Schlossgarten

With 90-degree temperatures and "naturally ventilated" buildings, I spent a lot of time in the tree-filled Schlossgarten park this weekend. Most other Stuttgarters seemed to have had the same idea, but luckily the park is big enough that it wasn't completely overrun with people.

"Lower" Schlossgarten. There are upper, middle, and lower sections of the park. 

A big old oak tree, but be careful! You may not want to sit up against it ...

The sign reads: "Caution: Oak procession moths! In the area of oak trees, one can count on finding oak procession moths." I'll let you Google these little critters. 

After avoiding being eaten by oak procession moths, I found this bird by the lake. Great blue heron? I don't remember what the wings looked like and I would expect a Great Blue Heron to have more ... blue.   

Anyone want to take a guess?

Tomorrow is Monday, the start of a new work week. I am not at all looking forward to working inside all day, but maybe it won't be so bad. I just have to channel the shade of the Schlossgarten ...

Until next time, dear readers!

Just another Wednesday night ...

... or not. Stuttgart is currently hosting an open-air global cultures festival and the opening act Wednesday night was the four-woman band Iva Nova from St. Petersburg, Russia. I don't even know where to begin to describe Iva Nova's genre: wherever traditional Russian and Slavic folk meets modern electronica with sometimes eerie and possessed vocals and dancing to match. During the show, I heard people asking the same question that I was wondering myself, namely: "How does she dance with that accordian around her neck?!" On stage, the women covered accordian, bass, percussion, keyboard/synthesizer, and vocals. They also had an eventful day behind them. They had driven directly from the German border to Berlin to Stuttgart in one day, almost getting stranded twice with car trouble. The concert therefore started 45 minutes late, but with an incredible amount of energy on stage and almost as much energy in the crowd. Summer + good music + friendly people: you can't ask for much more!

Iva Nova at Stuttgart's "Summer Festival of Cultures"

Ducks

Sometimes you end up with photos you don't know what to do with, but also don't want to delete. Case in point: my trip to Vienna last month. In this vein, I introduce to you The Ducks of Burggarten: