IN PROGRESS

Bamberg – a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Main purpose: This photo course with Artistravel.

Before going to the course, I walked along the river for a couple of hours. I did not see as many birds as I had expected. I had read somewhere that there was a good chance of seeing Kingfishers there, but there was no sight of them.

I then had a quick breakfast in a very nice little café – Café Cador – on the way to the course venue.

If I had read the course description properly, and more than once (or even just once – I can’t honestly remember), I might have realised that it was about ICM – something I do now and then, enjoy in small doses, but often end up finding a bit kitchy.

Never mind – the first morning was a good refresher course, and a reminder to use the in-camera double exposure more often, and to sometimes use Photoshop and not only Lightroom.

And this freed up some time for me to go and do my own thing. And Bamberg had been on my list for a while anyway.

The – very many here – stumble stones often have different texts than I am used to from Berlin. I had to google Izbica – shows how much I know.

The centre of Bamberg being much too crowded for my taste – streets and bridges choc-a-bloc with tourists – drove me crazy, so I took another walk along the river. This time I did see a Kingfisher twice, but was unable to get a decent photo. They are now on the fast track to the top of my bucket list.

By the way, I am in one of those annoying German hotels that have not joined the 21st century yet and take it upon themselves to decide whether and when guests need a functioning internet, and Sunday morning is clearly not one of those times, in their opinion. (Also on Sunday morning, breakfast is not till 8.00 – “so people can sleep longer”. (????). Perhaps because we are in Bavaria and they think they are still living in a dictatorship? But seriously, I guess that is because most visitors are not here because it is a UNESCO World Heritage site – and certainly not for the birdwatching – but for the beer – there are hordes of noisy beer-swigging-burping tourists everywhere.

On day 2, having made the final decision to not return to the course, I escaped the tourist hordes and went to Stocksee and Schloß Seehof.

What I liked best about the castle was that they are letting wildflowers grow all around instead of those awful, unsustainable mowed lawns. The wildflowers find their way there because they are made to grow under those precise conditions. A lawn, which is not indigenous to the area, needs fertilizer and an inordinate amount of water in order to grow, just so that they have to be mowed using fossil-fuel guttling machines. Lawns are absurd and ought to be banned everywhere.

There is also an excellent café with real food. And a couple of interesting (manmade I guess) ponds. I saw many birds, including several birds of prey, but only managed to photograph various waterfowl, some of which I have yet to identify.

And finally, a church in Memmelsdorf while waiting for the bus back to Bamberg:

Moving on to Nürnberg – less than an hour on a regional train from Bamberg. Which is kind of the only reason I am here – and because I have never been here before.

After visiting the Nuremburg Trials Memorial, I walked along the river Pregnitz to the Kaiserburg and then down through the centre back to the hotel.

Day two walked up to Kaiserburg, for the pre-brunch exercise :-), the view, and because I had read that a pair of peregrine falcons are constantls to and fro the tower feeding a couple of offspring, but all I saw were a bunch of pigeons.

I then went out to Wöhrder See, a short busride away. A lovely, and very interesting, man-made area with wetlands, an information centre, and many waterfowl. After brunch in lake-side Strandcafé, I spent a couple of hours walking the shores. In addition to the usual suspects, I saw a green woodpecker (still not happy with the photo – must keep trying).

Back in the centre, I visited the impressive Neues Museum für Kunst und Design.

On my way to a Volkshochschule birdwatching walk on the cemeteries at Bergmannstraße, I swung by Urbanhafen just in time to see about eight baby coots make their first plunge into the water from one of the manmade “islands” there.

Shortly after sunrise, it was cold, and half misty half sunny, and ended up as a gorgeously warm and sunny day.

On the Bergmannsttraße cemeteries, it was still a bit misty, but the sun was definitely winning.

IN PROGRESS

This has nothing whatsoever to do with the assignment – just something that caught my eye passing by:

IN PROGRESS

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup black lentils 3 + 1/2 cup water 3 pieces garlic 2 shallots 2 + 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 2 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt pepper to taste 1/2 cup tahini few sprigs parsley

DIRECTIONS: 1. Add the black lentils to a small saucepan along with about 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium low for 25mins 2. Crush, peel, and roughly chop the garlic. Peel and slice down the shallots 3. Heat up a sauté pan to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil followed by the garlic and shallots. Fry for 2-3mins. Add the cumin seeds and fennel seeds, then cook for another 30 seconds. Set the pan aside 4. Drain the remaining liquid from the black lentils and transfer to a food processor. Add the sautéed garlic and shallots. Add 1/2 cup water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Blend for about 2mins. Add the tahini, then blend again for about 1min 5. Plate the dip and garnish with salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and olive oil to serve

…. even if you are just going to the supermarket. (Or on a quick, early-morning walk at Urbanhafen – photos further down).

And finally – they never stop doing that these days – even the teenagers – do the not realise what a horrible cliché that has become:

Just trying to convince myself while actually losing interest in photography.

After a “successful” check-up (two years and eight months cancer free – and boob-free, but you can’t have everything) with my invaluable gynecologist, Dr Ursina Heil (who shares offices with my equally invaluable GP, Dr Thomas Heil) in Halensee, on a tip from Agata, a fellow bird nerd, and bridge buddy.

My main purpose was to finally get a decent photo of a Green Woodpecker/Grünspecht, which has become my Achilles’ Heel. The first couple of years in Berlin, I never saw any, and after I started seeing them from time to time, I have ever only managed really bad photos of them. Recently, I have been to places where, alledgedly, there should be several of them, but not seen any, and today was no exception, but I got lucky in other ways.

I started in Schönower Park, where there was a loud party, so I only photographed some of those invasive beasts – Mandarin Ducks – and a small section of the John F. Kennedy School.

Further south in Heinrich-Laehr Park, I had the priviledge of coming up close and personal with a Goshawk/Habicht, disturbing him in a freshly slaughtered meal of what I assume used to be a pigeon.

Other results: A Great Spotted Woodpecker/Buntspecht, what I think was a Redwing/Rotdrossel, and a cute, singing Robin/Rotkehlchen.

(In view of my ressistance to make human portraits ……)

In my opinion the most hyped and overrated animal in the world. All they do is eat and contemplate their big, and growing, bellies (much like some …. well, never mind) and they can’t even be bothered to have sex. This set of twins, and the last one about four years ago, in Berlin Zoo, came about by way of artificial insemination:

Some more birds:

I also like hoofstock …..

….. and almost all other animals:

Decided to photograph some of the more common, usual suspects which I normally do not bother to photograph. And good to see that the supply of material for my series “garbage disposal Berlin-style” is never-ending and that the pigeons were eyeing my balcony when I got back just in time to avert the start of a new nest.

Just a star looking a bit lost, a song thrush, and another of those stupid balloons.

After yesterday’s disappointment when it was raining in Friedrichshagen at the time when the Volkshochschule birdwatching walk at Müggelsee was due to start, it was nice to wake up to gorgeous weather for this Sunday walk, led by always knowledgeable Bernd Steinbrecher of Freilandlabor Britz.

It was a lovely walk with a couple of – for me – new faces, and without the usual gang of incessant yackers.