Through my lens » Drinking in Nature

Spring’s escapade at Lindau

Yen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:07:44 +0000

Have I mentioned for the zillionth time that spring is my favorite season of the year? Actually I love all the seasons except, maybe winter. But now that spring is almost over (bawl!), I thought it might be an excellent idea to celebrate this year’s wonderful spring season by being outdoors, just us, our bikes, the wonderful sunshine under the amazingly blue sky. Germany has plenty of wonderful getaways and countless endearingly charming towns and one of them gem is Lindau. We wandered off during a prolonged weekend and headed towards Lindau in the south of Bavaria. The town has a beautiful half-island situated at Bodensee, or Lake Constance, a large lake bordered by Germany, Austria and Switzerland.The half-island itself is not that big. One can even circle the circumference of the island by foot in an hour or less. There are even steps and ladders all around the island leading you towards the clear waters of the lake! I like!! If you happened to be on the island, then take the opportunity to go up the lighthouse. From above, you get an amazing sight of the port of Lindau, as well as the gentle slopes of the Alps in Austria and Switzerland situated at the opposite side of the lake. We cycled and we walked. A satisfying Italian meal on a balmy spring evening on a wonderful island at Bodensee with an awe-inspiring view. I could have fallen in love. And in love I fell.

A night in May

Yen — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:38:35 +0000

The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. It was cool but without the usual chill of the night. I thought of going for a night walk but then a better idea flashed across my mind. I grabbed my camera, my tripod, the remote control and off we headed to the field, just the two of us. It was a totally different feeling to experience the streets and the open field in the dark of the night, devoid of the usual hubbub of the day happenings. It was almost too quiet aside from the chirping of some birds going about its night business. After setting up the tripod and adjusting the angle to where I assumed is the north pole, I clicked the remote and let the camera do the rest. Gazing up into the clear, dark sky adorned with thousands of stars on a near-summer night, serenaded by some soft cheerful chirps of a faraway bird under the pale shimmer of moonlight, I felt peaceful and full of love.

Spring has sprung!

Yen — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:20:47 +0000

The flower beds have slowly but steadily burst into blooms. My favourite flower in full bloom and almost all at once. It was such a pretty sight to behold coming home in the evening to be greeted by some yellow, red and purple tulips, swaying gaily in the mellow evening sun.

A walk in the park

Yen — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:04:39 +0000

Little did I know that Schwetzingen, a quaint town near where I live, well-known for its castle, Schwetzinger Schloss, has a HUGE compound with picturesque landscapes and calming retreats for those looking for a hideaway from the hubbub of city life. We spent the whole day exploring the park and still I have a feeling that we haven’t covered the whole area yet! There were so many corners and little attractions in the park that really caught my attention. Especially this willow tree with its long ‘hairy’ branches gently swaying in the spring breeze by the pond. It looked like a scene cut out from a Chinese painting.One thing which strike me as rather unconventional is that I have never come upon a mosque ‘in’ the compound of a castle anywhere in Germany before and there in the Schloss garden of Schwetzingen, is the magnificent mosque by a lake. I waited for the evening sun to finally poke out from the clouds that day and my patience paid off. The image of the mosque reflected by the tranquil waters of the lake is absolutely breathtaking. With a park this beautiful, I think I know where I’ll be spending my afternoons this summer .

Under the cherry blossoms

Yen — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:26:09 +0000

Come every spring, I would look forward very much to my neighbour’s garden because he has this huge cherry tree which never fails to flower en masse into lovely, pinkish-sweet cherry blossoms. This luxurious display of cherry blossoms would last for probably two weeks at most before the petals slowly dry up and shed its glory. Those cherry blossoms always have me gazing lovingly at them whenever I stroll pass his garden but this year, out of whatever reasons unbeknownst to me, he decided to chop down the whole cherry tree .

Fortunately I’ve found out from friends that there is this garden in Schwetzingen which has a whole park full of cherry trees!!Now I understand why the Japanese have this Sakura flower viewing culture because I could really imagine myself spending the whole afternoon under the cherry blossoms, admiring these fleeting beauty.Although it was a rather cold spring day, I was thankful that at least the sun was being generous and the baby-blue sky was adorned with a few puffy but harmless white clouds. It was really a such a pretty sight to behold especially with these sea of white and yellow daffodils fighting for their own attention from the visitors as well.I’ll definitely be returning next spring and secure myself a seat under the cherry trees and have my share of flower viewing .

