The Bergs

Last weekend we were scheduled to take a train from Frankfurt to Berlin for the Pentecost holiday.  Because of a rail strike (which have been happening far more frequently than they should), our train was cancelled.  So, instead we decided to use the long weekend to visit someplace within a civilized driving distance.  We opted for Nuremberg and Bamberg.  It ended up being a good Plan B.

Nuremberg is known for being the sight of all the Nazi party rallies and, of course, being where the war crimes trials were held in 1945 when the war ended in Europe.

One of the former Nazi buildings lurks in the background of this shot.
Congress Hall is HUGE and pretty ugly.  Today it is barely maintained, but houses the symphony
and the Documentation Center, an excellent museum which shows how the Nazis came to power,
how they held it, and what they did in their attempt to destroy Germany and Europe.

What is left of the Zeppelin Field grandstand.  If it looks familiar, that is because this
spot is featured frequently in the nazi propaganda films. 

Today the grandstand is falling apart.  It's a place to throw garbage, scrawl graffiti
(though that happens to almost every large surface in Europe), and look out over
what used to be Zeppelin Field- a football field and porto-johns.  How to
handle these sites is very controversial.  Do they deserve to be preserved or should
they be left to rot? 

The Nazi sites are outside of the city center and they're probably the only thing Nuremberg has that is definitely worth visiting.  Today, the city hosts the largest Christmas market in Germany.  It also has some rather impressive medieval history, most of which was bombed into oblivion during the war.  Things to see in Nuremberg include the deteriorating super structures of Hitler's regime, a large castle, and a bunch of reconstructed old buildings surrounded by ugly post-war architecture.  Other than that, it's pretty much like any other city in Germany- clothing stores, wurst restaurants, ice cream shops, Italian restaurants, street performers, and movie theaters that only show movies dubbed in German.  But, it is home to some really bizarre fountains.  They aren't worth planning a trip to see, but when you come upon them unexpectedly it's rather entertaining.  The famous one was completely enscaffolded so no opinions there.  But, the Fountain of Virtues seems to be more of a study on chronic lactation and the one on marriage is a sculpture and a nightmare.

The Castle is worthy of a look if you're already in town.  It was the residence of the
Holy Roman Emperor when he was in town.

The old hospital is a nice sight.  Today it is an old folk's home and, weirdly, a restaurant.

One of Nuremberg's churches

Another church and a fountain with a lot of lactating women.

 The next day we headed directly north for 45 minutes to Bamberg.  Bamberg is a unique city in Germany.  It's not a large city.  It's importance faded sometime in the early 19th century, so it's a bit of a time capsule.  There wasn't anything of significance going on here during the war so it wasn't bombed and the entire center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There's a pope and a Holy Roman Emperor buried in the cathedral.  Actually, there's are a couple of cathedrals, and a castle, a monastery, and this wonderful construction.

So, unlike all the other cities in Germany with the usual cathedrals and castles and wurst shops, this one also has a beautiful building on a bridge.  The Old City Hall was built in 1386 and has been well cared for.  The outside is covered in some festive frescoes (there's a couple creepy cherubs sculpted to crawl out of the walls).  I shot this thing in the afternoon, early evening, night, and right after sunrise.  I could probably go back and shoot it again.  After a month of some frustrating travel experiences, uncooperative weather, and hordes of tourists it was refreshing to find a subject that was great in any light and pretty easy to access.  The only minor problem was the wobbly wooden footbridge that was the only place to shoot it from head-on.  But, we powered through and got quite a few shots I'm happy with.

This one taken just as the lights were coming on is my favorite.  The rest are up
up on the website.

Another of Bamberg's charms is its beer.  Now, I know German beer is considered by many to be the best in the world, but, guys, I've done lots of research on the subject and German beer is typically kinda "meh."  Don't get me wrong, they've definitely mastered the pilsner.  But, creative German beer is not.  Except in Bamberg.  Here they make Rauchbier and Rauchbier is like the weird relative we all have that runs off to join the circus or become a lumberjack in Oregon or be an interpretive dancer in Paraguay or something.  Rauchbier is so totally off the wall for German beer it hits you like brick to the face.  Rauchbier is smoked beer.  I've had smoked beer before.  It's one of those things that's popular in trendy American craft beers.  This is SMOKED beer.  Like it's smoke with beer in it.  It tastes like a glass of bacon.  Mmmm, right?  Well, it seems it's a pretty polarizing beverage.  You're either a Rauchbier person or you're not.  If you're not, that's ok because Bamberg's NINE breweries also make the usual stuff too.  There's a beer trail tour that you can sign up for in the tourist office which shows you where to satiate your thirst.  The tour gives you some fun perks like a backpack, a stein, and drink vouchers.  Bamberg is totally strollable and a beer trail is the perfect route to stroll.

