Berlin Winter: First Snow
First snow in the backyard – the chestnut tree is powdered and sugared, the light somehow ‘pink’. Somehow the mood in this picture reminds me of the cherry blossom festival in Japan.
Year: 2014
Helsinki Port / Ferry Terminals
View of the harbour in the centre of Helsinki. The Silja Line ferry terminal is on the right.
Helsinki Skyline by Day
A winter panoramic view of the Finnish capital.
Helsinki Skyline Panorama by Night
Panoramic View over Helsinki’s Skyline on a winter night.
Helsinki in December 2014. All the roofs and all the streets are covered with snow. The light of the streetlights is reflected by the clouds hanging above the city, making the sky glow in a dark orange light. Only the bright lights of the christmas decoration of the department store Stockmann and some streetlights in the foreground are standing out.
To the right you can see the Uspenski Cathedral in the far. And right behind the department store you can actually see parts of the Helsinki Cathedral (Finnish Helsingin Tuomiokirkko) in bright white light.
Winter Landscape with Transmission Mast and Moon
The fir trees are thickly padded with snow – a view you might recognise from many Nordic or Lapland photos.
Northern Lights in the Woods
What luck: suddenly there were Northern Lights to marvel at!
Ruka Tunturi
View of snow-covered Ruka Tunturi from state road 5 “Viitostie”. The ski area is brightly lit, a few low-hanging clouds glow pink in the evening light.
Christmas tree in Ruka
Christmas in Ruka, Finland: in principle, you are surrounded by potential Christmas trees – but of course not all trees are decorated for Christmas. Here and there, however, a string of lights is hung around a fir – and the Christmas tree is finished, including very decorative snow cushions.
Tracks in the snow
These tracks in the snow are literally form a polar circles – but not the Polar Circle.
Snow and ice and lake and forest and daylight
In this winter picture it is difficult to tell where the fog is actually a cloud – and where the blue sky begins. In any case, it is no wonder that Finland’s national colours are “blue and white”.
Kiutaköngäs National Park
Kiutaköngäs National Park near Ruka, Finland, with its impressive rapids, some of which are frozen here.
Winter forest in the rear view mirror
A drive on a snow-covered road – the picturesque winter forest near Ruka, Finland, in the rear-view mirror.
View of Rukahovi
A snowmobile on the way to Rukahovi
Gas station with snowmobile
Even snowmobiles have to refuel from time to time – since all roads are snow-covered in winter anyway, this is not a technical problem. You simply drive the snowmobile to the next petrol station.
Ski jumping hill in Ruka / Kuusamo, Finland
This photo was taken late in the evening at Rukatunturi. The ski jump is out of action, but on the other side of Rukatunturi the ski area is brightly lit. The lighting is reflected by the low-hanging clouds and bathes the sky, or rather the whole area around the ski area, in an eerie orange light.
In the foreground a few dark fir peaks – on the mountain next to the ski jump, on the other hand, the firs are powdered white, covered in snow. Ideal conditions for a night-time photo walk – if only it wasn’t so cold.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Forest walk in the Snow
In the background the brightly lit Ruka Tunturi
Santa Claus with reindeer in Ruka, Finland
Every year again… Now I just had to re-publish this photo of Santa Claus with reindeer – simply because it’s so beautiful. The photo has already a few years on the hump, but apparently still enjoys great popularity. Every year at Christmas time, many people seem to be looking for “Santa Claus with reindeer”.
The photo was taken rather by chance, when Santa Claus just made a stopover in Ruka. For geographical orientation, Ruka is in the north of Finland – not in Lapland, but very close to Lapland. And Ruka is very close to Rovaniemi – the town that is right next to Santa’s official headquarters.
So if you ever want to visit Santa in person, all you have to do first is go to Rovaniemi – from there there are buses to Santa’s village. I once had the pleasure of meeting Santa in person – and can highly recommend it. Even for older children, a visit to Santa is literally an impressive experience.
Do I believe in Santa Claus? I no longer ask myself that question since my visit. After all, I met him in person!
Neighbouring cottage ‘Mökki’ in the forest
View from the kitchen window to the neighbouring wooden hut – ‘Mökki’.
Ruka Tunturi in the mist
Around 12 noon – it doesn’t get much brighter – unless the sun comes through…
Viitostie – Country Road No.5
Driving on the Viitostie – road no.5. View out of the car window – trees or forest or woods pass by.
