Down by the riverside

I took many panoramic pictures of the Moselle river, since I can't pick out just one, I included several in the collage below. The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany.

 

Watery Wednesday

German towns along the Moselle River are: Trier, Bernkastel-Kues, Cochem and Koblenz. I took the above picture from the castle in Cochem.

And last, but not least, here's an expression for Jientje's "A Thousand Words in Idioms":

Sell down the river :If you sell someone down the river, you betray their trust.

ruby red custome

Still on Day 3 of our 10-day Germany trip earlier this month. It was Sunday and there was a huge wine festival in Bernkastel*Kues. We were there to watch the festive parade going through the market square, which is completely surrounded by these lovely half-timbered houses, dating back partly to the 17th century.

The float from a place called Kardinalsberg  (cardinal's hill) showed much ruby red,  it wasn't easy to photograph as I am petite and the crowd was large!!

Ruby Tuesday

Day 3: the Moselle river

Day 3 of our 10-day Germany trip in September with a rental black M*ini (it wasn't pink, Horsoon!) found us  in Longuich, right by the Moselle river . This is the  first picture I took of the river (click to enlarge, see the sign?? Mosel) , from the bridge  during our short walk after breakfast, with vinyards in the background. And a nice statue, which I forgot to photograph more closely...

On our way to Bernkastel-Kues (next post!) we just had to stop to take a look inside the Festzelt (party tent).  Little did I know I was going to find huge yellow decorations there:

Mellow Yellow Monday

The banners hanging from the ceiling displayed quotes related to wine, and wine tasting,  the first one reads something like  "God didn't want the good wine to go to waste, that's why he gave us thirst "...oh, well, it rhymes in German!

And we also found a  cute little guy for  Blue Monday.

twisted necklace

photohunt  is hosted by tnchick

casual friday

1. One week ago my friend wasn't a grandmother, now she is a proud one and her granddaughter is one day old!!

2. I listened to the radio  when I was young.

3. Mama told me not to tell.

4. Today's meme  will bring many comments to  you and me.

5. Take your time to stop and smell the roses.

6. All bad things will pass!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to trying out the new blogger's editor (see below), tomorrow my plans include a long stroll  and Sunday, I want to have a family luncheon... if our  21-yo son has time for us!!

If you have a minute, check out blogger's new editor here. "To enable the new editor, first navigate to your blog's Settings | Basic tab. Near the bottom of the page you will see a field called Select Post Editor, and from there you simply need to select Updated Editor and save your settings
When you upload an image to the new post editor it will appear as a thumbnail in the image dialog box. That way, you can upload several images at once, and then add them into your post at your convenience. The thumbnails will be available until you close the post editor.
When you add an image from the dialog into your post it will be placed at the insertion point instead of at the top of the post." (This is the feature I had been waiting for!!)
"If you don’t like where an image is in your post, you can drag it around to another spot".  (it works, I tried that here!)

pink rococo

window views
(click to enlarge)

Still on Day Two of our 10-day Germany trip with a rental M*ini Cooper, this time admiring the Electoral Palace of Trier, considered one of the loveliest rococo palaces in the world. Today, the Electoral Palace is the seat of the District Supervisory Authorities. A rococo room , with capacity for 190 people, can be rented for conferences. Or a bloggers' meet up...

"The three wings of the palace were built between 1615 and 1756 in a Rococo style that is accented by a peachy-pink paint color against the white plaster details.(...). Since the Palace is a working administrational building, it is rare to gain access to the inside, and so the Garden is the real attraction.The Gardens feature a variety of styles from Baroque to Greco-Roman and are spotted with classical statues." Source.

market cross in Trier

Walking around the Main Market in Trier (pictured in the prior post) I saw this cross, it even has a small sundial on the side, which I found quite amazing and very unique. Back home I learned it is the Market Cross and that the original one is kept in a museum in Trier. If I didn't have this blog, I would most likely simply enjoy random pictures and would miss all the information I now gather after a trip. Because of the blog and with the help of the net, a trip now goes on after returning home to find the most interesting facts!

"In commemoration of a charter to hold markets in Trier, Archbishop Henry (958) erected a market cross in its centre which made this market the focal point of the town's further development during the Middle Ages. Trier’s Market Cross was erected on a granite pedestal dating from Roman times." I may add it is 3m /almost 10ft tall (...) "Trier existed 1300 years before Rome. May it enjoy eternal peace." Source.

ruby red wrapping paper

Ruby Tuesday

Scene captured in Trier, Germany's oldest city , which was founded on or before 16 BC... hard to believe, isn't it? See the prior post for more info, if you are so inclined.

Not a great shot because it's against the light but I liked the buildings... that's why I took this picture. Now that I am back home and going through the shots I took during this trip, I found the red touch concentrated on the left side of the picture : the blonde lady is holding a bouquet of yellow flowers wrapped in red as well as another unidentified bunch of tall greeneries, also wrapped in red. She is not smoking, she is wondering what she still needs from the market before she goes home. Are the flowers for her mom, her friend, herself??

Day Two: A Bit of Trier...

Day Two of our 10-day Germany trip found us stopping for a little bit (pun intended!) in Bitburg (license plate pictured on the left), whose major company is the Bitburger Brauerei, one of the largest beer manufacturers in the world and home of the Bit beer. A detail of the entrance to the brewery pictured below is my blue and yellow (rather gold...) entry for both

Blue Monday ♬ ♬ Mellow Yellow Monday

Then we drove the rental M*ini Cooper to Trier, which happens to be the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC ... which makes it the oldest city I have ever been to!.... A major landmark is the Porta Nigra (Black Gate), pictured below, which has been designated a World Heritage Site.



