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The flower in Petite Venise are an important part of the pretty old town. A real gem.

Die Blumenpracht in Petite Venise ist ein bedeutender Teil der bunten Altstadt. Ein wahres Kleinod.

My city - Lodz, Poland. The main hall of the Łódź-Fabryczna station. A place that is both historic and modern.

This was once an important building.

 

Wiki says:

The Frimmersdorf power plant is a lignite power plant in the city of Grevenbroich. In the meantime it was one of the largest lignite power plants in Germany and in the early 1970s the largest in the world. It is located directly at the Garzweiler opencast mine in the Rhenish lignite mining area and originally had 16 power plant blocks. The power plant site extends over a large area.

 

Currently, there are still two 300 MW units in the German security standby. The various shutdowns of the two units are scheduled for October 1, 2021

  

IMPORTANT BUILDING is the topic for TUESday 12th January 2021 Group Our Daily Challenge

Important to know: Iguanas are capable of severely injuring people, other animals and themselves when their body language messages are not recognized. Most iguanas clearly sign that trouble is ahead. They nod their head and wave their dewlap side to side.

 

The dewlap is a fold of loose skin hanging from the neck or throat of an animal, like a cow. Iguanas use their dewlap to communicate. First, an extended dewlap can simply be a greeting. An extended dewlap is often used to say hello to another creature during mating and most generally as a territorial sign. Second, it can be a form of protection. A threatened iguana may extend its dewlap to intimidate a predator into thinking it is much larger than it is. Third, an extended dewlap may be a sign that the iguana is trying to adjust its temperature. An extended dewlap on an iguana basking in the sun is quite normal. It may be catching sun to warm up or catching a breeze to cool off. So it's important to consider "the big picture" when reading an Iguana's body language.

 

Parts of an iguana... www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Up3IVbC...

 

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL

www.susanfordcollins.com

 

© Important notice: do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.

© All rights reserved.

 

to be left to the politicians :-)

Chester Bowles

 

HBW!! Climate Change Matters! Resist the Orange Clown Prince!!

 

echinacea, coneflower, 'Sombrero Adobe Orange', j c raulston arboreum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina

Soller — The #Mallorca Series. Two weeks on the island with beautiful light, and architecture, wonderful nature and interesting people-Tourists as Inhabitants. Some Scenes need colors, some need black and white. 😊

It doesn't matter who you are,

man, woman,

old or child,

worker or farmer,

soldier, student or merchant;

it doesn't matter what your political beliefs are

or the religious one

if they ask you what the thing is

most important for humanity,

Answers

Before

After

Always:

Peace!

 

Non importa chi tu sia,

uomo, donna,

vecchio o fanciullo,

operaio o contadino,

soldato, studente o commerciante;

non importa quale sia il tuo credo politico

o quello religioso

se ti chiedono qual è la cosa

più importante per l’umanità,

rispondi

prima

dopo

sempre:

La pace!

 

Li Tien Min

 

 

DSC_1961

With the new "Sassy" notebook from my friend Emi @ E.Marie ♥ Pick it up in her mainstore. :)

 

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Go/90/79/33

 

Unryu-zu (Dragon in Clouds) (Kennin-ji Temple, Kyoto) Important Cultural Property, Entrusted to Kyoto National Museam

Mameda Town and its surroundings, which developed as a townspeople's land during the Tenryo period, retained a lot of land division at the time of residence, and traditional buildings remain well as a group, so the range of about 10.7 hectares was selected as a national important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings on December 10, 2004.

Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Pisogne

 

Whytecliff Park is located in a beautiful corner of Howe Sound with a rugged coastline and spectacular views of colourful mountains and passing boats.

 

Precarious stepping stones lead the brave out to explore the little stone island. It's so important to keep an eye on the tide, as many people have been stranded out on the Islet. When the tide rolls back in, the water level rises and the stone path leading out becomes submerged under the ocean.

As per, the indicating water line that surrounds the base.

A variety of trees and other plants grow out of the rocky surface.

