Hofgarten

Another one of these quick shots, pretty much done with about one second preparation. I usually stroll with my camera in my hand, simply carrying it with a hand strap rather than with the usual neck strap (which is not even attached to my camera any more since a long long time).

Neuschwanstein

Old churches

During our holidays we had the opportunity to have a look at an church organ. Our daughter was even allowed to put to practice her piano lessons!

While looking for the church we ended up in another one in the same village with some amazing wooden banks. In fact the whole church was amazingly decorated, definitely not what I expected in a small village at the foot of the Alps.

Interflug 2012

The 2012 edition of the Interflug Hat Tournament took place on the hottest weekend in Germany this year. I happened to have some spare time and came round on Sunday to take some photos and enjoy the atmosphere, which brought me loads of nice memories, as I used to train in these sport grounds when I first arrived to Berlin. Last time I was here to watch the tournament was four years ago. From the photographic perspective, not really the usual photos I take, but precisely because of this, a nice challenge. To keep up with the sport theme, and since I was not playing, I pedaled the nine kilometers from home carrying the camera, the monopod and the 75-300mm (which I very rarely use). Good for the legs and good for the soul.

Just before the final game started the polish girl pictured above asked me if I was part of the organization and if I could take some shots of her during the game. The answer was no, I am not part of the tournament organization but I can definitely take some pictures. I learned that this actually helps to keep focused on something during the game, which made it more interesting and, not surprisingly, the photos came better than in the other games, in which I was shooting randomly waiting for the great layout (which this time I didn´t catch).

And since she actually liked the photos and was kind enough to provide some feedback to my e-mail, I will post a snippet here: "And I have to tell you, that the photos are awesome! :) "

The Spirit of Ecstasy

"Strive for perfection on everything you do" Sir Henry Royce

Just by chance I was wearing a polo shirt from work when we went to visit BMW Welt. I got to talk to one of the guys who are there to make sure nobody puts his hands on these pretty expensive examples of British engineering (albeit BMW owned). After a while he nodded to a colleague and we were given the chance to enter the glass barrier, where we were given a thorough tour of this Phantom II. We were allowed to sit down inside (me and my wife hoping that the children don´t break anything in the back seats!) and, to top it up, the guy took a couple of family photos.

I made it clear that I don´t work for the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (in which case I would not have been as impressed by the car), but rather for the aerospace sibling. Maybe they thought I was an executive coming from Goodwood to check the courtesy standards!

Whatever the case, it was highly enjoyable.

Picking up your car with style

Hats off to BMW for a truly impressive place to pick up your car (not mine!).

Hill in Olympia Park

I don´t like this photo. But I like misleading weather forecasts even less. So here is my rant for today...

We organised the day around a forecast saying nice weather in the morning (mix of sun and clouds), with showers in the afternoon. Good, that means park first and museum later. What happened was that the rain was actually in the morning, pretty much all the way up to the top of the hill, and all the way down. It only stopped when we decided to get some cover in a nearby Imbiss. The moment we ordered, it stopped raining (so up again for me to take this greyish photo!) and the sun came up through the clouds.

We ended up the day in BMW Welt (the small tower to the right is the BMW headquarters) but we should have really done it the other way round if the forecast had been a bit more accurate. It would have been a much brighter photo. I guess people in Madrid do not have this sort of problems in July. And to compound pain with misery, the stitching did not work very well anyway...

Munich Olympic Stadium

Another impressive example of architecture / engineering which is doing fine after 40 years.

Piscina olímpica

Al día siguiente de hacer esta foto vinimos a bañarnos a esta piscina. Una cosa que me impresionó es que había una piscina para que los niños aprendan a nadar y la profundidad se podía regular moviendo el suelo de la piscina! Muy interesante.

Al fondo se pueden ver las plataformas y los trampolines y, como dato anecdótico, decir que diez metros son muchos metros. Yo me subí al trampolín de 3m (que era el más alto desde el que estaba permitido tirarse) y después de pensármelo un ratito me tiré de pie. Repetí unas cuantas veces y me fui tan feliz como si hubiera dado un salto en las Olimpiadas.

Olympiapark München (i)

Rathaus München

Estudiando

Golden bike

No idea how come there is a bicycle inside the pond. But sure it got my eye.

Neues Schloss Bayreuth

We stopped in Bayreuth on the way South and took the opportunity to have a look at the Neues Schloss. But (and it is a big but for me), photos are not allowed. I asked if photos without flash are permitted. Clear question, clear answer: No. Not sure if what they have in display is more valuable than what this other museum has.


So this is the staircase to the exhibition, which I actually enjoyed apart from the photo glitch.

Hohenschwangau

De vuelta de unas muy buenas vacaciones en el sur de Alemania, con muchos buenos recuerdos en la memoria y alguna que otra foto en la retina.