Month: November 2020

German sentinel

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I don’t know for sure, but I am highly confident these traffic speed cameras in Germany were specifically designed to be intimidating. Here is a highly visible speed camera in a residential area of the southern German city of Konstanz:

I’d much prefer if Germany and Switzerland did what France did quite some time ago: abolish the speed cameras and, where speed is a real safety issue, add street bumps to the streets.

Washing clothes in Switzerland

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Washing machines in Germany and Switzerland are smaller and more energy efficient than those in the U.S. A normal washing cycle can take as long as 90 minutes, and a deep cleaning can take up to 3 hours!

Here is the room in my apartment building where the washing machines are kept:

The spin cycle of the better machines can reach over 2000 revolutions per second – this is an amount that is so high, in many cases the more delicate clothes cannot handle the stress and they are damaged. Needless to say, after spinning at these high speeds the clothes are effectively dry when they leave the machine.

Here is the little box where you add the detergent and, if you use it, the softening agent:

In my building, the machines were in use nearly 24×7 – and we have 8 washing machines and 8 dryers!  Well, it turns out the machines were not being used by the residents, but rather the friends of residents – whole families even!

So recently they installed a charging mechanism.  You can charge up a little chip here:

Then to activate a washing machine or a dryer, you hold the chip up to this device mounted next to the machine you want to use:

The costs are almost negligible – I think CHF 0.50 to wash clothes and to dry them. But . . . since the charging mechanism was installed, now the machines are only used by people in the building. Generally speaking, there are always at least 2-3 machines available whenever I want to use one!

Drying clothes in Switzerland

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Switzerland is very similar to Germany in many regards. In one regard, the washing machines and drying machines are often kept in the basement of apartment buildings.

In my case, the apartment company furnishes the machines for the use of the residents.

Here is the room with the drying machines:

In America, the drying machines blast hot air through the clothes, and the warm humid air is vented directly to the outside. It’s tough on the clothes, and it requires the machines be placed in close proximity to an outside wall.

Here, normal air is blasted through the tumbling clothes. As it exits the machine it passes through a condensation chamber, and the water is condensed out of the air. Better on the clothes, and it means you can position the drying machine anywhere you like.

Here is a snap from the back that shows the water tubes that drain the condensation chambers into the water drainage in the building:

An incredible treasure in Las Vegas – 3

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Continuing the series, a lot of people go to Las Vegas, at least before Covid. Some of them travel to nearby sights, such as the Hoover Damn. But in my book, the most incredible, mind-blowing thing to see in Las Vegas is a state park buried deep, deep within the city – in a location so remote that no tourists ever come here.

It’s called The Springs Preserve, and it is a “patch” of native desert that is kept in its pristine form, almost 200 acres in size. Believe it or not, it is built on the site of the very first water spring discovered in the desert, making city life here at all possible.

As you walk around, you can see a good example of just about every type of desert plant, such as this cactus that I thought made an especially artistic snap:

 

Inside the preserve you’re free to walk around on trails they’ve set up.  In upcoming photos I’ll show some of the amazing, mind-blowing things you can find in this wonderful place!

 

An incredible treasure in Las Vegas – 3

kenritley

Continuing the series, a lot of people go to Las Vegas, at least before Covid. Some of them travel to nearby sights, such as the Hoover Damn. But in my book, the most incredible, mind-blowing thing to see in Las Vegas is a state park buried deep, deep within the city – in a location so remote that no tourists ever come here.

It’s called The Springs Preserve, and it is a “patch” of native desert that is kept in its pristine form, almost 200 acres in size. Believe it or not, it is built on the site of the very first water spring discovered in the desert, making city life here at all possible.

As you walk around, you can see a good example of just about every type of desert plant, such as this creosote bush that I thought made an especially artistic snap:

 

Inside the preserve you’re free to walk around on trails they’ve set up.  In upcoming photos I’ll show some of the amazing, mind-blowing things you can find in this wonderful place!

 

An incredible treasure in Las Vegas – 2

kenritley

Continuing the series, a lot of people go to Las Vegas, at least before Covid. Some of them travel to nearby sights, such as the Hoover Damn. But in my book, the most incredible, mind-blowing thing to see in Las Vegas is a state park buried deep, deep within the city – in a location so remote that no tourists ever come here.