  

West Vancouver, British Columbia,

Canada

 

Online information as follows.......

 

Coordinates:

49.374005°N 123.288832°W

15.63 hectares (0.1563 km2; 0.0603 sq mi)

Operated by:

District of West Vancouver

Status:

Open all year

 

Whytecliff Park is located near West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay Neighbourhood, the original name of which was White Cliff City, which opened in 1909. In 1914, Colonel Albert Whyte pressed for the spelling change from White Cliff City to Whytecliff. The Whytecliff area is now distinct from Horseshoe Bay. The park, originally Rockcliffe Park, was developed by W.W. Boultbee in 1926, and a private access road was cut from the Marine Drive highway at Batchelor Bay.

The fifty acre Boultbee estate was purchased by the Union Steamship Company in 1939 and the company operated a Bowen Island Ferry from Whytecliff during 1939-41 and 1946-1952

The park is currently home to more than 200 marine animal species and is the first Marine Protected Area in Canada. Sea lions can be seen sunbathing on the beach during summer.

Wikipedia

 

I truly appreciate your kind words and would like to thank-you all, for your overwhelming support.

~Christie

 

**Best experienced in full screen

Market Street is an important thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. It begins at The Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building at the northeastern edge of the city and runs southwest through downtown, passing the Civic Center and the Castro District, to the intersection with Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. Beyond this point, the roadway continues as Portola Drive into the southwestern quadrant of San Francisco. Portola Drive extends south to the intersection of St. Francis Boulevard and Sloat Boulevard, where it continues as Junipero Serra Boulevard.

 

Market Street is the boundary of two street grids. Streets on its southeast side are parallel or perpendicular to Market Street, while those on the northwest are nine degrees off from the cardinal directions.

 

Market Street is a major transit artery for the city of San Francisco, and has carried in turn horse-drawn streetcars, cable cars, electric streetcars, electric trolleybuses, and diesel buses. Today Muni's buses, trolleybuses, and heritage streetcars (on the F Market line) share the street, while below the street the two-level Market Street Subway carries Muni Metro and BART. While cable cars no longer operate on Market Street, the surviving cable car lines terminate to the side of the street at its intersections with California Street and Powell Street.

 

Construction

 

Market Street cuts across the city for three miles (5 km) from the waterfront to the hills of Twin Peaks. It was laid out originally by Jasper O'Farrell, a 26-year old trained civil engineer who emigrated to Yerba Buena, as the town was then known. The town was renamed San Francisco in 1847 after it was captured by Americans during the Mexican-American War. O'Farrell first repaired the original layout of the settlement around Portsmouth Square and then established Market Street as the widest street in town, 120 feet between property lines. (Van Ness now beats it with 125 feet.) It was described at the time as an arrow aimed straight at "Los Pechos de la Chola" (the Breasts of the Maiden), now called Twin Peaks. Writing in Forgotten Pioneers.

can't remember seeing jet fighters in the sky here in Germany for decades ... in these times, important aircraft are now accompanied by four fighter jets ...

 

Aircraft Condensation Strips ...

 

_MG_9958_pa2

Even I have to be reminded of this sort of fact from time to time. Especially when depression takes hold and refuses to let go.

Someone out there, has, to feel better that I exist.

An uninhabited island in the Strait of Magellan in southern Chile. An important breeding area for the Magellanic penguin.

It is one of the spectacled penguins (Spheniscus) in the south of South America.

Its name comes from the fact that it occurs on the coasts of the “Terra Magellanica”, the Patagonian region.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eine unbewohnte Insel in der Magellanstraße im Süden Chiles. Ein wichtiges Brutgebiet für den Magellanpinguin.

Er gehört zu den Brillenpinguinen (Spheniscus), im Süden Südamerikas.

Sein Name da er an den Küsten der „Terra Magellanica“ vorkommt, dem Gebiet Patagoniens.

Of all the things you wear, ATTITUDE is the most important.

