#Ahr valley

[nature-hiking]

hiking up from the village - Alpine Haute Route, June 2021

photo by: nature-hiking

[thatswhywelovegermany]

As every second Thursday in September, the disaster warning systems in Germany are tested today, September 12, 2024, at 11:00. Most notably, the test warning will be sent out to mobile phones via cell broadcast, which are supposed to sound an alarm signal. Where available, sirens will sound. Radio and TV will interrupt their programs snd announce the test warning.

The test warning will be canceled at 11:45. A cancellation notice via cell broadcast is not yet implemented.

A nationwide survey about the effectiveness of the warning will be available under the address www.warntag-umfrage.de, where residents are asked how, when, and how well perceivable the warning occurred.

The effectiveness of the warning system has been improved significantly after disappointing results of the first test run in 2020, which relied on a custom-made German system. The tests in their current form, now using cell broadcast as a reliable and pre-configured app on every smartphone, were first introduced after the flood disaster in the Ahr valley, during which most of the population didn't receive any warning and were surprised by the flood – sometimes with fatal consequences.

[diana-fortyseven]

Viñedo Yates' Pinot Noir, inspired by wines from the Ahr Valley. Medium-bodied and fruit-forward with an aroma of cherries and raspberry. Not their most popular.

Dreamwidth version (100x100) under the cut

[ankewehner]

Reiterating the electrical threat: You got your fusebox or any electric stuff in your cellar, don't try to wade into water in your cellar after things start to calm down. That's how my grandmother's neighbour died during/just after the Ahr valley flood in Germany a few years ago.

By the by, that flood involved a river that's usually less than 3 ft deep going up to like 25 ft, and... look, there was a video of a house being swept away and hitting a bridge, and we built with bricks or concrete blocks here. Take this shit seriously.

My friends who have never experienced flooding, and who are about to deal with it from this storm, please remember:

1. NO. YOU CANNOT MAKE IT THROUGH THAT WATER ON THE ROAD. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE DRIVING. TURN. AROUND.

2. DO NOT GO WADING THROUGH THE WATER. EVEN IF YOU JUST WANT TO SEE HOW DEEP IT IS. THAT. WATER. IS. CONTAMINATED.

3. IT IS CALLED FLASH FLOODING FOR A REASON. THE WATER RISES AND SURGES IN A FLASH. STAY. HOME.

4. If you're at risk of flooding, raise up any of your belongings now. Put the legs of tall things in buckets. Know where your important documents are.

5. Stay safe.

[trendynewsnow]

Rebuilding Lives in Bad Neuenahr: Challenges of the EU Solidarity Fund

Rebuilding Lives in Bad Neuenahr: Klaus Feuser’s Struggle In the picturesque yet bustling town of Bad Neuenahr, Germany, Klaus Feuser surveys the remnants of what were once his five thriving restaurants. Over three years have passed since catastrophic floods ravaged the Ahr Valley, altering lives and landscapes irreparably. “Everywhere you look, it still feels like it only just happened…

[jessebeckerms]

Weingut Deutzerhof Spätburgunder Heimersheim Landskrone GG Ahr 2022

Basalt, slate and loamy clay. The first vineyard in the Ahr valley if you follow the Ahr upstream from the Rhine. First wine of the day from volcanic. Intense aroma of black fruit and minerals. Cool toned fruit, mint, and smoky minerals on the palate. Here, the wood seems beautifully integrated. The best Deutzerhof today. ***++

[timetraveltasting]

BACHELOR'S ROSE COCKTAIL (1910)

To celebrate the first sunny day in a while, I brought the ingredients for the next Tasting History (or rather, Drinking History) creation - the Bachelor's Rose cocktail from 1910 - to my friend's garden. The recipe for the Bachelor's Rose cocktail was published in 'Jack’s Manual', a book of cocktail recipes by J.A. Grohusko, an American bartender. Max chose this specific cocktail in order to embody the spirit of a Valentine-themed cocktail. In the late Victorian and early 20th century era, valentines were sent not only from admirers to their crush or love, but to their enemies in the form of 'vinegar valentines', which would mock the receiver - their appearance, personality, or bad traits. These were not done in jest, either! Luckily, this cocktail would more likely be prepared for a true, sweet valentine as a sign of love, as it does not taste like vinegar! I chose to make this recipe because I love a gin-based cocktail, I'd never tried sloe gin before (sloe is a berry which flavours the gin), and Max seemed to enjoy it. See Max’s video on how to make it here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

The gin I used for this cocktail was Kehl's Sloe Gin, a German sloe gin from the town of Niederkassel, near Cologne. Unfortunately, I didn't have any fancy coupe cocktail glasses, so we used our beloved SolidAHRität wine glasses (wine glasses we bought to support the rebuilding of the Ahr valley wine area in Germany, which experienced devastating floods in 2021 and is still rebuilding - I definitely recommend a visit to the area!).

The process to make a Bachelor's Rose was very easy. I was a bit worried about using egg whites for the cocktail, since I'd never done that before, but the process was a lot simpler than expected! For our first cocktails, I followed the recipe exactly. My friend juiced the lemon, lime, and orange while I added the egg white, gin, raspberry syrup, and ice to the cocktail shaker. We then added the citrus juice, and I gave it a good shake. I strained it out into the glass, and watched as the egg whites did their work to create a lovely separated foam on top. The colour of the cocktail was really lovely, a kind of cloudy rose pink colour. We were so excited to taste the cocktail that I forgot to add a garnish! For our second round of cocktails, we added more gin than raspberry syrup in order to taste the sloe a little better, and we harvested our own little wildflowers from the garden for a garnish - the cherry on top.

