Jan 11, 2021

Winter Impressions from the Rhön Mountains in Germany

These photos were taken by a friend of mine, Reiner Gehles. He took a trip to the Bischofsheim i.d. Rhön area this past weekend, and came back with this beautiful shots. I have his friendly permission to post them here.

Germany can be so beautiful when covered in snow. Recently, our winters have been fairly mild though. But with La Niña heading our way this week, more snow is anticipated. This means more photo opportunities!

Bischofsheim i.d. Rhön is located in northern Bavaria (Reiner and I both hail from that part of Germany). The small town lies at the base of the Kreuzberg, the ‘Sacred Mountain of the Franconians’.

Bischofsheim i.d. Rhön

Let the music play. The oak bench reads Rhönbauernbuam (only the letter R is visible here), which stands for Rhön farmer boys.

Not only the mountain is sacred to the Franconians.

“Snow softens the world, and for a moment covers the grime and ugliness that characterizes most of the winter world in the city” (quoted by my friend Gar)

Here is my favorite one of all. This is the Snow Queen of all snow photos I have ever seen.

For more information about this corner of Germany, visit: Bischofsheim Info/English

Thanks again, Reiner, for sharing these photos.

For a model of the old-fashioned wooden sled, visit https://amzn.to/2XtdyZd.

Jan 8, 2021

Snowy Oberursel in January 2021

The snow has finally arrived. Yes, I’ve been waiting for it.

As a child of the 1960s, I remember snow and going sledding as early as late November. Going out in the snow was so much fun, but coming home to the wood stove in the kitchen was very pleasant too. We had to rub our hands to get the prickly sensation out of it. Growing up on a farm, we had no central heating back in those days.

This photo was taken at 7:30am from the 4th floor balcony overlooking the Rosengärtchen area, which is also in walking distance to Frankfurt International School (FIS) and between the high rise buildings, we can also sometimes see part of the Feldberg Mountain.

Nevertheless, there won’t be much walking to school as of next week with updated lock down restrictions in place once again.

The view below is onto the former military areal of Camp King. The walkway in front is the line which separates the former military areal (which has become a German housing area in 2000) from our old housing area (established in the early 1970s).

Winter forms our character and brings out our best.

– Tom Allen

Dec 19, 2020

Snowy Oberursel in December 2010

It seems our winters are getting milder, and with fewer chances of snow, so are the snow photo opportunities.

This one I took in December 2010. That winter was a good one. We were the only ones in our apartment building (8 parties) to have a snow shovel, and ours was in high demand.

Of course, snow shovels had already sold out.

Snow in Oberursel, 2010
Dec 5, 2020

Snowy Oberursel in December 2020

On the morning of 1 December, we were blessed with the sight of the first snow in this season. This was taken from the Balcony, a.k.a. Maria’s Beer Balcony. Right now, the beverage to be enjoyed on the balcony is Glühwein (mulled wine).

I sent the same photo to my adult children right away. They both live overseas. Well, the one in London lives just over the seas, but with the U.K. and its looming Brexit, the country is moving even further away from the continent.

This was the response from London. This is Southwark, along the river Thames.

This was the response from Tallahassee, Florida, to our snow in Germany. Thunderstorms moving in.

Tallahassee, Fl

Last, but not least, these two metal birds are a symbol for both birdies having left their nest.

For more about kids leaving home, see Chicken Soup for the Soul: Empty Nesters.

Click here for a selection of metal birds for your balcony or garden,

Jan 29, 2018

Snowfall in Jiangsu Province, China

A friend of mine, Reiner Gehles, has been living near Taicang in the Jiangsu Province for almost seven years. He got to experience a rare snowfall (the climate is usually temperate in winter), and gave me permission to share his most wonderful photos here.

This well-known Grand Canal runs through the entire province from north to south.

 

 

Next Page »

Diese Webseite verwendet Cookies. Wenn Sie auf der Seite weitersurfen, stimmen Sie der Cookie-Nutzung zu. Mehr Informationen

Diese Webseite verwendet so genannte Cookies. Sie dienen dazu, unser Angebot nutzerfreundlicher, effektiver und sicherer zu machen. Cookies sind kleine Textdateien, die auf Ihrem Rechner abgelegt werden und die Ihr Browser speichert. Die meisten der von uns verwendeten Cookies sind so genannte "Session-Cookies". Sie werden nach Ende Ihres Besuchs automatisch gelöscht. Cookies richten auf Ihrem Rechner keinen Schaden an und enthalten keine Viren. Weitere Informationen finden Sie auf der Seite “Datenschutzerklärung”.

Close