Monthly Archives: May 2011

Photo Of The Day: Is This A Naughty Gnome?

“Is it an elf or a midget or a dwarf or a gnome? What is that bizarre statue downtown? And is it something permanent, or a temporary installation?”

I asked my friend Amalin these questions when we were in Rotterdam and she said that the huge dwarf statue below had been quite controversial when it was installed at the edge of the shopping district and in direct sight of most of the tram lines as they passed on their way into the city.

Apparently almost €300,000 was spent on this work of art by American artist Paul McCarthy and it has been moved several times due to protests by the angry citizens of Rotterdam. The locals have a very rude name for it which you will discover if you click on the highlighted links above!

Controversial gnome sculpture in Rotterdam, Netherdlands

Photo Of The Day: Hot Dogs, Get Your Hot Dogs!

Anyone who has ever been to a baseball game in the USA will have heard the familiar chant, “Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs!” Yes, I went to a few Cincinnati Reds games when I was young and I remember that sing-song urging to buy a snack.

The unexpected sight of this American-flag-draped hot dog sculpture on the streets of Berlin made me laugh because it seemed so wrong-place, wrong-time. It’s on Lindenstrasse, right down the street from the Jewish Museum.

American-style hot dogs for sale in Berlin, Germany

Photo of the Day – Intensely Green Lake Bethmale in the South of France

High in the mountains at over 1,000 metres in altitude, we discovered a gem-like lake of emerald green water that reflected the sky, trees, and overhanging mountains like a mirror. The waters of Le Lac De Bethmale in the Ariege region of the Midi-Pyrenees were some of the cleanest and clearest I had ever seen. And today’s afternoon walk around this stunning lake was very peaceful.

Legend says that the blue-green waters get their hue from the long dark skirts of the wicked witch who was chased into the lake after vexing the villagers in times long past.

The emerald green waters of Le Lac De Bethmale in the Ariege, Midi-Pyrenees, France

This green-on-green photo is a perfect example of just one view from one tiny corner of the lake.

Enjoy!

Vroom-vroom!!! Berlin’s Luftwaffe Museum – Part 2

Rumbling, roaring, noisy beasts. The age of the airplane saw a surprisingly rapid transformation from flimsy airborne creations into larger and heavier vehicles requiring more power to lift them into the air. And when World War II arrived, the German Luftwaffe was ready.

Wilhelm ‘Willy’ Messerschmitt was responsible for the jewels in the crown of German aircraft designed in the 1930s and 1940s — the fighter planes named after him — the Messerschmitt Bf108, the Messerschmitt Bf109, and the ones that followed. The links that are highlighted in this paragraph will take you to more detailed information.

Messerschmitt -- side view

Examples of this plane can be seen at the Luftwaffe Museum in the Berlin suburb of Gatow.

Messerschmitt -- front right view

If you are a history or aviation buff (and as I have mentioned previously, I happen to fall into both categories!), this is an excellent day out that is away from the main hustle and bustle of beautiful Berlin.

Messerschmitt -- close-up

One rather different example of a Messerschmitt was on display and it is a quite recent acquisition. In November of 2009, a fighter plane was discovered at the bottom of a lake in Germany. Please note — the website is in German, but the photographs alone are fascinating. What an eerie find that must have been for those divers in the lake.

If you wish to open this page-link to the daedalus-Berlin.de website in a translation-friendly site like GOOGLE CHROME, you can click on a button and translate the page from German to English. It’s a fascinating story!

The picture below is the actual plane that was recovered from the lake and reconstructed. When I saw this plane at the Luftwaffe Museum, I had no idea how complicated a process it must have been to remove it from the mud, bring it out of the water, and then transport it safely before it could be reconstructed. The article also answers the question about any remains found inside the plane. No, there was no sign of the missing pilots of the fighter plane and no remains at all were found inside or nearby.

Wreck of a downed WW II Messerschmitt recovered from a lake in Germany

Come back again soon for another World War II tale that I stumbled upon whilst in Germany!

Photo Of The Day: Bridge in St. Girons in the South of France

Today’s photo shows the bridge across the River Salat in the town of St. Girons. This part of the Pyrenees is called the Ariege and is a mere one hour of driving time from the border with Spain.

Bridge across the River Salat in St. Girons, Ariege, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Photo Of The Day: Let’s Do The Time Warp

Heads down, deep in conversation or deep in concentration, the three men walked through the historic passageway and probably never gave a thought to the juxtaposition of time periods that they represented.

This shot was taken in Dresden, Germany and it is quite likely that the two men in costume were employed by one of the historic tourist sites.

Enjoy!

A clothing 'time warp' in Dresden, Germany

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

We’ve just arrived in the Pyrenees and I wanted to show you how far we drove over a 3 day period. We didn’t encounter quite as much road construction as in Germany on the weekend, but we added quite a few hours to our overall trip by not choosing to drive on the 130 km per hour motorways that have tolls.

Map of regions in France

We both wanted to get a feel for the different regions of France, so we spent about 50% of the drive weaving through the gorgeous small towns. It was a stunning introduction to rural France since we have both travelled only within and around Paris previously.

Starting in Strasbourg up in Alsace on Monday, we made it to the Rhone Alps that night. We drove through the mountains for most of the day on Tuesday (some really big climbs!) and that night was spent in Languedoc. The driving was quite a bit flatter today and we arrived in the Midi-Pyrenees this evening.

Those were LONG driving days! Off to sleep I go!

A Wanderful Life

The Neverending Journey