(no subject)

[astridv]

The weather yesterday was gorgeous - clear and cold... you could downright believe it was winter. So I took my camera with me when I went rollerblading. I sometimes forget how pretty the Westphalian countryside can be:












(Taking the camere turned out to be a great idea, taking the rollerblades not so much... rollerblading in sub-zero temperatures leeches the warmth out of you like whoa. I was out there for just two and a half hours, but after I got back I just couldn't get warm again in spite of several cups of hot miso soup and hot showers. So basically for the rest of the day I sat snuggled to the heater, read fanfic, and watched tv. Not a productive day. But the tour itself was great.)

fanart rec:
This was just posted to sga_art_santa: And I Have Known

Really, really good. One of my favorite pieces of SGA fanart. I'm curious who did this... don't recognize the style. Anyway, all the stuff at Art Santa is really worth checking out. I wish I could've signed up for that exchange... at signup time I still thought I'd have this stupid deadline which now got postponed into June. wah.

Comments

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

Oh, these are beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing.

I really do want to visit Germany someday. Even though my German has completely atrophied.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

I hope you can visit some day. I'd love to play tour guide.

The German would come back soon as you got here, most likely. Languages are usually buried rather than gone. (Which reminds me that I haven't practiced Japanese in months... talking of atrophy...)

Beautiful

[atomicbear.livejournal.com]

Nice photos Astrid. They would be great material to do some watercolor paintings form. Is the water frozen?

Re: Beautiful

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Yay! you got an LJ! :O)

Yeah, it's frozen. The reason for my tour was to check out if the ice was already carrying. And indeed people were ice-skating. Alas, today it was thawing again, so much for that. Ice skating is a rare pleasure in our neck of the woods. I hope the temperature will drop again.

[sobelle.livejournal.com]

What beautiful pix! well framed, well captured! the bits of ice reflecting the light of a far distant star...

It's amazing to me that earth has such similarities even thousands of miles apart... that which would make a traveler far from the planet long to see again...

[astridv.livejournal.com]

The timing was lucky, I was passing the most beautiful spot just when the sun was setting.

[dovil.livejournal.com]

Fantastic photos - though I must admit it feels strange to see and hear about such coldness when I'm sweltering in a t-shirt with my feet in cold water. Wanna swap? :)

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Yeah I wanna swap! My personal comfort zone lies somewhere between 30 and 40°C! Not that I don't appreciate a crispy clear winter day, but this isn't really my favorite time of year.

[lakrids404.livejournal.com]

Nice ones. I can see that you some of the same fondness, of shooting against the light, in near light dusk. What camera do you use?. I have a point and click camera, but I do really like to go on photo-walks, and my camera is not really good landscapes i low lights.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

I had to go and look... I use a Canon Power Shot A300. Not a particularly good one, I guess, since it was one of the cheapest models when I got it a few years ago. Point and click, like you say. It does seem to have a problem getting a clear focus in low light, but otherwise it makes surprisingly good pictures.

Nice ones. I can see that you some of the same fondness, of shooting against the light, in near light dusk.

Yep. And the lighting conditions were *perfect*, I was just at the right spot at the right time.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I love the photos. What beautiful landscapes.

[mobile-alh.livejournal.com]

Lovely, lovely images. Thanks for posting them.

[whichwitch666.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous landscape. Great pics! Happy holidays :)

[tinny]

Oh, wonderful sunset light.

Those are much more beautiful than what we had here this week. I am fascinated by the frosted trees, but we weren't lucky enough to get sunshine at any time. *sniff* ;)

just two and a half hours

'JUST' two and a half hours? Meep. I was already frozen through after half an hour of pushing the stroller every day. ;)

[astridv.livejournal.com]

'JUST' two and a half hours? Meep. I was already frozen through after half an hour of pushing the stroller every day. ;)

Well, I thought the movement would be enough to keep me warm, and the first hour and a half was fine. But sweating really does a great job of cooling down the body, I learned. And it was only -4°C or something... I mean, that's nothing. I wonder what they do in those places where the temperature drops to -40°C! brrr.

[tinny]

I wonder what they do in those places where the temperature drops to -40°C! brrr.

Not go out at all.

I was in Minnesota for six months for an internship in the course of my studies. I only was there over the summer, which means I got there in March. It was around -20C outside and two meters of snow everywhere. The lake behind the house was frozen so you could drive a car across it.

If you aren't careful, your nose and ears freeze off at those temperatures, so everyone is totally unrecognizable in hats and furs and gloves. The only time my down jacket was really tested to its limits. :D

I was really glad when the lake thawed at the end of April. With Minnesota it's like with most areas in the US: totally unsuitable for living. ;)