Eifel National Forest roadtrip – Part 5

Evening All,

I hope this latest post of the blog finds you well. I am keeping up with my monthly muse and hope that you are enjoying the pictures (although one of my subscribers said it was not the best for pictures, it was ironically the best blog ever for likes…my email was pinging like crazy). The weather here in south west wales has finally bottomed out, the sun is getting a bit warmer and the hedges and skies are becoming more interesting (for further info on the local loveliness and general pretty things, investigate my Instagram @lukegeoffreyjohnson, I’ll be happy to see you). I’m out on the bike more for the May Tour of Pembs and ventured far far away to Kilgetty on a training run lately. It was interesting. All I will say to those who overtake near cyclists is please, think. We are very light and cars hurt, so next time you overtake a cycling colleague, give them a bit more room 🙂

Anyway, the blog. For those who are concerned that there will be pictures of motor vehicles this month, fear not! No cars. This week, I am posting of the wonder of nature yet again. In fact, a Guinness World Record holding wonder of nature. Beat that. This visit is based in and around Andernach which is a lovely, although on the day I visited it was a bit dull.

Andernach is situated on the River Rhine, 13 miles (21 km) north of Koblenz, a more industrial town I didn’t visit as the roads frightened me to death. A little way downstream of Andernach, the Rhine valley narrows from both sides forming the northern part of the romantic “middle Rhine”. In Roman times the place the narrow passage begins was named “Porta Antunnacensis” or Andernachian Gate, formed by two hills. Founded by the Romans in about 12 BC on the site of an old settlement, Andernach is one of the oldest towns in Germany. In addition to themedieval remnants of the old town fortifications as seen above, the city of is the location of several old industrial plants such as a huge malt mill, but now also to a large steel-mill to produce cold formed tin plate and companies manufacturing medicinal products, raw food materials, cast iron products, engines and engine parts. See, we are straying back to cars again! As I wandered the banks of the river, barges were frequently plying their way up and down…..

However, the main reason for my visit was the geyser. No, not like out of Eastenders! A water based geyser which is a remnant of the volcanic region and quite unusual in as much that it is cold water and acts with force generated in a fashion similar to that in a shaken bottle of fizzy water..it is quite powerful, reaching up to 200 ft (60 m) but I suspect less height in the video I took and posted on YouTube. As you approach the geyser along the Rhine on a special boat (you cannot access the area directly by foot, so that’s a nice little earner), things actually look quite tame…

However, every so often, usually every couple of hours, the geyser erupts, quite quietly at first, then up it goes! On 9 November 2008, the Andernach Geyser was officially recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest cold-water geyser in the world. See, these fantastic things you have on your doorstep. I had never heard of this place before I saw the leaflet….

I was amused to read that this geyser was actually found, in a way, by mistake. Although a borehole was sunk to look for carbon dioxide, they just kind of did this one randomly due to someone thinking they saw bubbles rising in the waters of an old Rhine ox-bow lake. Boom. Geyser. Result. It was used for commercial reasons to begin with but then the was replaced by a more mechanised manner and the geyser has reverted to being a tourist attraction. Although, having seen the state of the drains and the iron showing in the water  and on the rocks, I’m none too sure I would have drunk the water fizzed by this geyser…

On to the town itself. Lovely place. It is full of remnants of days gone by and tourists who also come to the region for the geyser and volcanology usually visit these, such as the 183 feet (56 m) tall “Round Tower” (“Der Runde Turm”) finished in 1453….

One thing I liked was the fantastically preserved castle keep and wall that had been seemingly hijacked by the local allotment society. I walked past it a few times on my way around the museums and though that the flowers and plants looked a bit strange until, on closer inspection, I found that they consisted of a wide range of vegetables! Weird, but what a fantastic use of land that would normally be waste ground or just plain grass…

In the distance behind this, was a very well looked after massive gate and gardens that you could tour at your leisure, in some areas you could even walk around on the parapet, although the view from here was not all that brilliant, just rooftops…

Another item from its ancient industrial past is the “Old Crane” of Andernach situated outside the town downstream close to the river bank of the old harbour where it replaced an even older 14th century wooden floating tread-wheel crane. For 350 years it was in operation from 1561 to 1911. Two to four men were required to rotate the crane top which lifted and lowered the load—mainly millstones and tuff, some results of which were on show in the local museums in the form of these intricately carved columns…

Well, there you have it. Who would have thought that there was record breaking cold water geyser a few hours away from you in Germany? I tell you, most people think of hot places and beaches for holidays, but the more I visit places closer to home, the more I realise there is much to be seen there…and Germany is a place I would love to return to. Perhaps not this exact area but Germany is a big place with a rich history.