Bamberg is a lovely little city that, in my opinion, should be on more people's sightseeing lists.    There aren't any street performers (which is refreshing), weird fountains, or nazi stuff.  It does have lots of wurst places, a couple ice cream shops, really photogenic spots, a building in a river, and a beer trail.  Recommended weekend getaway spot?  Definitely.

Old fisherman's houses on the river

Water flow control system in the center of town

Head on over to the German Cities Gallery to pick up a print from the two Bergs!

Chamoniiiiiiiix!

Well, I wrote this post once already today, then Blogger had a problem and highlighted all the text, and then it just deleted the whole post all together.  So, here I am, once again, writing a blog post on Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France.  Sigh.  Oh, and as I said in the original version, I was intending to write about the Fujinon 10-24mm lens, but I'm going to leave that for a later date.  Ok, here we go.  Again.

The city of Chamonix with the Mont Blanc Massif towering above

 Last weekend, we drove down through Switzerland to Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France.  Chamonix-Mont Blanc (usually just called Chamonix) is one of the oldest tourism based towns in Europe.  It is pretty much located where the borders of France, Italy, and Switzerland meet.  The famous dome of Mont Blanc towers high above the town.  Mont Blanc is the tallest mountain of the Alps and the tallest in Western Europe.  It was the first major peak in the world to be climbed; the first ascent took place in 1786.  Some of the greatest climbers in history were either from Chamonix or spent significant time there.  Back in the day, the "Chamonix Guides" were men of legend.  Mont Blanc is still one of the most important mountains to ascend for mountaineers, usually the first major climb done by Europeans starting out in the sport and it's a must do for those attempting the Seven Summits.  The town is usually packed with climbers in the summer attempting the various routes of Mont Blanc, Grand Jorasses, or the many Aiguilles.  I'm fascinated by mountaineering and its lore and have always wanted to visit the valley from which the greats like Herzog, Terray, Messner, and Walker climbed out of into the clouds.  It's a sobering experience to see the spurs, walls, faces, ridges, and peaks in the flesh.

The dome of Mont Blanc

The Aiguille du Midi with its visitor center on the peak.  The cable car to the center is the
highest reaching vertical ascent car in the world.

Alpen glow on one of the peak of the Aiguilles

But, it's not just a town for climbers.  Chamonix hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924 and it's still a top destination for skiers in the Winter.  And, there's plenty for hikers, paragliders, runners, and cyclists too.  Chamonix is an outdoor sports enthusiast's playground year round.  It's basically a French speaking Aspen; heck, it's actually Aspen's sister city.  Everyone walks around wearing Columbia, Patagonia, Jack Wolfskin, Northface, or Odlo, even if they're just going to the pub.  The town has been supporting the tourist trade since the early 19th century and it shows.  The center is lined with fondue restaurants, outdoor equipment stores (some with espresso bars), pubs, hostels, hotels, and gourmet food shops.  It's a bit shabby, despite the popularity.  Sleepy alpine village it is not, but for those making a first time visit to the Alps, Chamonix is good place to start.  Despite being a little worn around the edges, it has excellent facilities, good food, and the friendliest French townspeople we've ever met.  And, of course, the views will never get shabby.

View from center looking southeast on the chalky white Arve River

We were kept down in the valley due to snow on Friday, the first real snow we've seen this year (a bit odd to experience it in May).   That allowed us time to get some local provisions like Savoy cheese and saucisson, génépe, fresh bread, and some bottles of Chignin Bergeron.  It was also a good time to check out the Crystal and Climbing Museum too.  The weather was a bit tricky for most of the weekend, as it tends to be in mountainous regions.  It was foggy in the mornings, clear for about 5 minutes in the afternoons, then cloudy again in the evenings.  I threw the 55-200mm lens in the bag as an afterthought, but ended up using it quite a bit to get tight shots of the peaks and ridges (like the ones above) when there was a break in the clouds.  It also came in handy for shooting rock climbers scaling a wall down in the valley.