My experience tasting it:

The first round of cocktails were really delicious. Fairly sweet, and some forward sour notes from the citrus. I was kind of surprised this cocktail recipe was from 1910; when I imagine older cocktails, I somehow usually assume that alcohol will be the main flavour, as a lot of older cocktail recipes that we still enjoy today, like an Old-Fashioned, a Sazerac, or a Manhattan are all fairly alcohol-forward. The Bachelor's Rose, however, tasted like something I could find on a happy hour menu - it had so much sweet and sour flavour, that the taste of gin was almost hard to detect. Very delicious, but because I like the taste of gin, I was hoping to taste the sloe gin a little more in this cocktail. While we both very much enjoyed the first cocktail, we decided that in the second, we would add a little less raspberry syrup, and a little more sloe gin. When we tried the second round of cocktails, we were happy to discover that our change had, in fact, made the cocktail taste even more complex than before - less like a sweet and sour berry candy and more like it may have some wild-foraged fresh berries in it. You could taste the sloe gin a bit more in this one, but it was still balanced nicely by the citrus. Because the Bachelor's Rose cocktail is easy to make and tastes delicious, I would definitely recommend making it on a summery day for some friends. I surely will again! If you end up making it, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Links to harder-to-find ingredients:

Sloe Gin

Raspberry Syrup

Bachelor's Rose original recipe (1910)

Sourced from Jack's Manual by J. A. Grohusko, 1910.

Bachelor’s Rose: Juice of a half a lemon Juice of half a lime Juice of half orange White of egg 25% raspberry syrup 75% Sloe gin Fill glass with cracked ice. Shake well, strain, and serve.

Modern Recipe

Based on Jack's Manual by J. A. Grohusko and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

Half a lemon

Half a lime

Half an orange

1 egg white

1/2 ounce raspberry syrup

1 1/2 ounces sloe gin

Ice

Method:

Squeeze the citrus into a shaker.

Add the egg white, raspberry syrup, sloe gin, and ice.

Shake well, strain, and serve it forth.

[myrthing]

I thought I'd demonstrate what my Wikipedia rabbit holes tend to look like, using my currently open tabs.

First thing first: In January, I realised I didn't have any firm, or even shaky, knowledge of Russian history, talking middle ages up to, say, Peter the Great (my knowledge does not improve after Peter the Great, but I am currently disinterested in anything post-1700). So, I decided to fix this.

When I want to learn the fundamentals of a topic, I always go with Wikipedia instead of books. Why? Books are a larger investment. What if I don't find the topic interesting in the long run? Wikipedia articles are me dipping my toe in the water, improving my allmänbildning without having to complicate things with in depth knowledge. I feel like this is completely normal.

Okay!

So, um. I never go to the obvious Wikipedia article right from the start when I'm about to head down a rabbit hole. I have to get to the topic I'm after via link hopping from the Wikipedia article I already have open (and I usually have one open, because I like learning and I'm always looking stuff up). I don't need to end on the specific "History of Russia" article, or whatever. I count it as a win when I reach a page that's related to the actual topic. Iirc, in my Russian history rabbit hole, I'm pretty sure it was the article on the Volga.

Success! I start reading and following links. Then I start opening new tabs to a group when I begin hitting divergence points. That's when I start finding multiple links on a new page that interests me, and it's going to get too complicated for me to mentally keep track of where I was, what I wanted to read, where I started. That's normal.

At no specific point, I go "whoops, that's too many tabs, I better start chewing through them" and hopefully not open new new tabs from the new tabs. And I start reading articles from least to most relevant on the principle that this is least likely to cause more tabs to my Goal Topic so I can close tabs.

So! This is what my Russian history tab group currently looks like.

Saqilaba

Volga trade route

Jüz

Jarlig

Ivan the Terrible

Alexander Nevsky

Collector of Russian lands

Rus' people

That's a decent collection of links!

But okay, sometimes I misclick and open a link as a new tab outside the group. Annoying. I try to read rid of these pages first. Except...

Sometimes the topic of that article ends up being really interesting. And then I accidentally start a new rabbit hole.

At some point in the Russian history rabbit hole, I opened an article related to the Middle East. Can't remember what the original one was, but one way or another I ended up reading about the Phoenicians. Whoops. That's a new rabbit hole.

Currently, it's more of a Carthaginian tab group. It looks like this:

Tartessos (via Cadiz, via Carthage, which is the ~actual~ tab. I'm just accidentally on a brief several week break from Carthage)

William Martin (Royal Marines officer) - This is a fake persona created for a dead body for the Allied Operation Mincemeat during WWII. It's linked from the article on Huelva, which I've already read and closed.

Medellín, Spain

Girsu - This is an ancient Sumerian city, still hanging around from when this group was about Phoenicians.

Abydos, Egypt - Similarly as Girsu. This is still hanging around because the article looks really interesting, and I want to savour it.

Short and sweet! Except...

I accidentally opened a tab about Mount Cameroon (which is because of Carthage, I swear). Well, no problem. Just read and close it quickly. It's a depressingly short article.

There's just one thing. I am fascinated by volcanoes. Oh no. Some link hopping later, I have another tag group. It's the one I'm currently trying to read away. It looks like this:

2021 European floods - via Eifel, a mountain range in Germany, which is volcanically active (yes, really! I'm fascinated/horrified).

Khyber Pass

Matronae Aufaniae

Ahr Valley

At least this is definitely not long and I'm definitely not going to be allowed to open tabs, this is not relevant to any rabbit hole I'm currently in, it's just my vulcanophobia and river obsession misbehaving.

And that's it. I have to finish reading these articles (but not necessarily closely) because I'm trying to stay accountable to myself and actually complete things.

This is a cry for help.

[betapack]

Flutwein LEAD https://vimeo.com/714012517 Seven.One AdFactory / Creative House WallDecaux White Rabbit CLIENT Ahr Valley Wine Region COUNTRY Germany Hungary BRAND Flutwein After a catastrophic flood in the Ahr Valley, White Rabbit Budapest created a special collection of wines that survived the disaster. The collection, branded as Flood Wines, was sold on a crowdfunding platform dedicated to rebuilding the wine region. https://www.dandad.org/annual/2023/entry/professional/236862 アール渓谷の大洪水後、ホワイトラビット・ブダペストは災害を生き延びたワインの特別コレクションを作った。Flood Wines（洪水ワイン）と名付けられたこのコレクションは、ワイン産地の再建を目的としたクラウドファンディング・プラットフォームで販売された。 このワインは合計20万本以上、5万人以上に購入され、1億以上のメディアインプレッションを獲得。ワインの価値（値段？）は45倍になり、440万€を稼ぎ、Flood Winesはドイツで最も成功したクラウドファンディングキャンペーンになった。 #flutwein #disaster #wine #design #PR

[johnnyortiz21]

Digital History Reviews - Guides & Models

For this week's discussion, I will be critically analyzing the evolving guidelines and contemporary practice of Digital History reviews in flagship professional journals such as the American Historical Review (AHR) and Journal of American History (JAH). As mentioned in a previous discussion post, the AHR guidelines and contemporary practice define digital history as a “scholarship that is either produced using computational tools and methods or presented using digital technologies. (AHA, 2017, 1) They view the contemporary practice of digital history as the use of archival evidence, oral testimony, or other material. (AHA, 2017, 1-2) They believe that there is a certain number of roles and responsibilities by departments, scholars, and themselves in which the departments are responsible for the development of tools, the scholar needs to collaborate, and the AHA plays a supportive role to both. (AHA, 2017, 2-4)

Comparing the AHR to the JAH guidelines and contemporary practice, the JAH guidelines and contemporary practice in that they believe digital history projects fall into certain categories, they are reviewed in five different areas, and the preference might they like to review historians' work. The JAH believes that digital history projects fall into either an archive, essay, teaching resource, tool, gateway, journal, professional site, digital community, podcast, audio, games, and data sets. They believe that digital history projects are reviewed in five areas which are content, design, audience, digital media, and creators. They prefer to review digital history projects in which they have headings, examples, and contacts.

            These guidelines and contemporary practice for both the AHR and the JHA are important in reviewing the development of the DH subfield because they bring validity and scholarship to the profession. However, I would argue that the AHR is not clear in its guidelines and contemporary practice. Rather, they leave it up to the departments and scholars to provide the guidelines and contemporary practices and play a supportive role to them rather than defining their own guidelines and contemporary practices. In contrast, I would argue that the JAH has established guidelines and contemporary practices that are clearly defined. By having guidelines and contemporary practices, it gives better support to both scholars and departments alike.

            Some insights that I gained from the assigned exchanges/reviews are the contributions that Dr. Jeffrey W. McClurken made to digital history. For example, McClurken argued that it was important to treat digital projects as a "big piece" and identify everyone's role in the project and their contribution such as the Valley of the Shadow Project. (McClurken, 2015) He mentioned that historians are not trained to work together which I would argue that it hurts our profession because it is focused on individualism rather than the profession itself. Giving that insight into the Valley of the Shadow Project shows that a collaborative project can be successful.

            Another insight that I gained from the assigned exchanges/reviews is the AHR Exchange: Reviewing Digital History. I found interesting Stephen Robertson's view on how Sternfeld viewed the Digital Harlem project. Robertson argued that Digital Harlem was a "thematic research collection" rather than an "interactive scholarly work." (AHR, 2016, 141) Although I have respect for Robertson as a founding member of the Digital Harlem project, Robertson is not realizing the potential that Digital Harlem has in digital history. I would argue that viewpoints such as Robertson's are hurting the profession of digital history because they refuse to acknowledge it as collaborative work. This example is the reason why the AHR needs to come up with a way to create guidelines and contemporary practices so digital history does not become stagnant.

            Another insight that I gained from the assigned exchanges/reviews was Cameron Blevins's the New Wave of Review. Blevins argued that digital historians have embraced what is considered a "radical shift" from the traditional academic process and how it has been slow to evaluate and review. (Blevins, 2016) He mentions in the article that the AHA has great guidelines but at the same time stated that digital historians deserve better. (Blevins, 2016) I find this to be confusing because I believe he is holding onto the traditional academic process and its value but stating that we need to do better in understanding the evaluation of digital history. Examples such as this show that the AHA is not as well established in its guidelines and contemporary practices as compared to the JAH.

            I believe the reviews this week addressed larger issues/concerns raised in than previous reading in that it shows the disconnect between the AHR and the JAH. Historians such as Robertson and Blevins have difficulty in how to come up with guidelines and contemporary practices for digital historians. I believe the JAH has come up with great guidelines and contemporary practices that simply need to be recognized more in the profession. I have hope that it is just a matter of time before these guidelines and contemporary practices are widespread through digital history.

[iron-quill]

Monster party, Chapter 1

(I am looking for feedback and ideas on how to improve)

John was a farmer. He had lived in this part of the Ahr Valley his entire life. He knew when to plant crops, when the rain would cycle through the valley, and when to harvest. He knew all these things about living and working on a farm. What he didn’t know was these new-fangled spell enchantments.

This new magic machine, with its iron body and six plows, was giving him problems again. He brought the horses to a halt and hopped off his seat, marching over to where the enchantments were carved into the metal. He quickly found the correct one, a rune about the size of his hand; its name and function were helpfully stenciled above it. Pulling a finger sized pink crystal from his pocket, he placed it again the rune. There was a brief spark of blue lightning, and the rune began to glow again while the crystal’s pink color started to slowly fade.

John let his eyes wonder as he waited. There were forested foothills to the west and the sea beyond. There was the snowcapped mountain to the east. To the north was the town of Wimpfensurg. To the south, coming up the high dusty road, was a line of brightly painted giant wagons.

“Gypies,” he muttered under his breath. They were always dancing and singing and putting on shows. It was no way to earn an honest living if anyone asked him. But they did bring goods from other towns, and cloth from the south, and spices from the east. They paid the king’s taxes just like everyone else, so maybe that would have to suffice.

There was sizzle and a crack and John stumbled back with a curse. The crystal in his hand crumbled to dust, its magic spent. The faltering enchantment on the machine now pulsed with new energy. “Darn fangled crystals, costing an arm and a leg,” mumbled John as he remounted his plow. With a snap of the reins, the horses once strained against their harnesses and the whole contraption lurched forwards.

