Because it makes me happy

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I like photography because seeing what the camera captures makes me happy. For me, remembering what I see is much more important than the sounds or smell. There is just something about the visualization that rings a little truer than the other two categories.  Which gives me a strong connection to photography.

Speicherstadt (Original)

Speicherstadt (Original)

Speicherstadt (Cartoon)

Speicherstadt (Cartoon)

Speicherstadt (Pencil)

Speicherstadt (Pencil)

Recently several people have made some very positive comments about my photography. One person even suggested that maybe I should change my career path. I still have a lot to learn before I could consider myself a professional photographer. For now I will just consider myself the happy amateur photographer who takes an interesting picture every once in a while. I really appreciate the positive feedback. Especially when the images people like the most are those that I feel really captured the scene as I witnessed it.

Continuing with my Hamburg theme, I have inserted three images on the right from the Speicherstadt in Hamburg.  The first picture [Speicherstadt (Original)] shows the scene as I saw it at the moment. In many ways I like this form the best.  It gives a better perspective of the moment then the other images can.

The other two images are just fun takeoffs of the original. I felt like the sky in the original was a little to bland and detracted from the picture. My favorite of the two is the Pencil version.  It makes me think of some 1880′s black and white photograph. With some modern day cars and cranes thrown in.

To celebrate the positive feedback I have received, I decided to add a photography section to the website. There is a new category at the top of this page titled Photography.  There you can find a selection of my images from Flickr.  Enjoy!

Hamburg (Speicherstadt)

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Speicherstadt Walkway Stonework

Speicherstadt Walkway Stonework

I have truly enjoyed my limited experience with the city of Hamburg. Having lived most of my life in small town USA, big cities are not usually my favorite place to visit.  I like seeing forests, fields, wild animals and experiencing that relaxed lifestyle which comes with country living. Large, densely populated cities do not usually reflect simple country living.  Normally, when I think of a large city, I picture busy places filled with busy people.  And, Hamburg pretty much fits that image to a T.

Speicherstadt Canal

Speicherstadt Canal

Something that sets Hamburg (and Bremen) apart from most Midwestern cities in the USA is its harbor.  Hamburg has a long history of being connected with the outside world by ship.  No need for a history lesson here.  I think it is safe to assume there has probably been a harbor in Hamburg since the beginning.  One of my favorite highlights form this trip was the time we spent in the Speicherstadt (Warehouse District) section of Hamburg. The picture to the left (Speicherstadt Canal) shows one of the water canals stretching through this section of town.  Goods would be moved along the canal to be stored in these warehouses.  Spaced at intervals were cranes that connected with openings for each floor of the warehouse.

 

Speicherstadt Street View

Speicherstadt Street View

Between the buildings runs a street where products could be moved out of the warehouse and transferred into the city.  You can see an example of this in the picture on the right (Speicherstadt Street View).  Apparently, in more recent history these buildings were virtually abandoned until the city decided to convert them into apartments and storefront areas.  Not somewhere this country boy would want to live, but the historic value of the area make it a hard place to stay away from.

While walking through the Speicherstadt I had the opportunity to see a container ship leaving the port.  It is inspiring seeing something so massive moving through the water.  It made me wonder what the builders of these warehouses would think of modern transportation.  How far have we come from the days of wooden sailing ships, and how far humanity will have progressed by 2150.

Spargel a.k.a. Fat Asparagus

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Two weekends ago we did something very German.  We went on a bicycle trip to a restaurant to eat Spargel (a.k.a. fat asparagus).  I say it is very German because it seems like a popular thing to do, at least here in northern Germany.

Spagel on a plate (Source: Wikipedia)

Spagel on a plate (Source: Wikipedia)

For those of you who do not know, Spargel is the German word for asparagus.  Someone I know on Facebook was recently in Europe and found out about Spargel while visiting Germany.  Their wall status seemed to reflect a little disappointment when they found out it was just “fat asparagus”.  Yet, Germans seem to love the stuff.  So much so, you can find booths for it on street corners.  Similar to fireworks stands around the 4th of July.

Soon after arriving in Germany last year we went on a bicycle trip for Spargel.  There were around a dozen people riding 10-15 km to eat Spargel.  Being new in Germany, it was my first experience here with both Spargel and riding a bike that far.  I had a great time doing it and I was exited when Anni asked if I wanted to make another trip this year.  Especially since I can actually ride a bicycle this year and I had an idea of what I was getting into.