We did a 10 mile hike on Saturday.  For that I packed the 18-55mm, 55-200mm, and the 10-24mm lenses.  I cannot get over how much easier it is to use the Fujifilm system on a long hike in comparison to my old DSLR.  I packed the photo equipment (tripod, filters, etc) in my Hama backpack and still had plenty of room for extra clothing, lunch for us and The Dog, and other oddments.  That pack was still lighter than the other small daypack we had with a few additional supplies and water!  While I was definitely hankering for a weather sealed system on the snow day, I was thankful to be running the super light body of the X-E2 during the hike.

View of the valley from the Petit Balcon trail shot with the 10-24mm lens

House in Chamonix passed at the end of the hike. Shot with the 18-55mm. 

The rapidly receding Taconazz glacier.  Shot with the 55-200mm lens from across the valley
on the Petit Balcon trail.

Thanks to the weather, we really only got in one proper outdoor day.  It was a bit too early in the season for high altitude trekking as those trails were still under snow and many others were undergoing repairs.  It wasn't proper mountaineering season yet either.  There was a high risk of avalanche and we heard several from across the valley during our hike.  Of course, there were still plenty of climbers hanging around tackling clearer, lower routes.  The lower trails had a steady stream of hikers and runners, the roads were filled with cyclists, and the skies dotted with paragliders.  If ever you're headed to Chamonix I recommend giving it at least 5 days so you're more likely to get some clear weather.  The view from the Midi is supposedly worth the crowds and price.  Unfortunately the cable car wasn't running during our visit because of the weather.  So, summer is definitely the time to go (unless you ski).  There's enough to do in town on a bad weather day.  The cuisine is rich and hearty alpine fare (vegans may have some trouble).  The locals were all incredibly friendly and helpful.  Although it's a tourist town, Chamonix attracts a different type of tourist and generally the place has a laid back vibe.  While it's not my favorite spot in the Alps, I believe it is worth a look.  For someone who climbs (or, like myself, is just fascinated by the sport and its lore) Chamonix is definitely a must see.  However, its slopes and trails will be much more crowded than other alpine spots. So, don't expect to be alone in nature for long periods of time.  Unless, of course, you're clinging to a rock face high above the valley.

In the Midst of the Herd

So, Prague.  We stepped off our train at 10:30am at the main station and it became clear that we hadn't done our due diligence in preparing for this.

We knew it was a holiday weekend, obviously.  What we didn't think about was that Prague is apparently everyone's favorite place to celebrate this particular holiday, May Day.  Where better to have the traditional drunken bash than the place with the cheapest drinks and food?  So, there was that.  Additionally, Prague was hosting the Hockey World Championships.  And, they were holding a marathon on Sunday.  And, there was some sort of unidentified conference going on.  Therefore, everyone, and I mean everyone was in the capital of the Czech Republic.  Several years ago we decided to go to Manhattan to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade.  As you might imagine, the island was packed that weekend.  Every restaurant, sidewalk, pub, and museum felt like a cattle pen.  We've never been anywhere like that before or since.  Until last weekend.

That made getting around and taking photos pretty difficult.  The Old Town Square was full of marathon stuff, packs of segway tours, and a political demonstration.  So, getting any decent shots there was out of the question.  The Charles Bridge, well, the memory of that still gives me the shivers.  Every neighborhood from the Castle to Old Town, from the Jewish Quarter to Wenceslas Square was a madhouse.  Thankfully, we'd made dinner reservations before we left, or else sitting down for an evening meal might have been tricky.  It became clear really quickly that the photography wasn't going to go according to plan.

Shooting the first night ended up being a complete wash.  There were just too many people on the night of the holiday to get set up where I wanted to.  Also, we were exhausted from the train ride.  The only direct way from Frankfurt was a train that left the Frankfurt station at 1:00am that morning.  I maybe only got an hour of sleep in on the ride.  By that evening, I hit a wall and couldn't think straight, let alone set up and fend off the staggering tourists.

After a good night's sleep though, we were more with it and able to get some decent shots, not as many as I had hoped for, but enough to walk away satisfied.

Gate to the Old Jewish Cemetery

Moses Sculpture, Jewish Quarter

Long exposures were the only way to get wide city scenes with all the crowds.

