Diese Szene habe ich neulich am Busbahnhof in der Abenddämmerung aufgenommen. Im großen Fenster des Phaeno spiegeln sich noch die von der untergehenden Sonne angestrahlten Wolken. Das Gebäude selbst, wird am Abend von Scheinwerfern in wechselnden Farben (hier: Lila/Violett) beleuchtet.
I took this photo a few days ago at the bus station at dusk. The clouds illuminated by the setting sun are still reflected in the large window of the Phaeno. The building itself is illuminated in the evening by spotlights in changing colors (here: purple/violet).
Sonnenuntergänge im Winter zeigen manchmal geradezu irrwitzige Farben- und Farbkombinationen. Durch die schnell untergehende Wintersonne ist der ganze Spaß aber leider nur wenige Minuten zu sehen. Dieses Mal hatte ich zum Glück meine Kamera dabei.
Sunsets in winter sometimes show almost crazy color and color combinations. Unfortunately, due to the rapidly setting winter sun, you can only see all the fun for a few minutes. Fortunately, this time I had my camera with me.
Der Winter muss ja nicht immer trist und grau sein, wie man sieht. Schon am Nachmittag gibt es tolle Himmelsfarben zu sehen, die in Kombination mit der passenden Architektur zu interessanten Bildern führen.
Winter doesn’t always have to be dreary and gray, as you can see. Even in the afternoon there are great sky colors to see, which in combination with the appropriate architecture lead to interesting pictures.
Traditionally Dutch houses but also castles, bridges or factories are built from brick. Numerous brickworks popped up in places along the shores of the rivers where suitable deposits of clay were available and the coal necessary for burning the bricks could be brought in and the products shipped out on barges.
Few survive today as museum, and even less in working order. One is the Vogelensangh brickworks in Deest. This factory was built in 1918-1919 and bricks are still baked in much the same way as 100 years ago.
It is commonly know that imperial Russia sold Alaska in 1867 to the United States of America. But Russia also occupied land in Alta California, belonging to Spain/Mexico at that time. In order to keep the Russian population in Alaska healthy, Fort Ross in Northern California was established in 1812 to grow vegetables and fruits and other vitamin containing food items. Especially during the winter months, it was impossible to sail through the Bering Sea from Russia to Alaska and so the supply of agricultural products from Alta California was important.
The Fort was not the only Russian Settlement in Northern California. Small settlements stretched from today’s Point Arena to Tomales Bay, including Port Rumyantsev in Bodega Bay, a sealing station on the Farallon Islands (18 miles out to sea from San Francisco). Today, Fort Ross enjoys about one million visitors per year. Surprisingly, here and there in especially Sonoma County, Russian Orthodox Churches can be found. Fort Ross also had one of the first will mills to grind grain. A replica can be admired today, an interesting simple engineering design that can be easily disassembled and transported to a new location.
The cannons in the Fort supposedly were only used to greet visitors.
Today, kids love to play on those cannons.
In the corner of the Fort, a simple Russian Orthodox Church with it’s bell right in front of it.
The Van Nelle factory produced tobacco, tea and coffee. In 1927-1930 the architects Brinkman & Van der Vlugt built a new building which offered space for all their activities. The building was used until the Van Nelle company was swallowed by their competitor Douwe Egberts. In 1995 the new owners stopped the production in the premises. In 1998 the factory was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. Today it houses high notch office space.