* * *

Helena wasn’t a hero. She was a gypsy girl, with hair her mother called “raven” but outsiders called black and skin that might be described as “honey” but outsiders might call mud. And she was short: her brother topped her by more than a head and most girls were at least two inches taller. No, there were no short adventures, especially with black hair and mud skin and black eyes. They all had blond hair and blue eyes or red hair and green eyes and had overly complicated names with more vowels and consonants than sense. But at least she could change her looks.

While pappa was talking to the men and momma talked to the women and brother minded the store, Helena would stand in front of the half mirror in their family wagon and change. She would make her hair longer or shorter, change its color from brown to a yellow so bright it shined like gold. She changed her height, but not so much that she tore her clothes. She would change from female to male, with big pointy chins that could open jars of preserve and voices so low and gravely they sounded like a rock crusher and would make her giggle. Helena would sneak off in a cloak to show her mother, who would only shake her head and tell her to change back. She would run back to her bed and cry about the unfairness of it all and hold her books close to her chest and weep until she had nothing left.

The books had always been there while others tended to leave Helena alone. There was nothing cruel or unpleasant about this, but papa was the caravan master and momma the head weaver and brother worked the store, or drove animals, or this or that. That left Helena all alone for the countless miles with her books and her imagination.

Her father had been the one to introduce her to the power of reading. He would select a book and pull her up into his lap in front of the campfire, protected by the circle of wagons and the stars and the moon softly glowing high above. He would read the words and take her to other planes of existence.

There would be elves and dwarves, fairies of unfathomable beauty, and dark old things lurking in the bottom of lakes or oceans. And she would be right beside the heroes, like Percival The Brave with his talking white horse, or Don Diego the demon slayer, or Princess Van Homperdic SinClaire De La Rista with her magical forest friends. They would fight off the evil of the world and rescue the maiden. Her father never could explain why it was always a maiden that needed rescuing, and never a prince, but that was just the way the stories went.

Then when her father became Caravan Master, her brother would read to her. Often, he would embellish with a flourish of a wooden sword, stabbing and slashing at the shadows cast by firelight. Then he too had gone to work under their father. That had left Helena all alone with the books, a wooden sword, and the constant travel of a gypsy’s life.

But she wasn’t a hero, she was a gypsy girl. She had learned the tambourine and to swing her hips and to earn an honest coin from trading. She learned of sums and figures and percents and taxes. She learned how to use a smile to bring a sale and how to grade cloth, metal, food, and goods. But still she dreamed: of castles and princesses, and knight in armor, and swords and magic.

It was with this dream in her heart that she asked her father for permission to petition Adoni. Her father looked to the little statue of The Traveler that every gypsy carried in their wagon. He gave his daughter a “go ahead” before returning to the figures before him.

So it was in the spring, of 1801, one day after the caravan had arrived in Wimpfensburg, that Helena left at dawn and made her way into town. Her head was filled with images of herself, performing great deeds, slaying monsters, and other hero stuff. She could see herself standing before a cheering crowd. They were yelling her name ‘Helena’, ‘Helena’, ‘Helena’. It was with some surprise when she left the well rutted dirty road. Her boot caught on the cobblestone, and she threw her hands out to stop her fall. She rose and dusted herself off, having derailed her thoughts of herodom. Helena took the moment to examine the town.

The cobble stones marked the edge of the town, for nothing else would describe the collection of brick buildings with their slate roofs, rising with height and splendor the further they got into town. Streetlights, thin metals poles with glass domes, were placed at regular intervals, their spell cores extinguished with the coming morning. Smoke rose lazily from many of the chimneys.

Just up the road was a large wooden stand manned by an elderly woman. Behind the woman was a rather large building, a bakery if the wooden sign with a loaf of bread on it was anything to go by. Helena paused before it, the confections and sweet breads wafting heavenly aromas.

“Good morning, deary,” said the elderly woman. The woman was quite advanced in age, short and plump. Her silver hair was the only thing not sagging with age. “What is a lass like you doing up and early this fine morning?”

“Greeting to you, elder,” replied Helena, already deciding which scone she wanted.

The old woman squinted at her, before retrieving her spectacles. “Should have known you were a gypsy,” she muttered before putting the spectacles away.

Helena let the comment slide. Not all outsiders were happy to see her people. Some still harbored superstitious beliefs from the years of plague and famine. She grabbed her chosen scone.

“How much,” she asked.

“Now that it had been touched by your mud hands? You had better buy it for I can not resell it,” she said all in one long breath, then added, “and that will be six copper knots”.

“Six copper,” objected Helena, “two copper can buy a loaf of bread.”

The woman scoffed. “Maybe dark brown Household Bread.” The old woman grabbed a white loaf, still warm with a light crust. She held it up as if presenting a golden chalice. “See my Fine Bread. See how the loaf is light and airy? Only white sifted flower can make such a loaf. Such Fine Bread as baked by my sons fetches eight copper knots, I will have you know. That scone is made with the same fine flower as this loaf.” Almost offhandedly, she added, “My Middling Loafs are five coppers knots.”

Helena hefted the scone, judging its weight. The woman was probably telling the truth, but she would be damned if she was going to let this old woman overcharge her for a scone. She was a gypsy, and by blood a trader. “Three coppers, and I’ll buy two. I’ll eat the first, here and now, and if it is as good as you say, I’ll put down another copper as a token for excellence,” she countered.

The old woman glowered but nodded. Helena took a bite out of the scone. Her mouth was immediately assaulted by flakey, crumbly layers, with bits of dried berry. She couldn’t help but smile; this bakery knew its stuff.

“I concede,” said Helena, once she had licked the last of the sugar from her fingers, “it is very good. Now, do you want payment in copper knots or sea salt?”

