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Room with a view.

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to enjoy a guided tour of some of Zurich’s most historical bits. Not being at all prepared for the outing, my camera was sitting comfortably in the warm at home and so there would be no pictures. However, having climbed the tower of St. Peter’s Church I realised I couldn’t let the opportunity go and was soon clicking away on my mobile phone.

The church and tower are of considerable interest, as churches and towers often are. The Tower doesn’t actually belong to the church, it belongs to the city of Zurich and was the home of the fire watchman for hundreds of years… his bedroom is pictured below, as is his hand driven siren, and the views from his windows high above the clock afford what must be some of the best views of the city. The clock itself has the largest dial in Europe.

Fireman’s Bed: Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp
Fireman’s stuff: Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp
Fireman’s view: Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp
Fireman’s view2: Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp
Church of St. Peter: Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp
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Hot Weekend

Due to all sorts of meteorological factors we enjoyed, and apparently will continue to enjoy for a day or two, a truly fantastic weekend. Although resisting the temptation to flee to the mountains and join in the madding throngs of those queueing for a view, a bite to eat, a bit of elbow room in a cable car etc. etc. we did decide to go a bit farther afield than our own village.

Off we went to Glarus. In my opinion a somewhat underestimated neck of the tourist woods Glarus is the ‘county town’ of canton Glarus. Well that’s enough geography for now. Suffice to say we had the town to ourselves, we suffered no traffic jams and didn’t even have to wait for a coffee and a delicious speciality pastry type thing.

The first picture is of ‘Zaunplatz’, the place where the locals still gather once a year to exercise their democratic rights by voting on all sorts of things by a show of hands. (perhaps a little over simplified, but I didn’t wish to bore the reader too much)

Zaunplatz: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/8; 1/500s;
ISO 100 – Developed by Gimp

Below is exactly what it looks like… a mountain with an air of Autumn….

Autumnal Mountain: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4.9; 1/200s;
ISO 100 – Developed by Gimp

and last but not least… in an effort to steer this article back to a more photographic theme, this image of a street. I can’t help but feel that the B&W development makes it look a bit fifties picture postcardish.

Ye Olde Picture Postcard? : Panasonic DMC-LX2 – Developed by Gimp
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… to see a man about a rabbit – 2

If you read the posting from a couple of weeks ago you’ll know that we borrowed a rabbit. Today we returned the little fellow. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very good, no peaks in sight at all, very low cloud and a bit of rain. Man’s best friend decided to avoid the rain and take lunch in the car, but he was happy enough retrieving sticks from the lake.

Lunch in the dry: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/3.6; 1/30s;
ISO 100 – Developed by Gimp
Lake Brienz: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4; 1/125s;
ISO 100 – Developed by Gimp
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… to see a man about a rabbit

Late Sunday afternoon saw us visiting Interlaken to pick up a rabbit. I’ll spare you all the fascinating details concerning the rabbit’s type, colouring and why we decided to drive two hours to borrow a rabbit. Suffice to say he’s a very attractive little bunny, and apparently has proved to be a real ladies man.

Not being much of a rabbit specialist, my eyes tended to drift from all those twitching little noses to the awe inspiring views from the breeders neighbourhood.

Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/400s;
ISO 100 – Developed by Gimp
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English Impressions – Two

Mentioning in the last posting the flat, for some perhaps uninteresting fenland landscape of south Lincolnshire, I thought I’d post a few examples of what I mean.

Ploughed Field: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/400s; ISO 200; Developed with GIMP

Uninterrupted views and cloudless skies allow sunrises and sunsets like those at sea. But there are disadvantages. Wind has nothing to stop it and seems to blow continually… even on a calm day.

Daffodils: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4.5; 1/200s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP

Once a very common site indeed, daffodil crops now seem to have made way for onions, potatoes and other goodies.

