This gallery contains 20 photos.
Just after dinner (the traditional festive welcome dinner) we had left the safety of the fjord and made it out into the waters of the Davis Strait – taking a Southern course and as such going with the waves – … Continue reading
The weather forecast had predicted a stormy night. The captain therefore had decided to not continue into the Davis Strait – but to stay at a sheltered location in the fjord. This turned out to be the right decision, as a force 12+ storm was sweeping over us during the night.
The storm was slowly abating, however conditions were still not good enough, for us to continue into the Davis Strait – we therefore made the way back to Kangerlussuaq, where some provisions were still waiting for us (the loading had to be discontinued yesterday due to the water becoming to rough).
Meanwhile the expedition team had put together plans for a first landing in the fjord (about an hour south of Kangerlussuaq). The landing itself was fairly unspectacular, but nevertheless a nice opportunity to get off the ship, to get reacquainted with the zodiacs and into nature for a nice afternoon tundra stroll.
My last trip to Greenland had been two years ago – my motivation back then had been to see the ice fjord near Ilulissat with my own eyes. It did not work out back then – the fjord had produced too many icebergs, that then had disintegrated – essentially resulting in the Disko Bay being full of ice and essentially not navigable.
So – it had to be another time, another trip and another adventure, which now – two years later – was about to start.
This time the flight to Kangerlussuaq did start from Düsseldorf – once again a charter flight, this time operated by Titan Airways, a British charter airline. We made it to Kangerlussuaq an hour behind schedule.
On arrival buses were waiting for us for a quick ride around the back country of Kangerlussuaq – and to get the first feel of Greenland and a glimpse of the icecap. The tour turned out a shorter version of the tour from two years back (probably due to the delayed flight).
We finally made it back through town and then to the little port, where tender boats were waiting for us to get us to the cruise ship – MS Hanseatic.
This weekend saw me heading out to the Elbe river between Dresden and Meißen. Wine has been cultivated in the valley here for centuries – and this weekend (following hint from a friend) there was an open winery event, with many wineries open to the public including special programs, offers and entertainment – and a (not overly well organized) shuttle bus between wineries.
This wine growing region here is one of the smallest in Germany – and given that, its output and its (relative) geographic isolation (in the far east of Germany), the region and its wines are fairly little known in the rest of the country.
So the weekend turned out a major exploration … the one side of course being the (for me completely new) landscape of the Elbe valley from the river up to the steep slopes of the surrounding hills … and then on the other side the viticultural output of that landscape.
The landscape did barely disappoint – the wines were as one would expect, when blindly going on a (massive) wine tasting … some were bad, some fairly average, some good – and the little rest simply amazing.
Below some evidence of the landscape … for the wines, better go and judge yourself – these three might be (in my view at least) good starting points: DREI HERREN, Weingut Schuh and Weingut Vincenz Richter.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Amazing how five years have passed since the last documenta in 2012 … similar to back then, I made it up to Kassel with a friend to a glimpse of this year’s edition of this exhibition of contemporary art. It … Continue reading
Today was my last day in California – and no photos today.
Lisa and Harry had invited some family and friends for a small party this evening, so the day was dedicated for the preparations. Harry and myself ended up going for a wine errand – Lisa wanted some specific wine, so we made it over to the Lodi region to fetch those wines – and while there (of course) also check out and try some other wines. My gut tells me, that she probably also wanted us out of the way for the preparations – but then, why argue … when you are sent to buy and try some wine!? 😉
We made it back in the afternoon; in time to cover our part in the preparation and then engage into the party later on. It turned out an interesting one with good discussions.
I left very early the next morning, flying over to Los Angeles, then on to New York for the final hop towards Frankfurt – where I arrived Monday morning.
Looking back – this has been an incredible 1.5 weeks, full of action, great outdoors, superb food and drinks – and of course perfect company and hosts – THANKS Lisa and Harry – it’s been a great time!
This gallery contains 23 photos.
Today we ventured out South again … first making it to the other side of the bay, then into the hills until Santa Cruz, here we continued on California highway 1 all the way down to Monterey. It was here, that … Continue reading
Yesterday we had made it from New Mexico back into Oakland and California. We made it there in the early afternoon – and essentially spent the day with grocery shopping and getting the house up and running again.
Today then was another sightseeing day. We did head south from Oakland, first through San Jose and then continuing on California 101 down to San Juan Bautista – destination here was the old Spanish mission. San Juan Bautista Mission was founded in the late 18th century by a Franciscan missionary.
We spent some time exploring the museum, the mission, its churches and the garden. After a short walk, a bit of touring around town and lunch, we left the town and continued to the Hecker Pass – and went over to wine-ing.
We essentially spent the rest of the afternoon trying wines in a few wineries – checking out, what the Santa Clara Valley Wine Trail had to offer. Surely a lot of surprises – some very good ones … some not so good ones 😉
Today ended up as a fairly relaxing day. We kicked it off with a short morning hike / walk before breakfast. A quick drive got us over to the trail head and soon we were engaged in the Deer Trap Mesa Trail hike, featuring a historic game pit (hence the name deer trap) and some stunning views along the way. We made it to the northern overlook point and (with a bit of getting lost on the way) back – or approx. 2.5 to 3km roundtrip.
After breakfast it was back to the car and back to Santa Fe. We ended up at the rail yard with its farmer’s market. After an extensive tour around the market and a quick cuppa at the coffee shop, we made our way towards the actual train station to do a bit of research on the train options in and out of Santa Fe. As it turned out, there is only one line – the New Mexico Rail Runner – going south to Albuquerque (and a slight bit beyond). Train times were mainly geared towards commuters with good service in the morning and late afternoon – but limited options in between and in the later evening.
We also covered some good time in many of the art galleries around the rail yard, showing a wide variety of art – from local artists to further away artists to real archeological pieces (which – in my view – really should be a museum and not on sale in some gallery).
As we had some time to kill before dinner, we gave the New Mexico State Capitol another chance – and today being a work day, we were not disappointed – the building was open to the public and ready for visitors. While the building may look fairly unimpressive on the outside, the inside was the complete opposite – and actually a real surprise. Most areas were open to the public – including the viewing balcony of both house and senate, as well as the impressive gallery of New Mexican art scattered around the whole building. So this turned out a very worthwhile excursion.
This gallery contains 15 photos.
Today we were heading North once more – destination of the day: Taos. We took the high road to get there, a back road going through desert, pine forests and halfway-forgotten villages with historic adobe churches. We had a few … Continue reading