natursyn.dk

Ever since I moved to Kiel more than a year ago I haven’t posted many pictures on my blog. One reason is that I find the surrounding of Kiel a bit dull because every square meter is managed and taken care of. When you go to the beaches you know that they will look the same year after year due to coastal protection. When you walk in a meadow or a bog everything of interest for nature nerds like me will be fenced behind barbed wires. In this sense Germany is completely opposite of Sweden’s “allemannsretten” where everyone are free to utilize the common nature areas. But then again, Germany is densely populated and people tend to let their dogs loose everywhere.

That said, Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein do indeed have a lot of areas of interest and they are easy to access with a well maintained grid of paths and roads. This past weekend I rode my bike along the Schwentine river, called Sventana by the Slavic people who considered it holy. Beside the nice scenery I was very excited to find a newly restored habitat made especially for frogs. At high noon the frogs were passing their time in the surface of the water without making their ear deafening calls and it was quite easy getting close to them.

Schwentine river

Rastorfer Mühle

Canada geese (Branta canadensis)

Diffuse-leaved Water Buttercup (Ranunculus aquatilis var. diffusus)

Edible frog (Pelophylax esculentus)

Edible frog (Pelophylax esculentus)

Fence posts

Banded agrion (Agrion virgo)

An old oak tree

Since I broke off my stay at UC Santa Cruz have been a guest researcher at “Leibniz-Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Stable Isotope Research”. Yiming & I are so fortunate to live in an apartment less than 2 km from the lab and usually I prefer walking there. Although Kiel is considered a dull and uninspiring town in terms of its architecture (80% of the old town was destroyed during the last war) it has many green areas with beautiful trees that I happen to pass through on my way to work.

I have not yet made much progress on my ongoing projects  partially because I’m waiting for new funding and partially because I’m getting trained in operating instruments in the lab. Right now I’m helping Yiming measuring hydrogen isotopes in plant waxes extracted from ocean sediment cores. Climate researcher are working non-stop these days to acquire such data because are informative of precipitation records in the past and how terrestrial plant communities have changed. This can lead us to a better understanding of the changes in temperatures and weather patterns we’re experiencing.

We live on this street

Farmer's market on Blücherplatz - next to where we live

Kiel's old water tower has kind of a Bismarck inspired style to it

Students from the nearby vocational training school in the background

Fall is here

The lab has the long and rather cumbersome name "Leibniz-Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Stable Isotope Research"

In the first week of June, Yiming & I first went to Møns Klint in Denmark, then Potsdam in Germany and finally Skagen in Denmark. Møns Klint  (or in English ‘the Cliffs of Møn’) is one of the most geologically interesting sites in Denmark made of remains of shells deposited more than 70 millions years. As a biologist I’m always amazed at the large and unique diversity of plants and insects in this location. Next we went to Potsdam that used to be the residence of the Prussian kings and famously known for hosting the meeting between the  victorious allied leaders in the summer of 1945. However, we did not come to Potsdam to appreciate the historical sites but for attending a conference on stable isotopes. Since Yiming had an appointment in Northern Jutland right after the conference we hastily went back north. This time we visited another scenic area, Skagen where Kattegat and Skagerak meet, and Råbjerg Mile, which is a giant sand dune of about 1 sq. km.

View of Møns Klint

The Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

The landscape at Møns Klint is spectacular

Impressive gardens in Park Sanssouci

The New Palace in Park Sanssouci

Yiming sitting in front of one of the many gates in Potsdam

Yiming walking along the Skagen beach

Råbjerg Mile is a large sand dune of about 1 sq. km.

Yiming tried to take a picture of while I was jumping.