On top of the highest mountain

Brocken, Harz mountains, Germany

The 1141 meter high Brocken is the highest mountain in northern Germany, belonging to the Harz mountains. It is also called Blocksberg, a special name used in conjunction with witchcraft and witches meeting there as described within the famous “Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy” of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Brocken is today a famous touristic region used especially for hiking.

Continue reading “On top of the highest mountain”

Brockenbahn

Brockenbahn, Brocken, Germany

Riding a light railway train, especially when it is equipped with a steam engine, is a unique experience. It’s a fascinating technology and I like watching the locomotive being refueled with water and I always enjoy watching the steam hovering through the air and the surrounding trees. A good opportunity to do this is the Brockenbahn in the Harz mountains. Continue reading “Brockenbahn”

Weserstein

Weserstein, Hann. Münden

Hann. Münden, Germany is the place where the two rivers Werra and Fulda combine to a new stream called Weser – which is running through northern Germany to the North sea. In fact there was a linguistic border here and Werra and Weser are the same name in different dialects. The Fulda is therefore only a river floating into the Werra/Weser. But today nobody cares about this. Continue reading “Weserstein”

A slant gate

Holsten gate, Lübeck

The Holsten gate (“Holstentor“) is a city gate of Lübeck, Germany. It is located in the west of the old city center just across the river Trave. Holsten in that case means the region of Holstein, an area forming part of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. The city gate is four levels high and contains today a museum about the history of the city.

Continue reading “A slant gate”

The big fish

Laguna, Venezia

I’ve got ambivalent feelings about Venezia, Italy. I really love the concept of living with water, of having a city in a laguna. I like the idea to travel by boat instead of a bus. I appreciate standing at places with water masses surrounding me. But most times of the year Venezia is simply overcrowded and the city feels much to artificial. That is why I tend to go there in autumn and winter times when – apart from San Marco – you also have the possibility to roam through nearly empty streets.

Continue reading “The big fish”

Passing the Ponte dei Sospiri

Palazzo Ducale, Venezia

I’ve been in Venezia, Italy multiple times but I was mostly enjoying the surroundings and the atmosphere in San Marco – I never entered buildings like the Palazzo Ducale, the main government building of the Republic of Venezia. And like every tourist I was taking a picture of the Ponte dei Sospiri, the enclosed bridge of sighs that connects the palace with the old prison – but I never thought that you could walk across it.

Continue reading “Passing the Ponte dei Sospiri”

At the Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco, Venezia

The main square of Venezia, Italy is the Piazza San Marco – a wonderful ensemble of buildings depicted so many times in movies that you can’t count them. In James Bond 007: Casino Royale (2006) for example or for the older ones that like films about monarchy: The Austrian classic Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress (1957) shows the wedding scene inside the Basilica di San Marco and on the square. But beware – it’s really kitschy. 😉

Continue reading “At the Piazza San Marco”