The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD...In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman Bridge crossing the Moselle River. Source


Trier is also the birthplace of Karl Marx, as we learned there.

More to come, of course!

upside down

photohunt is hosted by tnchick

And he seemed to throughly enjoy the upside- down position!! It was the preparation for his 98 mt / 322 ft "guided fall" as opposite to a free fall (notice the wiring on the sides) ...off the 39th floor, downtown Berlin. We went up for a view of the city, then we saw the "base flying". Thanks, but no, thanks, that's nothing for us. Too much adrenaline, I guess!!

And here is a y*utube video, featuring a beginner at this very same place in Berlin, who jumps standing up - only the experienced ones choose the upside-down position... Wishing you a quiet weekend!
Update : there was a special offer for the jump: 79€ / USD 116 instead of the regular 99€/USD 145...

TGIF

1. My car is German. Sky blue :)

2. My dental appointment is coming up next. In fact I am leaving right after hitting the 'publish' button!

3. Lately, things seem to pile up...or maybe it is only my laundry basket...

4. My blog is one of my favorite 'hiding' places.

5. What happened to my pens and pencils? they (always) disappear from my desk....

6. A tidy desk is not impossible! (at least for a few hours...!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my mammogram (NOT!), tomorrow my plans include some gardening and Sunday, I want to rest and relax!

cologne windows

As it was to be expected, Cologne cathedral has spectacular stained glass windows, some of them are beautifully shown here and here . The one which caught my attention, however, was the “different one”, where no particular figures or symbols were identified:

Getting closer:

window views

Such modern art for a gothic cathedral, was my first thought! it was a most amazing surprise during the visit to the cathedral. Thanks to g**gle I now know it is Gerhard Richter's 'Symphony of Light' (finished in August 2007) and that it replaced the southern window , which had consisted of simple unadorned glass ever since the original stained-glass window was destroyed during World War II. I also learned that "The archbishop, who is not opposed to modern art per se, reportedly wanted to have a figurative work, for example with representations of saints or 20th century martyrs, rather than an abstract one". Source. It was not without controversy!!

"The 11,500 squares of glass in 72 colors fill the 20-meter-high window, which was designed by Gerhard Richter, one of Germany's most important living artists. The 75-year-old painter and photographer declared that he was happy the project had been a success, particularly as, unlike his other work, it isn’t intended to hang for a short time but is to be a "window for eternity." " Source

Day One: Cologne Cathedral

We were gone for 10 days re-discovering Germany. With a rental M*ini Cooper we covered over 1.700 km / 1,100 miles. Our first stop was in Cologne with a short visit of the cathedral, which is a World Heritage Site and Cologne's most famous landmark.



Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete – a period of over 600 years. It is 144.5 metres (445 ft) long, 86.5 m (84 ft) wide and its two towers are 157 m (515 ft) tall.The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. Source. (conversions in the brackets are my contribution...)

There wasn't much left after WW2 around the cathedral, as the picture below reveals. It was a place mat displayed for sale, that explains the wires...



A detail of the entrance. The façade is so huge, there isn't enough time to concentrate on every single beautiful work. It was such a gray day, I am spoiled used to have sunshine most of the time, that makes photographing much easier.






Mr Mar was way more delighted with the local Kölsch beer. It is usually served in long, thin, cylindrical 0.2 litre (6.7 fl oz) glasses. This glass is known as a Stange (pole), but is often derisively called a Reagenzglas (test tube), or Fingerhut (thimble). (From the wiki, left picture included, which shows the way Kölsch is served).



The lines on the coaster show that was the third beer. 2.80 means the price in euros (USD 4) of my Weinschorle or Spritzer (white wine mixed with mineral water)

There will be windows tomorrow...stay tuned!

ruby red among the clouds

Ruby Tuesday

I was reading a magazine yesterday on our way home and all of a sudden the circumstances reminded me that I am a blogger at heart, there it was: a perfect shot for RT out of the window . Hoping the right person sees this, I wouldn't mind getting a free ticket...

end of season

The beach bars will only be there until next Sunday. And we will get our beach back!!

white

Now I know it is an Agapanthus!

pebble people

Seen near a small French lake, I was surprised to see everybody's name written with pebbles. I would have done it too, but the summer heat kept me in the air-conditioned car...

hearts in the right place

"No comments" from my side as I
will be in Germany for a few days
but you will find
scheduled posts here, so stay tuned!

mi casa es su casa

window views

A unique window, which belongs to a favorite building in Barcelona: Casa Batlló. I have never toured this building as the long queues always talk me out of it...

pato

This is an updated re-written post after the fourth comment since I mistakenly posted way too early for a photo challenge...due on October 1st!! I left only one shot of the original post. Many thanks to Gattina for being so clever and for helping me out!

I took this shot yesterday on my way back to the car from the wonderful first rehab session with Jorge , who has magical hands and pampered my left ankle. Ten sessions have been scheduled, so I will be there again this afternoon.

I like this type of street art, love the duck, isn't he cute? Funny thing is, it is right next to a major police station!!

The Spanish word of the day is pato, it means duck...

paint it red

Ruby Tuesday