containers in the wild.
in the region i live we have two big rivers, the rhine river and the main river. both of them are very essential, especially as a means for transportation! a lot of cargo gets shipped down these rivers, relieving the streets a bit and also train tracks and air routes. that's why you will always find these cargo containers whenever there is a company that relies on the waterways. since we're part of the rhein-main region it's not a very rare sight, this region is one of the most successful economic regions in germany and therefore you will always find traces of it. it's got a lot of industrial landscapes, which of course isn't always lovely to look at, but kind of possesses its own kind of wicked charm. the photos in these posts i shot on a small strip of land called mainspitze, which is sort of a peninsula, where the main river flows into the rhine river. it's near ginsheim-gustavsburg, a double-city about 20 kms away from wiesbaden and 8 kms from mainz. i ventured there on a sunday walk, craving industrial landscapes ( it's a thing, despite being also a lover of natural landscapes and less 'dirty' places - you know my love for contrasts 😉 ). i especially love industrial places when they are also blending into nature, when nature creates a fusion between them, overgrowing, developing an industrial jungle. it feels kind of honest and unobscured, simple and ascertained. like nature will regain its territory, no matter how much we decide to change its landscapes.
there's lots of uncultivated landscapes on the mainspitze, it is basically a floodplain after all, so floods are definitely possible and have happened before.
in times of drought, nature can grow how it wants to grow without being manipulated ( or die and serve as nutrients for new growth ), because it's important to have them as some kind of retention area in case of floods.
there are always paths to tread on, even in those floodplain fields, as we humans love to explore and turn everything to a playground ;)
on the shores of the main river. right on the other side there's one of the strange wiesbaden AKK districts, mainz-kostheim ( which historically actually belonged to mainz, but got knocked down to wiesbaden after world war II ).
from where i stood... on big pebbles, interspersed with tiny round plant leaves.
this little nook was far off the main path, i spent a little while here to watch the river and enjoy a little bit of quiet.
this was the tiny pathway that led me to the shore. such a spring jungle, right? love all the fresh greens.
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| found another shore segment where you had a view on mainz and the confluence of the main river into the rhine! you can see the mainz cathedral on the right, in the middle there's st. stephan and the cuboid on the left is probably the medical center of the university of mainz. |
the main river again, with a view back to ginsheim-gustavsburg / mainz-kostheim.
there were these big concrete pebbles around meant to be seatings for passersby. they are an identifying feature for the regional park rhine/main route, an over 190 kilometer long route for adventurers who want to get to know the rhine/main region more thoroughly. it explores mainly frankfurt's urban hinterlands in an almost circular radius, shining a light on the many small cities and historical landmarks ( cultural and industrial ) along the way. this route is on my itinerary list under 'buy myself a bicycle in the future and explore the route gradually ( or go on a bike vacation )'. i could also explore it by foot, but that's basically only possible in tiny segments of course. there's a lot to learn about the landscapes around frankfurt that i haven't even been able to explore, but already collected tiny glimpses of, and it's been a desire of mine to dive in deeper into the behemoth that is this region.
the concrete was poured in a very smooth way, soft to the touch and collecting lots of sunshine warmth! my brain loved capturing the round curves visually, but also touching it sent tingly sensations through the parts of my head that loves smooth structures. i declare this a very pleasing object 😍
view on mainz again, this time with mainz city hall on the left, christuskirche ( the building with the dome ), mainz's industrial district in mombach and the theodor-heuß-brücke ( a bridge connecting wiesbaden with mainz ). far in the back you see the crest of the vordertaunus, and a tiny bit of wiesbaden back on the offshoot hills. i shot this directly at the peak of the mainspitze, where both the rivers meet.
super unsure what kind of tree this was, as my first guess, the copper beech actually has no heart leaves, and my second guess, the linden tree, actually shouldn't have red leaves at all. my last guess is the black poplar, and i think it's the correct one, though the reddish colour is sort of uncommon? maybe the leaves got a little sunburnt.
the südbrücke - a train bridge over the rhine river that links mainz with ginsheim-gustavsburg. the settlement in the back is mainz-weisenau.
i had great fun taking photos of the bridge, i love the iron braces and struts and how they create a moving picture when you shift your body a few steps forward, backward or sideways. it's like those little books where there's a picture on each page that move a little bit further when you leaf through it and when you do that very quickly it creates a little movie of some sorts. of course you can't capture this with a photo, though. maybe i should revisit and take a video instead ;) it still is a perfect structure to take photos of, though! i didn't know that the bridge was also open for pedestrians, this might be a pretty cool spot for taking portraits or do some photoshoots.
