Sax

A little color for this grey and rainy week. Or month.
And music.

WATCH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe the swan wanted some in-flight entertainment... You know: movie  (Pearl Harbor?), snack, attacking boats...
One of my rare snapshots.

Ironman!

This is the place de l'homme de fer, iron man square. No superhero to be seen anywhere around (well, you never know...). The name comes from a  medieval armor on one of the buildings. A main transport hub, many tramway lines crossing here

Windowshopper

A quiet street.

Time

Do not open this time capsule before 23/09/3790!!! Hoping this blog might still be around...lol

November sky

Well, this is not Strasbourg, capital of Europe, but the other one, capital of France.
In Paris, the big football thinggie started yesterday. I wont say another word about it, as I really really cant stand that stuff. Just hoping that nothing bad will happen.
A bit late, but this is for Skywatch Friday.

Green, but also B&W...

Some bamboo shoots at the botanical garden.
The same, for the excellent Weekend in B&W meme, here.

Accidents happen

Yeah, they happen, even after taking photos for 45 years or so. Overexposed, underexposed, wrong camera settings, etc, the list is long.
Well, I have different ways to fix them accidents. First of all, I dont do Jpegs, no no no! I'm shooting RAW, always. Which give me far more possibilities.
Also, I love changing my photos into 'paintings'. Many ways to do it, no Photoshop involved.
Below, the original, the Ponts Couverts, or covered bridges, Strasbourg's old fortifications. Underexposed, it is. An hour's work. Ask me if you want to know more.

Quai des Bateliers

Quai des Bateliers, or boatmen dock, in the Krutenau area. There are a lot of places whose finish -au, Elsau, Wantzenau, etc. The ending -au means they were former, dried out fens or marshes.

Oasis

Well, almost. The inhabitants of the waterlily pond at the botanical garden were rehearsing for theit next concert. Lots of harmonious ribbits (see yesterday's post), some less harmonious quacks...

Nevertheless, this is my favorite place in town, with or without...music.

Are you looking at me?

I found my way to the botanical garden this afternoon. Nice place indeed!!! Anyway, this little guy was looking at me. I stared back. He did not move. I went away. Guess he won.

Highway to...

No worries, it is just a local brew from the village of Matzenheim, 6.66 ° alcool...

Nipper???

Do you remember Nipper? No? Maybe now...

Well, my photo shows a newer version... I am sure the gramophone worked better, musically speaking!

Skywatch Friday

Having a coffee, listening to the (early) birds, enjoying the view...

Want more? Skywatch Friday is right... here!

And a very happy 85th birthday to my Mum!!!

Shadows and highlights

A nice inner courtyard in the Bateliers area

Theme day: shadow and highlight

Well, ok: I confess. This is not Strasbourg (I wish!). This was aboard a ferry from Tanger, Morocco, to Tarifa, Spain. 2 more destinations with direct busses from Strasbourg. Or trains, planes, automobiles...
Shadow and highlight is this month's theme for for the CDP family. Click here to see what my friends did.

Transmongolia

Buskers from Mongolia is something you don't see every day, even here. The guys were throat singing, very unusual. And I liked it!
Transmongolia is the name of the band, they seem to be quite famous.

Interfaith

I came across some interfaith festival yesterday. 8 or 10 of the main religions in town were represented. I really liked this children choir!

Grey sunday

Need colors!!!

'Sans titre'

Another stunning exhibit of the MAMC, musee d'art moderne et contemporain. It is called 'sans title', untitled, by french contemporary artist Sylvie Fajfrowska 

Sophie Henriette Gertrude Taeuber-Arp

Oh well, let's call her Sophie. A friend of Kandinsky, Miro, Picasso, Duchamp. She lived in Strasbourg, with her husband Jean (Hans) Arp. Dada, surrealism, concrete art...

Summer day

26 degrees C... Thirsty weather! What is your favorite poison?

The Kandinsky room

Hi there. I could not post yesterday, Had to go to my old computer's burial. Now, I am trying to get familiarized with a french keyboard, bewilderingly weird.

Now then. Wassily Kandinsky has always been one of my top fav artists. And oh joy, he has his own room at the musée of modern art!!!

