While the Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) is only known to most Europeans as an invasive species, it once had divine significance in its namesake homeland. Although its original distribution area extended across almost the entire African continent, it was particularly worshipped in ancient Egypt, especially around Thebes. There it was considered a deity, Gengen Wer, "the great cackler," whose loud cackle filled the primordial darkness and who laid the world egg in a mulberry tree in Heliopolis, from which light and the world then emerged. This deity was one of the various manifestations associated with the complex Egyptian pantheon, which included the fertility aspects of gods like Amun. People assumed that creation was a continuous cycle and that every human being hatched from an underworld goose egg.

From a flower's perspective. Today, we are all flowers! 🌸🌻🌼🪻🏵🍀

Beautiful shiny hoverfly!✨🐝

I suspect it is a Melanostoma species. Pretty sure a male.

The distance between the eyes of hoverflies is always narrower in males than in females.👀

Their larvae eat aphids and the adults feed on flower nectar and pollen.🌺🌼🌸

📊 Around 48,000 animal species have been identified in Germany, including over 33,000 insect species. Insects make up around 70 percent of all animal species in Germany.

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Pretty empty, even though it was a very hot and sunny Saturday. But you often have luck with this unheated outdoor pool because it's not as popular as others. A great place to meet other introverts seeking peace and quiet... and leave them alone. 😄

Enjoy sloth life! ✌️🙃

🌊🌊🌊

To photograph a lizard, you have to think like a lizard, move like a lizard...

Here I sneaked up on a sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) 🦎🌞

He clearly wanted to be seen.💚 Males turn bright green during the spring mating season - from April to June - and brown again in the late summer.🤎

I'm always drawn to the water.🌊
Maybe one day.. I will just swim away.🧜‍♂️😇

Coypu,
Myocastor coypus

There's a very stable population of this invasive species along the Nidda river.
It's not good to pet or feed them. They can get pushy, but don't give in! It harms nature. Water pollution is increasing and native species are endangered. Children can be bitten. Just enjoy it as long as it's here.❤️

The Frankfurt central station is the second busiest long-distance train station in Germany with almost half a million travelers and visitors a day. Because of its location in the middle of Germany, the Deutsche Bahn (German railway company) refers to it as the most important station in Germany.🚂🛤️🇩🇪

Sadly, right in front of the train station, you find the red light district. Here you mainly come across drug addicts, urine smell and prostitution. 😔

The skyscraper on the second photo is Westendstraße 1. The third tallest skyscraper of Frankfurt was completed in 1993 and, at 208 meters, is also the third tallest building in Germany. The characteristic ring is intended to indicate Frankfurt as the coronation city of the Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. 🌃👑

The Römerberg (Roman Mountain) in Frankfurt. A year ago today.

The Römerberg (Roman Mountain) in Frankfurt.
Numerous coronations of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire took place on this square. Afterwards they met for the coronation meal in the town hall. The town hall, called Römer, built in the 15th century, was destroyed in the Second World War. You see a bit on the very right side. Since it was foreseeable that Frankfurt would be the target of bombs, much could be saved from the destruction beforehand and the building was documented as well as possible. So a very authentic reconstruction was possible.

The church is the medieval Lutheran Old St Nicholas Church. It was only slightly damaged by the bombing. Construction of the church began in the 13th century. It has had its current appearance since the 15th century. In the course of the Reformation, the church temporarily lost its function. It was leased for over 150 years and used as an archive of the municipal lay judge's court and at times as a warehouse during trade fairs. The lease was terminated in 1719 and the church was inaugurated again in 1721 after restoration.

In the building on the very left there is a small coffee and exchange office. There is a connection between the owner and me. His father was the American Ernest Biberfield from District Information Services Control Command. When my great-grandfather was still assigned administrative tasks in the Buchenwald concentration camp after the end of WW2, Bieberfield informed my family about the early takeover of Thuringia by the Soviet occupying powers and about my grandfather, who was missing in the West.
So my great-grandfather traveled to the American zone at the invitation of the American headquarters in Frankfurt.