Next time, we are off to Cologne where I test my lungs and legs to the extreme by stupidly ascending to the highest part of the cathedral…by foot! Was it worth it? Find out when you see the views!

Thanks for stopping by, see you all soon

A few photographic effects for your perusal..and Storm Angus

Well, hello from Storm Angus ravaged Wales!

Kind of storm ravaged. Okay…not at all, just the tail end. We didn’t get this all half as bad as the south of England, if you wish to, you can read about the main bits in the Daily Telegraph.

Cue the normal film (courtesy of YouTube on this occasion) on the evening news of people who should know an awful lot better canoeing in the street, standing perilously close to waves crashing onto beaches, generally being a teeny bit dull or driving into water that is far too deep.

Honestly, if I knew that Newhaven and Brighton and similar areas were going to get this much coverage in the years after I moved to Wales, I wouldn’t have bothered coming! Only kidding. Still, at least I stayed relatively dry. The wind was perishing cold though, that was what bothered me the most as I don’t have an awful lot of meat on me. This is due to get less after Christmas too as I will be embarking on a proper 12 week training regime to do a further sportive bike ride of 100 km (60 miles) in aid of charity. I was looking at the handy downloadable training timetable and I am struggling to think of routes that fulfil the length of time or distance needed and also go in a loop to assist me in not transporting the bike around the county in a car that is too small for it. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

However, let us not be bothered by my good deeds. You read this for my wit and pictures don’t you? I like to think so, but I could be having a one-way conversation with the vast internet. So let us begin.

Iridescence. Difficult to spell, even more difficult to spot. More difficult to photograph than both of those things. I think I have posted images on here with some “mother of pearl” effects in some winter clouds but these are not to be confused with the proper nacreous or polar stratospheric clouds.

In this instance, you have to look very carefully at the tips of the dead clematis flowerhead I took a picture of a while back…

I never noticed the fact there was some iridescence in this image when I took it to be honest but looking at Mr Wikipedia…thanks be to Wikipedia…it says that the effect is generally created by microstructures that interfere with light, which figures as these flowers are very intricate and the flash fired in this image.

On to a more familiar subject, the sky, but a more unusual effect in the clouds than usual. You may remember a while back that I pointed out some oh-so-catchy Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in clouds at sunset that caused what look like cresting waves? In a nutshell, it’s the interaction of two fluids of varying density such as the wind creating a wave on water (yes, air can indeed be construed as a fluid in science). It seems that the effect can go full circle (pun intended) and create what essentially looks like a corkscrew.

Pretty cool, huh? I have only seen this the once and I can only find a few images on the internet that are similar, so you never know, I may have stumbled on a new cloud type! I will name it “the screw-mulus”. Or I could be over-thinking things….yes, the latter.

Now, moving away from science but to return to it in a little while, some sunset pictures I took just because and in the order of this post heading towards the end of the day in subject matter. Not that many sunset images at all this year, seems we have way too much low cloud now, so there will be fewer and fewer of these images of feathery loveliness…

This next one is an unusual one as there are quite a few “straight” lines in the cloud. I say straight with a little bit of a nudge as they aren’t ruler straight, but in nature, you very rarely find anything too straight, so when you see it, it’s usually due to interaction with something unexpected…in this instance, I suspect the contrail on the right at a similar angle has something to do with it.

 

Back to science! Rays. In particular, crepuscular rays. I have posted many images on here of these rays but now I present to you a rarer image of….anti-crepuscular rays. It is pretty much the same thing but you see these opposite the sun, not around it, behind a cloud or such like. The rays are caused by the interaction of the light with an object out of your line of sight due to the curvature of the Earth, so as the sun dipped just below the horizon here, a little cloud got in the way, casting this shadow…

Apologies for the dark image, I had to fiddle the contrast to enhance the rays somewhat. However, talking of dark brings me nicely to my last image for this post, a nightscape. I don’t often do these, as it’s not an area I have a great deal of skill in, but I try. I took this of the refinery and fuel storage areas around Pembroke (on the left) and Milford Haven (on the right) from Pembroke Dock.

I even managed to catch a little starlight in the image which was not my intention, but it adds a little depth to the inky black bits. I might try this further in the future, but I find them a little boring being so dark and having a not so well suited camera for this kind of stuff. We shall see.

Well, there you have it for another post. Before I go, just a couple of things…I need one more follower to reach 50 so if you have a friend or relative who can stand my infrequent babble, tell them to pop to my site on a PC and click the “Follow Me” link at the bottom right. Thanks!

Also, I have changed a few bits on the site such as the background banner and post text. Hard to read, too small, too large? Constructive criticism is very much welcomed!

Cheers in advance and see you soon.

