Month: August 2023

Paparazzo

Every summer for six weeks the town of Bayreuth is in festival mode. It was the home of Richard Wagner and already in 1876 he started performing his own operas in a purpose built opera house, which is only used in the time of the festival. It was Richard Wagners idea that the performances ought to be accessible for everybody, but notwithstanding the high prices the availability of tickets is low. In past years, the ordinary visitors had to wait for up to ten years to get a ticket. This has changed. The theater outside the theater is at least as interesting as inside.

The Salmon Run

A small creek in a tiny little village in Alaska – known for its Salmon Run in the early Alaskan summer months.

Sometime in June every year the Salmon come from the Pacific Ocean and race to their spawning grounds. A few weeks later, Grizzly and Black Bears realize that food is served. That’s when they come to fish for Salmon in this Creek.

On my road trip to Alaska this year I visited this place for the third time and for two days early in the morning I could watch this Grizzly having a feast, catching and eating 4 Salmon the first day and 3 the second day.

Visiting the Beach … 1

I took a view days off from my busy retired life in the mountains and headed to the so much cooler coast.

Here a couple of iPhone and Nikon shots at Morro Bay State Park which was dedicated in the 1930s and harbors a pretty golf course and an old campground, also built in the 1930s, with heavy walled structures … to survive.

Another Beach I visited is in Santa Barbara County and is known by Jalama Beach (ausgesprochen: Hä-lama Beach) that was given as a gift by the Richfield Oil Company to Santa Barbara County in 1942. It was once a settlement of the Chumash Native American called Halama. It has an amazing beach with natural tar spots here and there and the Jalama Creek flowing into the ocean. The LA to San Luis Obispo train line is rolling over an old bridge over the creek. The bridge even in daylight looks as being held together mainly by iron oxides.

In the evening, the fog rolling over the hills from the Vandenberg “Space Force Base” towards the Jalama Beach.

Early in the morning, at the Jalam Beach, a cargo train pushing wagons over the old bridge up north, another lucky crossing…

Pause

Die Stadt Schöningen feiert dieses Jahr ihr 1.275 jähriges Bestehen. Einer der Höhepunkte des Festjahres war am vergangenen Wochenende der Mittelaltermarkt rund ums Schloss. Neben den über 300 Handwerkern, Gauklern und Musikern hatten sich auch zahlreiche Besucher passend kostümiert und sorgten für ein buntes Bild. Für die Akteure war das ein langer Tag, denn für 22 Uhr war noch ein “Pestumzug” durch die Innenstadt geplant. Da ist auch der “Tod” für eine kleine Pause zwischendurch dankbar.

The town of Schöningen celebrates its 1275th anniversary this year. One of the highlights of the festive year was the medieval market around the castle last weekend. In addition to the more than 300 craftsmen, jugglers and musicians had also numerous visitors suitably costumed and provided a colorful picture. For the actors it was a long day, because for 22 o’clock a “plague procession” was still planned by the city center. Even “death” is grateful for a short break in between.

Ahoi!

Vergangenes Wochenende feierte Schöningen, die älteste Stadt unserer Region, den 1275. Stadtgeburtstag mit einem großen Mittelalter-Spektakel. Viele Besucher kamen kostümiert, so wie dieser Pirat.

Last weekend Schöningen, the oldest town in our region, celebrated its 1275th birthday with a big medieval spectacle. Many visitors came in costume, like this pirate.