Fleeting Beauty

Domiciled in Berlin for the past 4 months has meant that I'm experiencing my first real Summer to Autumn to Winter because, in the Southern Hemisphere places that I've lived in, this just doesn't happen with the same intensity.

Dog Lake through the trees

We've been on walks around one of the nearby lakes with our friends S&C who have 2 dogs that need regular exercise. This particular lake is a dog area, and thousands of dogs and owners converge on it during the weekend to run free and socialise. It's been quite beautiful in the afternoon.

Ciro (Chiro) pauses from retrieving sticks to enjoy the sunset

3pm sunset

We were graced with a visit by a beautiful butterfly who sadly didn't survive much longer after I took the photos, given the combination of cold weather and its naturally short life span. I was surprised that there were still butterflies around so late in the season.

Kaleidoscope Wings

The colours of autumn have been stunning and I've taken to a new sport which I call Power Photography. Run with a camera in my pocket; see something worth photographing; stop; power up the camera; fire off a couple of shots and carry on before my pulse rate drops by 10bpm. It's challenging!


We're also now faced with icy pathways on our exercise runs around Schloss Charlottenburg park - 'tis almost time to get out the skates.


Berlin has now seen the last of autumn, and winter fired a warning shot this week, with the first snowfalls of the season. Unfortunately, it didn't hang around for long. I really want it to snow heavily, and then I'll be sick of it equally fast, I'm sure!

The first fall didn't touch the ground before melting.

First snow for the season

The second heavier fall happened at about 1am last Sunday morning and was mostly gone 12 hours later, leaving slow-melting patches in park areas.

That's more like it!

We're ensconced in our friend H's apartment while she lives in Pakistan, but she's now back in Berlin for 3 weeks. It's been great getting to know her better, as my time with her up until now has never been for more than a couple of hours per visit. While J was in Dubai for 4 days closing down our business, H and I took to the streets for long walks in the cold.

Pigeon holed

Most of my travel around Berlin has been in the subways, but this time H suggested that we take a tourist bus tour which proved to be very interesting, and for me it was a time to get a good sense of the city's layout. I didn't get any photos on the trip, as taking blurry shots through glass in a moving bus just isn't my thing.


We did notice a lot of Christmas markets being set up, and hopefully there'll be a few images in the making when we visit these after they open this weekend. H is a fellow camera buff, so I have found an accomplice with whom to mount night attacks on photogenic places. Hopefully we'll get more images like these ones.

Watch this space - and pray for snow so that the images are more interesting!