der.bär's photostream  

Was this photo taken in the USA?
No... it was taken in Stuttgart, Germany.

How is this possible?
It's because, today is July, 4th... the national holiday of the USA, and in and around Stuttgart are living more than 30.000 US Americans, more than in any other city in Germany.

Are they the biggest ethnic group in Stuttgart?
They are by far not the biggest ethnic group in Stuttgart, but also not unimportant and many enough to celebrate their independence day, today.
Because I got asked: The biggest ethnic groups in Stuttgart are: 1st: Italians, 2nd: Turkish
And by the way: Stuttgart is a bigger international melting pot, than most people think. Every 3rd inhabitant is not German or has an "migration background".

How are the US Americans celebration the 4th outside of the USA?
There will be flags, celebration parties and fireworks in Böblingen, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Heidelberg and many other cities today. Big barbeque parties are announced with fun for kids and families. For more information you can listen to the local American radio station "FM102.3 The Eagle". As far as I know you can win an iPad if you give them a call.

If you are from the US and see this picture: Happy 4th! :-)

For me, now it's time to say ByeBye flickr and my flickrites, as I will be on holiday for the next 2 weeks. I say "Good bye" to Stuttgart and "Hola / Hello" to Porto Cristo (Spain).

I took this photo on a boat while looking back to shore with the sun above it. It was a very calm and romantic moment.

Lake Constance (Bodensee) is the biggest lake in Germany and is also called the "Swabian Sea". It is around 130 km South from Stuttgart and is also the border to Switzerland. More or less half of the shore of the lake is in Germany, and half of the shore in Switzerland.

Because it's fast to get there, it's one of my favorite weekend short trips.

This was a real snapshot.
I had guests and therefore no time to take a serious photo. I just grabbed my point-and-shot, did one single shot through my window, and returned to my guests. No chance for any improvements :-(

After the storm this rainbow was really that strong and luminous. It was really a great one, I wish I would have had a chance to take it against a beautiful landscape.

East Cost Germany - Sarah Kay Vintage Style

Sarah Kay

Nice and friendly dandelions, warm and romantic sunset sun..... this is your rescue package for moody days... your pocket full of dandelion sun.

Explored #62 on 19th May 2011.

I had some time of flickr-absence, due to a mix of holidays and busyness. Sorry for not commenting your pictures during the last weeks. I will try to catch up :-)