Finally made a visit to Europa Park the other week. Sort of like Disneyland, but the park is themed after the countries of Europe; So there is a “France” region, a “Scandinavia,” an “Italy” and so forth. Got lucky with some nice spring weather; first time I’ve put on sunblock in a long time. Only took a few pictures as I spent most of my time standing in lines for ride. Good times.
Spring has arrived here in the Oberpfalz. Growing up in southern California, I never knew seasons. But after a long winter here in northern Bavaria, the first leaves of spring are nothing less than magic. And by now the forests are nearly completely green, as if the winter had never existed in the first place. The days are once again long and warm; the sun rising early and staying up late. The storks are back on their chimney and song birds wake me up all too early in the morning if I forget to close the window at night. The street-side cafe’s have once again set up their chairs outside and one looks for a shady place to sit to escape the hot midday sun. These last days make the cold of winter easily forgotten. Life has returned.
My buddy Till walking the line on the outskirts of Pegnitz yesterday evening.
One afternoon I took a hike up one of the hills above Stamsund to watch the sunset. Wasn’t the best light I’ve ever seen, but at least it was mostly clear and the wind was relatively calm. It crossed my mind to wait around a few hours in hopes of some auroras, but after waiting around for a little while, I decided it was far too cold for such an idea. Maybe I will bring a sleeping bag up nextime.
While the hike up the mountains was mostly deep snow, the top was windswept and icy. I made it to the top with a little bit of sun left, casting long shadows across the winter landscape.
Panoramic of the mountain Justadtind (in the center of photo). 4 photos at 31mm stitched together.
In the far north, the sun never gets very high in the sky, making more of a low circle around the horizon as the day passes on. Due to this relatively low angle of movement, the twilight time before/after sunset/rise lasts much longer up in the arctic than at milder latitudes. In only another month in a half, the sun will set for the final time of the summer. It’s amazing how long the days already are this early in the year.
the mountain peak in the distance is Steinstind (the peak on the left is the higher one, though doesn’t appear so in the photo), the high point of the mountain ridge I was on. this photo was from near Stamsundheia. In summer it’s a nice easy hike along the ridge.
View towards the village of Ure (below mountain in center of photo), with the islands and skerries off the coast of Steine on the left of the photo.
This photo is the view from Stamsund across the Vestfjord (Vestfjorden). The mountain on the far left of the photo is at the village of Henningsvær, still part of Lofoten. The mountains in the distance are of the Norwegain mainland, some 40-60km away across the waters of the Vestfjord. Typical sunrise with a break in the clouds near the horizon, letting a few minutes of sun through, before turning into a (mostly) gray and overcast day.
Nikon 85mm tilt-shift lens: 3 photos stitched.
Just walked in the door after 24 hours of travel. Been up in the Lofoten islands for the last week. More photos coming tomorrow and the next days. But for a quick teaser of things to come: snow, snow, a bit more snow, and maybe some snow…
Panoramic photo Hoher Göll massif as seen from Jenner from the other week while down in the mountains of Berchtesgaden. Stitch of 4 photos at 35mm.
I was walking to the bakery this morning and I got the feeling that something wasn’t right. Took me a minute to figure it out, that the sun was shining and even a few birds were singing. Spent the past weekend down in Regensburg, but the camera never made it out of the backpack. On Friday I will be “flying into winter” for a few days, more when I get back.
Picture: Auerbach Rathaus (city hall).
Driving around yesterday I came across a few wind turbines in a farm field. The pictures don’t really show just how big these things are, but they are huge (for those that have never stood beneath one). The turning of the blades makes this ominous sounding ‘swooshing’ sound.
