Paragliding from the Petzen

I can only envy these paragliders.

YOU MUST VIEW THEM IN THE LARGE FORMAT.

Memorial ...War's end...1945 - Erlauf, Lower Austria

Just a little "kitschy"

Two soldiers exchanging flowers..

with a little girl in between ??

You gotta be kidding...

"Art" vs "Art"

Here are 4 pieces of two men's creation.

two of them are by the Austrian Artist Franz Josef Altenburg

while the other two were created by a friend of mine in his back garden.

Don't let the substance confuse you.

Which are the pieces of "art"
and which are my friends doodlings ?

Please also tell me WHY you consider
one piece to be this and the other piece that.

...in a friends garden...

..the "Jasmine Trumpet."

n.n.
maybe somebody knows

...a butterfly on a "Brown Eyed Susan"

Hybiscus

A Jewel of the "Late Gothic" period

This altar, dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus,
stands as a side altar in the little but beautiful church of the village of Mauer,
in the vicinity of the famous Monestary of Melk on the Danube.
Meticulously carved, it counts as one of the great works of the art of wood carving.

It is thought that this "head piece" comes from a different altar
and was added at a later time.

From the main, centre panel, containing 20 different figures,
it appears evident that several artists worked on this carving.

Please view these panels in the Large Format
so you may better appreciate the mastery, expressed in the detail.

ATOP MOUNT HEMMA....

Hemmaberg...Mount Hemma....In the "Jauntal" the Valley of the Jaun....Carinthia, Austria.
This, believe me, is a most interesting place. There is evidence that this hill top had human occupation somewhere around 1,500 BC. The Celts had a settlement there in the 3rd century BC.. ..Later, the Romans came and called the place "Iuenna", likely stemming from the Celtic God "Iovenat". Then, a number of Christian churches were erected on this hill top. I don't blame the Celts, nor the early Christians. It is an inviting place. It commands a wonderful view into the valley below and you could see friend or foe approaching from a long way off. It has a lively spring with wonderful fresh water. Mature trees give today, and I expect, gave then, plenty of shade. A lovely breeze during the hot summer month provided early "Air conditioning"...Any settlement had to be protected from three sides only, since the North side consisted of a steep rock wall offering an impossible obstacle for any foe....lots of good reasons to settle there: Lovely and secure...
I suspect that neither the Celts, nor the Romans knew anything about "right polarizing Energy".
It took modern man to come up with this idea.....

The 'Miracle' of Hemma Mountain

Let me translate this for you:
"This is a place of Power !
The person who lingers at this place
will load up on positiv right polarizing energy.
The spring too possesses this energetic charge."
Nobody has yet been able to explain to me the meaning of
"positiv right polarizing"
I suppose the less we can understand the meaning of a phrase,
the more impressed we are and the more readily we accept this nonsense.

These two very nice people filled cannister upon cannister
with this pure wonderful spring water, which they were absolutely certain
had "right polarizing energy."
When I asked the meaning of 'right polarizing energy', they gave me a wonderful explanation:
"Well", they said, "it's water laden with energy which is polarized to the right.
We drink it all the time and we are really healthy."
I questioned them no further.
I suppose, if you believe in something strongly enough, you can convince yourself of just about anything.

Here is the Plazebo to end all Plazebos:
"Right Polarizing Water."
Maybe we should collect it and sell the stuff.

Excavating on "Hemmaberg"

Aereal photography suggested the presence
of graves around the church.

Students from Klagenfurt under the supervision
of experienced archeologists, painstakingly search
for these graves.

With miniature trowel and a brush, this student
searches for evidence.

If you look carefully you will see the bones of
a human skelleton. An arm, a rib cage...
This young lady must have been excited to find this
burial site.

Inside the church of St. Hemma

The Main Altar

Most interesting paintings on wood.
(Stair case to the upper areas)

Side Altar.

Hiking up the "Hemmaberg"

With our two friends from Vienna, we hiked the last mile
and found this wonderful view over the countryside below.

A well deserved short rest brings a smile to Christin.

The "Hemmagrotto".
There is more superstitious nonsense
believed about this little place, than about any other place I know.

On "Hemmaberg"

Three hill ranges in the haze of summer heat.

On our way up to the church of St. Hemma,
Christin found delicious wild raspberries.

Excavations from ancient church buildings.

Re-built foundation walls of ancient holy places
with a small church dedicated to St.Emma, who, some believe,
has performed many healing miracles.

Die Petzen - The Petzen

Ein schoener Ausblick ins Tal von einer gemuetlichen Gaststaette.

A lovely view into the valley from a cosy "Gasthaus"

Christin, Helene und Karli on a "high seat"

Am Hochsitz.