In case you’re wondering what’s so mergeful about this photograph…
Well, these birds, the Alpine Chough were shot by me in Jungfraujoch/Top of Europe, Switzerland at an altitude of 11,700 feet.
What made it apt for this theme was the backdrop where snow, sky & mist merged to make it pretty hard to see beyond these birds.
I honoured these birds by featuring them in an earlier post –
All other entries for the challenge merge on this page.
Jungfraujoch, one of my favourite places in Switzerland was exhilarating to say the least. While there I visited the Ice Palace, which was super cool…literally too!
The Eispalast or Ice Palace is a terrific experience. After you enter in, the smile on your face gets frozen in time & while you try to oooh & aaah at the novelty of the experience & ice sculptures around you…be careful. You really have to watch your step else you may just slip, fall & find yourself ski-dding all the way down the icy corridors…nothing like a free ski sans the skis 🙂 Don’t go soooo fast that you frip on srippery glound.
Unsolicited advice – make sure your shoes are able to walk you across ice without slipping. For the extra care needed to walk on this surface, I wouldn’t encourage elderly folks to try it.
Out of Switzerland’s treasure trove emerges Geneva.
The beauty of this city is best captured around Lake Léman or Lake Geneva, with its landmark Jet d’eau – the world’s tallest water fountain. Lake Geneva is supposed to be one of the largest lakes in Western Europe & is located at the foot of the beautiful Alps.
Just walking around the lake or sitting at a lake facing café is awesome as also hopping onto a boat for a cruise around the lake. The view of a city blended in perfect harmony against nature’s back drop is absobloominlutely stunning.
Bath is a city in the Somerset County of England. A World Heritage Site, this ancient city is famous for its Roman Baths. Below are photos of the Roman Bath from a bygone era. The complex also included the temple of Sulis Minerva; spooky curses that were written have been recovered from the Spring as the photos will tell.
To share an interesting quote from the Wiki article on Bath , “Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths’ main spring was treated as a shrine by the Iron Age Britons, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva; however, the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, leading to the town’s Roman name of Aquae Sulis (literally, “the waters of Sulis”).”
Let the photos do the talking…
They were sweet black birds with yellow beaks against a sheer snowy white backdrop. I was seeing these birds for the first time & they were close in appearance to crows, but for their beaks. Found them interesting, as they calmly beheld tourists in the midst of the biting cold. And they had no problem being photographed either.
A bit of Google search indicates they are officially the Alpine Chough & are also known as the Yellow-Billed Chough.
Presenting the Happy Choughs of Jungfraujoch…
Rügen is Germany’s largest island located in the Baltic Sea.
Placid & picturesque with cobbled roads, the azure sea, chalky cliffs & brilliant scenery…
Rügen & Stralsund, which is not too far away make for a most memorable visit. Photos are from both places –
Sunlight on the Church at 9PM…
Eberbach Abbey, Germany…photos of this former monastery with a rich history & some beautiful architecture.
Read the history of Eberbach Abbey
Amsterdam…quaint & charming houses, the River Amstel flowing through it, a city of beautiful canals & graffiti…one can’t help but click it!
wingrish 