Forgotten you again!

Hello All,

Thanks for dropping by on the email you get sent to a spend a couple of minutes hearing me drone on.

Well, it’s been a busy and interesting couple of months for me. To be honest, the less said the better, but in the middle of it all was a three week holiday, so I will use that as my very valid excuse for not posting. I went to the south-western tip of Ireland again…some of you may remember I posted a video of the time I went whale watching in the same area. No? Shame on you! If you wish to have a look, either search my name on YouTube or go to Humpback Whale Awesomeness in my previous posts.

For those who wish to go to the area, I can highly recommend it and will be posting pictures of that area in the near future, as I now have time on my hands to do more regular posts. The first time was gorgeous weather, this time it was less so, but still very enjoyable and there are some lovely vistas to post.

However, I stray from the post I am doing. Now that Autumn is upon us, I though I would keep a few of the Summer pictures coming for a short time to keep us all from seeing too much brown and wet images by looking out the window! In the first instance, just along the way, it pays to look out of the window for those photogenic weather shots as along popped a little back-lit shower…

I’m quite proud of this. I would put it in the folder marked “might consider getting printed when I have a place to nail it to in the future”. Catchy, huh? Alas, the folder is quite full, so I will need to purchase a stately home! I thought I’d add a slightly after picture too, to point out the lovely glaciation (virga) effect as the little cell collapsed…

You remember me talking about glaciation? The jellyfish clouds are the most common form of this but in this case, I think what happened is that the top of the cloud suddenly outgrew what could be supported and became a little icy, then just fell down slowly, creating the shower you see above.

Next, a lovely sunny picture to inject a little landscape love! This is one of my favourite views on the Preseli Hills. I know most people climb the road or hike the hills and look south, but I much prefer the view to the north…well, the north-east. Essentially, in the distance from this view-point, you can see all the way to the end of the National Park and you are looking along the line of hills towards Crymch. This side is noticeably more rugged than the south, which is why I like it.

Also, don’t forget, there is a lot of history here and that adds to the attraction. Pollen analysis suggests that the hills were once forested but the forests had been cleared by the late Bronze age; the hills are dotted with super-aged remains, including evidence of very early settlement…you know, grunting and flint type stuff. It has been mooted that bluestone from the hills is similar or the same as that used to build the inner circle of Stonehenge. Lots of people with beards and letters after their names have argued but seem to have settled on the fact that the stones have come from multiple sources on the northern parts of the hills…the exact way the photo looks.

Further south now, a few colourful pictures from the southern extent of the Park, thankfully not showing the overrated beaches and towns, but the much ignored Blackpool Mill. Again, I have mentioned this before but I like this picture showing the old mill tucked away in the forest…

Moving in a little closer here, a tiny member of the thistle family in full flower, covered in pollen and waiting for a bee come along and do a swap and continue the line. No proper thistles here and I’m afraid I can’t put my finger on the exact name of this one.

From bees to wasps. Now, no hatred for the poor wasp. I know they buzz your food and beer on the 3 or 4 days you are able to eat “al fresco” in the UK and that is a pain, but they’re only trying to eat. Anyway, I’m going to big these little blighters up. I mean, check this bad boy out, that’s quite an undertaking for a tiny insect….

But wasps have a useful purpose. Wasps are predators who hunt and eat almost every pest that harms crops including grasshoppers, aphids and flies. Also, don’t forget, the nest is made of what is basically a wasp super wallpaper…they chew bark or wood up, mix it with saliva and spit it out in a thin rough paper to a high degree of accuracy which is brilliantly efficient at both retaining heat at night or to grow larvae and to cool residents on a hot day. So, even if you hate them, give a little respectful fist bump to a wasp, rather than smacking it with a copy of the Daily Mail….additionally if you do that, it just attracts more as a dead wasp releases pheromones attracting the masses!

In this case, I returned a few days later to see the nest destroyed…I hope the person who did this got a most uncomfortable sting.

To finish, as is usually my favourite thing, a dusk scene. Again, not very far away but hopefully attractive in the way there are lights, darks and silhouettes in the same image…

Well, thanks again for popping by. No promises on the date of the next blog which will be moving on to a trip to Germany, but I am hoping for sooner rather than later and I may even consider a slight revamp of the set up if I have the option. Groundbreaking stuff! However, I might need to speak with the PC first as it’s beginning to creak a little. Should be fine though. Famous last words…..

Ta-ra for now!!

YouTube up and running

Hello,

Just put some videos of the recent local weather (snow and wind) on YouTube for you…use this link http://youtu.be/YhK9wN8KLV0 to go to the most impressive one where 3 people get drenched at the end 🙂

After that, you can click my name to see the others

Thanks!!