Weeds?: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/6.3; 1/400s; ISO 200; Developed with GIMP

A wheat field shows traces of a previous crop. Where the horizon is as far as the eye can see, there is no hiding pylons and factories behind hills… it’s all there for the world to see.

Dyke: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/250s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
Sheep: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/500s; ISO 200; Developed with GIMP

Sheep, not often found in this very fertile area.

Spare House: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/400s; ISO 200; Developed with GIMP

An abandoned house.

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English Impressions – One

A week has passed since I spent a really enjoyable short break in England. Two days in South Lincolnshire, and a further couple of days in London.

The wide, sky filled fen landscape never ceases to fascinate. But I’ll begin my blog coverage not with the vast, flat landscape but with three black & white impressions of where I stayed.

The Music Room: Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
The Walled Garden: Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
The Butter Churn: Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP

 

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Schluchsee by day

As my two weeks holiday draw rapidly to a close It has become apparent that all those goals I had set myself will not be achieved.
A bit of pottering in the garden, a couple of days away and a bit of lounging about doing nothing are, without dispute, achievements well worth mentioning. Then of course there’s the new laptop: It’s quite frightening how much time can be spent playing about, adjusting, personalising and configuring a new laptop. As far as I’m concerned the invested time and effort were totally rewarding, but of course certain things had to fall by the wayside.
On the photographic front I had hoped to make a start with the next B&W project, or at least decide in which direction the project should take me, but as you may have guessed, not a thought in sight.  I didn’t really get round to photograph much at all. So, here’s the second and final set of photos from our short break in Schluchsee.

The Church: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/6.3; 1/400s; ISO 200; Developed with GIMP
The Station: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/250s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
The Lake: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4.9; 1/400s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
End of Season: Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4; 1/160s; ISO 200; Developed with GIMP
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Schluchsee

We’ve just had a short break in the Black Forest resort of Schluchsee, on the shore of the lake with the same name. Not exactly a long holiday, just two nights to be precise, but nevertheless most enjoyable. The dog friendly hotel kept us very well fed and served me the occasional beer in the late afternoon sunshine. We managed to grab a boat trip on the lake before they closed for the season, and had a brisk walk along the lakeside path to Aha.

But what about the photography side of things?

Actually I didn’t take too many photos, and those I did take were far from spectacular and of little photographic merit, but I did enjoy experimenting with a few early morning shots whilst taking the dog out before the village awoke. A fascinating time of the day, the sky was no longer completely dark, the streets deserted. A tripod would have been more than useful, but of course I’d left mine at home. But there was usually a handy piece of fence, a railing or a bench close by, not perfect but beggars can’t be choosers. I’ll publish a few daylight pictures at a later date.

Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/2.8; 8s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/3.6; 8s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 6s; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP

 

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Europa Park

I’ve just forgotten all the ‘to do’ lists, the chores and duties of everyday life. We’ve just spent a couple of days in a theme park.  No real point in writing much about it really. We’ve been regular visitors there for some years now, and despite being a little older, the enjoyment remains. Something for everyone! Wild roller coasters, serene boat trips and a variety of attractions far too numerous to mention here.
Here are just three impressions, but I hope to post more in the B&W article coming soon.

Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4.5; 1/200; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/5.6; 1/400; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
Panasonic DMC-LX2; f/4; 1/125; ISO 100; Developed with GIMP
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Holiday Spirit

The summer solstice has been and gone and I can now recline, and look forward to all those lazy days and balmy evenings once again.

Apart from a few minor details, the new kitchen is now finished, and the letter box is bulging with bills from all those who worked on it; thus, no holiday for us this year!

Not to worry though, one of my daughters brought me a couple of sticks of Scarborough rock back from a recent holiday there with her boyfriend – thanks again you two 🙂

Seaside Rock: one of those great British traditions which I assume to be yet another legacy of the Victorians (but don’t quote me on that). In my opinion, together with warm, sandy tomato sandwiches,  rock epitomises the atmosphere and character of summer days at the seaside.

Scarborough Rock