The Eastern Forest

I'm back! I moved to the outskirts of Strasbourg, to a bigger, nicer and much cheaper brand new flat in the small town of Ostwald (the eastern forest, in german), Oschwald in Alsatian. And I have a balcony now, yeah babies!!! BBQs soon!
Anyway, this is the view from my east facing balcony (yeah!), with the german Black Forest in the background.The Black Forest is very white and snowy right now, btw.
Good to be back, after 9 days of very limited phone internet, no TV, no landline, but with downright polar weather. I somehow survived.

We Alsatians

We Alsatians are officially french. But... We have our own culture, language (taught even in university), music, food, which has almost nothing to do with things french. Therefore, we have our very own alsatian museum, interesting place which shows how different we are from the frenchies.
But... We are french!

Ok, folks, I'll be moving to a new place this weekend. As switching from cable to fibre seems to be arduous, no internet for 2 weeks or so. So, I wont be posting, actually a welcome break, as I need to spend more time at other things. C ya asap!

Petite France

A 15th century house in the Petite France area. Yep, that's over 700 years old.We have a pharmacy, open since ...1268AD! Still standing, but it is now the culture bureau, since 2000.
Will your house still stand in, let's say, 6 or 700 years?

Delivery!

Better than pizza delivery, or kebab, burger, and so on; port wine delivery!
OK, this is in Porto, ot Strasbourg. Although I'm a 99% teetotaller (christmas and birthdays...), I like a glas of the stuff whenever I'm in Portugal. Anyway, that's how to bring the wine from the wineyards to town, along the Douro river

A Monday Mural

Watch out, guys!!!
More Monday Murals here, in Sami's colorful world.

Winter

We had snow again, yesterday. Well, half snow, half rain, wind, cold, real flu weather. But many cafés and restaurants still have chairs and tables outside, for the smokers. Not this one.

Let there be light

A new type of street lights appeared a few weeks ago, and I rather like it!
The weekend is as usual black and white! Click here!

Bastille (by) day

From a recent trip to Paris

Goooooooood morning, Strasbourg!

Very early (summer) morning in town, enjoying the blue hour

Colors

Seen in an art gallery. Love it!!!

I hate winter!

I am more of a summer kind of guy! It it so cold, perfect weather for polar bears and penguins. Which makes me wonder when we'll see one of them roaming the streets of icy Strasbourg...
Oh look, there is a snow leopard! Nice coat!

A Monday Mural

Taking a selfie???
Enjoy more Monday Murals here, now on Sami's blog in Oz

Morning light

It always gives me a lift in the morning, when I watch the sun rising. I won't enjoy this view much longer, as I'm moving in 2 weeks from today. Oh well, there will be another view!

Oxfam

A donation at the local Oxfam shop, where I am an occasional volunteer, time permitting.
More about Oxfam here.

The original photo, to answer Gunn's question:

Weekend in black and white. And some grey.

Earlier this week... A lot of snow this winter, much more to come! Oh well, it even snowed in my old hometown Barcelona yesterday, imagine that!
More b&w here

Summertime...

One of these morning you'll  rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky

Painting the town...

A quiet street, just off the tourist trails

Artefact

Seen in one of the numerous art galleries in town

Urban grafitti

More Monday Murals here

A weekend reflection

Beautiful and calm morning, but very cold! Perfect for a photoshoot.
More Weekend Reflections here. Enjoy!

Winter, again

We've had a few "warm" weeks, up to 14 degrees C, but winter is coming back with a vengeance, it seems. No snow yet, this photo was taken one month ago, but it shouldn't be long. NICE!

Sunbirds

I love shooting in the sun now and then! The results are often interesting.
Feel free to visit my other blog as well! It's here.

Monthly theme day: tired

Don't you dare waking me up!
Click here to see more. Unless you're too tired, of course.

Basking

Where do seals go to see movies? The dive-in! 
Don't miss tomorrow's CDP theme day: tired!

Time for a...