Helena headed to the Eban-Ezer stone at the center of center of town, a scone tucked away in her bag and her salt jar a little lighter. She quickly found what she was looking for: a tall black stone slab, wrote with three overlapping swirls, each feeding into the other. A river of prospects formed a que, even at this early hour. A quick glance showed a myriad of ages and social classes, all human. None looked like her, but nothing said she was outright forbidden. The sight of a street urchin amongst their ranks raised her hopes, while a garishly dressed young man with a fancy trusting sword temped her dreams. “Maybe I can fit in here,” she quietly told herself. With a calming breath and a refocus of her will, Helena took her place in the que. 

Time crawling on. Helena silently wished she had the foresight to bring a book. Instead, she wrung her hands. When that didn’t help, she started to bounce on the balls of her feet. Her pendants, hoop earrings, and bracelets clinked and jingled, giving music to her movements. She continued, oblivious to the dark looks around her. Finally, someone tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to stop. Helena went back to wringing her hands. The line moved forwards another step.

The sun beat down, unforgiving to those below. The rising humidity made the air thicker and clothes to cling to the body.  Helena felt a bead of sweat travel down the small of her back. An enterprising Pedaler with a tray of cold cuts and a jug of mead worked his way up and down the line.

There came a sudden “oh” from those near the front. A priest jogged forward and led a tall brown-haired woman away. The line moved forwards another step.

Helena stood on her toes and craned her necking, peaking around the rather broad and muscular man in front of her. She could barely see the current prospect, a black haired a man in his early 20’s, step forwards and kneel before the great stone. Nothing happened. Time passed, marked by the ticks of the iron weight clock next to the priests. Helena watched a bird fly overhead.

The senior priest, a white haired darked eyed man in white robes with age spots and more wrinkles than wet laundry, whispered to the priest next to him. That man in turn gave a nudge to an acolyte. The acolyte walked forwards and helped the kneeling man up. As the prospect regained his legs, the priest whispered in his ear. The black-haired man turned and walked away, rejection clearly etched on his face. Helena hoped it wouldn’t happen to her.

As she took yet another step, a nagging question returned, one that had plagued her since asking her father for permission to be an adventure: would Adoni, the great and merciful, accept her, a monster, as a hero?

                The thought swirled around in her head. Was she doing the wrong thing? Did father suspect as such when he so easily gave permission? If she was rejected, then what? Would Adoni reveal her true form as punishment? Would the town burn down the caravan as retribution?

Helena was yanked from her spiraling thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. “Miss, it’s your turn.” The breath caught in Helena’s thought as she saw the looming Eban-Ezer stone before her.

The moment of truth as before her. On shaky legs that seemed unable to support her own wight, Helena took a step. And then another. Ahead there was a cushion. Helena practically fell onto it. Her pounding heart shook her whole body.  Just as father had shown her, she closed her eyes, bowed her head, and prayed.

There was darkness; a void without beginning or end. In that space, with neither light nor sound to guide her, Helena prayed some more. Her thoughts coalesced down to a simple request: “Adoni, the almighty, the first and the last, let me be a hero.”

It came like a tide, sweeping through the expanse, climbing inexorably higher. By the time Helena felt the moist air tickle her skin and she reflexively opened her eyes, it had begun to take shape. First twin golden orbs, then teeth longer than her arm, and then great armored scales and the spiked ridges that framed the face. It all solidified into the neck, face, and maw of a great golden dragon, for nothing else could be more terrifying nor smile with such predatory hunger. Its great forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air. When it spoke, such was its powder that the very words forced themselves upon Helena and it was all she could do just to remain kneeling.

“Ah,” it said, the words smooth as silk and deeper than the void. “Tell me young one, what is it that you seek?”

Helena tried to talk but found her mouth dry. She licked her lips and mustered up her will once more, but only achieved a whisper. She managed to eke out, “I come seeking Adoni, the great and merciful…,” before she was defended by the roar of the beast.

“Do not speak his name,” it howled. “By right, all monsters belong to me.” The beast seethed, various juices spilled from its mouth, falling to hiss and bubble on an invisible surface.

The beast tempered itself, the predatory smile slipping back into place. “I am Pseudea, master of monsters and teller of tales. You are a monster. If you have a prayer, it comes to me.”

Once again Helena struggled for words. When finally she spoke, she said “I wish to become a hero.”

“It is power you seek? Very well then, it will be granted for a price.”

Helena was smacked with the force of a tidal wave, a singular vision overwhelming everything: there she stood in her true form. The townspeople bowed and scrapped before her. No longer would her people need to hide from outsiders. All outsiders would kneel before her.

Helena shook her head, clearing the vision. “No,” she reinstated. “I want to be a hero.”

Pseudea snaked his way in close until his tongue flicked the air next to Helena’s ear. “You sure? You could be safe. Your family would be safe. Your kind would never be hunted again.”

‘Wouldn’t that be nice’, thought Helena. To live openly and unafraid. To be accepted by those around her. To be blond, and tall, and mighty? She could walk any street, unashamed and unafraid. She would be protected, her family would be protected, her caravan would be protected.

“That’s right,” hissed Pseudea into her ear. “Everyone would be ‘protected’. The power is yours. You just have to take it.”

The moment was shattered by a new voice. “Not so fast,” hissed the head of a great snake as it appeared next to Pseudea, three spiral horns sprouting from its head. It had sickly pale scales, slit predatory eyes, and twin fangs that extended past its jaw and dripped vibrant green poison.

“She is mine, Neikea” hissed Pseudea. The great dragon snapped at the snake, who drew back a distance.

“She belongs to all of us, oh-teller-of-tales. I too have a gift to offer, should she wish to win any dual.”

A third head arose from the mist, this one of a raggedy bear with large sunken eyes and cheeks and patchy fur that fell in little tuffs as it spoke. “Enough sisters,” it bellowed, “for I, Atee, will offer a gift: to become a princess and never want or need again.”

The dragon lunged, the snake struck, and the bear bit. All was violence and blood as the heads tore at each other. Helena shut her eyes against the roars and the thrashing and the violence that thundered before her. She prayed once more, pleading with her words, “Oh Adoni, I beseech thee. Save me from this horror and I will be your servant”.

