Cee’s Black & White challenge this week has the topic “just one of anything.”
clocks
Thursday Doors: A Walk Through Schärding, Austria
On the 4th of July, the day we spent the morning in Passau, Germany, we opted for an afternoon tour to the small town of Schärding, Austria (population approx. 5,000). Passau and Schärding are essentially border towns. We even crossed a bridge on the Inn River that had a small metal plaque in the middle with D (Deutschland – Germany) on one side and Ö (Österreich – Austria) on the other!
The town of Schärding is a major port on the Inn River which is the dividing line between Bavaria in Germany and the Austrian state of Upper Austria.
The Bavarian family Wittelsbach owned the town until 1779. In the Middle Ages, due to its location, Schärding became a center of trade, particularly for salt, timber, ores, wine, silk, glass, grain, textiles and livestock. Originally the town was fortified; sections of the wall remain, but the castle that was originally there is no longer.
Schärding’s most beautiful feature is its central square with its rows of colorful, gabled buildings. The buildings are color coded so that illiterate people in past centuries would know what the building was used for. For example, the town hall (Rathaus) was yellow, and pharmacies were green. Nowadays, next to the Rathaus, the green building is a charming hotel, Hotel Stiegenwirt.
The town’s skyline is dominated by St. George Church. It is Roman Catholic; more than 80% of the town’s residents identify themselves as Roman Catholic.
When I was not attending a workshop to make herbal salt (I ended up not keeping it – the salt content was way too high for me!), I joined Dale to explore the streets of the town.
Two interesting clocks!
Schärding’s coat of arms is painted on the side of a building.
Historically, Schärding’s population suffered an epidemic of the plague. A plague pole was erected when the epidemic was over, to thank the Virgin Mary for saving people from the plague.
There is a statue to St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, in the center of a fountain. The fountain is hard to see in this photo because it was surrounded by construction zone fences.
Looking out toward the river from Durchgang Wasstertor.
I don’t know what these masks were for, but they look like instruments of torture!
There was also this display of possibly religious relics, near St. George Church.
And now…Schärding doors!
Posted for Norm’s Thursday Doors 1/16/20.
Some historical information obtained from Wikipedia’s article on Schärding.
CFFC: Mostly Monochrome
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge continues with the theme of colors. This week the topic is basically one color or hue.
This photo was not shot nor edited black & white. The trees and clouds actually looked like this on a spring day in northern Wisconsin.
Turtles at The Grove visitors’ center, Mt. Prospect, IL
Chinese Reconciliation Park, Tacoma, WA
Point Defiance Park, Tacoma
Passau, Germany
Wine pressing tanks, Morwald Winery, Austria
Modern clock, Cologne, Germany
Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Cologne Cathedral, Germany
Miniature show “Whimsical Wonderland,” Elk Grove Village, IL
Flowers, Des Plaines, IL
Some animals are the color they are to blend in with their environment, such as hyraxes who hide among the rocks where they live, mongoose who inhabit giant anthills, and even a hippo with just its eyes & ears above the water. (All photos taken in Tanzania.)
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
Weekly Prompt: Clock the Time
The Weekly Prompts from GC and Me theme is Clock the Time. These photos of clocks are all from our 2019 summer trip to Europe. Most of these clocks are on tall towers. Interestingly, they all use Roman numerals (except the one on a sign), which until recent times was actually quite common.
On the Rhine River in Germany
The clock is only one of many interesting details on this church steeple!
Miltenberg, Germany
Regensburg, Germany – not Roman numerals exactly, but sort of…
Schärding, Austria – clock on a sign!
Melk, Austria – Melk Abbey
Cruising the Danube in Austria – another intricate church steeple!
December Squares: Two Amazing German Timepieces
This is my last opportunity to post for Becky’s December Squares (Time), as we will be leaving tomorrow for a two-week trip to Egypt followed by 10 days in Israel. I will have lots of photos to share when we get back home!
Meanwhile, here are some amazing clocks in churches in two German Baltic towns: Lübeck and Rostock.
This timepiece in St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck does much more than tell time. As you can see, it is surrounded by major constellations and on the inner circle, the phases of the moon are shown. 
