It’s been a while since I have dabbled with time-lapse photography. I had some time the other day and decided to give it another whirl. It was a picture perfect morning for a sunrise. The clouds were a bit thick, but that ended up to be a great feature. The sun rose through the clouds … Continue reading And They Danced #time-lapse→
In the US, Canada, and Central and South America, a rare Total Lunar Eclipse of a Supermoon took place the evening of September 27, 2015. This event will not happen for another 33 years. Fortunately it was visible near the Minnesota/Wisconsin boarder in a small Mississippi River town of Bay City, WI where my wife and I … Continue reading Super Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse #time-lapse→
32 degrees on a January morning is always welcomed to me. It is also an invitation to get out and shoot a sunrise. Winter vs. Summer sunrises are a toss-up for me. One plus to Winter sunrises is they happen later. I am not opposed to getting up early, but 6 a.m. is always seems … Continue reading January Sunrise #time-lapse→
This city was named after the early 19th-century Dakota Sioux chief, Red Wing (Shakea), or Hupahuduta (“Wing of the Wild Swan Dyed Red”). He was one of a succession of Mdewakanton Dakota chiefs whose name “Red Wing” came from their use of a dyed swan’s wing as their symbol of rank. He was an ally of British soldiers during the War of 1812. After a vision in which he saw the Americans driving out the British, he declared neutrality. French Canadians referred to him as L’Aile Rouge. Later he took the name Shakea, or “The Man Who Paints Himself Red,” after passing the name Red Wing on to a successor chief. ~wikipedia
Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. Having lived near the river most of my life, it’s sometime easy to forgot the unique and picturesque features that draw others to the region.
Having a drone has re-peaked my interest to photograph the beautiful area where I live.
Red Wing is connected to Wisconsin by the Eisenhower Bridge); it carries U.S. Route 63 over the Mississippi River and its backwaters. ~wikipedia
Construction on the bridge that will replace the Eisenhower Bridge is slated to be complete August 2020. Based on a Minnesota state statute, the name must remain the Eisenhower Memorial Bridge.
LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND – Mississippi River | Wacouta Bay
Lighthouse Island
Sediment loads and the growing island
Lighthouse Island has grown about a mile in the last 50 years. The area is notorious for boat groundings. Sediment loads—the size of a city block filled to the height of the Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis—accumulate in Lake Pepin every year. With sedimentation rates 10x above normal, the lake is in a fight for survival. It has two water quality impairments and is expected to prematurely disappear in just a few generations. See the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance website for more information.
In many ways, Lake Pepin is the poster child for the larger problems facing the Mississippi River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. ~LPLA
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Mud Picnic
Last weekend, LPLA hosted its first Mud Picnic to help visualize this problem. The event was a powerful experience for attendees and took place at the head of Lake Pepin in the shallow waters just downstream of Lighthouse Island. ~LPLA
Lake Pepin is a natural lake on the Upper Mississippi River that is disappearing due to excess sediment from upstream sources. Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance (LPLA) is a grassroots organization working to save the lake for future generations. ~LPLA
If you care about Lake Pepin, please attend the LPLA open-house about upstream pollution affecting Lake Pepin THIS Thursday, August 29th from 4-7 PM at the Lake City Sportsman’s Club. Free food, Cash bar.
Join the over 600 LPLA members and help move the effort to restore water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and recreational access in upper Lake Pepin. Become a member | Donate
I did find some information regarding the Red Wing Yacht Club in an article from Post Bulletin March 13, 2015 regarding the lease to operate in Red Wing Bay. In the article it said:
Kevin Avery, commodore of the yacht club, explained that the club has been in the harbor for 112 years and has 275 members, about 80 percent of them from Red Wing. Nearly all the boats in the harbor are fishing boats or recreational runabouts housed in modest floating boathouses.
Now 116 years – that is some longevity. I’ll have to keep digging for more information on the yacht cloud and boat houses.
It was another beautify day in Munich. We had a nice lunch at Kennedy’s Bar & Restaurant to start. The open-air beer gardens are pretty fantastic. A great place to pause for a bit so as to take your time and relax while you tour the city on foot. Must keep hydrated.
You never know what you are going to encounter or what will be around the next corner…unless you peak on Google Maps.
The street musicians were entertaining. Sadly, this is the only one I took video of.
We were all over the city center this day touring the beautiful churches. The architecture was simply stunning – both inside and out.
Church of Our Dear Lady
photo credit – https://www.muenchen.de
The Frauenkirche (Full name: German: Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau, English: Cathedral of Our Dear Lady) is a church in the Bavarian city of Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freisingand seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.