A blinding light cut through the darkness, piecing Helena’s eyes even as she clenched them shut and through a hand before her. A terrible power like thunder rolled through and all was driven before it. The biting and thrashing and gnashing quickly faded to a whisper, and then was gone. All that was left was silence and warmth, yet Helena did not open her eyes for the light was too strong.

Then she felt a presence before her, like she would feel a shadow on a sunny day. She twisted her head this way and that; the piercing light still made her eyes water even through her eye lids and hand.

“Helena,” said a voice, older than time and more patient than the mountains.

Helena cried out, “I can here you, but I can not see you.”

“To see me is to see power beyond comprehension, knowledge beyond understanding, the entirety of the world, and your body incinerated all in the moment before your heart has a chance to beat.”

Helena promptly gave up trying to “see” and instead prostrated herself on the floor.

When the voice spoke again, it was with the softness of the breeze and the warmth of the sun. “Helena,” it said, “go forth and be a hero to my creations; help the helpless and protect the least of these. Go forth my servant, and do my bidding.”

Helena struggled for some refute but her lips couldn’t move. He had to be making a mistake. She could barely take care of herself. How was she to care for others, much less help and protect.

“Now rise,” boomed the voice and a hand clasp her own. She was pulled to her feet and when she opened her eyes, the light was gone.

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

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A post shared by Rheinland-Pfalz erleben | Romantic Germany (@rheinlandpfalzerleben)

The Red Wine Trail in the Ahr Valley has been nominated as Germany's Most Beautiful Hiking Trail 2022 👍 On the Altenahr-Marienthal stage, you will experience the Ahr Valley with all its charming facets. You won't get enough of the impressive views of the vineyards of the Ahr Valley. When do you set off? This stage shows you that the Ahr Valley is once again happy to welcome guests and look forward to your visit. The hiking trails in the Ahr Valley are open again. You are also welcome to use public transport to get there 🤗

Pictures by Dominik Ketz

[mikerichardson2023]

Week 3

There were two goals this week, and both were up to date at the end of the week. The first goal was to continue progress on the digital history project that is the focus of this internship. While the second objective was to prepare for the historiography essay due as a part of the internship. This week's goals helped establish a direction for the research and refresh the context as to why this project matters. The research aspect comes nearly second nature as the habits formed over the summer are still fresh. While identifying and remembering the essential historiographical components appropriate to write a historiography paper validates the project in development for this internship. The first goal to accomplish this week is to finish charting the schools of the last state I was working on. The previous state in development was Alabama. When I first started the project, the schools were listed differently. They were recorded based on notoriety, and the list of states was discovered later. Sticking to the list of states has helped keep the school volume in check. This week the remainder of the schools in Alabama were charted to complete a State set and refresh researching capabilities. Many of the skills established during the spring are still fresh. Skills such as organization, efficiency, and ability to be thorough. Next week I will continue with Arkansas. This week's second goal was to begin establishing a bibliography for the historiography essay due at the end of the term. I wanted to refresh myself and not rely too heavily on my supervisor for guidance. After two semesters of education, I hope to construct this paper effectively and meaningfully in a way that supports the project in development. The resources began with The Valley of the Shadow project by Dr. Edward L. Ayers in 1991. Continues with the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, AHR Exchange: Reviewing Digital History, Interactive Visualization: Insight Through Inquiry, and What is Digital History? A Look at Some Exemplar Projects Douglas. This list features authors and works that outline and define the field of digital history. Digital history is a subfield of the humanities still in its infancy. The historiography of this field may be narrower than other topics. However, the effort to preserve the area within a dynamically changing is evident in the Exchanges and developments of projects that exemplify the field. Recalling the authors and projects took a lot of work. It took much reflection and computer searching to remember the primary historians and projects to include in the historiography. Dr. French taught me well. As the articles and projects became uncovered, the past research and writing made the selection of sources almost second nature. Organizing and formatting the historiography assignment coincides nicely with the development of sources related to the creation of the field of digital history. I will construct the paper based on the chronological development of the area and place my project within the appropriate context, identifying why the project matters.

[ar-rc]

Dictionary of Roe

Modifying Grammar Noun -> Adjective Noun+i Ais (Ice) + i = Aisi (Icy) Ex: Aisibhir (Icy Ale)

Verb -> Noun(er) Verb+a Braen (Break) + a = Braena (Breaker) Ex: Aisbraena (Ice Breaker)

Verb -> Noun(ing) verb+n Floer (Lead) + n = Floern (Leading) Ex: Floernmann (Leading Man)

Spelling Rule Always remove doubled letter when combining a word that ends in the same letter the following word begins with. Rostn + Noez = Rostnoez (Rusty Walnut)

Words classified as both adjective and noun, including those under Minerals and Colors, will not change in structure when they are used as an adjective. For example Agat (amber) will NEVER become Agati.

Misc Jho……………… And Oebb…………… Above

Numbers Aerst…………… First Agynn………….. Beginning Helb……………. Half Jarr……………… Year ---- Eyn……………… One Does……………. Two Drys…………….. Three Foer……………. Four Pfym…………… Five Saes……………. Six Syvin…………… Seven Aht……………… Eight Nyun…………… Nine Zaen……………. Ten Eynli……………. Eleven Zwelf… ……….. Twelve Ahtza…………… Eighty

Colors Bloe……………. Blue Broen………….. Brown Fhil……………… Yellow Gryne………….. Green Hast/Hastal…… Hazel Keim…………….Violet, Purple Kest…………….. Chestnut Rhot……………. Red Swar……………. Black Thosin…………. Gray Wyzn…………… White

