Tag: Germany

Ladder in the Sky

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The Odenwald, the low mountain range to the east of us, sports a new tower. On top of the Tromm (a mountain/hill of 577m altitude) stood the Irene Tower (named after the Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) but the wooden construction was destroyed by rot and bark beetles and demolished in 2020. In its place the new Tromm Tower was erected, a beautiful, modern construction made of wood and metal. It’s beautiful, modern, 33 m high, leaning over the side of the hill and granting a beautiful 360° panoramic view of the Odenwald. It opened to the public in June this year.

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: My Pick

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I’m a Fan of Monuments and Pigeons

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At least, when they are just sitting there (the monument looked clean all round).

This is the Alice monument for the Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine in Darmstadt. Incidentally, she was the second eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, HRH Princess Alice Maud Mary of Great Britan and Irleand which – if my thinking is correct – made her the great-great aunt of Queen Elizabeth II and also the maternal great-grandmother of her husband, Prince Philip. Her memory is alive and well in Darmstadt as the hospital she founded in 1869 is still going strong; I myself was a patient there for a couple of days a decade ago.

I’m a Fan of … #174

Questionable Memories

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I’ve always been skeptical about war memorials. They usually reek of pathos if not bathos and I question the motives behind them.

I came across this rather odd war memorial in Bad Dürkheim. It’s in memory of the participants of the Franco-Prussian war. The participants – not the fallen as is more common – are listed with their military regiment, and a curt “gefallen” if they didn’t return. Even worse, in my mind, is the use of the ditto mark ” – not just for the same regiment but also for the word “gefallen” as if in such a monumental glorification set in stone they had to economise with letters.

On one side the non-combatants are listed, I suppose these are the financiers of this war. But what is even more disconcerting to me is the fact that this memorial was erected 40 years after the war, which resulted in the formation of the German empire, only three years before the next one, the so-called “Great War”. Almost as if a new generation was being prepared for the ultimate sacrifice. Of course, I say this with hindsight but it gives the impression of a fractured relationship with history.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: In Memory

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Skyfall

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This is how the sky presented itself to me today – blue, clouds, grey, rain and then as a backdrop of the free fall tower at the Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim – back in business again this year. More information about the biggest wine festival in the world can be found on the wikipedia site.

Weekend Sky

It’s a dangerous business, going out of your door.

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It might have been for Frodo or Bilbo but it wasn’t for me when I stepped out this afternoon.

That’s the furthest I can see without going further than 50 steps from our front door. In the distance in the West is the Palatium mountain range, in between are the cities of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen and the breadth of the Upper Rhine Valley, around 40km at this point.

A look to left, and a look to the right. The area used to be a mixture of residential buildings and farmsteads but today only a couple of farmers are left around us.

And finally I managed an inadvertent selfie (I’m the small orange blob in the mirror). The old wall belongs to our next door neighbour, the sandstone blocks are encircling our front yard.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Walk 50 Steps or Less

Mirror, Mirror

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The area north of the main station in Darmstadt has seen almost unbelievable building activities during the last decade. About 10 years ago we used to run through overgrown empty lots.

Looking to the right.

and looking to the left, the reflection and the building itself.

Monday Window

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