Narayani River

Entering Chitwan, we crossed a large river which our taxi driver told us was part of the Ganga river. We later learned that this is the Narayani, or Gandaki River, which is one of the major tributaries of the Ganga river. I spent 7 months in Varanasi, Indiat living and teaching on the banks of the Ganga (way back when this blog was first conceived). It was pretty incredible to see the same waters much further upstream.

During our stay in Chitwan, we took a boat ride along the river. We saw all kinds of animals in the water and on the shores, including the endangered gharial, or fish-eating crocodile. We also saw a group of men using two canoes to bring a Jeep across the river! And we took a morning walk with the elephants and mahouts that work at the lodge to cut food for the elephants. The elephants passed a bundle at a time up to their mahouts (stealing bites along the way) and carried the stack back–the whole elephant-load is only about half of their food for the day.

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Thomaskirche

On Easter Sunday, we visited Thomaskirche, one of the most famous churches in Leipzig. Originally founded in the 12th century, the current building was started in the 15th century, and is now a combination of different styles and restorations. Bach spent over 25 years here as cantor, and is buried beneath the sanctuary. It’s also home to a famous boys’ choir, which was founded over 800 years ago. It was stunning to hear one of Bach’s cantatas performed by the Thomas choir in this space.

Past Snapshots: Merced Wildlife Refuge

Another stop on my travels through my photo drive archives is Merced National Wildlife Refuge. We stopped there in January 2012, on the way to Yosemite. The refuge is host to an incredible variety of birds, including many migratory birds that overwinter there. We saw Ross’s geese, sandhill cranes, blackbirds, herons, and many other waterbirds. The refuge also uses cattle crazing to control invasive weeds and keep varied grass heights to support all the different species’ needs.

Oulu Winter

In February, I went to an ecology conference in Oulu, Finland. I’ve wanted to travel to Finland for years, and this was particularly neat because for complicated reasons Oulu is actually my employing university, even though my research is based in Germany. Our first few days the temperatures were well below freezing–we had ice crystals forming on our eyelashes–but the snow and ice made for stunning landscapes.

Easter Market

Germany’s Christmas markets get a lot of attention, but Leipzig also hosts a vibrant Ostermesse, or Easter fair, with wooden stalls selling crafts and tasty treats. Many of the crafters demonstrate traditional techniques–everything from hand masonry to a wooden treadle lathe–and wear traditional linen clothes. We wandered through the fair on Saturday, and liked it so much we went back Sunday.

Peterskirche

Here’s some pictures of one of our local churches: Peterskirche, in Leipzig. The neo-gothic building was built in the 1880’s, but connected to a long history of churches with the same name spanning back to the 1100’s. Like many historic buildings in Germany, Peterskirche was severely damaged in WWII. Reconstruction work has progressed slowly over decades, and the interior is still being refurbished. The spire juts above the surrounding buildings, and makes a familiar landmark on our city walks.

Leipzig Wildpark

One of our favorite weekend activities is walking to the Wildpark, a zoo/wildlife preserve for native animals in the southern part of Leipzig. The Wildpark is located within a stretch of forested park areas, and is always crowded with families. We especially like seeing the baby boar, raccoons* in trees, birds**, and albino reindeer. On one visit we arrived around feeding time, when the grey heron flew into the river otter enclosure to steal some fish, and the little mink ran around excitedly for twenty minutes before devouring his “prey.”

* raccoons are called Waschbär in German, which literally translates to “wash-bear.” I love this name for these mini-bears that wash their paws and food!

** including the European robin, which is much cuter than it’s North American counterpart

Bridge of Insanity

Last weekend we visited a region called Saxony-Switzerland, which is in Saxony (Germany, not Switzerland), and reminds me a lot of Pinnacles National Park. With castles, because Germany. We walked around the ruins of Neurathen castle, a rock fortress that perched on the towering cliff formations during the Middle Ages, and the Basteibrücke, a sandstone bridge constructed in the 1800s for tourists. (The original bridge to the fortress was wooden, so it could be broken if enemies tried to cross). It was amazing seeing the high rocks where people walked, worked, and lived–and the modern climbers scaling the sandstone peaks.

 

Washington Coast Winter

Last December after a winter storm, a friend and I drove out to Washington’s west coast. We went to Ruby Beach, one of my favorites of the Olympic National Park beaches. To my surprise, the storm hadn’t washed up much, but the trip didn’t disappoint, with beautiful grey skies and eagles overhead. And on our drive back, we came across a herd of elk occupying the Forks airstrip.