Sleepless in Dresden

Its true....night is most fun when you are alone counting sheep ....
One sheep

Two sheep

and one again...a ha ha ha ..... (lightning and thunder)....I love to count .....

Found these fluffy things around the farming area near Stolphen on the way back.

Stoney in Saxony

Dragging my aching feet through a dark trail at 5pm leads me to a lookout over the edge .....

.....welcome to Saxon Switzerand - A national park famous for its funny shaped rocks towering over the Ebe river.

...some human figures for scaling.

...some of these small stones appeared to be placed there at the flat top mountains by some ancient humans....maybe they were.

Some more sexy folds and clefts.....

....all these just a short hike from the car park...and no crowds, at this side of the mountain anyway. Most of the folks were at the other side traversing the Bastei, a stone bridge linking a few of the flat topped mountains.

Its pretty cold today....19 degC at the car thermometer....I hardly broke sweat from the nice quiet walk. Not a bad way to spend the Sunday alone, and almost free, except for the 3 Euro parking fee.

Rolling hill of some kind of grain

Near the town of Rathan at the base of the Bastei are miles and miles of this crop which I do not know what except its certainly not wheat.
....here's a closeup of the crop, identify it if you can.
.....and here's my take of an impressionist's version of the scenery .....
....my impression is pretty myopic.

Cross Road

Under the wide and sunny sky
I roam with a gun and smile with a lie
I rob from the rich and the poor, who ever is easy
Save me for I have sinned....but it had been groovy.

Spreewald canoe trip

1hour drive from Dresden, Spreewald appears to be a peaceful place to spend an active weekend....

Its a UNESCO site due to its narrow waterwalls traversing the backyards of many homes and supposedly unique fauna which seemed to have successfully eluded me. Its also the land of the Sorbs and you can see them manning (and womanning) the shops and fruit stands in their traditional clothes.

So how you know they are the Sorbs and not Germans masquerading as one ?....hmm.....

You can also hire a bigger boat and have someone row it for you - which is what most of the older folks did. Actually, the whole place is full of older folks and they are having a rowdy sing song session at town hall....I am glad I found this quiet stretch to give my banana and carrot juice some undivided attention.

Alaunstrasse Crawler

Another dreary weekend....everyone has gone somewhere.....except one. So dragged him to Alaunstrasse to check out. Park the car opposite this record shop with an old TV box....its one of the free parking areas here.
The interesting part about Dresden is that you can always find some free parking space somewhere in the city....which I cannot say the same for NYC or Singapore.

A punkish pink-haired girl walked by...."no photos"she says.....but the waiter from Al Capone shouted across for my attention and I gamely obliged....hmm can't see his face though. Too bad.

Alaunstrasse is quitely pleasing in the evening....especially on a cool windy summer evening like this ...

....its nice to hide under the warm glow of incandescent lamp and watch the scene unfolds. At the Jim Beans, he wasted no time to pollute the air prior to the arrival of our Great American ribs. Note of caution though, most pubs, eateries and apartments here do not have no aircon so if the temperature hits 30s, it will be sauna.

We will have to come back again to check out the Blue Note Bar when the band is playing....

Countryside

Make hay

Saw this while driving back from work.

Make hay while the sun shines they say....effectively cutting short the life of an already short-lived plant. Hopefully there's enough seeds or rhizomes left in the soil ....of course there is you nitwit.

And here's another short lived plant. The sad bastard's already past its prime.

Grape land

So the euphoria of the World Cup is over.....what's next ?

Here in Radebeul, other than watching paint dries, perhaps we can watch the grapes ripen, which I reckon should be pretty soon...

Wine business is big here and wineries are everywhere. This hill behind the hotel is full of terraced vineyards.

Up on the hill, the Spithause restaurant overlook the whole area.

Another vineyard plus restaurant at a road junction.

...yet another one alongside the wall.

After some recce, I chanced upon this stairway t0 heaven.

Still panting from the climb .....puff puff ....

At the Spithaus, you can opt for casual (that means cheap) dining outside or fine dining inside the scorching interior (its 35 degree celcius sans air-con). I opted for the casual al-fresco under the umbrella ....which incidentally offered a better view too.

Cooler inside....

When its 37 degree celcius under the scorching sun, there's always a cool place to hide...the church, its like its air-coned, easily a few degrees cooler thanks to clever architectural design rather than electricity. And it comes with cool calming organ music too .... the giant organ pipes are at the background...and totally free...no wonder one can steal a smile or two .....

Religion...try it, its cool.

Let's Go Görlitz

A well preserved German town just 1 hour drive from Dresden at the Polish border.Many buildings here eg the Peter and Paul Church (see the twin towers below) is close to 1000 years old.

View from top of a museum which charges 1.50 Euro.

Across the river is Poland, where new (and not so pretty) high rise develpments are springing up.

View from the restaurant at thePolish town across the river. The waitresses here are all young and pretty and prices are very good, for the food I mean.....I had a halibut fillet (about 200g) w/ fries, orange juice, ice coffee and ice cream desert for 11 Euro.

Looking into Poland and what do we see ? Its party time !!!

Artisan

Utermarkt

Neptune lost in translation

Stranger in a dark alley.

Tower view.

The Blues Bothers

A wedding, a wedding.......lets weep.

Staircase to eternal blisses...and hisses.

Another wedding....is this an auspicious day or a wedding planner is giving discount ?

Bridesmaid in the shadows....

The art of profound concentration.