View towards the castle from one of the bridges over the Vltava River

If we had it to do over again, which we would like, we'd definitely do some things differently.  First of all, we'd make sure Prague wasn't hosting the rest of the continent the same weekend.  Secondly, we'd have to find another way to get there.  Flights weren't affordable, but driving to Leipzig or Dresden then catching a daylight train from there may be an option.  Lastly, we'd schedule a little more time.  There was a surprising amount of things to see and do and we missed a lot.  Why would we go back?

Well, Prague has certainly embraced its reputation as a tourist destination and run with it since the Velvet Revolution.  The main drag from Old Town Square to the Charles Bridge is a bit like Times Square without the lights.  There's segway tours, Jedis giving trike rides, Thai massage parlors, wax museums, a torture museum, and about a million snack and junk shops.  But, once you wander away from that nightmare, cool Prague reveals itself.  We found a great pub that offered a rare beer sampler paddle (above).  Most pubs are owned by breweries, so ones that offer a wide range from many breweries aren't common.  This place was a fantastic way to try a lot of different Czech beers.  Since Czech beer is some of the best in the world, it's definitely worth trying a few or 10.

Czech food is not only inexpensive, but also very tasty.  Rich gravies, roasted meat, big heavy dumplings, fried cheese, and savory sauces are the fare and it is all delicious.  We hadn't heard anything about Czech food before the trip, so this was quite the unexpected discovery.  It's hearty stuff, so the cooler months might be the best time to go (not only for the comfort food, but for the thinner crowds).

The locals were another surprise.  Everywhere we went we were greeted by friendly and helpful folks.  We felt completely welcome and perfectly safe.  Another bonus is that everyone speaks English and all the important signs are printed in English as well as Czech.  The city was a breeze to navigate (except when the metro was shut down for the marathon).

Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus

Charles Bridge

Another river view

St. Wenceslas Square

Is it the most scenic city in Europe? No.  But, it is definitely photogenic.  I would certainly like a second chance to do it justice.  The unique situation of the weekend meant most of my shooting was done very late, way too late for my liking.  The only way to shoot on the Charles Bridge was to wait until close to midnight.  By then, blue hour was long over.  During the day, long exposures were the only way to clear out the crowds, so it would be nice to go back when it's a little more mellow and retake some of these.  Plus, I don't have a single image from the Old Town Square.

So, yes, Prague was a great destination.  I think a future visit would be much better now that we have a clearing understanding of the city.  As for how the new Fujinon 10-24mm lens worked out, that'll be the next post.

Downsizing

We're about ready to kickoff the 2015 travel season this weekend with a field trip to Prague.  Thanks to my husband's limited vacation days (his American contract gives him only 10 compared to his European co-workers' 30) we rely on state holiday weekends for the majority of our travel times.  May is a month full of state holidays so we end up being gone almost as many days as we are home.  The suitcases stay in the hall, and the rest of the house remains in a state of chaos.

This year, now that we live close to a major transportation hub, we have several train trips planned.  A weird caveat in our situation is that we don't own our car, it is owned by The Company.  That is a pretty sweet deal, one for which we are ever grateful.  However, because it's The Company's car we have to follow their rules on where we can drive it.  One of the rules is that we can't take the car into certain countries in Europe, basically any of the old Eastern Bloc nations.  Why?  Mostly it has to do with road surface conditions (which is funny to me since Northeast Ohio probably has the same quality roads in comparison).  Another reason is that some of those nations have a high rate of auto theft.  If you think the company is being a little harsh, many car rental agencies in Germany have the same policy.  Anyway, for those travel destinations we choose the train.  Unlike flying, we love rail travel.  If it's not too expensive or time consuming, we'd rather take a train than drive anyway.

My favorite travel bag. We've been through
a lot together.  The compartmentalized base has plenty
of room for photo equipment, and the rest of the bag has space
for a change of clothes and other stuff.

While rail travel is easier and usually more enjoyable than taking a car, the one downside is that luggage space is greatly reduced.  That's just fine with us since lugging big bags all over a city isn't comfortable or useful.  We've become pretty good at living out of one backpack.  But, that gets a little complicated when we head somewhere specifically for photography purposes.  This Prague trip is one of those times.  My standard kit for the past year has been a Canon 600D with the 10-22mm wide-angle lens and the Fujifilm X-E2 with the 18-55mm lens.  Plus, I'll usually toss in the Fujinon 35mm for shooting candid street scenes or maybe a Canon 55-200mm instead if I know I want to shoot tight on stuff I can't physically get closer to.  Add to that a tripod, filters, batteries, cards, remote triggers, etc. and I usually end up having to carry a full-sized photo bag, plus a suitcase.  The biggest hang up has always been the Canon.  It's a fatty.  Even my Three Legged Thing tripod can be collapsed down tight to fit in a pack if need be.  But, wow, that Canon with its wide-angle lens really eats up bag space.