Animals Aent……………. Duck Ahl……………… Eel Ahr……………… Eagle Bhar……………. Bear Born……………. Boar Elak…………….. Elk Falk…………….. Falcon Farr…………….. Bull Fhis/Fhisk……. Fish Floh……………. Flea Fohc……………. Fox Folg…………….. Bird Frusk…………… Frog Gaez……………. Goat Hund/Hundr…..... Dog Hwab…………… Hawk Khra……………. Crane Kilb…………….. Calf Koel……………. Coeurl Lahz……………. Salmon Lorh……………. Rabbit Loug……………. Leech Mhar…………… Horse Mhol…………… Salamander, Eft Mhus…………… Mouse Rael…………….. Doe Ramm………….. Ram Skapf…………… Sheep Skrat……………. Goblin Spaer…………… Sparrow Thuv……………. Dove Troeg…………… Monster Urs……………… Auroch Uwil……………. Owl Wilf…………….. Wolf Wyrn…………… Snake

The Body Ahrm…………… Arm Baen……………. Bone Benn…………… Leg Broes…………… Chest Foet……………. Foot Fyst…………….. Fist Gara……………. Skin Gybal…………… Skull Haerz…………… Heart Hanth………….. Hand Harr…………….. Hair Krepf…………… Claw Maga…………… Stomach Mynd………….. Mouth Oeya…………… Eye Oura…………… Ear Pfyn……………. Finger Zagyl…………… Tail Zant……………. Tooth Zeh……………… Toe Zoeng………….. Tongue

Seasons Bryn……………. Spring Some/Soemr… Summer Hyrt…………….. Autumn Wint……………. Winter

Food/Nature Ahct………………………. River Ais………………………… Ice Bera………………………. Berry Berk………………………. Mountain Bhir……………………….. Ale Bhrat……………………… Meat Bluom……………………. Flower Blyss……………………… Blossom Brem……………………… Bramble Brot………………………. Bread Byrm……………………… Tree Cwaen…………………… Pine Cwin……………………… Wine Doen……………………… Thunder Dornn…………………….. Thorn Eyha………………………. Oak Eyhil……………………… Acorn Faeld…………………….. Field Fedar…………………….. Feather Frut……………………….. Fruit Fyr………………………… Fire Hana……………………… Hemp, Hempen Himal…………………….. Sky Hylt……………………….. Forest Isil…………………………. Island Kyrss……………………… Cherry Laent……………………… Land Loef……………………….. Leaf Merl………………………. Sea Myst………………………. Mistletoe Opyl………………………. Apple Orn……………………….. Maple Pfef……………………….. Pepper Noez……………………… Walnut Pfrym…………………….. Plum Roegan/Roega…………. Rain Saelb/Sylbei……………. Sage Saelz……………………… Salt Saem……………………… Seed Seik/Sfiek………………. Lake Snoe…. ………………….. Snow Swaen……………………. Mushroom Synt……………………….. Sand Tu………………………….. Dew Tyl…………………………. Valley Ulm……………………….. Elm Weitz…………………….. Wheat Wolk……………………… Cloud Wurt/Wurth……………. Herb Wyda……………………… Wilow Wyta……………………… Water Wyrst…………………….. Sausage Zedyr… ………………….. Cedar

Nouns Abyl……………. Rage Alyr…………….. Alder Anka…………… Anchor Ansa……………. Scythe Aren……………. Harvest Ask……………… Ash Bhaln…………… Plague Blaet…………… Blood Borg……………. Castle Brytt……………. Bridle Byrt…………….. Axe Ceig…………….. Sail Ceil…………….. Rope Dhem………….. Dusk Dorpf…………… Village Dyn…………….. People Dyrf…………….. Farm Eidin……………. Oath Ent……………… End Garr…………….. Choir Geim…………… Jewel Geiss/Geyss….. Ghost Glac…………….. Bell Graeb………….. Grave Hyll…………….. Hell Hyml…………… Heaven Hyr……………… Army Ingil/Inghil…… Angel Itar……………… Knight Gybet………….. Prayer Haemr…………. Hammer Halp……………. Side Khezl………….. Kettle Kirz…………….. Candle Klet…………….. Burdock Liht……………… Light Lleid……………. Pain Lora…………….. Laurel Mhas…………… Scar Moen………….. Moon Moht…………… Mind Murl……………. Wall Myna…………… Love Myrgan………… Morning Nagl……………. Nail Nahct………….. Night Nort……………. North Nyst……………. Nest Oefyr………….. Sacrifice Ost……………… East Pfrew………….. Joy Raen/Raen…… Circle Raet……………. Chariot Ronn…………… Current Ruht……………. Smoke Ryhhe………….. Empire Rymm…………. Frost Sald…………….. Luck Sath……………. Knife Satz…………….. Dance Skaet…………… Shadow Skoef………….. Poetry, Poet Skyf…………….. Ship Skylt…………… Shield Spyr….. ……….. Spear Stral……………. Arrow Stymm………… Voice Styr/Styrn……. Star Styrm………….. Storm Sund…………… South Sunn…………… Sun Sweig………….. Herd Swerd.. ……….. Sword Sygg……………. Victory Syng……………. Song Toum…………… Dream Trach…………… Dragon Twyr……………. Dwarf Tyrn……………. Tower Tyrb/Terbin….. Cyclone Und…………….. Wave Waek………….. Battle Waen/Waent… Wind Ward…………… Watch Warg…………… Truth Wein…………… Woad Wist……………. West Woerd…………. Word Wyrk…………… Work Zahr….. …………Tear

Titles/Professions Ahtyn…………………….. Judge Blyda……………………… Maker Broda…………………….. Brother Bryda…………………….. Bride Daeg……………………… Soldier Draga……………………… Carrier Fatyr………………………. Father Fian……………………….. Enemy Froe/Froa……………….. Lady Fryn………………………. Friend Germa……………………. Conjurer Goht………………………. God Gohta……………………. Goddess Klin/Klind………………. Child Koen……………………… King Koena/Koenyb………… Queen Kympf……………………. Champion Kynd………………………. Virgin Leita………………………. Bringer Lon/Lona………………… Gatherer Mann…………………….. Man Skal……………………….. Servant Smyd……………………… Smith Swys/Swysta…………… Sister Syn………………………… Son Thota… ………………….. Daughter Thuba…………………….. Mage Waht……………………… Guard Wyb………………………. Woman Wykra……………………. Worker Zwyn……………………… Twin