The church towers are widely visible because of local height limits. According to the narrow outcome of a local plebiscite, city administration prohibits buildings with a height exceeding 99 m in the city center. Since November 2004, this prohibition has been provisionally extended outward and as a result, no buildings may be built in the city over the aforementioned height. The south tower which is normally open to those wishing to climb the stairs, will, on completion of its current renovation, offer a unique view of Munich and the nearby Alps. -wikipedia
Each church had their own policy on photographs. Even when not permitted, it was hard not to snap at least one…or two as it were. I wish I would have recorded more of the organ playing. It was pretty amazing and filled the entire 200,000 m³ volume of the cathedral.
St. Johann Nepomuk
photo credit – https://www.muenchen.de
St. Johann Nepomuk, better known as the Asam Church (German: Asamkirche), is a Baroque church in Munich, southern Germany, built from 1733 to 1746 by the brothers, sculptor Egid Quirin Asam, and painter Cosmas Damian Asam as their private church. It is considered to be one of the most important buildings of the southern German Late Baroque.
The church was built without an order, as a private chapel for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of the builders. This allowed the brothers also to build in line with the ideas of independent contractors. So for example Egid Quirin Asam could watch the altar through a window of his private house next to the church (Asamhaus). Egid Quirin Asam designed the church as Beichtkirche (confession church) for the youth. So the small church has seven confessionals with allegorical scenes. – wikipedia
The front of the church blends in nicely to the homes on either side. This was the smallest church we toured. It was arguably the most colorful and ornate in my opinion. The ceiling alone was so magnificent.
St. Peter’s Church
photo credit – https://www.muenchen.de
Before the foundation of Munich as a city in 1158, there had been a pre-Merovingian church on this site. 8th century monks lived around this church on a hill called Petersbergl. At the end of the 12th century a new church in the Bavarian Romanesque style was consecrated, and expanded in Gothic style shortly before the great fire in 1327, which destroyed the building.
After its reconstruction the church was dedicated anew in 1368. In the early 17th century the 91 meter spire received its Renaissance steeple top and a new Baroque choir was added.
The parish church of Saint Peter, whose 91 meters high tower is commonly known as “Alter Peter” – Old Pete – and which is emblematic of Munich, is the oldest recorded parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the whole city.
-wikipedia
This church is massive; I cannot imagine this built hundreds of years ago. It would be a marvel today with modern equipment! So much artistry, craftsmanship and talent.
It was remodelled in 1724–30 by Johann Georg Ettenhofer (de) (vaults, renovation of pillars); in the interior are Rococo frescoes and stucco ornament by the Asam brothers. After the demolition of the hospice buildings in 1885, Franz Lšwel added three bays at the west end of the church and gave it a Neo-Baroque facade. The church suffered severe damage during World War II and its interior furnishings were largely destroyed; extensive rebuilding and restoration was carried out after the war. The interior of the church was renovated in 1991. – wikipedia
This massive church is directly adjacent to Viktualienmarkt (more on that later). Most of these churches in/near the city center sustained significant damage during WWII. Unless it was pointed out, it was almost impossible to ascertain what had been damaged. The vaulted ceilings, columns and frescoes in this church were wonderful.
St. Michael’s Church
photo credit – https://www.muenchen.de
The church was built by William V, Duke of Bavaria between 1583–97 as a spiritual center for the Counter Reformation. The foundation stone was laid in 1585.
In order to realize his ambitious plans for the church and the adjoining college, Duke William had 87 houses in the best location pulled down, ignoring the protests of the citizens. The church was erected in two stages. In the first stage (1583–88), the church was built by the model of Il Gesù in Rome and given a barrel-vaulted roof by an unknown architect, the vault being the largest in the world apart from that of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, spanning freely more than 20 meters.
When the church was built, there were doubts about the stability of the vaulting. But it was the tower that collapsed in 1590, destroying the just completed quire. Duke William V took it as a bad omen and so planned to build a much larger church. The second phase of construction continued until the consecration of the church in 1597. Friedrich Sustris built on to the undamaged nave a new quire and a transept and a magnificent facade. -wikipedia
This church was quite large as well, but very much different in design having significantly less barrel vaults in the ceiling. St. Michael is the first renaissance church north of the Alps. It was trend-setting for the baroque church building in southern Germany. The main altar was pretty amazing; they all were in every church though.
We had another beer break a little later in the afternoon at what became a favorite stop of ours – Hackerhaus. Cold refreshing beer and terrific food. The yellow jackets are not very nice here – or anywhere in Munich. Cover your beer and don’t mess with them; otherwise someone is liable to get stung. So sorry Megan.
