Babaoskar Shoots Back

seen in in Wetzlar

gestern und heute in Wetzlar

Waste in Naples

Waste problems which peaked in 2008 still seem unresolved. Not only destroyed or over loaded waste containers, no, the street are full of empty plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other waste from shops, fast food chains and households. Luckily, German waste incinerators still have unused capacities which makes waste travelling thousands of kilometres through Europe ending up in smoke in Cologne. Goood business for the operators: 100 Euros per ton waste which the Italians pay.

Historic centre of Naples

“See Naples and die!” – some say that it was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who coined the phrase, and the phrase can be found in his ‘Italian Journey’ (1786-1788). The historic parts of Naples maintain the stereotype of narrow alleys with noisy scooters, honking cinquecentos, bars with life football maches on their screens and summer heat. The historic part also shows decay, plaster falling from the wallsand street markets with super cheap Chinese imports.

eifel rural beauty

Close to the Eifel National Park an investor is building these beautiful and typical Eifel timbered houses. Compelling individualism and stylism is the result of the endeavour.

not las vegas

… seen at the world’s largest miniature model railway. Amazing details and almost real light effect makes it almost difficult to distinguish it from real world. Such as the photo ‘tricycle on the motorway’.

… for some European countries. This one will disappear within the next eight years after having been in operation for three months only. Stupidly built on top of a fault line and the building permit was withdrawn. A pity that the site is not converted in a fun park. Would be less costly for tax payers.

nuclear springtime

Mal schaun, ob er es merkt:

visible chimneys

Absolutely unspectacular monument in a periurban landscape.

periurban monument

Rumi is probably not known to us Westerners although we have heard about the whirling dervishes, often performed at tourist places in Turkey. Rumi was a Persian poet, Islamic jurist and theologian of the early 13th century. He paved the way for the Mevlana order in Konya which practiced the sufi dance to express the mystery part of Islam. The ceremony is referred to Sama which is broken up on four parts, each with a particular meaning. The whirling dervishes are representative of the moon and they spin on the outside of the Sheikh who is representative of the sun. An impressive experience.

Transport system in Florence is characterised by efficiently operated freight vehicles. Scarce road space and low emission zones favour alternative mobility options. Complemented by public bicycles, electric buses and a considerable share of hybrid-electric vehicles underlines Florence’s commitment towards meeting the European greenhouse gas emission saving goals. Was there any other remarkable experience in Florence? Not that I can remember.

Surely, this is not what one considers volcanoes. But this area is seismically one of the most active areas in Germany. The volcano itself is hiding in the fog, the ‘maar’ is waking up in the morning light.

Wild camping usually is not a problem in Germany, except drunken youngsters in their tuned up car discover your tent in the middle of the night. I forgot to cover the reflectors of my bicycle which caused a scary situation. Luckily, I got away with it.

Forgetting to take the digital camera along on my holiday granted me additional time to take few pictures in a very analog way. I had almost forgotten about the feeling to dive into a ‘frame’ discovering many details, nuances, sounds, smells, which otherwise would had happened in a 1/250 second. It is a very appropriate way to remember Creysse along the Dordogne in Southwest France with its bi-apsis medieval church.

Bucharest is a busy city. I have never been there and it was a pleasant experience. She is a public transport city and some people want to change it into a cycling city. With some success – even shops are decorated with it.

It was a remarkable sunrise which I experienced in Poland in February. The sea moved in slow motion – unreal in colour and consistency. To my regret I only had my old Canon Powershot G3 with me but the result still reflects somewhat the experience.

Cross-country skiing belongs to the nicest activities in winter time. Off the noisy skiing resorts one moves quietly through the untouched nature. Only during crisp cold weather the snow is crunching under the skies in a meditative rhythm.

Regensburg’s main theater turned into a huge living advent calendar. From the first to the 24th December, each evening a new window will be opened. No, there will be no chocolate in it – unfortunately. Neither beer nor mulled wine. The windows will be filled with songs, poetry, dances and music. Strangely, the door to 24 already opened, but nobody singing.

Hiking along the Rhine is a wonderful experience, particularly during autumn: the forests’ smell of mushrooms, the colourful leaves of maple, oak, beech trees and majestic  Rhine carrying freight vessels, ferries and passenger boats.

Although busy with tourists, Dragon’s Rock offers a fantastic views up- and downstream. Here, Siegfried, the hero of the Niebelungenlied, killed the dragon and bathed in its blood to became invulnerable – almost.

Vorwerk is an international diversified corporate group with annual revenues of more than 2 billion Euros…

I was about 7 years old when a Vorwerk sales person came to our dwelling (in fact we lived in a newly built garage while my father continued constructing the house) and demonstrated the merits of modern technology. Instead of a vacuum cleaner bag he (or was it a she?) used a spotless white cloth – with appalling effect. Few days later we had one of those green and ugly Vorwerks in the garage.

Today, the vacuum cleaners still exist and are still ugly.

Germany is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the re-unification treaty between West Germany and the GDR (what was the meaning of this acronym?). The final act was the re-unification in 3rd October 1990. What has happened since then? To experience this, take your bike and ride through Germany (check out dynamobile2010).

The divide between East and West in Germany still exists and it will last yet another generation to make the borders disappear. Seen in Halberstadt where desperation is so obvious – but seen through a Western-angle lens.

Sadly, the shortest railway tunnel in Germany is history. For almost 150 years, it has been a landmark on the main railway line between Nuremberg and Regensburg. Our short-sighted society with economic interests as a leading principle was not willing to cover the 25000 Euros annually to maintain the cosy tunnel. 11000 tons of rubble have to be removed from the tracks until Monday to allow trains to use the line again. Commuters will miss the split-second shadow and close their books just before arriving in Regensburg.

St Pieter’s Cathedral of Regensburg belongs to most remarkable Gothic buildings in Southern Germany. An unusual feature of the Cathedral is its separation from the older structure of the cloister. The cloister, usually not open to the public contains a fine Romanesque All Saint’s Chapel from 1164. The garden in twilight gives a sweet sense of inspiration – and a taste of what the night of open churches offers.

Walking from Gare du Nord towards Ixelles emerges to a journey through Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Brussels is a melting pot of  different cultures, although critics say that its segregated cultures living their own lifes. Still, for a visitor it is astonishing and amazing.

In the past, the Danube river posed a risk in winter when the sheets of ice pushed upon each other and blocked the water flow. Severe flooding was the result. Today, it just looks peaceful when the ice sheets slowly pass by.

Széchenyi thermal bath in Budapest is certainly the most beautiful spa which I have ever seen. The unique setting within the 19th century building complex and the variety of different thermal baths make the visit an exceptional experience. Despite air temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius people enjoy the outside pools – even playing chess in the water. The biggest challenge is to expose the camera to the freezing temperatures outside and the humidity within the bath.