Plant of the Month : Crocus

There are not too many spring crocusses in our garden - they are eaten  by either mice, as soon as the bulbs are placed in the ground, or by blackbirds if a flower manages to come up.  But in Bad Homburg's Kurpark and in Frankfurt's Palmengarten large drifts of crocus are now on display that open their colourful funnel-shaped blossoms as soon as the sun comes out. 

Siegessäule - Climbing "Gold-Else"

Continuing my touristy explorations of Berlin, I visited "Goldelse" last week, or "Golden Elsie" - that's what the lady on top of the column is called. 

The Siegessäule or victory column with the victorious heroine on top  is a glorification of wars won, Prussians against Danish, Austrian and French armies. It was erected in 1873, a different time, though after all not so long ago.

view towards Brandenburg Gate

war horses

after climbing 285 steps...

The view from the top is spectacular.

I stitched my first panorama, although it is a rather awkward format for the screen ..clicking on it will make it larger... The computer needed about an hour calculation time for this 58 MB picture, so next time, I will choose my motifs more carefully and wait for better weather, before I embark on such a project again. 

View towards Teufelsberg and the abandoned spy station. 

Berlin's Teufelsberg

Devil's Hill   - Teufelsberg -  is the name of this location, an artificial elevation made from the debris of Berlin after World War II, construction waste of generations, the only "mountain" of Berlin. On top of it, the US built their spy station listening in on the chatter and random noise from the east bloc from here. Nowadays it is abandoned, the radar domes in disrepair, the area deserted. One of the truly "lost places" of Berlin, it has turned into a paradise for graffiti sprayers and photographers. For a small fee the owner lets you wander freely around the place.

Listening ... where? 

There used to be a road ...

 No man's land 

 View towards  Berlin

 in a sorry state

 in the dome

the tools of the Graffiti trade

Toy Stories - and a Graduation !

This is a series of pictures that I made when my daughter moved out to go to college in 2011. She had to leave her large collection of toy animals behind: Steiff animals, Beanie Babies or Happy Meal gifts, they had all been made welcome. I made a portrait series of them for a small book that she could take along. 

This year, she graduated! 

 her London study time is over...

Nosy and Tusk

Eggbert

Prance

Sally

Slippy

Wonton

 "Sheets" - a friendly ghost and her favourite for a long time, that she took with her wherever she went.

Finny - "So long - and thanks for all the fish!"