El Sukiennice (« Llotja de teixits ») és un dels monuments històrics més emblemàtics de la ciutat de Cracòvia. Aquesta imponent llotja comercial de dos pisos, aixecada el segle xiii i després adaptada a l'època del Renaixement, ocupa el lloc central de la gran Plaça del Mercat i forma part del Patrimoni de la Humanitat de la UNESCO.[1]

 

A la planta baixa, la Llotja acull avui comerços d'artesania, mentre que el primer pis acull la Galeria d'art polonès del segle xix, una filial del Museu nacional de Cracòvia amb la més important col·lecció d'obres poloneses del món. Entre elles, la famosa tela Les Torxes de Neró, oferta a l'obertura del museu pel seu pintor, Henryk Siemiradzki i el quadre gegant Homenatge prussià de Jan Matejko.

 

Història

Posicionada segons l'eix nord-sud de la plaça, amb les seves façanes oest i est simètriques respecte als eixos de les entrades, la Llotja de teixits de Cracòvia reuneix elements arquitectònics d'èpoques molt diferents, i constitueix una síntesi global de l'arquitectura de la ciutat.

 

El nom Sukiennice ve de la paraula polonesa sukno que vol dir teixit, roba. En efecte, els drapers disposaven les seves parades al centre de la plaça del Mercat per a la venda a l'engròs de teixits.

 

La primera llotja, aixecada al segle xiii, després de la concessió a la ciutat d'una carta de Drets de Magdeburg, es limitava a dues fileres de botigues de pedra que formaven un carrer al mig de la Plaça del Mercat. El comerç als Sukiennice era una font important d'ingressos per a la ciutat: segons el privilegi reial, els venedors vinguts de l'exterior només podien vendre la seva pròpia mercaderia, i només en aquest lloc.

 

L'any 1358, el Casimir III fa construir el primer edifici de 100 m de longitud amb dos portals ogivals situats al centre de les façanes principals. Després d'un incendi que va consumir l'edifici l'any 1555, es va cridar als italians que havien vingut amb la reina Bona Sforza (esposa italiana del rei Segimon el Vell). La Llotja de teixits renovada a l'estil Renaixement llavors es va dotar d'un àtic decorat amb una cresta amb gàrgoles, estilitzades amb caps humans, realitzades probablement segons els projectes de Santi Gucci. Giovanni Maria Mosca divideix l'edifici en dos pisos i està connectat per escales cobertes per lògies situats sobre els costats més curts.

 

Els últims treballs importants són duts a terme al segle xix per Tomasz Prylińeski. L'arquitecte transforma la llotja a la planta baixa, instal·lant-hi al llarg dels murs botigues de fusta. El sostre serà adornat més tard amb l'escut de les ciutats poloneses, els emblemes dels gremis i els segells. Prylińeski afegeix també arcades neogòtiques de pedra per tal de donar l'elegància a l'edifici,[1] així com dels mascarons representant caricatures dels presidents de l'època de la ciutat de Cracòvia, realitzats segons un dibuix de Jan Matejko. La llotja superior és adaptada a les necessitats del museu.

  

The Kraków Cloth Hall (Polish: Sukiennice, pronounced [sukʲɛˈɲːit͡sɛ]), in Lesser Poland, dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (the historic center of Kraków), which since 1978 has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

t was once a major centre of international trade. Travelling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk, leather and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles, lead, and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

 

In the immediate vicinity of the hall, the Great Weigh House and the Small Weigh House existed until the 19th century. Other, similar cloth halls have existed in other Polish as well as other European cities such as in Ypres, Belgium; Braunschweig, and in Leeds, EnglandKraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in Europe already from before the time of the Renaissance. However, its decline started with the move of the capital to Warsaw at the end of the 16th century. The city's decline was hastened by wars and politics leading to the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century. By the time of the architectural restoration proposed for the cloth hall in 1870 under Austrian rule, much of the historic city center was decrepit. A change in political and economic fortunes for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ushered in a revival due to newly established Legislative Assembly or Sejm of the Land. The successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on a design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period.[1]

 

The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, and Emperor Akihito of Japan, who was welcomed here in 2002. In the past, balls were held here, most notably after Prince Józef Poniatowski had briefly liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. Aside from its history and cultural value, the hall is still used as a center of commerce.

