Spectacular Coastal Sunsets from Three Continents

Hi there,

I have always been intrigued by the rich color of evening sunlight along the coast. The following four images depict different qualities of light ranging from silver or gold to the orange blending with white of a burning furnace.

The North Sea, Belgium

Sunset near Newport, Oregon

Hi there,

I have periodically visited the Oregon Coast since the 1980s, and I have always enjoyed driving along the coast or hiking to remote beaches throughout the year. Summer of course is the most busy season, with numerous motor homes and families, but still the beaches are nowhere near as crowded as resort areas in California, the East Coast, or Europe. Winter can be cold, with heavy rain, strong gales, and brisk storms pounding the beach, but the climate is temperate and snow is quite rare. Spring and autumn are a good mix of warm breezy days and cool damp weather, but without as much traffic along Highway 101. The mist covered waves, the tall cliffs next to the beach, flashing lighthouses in stormy weather, and diverse wildlife ranging from sea anemones to migrating whales are what make the Oregon Coast such a spectacular place year around. 

Sunset in Newport

Winter in Herrenberg

Originally posted on 26 January, 2013, while we were still living in Herrenberg (near Stuttgart), Germany.

In the dead of winter during the weeks before Fasching (a German regional version of Carnival), Herrenberg is often really cold.   This small city on the outskirts of Stuttgart is usually covered with a moderate blanket of snow from December until February, so that the fields surrounding the town are frozen, much to the delight of cross country skiers and children who take to their sleds.

On a typical late January morning,  snow and ice cover the streets, sidewalks, and fields of Herrenberg while birds swoop down from trees to peck at frozen apples that have been left in the crusty snow.  Walking along paths or cobblestone streets can be quite treacherous on these mornings. 

                                        

Herrenberg In Winter

A Definition of the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages conveys images of heavily armed knights jousting, minstrels playing instruments in a noble court, tall castles with thick walls, Gothic cathedrals with lofty ceilings soaring high above the nave, peaceful monasteries echoing with polyphonic chant, wheat fields attended by poorly clad peasants armed with scythes, and crowded city streets where narrow timber framed buildings almost lean against each other.  Important rituals involved visual, audible and olfactory elements, like the mass with colorful vestments, ringing bells, plainchant, and incense. 

Herr Kristan von Hamle is raised by his lover (Codex Manesse, Early 14th Century, Heidelberg)

Christmas Lights and Winter Magic

Christmas lights and decorations have always fascinated me, whether it be candles illuminating a wooden nativity scene or the latest LED lights on a Christmas tree. When I was in Spokane for a few days earlier this month, the Davenport Hotel's Christmas Tree Elegance displayed twelve exquisitely decorated trees with different themes; one featured old clocks while another had a Venetian theme with masks, while a third featured pieces of music intertwined with Christmas lights.  The lobby of the hotel was also covered with bows and was dominated by a huge tree. Other parts of downtown Spokane were decorated for Christmas, including the Macy's stain glass window. A huge Christmas tree in the Rivepark Square stood next to the long line of kids waiting to see Santa Clause.  Riverfront Park had a display of lights that depicted safari animals, trains, and other typical Christmas characters. I didn't see anything quite like the window display at the Crescent from when I was a child, but nonetheless there were plenty of decorations. Also, two giant brick smoke stacks of a now defunct steam plant built during the height of the industrial era shimmered with green and red light.

Cycling Along the Dender in Belgium

Old Stone Chapel near Geraardsbergen

One of my favorite activities is to ride a bicycle along the Dender River in Belgium, following a paved tow path. The Dender River flows through central Belgium, passing through parts of Hainaut, East Flanders, and Flemish Brabant before it joins the Scheldt at Dendermonde.  That much larger river then flows through Antwerp until it enters the North Sea in the Netherlands. The Dender River begins as two different forks in Hainaut; the Western Dender near Leuze-en-Hainaut and the Eastern Dender near the town of Jurbise. These rather small rivers converge at the town Ath, a historic cultural center known for its giants and its Gallo-Roman origins. From there the Dender flows north, passing under the high speed TGV and Eurostar line as it gently flows through the rolling plains and forests of Hainaut and East Flanders, passing through Lessines (Lessen), Geraardsbergen (Grammont), Ninove, and Aalst before it flows into the Scheldt at the town of Dendermonde.  The Dender River is navigable from Ath to Dendermonde, although much of the traffic above Aalst is largely recreational.

The Dover - Calais Ferry

In 2014 we drove from Flemish Brabant in Belgium to Canterbury in Great Britain, via Calais and the P&O Ferry service. The first couple hours of the trip were not so spectacular, just the normal heavy traffic and steady flow of trucks on the E40 as we crossed the plains of Flanders. Just north of Calais we found the massive ferry terminal with miles of check-in booths and lanes for boarding, most of which were occupied by hundreds of semi-trucks from all over Europe. The atmosphere was that of a truck stop combined with the international duty free character of an airport. Once we checked in and showed our passports, we were directed to Lane 220 for the next sailing, which was in an hour.

Trucks lining up for the Ferry to Dover, 2014