Tag Archives: buildings

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Place de la Comédie, Montpellier.

Image May 6, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Summer travel to many popular destinations has become so common that the crowds can be close to unbearable. There are ways to compensate — go to smaller, less-well-known cities, travel during shoulder season, or just go straight to the off-season. We did the latter on our last big trip, visiting Germany, France, and Spain around the winter equinox. Of course, you need to be prepared for the weather — shorter daylight hours, cold, and a good chance of precipitation.

Speaking of the weather, we arrived in Montpellier, France in “gently inclement” weather. It was cold — though not like in Germany — and it rained. But this wasn’t the sort of rain that might pin you down in your hotel — it was gentle, and an umbrella and rain jacket were enough protection to go out and wander. Our first stop (but far from our last) was the Place de la Comédie, a popular square in the old part of the city.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Rainy Evening, Montpellier

Image April 3, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

After we left Germany during our late-autumn and early-winter visit to Europe last year we headed to France, eventually ending up in Montpellier, a city in the South of France. While we like returning to places we have previously visited — we always see things we missed the first time — we make a point of going to new places, often those we had not thought of visiting before. Montpellier fit the bill, as it had not been on our radar at all, and we knew little about it.

We were there for just three nights, so I can’t claim that we fully “know” the place, but we liked what we saw a lot. We were in the older central part of town, staying in a small hotel a block from the central square, the Place de la Comédie. It was raining when we arrived, but that didn’t stop us (or thousands of locals!) from heading out for the evening.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Henkersteg, Pegnitz River

Image March 25, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Walking around in Nürnberg on a day that began with slowly dissipating fog, I saw this scene as we crossed a bridge over the Pegnitz River. There is still a bit of the fog in the sky above the buildings, an old covered bridge crosses the water, and the buildings, bridge, and a few trees are reflected in the smooth surface of the river.

Often when photographing in a location like this I sometimes cannot determine the name of the subject or I photograph quickly and move on without checking. That was the case here, and it was only later that I used maps to locate the bridge and found out that it is called the “Henkersteg.” I understand that this roughy translates to “hangman’s bridge.” Additional reading suggests that it got the name because long ago the town hangman lived in a tower near one end of the bridge.

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Island, Pegnitz River

Image March 17, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

We visited Nürnberg, Germany this past December, picking the dates because that is when one of the biggest and best-known German Christmas markets takes place. Vendor booths are everywhere in the old center of the city, and crowds of people fill the streets, drinking gluhwein and buying food, trinkets and gifts from the vendors. It can get quite crowded but it is a lot of fun!

The area in the photograph was outside of the main market action. Here several bridges cross the Pegnitz River, and there is even a small island. We began to use the route through here on our walks between the central market and our hotel, and we enjoyed passing through this peaceful and quiet area.

G Dan Mitchell Photography