The other Side of the Dam

Some Places have an Aura about them that always tends o draw us back there, no Matter how many Times we have already been. For me, the Oderteich in the middle of the Harz is such a Place.

I have walked around it, and I have visited both Sides of the Dam. My Plan for today was to do both those Things, but I started my Journey way too late, and it started raining heavily. So I actually just visited the Air Side of the Dam.

Usually, the Oderteich is as overcrowded as it can be. Today I got lucky though. The Place I went was pretty much deserted, except for a small Group of Holiday Hikers that were gone as quickly as they showed.

I really liked that. My Style of Photography is usually easier when there are just a few, or even no, People around.

It would be great to always have someone in a red Jacket with me though. I absolutely love it to integrate those in my Landscapes as small Dots of Colour. Red is the best Colour for that in my Opinion.

While the Oderteich was built back from 1715 to 1722, it actually still has a few uses. One of those being that it’s Dam carries the B242 Motorway from Clausthal to the B4.

Even the Water stored in the Teich still has a relevant use. It is still carried into St. Andreasberg via the Rehberger Graben, and it still powers something in the old Mine ‘Grube Samson’.

There it is nowadays used to provide Hydroelectric Power to the Town. It is actually quite fascinating.

Because of that use, the last active Fahrkunst exists at the Grube Samson.

I have been at the other Side of the Oderteich before, but the last Time I visited, there was no Water coming down the Ausflut. And the last Time there was Water, I did not want to climb down the Stairs because it was very icy there.

Today I got lucky. While there clearly was not as much Water as the last Time I visited, there was still quite a bit. And it was awesome. Rushing Water really does something good to me. I absolutely love it.

More Water would have meant that I probably would not have been able to stand where I did. So I was actually glad that there was not to much of it.

Shooting some Video of Water flowing out of the Oderteich had always been on my Bucket List. And I actually did that when I visited the last Time around.

But since it was too icy to get down the Staircase that leads to the Base of the Dam, I only really was able to cross it off today. I will probably still want to return when there is much more Water.

It was very beautiful today, but I still found it a little lacking.

While I absolutely love Water rushing past me in Rivers and Gräben and such Things, I am really not the biggest fan of torrential Rain. Especially not when I am out with my Camera.

That Thing can certainly take a bit of Abuse, but it definitely is not Waterproof or even Weather Sealed at all. I guess I would have needed to spend more Money to get such Features in an Interchangeable Lens Camera.

It did look kinda awesome though. Especially on the Oderteich’s Surface. The Hail was awful though. I really hated that.

Even though I cut my visit at the Oderteich short today because of the Weather, it was still awesome. I had the best Time there that I had in a while. The Rain definitely plaid a Part in that.

I absolutely loved it to take some Fotos, shoot some Video and get absolutely soaked in the Process. And no, I am not kidding. I really did enjoy that.

My Camera is absolutely fine by the Way. I dried it off with a Cloth, and it is huffing along just like it usually does.