Different bag here, but it has the same base volume as my canvas one.
There are four lenses, a body, battery charger, neck strap, and remote
trigger in this space, with padded dividers between each lens.

Well, no more!  I'm officially at the place now that I can shoot entirely DSLR free!  I recently switched out the Canon 55-200mm for a Fujinon 55-200mm and last weekend our local MediaMarkt was running a sale on the Fujinon 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS lens!  Between the sale and a gift certificate I was able to purchase the lens for significantly less than it is on Amazon.de.  So, finally, I can now shoot super wide-angle (my typical M.O.) with my X-E2!  You know what that means?  I can fit everything- the X-E2 body, the 18-55mm lens, the 35mm lens, the 55-200mm lens, and the 10-24mm lens (along with any accessories like chargers, filters, straps, etc.) in just the bottom of my photo backpack!  The rest of the bag is completely free for other stuff like clothes and toiletries.  Now, normally I don't need to carry all those lenses at once, but the fact that I can is pretty freaking awesome.  Ah, the glory of mirrorless technology!  It's truly the traveling photographer's dream.

My current Fujifilm line-up.  Everything I want to shoot can be done with these lenses- 
landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, and candid street portraits.

I've been planning to go completely mirrorless since I fell in love with my X-E2 last year.  I'm just as much in love with it as the day I opened the box, maybe even more so.  With this latest lens acquisition I'm pretty much where I want to be with my kit, especially with glass.  I definitely plan to add a second body soon, probably the X-T1 (though I'm carefully watching the developments concerning the rumored X-Pro2 before I make a final decision) to balance out the larger lenses and have the weather sealing (not to mention the rest of its awesomeness).  And, I could see picking up the newly released Fujinon 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR to have a nasty weather setup so I can't say, "Oh well, it's too wet to shoot so let's go to the pub."  However, for now I'm really pleased that I can do everything I want to do all out of the bottom of a standard backpack or out of my shoulder bag!

For a city trip like this one, I prefer to shoot from a shoulder bag instead of a backpack.  I don't use a camera specific messenger bag, although I do like the look of Think Tank's Retrospective line.  Instead, I purchased a cheap foam insert that can fit in any of my messenger bags.  My favorite bag to use is a Vaho Gingko.  It's spacious and comfortable to carry with the added bonus of being made of bike tubes (so it's weather resistant).  There's plenty of room inside, even with the camera insert.  Since it is just a regular messenger bag and doesn't say LowePro or CaseLogic, it's a more clandestine setup.  Using a shoulder bag like this is much more user friendly than a backpack.  I can easily retrieve or stow items while on the move without drawing much attention.  Plus, when it's time to duck into a pub or restaurant, there isn't a giant bag on my back whacking people or getting caught in tight spaces.  Lastly, few things (besides bum bags, wrinkle free shirts, Nikon/Canon camera straps, and packable travel hats) scream, "I'm a tourist ripe for the picking!" more loudly than a big 'ol backpack.  The only downside, obviously, is that there isn't a way to carry a tripod (a real one, not those wee table top ones) from a shoulder bag.  A tripod is a necessity for taking sweeping daylight city scape scenes like the one's from the Ghent session.  So, if I'm not inclined to carry a full-sized bag with a tripod storage system I'm left with carrying it separately.  Thankfully, Three Legged Things all come with their own cases and can be carried all day very comfortably.  Since there's two of us it's very convenient for one to carry the "camera bag" while the other carries the tripod.

So, after much thought, agonizing, and second guessing I've come up with my kit for a weekend in Prague:

Fujifilm X-E2
Fujinon XF 10-24mm
Fujinon XF 18-55mm
Fujinon XF 55-200mm

Normally I don't carry a long lens on a trip like this because even the smaller Fujinon lens is a big lens.  However, in this case I know there are things I will want to shoot which are physically out of reach.  So, it's coming along this time.  This will be the first test of the new 10-24mm lens and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs in comparison with my Canon setup, which I've probably shot with more than any other over the last three years.  And, of course, I can't leave the kit lens at home.  I know people tend to overlook or avoid the kit lens of any system or brand.  But, I've found the Fujinon to be the perfect all rounder for travel.  It's wide, but not too wide and its optics and speed are top notch.  It works quite nicely for candid street in a pinch too.  This all fits well in the bag insert so I will be able to go backpack free this weekend.  TLT Brian is coming along for the tripod work and I've thrown some filters in the bag as well.