The history of the firm dates back to the 15th century. The brewery was known as “Prew im Haggenviertel” until the 18th century. On 16 August 1738, brewer Simon Hacker acquired the brewery and gave it its new name – “Hackerbräu” – the Hacker Brewery. – http://www.hackerhaus.de/
The 15th century townhouse owned by the family since 1892 is the the oldest weinhaus in the Munich. It was a beautiful evening and we ate outside. My apologies for the marginal iPhone photos, but you will get the gist of it. We started with a Watermelon Gazpacho soup – wow, that was amazing. The Wiener Schnitzel, Fried Potatoes (not pictured) with Lingonberry-Horesradisch Cream was so delicious. The Pear-Bacon-Cabbage Ravioli was very unique and absolutely out of this world as was the Truffled Chicken Pie. Desert – oh my – Lavender creme brûlée with marinated pears and sugar crust and raspberry sorbet. I do not recall what all the cheeses where, but the Sweet and Spicy Fig Mustard Glaze that came with it was a hit. It turns out that the chef was from Austin, TX, the same city our travel companions live in. Small world. To cap of the evening our amazing waiter poured us a round of peach schnapps not available on the menu; brought out for special occasions. We were celebrating our travel companions recent marriage. Perfect end to another incredible day in Munich.
Watermelon Gazpacho
Wiener Schnitzel
Pear-Bacon-Cabbage Ravioli
Truffled Chicken Pot Pie
Lavender Creme Brûlée with Marinated Pears and Sugar Crust and Raspberry Sorbet
Our trek to the English Garden continued after our 1/2 liter of beer and respite at Augustiner Klosterwirt. The green-space in Munich was pretty amazing; even more wonderful is the fact that much of that space contain beer gardens!
Hofgarten and Diana Tempel
This garden was adjacent to the English Garden. The landscape maintenance in Munich must employee a lot of people. Most every place we visited had beautiful flowers and well-maintained grounds.
The garden was built in 1613–1617 by Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria as an Italian style Renaissance garden. In the center of the garden is a pavilion for the goddess Diana, built in 1615 by Heinrich Schön the elder. -wikipedia
Hofgarten
Hofgarten
Bayerische Staatskanzlei – State Government Office
We passed by this magnificent structure on way to the English Garden. So much glass you’d think it was a green house of sorts. Beautiful building to conduct government business from.
The Bavarian State Chancellery is serving as the executive office of the Minister-President as head of government. The agency’s primary function is to assist the Minister-President in coordinating the activities of the Bavarian State Government, similar to the German Chancellery on federal level. – wikipedia
English Garten
The English Garden is a large public park in the centre of Munich, Bavaria, stretching from the city centre to the northeastern city limits. It was created in 1789 by Sir Benjamin Thompson (1753–1814), later Count Rumford (Reichsgraf von Rumford), for Prince Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. Thompson’s successors, Reinhard von Werneck (1757–1842) and Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell (1750–1823), advisers on the project from its beginning, both extended and improved the park.
With an area of 1.4 sq mi (910 acres), the English Garden is one of world’s largest urban public parks. – wikipedia
Surfing in English Garden
Monopteros in English Garden
A Monpteros is a circular colonnade supporting a roof but without any walls. Unlike a tholos (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have a cella (inner chamber).
-wikipedia
A few more photos from around the garden. The beverage bottles atop the trash can initially appeared to be there as there was no recycling receptacle near by. After further consideration and discussion, it may also be that they are placed on top of trash receptacles so they would not have to be dug out of the trash. Recycling pays in Germany. In fact, Germany leads the EU in recycling. Nicely done. Great beer, pretzels and recycling program – the list continues to grow.
Chinese Tower
Beer gardens
With 7,000 spots, the beer garden in the English Garden, right by the Chinese Tower, is Munich’s second largest. This distinctive pagoda is approx. 75 feet high and is based on a design from 1789.
Another beer garden is located on Kleinhesseloher Lake. From the first ray of sunshine, all benches are quickly taken. The associated Restaurant Seehaus is open year-round and offers sophisticated local fare. ~muechen.de
We had dinner at Biergarten am Kleinhesseloher See. We were pretty spent at this point. It was another warm day of walking around Munich (approximately 12 miles). I have no photos of the food which mean I was pretty tired and hungry. After dinner we began walking back towards the hotel and hailed the first taxi that came into view.
December 5th, 2015 – 37 degrees @ 7:00 a.m. (sunrise @ 7:30 a.m.). It would go on to reach 49 degrees as they day progressed; sure beats 20 below. I setup in a familiar place; a favorite site any time of the year for a sunrise. I employed a 3-camera setup this morning as illustrated in … Continue reading Balmy December Sunrise #time-lapse→
