I’ve posted photos of the glass blowing show at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland before. It’s a great place to see finished products, whether they are for practical use, decorative purposes, or pure art. They have hands-on workshops for children and adults, and one can also watch the experts blowing glass. All this is only possible because of fire, of course.
One Word Sunday: Fire.
This soldier of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870/71 was a minor celebrity in his town when they looked for a model for the war memorial which was erected in 1890. He was a miller by profession and considered the most beautiful man around. Not long afterwards he emigrated to the US, apparently smuggling valuables in the nappies of his numerous children. If that is true I don’t know but he came to wealth in the US and his family not only grew to riches but also in numbers. To this day the town of Weinheim hosts descendants of this beautiful man about once a year when they come and want to see what their great-great-great-grandfather looked like.
I’ve featured him before here.
And here is a slightly fuzzy close up of him – jugde for yourself if he conforms with your idea of beauty.
For One Word Sunday: Famous. More photos of famous people can be found here.
Fortune (or luck) is with the brave. Make your own connection with that beaming, strong, brave mother taking part in the Frankfurt Half-marathon event and the motto of a traditional student’s fraternity.
Linked to One Word Sunday: luck. More lucky pictures, can be found here.
For One Word Sunday: shelter.
For One Word Sunday: Volume. Other loud photos can be found here.
The late 19th century, after the Franco-Prussian War which lead to the unification of Germany was a great time to build monuments to the glorification of Germany. One such monuments (I almost wrote monstrosities) is the Niederwald Denkmal in Rüdesheim am Rhein.
It features a more than 12 metres high personification of Germania, holding aloft the laurel crown of the victor and the sword, pointing downward, as well a symbol of victory.
At the foot of the huge figure is this relief of 133 Germans considered important – all of them life-size to give an indication of the size of the monument. Underneath, larger than life, are the Rivers Rhein (male) and Mosel (female), Father Rhine handing the horn of the guardian to his daughter (tributary) Moselle hinting at the land gain of Elsass und Lothringen (Alsace and Lorraine) through the means of war.
The words are the verses of hymn called Die Wacht am Rhein, the watch towards the west, the heriditary enemy France, glorifying the blood that is ready to be spilled for the German Reich. We all know how that ended.
For One Word Sunday: Monumental, on this day of the “open monument” in Germany which will see me looking for less martial examples of monuments.
pictures imperfect blog 