Month: January 2023

Giethoorn, a little town in Holland with plenty of history.

Records indicated that in the 13th Century flagellants immigrated from Southern Europe. I guess, they didn’t whip themselves too hard, otherwise they wouldn’t have made it to a place that might harbor waterborne deceases. Later on, in the 16th Century, Mennonites moved into the area, a radical protestant group that had enough of Catholic Rule. At the same time, peat extraction became a major source of income. To transport the peat, ditches and canals were dug. Two major floods (1776 and 1825) washed away vulnerable drying banks, creating large lakes around Giethoorn. I assume, wealth from the peat digging helped to built the beautiful homes and alter nature into this picturesque Wonderland … In the past, there were no roads, all transport was done using the canals. Today, bike paths exist, and if you don’t watch out, you might go for a swim.

In a way, those were already so called modern humans that didn’t want too much garden to take care of, keeping their plots manageable, homes sizable, and those nasty neighbors across the canal.

You guessed it, Yosemite again!!

Headed to Yosemite, past the rock slides, traffic control and thankfully very little traffic. It was pretty cold and very icy in the Valley. Yes, Dorothy and Valerie I did have and wear my ice spikes. This first photo is of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. I’ve taken a lot of these but I can’t remember when there wasn’t a ton of people on this path. The second photo reminded me of some kind of frost animal creeping along.

Auf dem Weg nach Yosemite, vorbei an den Felsrutschen, der Verkehrskontrolle und zum Glück sehr wenig Verkehr. Es war ziemlich kalt und sehr eisig im Tal. Ja, Dorothy und Valerie Ich hatte und trug meine Eisspikes. Dieses erste Foto zeigt die Upper und Lower Yosemite Falls. Ich habe viele davon genommen, aber ich kann mich nicht erinnern, wann nicht eine Menge Leute auf diesem Weg waren. Das zweite Foto erinnerte mich an eine Art Frosttier, das entlangschlich.

Frosttage

Richtiger Winter mit viel Schnee ist ja bei uns zur Zeit (noch) nicht. Aber ein paar Frosttage, die die Felder mit Rauhreif bezuckern, sind auch ganz schön. Überhaupt wenn die Abendsonne die Szenerie in ihr warmes Licht taucht.

Real winter with lots of snow is not (yet) with us at the moment. But a few frosty days, which sugar the fields with hoarfrost, are also quite nice. At all when the evening sun dips the scenery in its warm light.