I'm really looking forward to this trip for a few reasons.  Number one, neither of us have been to Prague before so this is the first brand new place we're visiting in 2015.  Also, this is our first visit into Eastern Europe and I'm really excited to explore a part of the continent that is noticeably different from where we've been traveling and living thus far.  Finally, this is the first photo excursion that will be completely DSLR free and I can't wait to solely experiment and create with Fujifilm.  The forecast has been all over the place, so I'm hoping the weather will surprise us and be cooperative.  I've thrown a rain cover in just in case. So, with that, I have just a bit more packing to do then it'll be time to catch the midnight train to Praha.

At De Ronde

So, last week I mentioned that we were up in Ghent in order to catch De Ronde van Vlaanderen cycling race.  When we lived in Luxembourg we tried to catch as many weekend single day races as we could, Omloop, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold, etc.  "The Classics" are my favorite races of the season.  The big grand tours are great and all, but the luster has worn off a little over the years.  With the never ending doping sagas and the monotonous and predictable tactics, they no longer grab my attention as they once did.  The action of a single day race, however, is still magic.  While I adore LBL and Paris-Roubaix, in my opinion, the best race to be there for is De Ronde.  There's nothing like being on one of the Flemish hills with a big screen TV, a cone of frites, a plastic cup of beer, and a bunch of Belgian cycling fans.  Nothing.

We were on the Paterberg in 2013 before the sun came up and I took a ton of photos all day of the action on the hill.

The rest of that set is up on my Flickr page, if you want to see some rider photos and shots from some of the other races.

This year on the Paterberg was about the same.  We still got there before sunrise and watched a hill in the middle of nowhere turn into one of the biggest parties Flanders probably sees all year. The medic ambulance got stuck in the mud again.  The burgers and frites were still hot, good, and messy.  The beer was flowing, but improved with Kwaremont being served instead of Jupiler.  The big screen was there so we didn't miss a moment of the action of the men's race (they still refuse to broadcast the women's race).  There were a few differences, though.  I don't know if this was a new thing for the 2015 edition or not, but there was a huge VIP pavilion at the top of the climb which created a weird dynamic early in the day with folks tramping up and down the hill in formal attire, while the rest of us were in jeans and waterproofs.  The organizers also have added free stools at the TV which were eagerly snatched up and carried off.  I spent most of the morning shooting time lapse, so I didn't take very many spectator shots.  I'm still working on the time lapse stuff (very laborious business, time lapse is).

The moon was incredible this year

Free stools

VIP area

The crowd was a little more rowdy than in 2013.  The beer flowed a bit more freely, there was some pot smoking going on, a few little brawls, and, alas, some unfortunate behavior from some of the fans.  A word of wisdom to all my fellow English speakers, please be careful what you say.  Pretty much everyone in Flanders understands English.

Anyway, the races themselves were awesome.  I would have loved live footage of the women's race before they arrived at the Paterberg, but I gotta tell ya, we were all really surprised when Elisa Longo Borgihini showed up totally on her own.  I was completely unprepared with my equipment so here is a really out of focus shot.

I'm not into sports photography, and there are so many amazing and talented people out there shooting cycling I don't really feel the need to be.  Of course, when the riders come through I can't not pull out the camera.  The intense crowd jostling this year really made it a challenge to get any race shots and the spot down by the TV is the wrong place to be if you want a good angle anyway.  Be that as is may, here are a handful of shots from down in the thick of things.

Alexander Kristoff and Niki Terpstra on the last pass of the Paterberg

De Ronde is a really special event, and I highly recommend it to any cycling fan or for anyone wanting a unique cultural experience.  The great thing about De Ronde is its huge local importance.  This is the biggest sporting event of the year in this part of Flanders.  If you sit at one of the major climbs, the men pass by a couple of times, the race is up on a TV, there's food, toilets, drinks, pretty much everything you could need.  Plus, there's the women's race, so you can actually see some of that action.  Now that going up to Belgium for a weekend is no longer so easy since we moved to Bavaria, we can really only make it up there for one race.  We'd be hard pressed to choose a race besides De Ronde.