Wordless Wednesday
Travel
Wordless Wednesday
Thursday Thoughts – The Road to Tibet II
I am revisiting the trainride to Tibet in 2009 – and sending some pictures from the train for Thursday Thoughts.
Mezmerising landscapes every day – and – going to bed for the night? We didn’t want to miss a single thing. Today I found some pictures with human connection. Nomads with Jaks grazing the slopes. A peaceful sight.
The Chinese built the railway on the permafrost, and also the existing roads. We saw mostly trucks in endless lines on those roads.
Something that maybe was built to stop snow and sand blowing onto the railway?
Meandering rivers and roads, and everywhere that enigmatic light,
and the magnificent cloudscapes over the floating, colourful landscape.
See the tiny road running close to the railway? I can only imagine the distance to those mountains…
I hope you enjoyed this piece of the Tibetan Plateau too. I do think there will be a number III next Thursday – and you are welcome to travel with me!
Thursday Thoughts – The Road to Tibet
In 2009 we travelled by railroad to Tibet from China. A grand adventure on the Tibetan Plateau.
It is the world’s highest and largest plateau above sea level with an area of 2.500.000 square kilometres. The average elevation is more than 4.500 meters (14800 ft)
I have gone back to look at my old photos from the train – a train that never stopped and only let us take photos from where we sat. All four of us were glued to the windows those few days.
The landscape was breathtakingly beautiful, vast and wild – and I tried to capture it all with my simple, little Canon camera.
I am so grateful to have these memories, and despite the old camera, I will post some more pictures next Thursday as well.
Lens-Artists Challenge #331 – Resilience
Anne‘s theme this week is Resilience. And that is what we all have to show to survive. Resilience is the ability to maintain psychological well-being in the face of adversity. It’s the ability to “bounce back” from difficult experiences.
There is so much trouble in the world today, so we have no other choice. The most obvious example here in Europe is the Ukrainian people. When everything seems hopeless and impossible, they rise again and fight back. The fires now in the US, the war in Gaza – somehow most of us manage to go on – Life works that way. Be resilient – or break.
I guess you all know my love for Iceland, its landscapes and its strong inhabitants – people, animals, plants. Living in constant danger of disaster molds you to be resilient. And it is not only people and homes, but their whole livelihood – cattle, horses, sheep. They must be resilient in a volcanic area that often ”comes alive” We have visited Iceland several times, and sometimes soon after eruptions too.
This is Eldfell volcano after the big eruption on Vestmannaeyar, 1973. We went there in 1979, when the surface had cooled down and it was allowed to walk everywhere. Then we returned in the summer of 2019, from when these photos are.
Some of the half buried houses were left as a reminder of the disaster. This is Heimaey, the main town on the islands.
Luckily their whole fishing fleet was in the harbour those days because of a storm – so within 6 hours 5300 people were safely evacuated. Only one life was lost – a man who walked into a house to get medicin, but was poisoned by the gas.
Krafla erupted in 1984, and Hekla’s last one was in 2000. Hekla is a well known volcano that always displays a trail of smoke – erution or not. The picture shows Eyafjallajökull during the first day of eruption in 2010. This eruption caused a stop in the air traffic in the whole of Europe. The planes could not safely fly because the ashes could destroy the engines.
One of the gigantic lava fields in Iceland. You should not risk walking out there – holes deeper than 200 meters hide under the moss. Here resilience from nature is shown in flowers, grasses and mosses that came back rather fast.
The newest volcanic island, Surtsey, was created from an eruption in the ocean in 1963, south of Vestmannaeyar. Now it is a World Heritage site, but only scientists are allowed to visit. In 1965 the first living plants were discovered there and today birds are living on the island too.
Horses, I have to mention the Icelandic horses, they are among the toughest and sturdiest – and most resilient breeds on Earth. They stand close together in the winds on the open plains, often with their backs to the wind, and don’t seem to suffer at all. For this Viking people, they are priceless treasures.
This week the hosted Lens-Artists Challenges are resumed, after the fantastic Favourite Images of 2024 last week. Anne is leading us with this timely theme and her post is truly inspirational. Please visit her beautiful site and when you join us, please tag Lens-Artists and link back to Anne’s original post.
Next week it’s Ritva’s turn to host so make sure to visit her magnificent site Saturday 18th January. Until then, take care and stay curious.
Wordless Wednesday
Thursday Thoughts – Memories from Tibet
I was thinking of Tibet today. Maybe because the sun made a short glimpse through my morning window. A shining memory it is, from 2009. I just hade to go back to the archives…
Through all the sorrows for the people there with the occupation, this nunnery was a gleam of joy. The nuns going about their daily business with a smile. The shining spheres in the yard were for warming water with the sun. The kettle was put in the middle.
The most sacred monastery in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, was built in 647. The smoke from the fires was thick and people from all over the country gathered to pay their respect, fueling yak-butter lamps, eating and praying. They all waited patiently in line to come inside.
Outside Lhasa people lived off the land and every house had a cow in the street or on a small balcony. Not a great life for the cows not being free – but so much better than in the big factories here in the west. In Tibet they were family members and got some words of love every day.
There were always welcoming doors to the temples…
Seldom is the journey to go to a place more interesting than this one was. We entered the train in Beijing, and I think we sat by the windows with cameras tight every minute of those 48 hours – not in the darkness though. There was extra oxygen in the compartments, and the rails were laid on the permafrost, which I guess now is melting… We were not allowed to leave the train anywhere on the trip.
The landscape was spectacular with long views, open plains and mountains on the Tibetan Plateau.
Nomads with Yaks like little dots – and only once we got this close! A beauty.
How I loved that landscape! And the clouds seemed so huge and so close to the ground.
The beauty of it all seized us and will keep its grip forever.
I have hundreds of photos from that train ride. Every time I look at them I must take a deep breath. And remember. Because I will never see this again.
Thursday Thoughts – Bicycles, Bicycles…
The city most known for a multitude of bicycles used to be Beijing – but as they are getting much fewer there since the 1980’s, my guess is that Amsterdam has taken over the lead.
Or, do you have another suggestion?
Thursday Thoughts – Dahlia Festival in Holland
I guess Holland doesn’t need more presentation than this: canals, boats, bicycles – and flowers! Not only tulips, but this year we decided to visit the Dahlia Festival instead. And we were not disappointed!
The gallery features some glorious dahlias from Keukenhof Castle. We arrived just after a shower and could savour all the colours and shapes – and some raindrops too.
We also visited a couple of Dahlia farms with a multitude of different sorts. Pompon Dahlias are still popular and I understand why. They don’t look real! I thought I would buy some bulbs and give away to Dahlia lovers back home – unfortunately they are not for sale in September – but in early Spring…
Well, I loved photographing them, and a couple of days later we saw the Dahlia Parade too, with flower floats you could only dream of…
Thursday Thoughts – What to Do with a Leftover Firestation
Well, on our visit to Kent and Sussex we lived in the little town Tonbridge. Scouting one day, I came across the old fire station.
The fire station was no longer in use…or so I thought at first. But this is what they had made it into!
This grey day it still looked a bit abandoned – but soon arrived some chatting ladies. I talked to the girls at the bar, and they showed me the massive amount of dog photos on their wall. You should take a photo of your dog and hang it here – with the dog’s name on it. And there were many of them – I could swear there must be more dogs than people in this town. Never verified though.
A lovely place anyway, with excellent coffee.
Leya 
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