Nordic Paradise

Imagine a vast mountain valley at an elevation of 8,700 feet. High hills draped with pine and aspen trees line its southern and western borders, the ridges and rugged peaks of the Continental Divide dominate the eastern horizon, and to the north lies the wide expanse of Colorado’s Middle Park. In this picturesque location in … Continue reading Nordic Paradise

Birding in Germany

It is a stroke of good fortune that my father’s residence is located a mere 3 miles from one of Germany’s 30 so-called “hotspots of natural variety”, islands of re-naturalized habitat wrested from the surrounding agricultural and industrial landscape. They are living proof that nature, given the opportunity, will reclaim its own. Since the regional … Continue reading Birding in Germany

The Year in Pictures

As the year is winding down, I am sharing a few more photos. They either show favorite places, or activities, and have not made it into my previous posts. I am trying to embrace the motto expressed on a historic clock in downtown Colorado Springs: Dum Vivimus Vivamus. While we live, let us live. I hope you … Continue reading The Year in Pictures

A Day in Speyer

For the first time in decades, while in Germany a month ago, I spend a day in Speyer, an easy one hour train ride from my father’s house. Only vague recollections of a former visit persisted in my memory, but as soon as I arrive at the Main City Gate (Altpörtel in German, literally: old … Continue reading A Day in Speyer

My Favorite Windows

Whenever I am in Germany a journey to Mainz is a personal necessity, for nostalgia’s sake, and always includes a few must sees. From my father’s house I travel about 22 miles by train, profiting from the expedient public transportation system, and disembark at the station named Römisches Theater, on account of the surviving ruins … Continue reading My Favorite Windows