Motherlode of Monrepos - Ludwigsburg, Germany

While enjoying frühstück, or what we call breakfast, near the market plaza in Mannheim, I asked my server if she knew of any unique but inexpensive places to stay around Ludwigsburg.  With a smile she said that Schlosshotel Monrepos is a must!  Once I was back into the range of wi-fi, I checked out her suggestion and saw that it was less than one hundred euro ($140 USD), I quickly made my reservations for the night.  Not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, I was thinking the hotel was simply named after a nearly by castle that was once in the area.  Arriving in the small town of Beitigheim-Bissingen, I found myself a taxi driver and when he asked "Wohin möchten sie gehen?" (Where would you like to go), a smile came across his face when I said the Monrepos Hotel.  On the drive, he told me all that I would need to see while on my stay.  When I asked him where all of these places he was listing were in relation to where my hotel was, he chuckled as he said "They are all less than a hundred meters from the hotel".  At that point that I finally realized to where I was actually going!  But the excitement did not stop there...

After checking in and getting settled in, it was time for a very important part of any day; dinner!

As I sit here, reminiscing over my stay and recalling my incredible entree of a lamb shank served atop perfected mashed potatoes and sauteed red cabbage, adorned with gravy sent from heaven, I am trying to keep the drool from overflowing from my mouth!  Despite being stuffed from the chef's complimentary appetizer and the fulfilling entree, I could not resist dessert, naturally!  All I will say is that I left my table as happy as a kid at Christmas and probably looked like ol' Saint Nick himself!  Following dinner, I walked along the stone-paved path to the great lawn of Monrepos and at the edge of Eglosheimer lake.  After a delightful dinner and a walk in the crisp night air, I slept quite well until just before the sunrise!  Watching the new day come to light in the sight of this former palace of the Württemberg royal family was more than enjoyable!  

Heidelberg Castle - Heidelberg, Germany

Situated on the slopes of Königstuhl, meaning "king's seat", stand ruins of the Heidelberger Schloß, one of Germany's most notable ruins as well as one of the most extensive and significant Renaissance structures north of the Alp mountains.  Tracing the castle's lineage reaches back to 1214, but since then has faced a many difficult times throughout her lifetime from wars of men and the wrath of Mother Nature, most commonly the fury of lightning.  After being rebuilt and expanded upon by her residents came to an end at the close of the Thirty Year's War, the scars left on her facade that can still be seen today after more than four centuries.  Unfortunately for me, the inner ruins were undergoing reinforcement construction while I was visiting and was unable to go see the ghostly halls and quiet courts of yesteryear's rulers.  I did however explore nearly all of the garden terraces that I possibly could!  From here, I was able to take in numerous fantastic views of this charming river city, especially if blessed with blue skies! Aside from the awesome views that I took in, the kiosks at the gate serving fresh wursts with an endless selection of mustard sauces and perfectly spiced sauerkraut complimented with locally brewed beer almost made me take up residence here at Heidelberger Schloß!  I am sure I could supplement my addiction to German food by my love for history and architecture as a tour guide or even a restoration handyman!

City of Squares: After Hours - Mannheim, Germany

As soon as I tossed my bag down in the hotel room, I was set out to explore, but only after having a hardy meal first!  And that I did at Gaststätte with a "substantial" serving of Schweinelendchen a la creme with champigions in hollandaise sauce and naturally, a few steins worth of local brew and gluhwein for the first time as a dessert!  After that, I began my adventure through one of the oldest grid pattern city of Europe!  While walking around, I quickly discovered a large difference between my generation of Americans versus my German counterparts as to how we socialize.  By the hundreds or even thousands were people just walking together, sitting around a table talking or window shopping.  I swear that I spent a few good hours just wandering through the downtown area until I found someone pull out their cell phone and focus in on the cyber world. 