History

  

1 Corinthians 3:7 “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”

The forest edge fulfills an important role as a boundary. It serves as the interface between an open landscape—cultivated meadows, fields, or open land—and the mysterious, sometimes impenetrable thicket. The first row of trees plays a crucial role. Often shaped by wind, weather, rain, or struck by lightning, these character trees provide photographers with opportunities to highlight their unique features, often in contrast to their surroundings. In this particular shot, I am especially drawn to the deeply grooved bark of the mighty pine, which stands out as a distinctive element in the landscape.

IMPORTANT: for non-pro users who read the info on a computer, just enlarge your screen to 120% (or more), then the full text will appear below the photo with a white background - which makes reading so much easier.

The color version of the photo above is here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:

So far there's only been one photo in my gallery that hasn't been taken in my garden ('The Flame Rider', captured in the Maggia Valley: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/53563448847/in/datepo... ) - which makes the image above the second time I've "strayed from the path" (although not very far, since the photo was taken only approximately 500 meters from my house).

 

Overall, I'll stick to my "only-garden rule", but every once in a while I'll show you a little bit of the landscape around my village, because I think it will give you a better sense of just how fascinating this region is, and also of its history.

 

The title I chose for the photo may seem cheesy, and it's certainly not very original, but I couldn't think of another one, because it's an honest reflection of what I felt when I took it: a profound sense of peace - although if you make it to the end of this text you'll realize my relationship with that word is a bit more complicated.

 

I got up early that day; it was a beautiful spring morning, and there was still a bit of mist in the valley below my village which I hoped would make for a few nice mood shots, so I quickly grabbed my camera and went down there before the rising sun could dissolve the magical layer on the scenery.

 

Most human activity hadn't started yet, and I was engulfed in the sounds of the forest as I was walking the narrow trail along the horse pasture; it seemed every little creature around me wanted to make its presence known to potential mates (or rivals) in a myriad of sounds and voices and noises (in case you're interested, here's a taste of what I usually wake up to in spring, but you best use headphones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoCTqdAVCE )

 

Strolling through such an idyllic landscape next to grazing horses and surrounded by birdsong and beautiful trees, I guess it's kind of obvious one would feel the way I described above and choose the title I did, but as I looked at the old stone buildings - the cattle shelter you can see in the foreground and the stable further up ahead on the right - I also realized how fortunate I was.

 

It's hard to imagine now, because Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world today, but the men and women who had carried these stones and constructed the walls of these buildings were among the poorest in Europe. The hardships the people in some of the remote and little developed valleys in Ticino endured only a few generations ago are unimaginable to most folks living in my country today.

 

It wasn't uncommon that people had to sell their own kids as child slaves - the girls had to work in factories or in rice fields, the boys as "living chimney brushes" in northern Italy - just because there wasn't enough food to support the whole family through the harsh Ticino winters.

 

If you wonder why contemporary Swiss historians speak of "slaves" as opposed to child laborers, it's because that's what many of them actually were: auctioned off for a negotiable prize at the local market, once sold, these kids were not payed and in many cases not even fed by their masters (they had to beg for food in the streets or steal it).

 

Translated from German Wikipedia: ...The Piazza grande in Locarno, where the Locarno Film Festival is held today, was one of the places where orphans, foundlings and children from poor families were auctioned off. The boys were sold as chimney sweeps, the girls ended up in the textile industry, in tobacco processing in Brissago or in the rice fields of Novara, which was also extremely hard work: the girls had to stand bent over in the water for twelve to fourteen hours in all weathers. The last verse of the Italian folk song 'Amore mio non piangere' reads: “Mamma, papà, non piangere, se sono consumata, è stata la risaia che mi ha rovinata” (Mom, dad, don't cry when I'm used up, it was the rice field that destroyed me.)... de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaminfegerkinder

 

The conditions for the chimney sweeps - usually boys between the age of 8 and 12 (or younger, because they had to be small enough to be able to crawl into the chimneys) - were so catastrophic that many of them didn't survive; they died of starvation, cold or soot in their lungs - as well as of work-related accidents like breaking their necks when they fell, or suffocatig if they got stuck in inside a chimney. This practice of "child slavery" went on as late as the 1950s (there's a very short article in English on the topic here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spazzacamini and a more in depth account for German speakers in this brief clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gda8vZp_zsc ).