When I'm in town in the morning, I often have a bretzel for (first or second) breakfast. The kugelhopf is more of an afternoon thing. For me anyway

Abyssinia

A brand new restaurant in town, they opened less than 3 weeks ago. Also the very first ethiopian restaurant in Strasbourg! It was closed when I passed it, but I will eat there ASAP, as I LOVE ethiopian food! Here is a link to give you an idea.
More Monday Murals here. On my photo, you might recognize the Negus, Haile Selassie, Lion of Juda, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Ethiopia, and Bob Marley, the lord of reggae.

Hurry up, human!

Can't you see my hungry eyes??? And don't forget to buy me food in that shop!

Weekend in black and white

Click here to see more b&w photos.

The tube

Not the London tube, just a trendy, and expensive, shoe shop

And back to Strasbourg!

After a week about Porto... We have very high water in the river, big parts of the region are flooded. You can't walk on the 'quais" at the moment, and believe me: swimming is not an option!!!

One of six...

One of the 6 bridges crossing the Douro river in Porto. Moody weather.

Proud peacocks! Or is it just one, with 2 heads???

A Monday Mural. Click here to see more murals.
Might be a Gandaberunda.

Ebb and flow

Natural patterns on a sandy beach

Aeroporto do Porto

Fancy and big international airport, the 3rd I'm flying to or from on mainland Portugal.
Check out the other B&W pics on Dragonstar's very excellent blog!

Take it easy...

...take the tram! Porto is extremely hilly, lots of up and downs, leg breaking. So, take it easy!

Matosinhos praia

A day at the beach! Praia=beach, in portuguese.
Click here to see more Weekend Reflections!

São Bento

Porto, day 2 1/2. Porto boasts the most wonderful train station... The exterior: nothing much to write home about. The interior, now that a whole other story! 20.000 azulejos tiles, not 2 the same.
More about it here.
Senhor, in the corner: SMILE!!!
And I wonder how many of the people visiting the station, actually take a train... I didn't today, but I did it before! ;-)

A bird's eye view on the Eiffel bridge

Hi folks, I'm in Porto, Portugal, home of the port wine!
Gustave Eiffel not only built a tower, but he was a bridge builder as well.  The Don Luis the 1st bridge, here in Porto.
I also decided to christen the seagull... He didn't fly away when I came with my camera, he seemed to want to be on the picture. So, birdie, I name you Gustave. Live long and prosper.

A monday mural

Off for a few days. I should be able to post. If not, see ya next weekend!
More Monday Murals here.

How much for that doggie in the window?

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie's for sale

I must take a trip to California
And leave my poor sweetheart alone
If he has a dog, he won't be lonesome
And the doggie will have a good home

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie's for sale

I read in the papers there are robbers
With flashlights that shine in the dark
My love needs a doggie to protect him
And scare them away with one bark

I don't want a bunny or a kitty
I don't want a parrot that talks
I don't want a bowl of little fishies
He can't take a goldfish for a walk

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie's for sale

Christmas???

The christmas lights are still on, even in my street! Makes the town shinier, warmer, which is a good thing in this bleak january weather.

Weekend in black and white

Not Strasbourg... But still easily reachable from here. A lady, seen in Venice last spring. Nice dress, signorina!

More black and white here.

Post 556, aka the hearty one

Seen on a wood pile this morning. Old toilet doors???

Slow mail

Post from the fishmonger only.

The new(est) bridge

After the road bridge, the train bridge, the pedestrian bridge: the tramway bridge. All of them across the Rhine River, and joining Strasbourg (pop. 277.000) to the german neighbor city of Kehl (pop.10.000). The tram bringing everyday about 10.000 shoppers, workers, tourists to Kehl, it gets really busy... A daily invasion. Why, will you ask? Cigarettes, tobacco, petrol, food are cheaper. And many other things are of better quality.
Me? I go there once a week, takes me half an hour.

A monday mural

Strange beasties indeed.
More Monday Murals here.

Doors

A pedestrian street in the city center was entirely redecorated by it's inhabitants last summer. 3 of the doors in that street.

Man in black

Spotted in Strasbourg!!!