I think I enjoyed the trip even more this year because I knew what I was getting into.  I cannot say that about everything in Germany, or just generally about life.  Some things are just more exciting the first time they happen.  For me, events like meals and trips are usually better when I have an understanding of what is going to occur, or where I am going.  Plus, knowing what I was getting into left me excited about the possibility of going again.

I enjoyed the green asparagus I had growing up.  At least that is what my memory recalls. Probably, at the time I thought it was horrible.  Like almost all kids who hate to eat their vegetables.  A Spargel dinner here consists of several courses.  First comes a round of soup made from Spargel, than (for us) came several trips to a buffet table containing Spargel (of course), fried pork, two different types of ham, boiled potatoes, a sauce for the Spargel and a butter sauce for the potatoes.  I made several trips myself.  It was a great treat, especially with a beer to wash it down.  Afterward, they offered several desserts.  I picked a chocolate pudding which was great.

After dinner, all stuffed from eating and a little bit intoxicated from drinking, we rode our bikes back.  It was a great day overall.  I had a sore butt for the whole next week, but it was well worth it.  I am looking forward to next year.

The image of Spagel on a plate is used under creative commons rights and is sourced from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spargel_sauce_hollandaise.jpg

Bad Blogger

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Sadly, I have been very quiet around here lately.  I sat down a couple times to write entries, but no words seemed to flow forth.  I have been thinking about a lot of things though.  Like, how to write cover letters and resumes on top of my usual interest in web development and all things technical.  Unfortunately, most of that does not pertain to my life in Germany.  I guess finding a job is relevant, but is not really part of the theme I usually write toward on here.  Spring is in full swing though, and the itch to write has returned recently.  I have been winding through my thought in comparing several topics between Germany and the United States.  You will just have to stay tuned to find out.

One year later…

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This weeks marks the one year anniversary of my move to Germany.  To be honest the day almost passed by without me even realizing what it meant.  I even forgot to mention the event to anyone until the next day.  When I asked Anni if she remember the significance of yesterday, it took her several tries to come up with the answer.  Maybe we should have put more importance into the day, but so much has happened within the last year that frankly moving to Germany was just another day.  Yet it was also the beginning to something new.  So to celebrate I thought I would write about things which have become normal in my life:

Sales Tax

A Coca-Cola bottle

A Coca-Cola bottle

Almost everyone in the United States pays sales tax at some level.  While there are a few states without sales tax, you would be hard pressed to find someone who has not paid it at least once in their life.  Unlike in the United States, in Germany the sales taxes is combined with the price of the item you are buying.  For example, I bought a this Coca-Cola earlier today while I was walking through town.  The price was .95 cents which includes the Coke and the sales tax.

I find it very convenient this is combined into the sticker price.  You do not have to think about which town you are in and what their sales tax might be.  Or even worse, which store you are in and are they in a special tax district or not.  The simplified pricing makes it much easier to know what you are paying at the counter.

The only problem with this example is Coca-Cola comes in a plastic bottle.

Recycling

A bottle recycling symbol

A bottle recycling symbol

Germany has a great recycling program.  Every grocery store (that I have been to) has a plastic and glass bottle recycling center.  These machines sort the bottles depending on the type of material.  Bottles like my Coca-Cola are made from a softer plastic and get crushed by the machine.  As added encouragement to recycle, they also come with a .25 cent recycling deposit.  Which is a small catch to the simplified sales tax system.  That .95 cent Coca-Cola just became a Euro and 20 cents.  Not really a problem if you know about the program.  A year ago I was not aware the deposit existed and was confused the first couple of times I went to the store.  Fortunately that sensation quickly faded.

Trash Day

So trash is not exciting nor original, but it can be different.  We have four different types of trash which is collected on a rotating schedule.

  • Biological trash is collected every two weeks and can include anything, well, that is biological.  So from your banana peel to the weekly grass clippings.  Anything that is biodegradable.
  • Paper products form cardboard to confetti and everything in between.  Be prepared to wait before this is taken away.  In our area, they only collect the paper trash once a month.  Normally one of the weeks between bio-trash collections.
  • Plastic and metal recycling goes into a thin plastic yellow bag.  Probably my most ecologically appreciated portion of the trash service.  I have always hated mixing the metal and plastic trash with everything else.  Now, I can easily and conveniently dispose of it properly.  Also, picked up once a month.  So have some space in the basement to store these between collections.
  • and finally everything else gets put into a black trash can.  With the other three options this probably gets the least usage.  Which is good.

I jotted down a list of 10 more things I could write about, but these are three I encountered today.  I am sure in the coming years more and more will become an every day occurrence.  Like with everything, it just takes time.