Yes, you got that right: this will be a tale of a short trip to Germany. A buddy of mine and I went to the Perlenbachtal directly on the border with Belgium. I had been there before in search of the Violet Copper (Lycaena helle) and the Bog Fritillary (Boloria eunomia), see Butterfly holiday part 2 – Perlenbachtal. We found plenty of both butterflies but I took no particularly pleasing pictures. All credits go to my friend for catching a Bog Fritillary in flight (!).
In the late afternoon we moved to the village of Stolberg, right next to the Breinigerberg/Schlangenberg. After dinner we ascended the hill to check out the area. I spotted this Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) and was immediately pleased with the day. Usually you don’t find them with their wings closed this way: a rare opportunity and then with such beautiful soft light.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM f/5.6 1/160 ISO 100
This specimen apparently liked attention, because as it spread its wings, of course I had to take some more shots:
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM f/5.6 1/160 ISO 100
The absolute catch of the day was saved for last: a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) had settled for the night on the outermost twig of a tree. Catching the last warm rays of the sun, in completely windless circumstances, this stunning butterfly showed the glory of nature in my viewfinder. As it was well above my head I used the big white tele to capture this image:
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM f/5.0 1/500 ISO 400
So after a beautiful day with slightly disappointing pictures in the morning, the afternoon more than made up for it. We would return the next day: more about that in the next post.
Oh, and to be honest: we had Schnitzel for dinner instead of Bratwurst, but I think this title just made more sense!
Red admiral 
Lovely images!
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