Imaging Germany 002: Park Hotel, BAD DUERKHEIM (RP)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

002: Park Hotel

At the other side of the Ludwigskirche, also situated at the Kurpark, is a former Leiningen Castle. Leiningen was a small but powerful principality that reached from Bad Dürkheim to Lotringen in Alsace. The Kurpark was in that time (late eighteenth century) a private garden that belonged to the castle. The actual building was constructed upon the ruins of the former castle that was destroyed by the troops of Napoleon. It now hosts a four-star hotel with many wellness facilities, restaurants and casino. The spa town of Bad Dürkheim, located at the Weinstrasse (Wine Route) hosts the world’s largest wine barrel and Germany’s largest wine festival.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

Imaging Brazil 343: Red and Yellow Heliconia Plant in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

343: Heliconia plant

Heliconia plants are quite common in Brazil, especially in ornamental gardens and urban parks. This is how I met this heliconia plant at the Parque Municipal (urban park) in Belo Horizonte. The plant is family of the banana, and is named after the Helicon mountain (where the muses lived) in Greek mythology. The large, yellow and red, hanging bracts hide the flowers, which are very popular among the hummingbirds. Because of the difficult accessibility of the flowers, the plant is very dependent on these hummingbirds for the pollination. The plant also stores water and is loved in this way by a number of insects, including mosquitoes. As the Helicon mountain offered much inspiration to poets, this colorful heliconia plant offered me inspiration for this photo.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017