 

Now I don't know if the people who built the old stone houses along my path had to sell any of their kids, but looking at the remnants of their (not so distant) era I felt an immense sense of gratitude that I was born at a time of prosperity - and peace - in my region, my country and my home. Because none of it was my doing: it was simple luck that decided when and where I came into this world.

 

It also made me think of my own family. Both of my grandparents on my father's side grew up in Ticino (they were both born in 1900), but while they eventually left Switzerland's poorest region to live in its richest, the Kanton of Zurich, my grandfather's parents relocated to northern Italy in the 1920s and unfortunately were still there when WWII broke out.

 

They lost everything during the war, and it was their youngest daughter - whom I only knew as "Zia" which means "aunt" in Italian - who earned a little money to support herself and my great-grandparents by giving piano lessons to high-ranking Nazi officers and their kids (this was towards the end of the war when German forces had occupied Italy).

 

I never knew that about her; Zia only very rarely spoke of the war, but one time when I visited her when she was already over a 100 years old (she died at close to 104), I asked her how they had managed to survive, and she told me that she went to the local prefecture nearly every day to teach piano. "And on the way there would be the dangling ones" she said, with a shudder.

 

I didn't get what she meant, so she explained. Visiting the city center where the high ranking military resided meant she had to walk underneath the executed men and women who were hanging from the lantern posts along the road (these executions - often of civilians - were the Germans' retaliations for attacks by the Italian partisans).

 

I never forgot her words - nor could I shake the look on her face as she re-lived this memory. And I still can't grasp it; my house in Ticino is only 60 meters from the Italian border, and the idea that there was a brutal war going on three houses down the road from where I live now in Zia's lifetime strikes me as completely surreal.

 

So, back to my title for the photo above. "Peace". It's such a simple, short word, isn't it? And we use it - or its cousin "peaceful" - quite often when we mean nice and quiet or stress-free. But if I'm honest I don't think I know what it means. My grandaunt Zia did, but I can't know. And I honestly hope I never will.

 

I'm sorry I led you down such a dark road; I usually intend to make people smile with the anecdotes that go with my photos, but this one demanded a different approach (I guess with this latest image I've strayed from the path in more than one sense, and I hope you'll forgive me).

 

Ticino today is the region with the second highest average life expectancy in Europe (85.2 years), and "The Human Development Index" of 0.961 in 2021 was one of the highest found anywhere in the world, and northern Italy isn't far behind. But my neighbors, many of whom are now in their 90s, remember well it wasn't always so.

 

That a region so poor it must have felt like purgatory to many of its inhabitants could turn into something as close to paradise on Earth as I can imagine in a person's lifetime should make us all very hopeful. But, and this is the sad part, it also works the other way 'round. And I believe we'd do well to remember that, too.

 

To all of you - with my usual tardiness but from the bottom of my heart - a happy, healthy, hopeful 2025 and beyond.

© Important notice: do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.

© All rights reserved.

Windows are an important part of street photography for me. On the one hand, there are the interesting reflections, but also the confusion that sometimes arises and has to be resolved first. I love it. I would be delighted if you would take a look at the pictures in my album. Only if you feel like it, of course :-) Best regards MarioM.

 

Fenster sind für mich in der Streetphotographie ein wichtiger Bestandteil. Zum einen sind da die interessanten Spiegelungen aber auch Verwirrungen, die es manchmal gibt und die erst einmal aufgelöst werden muss. I liebe es. Es würde mich freuen, wenn du dir die Bilder in meinem Album ansehen würdest. Natürlich nur wenn du Lust hast :-) Liebe Grüsse MarioM.

