Local Vistas – are your hidden gems next door: my entry to LAPC#203

What I like about joining photo challenges based on a theme is that it always gets me to reflect beyond its literal meaning. For this weeks LAPC#203 posted by Anne, it is about Local Vistas. As Amy puts it nicely on what this week’s challenge want us to explore:

“What are your local vistas? Where do you photograph when you don’t have a lot of time or are not on vacation? What about your hometown excites you?…”

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/552947/posts/4070253334

If there is anything the pandemic taught us is to look within and enjoy the local vicinity. I for one, coming from the Philippines, enjoy being in Europe much because the quality of life is already good – that a simple stroll along forest parks scattered around the city like Munich, or along a clean river like Isar or a simple breakfast outside in your garden, or in the balcony, etc.etc. – can easily be enjoyed.

Please do not get me wrong. My beloved Philippines is a beautiful country with nice white beaches, rich with natural resources, and the Filipinos are the most warmed people I know, who sings a lot even or smiles a lot even when they have tons of problems. My gift of being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life is rooted to my being a Filipino. However, we are also poverty stricken and are nagged with environmental challenges like pollution especially in the cities. But this is not what this blog is about. This is about how I experience simple but good life in Munich – those that can be considered as life’s simple/little pleasures that do not cost a penny.

Kids and kids-at-heart can always enjoy being refreshed by this fountain in Karlsplatz Stachus during the summer period. This is one area in the City Center of Munich.
The same spot from the photo above but from a different view. It is simply lovely.
One local secret to enjoying Munich during the summer: target activity, sit with friends at the banks of Isar,
(1) first you guys need to buy a drink (beer or soft drinks, but this is Germany, so maybe beer is the more the appropriate choice – as long as you are of legal age to drink alcohol), (2) bring breze and obazda – buy all these at a local grocery so it is cheaper. (3) Don’t forget to bring your own picnic mat. (4) And lastly, enjoy! P.S. (5) if the water is already warm enough, don’t forget to bring your swimsuit and have a dip. Dipping your feet is also possible. Either way, there are many ways to enjoy.
Enjoy the local beer garden! Beer gardens can be found all over the city or in any part of Germany. They are opening toward summer, late spring.
The best spot to see Marienplatz from a higher angle, away from the crowd is to sit in the sofas provided in Hugendubel Bookstore. Get a book (without buying it yet) and find a nice spot to sit. If you are just there for the view, pretend you are reading a book (giggles) or if you are there for both, read and enjoy the view at the same time.

You see, local vistas (for me) is also about enjoying what you already have. It is about exploring the things you may have disregarded because of close proximity – the so called “right under your nose” (in a positive context). It is also about discovering the hidden gems in a pretty mundane or ordinary scene. It is about seeing beauty beyond the ordinary and unlocking the content heart of a child – within us – that enjoying life does not mean only expensive or grandeous things but also in the simplest and purest form of things.

So that’s it for this entry. If you want to know more about LAPC, check this out https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/. And if you like my content, do not forget to consider liking and subscribing my blog. You may also find me in IG and YT. And hope to see you or hear from you here or in my next entry. Have a great day/evening wherever your in the world. Auf wiedersehen!

Creative Fridays Entry#4: A glimpse of Wasserburg am Inn (late post)

A first glimpse of the town impresses immediately. Almost an island, practically surrounded by the river Inn with its steep cliffs, Wasserburg appears quite extraordinary. On entering the town, the visitor has the feeling of entering a fairy tale world. A town with pastel coloured walls, archways and battlements, a gateway and mighty fortress – who hasn´t  imagined and painted a town like this as a child?

https://www.wasserburg.de/en/sightseeing/impressions

I have always been fascinated with medieval cities. One of my favorite is Burghausen. This one adds to the list. Hence, I was happy that my family spent a weekend in this Town, for one to visit friends and enjoy the local spring festival and 2nd, to check the Town Center.

Without further a do, here are the photos I took during that one weekend in Wasserburg am Inn.

If you want to know more about this interesting and charming town, approximately 56km outside of Munich, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasserburg_am_Inn for more or go directly to the Town’s website https://www.wasserburg.de/en/sightseeing/impressions.

If you like my content, don’t forget to to consider liking and subscribing my blog. I am also in YouTube and in IG. So this is it for now, thank you for stopping by and see you in my next blog.