Adjectives Abar………………………. Lone, ALone Aerg………………………. Ambitious Aerm…………………….. Poor Ahld………………………. Old Awyr……………………… Absent Bara………………………. Bare, Naked Bhald…………………….. Bold, Brave Blei……………………….. Pale Blyn………………………. Blind Bylg………………………. Fertile Caer………………………. Sad Dani………………………. Narrow Denkyr…………………… Thinking Denn……………………… Thin Doer………………………. Dry Dyrst……………………… Thirsty, Thirst Eifa……………………….. Bitter Elil………………………… Exiled, Foreign Erna………………………. Earnest Ewan……………………… Even Eyri……………………….. Wandering Faez………………………. Fat Fhruh…………………….. Early Flaz……………………….. Flat Flekk……………………… Spotted Frae……………………….. Free Fyril……………………….. Lost Ganz………………………. Perfect Ghim……………………… Modest Greh………………………. Calm Grym……………………… Cruel Guht………………………. Good Guol………………………. Glorious Hael………………………. Healthy Haer………………………. Grand Hald………………………. Kind Herl……………………….. Elder Hezz………………………. Hot Hint……………………….. Behind Hirsk………………………. Agile Holas……………………… Bald Holl……………………….. Hollow Holsk……………………… Fast Horsk/Horsam…………. Obedient Kelt……………………….. Cold Khus………………………. Chaste Klyn……………………….. Small Kneh……………………… Near Kroem……………………. Bent Lamm…………………….. Lame, Injured Loet………………………. Loud Loetr……………………… Pure Loez………………………. Short Lyna………………………. Linen Lyng………………………. Long Maeti…………………….. Mighty Moeg…………………….. Able Nazz………………………. Damp, wet Nedyr…………………….. Low Niu………………………… New Nortyr……………………. Northern Ostyr……………………… Eastern Ofan………………………. Clear Pfar……………………….. Walking Phati……………………… Late Rhen……………………… Clean Rheti……………………… Straight, Lawful Rhit……………………….. Right Rhyl………………………. Plentiful Roeh……………………… Rough Rostn…………………….. Rusty Skaen…………………….. Beautiful Skarn……………………… Horrible Skoen…………………….. Shining Slae……………………….. Dull Slaf……………………….. Sleeping Slett………………………. Plain Solk……………………….. Blessed Stael……………………… Still Sterr………………………. Strong Sundyr…………………… Southern Swoz……………………… Sweet Swyg……………………… Silent Swyn……………………… Round Swyr………………………. Big Syhr………………………. Fearless Syk………………………… Sick Syngi……………………… Singing Syzn………………………. Sitting Thor………………………. Torn Toff……………………….. Deep Trachyn………………….. Dragon Tragg……………………… Slow Trahg……………………… Lazy Troe/Troeb……………… Confused Tymb……………………… Dumb Ubyl………………………. Evil Unsyn…………………….. Innocent Unta………………………. Other Usyn……………. …………Ashen Waem……………………. Warm Wakk……………………… Awake, Woken Wann…………………….. Empty Wast……………………… Sharp Whei……………………… Soft Wilt……………………….. Wild Winst…………………….. Left Wistyr……………………. Western Wunt……………………… Under Wuot……………………… Berserk Wyss……………………… Wise Ybolg……………………… Enraged Zaes………………………. Right Zoer………………………. Sour

Minerals (work as nouns and adjectives) Agat……………. Amber Blau……………. Lead Caepf………….. Slate Glaz…………….. Glass Grein…………… Bronze Guld……………. Gold Iyrn…………….. Iron Kryd……………. Chalk Kryst…………… Crystal Kupf……………. Copper Loh……………… Cloth, Clothes Lydir……………. Leather Marm………….. Marble Sthal……………. Steel Sylb…………….. Silver Webb………….. Silk Whaz…………… Wax Woll……………. Wool

Both noun and adjective Blan…………….. Darkness, Dark Fryd…………….. Peace, Peaceful Keten………….. Chain, Chained Knod…………… Knot, Knotty Lubb/Lubd……. Poison Myte…………… Middle Ryss…………….. Giant Thubyr………… Magic Toeg……………. Secret Zirn…………….. Fury, Furious

Verbs Braen………….. Break Byld…………….. Make Byrg……………. Protect Draeg………….. Carry Edz……………… Eat Fhet……………. Fight Firk……………… Explore Floeg…………… Fly Floer…………… Lead Gheb…………… Give Grina…………… Howl Gyft…………….. Sell Hwyz…………… Know Jaeg…………….. Hunt Khan……………. Laugh Lago……………. Lament Moer…………… Kill Ronth………….. Run Skrib……………. Write Sthan…………… Stand Sweig………….. Herd Syz……………… Sit Waeb………….. Weave Wall……………. Boil Wegg………….. Provoke Wezzn…………. Punishment Zent……………. Send

[alaniwaves]

The Dienstelle Marienthal (Marienthal Office) or Regierungsbunker (Government Bunker) in Germany was a massive underground complex built during the Cold War era to house the German government, parliament and enough federal personnel needed to keep the government working in the event of war or severe crisis. Located only about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Bonn, Germany (the capital and government seat of pre-unification West Germany), in the Ahr Valley between the towns of Ahrweiler and Dernau, it was one of the best kept secrets of West Germany. It was built between 1960 and 1972 inside two abandoned railway tunnels. Photography: Andreas Magdanz

[jessebeckerms]

Weingut Deutzerhof Spätburgunder Altenahr Eck GG Ahr 2022

Slate and Greywacke. The narrowest part of the Ahr Valley. Fragrant with red cherry fruit, notes of strawberries, smoky undertones. Toast of wood but beautiful integration. Tart red fruit on the palate, framed in toasted wood and warming spices. ***+