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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 17:57:57 GMT
Berck-sur-Mer is a completely charmless but important resort on the English Channel. The importance is due to the multiple hospitals there and the fact that it is the birthplace of thalassotherapy -- the concept that sea air is good for sick people. I wrote about "Marianne Toute Seule" in my report last year. She was a sea widow who looked after sick children, and the experts later attributed her success in nursing them back to health to the extreme iodine concentration in the breezes of Berck. The first hospital was the Imperial Hospital (now the Maritime Hospital) was inaugurated by Empress Eugénie in 1869. This was quickly followed by the Rothschild hospital, a hospital run by nuns ( Institut Saint-François-de-Sales), the Institut Hélio-Marin, the Franco-American Foundation, etc. All of the hospitals are still there, and Berck is perhaps the city in France where you can see the greatest number of invalids in wheelchairs. Okay, I know that that is more than enough, because you want to see kites. Unfortunately, I arrived in Berck late in the afternoon, and it was no longer kite time. The lovely "July-in-April" sun that we have been having was waning, but I wanted to see sunset at the beach before going back to my hotel (wisely reserved more than a month earlier), on the outskirts of town ( = far from the coast). I felt confident about the next day, but I continued to wander for awhile. (more to come, sooner or later) |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 18:10:34 GMT
I could see that people were definitely in town because the beachfront restaurants were not empty on this Friday evening. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 18:24:25 GMT
Oh boy! Cycle daredevils! I am a total sucker for watching people who might break their neck or some other important body part. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 20:40:52 GMT
I was doing what a lot of the the other people were doing. It was past 20:30 and we were waiting for sunset. As objectively boring as it is, who can resist a sunset over the ocean? While I waited, I allowed one of the last kites of the day to mesmerize me. [photobucket height=480 width=640]http://s450.photobucket.com/albums/qq228/kerouac2/Berck-sur-Mer/?action=view¤t=b38b46cb.pbw[/photobucket] No, I did not go blind by looking directly into the sun, because the hospitals of Berck do not treat that affliction and I had other plans. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 20:48:03 GMT
Remember when a lot of us used to waste at least ten shots on a roll of film taking boring sunset photos? Well, we aren't exactly wasting film anymore, so we don't feel as guilty even if we are still wasting our time trying to take the impossible "perfect" sunset picture. [photobucket height=480 width=640]http://s450.photobucket.com/albums/qq228/kerouac2/Berck-sur-Mer/?action=view¤t=d07ffe06.pbw[/photobucket] Yada yada yada.... enough with the sunset business! I returned my hotel to recharge all of my equipment for the big kite event on Saturday. Besides watching television, I also had an interesting view of the McDonald's parking lot from my window. Oh, and there's my little red Toyota Aygo in the hotel parking lot. |
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Apr 26, 2011 23:02:26 GMT
Looking forward to the big kite day!
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2011 23:08:41 GMT
Bravo! This just about had me plucking at my wet sandy swimsuit, it felt so real!
Ordinarily, I'd never laugh at someone in a wheelchair, but yeah, it looks as though those boys dared one devil too many.
Clever & patient of you to bring us the sunset -- thanks.
Bring on the kites!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2011 10:22:28 GMT
I really like the shot with the kite in front of the sunset. Well captured.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 27, 2011 13:01:17 GMT
Man O man Kerouac, what fabulous photos of the sunset!!!!!! The one with just the paraglider in the shot is my favourite. It seems as if you have been to this event before??
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2011 17:41:05 GMT
After my several kilometer walk along the coast the next morning to admire low tide, I returned to town to see what was happening with the kites. |
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Apr 27, 2011 21:17:02 GMT
That's what I've been waiting for!
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Post by hwinpp on Apr 28, 2011 4:41:14 GMT
I like the flying fish.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 5:14:06 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Apr 28, 2011 15:25:00 GMT
I do not know why buy I really enjoyed the squid and octopus kites. What a fun weekend you must have had and the weather was incredible. The sweet little girl in pink playing in the sand expresses the ultimate joy of childhood!
Cheers,
Mich
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2011 13:15:42 GMT
How much time can anybody spend just looking at kites? Well, not forever, so a lot of people were up to other business. I found the Wallonia tourist board tent rather audacious, not because they had made the Manneken Pis huge and green but because the Manneken Pis is not located in Wallonia at all. |
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Post by mossie on Apr 29, 2011 14:50:02 GMT
Some really super seaside pics. Did not realise there were so many variations of a kite. I think that flying pig is quite something.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 29, 2011 19:16:55 GMT
What a beautiful report Kerouac, the kites are so stunning, and the sunset photographs are a real treat. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 4:32:40 GMT
I'm glad everybody has enjoyed the kites so far. I still have few photos to add to wrap up this year's report.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 10:59:54 GMT
Here's the same stuff with a little movement (and also some wind noise).
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Post by spindrift on Apr 30, 2011 18:57:12 GMT
Excellent, excellent...... what a wonderful thread. Thank you so much.
Forgive me for asking again (I think) what make your camera is?
I am soon to visit some high mountains in Switzerland and I need to buy a new camera.
You have taken exceptionally good pictures K2.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 5:33:05 GMT
Some people were going to get a sunburn today.  Time for me to pack up my equipment and head home.  I wish I could stay for tonight's fireworks. Maybe next time.   |
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Post by bixaorellana on May 1, 2011 6:18:27 GMT
I can almost smell the suntan lotion. Fantastic report. Along with HW, I liked the still photos of the fish best, but then seeing the video or the pics of the whole sky full of kites -- magical!
How do they keep all those kite strings from tangling?
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 10:28:32 GMT
Well, as you can see, it is a huge beach. All of the professional areas are cordoned off (actually, it is just little sticks with string), and I guess the professionals know what they are doing. One of the most interesting things is seeing how they work multiple kites up the same strings, because the items rise slowly but surely -- for example the sets of legs -- they have to wait at least 15 minutes before trying to add the next item. And also there is a main 'lift' kite at the very top -- not very artistic but a necessary tool to help keep everything in the air.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 18:53:48 GMT
After two years of visiting the Berck kite festival during absolutely magnificent warm weather (the proof is in the photos), I want you to know that I am not attending this year. The end of the festival is this weekend, and the weather is appallingly cold with frequent showers. I don't even want to think about it. Brrrrrr!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 19:04:58 GMT
Of course, having written that, I have to confess that I already regret my decision looking at this video. The kites are magical even in bad weather and the wind is better. New characters, new animals! Camels and centipedes and bears! All sorts of new flying fish. It is really a magical event. Rendezvous in 2013.  |
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 10, 2019 15:42:09 GMT
This is the week of the kite festival, but the weather is not great this year, so... maybe next year?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 10, 2019 18:20:02 GMT
Well I enjoyed looking at the photos that you've posted before...so vibrant.
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Post by amboseli on Apr 10, 2019 22:05:05 GMT
Great pictures. They remind me of the Festival de Cerf-Volant in Dieppe that we attended a few years ago.
Sorry about the weather. There will be enough wind, though for the kites!
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Post by whatagain on Apr 11, 2019 20:55:16 GMT
My eye caught the green small man.
And your remark is not fully correct Kerouac : mannenken is no Walloon but the booth was under the office du tourisme wallonnie - Bruxelles.
Remarkable pics btw.
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