I see Middle-earth

[Lhunardawen]

This is posted at the door of a room in my univ's Bio building (of sorts):

NUMENOR is a COMPUTER ROOM.



It is NOT a tambayan*!

*a place for hanging out in Filipino

To think that will be my home in the univ...that's so cool!

[Farael]

Well, I just read the thread about "walking to Rivendel" and I had an epiphany. There is this this great forest which I once went biking to with a friend. It was not the best idea as it had just rained and the trails were very muddy.... but while biking around I got this feeling of re-tracing Frodo's journey... specially as the mosquitoes drove my friend and I away. I think next summer I will go walking rather than biking... and who knows? I might just find Rivendel lost in there!

[alatar]

Originally Posted by alatar

A man-made hill of slag juts up above the treeline near a road I travel, and one day I would like to get a closer look at the top of Weathertop to see if there are any rocks there that are scored with a 'G' rune - you never know.

Anyway, wanted to add one more. At the bottom of this steep hill is a square doorway - aged, dark, of stone construction. Try as I might I cannot see where it leads, and again it is on private property so... I assume that the actual purpose of the 'room' is for some kind of storage, like a root cellar frm years past. However, to me it just inspires visions of the Paths of the Dead.

Both pictures were taken from my car, and so they might not be the best. Plus I didn't want to be seen, as the 'truth' if asked why I was taking the pictures might have landed me in the loony bin.

"Well, there's this online forum where all we talk about is Tolkien..."

[Formendacil]

Weathertop is sweet, Alatar, but I must quibble with your Paths of the Dead. Tolkienish they look indeed, but they conjure up an image more of the Barrow Downs... (Not these ones, the ones by Tom Bombadil's house. )

Thanks for sharing. Clearly, you live in a mystical neighbourhood.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Weathertop is sweet, Alatar, but I must quibble with your Paths of the Dead. Tolkienish they look indeed, but they conjure up an image more of the Barrow Downs... (Not these ones, the ones by Tom Bombadil's house. )

Actually, I would agree, as in the PotD, what I see is in this case not 'what I see.' Completely illogical, but there it is.

Clearly, you live in a mystical neighbourhood.

Maybe, but it may be all in my head, as I think that the neighbors wish I lived in some other mystical neighborhood.

Neighbor #1 to neighbor #2: "If he says, 'You shall not pass!' one more time to me..."

Edit: Note that the "Weathertop" hill is situated just above a major road, as it should be.

[Rhod the Red]

There's a sort of park in central Edinburgh alongside London Road, with trees and a path. It's hilly, with shrubs and I can't help feel like an Istari wandering through some woods in Middle-earth everytime I walk through it.

[Laitoste]

A year or so ago, I would have said, yes, I have seen Middle-Earth, and would have proceeded to give a lengthy list of places near my house that somehow reminded me of ME. Now, however, I have to say, no, I have not seen Middle-Earth. I have seen Earth. Perhaps my imaginings of ME have sharpened my interest and awareness of Earth, but, then again, the beauty of our world has shaped my imagination of that world. I cannot go out to the natural lands on campus and say I see the plains of Rohan, nor can I explore the forest behind my dorm and say I have seen the Old Forest or Lothlorien or Fangorn (although sometimes I feel like a hobbit out there ). All I can say is, I have seen Minnesota, I have seen Wisconsin, I have seen the various other states I have lived in, and I have loved them. I don't want to see Middle-Earth, however much I love it. I want to see Earth.

Besides, Middle-Earth doesn't really have any lakes. On the map, and in the stories, there is one lake (Lake Evendim), two marshes (Midgewater and Dead), and two seas (Rhun and Nurnen). I would miss lakes and ponds--and ducks!