Coriander germling

I have an update on my coriander today – fascinating observations!

Well, what was peeping out of the ground? A small plant appeared, and the seed was still attached to it. The seed was, so to speak, upended over the two cotyledons. It looked funny.

I took a photo in the morning. At lunchtime I transferred the photos and looked at them and found them to be not quite satisfactory. So I went back to the coriander seed with the camera and wanted to take more photos. But I hadn't reckoned with light and photosynthesis! The little plant had already developed further and the two leaves had now unfolded. Instead of the coriander seed being upended over both leaves, the seed was now only attached to one of the leaves. Hello cotyledons!

But the news doesn't stop there! It took me so long to get round to work on the photos that the first leaf, which is clearly recognizable as coriander, has grown in the meantime.

In the meantime, a few more days have passed and things are looking good. But I haven't tried the coriander leaves yet. Still to come!


Camera + lens: Sony alpha 99 + Minolta AF 100mm Macro f/2.8

Spring peels off

As spring arrives, I slowly but surely peeling off. This observation amuses me. I leave my winter jacket behind and reach for the between-seasons jacket next to it instead. To be on the safe side, I take the knitted scarf with me - as far as my neck is concerned I do better safe than sorry. The choice of shoes changes - same style but now it's the pair without the lining. The number of clothing layers decreases, finally no more four layers on top to keep the centre warm. The tights which has protected the lower part of the body from freezing can also be removed. The onion look is wonderful, nevertheless it's very pleasant not to have to put on and take off so many layers.

It's nice to have you, spring - even though you let April do what it wanted to do - which was snow dropping one day eventually.

A library tour through Dresden on two wheels

What I really like about reasonably large cities is that they have district libraries. A central library and lots of small district libraries, spread out everywhere so that everyone can get books as quickly and easily as possible.

I grew up in a reasonably large city and even back then I went to the nearest, "my" district library. But I didn't read that much back then. It was only later that I realized that I really did go to the local library a lot. Just because. Because a library is a nice place.

Dresden is a reasonably large city. There is a central library in the city (I really appreciate and miss it!), and lots of small disctrict libraries scattered all over the place.

~

A Friday in March two years ago. I had taken the day off work to clear my head again. I had been living in Dresden for a few years at that time and, as it is so often the case, I could barely get my feet in the places I appreciate so much. It was already foreseeable that I would move away from Dresden sooner or later. I can imagine that this was a medium sized kick behind that got me on the bike and finally pursuing the wish I had been harbouring for some time: to visit several district libraries in one day on a short bike ride.

So I packed a bottle of water, a notebook, my pencil case and my little Olympus XA2 point-and-shoot camera.

I had chosen four libraries for the day (Bibliothek = library):

#1 Bibliothek Cotta

#2 Bibliothek Pieschen

#3 Bibliothek Blasewitz

#4 Bibliothek Gruna

I started in the suburb Südvorstadt (in the south of the city) and then cycled clockwise through Dresden. It was just under 30 kilometres - an impressive distance for me who normally only used my bike for grocery shopping. The route on Google Maps has been traced; I certainly did not cycle that way, I know myself. I rather took a detour here and there, intentionally or unintentionally. And the duration must be wrong five times.

I stopped a few times along the way to take photos of pretty/cute/notable corners. I orientated myself in the libraries, browsed around, tried out seating options and used tables to take notes. I enjoyed the children's book corners and the books on display that looked interesting. It must be a gift to be able to make a good and appealing selection. Feeling FOMO when a great book was on display that I would never find again if I wanted to borrow it. Thought that books are just as diverse as their authors - and the challenge lies in finding the right book that picks me up exactly where I am and what I'm looking for. In the Bibliothek Blasewitz, there was a CD corner with a CD player. I had to try it out and was catapulted back to my teenage years when I went to Saturn (an electronics store) in the nearby shopping mall with a friend on rainy Saturdays to listen to random 30 seconds of a track before moving on to the next song. I cycled along the Elbradweg (a cycle path) a bit and watched how spring lured people to the Elbwiese (Elbe meadows) at lunchtime and was amazed by a roller skater who skated like a figure skater (backwards, spinning, smooth). I got to know other neighbourhoods and rated them as beautiful or at least unique. I had lunch in the sun, and in the afternoon I finished the day happily at my kebab store of trust.

There is still so much to say: about libraries, about exploring the place where you live, about books, about travelling. But not today, that's enough for today. I say this to myself first and foremost.

From top to bottom: (1) On the way to Bibliothek Cotta (2, 3) Bibliothek Cotta (4, 5) Bibliothek Pieschen (6) Pieschen


Camera + lens: Olympus XA2
Film: Agfaphoto APX 100
Developement: self developped
Scan: Charlie Engel Lab 2.0