While doing my usual research post-photographing for this blog, I discovered that the interior of the Jesuitenkirche, top right, was something I should have taken a few moments to take in!  However, my stay on the banks of the Rhine were more than pleasant enough, especially when I wander through the old palace that now serves as the University of Mannheim pictured below.  I was quite thankful for the university for just the right amount of light to "paint" this panorama!  I had one of those moments were I started doing a little happy dance until I realized that there were other night owls out and about as well!  In all considerations, I may have to look into studying abroad... and I have a feeling that Mannheim will be a likely candidate!

Der Mannheimer Wasserturm - Mannheim, Germany

Marking the gateway from Oststadt into the Quadrate of Mannheim is the late 19th century Romanesque water tower rising about 200 feet above the well manicured gardens and extensive water fountains of Friedrichsplatz.  

I was able to experience my first Deutsche Bahn train ride through the Rheinland countryside after departing in the early afternoon from Kaiserslautern with Mannheim as my Point B.  I was quite pleased with this train ride due to the cleanliness and organization of the trains, but more so by the fact that you can drink beer - ALL DAY.  The United States has some catching up to do in this public transportation aspect!  Passing through Ludwigshafen, I immediately knew there was a few good miles of biped exploring ahead of me for the evening.  As those thoughts were rushing through my head the view opened up even more as the train passed over the Rhein.  At that point, I was able to check off the first must see of Germany!  Stepping out of the Hauptbahnhof, the next item on the list was der Wasserturm and as soon as I started straight out the doors I was surprised by the fact of how big the tower really was and I was still quite a distance!  Most definitely the "center of attention" for the quadrant city, the grounds were host to hundreds of families with children playing frisbee or fußball, soccer for my American audience, in the shadow of this magnificent structure.  In the middle picture above,  please note the three girls sitting on the railing at the bottom for a size comparison!

Erkunden Kaiserslautern! - Kaiserslautern, Germany

Upon arriving to Germany the night before at Ramstein Air Force Base, Kaiserslautern was my first authentic German experience of my trip!  After leaving the base in the morning, my taxi driver was telling me about the area and how it has grown from a small rural town established in the 9th Century into a large international cultural center.  I was eased into Germany from my American ways being Kaiserslautern is the largest concentration of Americans outside her territories!

With my hiking pack upon my back, I began my explorations about the city from the plaza of the main train station, or Hauptbahnhof auf Deutsch.  Heading north along Richard Wagner Straße, I made my way down hill to the city center and with each step find more reasons to get "lost".   One of my first entertaining experiences was stumbling upon the crowded Stiftsplatz with vendors, farmers and to my surprise florists! Considering it was the end of September and when I had checked the weather for the upcoming weeks, I was prepared for more autumn weather.  I could have not been more wrong!  By ten that morning it was already pushing 75 degrees Fahrenheit and I had a full pack and leather jacket to contend with, but I was enjoying the sapphire blue skies!  Standing guard over the square are the towers of Stiftskirche, pictured above on the left, however I did not make it into the church, I found myself in one of the oldest and most historic places remaining in Kaiserslautern: Martinskirche.  Founded as a Franciscan monastery in 1290, the now Catholic church, pictured above on the right, has had a wide array of denominations congregate under the plastered vaults and also many uses between service as a church, such as an armory during the Reformation.  Outside in the plaza, I snapped a peculiar event of the young boy being tipped into the water fountain, most likely to cool off!  But why use the water fountain when there are ice cream shops every hundred feet in the main square!   

South Boundary Shadows - Aiken, South Carolina

On the edge of the historic downtown of Aiken runs a tunnel of entangled white oaks known as South Boundary Avenue.  Some of these gentle giants are estimated to be more than one hundred years old.  I had taken this photo last fall and sadly many of these titanic beings' boughs were brought down from an ice storm that struck the area the following winter.  Although, as the wonder of nature, the trees survived this tumultuous trial and will continue to grow despite their scars from Mother Nature's wrath.

If you do ever find yourself driving along the wide boulevard streets in downtown Aiken, I recommend you turn southward and drive under the reaches of these majestic trees and follow the path the protect into the endless paddocks of South Carolina's horse country.

Flying over the Saintly City - St. Paul, Minnesota

Despite having numerous issues with flights up to Twin Cities, I was fortunate enough to get a window seat on my last connection to Montana and sneak these shots in of one of America's most livable (and lovable) cities!

