Hi there! Welcome to my travel log. Usually, I don't take notes or keep a journal on my trips and travels. I rely completely on photos as they are self explanatory and are the best memory log. I hope you will enjoy them.
Jun 03, 2003 02:00 PM Karl-May Fest (should be entered as 14/05/2003)
This is an interesting Festival that commemorates the works of Karl-May, a well known german author. His books are mainly about stories of Native American folks in America and are much loved by children in Germany.
Every year, Native Americans and other Ethnic groups (and Germans too!) gather at this town (name of which I could not remember at this time) and celebrate this festival.
There were many products from South America too. I managed to grab a few dreamfetchers and some leather bracelets.
It was interesting.
|
Jun 02, 2003 02:00 PM Taking a breather
The hike up the hill into the core of the sanctuary is quite a workout. Some parts appeared dark as the sun barely could penetrate the thick leaves of the old trees. This very much explains why the ground seems hard and dusty.
|
Jun 02, 2003 02:00 PM Biodiversity Experts Exploration team
Here the group had just finished their briefing before embarking into the sanctuary. A group of 25 experts from different countries around the world were gathered and discussed about forestry and biodiversity management.
|
Jun 02, 2003 02:00 PM Searching for Chicken God stones
Right after the 3rd hour in our excursion around the island we stopped to have our lunch. Immediately after that I went around looking for the famed rocks and this picture caught me red handed.
|
Jun 02, 2003 02:00 PM Isle of Vilm - Trekking by the beach
One of the most interesting experience for me is to follow the trails which took me around the entire island. There are trails that go into the forests and some just by the seaside. In this picture, it can be seen that the trails are leading into the forests. We were waiting for others to arrive so that we could proceed into the sanctuary.
|
Jun 02, 2003 02:00 PM Embracing 150 year old oak trees
One of the things to remember about this ISle of Vilm sanctuary is that the forest is an unmanaged one. This means that trees are not cut when they fall and are not trimmed. They just grow naturally pretty much like how trees grow in the tropical rainforests. Here the participants made an attempt to measure this oak tree believe to be about 150 years old. Four participants stood around with their arms stretched before they could hold each others hands.
|
Jun 02, 2003 02:00 PM Isle of Vilm - "Chicken God" Rocks
These rocks gets its name from an old legend and are said to be lucky if the holes cut across the diameter. Finding them were easy as they were all over the beach but finding the right size which could be worn is the challenge.
|
Jun 01, 2003 02:00 PM Arrival to Isle of Vilm
Upon arrival all visitors are required to report to the administration office. It is about 10 minutes walk from the jetty. Located in the building is also the canteen which serves delicious authentic german food. Accomodation arrangements are also made at the reception. ID tags are necessary upon entry onto the island.
|
May 27, 2003 02:00 PM Birthday Party away from Home
This is the first time I'm celebrating my birthday away from home. There was a party organized and four of us were celebrating our birthdays that week, Ruben, Kawee, Thanh and Myself. We had great fun at the party, food, dancing etc. Here's the memorable toast, Long live and prospher.
|
May 25, 2003 02:00 PM Rotherdbach/Altenberg Excursion
We left at 8.00am from Parkstr. 5 and headed to the Altenberg in the Erzgebirge Mountains. I heard a lot about the beauty of the mountains but what was more interesting was that there are several mines which have been de-comissioned and are now open to tourists. I was told that its necessary to inform the management of the Mine in advance of the intended visit and also how many would be in the group. Individual visits are not encouraged.
The mines appeared steep and dark. Proper attire is necessary. Definately not recommended for the weakhearted or people with claustrophobia.
Overall, it would have been enjoyable to be able to go to the mountains but there was very bad weather on the way and too cold to spend the day in the forest. After visiting the mine we headed back to Altenberg and had some soup in a Gasthaus.
|