This two-story astronomical clock tells the time, the date, location of the Zodiac signs and positions of the sun and moon.
This amazing clock was built in the 1960s by a local clockmaker, Paul Behrens. He maintained his masterpiece until he died.
Above the clock is a ledge on which appear, each day at noon, eight figures which come out on one side and go back in on the other side, passing in front of a figure of Jesus. Learn more about this amazing masterpiece here.
At St. Mary’s Church (coincidentally, it has the same name as the church in Lübeck) in Rostock, Germany, is an even more amazing timepiece! This astronomical timepiece was built in 1472 by Hans Düringer, a clockmaker from Nuremburg.
It consists of three parts: At the top, when the clock strikes each hour, apostles of Jesus appear from a door on one side. Judas is last in line, and as they reach the door on the other side into which they disappear, the door slams shut before Judas can go through it!
In the middle is the clock, which tells the time, Zodiac, moon phases and month.
At the bottom is a calendar, which according to Wikipedia, is valid until 2150. (This is the fourth in the series of calendars, which lasted from 1885 to 2017 – I photographed it in 2015. In 2018, it was to be replaced by a fifth calendar, valid until 2150.)
This medieval clock is the only one of its kind with its parts all still in working order.
December Squares: Steam Clock of Gastown, Vancouver
The world’s first steam powered clock is in the Gastown neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This plaque tells about it.
Glass panels on the sides allow the curious visitor to see the mechanics inside this clock.
Another photo showing the whole clock is in my previous post.
For more timepieces and other interpretations of the theme time, see Becky’s December Squares.
Speaking of time, here’s a video of the lyrics to the song Time Has Come Today by the Chambers Brothers.
December Squares: Macy’s
Becky has a new Month of Squares for December, with the theme of time.
There is nothing so spectacular in Chicago as Macy’s (Marshall Field’s) at Christmas time! There are beautiful decorations inside and out, and there is a long tradition of families having a luncheon or dinner in the Walnut Room with the giant Christmas tree, which I posted photos of in my post CFFC: Look Closely. Other holiday displays also caught my eye, including this gentleman sitting on a ladder next to a clock – a blown up photo of the famous clock on the outside of the building and a major identifier for the historic Marshall Field’s (now Macy’s). (There is a miniature of it on the lower left side of this photo.)
Since I did not have a chance that day to take a photo of the actual clock, here it is in a photo I downloaded from Google Images.
Time Square in Chicago
Becky has a new Square challenge – Time! The rules are below.
Meanwhile, I take us back to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where many buildings have clocks. Here is the one from Tiffany’s, above the main entrance.
Becky says:
Our theme will be #timesquare, so expect lots of clocks and maybe even the occasional Times Square!
Here are some timely thoughts to help get us on our way, and hopefully avoid any of us burning the midnight oil next month;
A stitch in time saves nine
Early bird catches the worm
In the nick of time
More haste, less speed
Time & tide wait for no man (or woman!)
This 31day challenge begins on Saturday 1st December. You can post daily, weekly or whatever suits you. The only rule is that your main photograph must be square.
I hope to post some more ideas over the coming weeks and if you know of a brilliant time saying you would like to throw into the mix you are very welcome to add it below. But be quick the clock is ticking; tick, tock!
CB&WPC: Hickory Dickory Dock…
…the mouse ran up the clock! The theme for Cee’s B&W photo challenge this week is words ending in -ock. These are “-ocks” from my travel over the last two years.
Clock
- Flower clock in the historic district of Curitiba, PR, Brazil, Nov. 2016
Locks
- Gatun Locks, Panama Canal (March 2017)
Rocks
- Rocks at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (April 2017)
Wedlock
- Newly united in wedlock: Allie Lovejoy & Alex Wooden, Woodbury, MN (May 20, 2017)
Dock
- Dale prepares to go fishing, dock at Blacks Cliff Resort, Lower Kaubashine Lake, WI (July 2017)
Flock
- The Holy Family overwhelmed by a huge flock of sheep! Nativity scene, Our Lord in the Attic Church, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Jan. 2018)
And now, a rock hit from 2018: Guns ‘n Roses, Sweet Child of Mine. (Also in B&W!)
Wanderlust & Wonderment 