Legs as art

Many beautiful thing at the musee d'art moderne... This is one of the stranger exhibits, artist unknown (to me, anyway)

Night at the museum

So, last night was the yearly museum night, free entrance. All the museums had a program, music here at the modern art museum

Evo

You need THAT hairdresser!!!

Skywatch Fridy

When you wake up to this, the day seems suddenly... brighter.

Skywatch Friday, click here

Spitaltor

Right in the most central center of town, is the huge complex of the Hopital Civil. It's big, and it's old, very old. Legend says it was founded by Duke Attic (St Odile's father) in 675 AD. But the first written proof dates from 1119. Old. Nowadays, most existing building were built around 1718. On my photo, one of the entrances to the complex, the Spitaltor, or hospital gate. The chapel you see on the side is 'new': 1428.

Several other hospitals in Strasbourg, all of them much newer!

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

On a rare sunny day... I didn't like this building at first, but it is growing on me. Next step: stepping inside. Well, next week is museum night.

The eyes

Street art

Livres en Liberte

Oh look, there is a new free lending library in the Orangerie park! The last one burned down last year. Books in many languages. It works like this: take any book you want, and feel free to bring them back, or not, no obligation. Feel also free to offer books! Love it! 

I have enough to read for the moment, 1300 pages by Vikram Chandra, so I browsed, but didn't take anything. Later.

Weekend reflection in the park

It is way too cold today, but last weekend was perfect for this.
More Weekend Reflections here.

Watching people go by

Daddy looks half asleep
This is NOT a selfie!!!

Hide and seek

The sun was hiding, and I am a sunseeker! At ungodly hours, as usual, sipping my first coffee and watching the fireworks in the sky from my kitchen window.

Skywatch Friday, HERE!

My first car

Well, maybe. There is a photo showing myself driving the same model, same color in the early 60es. Part of s small circuit, on rails, with 3 more cars.

Gone fishing

Do you remember that nice Chris Rea song? Anyway, c ya tomorrow, can't you see I'm busy now?!

Another bloody Valentine

1347. The Plague. The Black Death. In Strasbourg.
Who's fault was it? Not the rats. Not the lack of hygiene. No, it was the Jews, they certainly poisoned the wells and rivers!
So, what to do? Let's go to the ghetto, just next to the cathedral (the good fathers needed to keep an eye on THEM...), and let's burn them!!! This is what the good christian people of Strasbourg did, on February 14th, 1348. Not forgetting to baptize the children, before throwing them in the fire.
It happened in the jewish cemetery, in what is now called rue Brulee, burned street. In Alsatian, Brandgass means street of the great fire.
2000 children, women, men... The few survivors escaped, and joined the ghetto in Venice, Italy.

The Bosses

One of their meeting places, next to the European Parliament.
Oh yeah: Strasbourg is the official capital of Europe.

First summer days

This morning in Strasbourg... 26 degrees C, balmy! We did it, we survived this weird winter.

Look what the cat caught

This is almost (modern) art

5.40 AM

Wishing you all a happy TGIF! Don't forget to check out Skywatch Friday, right here. And Saturday Silhouettes are here.

Un air de printemps - An air of spring

After a cold and wet April, spring finally arrived here. Today, sunny, 20 degrees C, going up to 25 this weekend. NICE!!!

What's for dinner, dear?

-Oh you're right, dear, I'm positively starving myself! Chinese?
-Oh, we had chinese yesterday... Boring.
-What about those japanese tourist, don't they look particularly scrumptious tonight?
-Okey dokey, one each then. Fries and coke with them?
-Don't be silly, deary! Rice and soy sauce, and a sake!
-Waiter!!???

True colours

Some colour amidst the usually grey-brownish buildings.

Ancient scents

An old photo, taken by my wife, some ancient perfume container, at the perfume museum in Barcelona

There can only be ONE

May day, theme day. Smell, is the theme. Easy. No pretty flowers, no expensive perfume, no stinky socks or cat litter... No. What gets me going, what keeps me going is the smell (and the taste) of a good cup of...

Click here to see what my friends from the CDP family did.