Month: December 2016
WPC: Resilient
This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “resilient”.
As long as the sun exists and the earth rotates, the weather changings will endure! Weather, like the sun, was, is and will be!
Happy new Year!
Take care have a great weekend!
(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)
Wordless Wednesday: Christmas
Take care!
Monochrome Tuesday
Although Monochrome Madness pauses this week because of the Christmas holidays, But, I’m following my regular schedule and show you a monochrome image, just like each Tuesday.
This image is from my archive.
I hope, you have had a nice holiday.
Merry Christmas for all of you
WPC: path
This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “path”.
The word ‘path’ can describe a real path you can walk on. But, in today’s context the path of life is meant. Your life, my life. Lock back to the stations of this year. Consider each station as a single footprint on your path from birth to death.
We finish this year in a few days. I’ll do a review post here as usual. but not today 🙂
Take care!
Take care have a great weekend!
(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)
Visiting the craftsmen in their workshops
During my latest trip, I also visited a few wood-carver workshops and manufacturer production halls as well as their showrooms or shops.
It’s so amazing, what fantastic and filigree things these people are able to create from wood.
I really recommend, visiting the open workshops or the craftsmen in their workshops to look, how they create their products. Then you’ll understand why the prices are so high. Everything is hand-made. Even the manufactories have a high percentage of hand-made tasks. And it’s stunning to see their artistry. In Seiffen you can find at least two big manufactories with enough room for a group of visitors. The craftsmen’s workshops are tiny and don’t have room for more than one or two visitors. The young lady in the image above shows her skills on the Christmas market in Anaberg-Buchholz. Some more images are in the gallery below.
Enjoy and have a peaceful Advent time.
Wordless Wednesday: Christmas lantern
I wish you a merry Christmas!
Monochrome Madness 3-36
This week we have another themed MMC. Obviously the theme is Christmas. Because of my last trip, I have a lot of Christmas related images in my archive.
In this image you can find a few very typical Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree, a candle pyramid, a Schwibbogen, the miner and the angle.
The region of Erzgebirge has a very, very long mining history. The two figurines are very typical here. They were the first parts miners nicked out of wood during winter, when they were bored because it was impossible to work in the mines. The man symbolises the miner himself and the angle is his wife. Today, they are known in that particular dressing originating from the 18th century. Once you were able to find these in every window. One miner and one angel for the parents and for each boy child a smaller miner and for each girl a small angel.
The Schwibbogen (the wooden bow above the two figurines) symbolises the entrance of the mine. The origin of this symbol is also the Erzgebirge.
The candle pyramid is very common in Germany, but I don’t know much about the origin. so, I have to find out for one of my nest posts 🙂
Finally the Christmas tree. This tree was invented as a symbol for the eternal life because he is green even in winter. According to wikipedia the oldest official document mentioning a Christmas tree, is from 1527 in Mainz, a city in the middle of Germany. The bowls symbolise the fruits in the garden of Eden. The candles symbolise, “the light (Jesus Christ) will come back”. The other parts of the tree decorations symbolise the gifts brought by the there Magi.
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of here Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
WPC: anticipation
This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “anticipation”.
My last trip gave me so many options for this theme.
Enjoy the Advent time!
Take care!
Take care have a great weekend!
(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)
I’m back ….
This week I have some more images taken during my last trip. Because I’m currently extremely busy, I didn’t write much. Nevertheless, I included a collection of images taken at different Christmas Markets in the Erzgebirge region.
While Christmas Markets are very common in Germany, they are quite new in those states once forming the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). You know, as a result of World War II, Germany was parted in two independent countries. In the eastern part Christianity was suppressed by the communistic / socialistic dictatorship. But, after the reunion in 1990 people were free again and many formerly suppressed traditions awake. So, Christmas Markets became popular here, too. So, i.e. the Christmas Market in Seiffen was held for the 26th time this year. Thus, they started their Christmas Market right after the reunion.
A Christmas Market usually has many booths offering Christmas related decorations, candles and so on. You can also find booths offering food like bratwurst, grilled steaks or traditions winter food like Grünkohl (green cabbage), goulash or pea or lentil soup. Most popular are usually the beverage selling booths, where you can get i.e. Glühwein (a spiced, hot wine), Jagertee (a hot alcoholic drink from Austria), punch (similar to Glühwein, but often without alcohol), Lumumba, Grog (hot water with rum – common especially in the coastal areas).
Usually you can find a stage, where musicians, music bands or dancing groups perform. Often these are classes from local schools, private music schools, private ballet schools or private dancing schools.
Enjoy and have a peaceful Advent time.
Wordless Wednesday: icy
Take care!
Monochrome Madness 3-35
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of here Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
I’m back ….
Those you you, following me on Instagram already know, where I was: I was in the Erzgebirge. The region has surprisingly (at least for me) the same name in English, so I translate the two parts for you: “Gebirge” means mountain range like the Alps, the Hindukusch or the Himalaya and “Erz” is the German word for ore. This region in Saxony borders to the Czech Republic. Several ores were found here and the mining tradition started very, very early: around 1100 a.c. They found amongst others silver, cobalt, nickel and tin.
Beside mining, the region is well known for their wood crafts. During winter, the people crafted statues. The oldest forms were a miner in parade uniform and a female shaped angle, representing their wife.
The big gallery below is a collection of images from the whole trip. We were based in a small town called Seiffen. In German the name is based on the word Seifenlagerstätte, which is called “placer deposit” in English. In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation during sedimentary processes. Nowadays, there are no mining activities anymore. But, many of the traditions still exist, like parades of the miners in their traditional uniforms. (Some of the older men once were miners, but the younger men are only members of tradition clubs. These clubs want to keep the ancient customs and traditions alive.
Seiffen is well known for crafted wooden toys, candle pyramids, wooden nutcrackers and many other Christmas related things. You can find craftsmen workshops everywhere and you can visit many.
During Advent, you can find many, many Christmas Markets in the towns, just like in most of the other German towns, too. I’d recommend visiting the Christmas Market in Seiffen, Annaberg-Buchholz and Thum. They are fantastic. This is the region, where Christmas is at home 🙂
Wordless Wednesday: listening
Take care!
Monochrome Madness 3-34
Apparently, I mixed up the dates and published my image for the theme “square” or “rectangular” last week. What to do now? I picked another image from my archive. 🙂
This alleyway is located in a museum. It’s a passage between two different parts of the building.
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of here Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
St. Barbara
Today, we have the 2nd of Advent.
All days have a patron. And todays patron is a martyr called Barbara. She used to live in the 3rd century.
Here we have a tradition, of cutting of twigs from certain trees and put them inside the house. When doing so, they will bloom on Christmas. You can take twigs i.e. from cherry trees, apple trees, pear trees, plum trees or forsythia.
To bring them to bloom, they must have a frost first. Either, you cut them after having had a frost outside before December 4th, or you put them into your freezer for a night after having them cut of. Then, put them in warm water for a night (i.e. in your bathtub). So the buds feel can the spring. The next day, you have to to cut the twig diagonally above the cutting surface or tenderize it with a hammer. Put them in a vase and place it in a warm room. Refresh the water every three or four days. Spray them with water, if the air in the room is very dry. The twigs need some air moisture. Dry air makes the twigs shrivel.
For us, this is the first time we’re trying this.
Take care!
End of a trip
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