A Snowy Evening in Jena

This evening as I left the restaurant where I had enjoyed a nice dinner I stepped out into falling snow.

Christmas Market, Jena Germany, snow, Christmas Time

It was really cool to experience snow fall tonight, as it is not often that I see snow. We don’t get snow where I live, I have to travel to see it.

Christmas Market, Jena Germany, snow, Christmas Time

I really like this picture. I did not realize at the time that I had caught someone trying to catch snow on their tongue. I only saw it when reviewing my pictures. This brought back memories of doing the same thing when I was young.

Christmas Market, Jena Germany, snow, Christmas Time

Here you can see the large Christmas tree at the Christmas Market tree with snow falling around it.

My mind wandered to the words of  I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas as I walked through the falling snow.

Christmas Market, Jena Germany, snow, Christmas Time

The historic Jena Rathaus looms over the Christmas Market. There is an interesting clock on the eight sided Baroque tower. It has a figure called Schnapphans that tries to catch a golden ball each hour.

snow, lobeda, germany, street train, snowfall

I did not spend much time in the snow. A few minutes was enough for me and I headed back to the hotel. Here you can see the street train station near the hotel and can tell that snow is already starting to accumulate.

The forecast is for 1-3 centimeters of snow, so I will be most likely be walking through fallen snow on the way to work tomorrow. I am sure I will be taking some more pictures 🙂

Steven

Posted in Culture, Germany, Nature, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mallards on the River

Here is quick post as I need to get my walk to the office started. I have to make sure today that I don’t linger at the bridge today and take pictures like these.

ducks, mallards, Saale River, Jena, Germany

There are some great reflections of the trees and sky in the river when it is smooth.

ducks, mallards, Saale River, Jena, Germany

You can also clearly see the wake of the mallards as they swim upstream.

ducks, mallards, Saale River, Jena, Germany

This was an evening picture and you can see the darkening sky.

ducks, mallards, Saale River, Jena, Germany

I often see mallards around this log that is just by the bridge. I am sure that they finds some nice bugs that have been trapped by the debris.

ducks, mallards, Saale River, Jena, Germany

Here is a group of four mallards. This picture looks pretty simple, but there are some cool shadows, colors and ripples in the water that make it interesting to me.

Now, off to the office.

Steven

Posted in Animals, Germany, Nature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment