The German words Ebbe und Flut have a much more emotional connotation than the more technical English "low tide and high tide". Ebb and flood - Ebbe und Flut - you can hear the water coming and going in the rhythm of the words. Ebbe might mean anything, from low tide to nothing happening (between two people) to being broke -
and Flut is the antithesis: a flood of emotions, a torrent of things, something uncontrollable, overwhelming and sometimes dangerous.
Gravitational forces of moon and sun cause this effect that constantly moves trillions of tons of water on the surface of the oceans. In Europe it can best be observed on the coast of northern Bretagne, which has one of the highest tidal ranges worldwide with a difference of up to 13 m from low to high tide due to the layout of the land. Kilometers of land are laid bare during low tide and disappear under the ocean six and a half hours later only to reappear after a further six and a half hours in an endless ever fascinating cycle of power and retreat, covering up and laying bare, flooding and grounding.
I had been in Brittany over thirty years ago on an excursion to collect red algae. At university, during a moment when a severe bout of Wanderlust virus had hit me, I had chosen a course on algae systematics which came with an trip to the marine station at Roscoff in Brittany to collect and classify red algae.
Rhodophyta
The city of St. Malo at low tide.
These are not the tips of the Himalaya mountains covered in snow up to their necks during some millenia long ice age but a long exposure of the incoming flood, circling the rocks on the beach until they disappear under the water for six hours before they are set free again.
High tide in the bay of Cancale with Mont Saint Michel in the background.
It is always recommended to be well anchored when the tide comes in.
and Flut is the antithesis: a flood of emotions, a torrent of things, something uncontrollable, overwhelming and sometimes dangerous.
Nothing much in the picture, no foreground, no background, just water and sky and a line separating it.
The first days of creation before God separated land and water....
But I hate pompousness and abhor clichés - so you can see two sea gulls on the water, that I left in the first picture, possibly having escaped from Noah's ark enjoying the first sunrays ...
But I hate pompousness and abhor clichés - so you can see two sea gulls on the water, that I left in the first picture, possibly having escaped from Noah's ark enjoying the first sunrays ...
Gravitational forces of moon and sun cause this effect that constantly moves trillions of tons of water on the surface of the oceans. In Europe it can best be observed on the coast of northern Bretagne, which has one of the highest tidal ranges worldwide with a difference of up to 13 m from low to high tide due to the layout of the land. Kilometers of land are laid bare during low tide and disappear under the ocean six and a half hours later only to reappear after a further six and a half hours in an endless ever fascinating cycle of power and retreat, covering up and laying bare, flooding and grounding.
I had been in Brittany over thirty years ago on an excursion to collect red algae. At university, during a moment when a severe bout of Wanderlust virus had hit me, I had chosen a course on algae systematics which came with an trip to the marine station at Roscoff in Brittany to collect and classify red algae.
There is beauty in the tiniest and lowliest of living beings.
The city of St. Malo at low tide.
Its medieval walls are protected by wooden storm breakers that look like sculptures emaciated from the regular onslaught of salt water.
A tidal pool. During low tide you can have a safe swim in fresh and cold sea water or take a quick walk across the rocks to an old fort. You have to know about the tides though - otherwise you might involuntarily be stuck on a cold and windy tiny island for 12 hours...
The tide is coming in.
These are not the tips of the Himalaya mountains covered in snow up to their necks during some millenia long ice age but a long exposure of the incoming flood, circling the rocks on the beach until they disappear under the water for six hours before they are set free again.
High tide in the bay of Cancale with Mont Saint Michel in the background.
It is always recommended to be well anchored when the tide comes in.
No comments:
Post a Comment