It’s called The Springs Preserve, and it is a “patch” of native desert that is kept in its pristine form, almost 200 acres in size. Believe it or not, it is built on the site of the very first water spring discovered in the desert, making city life here at all possible.

Here is a historical water derrick, located directly as the site of the spring:

Inside the preserve you’re free to walk around on trails they’ve set up.  In upcoming photos I’ll show some of the amazing, mind-blowing things you can find in this wonderful place!

 

Maibaum – Maypole

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I took this snap a while back while driving through South Germany, sometime just after May. It’s what the Germans call a Maibaum – roughly translated as maypole.

I would not even pretend to know the ins and outs of maypoles in Germany – I think the traditions change a bit depending on where you are in Germany. In general they are erected to celebrate the various trades (plumber, carpenter, etc.), they are erected by the local fire department (who else has a big ladder?), some people tell me the tree at the top must be higher than the highest point in the village – and in this snap, you can see a set of flags hanging from the tree, each flag corresponding to a trade.

Occasional shooter

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I am just an occasional shooter, but still I have little trouble achieving better than a 2-inch grouping with a target at 50 yards, such as I’m doing with my father at a shooting range with this Springfield Armory 1911 handgun here chambered in 45 ACP.

My father is a regular shooter, at this distance his groupings are so tight that after a few rounds the target just has a big hole.

An incredible treasure in Las Vegas – 1

kenritley

A lot of people go to Las Vegas, at least before Covid. Some of them travel to nearby sights, such as the Hoover Damn. But in my book, the most incredible, mind-blowing thing to see in Las Vegas is a state park buried deep, deep within the city – in a location so remote that no tourists ever come here.

It’s called The Springs Preserve, and it is a “patch” of native desert that is kept in its pristine form, almost 200 acres in size. Believe it or not, it is built on the site of the very first water spring discovered in the desert, making city life here at all possible.

Inside the preserve you’re free to walk around on trails they’ve set up.  In upcoming photos I’ll show some of the amazing, mind-blowing things you can find in this wonderful place!

Arrogant storks

kenritley

Sorry, there’s no other word to describe it. Stop in any rest area in the Alsace area of France, and you’ll be sure to see plenty of storks strutting around.

But, try to walk up to one. They won’t attack you. They won’t run away. Instead, they shrug their shoulders and turn their heads away, to send a “oh pleeeeeeeease” message: I am a stork, you idiot, haven’t you seen a stork before? Just go away, you jackass, and let me look for some tasty frogs to eat.

Rheinfelden flowers

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Type in Rheinfelden into Google, and you’ll be surprised. There is a Rheinfelden, Switzerland; and there is a Rheinfelden, Germany. The two cities of the same name in the two countries of different names are divided by the river Rhine.

Anyway, I took this snap in the downtown area of the German Rheinfelden:

Rhein power

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I think there has to be a law in Switzerland: if there is any flowing water slightly larger than a garden hose, then you must build a hydroelectric power plant to capture its energy. Well, if there is such a law, it’s not a bad law to be sure! This is the hydroelectric power station along the Rhine river in Schaffenhausen, in north central Switzerland.

Baccarat

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Even if you are not rich and famous, you’ve probably heard of the finest in French crystal, known as Baccarat Crystal.

Well, it gets its name not from the most famous company that manufactures it (Baccarat Crystal) but from the village of the same name.

The village is nestled deep, deep within the Vosges Mountains of Eastern France – and it’s quite a bit like Appalachia, in the United States. Yes, you can come here. No, nobody will try to stop you. But let’s just say, if you were to ask the French Gendarmes about the wisdom of your decision, they would probably encourage you to go somewhere else.

Here is a snap from the village:

And here is another snap:

And here is another snap:

French cow

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Since the times of the Holy Roman Empire scholars have continued to ask whether it is possible to take a bad photograph of a good cow – and despite the best efforts of the finest religious scholars and philosophers, the answer is – always – time and time again – a resounding NO!

I took this snap in the south of France, Les Pays des Portes du Haut-Doubs, just a few kilometers from the border to the Jura region of Switzerland.