| The state of the nation: I'm still alive. This is the 1st SMS View in 9 months. Didn't think it was that long, but time flies, even if I don't have anything to do. Will try to revive this blog a bit & post much more frequently other stuff beside my China news roundups. Procrastination has to end. | Zur Lage der Nation: Es gibt mich noch. Dies ist der erste MBM-Blick seit 9 Monaten. Hätte nicht gedacht, daß es solange gedauert hat, aber die Zeit rast, selbst wenn ich nichts zu tun habe. Werde versuchen, diesen Blog wiederzubeleben & neben meinem Nachrichtenüberblick wieder mehr anderes Material zu posten. Die Aufschieberitis muß ein Ende haben! |
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| Today's pictures are from early August 2020. So, even though I haven't taken a lot of pictures in 2021, there is a lot of backlog. That day, I cycled just a short way uphill before I turned towards the coast. In the hills I found this interesting dead tree, almost entirely overtaken by some kind of vine: | Die heutigen Bilder stammen von Anfang August 2020. (Also habe ich einiges aufzuholen, auch wenn ich 2021 nicht viel fotografiert habe.) An diesem Tag fuhr ich nur kurz bergauf, bevor ich mich der Küste zuwandte. In den Hügeln sah ich diesen toten Baum, der fast völlig von Ranken überwachsen war: |
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| Then I went downhill again, to get to the coast in time for the sunset. But I was distracted by a flock of swallows. They were swarming around some pool by the Patras waterworks. It was already getting darker, so it was virtually impossible to get them in flight. | Danach ging es wieder bergab, um rechtzeitig für den Sonnenuntergang an der Küste zu sein. Ich wurde allerdings von einem Schwalbenschwarm abgelenkt, der über einem Teich der Wasserwerke Insekten jagte. Es war schon recht dunkel, weshalb ich sie leider nicht im Flug fotografieren konnte. |
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| But there was no need to, anyway. There were a number of young birds sitting on a powerline nearby, waiting to be fed. That's where I concentrated my efforts. Although the light was not good, I got some nice shots. | War aber auch nicht nötig. Einige Jungtiere saßen in der Nähe auf einer Stromleitung, auf Fütterung wartend. Konzentrierte mich also auf diese. Trotz des schlechten Lichts konnte ich einige gute Aufnahmen machen. |
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| Luckily, the swallows mostly ignored me. Unluckily, some gipsies, who came by in a car, did not. Well, they were not so much interested in me than in my bike. But when they saw that I had a camera in my hand, they drove on. | Glücklicherweise ignorierten die Schwalben mich weitgehend. Unglücklicherweise galt das nicht für einige Zigeuner, die in einem Auto vorbeikamen. Nunja, sie schienen mehr an meinem Rad denn an mir interessiert. Als sie jedoch die Kamera in meiner Hand sahen, fuhren sie weiter. |
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| Just 100m further, they seemed to reconsider. When they reversed & came towards me again, I took off on my bike. The path was rather narrow with some road blocks at the end (just wide enough for a small car, but only if you were very careful), so I didn't find out whether they just wanted to friendly enquire about my hobbies. | Nur 100m weiter überlegten sie es sich aber anscheinend anders. Sie legten den Rückwärtsgang ein & fuhren wieder in meine Richtung, woraufhin ich mich davonmachte. War ein enger Feldweg mit Pollern am Ende (die soweit auseinander standen, daß ein Kleinwagen gerade so durchpasste), weshalb ich nicht herausfinden musste, ob sie sich nur freundlich nach meinem Hobby erkundigen wollten. |
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| It was anyway already pretty late. When I reached the coast, the sun was almost gone, but the colours were very interesting. This dark reddish taint is rather uncommon. | Es war sowieso recht spät. Als ich an die Küste kam, war die Sonne schon fast weg, aber die Farben waren sehr interessant. Diese dunkelrote Schattierung ist ziemlich ungewöhnlich. |
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| Gave some eerie atmosphere, but I like it. Meanwhile in the north it appeared way more bluish, with just a hint of pink: | Ergab eine leicht unheimliche Stimmung, aber mir gefiel's. Unterdessen erschien der Norden eher bläulich, mit einem Hauch von Rosa: |
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| Even without the sun, the reddish structures stayed for a while, albeit in just a small part of the sky: | Auch als die Sonne untergegangen war, blieben die rötlichen Strukturen für eine Weile, wenn auch eng begrenzt: |
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| Turning towards the mountains in the east, I got pink-shocked: | Als ich mich den Bergen im Osten zuwandte, packte mich der Rosa-Schock: |
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| & with that moody shot above, that should be it for today. It shouldn't take another 9 months for the next post (I think). For now, just a few more pics: | & mit dem düsteren Bild oben soll es das dann für heute gewesen sein. Denke mal, es wird nicht wieder 9 Monate dauern bis zum nächsten MBM-Blick. Jetzt erstmal noch ein paar Bilder: |
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The bird pix are great, but that red sunset over the coast is incredible! Such a fantastic, vermillion color!
I'd like to hear more about the gypsies in your area. That was intriguing!
Best wishes for Happiness, Health, and Prosperity in 2022!
Cheers!
Thanks, all the best to you, too.
Was very lucky with the sunset, very rare to have these colours.
The gipsies here are a contentious topic. I don't want to overgeneralise. Some of them seem to be well-integrated, but all-too often they are either criminals or beggars. I usually encounter them as beggars, most often in front of supermarkets. Doesn't mean that they're necessarily poor, though. Once I was on my bike at the coast & there was a family with a pick-up truck, sifting through stuff that they had collected. & they sent their children towards me to beg for money. (Since they can afford a car & I can't, I have to assume that they are better off than I am.)
Then there are the criminals, who tend to break into people's homes. Seems to be quite common here in Greece. I talked to one pensioner once, who told me that some gipsies repeatedly broke into his home (while he was inside) & took everything valuable. The police here doesn't care, he said.
A similar story was in the news recently. An old woman was repeatedly burgled by a gang of gipsies, until she shot one of them with an air gun, injuring him slightly in the arm. Now she is in court, being sued.
Ahh... We have similar stories here in the US about folks being sued while protecting themselves...
I was unaware of gipsies existing in Greece previous to your post. We have them here, and of course, across western Europe. I guess they are everywhere. The strangest aspect is the family component...
Thanks for the follow-up. Such an interesting topic...
Cheers!