in weisenau you also have a cement plant that belongs to the heidelbergcement group. i am a sucker for ugly industrial buildings, so of course i had to take a photo.
finally reached the bridge and walked underneath. the südbrücke was first built in 1862, renovated another time in 1912 before being destroyed during the second world war. in 1948/49 the bridge you see now got re-erected as a k-truss bridge. apparently it's called like that because the members of the truss are forming the letter K. you can see that quite well in the more detailed pictures above.
looking up. i really like iron constructions such as these, sometimes i wish there was a style like this in architecture. how cool would it be to have some buildings that were made out of truss construction? they'd feel super steampunk, i think :D
underneath the bridge some graffiti artists sprayed really cool paintings on the supports.
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| not only would this place be a great photo shoot spot ON the bridge, but also BELOW. |
on this side of the bridge there were once some small decorational towers, but they never got rebuilt. on the mainz side of the bridge, though, the neo-gothic towers still exist.
the bridge is slowly lowering down to ground level.
back on the other side in mainz i discovered this conrete high-rise and was smitten with the see-through staircase. this building was constructed in 1963, shortly after it was decided that one of germany's most important tv broadcast, ZDF, would have its headquarters in mainz. when it got built it was a really expensive adress in in the city! these days it doesn't look very expensive anymore, though most of the flats are still owner-occupied ones. but you know what? i would really love to see the view from one of the two buildinsg down on the mainz-wiesbaden area, i hear that it is quite breathtaking.
an idyllic rhine photo with mainz-weisenau as background, most distinct building of course being the mariä himmelfahrt church ( assumption of mary ). it's a late baroque church that got a little neo-classic touch-up in the early 20th century. it's quite a memorable building because of its yellow facades.
i cut through some tiny paths and discovered a 'storage facility' for boats. it felt more like a small boat cemetery, though, because it was super tucked away 😂
a cut-off meander of the rhine river. it leads to ginsheim-gustavsburg's industrial quarter.
discovered a swan couple peacefully floating on the currents.
it was quite beautiful back there, and totally not industrial.
until you discovered even more 'stored' boats. seriously, i really think it was just a big boat cemetery. this boat called 'motte' ( moth ) got quite 'mothballed' into nature.
apparently the grounds are owned by a sailing club, though, and some boats did not look utterly abandoned. this fella called vagabond looked quite sea-worthy.
in the bright day of light the 'cemetery' looked rather friendly, but i'm sure it is pretty creepy at night. i've got the feeling that the boats might turn out be a little undead in the nocturnal hours.
jungle paths continued.
sometimes while finding these tiny paths, i feel like a female version of indiana jones, and damn, that sounds pretty awesome to me. i'd definitely dig that outfit he wears. i would probably be not as gun-savvy, but my curiousity level is definitely on par.
might this be a guard of the secret boat jewels?
i hope this is not the army that would follow me whilst i'd be fleeing with the boat jewels into the night.
tank 701 sounds like perfect mariana jones headquarter hide-out 😂
a lot more of these fuel tanks are scattered around the area, probably not a super idea to hide there while a boat army is after you, though. might get a bit explosive in case someone tried to play with ignition products.
how come shadows are so fascinating to me?
lonesome train track desert. it definitely looked a bit wild west here, but in a much grimier way 😂
i decided to leave my mariana jones ways and return back to the car, without the fictive boat jewels.
passed by this strange building that had very suspicious-looking symbols engraved in the stones above the windows.
i don't know from when this building is, but swastikas feels very nazi-era. of course i know that a swastika doesn't necessarily mean that it indicates nazi involvement, but when you put it into context with the location in germany, in a city where there was a huge steel manufacture that had a shady past, it wouldn't astonish me. also... it's kinda well hidden, just passing it by, you wouldn't even notice it.
i kinda liked how the ivy took over this building! it looked like it was spreading out to form a tree! clinker buildings like these are quite common in germany, nearly every single village or city has something like this. brick stones have always been very inexpensive building material, it could easily be produced because clay is a natural product you can find all over europe! i am aware that the same rings true for the whole world, though sometimes i feel like there's a special touch to clinker buildings in germany. i can't quite put my finger on it, though?
reaching the end of yet another post, without feeling the need to make big words this time. i will probably try to return to ginsheim-gustavsburg to check out the 'old rhine' and some strange steel settlement soon, so if you wanna check up on me, you can visit my instagram for more up-to-date adventures ;)
until next time, stay curious ❤
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