Land Unter
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mothwingLand unter [lant 'ʔʊntə] is an expression used to describe flooded grassland - well, the fact that the grassland is flooded, really.
Due to severe rains, every river, stream, lake, or puddle between Uelzen and Hamburg has grown to enormous size during the last couple of weeks. It looks as though the entire northern German lowlands are under water and I wonder what the farmers are doing with their fields now that they are so swamped.
Still in Hamburg, this is a building near the harbour. The water is slightly above normal, but not that much. That changes as soon as the train leaves Hamburg, however.
This is a field.
The Metronom as seen in the windows of an ICE (InterCity Express, pronounced not like "ice", but ['itseʔe], and I am ashamed to say that I only noticed that some people WOULD pronounce it ['aɪs] only what, four years ago? It's embarrassing.) we had to wait for. The things are using the same railways as the Metronoms do, and pretty much every time I go on those trains we have to wait for an ICE to pass us. We're always late.
I love this one. The river's usually only four or five meters wide, the bridge ridiculously large for it. Not now.
Closer to Uelzen, the flooding's not that as bad for some reason.
I have never quite figured out what this is. A fish farm?
Uelzen. Whenever I tell someone that I've moved to Uelzen, the reply is invariably, "The town with the pretty train station, right? I changed there once!"
And the fascinating interior of our yellow-blue Metronoms.
Due to severe rains, every river, stream, lake, or puddle between Uelzen and Hamburg has grown to enormous size during the last couple of weeks. It looks as though the entire northern German lowlands are under water and I wonder what the farmers are doing with their fields now that they are so swamped.
Still in Hamburg, this is a building near the harbour. The water is slightly above normal, but not that much. That changes as soon as the train leaves Hamburg, however.
This is a field.
The Metronom as seen in the windows of an ICE (InterCity Express, pronounced not like "ice", but ['itseʔe], and I am ashamed to say that I only noticed that some people WOULD pronounce it ['aɪs] only what, four years ago? It's embarrassing.) we had to wait for. The things are using the same railways as the Metronoms do, and pretty much every time I go on those trains we have to wait for an ICE to pass us. We're always late.
I love this one. The river's usually only four or five meters wide, the bridge ridiculously large for it. Not now.
Closer to Uelzen, the flooding's not that as bad for some reason.
I have never quite figured out what this is. A fish farm?
Uelzen. Whenever I tell someone that I've moved to Uelzen, the reply is invariably, "The town with the pretty train station, right? I changed there once!"
And the fascinating interior of our yellow-blue Metronoms.
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Date: Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, February 7th, 2008 08:33 am (UTC)I'm ok, more or less. Very busy with job-hunting, papers and preparing for my finals next year, but apart from all that, fine.
But how are you? How's life? *hugs*
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Date: Thursday, February 7th, 2008 10:48 am (UTC)I noticed some of the flooded fields last week, but between then and when the pics were taken, it must've gotten worse. Way worse. Almost no trace of water now, though, is there? - Didn't notice any yesterday morning, but I was too buried in my HP anyway, so... ;)
As for the Metronoms: finally someone who understands me complaining about them. Everyone says how nice they are and how "on time" they always arrive. Me, too, I'm like ALWAYS waiting somewhere when I use them. Mostly it's Winsen, right? - It's quite annoying, actually. They're comfortable but they seem so SLOW. Or is it just me and my imagination? ;)
Especially now that the last one at 11:55 pm from Hamburg Central stops like everywhere en route, well... -_-
Anyway, great to hear that you're quite ok again. :) - How's your cold?
*hugs*
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Date: Thursday, February 7th, 2008 12:12 pm (UTC)How are you? Is your end of semester as stressful as mine? Looking forward to the holidays as well? :)
It's actually a lot drier now, I never got around to posting these pics, they're not very up-to-date anymore. Everything has dried almost completely, although parts of the forests are still flooded.
The Metronoms? On time? Even when I was not commuting myself I found out pretty soon that their arrival time is an approximation and that it is usually at least four minutes late. We always have to wait on the bridge across the Elbe because they never get the all-clear to drive into the main station on time, and in Winsen, like you.
Yeah, I noticed it's an MER now. I mean, not that I mind seeing Ashausen, Stelle and Bardowick pass by occasionally, but those additional stops are still annoying. Well. I suppose that villagers have to get home, too. The good thing about my agressive couch-potatohood is that I never have to take the last train because I never do anything late.
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Date: Saturday, February 9th, 2008 07:04 pm (UTC)With me, there are good days and bad. At least these excruciating stomach pains I wrote you about earlier are finally ceasing now, it seems. Despite that, I'm quite ok. Last week it was miserable, though... Dad and money, the neverending story. I was broke, completely, and until I finally got what I needed really to merely get past this month, to survive (nothing more), you can imagine what I had to go through, again. :(
As far as the semester's concerned, I think the holidays will be in fact more stressful than uni was. But it will be nothing compared to you, I guess. Just have to get a bloody paper done, finally, that I should've done like eons ago. But it feels good to work on something again more regularly and actually really enjoy it, since to re-discover that, it took me quite some time after everything that happened last year. So, I'm fine. :)
To be honest, this time I wish the semester wouldn't already be over. It ran by so fast, and now that I can enjoy uni work again more and more, you know... Or getting up and actually going there... I wish it would've been a little longer this time. And I also got out of this hole here. I once let slip at home if maybe it'd be possible in any way, I could buy a cheaper laptop again to actually do the research and writing I need in Hamburg in the library to not just have to sit here all the time doing it, but mum can't help me anymore, and dad, I wrote you about all that... When mum dropped a hint because his behavior still crushes her, he ignored it like completely... And I won't ask him for anything but food, clothes and my tuition fees after everything he pulled.
The Metronoms, yeah, absolutely... Either it is "Meine Damen und Herren, aufgrund einer verspäteten Zugüberholung..." or it's "...aufgrund besetzter Gleise im Hamburger Hauptbahnhof..." I know that all too well, and especially the latter one annoys me quite a bit. When we have to wait to get permission to enter the station. Now I always take a train early so I at least make sure I don't have to hurry all too much to get to uni in time.
About that MER and returning home late at night. I don't do that much either. It's just that when I have class on Wednesdays, I see another friend afterwards with whom I have the seminar together. So that's when I'm mostly taking it. That's about it.
Oh, and yay to "couch-potatohood" and watching a nice dvd or whatever. :D - I understand you so well... Especially since you and your lovely girlfriend finally live together under the same roof again. :)
*hugs* to both of you... :)