Finnair Aircraft Wing
On the flight to Helsinki, Finland: looking out of the window at the wing with the Finnair logo.
Baker Street 221B, London
Due to a recent event, I have finally uploaded a few London pictures. I wanted to finally have a picture of 221B Baker Street on the web – the address where Sherlock Holmes lives together with Dr. Watson – at least in the BBC series “Sherlock”.
London Underground
Action shot in the London Underground: a train of the London Underground, also called “Tube”, enters the station.
London Skyline: Big Ben and Westminster silhouette
The London skyline: the silhouette of Big Ben and Westminster Palace, sunset, River Thames
London Carspotting: Aston Martin DB5
Carspotting in London: Bond-Car Austin Martin DB5
London: St James’s Roman Catholic Church
A “dragon” on the portal of St James’s Roman Catholic Church in George Street
St James’s Roman Catholic Church George Street London
View of St James’s Roman Catholic Church from George Street
London Bus in the Sunshine
Blue sky and sunshine – crowds and double-decker bus on Oxford Street near Hyde Park / Speakers’ Corner
Tower Bridge from above
Landing approach to London Heathrow with a clear view of London. In the foreground the Thames and Tower Bridge – everything else is unfortunately a bit blurred – but still quite nice.
Berlin Prenzlauer Berg, second backyard in black and white
Window to the courtyard, half past two in the morning – the building site on the neighbouring property also illuminates our courtyard and makes the climbing plants on the neighbouring house cast beautiful shadows.
West Berlin style icon: the radio tower
Like a small Eiffel Tower: the West Berlin Radio Tower at the exhibition grounds.
Drive-by shooting in West Berlin: some photos can be taken as you drive by – and they still look okay. Especially when the subjects are as photogenic as Berlin’s radio tower. And if the light, the weather and the sky play along, then something like this is the result.
Light Border Mauerpark 9. November 2014
Light Border in Mauerpark: the balloons rise into the Berlin sky
Light Border Mauerpark 9. November 2014
The Berlin Wall came down this day 25 years ago – on 9 November 2014 around 7 p.m. – so we made our way to Mauerpark to see the ‘dissolution’ of the light border. Apart from us, it felt like 100,000 Berliners and tourists – neighbours and guests – had made their way to Mauerpark. It was correspondingly crowded.
The actual event, the ascension of the balloons, was rather unspectacular – spectacularly unspectacular. One balloon after the other was released from its base and rose into the foggy Berlin November sky to the murmurs of the spectators.
During the past three days I took several hundred photos of the ‘light border’ – by day and by night, mainly in Mauerpark and at Bernauer StTrasse, but also a few pictures in Kreuzberg. In the coming days/weeks I will finish the pictures and upload them into a separate album… But I ask for a little patience, as I have seen enough balloons for now.
Dog on Skateboard
We walked along the Light Border at the Engelbecken in Berlin Kreuzberg, when a dog on a skateboard came rolling towards us. He took a quick running start, jumped on the skateboard and rolled leisurely past us. For the dog, this seemed to be quite normal – for us it wasn’t.
Light Border at Bernauer Strasse
The light border at the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse at night. In the foreground the old cemetery wall, on the left side of the picture the rust-red steel bars symbolizing the course of the Berlin Wall – behind or in extension the Berlin Wall. On the right in the picture the illuminated balloons of the temporary art installation Lichtgrenze.
Light Border Berlin Wall Bernauer Strasse
Light Border – Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauer Strasse, Berlin
Light Border at Mauerpark
The Light Border in Mauerpark, view of the amphitheater.
Wall painting in Fürstenberger Straße, Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
A wall painting in an abstract style that was previously unknown to me. The ‘graffito’ can be admired in Fürstenberger Straße in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district….
Neue Nationalgalerie: Festival of Future Nows
Jan Bünnig, Feuerstelle (‘Fireplace’)
see also:
www.futurenows.net
www.janbuennig.com
and:
www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/neue-nationalgalerie-festival-of-future-nows-…
Three days only: Thursday 30 October – Saturday 01 November 2014
Crane Installation with Autumn Sky
A crane is being erected on a new construction site on the corner of Invalidenstrasse and Ackerstrasse (Berlin-Mitte) with the help of a mobile crane. Actually, something like this is exciting enough – the scene was given additional drama by the moving autumn sky. In the backlight, the crane ballet becomes a shadow theatre.
