Completed 18th April 2026 (incl. a link to a livestream of a whale rescue)

  

500 Pieces

 

Kiel

 

by Bernd Natke

Made by MOCA 

 

 Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. 

With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea.

The city of Kiel was founded in 1233 as Holstenstadt tom Kyle  

 

I can't believe that my previous trip to Kiel to take a cruise with AIDA was already 4 years ago 

Since march 2026 a humpback whale stranded four times on four different spots. Screenshot CNN 

Since friday, a rescue team tries to safe the whale a remove him from his near-coastal place. 

 

If interested, please watch the livestream of NDR 

Update 27th April: the rescue is still underway 

 

 

Completed 4th April 2026

500 Pieces

Maltese Luzzu 

Luzzus are a common sight in Maltese fishing villages, especially in Marsaxlokk.

The small, colourful boats have a rich, cultural tradition

 Manufacturer: Miller House, Malta

Completed 8th February 2026

500 Pieces

Khan Phing Kan, Thailand

Also known as James Bond Island

 (screenshot: Google maps)

 

 

Completed 27th December 2025

1000 Pieces

Hurtigruten (The Coastal Express)

Photos by C. Holzhäuser, 2005/2012/2014

 Top (left to right): Flag of a ship Hurtigruten 2014 - Sortlandbrua 2012 - Kjeungskjær fyr 2012

2nd row: Midnight sun, Lofoten, Vesterålen 2005 - Nordlys in Svolvær 2014

3rd row: Nordlys in Honningsvåg 2014 - near of the Trollfjord 2005

below: Raftsund 2012 - Sea eagle during a photo safari, Lofoten 2014 - in the far north 2014

Manufactured by PuzzleYou, Germany 

Completed 2nd September 2025

 

500 (-1) Pieces

Two-masted schooner

Ravensburger (1984) 

 A schooner (/ˈskuːnər/ SKOO-nər) is a type of sailing vessel defined by its fore-and-aft rig on all of two or more masts and the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. The most common variants are gaff-rigged and staysail schooners.

 The term "schooner" first appeared in eastern North America in the early 1700s. The term may be related to a Scots word meaning to skip over water, or to skip stones.

 

 

 

Impressions from our long weekend in Frankfurt and Darmstadt, Germany

 We spent our long weekend (9.-12. May) in the near of Darmstadt

Our first sightseeing hotspot was Frankfurt and "Mainhattan", the financial district at the river Main, related to Manhattan, NYC

 

We also visited the St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt, which was a Protestant church.

 

   ©I, Dontworry

 It became  famous because the first German parliament met there:

On May 18, 1848, liberal, radical democratic and monarchy-loyal members of parliament gathered in Frankfurt's Paulskirche to adopt a liberal constitution and a unified German nation state. Since then, the church has been regarded as a symbol of the first German democratic movement.

 One of the historically outstanding achievements of the Frankfurt National Assembly is the imperial law on the Fundamental Rights of the German People passed on December 21, 1848. This was the first time that human and civil rights became law in Germany.

  The Paulskirche constitution failed because it was rejected by German princes, the deputies had no power to enforce it and the Prussian king rejected the imperial crown.

Inside the plenary chamber

 

 

 Today, the building is a venue for all kinds of events, such as concerts, speeches and award ceremonies.  It is a national monument that is important for the whole of Germany.

 

 Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: German Publishers and Booksellers Association), awarded during the frankfurt book fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche. The prize has been awarded since 1950 and all award winners are immortalized on the plaques at the entrance to St. Paul's Church

 Impressions from the "Römer"

We went on a river trip on the Main and show you some impressions here

Remarkable is a large and imposing inscription on top of the "Eiserne Steg", written in ancient Greek. It reads Homer's line from the Odyssey, when the goddess Athena descends to Ithaca to urge Telemachus seeking his father, Odysseus: "PLEON EPI OINOPA PONTON EP ANTHROPOYS" which means "Sailing through the dark sea with people of other languages".

New building of the European Central Bank

 

Tower of the imperial cathedral St. Bartholomew behind a row of houses by the river

 

Exterior view of a cement factory with green crane

 

Niederräder railroad bridge

The characteristic spire of the Messeturm (on the left)

A real gem of Frankfurt is hidden under the Niederräder Brücke bridge: the Orange Beach. It's actually just a slightly larger kiosk with unusual seating, including beer benches, deckchairs and beach chairs. But with a little beach feeling and a lot of charm, this place has quickly achieved cult status and enjoys enormous popularity, not only among cyclists and walkers. 

Riverport Gutleuthof (also known as Flusshafen Gutleut or Flusshafen Gutleuthof) is an inland port in Frankfurt am Main, which was built as a landing stage in the early 1960s and is used in particular for handling bulk goods and metal products.

"Maynblick Project", a luxurious home

 

Mainova AG is one of the largest regional energy suppliers in Germany and supplies around one million people in Hesse and the neighboring federal states with electricity, natural gas, heat and drinking water.

Inside St. Bartholomew

Gothic altar

 

Byzantine style icon of St. Hedwig 

Inside the Electoral chapel

From 1438, the electoral chapel attached to the south of the choir, which otherwise served as the abbey library, was the venue for the imperial elections. There was an altar on the east wall and seven chairs on the long walls for the election. During elections, the electors' armchairs were covered with red velvet.

At the beginning of the election, the electors gathered in the Römer for preliminary negotiations. The following day, they went to St. Bartholomew's Church early in the morning in full electoral regalia. The collegiate chapter received them there and opened the ceremony with a Mass of the Holy Spirit to ask for a blessing for a wise decision. An oath was taken in front of the altar of the election chapel. In the sanctuary, above the electors' chairs, there was an impressive depiction of the Last Judgement with Christ as the Judge of the World, who will also hold the earthly rulers to account for the consequences of their actions. The imperial marshal closed the chapel. The electors met as a conclave. The actual election was secret, a simple majority of votes was sufficient.

The result was then solemnly announced in the cathedral. As the highest-ranking of the electors, the Archbishop of Mainz swore in the new king, after which the electors lifted him onto the altar of the cross in front of the rood screen. After the Te Deum had been sung together, the election of the king was publicly proclaimed. 

Floor tiles in the electoral chapel

Every year on the last Saturday in January, the Office of Charlemagne is celebrated in the cathedral; this pontifical mass in honor of Charlemagne has commemorated his death and memorial day, January 28, since 1332. Today, the focus is on the idea of a Europe united in Christianity, of which Charlemagne is considered the representative. A cardinal or bishop from another European country is therefore usually invited to deliver the sermon. 

A large painting with an eventful history: "Deposition from the cross" 

by Anthonis van Dyck painted in 1627. He originally painted it for the Archbishop of Mainz, 

who did not want to pay for it after completion.

The disgruntled painter eventually donated the painting to an impoverished Franciscan monastery. The monastery was delighted with the gift in the middle of a war and soon sold it on, which saved the painting: the monastery was burned down by an enemy army shortly afterwards. 

 

The painting ended up in the Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna and from there in the possession of the Birkenstock family. Their daughter Antonie later married a Frankfurt patrician's son, Franz Brentano, and brought the painting with her to Frankfurt. After Brentano's death, his widow bequeathed it to St. Bartholomew's Abbey in 1852. In 1952, the painting was given its current place of honor in the north transept of the cathedral. 

I will show you Darmstadt Vivarium and "Grube Messel" in a separate blogpost :-)