Tag Archives: europe

Photographs: Austria

Salzburg Cathedral

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Salzburg Cathedral
The Salzburg Cathedral and surrounding area, Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg Cathedral. Salzburg, Austria. July 15, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Salzburg Cathedral and surrounding area, Salzburg, Austria

On this trip to Europe in the summer of 2013 we did not actually stay in Salzburg, Austria — but we did end up in this town several times. In the middle of our visit, which started in London and then included Heidelberg, we took a weeklong trip to Bavaria where we stayed in a big old farmhouse near Berchtesgaden and Königsee, with views of the Alps. Our train from Heidelberg ended up in nearby Salzburg, we ended up visiting Salzburg again while we were “just up the road” in Bavaria, and then we went back to Salzburg again to catch the return train to Heidelberg.

This spectacular cathedral is a famous icon of Salzburg, and here it is seen from a slightly elevated location just outside of this central square. Since I shoot digital, the original photograph is color, but it seemed to me that the bit of dramatic cloudiness would be more effective in monochrome, and the brighter light on the close walls of the structure seem “right” in black and white, too.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Nature

Forested Cliffs, Königsee

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Forested Cliffs, Königsee
Steep, tree-covered cliffs along the shore of the Königsee, Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany

Forested Cliffs, Königsee. Berchtesgaden National Park, Bavaria, Germany. July 14, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Steep, tree-covered cliffs along the shore of the Königsee, Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany

I 2013 we spent a magical week in the Berchtesgaden area of Bavaria, right next to the Berchtesgaden National Park and a short drive from Salzburg, Austria. This was part of a longer trip that began in London and also included an additional week in the Heidelberg, Germany area. We met up with members of Patty’s family, and this big extended family group stayed at a big, rambling farm-house in Bavaria, from which the backyard view from the outdoor table where we often ate included a chunk of the Bavaria Alps culminating in the summit of the Watzmann, the second-tallest peak in Germany.

The Königsee was a short distance away. In a loose way, Königsee feels just a little like a Yosemite Valley with a Lake filling it. The lake sits in a long, narrow valley surrounded by much higher mountains — though these mountains have a more alpine appearance than those visible from the floor of Yosemite Valley. It also includes some of the “touristy” features of Yosemite — the lake itself is most certainly no longer a wilderness. One of the most popular of those features is the system providing boat rides up the length of the lake. (In deference to the purity of the lake water, these boats are powered by electricity.) The boat ride is quite something, beginning at a place that truly is “touristy,” but soon passing through this narrow section of the lower lake between steep, tree-covered cliffs, before the terrain opens up revealing longer views further up the lake.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Shop Windows

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Shop Windows
Shop windows and posters along a narrow street in Heidelberg, Germany

Shop Windows. Heidelberg, Germany. July 11, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shop windows and posters along a narrow street in Heidelberg, Germany

During our 2013 visit to Germany we spent a total of about a week in Heidelberg, a city that seems to combine modernity with the old. From what we saw, the main evidence of “the old” is, literally, the old town of Heidelberg. While it is a tourist area, it is also the site of a lot of very old buildings lining narrow streets. We stayed with relatives, and were close enough that a short walk took us over a hill and across the Neckar River to the old section of the town.

I’m not sure I can explain what attracted me to this little building, crowded among other shops along a very narrow street that is mostly used as a walkway. Perhaps there is some unusual combination (as least from the perspective of my American experience) combination of orderliness and a slight edginess, but in a building that is not particularly modern. I decided to crop the image of the front of the shop closely, eliminating much of any context aside from the bit of slightly mossy sidewalk at the bottom of the frame. Everything seems very square and geometrical, though slightly aged and a bit off kilter. Although the windows are filled with posters, perhaps suggesting something of this university town, I notice that the posters are very carefully squared and centered in the windows, and even the clutter inside the building seems organized somehow.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Germany

Altstadt-Heidelberg

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Altstadt-Heidelberg
The Karl Theodor Bridge, the old bridge, the Heiliggeistekirche, and portions of Altstadt-Heidelberg, Germany

Altstadt-Heidelberg. Heidelberg, Germany. July 11, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Karl Theodor Bridge, the old gate, the Heiliggeistekirche, and portions of Altstadt-Heidelberg, Germany

It has now been close to two years since our visit to England, Germany, and parts of Austria back in 2013 — too long, I think! Our visit began with a week in London, where various members of the extended family met up, and then adjourned to Germany, where we have relatives. We stayed with them in Heidelberg for a few days, then took a train to Salzburg and ended up at a big country home at the base of the Alps near Königssee and Berchtesgaden, Bavaria for a week. This was an incredibly picturesque location, with the peak of the Watzmann towering above us as we sat at picnic table behind the farm-house where we stayed. Then it was back to Heidelberg for a few more days before heading back to the US.

In Heidelberg we stayed in a home not far from the old town area along the Neckar River. We were a short walk away, over a hill and along the footpath called the Philosophenweg (or “philosopher’s way”), then down to the riverfront and across the old bridge to the town. The old town of Heidelberg appears like something out of a fantasy of Europe, with narrow streets, many church steeples (including the Heiliggeistkirche seen in this photograph) and the Heidelberg castle on a hill above the town. At the lower left of this photograph you can see the bridge leading across the Neckar River to the old gate to the town.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.