Tag: alps

Alp yourself

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2007 small b

On cannot feel but small when faced with the majesty of mountains.  Here, the Arlberg in Austria.

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And here the Berner Oberland in Switzerland.  The red clad figure is hardly noticeable.

Re: The title – apologies to Groucho Marx who said “God alps those who alp themselves.”

For On the Hunt for Joy: Make yourself feel small.

 

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Morning is breaking

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11 sunlight

Moonlight was yesterday.

#11 square lights    Sonnenlicht oder Alpensonnenaufgangslicht

Becky

The Plus: And I couldn’t leave without adding this picture (from a fancy dress party a few years back, in Berlin) where two friends dressed up as the Ampelmännchen.  These are the symbols on all pedestrian traffic lights in Germany and are quite politcal:  in the West, the red and green men looked differently and it is often joked that the Ampelmännchen was the only thing of culture from the East that was kept at unification.  I am linking this, of course, with Debbie’s #Januarylight no. 11:

Ampelmännchen Ampelfrauchen
Ampelmännchen Ampelfrauchen

I’ve since read up on the little men (nothing like a good reason for procrastination on a Saturday morning) and found there is much more to them then I thought.  When the East mannikins were starting to replace the West ones after unfication, there were apparently protests (a country where this is a problem is a happy country, albeit with miserable people).  On a nicer side, in some towns they change the men at Christmas time to have Santa Clause leading the way across the street.  And in Friedberg, where Elvis Presley was stationed when he was in the US army they have three traffic lights with his silhouette.

A castle, a river and mountains

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Cee’s Compose Yourself – the challenge is: “landscapes”.

Two photos from Weinheim an der Bergstraße in Germany:

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I prefer the second shot. In the first one, the area looks cramped as if it was in a narrow valley when in fact the Wachenburg looks over the wide Rhine plain.  The clouds not only add depth to the sky but the shadows they cast also add texture to the forest.

 

Another German river valley, this time the Moselle.  Vinyards rise on both sides of the river. The barge and the houses, especially the mansion on the left, serve as scale and enhance the steepness of the vinyards.

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Same river, a number of kilometers downstream and at a different time of year:

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The autumn mists casting a haze over the valley in the back, contrasting with the vivid colours of the yellowing leaves.

 

This is the Kleinwalsertal – a small anomaly as it is part of Austria but can only be reached from Germany because of the high mountain ridge towards the Austrian side.

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This is half way up, looking straight out to the mountains of Germany:

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Above Grindelwald in Switzerland, the bare rocks attest the higher altitude in this part of the Alps. The photographer in the foreground is deceiving  the viewer.  The shadow on his side of the mountain almost lets him look like a giant.

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My final photo for this challenge – also from Switzerland with a paraglider high up in the air.  Again this perspective is teasing the viewer because as high as the paraglider is – he is well below the peaks in the background to the right.

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Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: #21 Landscapes

CCY