(click to enlarge)
... from the inside this time.
7/24/2010
Tower
(click to enlarge)
Teltschik Viewtower, Wilhelmsfeld. 41 Meters high, at 530m elevation. 192 steps to the top. Built in 2001.
7/23/2010
Ant Land
(click to enlarge)
I've counted eight anthills in the area, at least close to the path. At least three of them about 8-10 feet across, which is about the maximum for their kind. There's probably more. This one was the only one i saw that took advantage of a collapsed tree for structural purposes when building the nest.
All of them formica rufa, red forest ants. They're freaking awesome - eat anything up to the size of mice, if they find a dead one. Do not touch - even a single bite itches, and these hills have up to 5 million of the little ones living in them.
Strategic Location
(click to enlarge)
Strategically built nest at the entrance to the already posted hut. Located such that they get sun most of the day, while also keeping dry under the hut's outcropping roof. Pretty small nest though, i'd say probably only about a hundred-thousand inhabitants.
7/18/2010
Lights
(click to enlarge)
Scenery from the Königstuhl mountain above Heidelberg at 1 am. Parts of Heidelberg at the bottom, Mannheim on the right-side horizon.