S-Bahn carriage full of Graffiti (Top 2 Bottom)
Once you leave your S-Bahn carriage unattended (perhaps because of yesterday’s locomotive drivers’ strike, which also affected Berlin’s S-Bahn?) and you’ve got the worst of it. Some artists must have mistakeen the wagon for a canvas – and the thing is hardly recognisable. From front to back – from top to bottom – a big silver letter salad. Beautiful! Bold!
Seen in the morning at 9am on the S1 at Nordbahnhof (or was it the S25?!).
Early morning fog and floodlights at Mauerpark
Autumnal early morning fog at the beginning of October – floodlights of the stadium at Mauerpark / Bernauer Strasse
Berlin Wall Memorial in Autumn – grey-on-grey
During the autumn and winter months, Berlin can ‘shine’ in the most beautiful shades of grey. The colour grey can become so dominant in the meantime that I might suggest the title Three Colours Grey for a fictional Berlin documentary. The sky is covered by a single cloud that seems to stretch from horizon to horizon – and landmarks like the Berlin Wall make their own special contribution to the grey-grey cityscape.
I like it.
Berlin TV Tower in the Sunshine
Lucky again: this year’s Berlin Marathon is again taking place in the best sunshine and summer temperatures. And again a new world record has been set: Kenyan Dennis Kimetto ran the Berlin Marathon course in 2:03 hours.
Pre-Christmas in the supermarket
So – meanwhile the supermarket pre-Christmas season already starts in September?!
Advertising Space / Street Art at Schönleinstrasse U-Bahn Station
These spaces in the Schönleinstrasse underground station were presumably meant to display advertising at some point. At the moment, however, there is obviously a disorganised interim use concept for the supposed advertising spaces: a colourful collage of stickers, tags and graffiti adorns the walls. Surprisingly, the artists confine themselves to the designated areas – and the collages are thus given a special setting. Or is the tidiness rather due to the zero tolerance of the cleaners, who rigorously remove everything that doesn’t belong there outside the frames designated for advertising?
Unfortunately the photos are a bit crappy – I only had my iPhone4 with me… Next time I’ll come with a proper camera.
TV Tower in the Evening Light
View in the direction of the TV tower – in the foreground the glowing S-sign of the Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station. Behind it a few houses on Invalidenstraße. Pink clouds on the horizon – a balmy summer evening in Berlin (Mitte).
What I like most about this picture is how the S-Bahn sign glows in the twilight – oh, and then of course the sunset is reflected on the sphere of the TV tower.
Berlin Wall Memorial Bernauer Strasse (from above)
1989-2014 – this year marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall. I took this as an opportunity to add a few new – and new-old – pictures to the Berlin album Bernauer Straße.
Rainbow in Wedding
Double rainbow on Saturday afternoon, Brunnenstrasse corner Voltastrasse, Berlin-Wedding.
What a weather or storm: first rain, then squalls, then hail, a downright downpour – then sunshine. In the end, of course, there can only be one rainbow – or rather two rainbows: a double rainbow that spans roughly the southern end of Mauerpark and thus connects Prenzlauer Berg with Wedding – East and West. Super.
Berlin in April, Chestnut Tree in the Backyard
April in Berlin: the chestnut tree in the courtyard is wearing its greenest shirt, blue sky, white clouds, sunshine, birds chirping – and in the afternoon it is supposed to rain again… It’s April…
Gap between Buildings with Robot on the Wall in Prenzlauer Berg
Between Prater and Kulturbrauerei – actually between Schönhauser Allee and Kastanienallee – there was, until recently, a car park with lots of small spray-paintings, a few potholes and a few trees. Now it’s clear: the ensemble has always been a gap between buildings – one of the last gaps in this Prenzlberg neighbourhood. And now it is being closed with another “residential and commercial building”.
For a short moment, some walls are now free – free of cars, free of billboards – and an artist has used this opportunity to put up this robot. Let’s see how long the picture can be seen — maybe another robot will be added?
Berlin in grey-grey
Looking out of the window on a Sunday afternoon: grey-grey clouds push across the Berlin sky, a few raindrops fall now and then. The chestnut tree still has no leaves – the pigeons still no roof over their heads. The backyard is waiting for spring.