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| Garden in Handschusheimer - finally Spring! |
Albrecht has sent me a splash of Spring with this vibrant yellow plant growing in a garden in Handschusheimer - just north of Heidelburg. It looks very much like forsythia to me and is a real tonic for the eyes.
On the reverse is another sketch and a little map which I found to be absolutely fascinating as I unpicked it but by bit. This is what Albrecht says (I've added in the links to the places!)
The view from the garden overleaf (over the campus of the university of Heidelburg)Then he has annotated the little map in the bottom left to highlight:
This is a historic moment! One of the cooling towers of the Nuclear Power Plant at Philipsburg doesn't smoke anymore! Yesterday one unit has beeen shut down in response to the nuclear problems in Japan. Finally! From where we live the distance is only 35km!(21 miles)
- the Romanesque cathedral Dom Speyer (Speyer Cathedral) 1025-1106 by the River Rhine. I looked it up and it's been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Speyer Cathedral, a basilica with four towers and two domes, was founded by Conrad II in 1030 and remodelled at the end of the 11th century. It is one of the most important Romanesque monuments from the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The cathedral was the burial place of the German emperors for almost 300 years.
UNESCO
- a place where there are lots of hanging willow trees in a reserve (on what looks like an ox-bow lake) - and we already know how much Albrecht likes willows!
- an area where there are many natural reserves (nature reserves?) - so I guess these are places Albrecht likes to go to sketch.
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| Lots of information about Heidelburg |
I looked up all the places on Google Maps - like I always do - and was amazed to see the shape of the snaking River Rhine and all the old oxbow lakes it created prior to being channelled. These are so very evident from the satellite view and reminds us of the power of inland waterways to change the landscape over time.
15 comments:
Oh Katherine, arent these cards wonderful. Full of information and wonderful paintings and drawings. Its so fun to explore all the different elements on each card. Beautiful!!!
Beautiful...the whole card says..Albrecht! and what a lot of info on one postcard...just great work Albrecht...and lovely posting Katherine, thanks.
Ronelle
mmm such a subtle beautifully composed breath of spring
Wonderful! I just love stopping by to see what treasures you have posted.
Lovely and historical, What a combination.
I especially like the sweetness of the line so lovingly drawn with that touch of new spring leaf color.
Great card catching a special moment in time. I love the translated Anti nuclear power button!
Thank you so much for your kind comments. Katherine particularly for the detailed information. If any of you visit this area not only via Google Earth I would love to be the guide.
Yes, we are really happy that one of the oldest nuclear power plant was shut down. We hope that the new and first Green prime minister in Germany (also historically!) also manages to shut down the other. In this area we are surrounded by 5 nuclear plants. The Rhine Valley is also threatened by earthquakes ...
You're right Katherine, we have here on the Rhine and Neckar Rivers beautiful nature reserves but also important vegetable (famous for asparagus) and fruit plantations and many historic monuments such as the cathedrals of Speyer and Worms, the Baroque Schwetzingen Castle and Garden and many others ... All this must not be destroyed!
Sorry for the repeated deletion of posts. I always find new bugs.
Wow, what a fantastic card, so much detail, both visual and written. Very special.
A quite, individual wonderful card to receive. Forsythia is such a vibrant sign of spring. I love the way Albrecht has placed it compositionally set against the manmade structure and the glow of the yellow. I tend to forget that some plants are found in other parts of the world too.
What I really liked about this card was how much it told me about the place. Looks like you've got lots more to tell us about in future Albrecht!
Forsythia is always difficult for me to paint. This is beautiful, Albrecht as the only touch of colour with the graphite. Another delightful postcard with a treasury of postage stamps.
On top of all this Albrecht worked in an eloquently-illustrated political statement. Compared to this, the on-going election campaign here in Canada is virtually content-free!
The back is as beautiful as the front - what an amazing card to have as your own, a real treasure!
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