A short trip to Braunfels, Germany

Over the past few days H. took me on a surprise trip to Braunfels, Germany. He had visited his daughter in Toulouse for a few days and he flew back last Monday afternoon. I picked him up from the airport after which we immediately drove off to a to me unknown destiny. It had been a cold Spring and even in June summer didn't seem to start. We were hoping it would be warmer further south, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Braunfels' half-timbered houses really made up for the weather though, when I got out of the car I was overwhelmed with the charm of this little town. I was so excited I didn't know where to look. This was a very pleasant surprise!

We only had a few days, but we relaxed a lot, walked around the little town and visited its castle.

pretty pattern in the chapel

Duke and Duchess von Solms

The three pictures above were taken in the chapel of the castle.

collection of swords on display

We could take a guided tour or we could visit the castle on our own, which we did. Although it looked like a small castle, there were lots of rooms and objects to see.

peach coloured roses near the mill

reddish roses losing their petals

We were pampered by the owners of our hotel, we took it slow and went to have real German cake at the local Café.

local Café

detail of half-timbered house 

On our way home we visited the ruines of Rheinfels castle. This was supposed to be the most powerful castle and fortress on the Rhine for half a millennium. It was destructed about 200 years ago and the imposing ruins still leave a good impression of its power and substantial size.

On holiday!

I'm off to Germany and France for two weeks. Enjoy your summer and see you in the second week of July!

Highlights of the Rijksmuseum

For the yearly outing yesterday of the supportive staff of the university, we went to the Rijksmuseum. We had a tour of the museum for an hour, showing us a few highlights of the collection.

Above the Virgin as Mater Dolorosa (Our Lady of Sorrows). Attributed to Pietro Torrigliani, soutern Netherlands, c. 1507-1520. Made of terra cotta with old, in part original polychromy.
I like the shadows on her face. The lighting of this terra cotta bust was done with a lot of care and skill.

The original wall and ceiling decorations were uncovered from under mutiple layers of white paint.

Stained glass with the images of Dutch artists.

Our feet on the original mosaic floor, which was recovered from beneath a wooden floor.

Visitor taking a picture of the 'Night Watch' (1642), by Rembrandt. This is by far the most famous painting exhibited in the Rijksmuseum.

Religious art: three ladies from the middle ages.

Detail of 'Officers and bowman of burrow VIII in Amsterdam' (1639), by B. van der Helst. I fell for the striking colours.

Street art

In town, almost across from where I work, are a couple of squatter's buildings. The houses look pretty run down, but the walls cover the most colourful artwork. Here are some examples.

Reflections in canals

I walked a bit this afternoon. First I went to a really cool vintage shop All the luck in the world.  Then I went over to the thrift store and last of all, the supermarket. Although it was warm, there was no sun because the sky was almost completely overcast. As I walked past the canals I saw the reflections of houseboats and other colourful objects. Here's an impression.

Publication in Flow Magazine

Wow, I just saw the entry of the photograph I sent to Flow Magazine with my little system of how I keep track of their ideas, fun things, tips and information. They published my picture on their Facebook page. Seems I gave them an idea!

Dutch magazine Flow

iPad case and laptop sleeve

I have so many pictures now and almost everyday I'm taking more and more. What to do with them? This is one of the reasons why I started this blog, to show others my pictures.

Photos printed on gifts, like this iPad case and laptop sleeve, is another option. In an earlier blogpost in February I showed you the picture of a Japanese blossom. See below the original photograph.

And then compare it with the iPad case. You can see the difference in colour. The case below has more blue tones than the original.

 

For the iPad case one can choose between a white and black border. I choose white. It is made of hard plastic (with glossy picture) and it clicks easily onto the back of your iPad.

The sleeve for the laptop only comes with a black border. The colours are less blue and more grey than the case.

Regardless of the differences in tones I must say I'm quite happy with the outcome. Everytime I look at the items I remember the moment when I took the picture and I feel my heart jump again.
I ordered the items at the HEMA.

Morning coffee

This morning I went to Caffè Il Momento even before taking the elevator at work. I parked my bike, crossed the street and bought my latte.

I feel a bit out of it this morning, don't know what it is. I hope the coffee will do me good.

The view out of the window of the expressobar caught my eye: the curved curb, the lettering and the horizontal line, it all came together.

Then I went up to my office. When I put the cup down, I saw the texture of the milk and the long shadow of the cup on the table.

Soft tones of the cap and shadows. Different place on the table, different hues.

The shadow of the window on the table is slowly growing and moving away.