Important

"It's important to keep your feelings and your self-worth in different places because when feelings get hurt it shouldn't change how you view yourself." - Kaci Diane

.... and no, you can't have any of my fries.

L'importante, non e' quello che trovi alla fine della corsa........

L'importante e' quello che trovi mentre corri

 

The important thing is not what you find at the end of the race ........

The important thing is what you find while running

 

Újezd is an important traffic junction as it serves both automotive and tramway traffic. Here you will also find the funicular to the famous Petřín Hill and many cool pubs and bars that are worth a visit. More importantly, there is a memorial to the victims of Communism located at the base of Petřín Hill - it is a rather disturbing series of statues dedicated to the victims of the Communist era between 1948-1989.

 

www.welcometoprague.eu/ujezd

A Northern Parula adopts a haughty attitude.

© Important notice: Do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.

© All rights reserved.

  

Saint Louis des Invalides– Eglise du dôme - Paris 7°

 

LARGE ON BLACK

 

Mille mercis à mon adorable ami Guyscoop qui a gentiment et magnifiquement post-traité ma petite photo. On forme une association fructueuse, Guy, tu ne trouves pas ? ;-))

J’essaie de répondre à tous les commentaires que j’ai reçus depuis deux mois et de visiter les streams de mes amis. Ca va prendre « un peu » (lol) de temps et j’espère que vous comprendrez :-)

  

Thousands of thanks to my sweet friend Guyscoop who kindly and greatly processed my little shot. We have a very fruitful partnership Guy, don’t you think so ;-))

I’m now trying to answer all the comments I received since two months, and to visit my friends streams. It will take a “little” (lol) time and I hope you’ll understand :-)

 

I do the chopping and my daughter does the phone....

The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible.

That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit.

 

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  

View in Large On Black

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014

IMPORTANT:

© All rights reserved

© Derechos Reservados

© TUTTI I DIRITTI RISERVATI

Please dont use my images without my permission.

 

One of the most important Baroque pilgrimage churches in Germany is the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen in Bad Staffelstein, Upper Franconia.

Construction of the church began in 1743, but wasn't completed until 1772.

The planning process until construction could finally begin was confusing and complicated.

The origins of the pilgrimage lie in the Middle Ages: in 1445, the shepherd of the monastery (Langheim Monastery) saw a crying child in a field, which disappeared as he approached. This child appeared to the shepherd three times, and on July 2, 1446, he and a woman witnessed two burning candles descending from heaven at this spot. Shortly thereafter, a miraculous healing occurred at exactly the same spot. The miraculous healing was then recognized by the nearby Langheim Monastery (this monastery no longer exists). A pilgrimage quickly gained momentum, and the first church was built. A pilgrimage brings in revenue, and, as so often happens, a dispute erupts over this revenue. The dispute was between Langheim Monastery and Staffelstein, which was the responsible parish. An arbitration court ruled that the church and the offerings should remain in Langheim, but that a third of the revenue must be paid to the Bishop of Bamberg. In return, the bishop must bear a share of the construction costs, provided he knows the plans and agrees. In other words, no construction can take place without the bishop's consent.

In 1693, the Bishop of Bamberg demanded the third of the pilgrimage revenue he was entitled to from Langheim Monastery. The abbot countered by reminding the bishop that the diocese had long since failed to fulfill its proportional construction obligations, and he presented the bishop with an expert opinion on the necessity of a new building. The dispute fizzled out; the diocese was not expected to pay.

The planning confusion began. The protagonists were the Abbot of Langheim, Stephan Mösinger, and Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn. They now negotiate who will pay what. The bishop succeeds in getting Langheim Abbey to bear the costs alone, but in return the pilgrimage fees are reduced. However, the building plans still have to be signed off by the bishop.

