ruins – nancy merrill photography

Thankful November 18th: Traveling

I know that I’ve already expressed gratitude for the earth and its beauties, but I am also very grateful for the chance I’ve had (and continue to have) to travel many places around the world and also close to home. When my husband and I got married, he hadn’t traveled much. A couple of years after we married, I convinced him that we needed to take a trip to Great Britain to visit a nephew who had been transferred to London for a year, along with his wife and three boys. It was the best thing that could have happened to us. Since then, we have made a few more trips across the pond to the east, across the pond to the west, and headed down south for my first experience in Mexico (besides Tijuana). I’m looking forward to many more adventures around this amazing globe we live on in the near and distant future.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Beauty

Queen's View Scotland

One of the places we wanted to visit while in Scotland is called the Queen’s View. When Queen Victoria visited it in the 1800s, legend has it that she believed it was named for her, but in reality, Robert the Bruce called it that because it was the favorite view of his wife, Queen Margaret. With the recent tragedy in Paris, I wanted this week’s challenge to be one of hope and beauty. Beauty can be found everywhere, even in tragedy. The image below is the ruins Melrose Abbey, where Robert the Bruce’s heart is believed to be buried. The Abbey was built in the 1100s, and after many assaults and wars, fell into disuse and ruin in the late 1500s.

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IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) OF THINGS YOU FIND BEAUTIFUL.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Dense

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If you look close (or maybe not so closely) at the top of the very dense forest, you can see the tower of the Ehrenberg Castle ruin. Below is a picture of the full castle, so you can tell just how dense the forest is when looking at it from the foot of the hill where it dwells.

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For more from this challenge, visit the Daily Press’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Dense.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Green

St. Colomon, Germany

I have never been anywhere that is as green as Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

For more from this challenge, visit the Daily Press’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Green.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Look Up

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This picture looks up at the steel rope bridge that connects the ruins of Castle Ehrenberg with the fortress ruins on the hill across the highway.

Here’s a picture of what the bridge looks like when you’re on it.

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For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Looking Up at Things.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Ruins

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On a hill high above the town of Reutte, Austria is the ruined castle Ehrenberg. The hike up to the castle and the 400 meter steel rope bridge to the hill across the highway is an easy climb that takes 20-30 minutes, depending on your abilities and current physical conditioning. The castle is a wonderful piece of history and ruins that is fun to explore and photograph. This photo was taken from the other hillside. (For more pictures of the hike, castle, and rope bridge, see Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest and Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Walks.)

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF THINGS AND PLACES THAT HAVE SEEN BETTER DAYS.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest

For more from this challenge, visit the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Quests.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Walks

For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Walks.

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Buildings

I hope this counts. It’s some of the ruins at Dunfermline Abbey in Scotland. The Abbey is still standing.

For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Buildings.

Travel Theme: Arches

We just returned from the land of a thousand (I don’t believe I’m exaggerating here) ruined castles, cathedrals, and abbeys. Arches abound in the land of King Arthur and Brits, and I love it! Here are some arches from Jedbrough and Paisley Abbeys (one a ruin, the other still functioning as a church).

For more from this challenge, visit Where’s My Backpack’s Travel theme: Arches.