On the trail of Cinque Terre

Yen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:06:44 +0000

(Click here to view my Cinque Terre photo set)

Cinque Terre is known as a heaven for avid hikers. The five villages of Cinque Terre are connected via well-marked hiking trails. The ‘shorter’ hiking trail from Riomaggiore until Monterosso is known as the Sentiero no.2 which is about 9km long. I know I wouldn’t be able to cover the whole trail in a day without wearing myself out, so I did the trekking in two days, which, in my opinion, is optimal, with enough time for you to walk leisurely around the villages.My second day of adventure in Cinque Terre started from Corniglia. It was a lovely day, blue-sky with soft patches of harmless, white clouds. I headed towards the vineyards in the direction of Vernazza. The morning sun was still hanging low in the sky when I started out my hike. The path led me through orchards and along vineyards. From afar, I caught a glimpse of the charming village of Corniglia, perched atop a cliff above the glistening waters. Occasionally, I’d passed by a hiker or two, who greeted me with a cheerful buon giorno. The path was sometimes paved smooth while at times it was a little rocky. I was mostly alone throughout the hike. However the thought of losing my way didn’t occur to me at all.Steep slopes of wild bushes, vines, cacti, all thriving in this superb Mediterranean weather and an open sea spreading invitingly just below the slopes resided on one side. Rocky walls, terraced vineyards and olives orchards settled on the other side of the path. There were so much to behold, so rich a view made perfect by the blue sky and sunshine.The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza was well-marked and it took me about an hour and a half to reach Vernazza. I saw the tip of Vernazza jutting out magnificently as I descended towards the town. It was such a lovely sight to behold. Vernazza was already bustling with life as I strolled along its streets at around 10am. People were shopping for groceries and restaurateurs were already vying for their first customer of the day under colourful canopies outside their restaurants. I bought a postcard with exactly this view of Vernazza above, as seen on the way to Monterosso (but the picture above is taken my me ). My second leg of hiking to Monterosso continued and uphill I charged. This part of the hike was the most challenging as I couldn’t recall how many flights of stairs I’d climbed. The sun, at this hour, was already hot on my skin.The path from Vernazza to Monterosso became a little hostile and sometimes it was so narrow that it was only as wide as my feet placed side by side. It was quite tricky when there was opposing traffic from other hikers, with nothing for me to hold on to except leaning closely to the wall on one side and letting other passed me by. Wild, thick shrubs and the unforgiving sea were just scant inches away from the path with no handrails in between.After about two hours of uphills and downhills, with T-shirt soaked wet with perspiration and I was all hot and toasty, I finally caught a peek of Monterosso, nestled comfortably behind some hills. It is also the only village amongst the five with a sandy beach. The water was a colour of bluish aquamarine and it was so clear. I immediately regretted that I didn’t brought along my swimming gear with me. There, I have an excuse to visit this wonderful place again .

Wonderful forest of Palatinate

Yen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:30:40 +0000

We were invited to spend a wonderful autumn Saturday at a colleague’s place a couple of weeks ago. The agenda of the day was to hike a small part of the Palatinate forest located in the southwestern of Germany. In order to reach this place, we had to snake through some tunnels and drove along highways which crisscrossed right through the scenic forest. I hadn’t been to this part of Germany before and I think I’d found my calming retreat from the everyday life. Tall looming pine trees greeted us along the way and the excited chatters of my colleagues’ kids were occasionally punctuated by the distant pecking of woodpeckers.Everywhere around us was all wood, greens and soft, damp earth. Very tranquil, very peaceful. We met some fellow hikers along the way and apparently a hiking marathon was going on during that day and from what I gathered the hiking marathon trail was 40km long! Our trail was rather modest compared to the marathon and our aim was to reach this sunken cave, formed by massive boulders and rocks. The view from inside the cave was wonderful. My highlight of the day was when these super cute kids of my colleagues’ saying Spaghetti! in unison for the camera. That’s German version of saying ‘Cheese’ when posing I guess .

