Thank you all for your answers.
Regarding #1, I came to the conclusion that both processings are ok, but that I like the darker (right from the beginning) more. With the twigs, I also do think they should show more. (I was shooting this out of a moving car, combine this with the square view and the wire, so I had little opportunity to influence that.) I probably will try to clone it out and see if thats better. But what was most important for me here, I was curious to know if that shot works at all for other people, with that dark mood.
With #2, there is no way to change it, it was an experiment anyway. Im glad I did it because with it I discovered that I can abstract with exposure. The effect surprised me, it was an accidental underexposure wich I thought was totally lost until I gave it a +2 EV. Somehow its always when I experiment, or do errors that I discover something interesting
Christian