Starry Skies over Georgia Pine - Clarks Hill Lake, Georgia

 

 

Out underneath an August summer night in hopes of catching a few snapshots of the Perseid meteor shower and to test out a few new 'tricks'.  My trick shots turned out very well, the one that I liked the most being the star swirl!  Laying out on the cool grass at the edge of Clarks Hill lake watching the stars shoot across the sky while my shots exposed made for a great night despite having to work the next morning.  The price I pay for getting some shots, however it fully justified a nap the following afternoon!  As I take more night exposures, the more I fall in love with what the night sky gives me in return!



House of the Palmetto State - Columbia, South Carolina

Crowning the hill overlooking the convergence which makes the Congaree River in the heart of South Carolina, the State House proudly waves the star-spangled banner and the blue pennant of the state atop her copper dome.  The construction of the State House in the newly established capital city of Coumbia was marked by the laying of the cornerstone in 1851.  Slowed by the dismissal of the first architect, the exterior walls were just being finished while war broke out in the former state capital, Charleston.  Halted by the Civil War, the South Carolina blue granite walls stood empty and as a sitting duck for General Sherman's cannons as he razed havoc on the birthplace of the Secession.  Although, only a few strikes were made against the building, today bronze stars mark where the cannon balls hit the hollow capitol building.  Construction was not said to be complete until 1907 under the direction of five architects.  One interesting fact about the State House is the 28 columns of the front and rear porticos, they are the largest monolithic columns in the United States and made of the state stone - Blue Granite.

Inside the State House - Columbia, South Carolina

Inside the crown jewel of the Palmetto State holds some of her most revered treaures and citizens.  Spanning over half a century of construction and surviving General Sherman's shelling, this Greek Revival structure holds true to being genuinely South Carolinian.  Aside from the giant monolithic columns in the porticos, the lower level boasts Blue Granite columns holding the red clay brick vaults made by hand and fired less than a mile away on the edges of the Congaree River.   Within the reaches of these columns are the offices of the Governor, Nikki Haley, who is the first female governor of South Carolina and the second governor in the United States to be of Indian heritage along with being the youngest governor in the nation currently, and in the opposing wing the office of the Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Glenn McConnell.

Making the climb up the Iron Staircases to the Grand Lobby of the State House to the Victorian style room from the simple halls below is a stark and bright transition.  Slightly deceiving, what appears to be direct light from above is actually a false dome within the copper dome that is visible from the grounds.  Pictured in the middle is the largest stained glass mosaic window of the four in the State House and is said to made up of more than 35,000 pieces of glass! 

Rise of the Super Moon - Augusta, Georgia

The night of June 23 I had marked on my calendar of weeks!  With the summer solstice and a few other contributing factors, that night the moon was full and closest as it would be to Earth for the year of 2013.  With all the anticipation, I was checking the weather starting the week before and as the day got closer I feared the dreaded Georgia night rain more and more.  Luckily it didn't rain, however the week chalked full of rain before made the humidity almost unbearable!  Unbearable in the sense that you can not see a mile because the haze is so dense that is.  That was my bad luck at the beginning of the night, but my erratic sleep pattern thanks to my graveyard shift was in my favor to being awake very early in the morning.  That is when I was able to get my payload of great shots of the Super Moon!  The image to the left was taken basically from the driveway of my house just before I made my way to the downtown area on the morning of the 24th.  I like the sliver of a cloud barely breaking across the face of the moon while the boughs frame in the earthly satellite.  My two holy sites of choice were the Sacred Heart (formerly Catholic Church) and the Trinity Greek Orthodox church in downtown area with their symbolic domes and steeples of Augusta.  

Simply Farmlife - Northwestern South Carolina

Winding through the Sumter National Forest I felt at home with the pastures with calves bounding about and fields of grain and corn dotting the landscape.  The dangerous thought also crossed my mind as I saw a few "For Sale" signs on a few acres of farmland such as the one with the red barn which is also where I caught a glimpse at some wild turkeys!