The hike to the rock

Yen — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:41:54 +0000

One of my main purpose to visit Norway is to visit its amazing Fjords. The first time I was doing some research on my impending trip to Norway, I was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of Fjord tours one can choose from. It took me days of browsing through forums and reading up reviews on those Fjord tours but somehow none of those tours really appeal to me. Most of those Fjord sightseeing trips usually bring us around by ships or express boats into the Fjords and we can only be able look at those towering mountains from afar. However I know wanted something more, I wanted to be near so that I can touch and feel nature myself. We decided to hike our way up to the Pulpit Rock, a huge rock formation jutting out 600m above the Lysefjord, in Forsand, near Stavanger. We started out early from Stavanger, taking a ferry to Tau. From there, a bus was already waiting at the port for passengers to bring us to the starting point of the hike. The sky was quite heavily overcast during our bus ride to the starting point of the hike. True to the weather forecast, it started to drizzle when we set out on our hike at 10am. The hike took about 2 hours, one way. I’ve read that the trail wasn’t entirely too difficult for unexperienced hikers, but I think it could be quite tricky at some places when it was wet and slippery. What started out as a slight drizzle turned into sheets of rain after 15mins into the hike, making everywhere too wet for us to stop and rest or take pictures!I trudged on, uncomplaining, listening to the dull, patter of rain on my thin jacket, all the while thinking that I must be out of my mind setting out on a such a treacherous hike when it was pouring rain. We were driven forward by the unrelenting rain because to stop wasn’t a choice, nor to turn back as we’ve come so far. The trail varies from flat and easy at some part to steep and slippery where stream of water flows. We had to climb over tree branches, hop over rocks and pools of mud, at times clambered on all fours to ascend those massive boulders.During our ascent, we didn’t have the opportunity to appreciate the beauty and actually look around us due to the constant rain. Our single-minded goal was to reach the top safely without twisting our ankles or risking a fall. Therefore we didn’t realized what a feat we’ve accomplished when on our way down (thankfully the rain had stopped), we actually saw the trail and thinking back, OH MY GOODNESS, did we actually climb this under the rattle of rain?But our effort paid off and the weather lifted just in time when we reached the platform of the Pulpit Rock around noon. The view above and along the way more than made up for all our effort. Below and everywhere around us is the Lysefjord, stretched out magnificently before us, its beauty untouched. It was absolutely humbling to behold the landscape around me. We rested and had our packed lunch on the platform while being on cloud nine (at least I was ). Before heading down to catch the bus, which brought us back to the port of Tau, I had to sit on the cliff of the Pulpit Rock. It was absolutely an out-of-the-world experience to have my legs dangling precariously on the edge. It didn’t occur to me at all that someone behind me could trip and fall on me, pushing me off the cliff. All I had in mind at that moment was, I was so lucky to behold such splendour surrounding me, here and now. During the bus ride, there was a short description about the Pulpit Rock played on a recorder. According to the legend, the Pulpit Rock will fall into the Fjord one day, when the seven sisters from the region marry the seven brothers from the same region. The bus driver jokingly said, ‘Remember it’s one day, so maybe it’s not today’. Well, I really hope the rock will still be where it is for a long, long time to come.

A tip from me: do have proper footwear and clothing (both waterproof) if you plan to hike the Pulpit Rock. Pack along your lunch and bring enough water to replenish your energy, you’ll need it for your way down . If it starts to rain on your way up, just put on your rain coat, keep smiling and trudge forward no matter what. Trust me. You won’t be disappointed .

After rain clouds

Yen — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:02:35 +0000

The past Sunday was a very atypical day in Germany. As far as I’ve remembered, I’ve never experienced a day here where all the elements in the sky, the sun, clouds, rain were trying to outdo each other. It rained for awhile, stopped in time to allow the sun to make its presence known, deceitfully shining brightly, letting me to believe that the rain has finally cleared and I could finally go cycling. Ha. My jubilation was short-lived as the heavy rain clouds set in just after I’ve put on my cycling gear. The succession of rain, sun, rain, sun was enough to make me give up going cycling altogether. Grrr.But towards the evening, around eight, the sky cleared up at long last leaving some harmless cotton-ball-like clouds behind, suffused in the mellow glow of the last rays of sunshine of the day. I was glad that the day wasn’t completely ruined at all when beholding such spectacular display of beauty. The sky has never been so blue!

Mother nature ruthlessly took away my enjoyment of being outdoor but she also generously gave me back a lovely evening.

Winged visitors in the garden

Yen — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:05:29 +0000

Bf’s mom owns a piece of heaven in her garden. Her seemingly ‘hibernating’ garden will thaw from the winter frost every coming spring and bounces back to life with great speed in front of our eyes. It’s unbelievable how resilient mother nature is. It charges back to life with anew vigour and intensity as if the passing winter, which was unusually bitingly cold, was nothing but a comfortable, deep, long sleep. With each passing day, I’ll see new buds springing from every corner and petals growing bigger. With so many species of colourful plants, the garden naturally beckons some passing winged visitors. T’s mom told me that these brown coloured butterflies are actually migrating northward out of Africa at this time of the year.Certain plants in the garden seemed to attract these lovely creatures more than the other. I don’t care where these lovely, delicate beauties are heading as long as they make a stopover at the garden . There were at least six of them that day fluttering around the plants. It was a delight while barbequeing at the porch to have these winged beauties fluttering about. I was absolutely surprised to discover another type of butterfly, which reminds me very much from the one I saw in a picture taken by Stardust, with such exquisite colours on its wings. It is one thing to see these gorgeous butterflies in a commercial butterfly farm but it is totally another feeling to find them roaming about in your garden! This particular butterfly was fluttering about at high speed and it took me a great deal of patience to be as still as possible in order not to frighten it away. I wonder when I’ll see them again soon..