Since his abbey now has to bear the costs, the abbot wants to keep them as low as possible. He commissions the Weimar court architect Gottfried Heinrich Krohne to redesign the church. Krohne, himself a Protestant, has no sympathy for a rural pilgrimage. This is reflected in his plans. The bishop rejects Krohne's plans. The plans for the pilgrimage church are abandoned. The abbot turns to the redesign and construction of the monastery church. He hires Balthasar Neumann for this task. His plans for the new monastery church overshadow all other Baroque church plans. The project is abandoned, and the abbot has to turn his attention back to Vierzehnheiligen. In the meantime, the bishop has commissioned his court architect, Jakob Michael Küchel, to design the pilgrimage church. However, the bishop rejects these plans, deeming them too expensive. At the same time, the abbot commissioned Balthasar Neumann to draw up plans. These plans were approved, but secretly the abbot wanted to forgo the brick vaults for cost reasons. The abbot's master builder Krohne was to begin construction based on Neumann's plans, but as a cost-effective version. On April 23, 1743, the foundation stone was laid, and by December the walls in the choir and transept area were three meters high. Becoming suspicious, the bishop sent Balthasar Neumann and Küchel to Vierzehnheiligen for an inspection. Neumann was shocked; Krohne deviated significantly from Neumann's plans, surely on the abbot's instructions. The bishop blamed Krohne solely, and the abbot dismissed the master builder. Bamberg now took control, and the road was clear for Neumann. And Neumann now showed why he was one of the leading Baroque architects; he was at his best. In 1744, he presented his plans for the new building, incorporating the walls that had already been built. He completely redesigned the building, with the vault being the greatest challenge. Neumann died in 1753 and did not live to see its completion. His master mason, Thomas Nissler, continued the work in Neumann's spirit. The church was consecrated in 1772.

What would Vierzehnheiligen be without its fantastic stucco decorations and frescoes (unfortunately, since a fire caused by lightning in 1835, water damage because the temporary roof was built too late, and whitewashing in the late 19th century, the frescoes have suffered greatly today).

Johann Michael Feichtmayr and his workshop, together with Johann Georg Üblhör, all masters of their craft, were responsible for the magnificent stucco and the freestanding altar of grace. Feichtmayr also designed the high altar.

Pyrmont Bridge is an important historic and architectural landmark in Sydney, recognized for its innovative engineering and contribution to the city's transport infrastructure. Today, the bridge is used primarily by pedestrians and cyclists, providing a scenic route across Darling Harbour and easy access from the suburb of Pyrmont to the central city.

To go out of your mind once a day is tremendously important, because by going out of your mind you come to your senses.

 

-- Alan Watts

... because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

(Thich Nhat Hanh)

 

Came across this beautiful flowering bauhinia tree on my daily neighbourhood walk. It's apparently also called Hong Kong orchid tree.

 

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A spectacular air show upon the arrival of the snow geese in Sacramento, California. Their annual migration dates back for thousands of years as they fly from as far as the Arctic along the Pacific Flyway to warmer places as far as Mexico. Sacramento, plays an important role for a stopover for these birds, to rest their exhausted wings and to feed on the rice field for a few days. I was lucky to be right the time and place to capture this intimate moment of their arrival.

I still want to find the joy in the small and large things in life. I don't want to stop being myself, laughing, listening to music, drawing.....loving cats and coffee...it's the small things that lead to big happiness.

 

This current terror is holding me hostage. I'm forgetting simple things and I am having more middle of the night panic attacks. And, at the same time, I am still very privileged and I just have to remember that looking for relief in every day moments is a sign of that whereas others are just struggling to survive.

 

I feel like I don't have the right to be depressed but I still can't help it. It's a horrible place to be. And, I want to be hopeful and not helpless but I feel like all the magic and wonder has been extinguished from this world these days. I miss my old self, the old reality...before I saw things for what they really were and felt gravely disappointed in people.

 

Just an honest ramble. I still think art is important but I have to work to engage and not just completely disappear like a whisper in the night that you hear from a ghost.

 

**All photos are copyrighted**

   

Somewhere in the rose garden - Balboa Park

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