helicopters-AirLife

I like helicopters, and my roommate and I think the idea of an ambulance on a helicopter is pretty cool, so I recently finally got to get some photos of it and I wanted to share. The first three are AirLife taking off from an accident a couple weeks ago, and the last one I took this afternoon at the accident we just went to. I took it out of the car window as my roommate was finding a place to park, and it was about the best shot I got, proof I haven't lost my touch for out-the-window photos. Always makes me happy when I get a good one while a passenger in a moving vehicle.

fire!

These photos are from a house fire not too long ago. Fortunately the house was abandoned. I think firefighters are awesome, and I like fire too, although I do hate to see it destroying important things such as structures and acres. There is a lot of emotion involved in a fire that lends to good photo opportunities. Sometimes I think I'd like to be a firefighter, except I'd probably keep getting distracted and go, 'hey, wait, let me take a picture of that before you put it out,' which would be somewhat counterproductive to the whole firefighting goal.

Texas Meets The Windy City

First we have a view of the Chicago River.

Next is a nice curved building that offered a great reflection, just next to the Chicago River.

The next four are of a nice piece of work that everyone called 'The Bean' even though that's not the official name for it (I just can't remember what the real name is...). I could have spent a long time playing with that object, taking random photos. It's great. Chicago seems to have a lot of things that are very reflective.

Next is the Tribune Tower, that I just think is cool not only for its style but because it houses a great newspaper (plus the radio station at the bottom).

Then we have the view from the John Hancock Center tower, that was voted best view in Chicago (better even than from the Sears Tower..ooooh).
The next two are the view from the room where I slept, the fresh snowfall on the morning I left. I think the snow is beautiful, but I think I still prefer to look at it from inside a warm building.

Last is the snow at the Lutheran School of Theology, one of the places I came to visit. In some ways I think it's kind of an odd building, but I think it goes well with the snow.

Seguin like Christmas

Just some shots of downtown Seguin's square decorated for Christmas. It's very pretty.

Thanksgiving in La Grange

Today is Thanksgiving Day, and I was in La Grange at my grandmother's with my family. This afternoon I went with my dad, grandmother, and sister downtown and took my camera. The first one I like very much, that's the courthouse in the background. The second was a very nice little flower we saw, some sort of unidentified succulent. Third is a windmill at the old jail, which I tried to photograph on our way in but had to stop as we went back out because the sun had finally come out and given me some light to work with. You can see the absence of sunlight also in the first photo. It's amazing what a little light will do for photography. =)

Amsterdam, NL

We also went to Amsterdam. I wasn't sure how I would find Amsterdam, since its red light district reputation preceeds it, but I really saw none of that and found it to be a lovely city that I would not in the least mind visiting again, though I do not think I would want to live there. I also saw more bicycles than I have ever seen in my life. Most people ride bikes in this city, and in some places there are seas of them parked, though some look like they've been in one place for years. Walking around this city also felt like it was farther than all the other places we were, though I am not sure if it was. Maybe I was just tired.

The first photo is of the city's big park, and you can see to the left side of it that part of the grassy area was elevated; if there was a reason for it I do not know. I would love to have this park in a city nearby my home; I would be there all the time. It was very nice.

Second is a giant chessboard (note the human lower legs). I saw a couple other of these elsewhere in Europe, and they intrigue me. Looks like a fun way to play chess (though very public).

Third we found the Hard Rock Cafe in Amsterdam, though we weren't looking for it. It just seemed like a fun place to go.

Fourth, the Heineken Brewery is in Amsterdam. We were going to take a tour; unfortunately the building was closed for renovations, to be reopened at some undesignated later point this summer. That was a little disappointing.

Fifth is one of the canals in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is another one of those cities full of water.

Six and seven are the other part of the aforementioned park, six taken on my way into the city from our hotel, seven taken as I was headed back to the hotel, and it was raining lightly, which meant a great opportunity for a photo without people (which is hard in a public park).

The last photo is a police car, just because, and because it looks cool. Our law enforcement should have brightly striped cars.

Bremen, DE

We actually stopped in Hamburg before here, and had planned to stay there two nights, but it was just not what we had hoped, and to me seemed dirty and trashy in many ways. So we decided to go ahead and leave, and headed to Bremen for that second night, which also cut straight driving time to Amsterdam, plus Bremen was a much nicer city.

Bremen is a port city (and where my grandmother's grandmother sailed from). The first two photos are from near our hostel, of the inlet that leads to the larger port area.

The third photo was just funny: TexMex in Germany. We decided it probably would not be a good idea to try it, half the mexican food in Texas will make you sick...(and I don't eat meat anyway..)

Fourth is the statue of the Bremen town musicians. I kept seeing pictures of these animals and couldn't figure out what was up with them. It took a bit of time to make the connection and realize that story was this town, then it all made sense.

Fifth is a girl who started entertaining the street as we were finishing our evening meal. She was juggling fire sticks (as you can see), and was quite fun to watch; it was a good show.

The last three pictures are the town's cathedral, where I attended worship Sunday morning. The last two I took as I was sitting inside after the service. It was gorgeous, and I was actually fairly amazed that the cathedral wasn't Catholic; they usually are. The pastor was a woman, and yes she did preach from up in the pulpit deal you can see on the far left of the middle of these three photos. Communion was served after the regular service in a separate mini-service; I thought that was interesting.

Overall this was a very nice town, and I really liked it; a much better choice than a second night in Hamburg.