my life is full of castles.

yes, it really is. and full of cats, too. and nature. and i love it.

one month ago we made a castle trip at its best: kochberg palace & ranis castle were on our agenda. it contained everything that i love about our trips: old buildings in idyllic sceneries, cats, history, nature and good food. the day started out cloudy and ended up very sunny.

spring was still in its early stage.

everything is ephemeral.

and then there was this cat. he saw me, ran to me, and wanted to be cuddled. it was almost love at first sight.

he followed us around, but eventually stayed behind.

kochberg palace. i've never been to this castle before. it was also very hidden, a true gem in southern thuringia.

liebhabertheater ( a very small theatre ).

and the second cat of the day, climbing down vines.

and anticipating tender loving care.

quite a beauty.

in front of the castle this motorcycle waited for us to be admired.

the whole village großkochberg was so old and medieval in its appearance. it felt like we were thrown back in time.

the next castle was in ranis: ranis castle. situated high up on cliffs.

there was a cavern you could go into right UNDER the castle - the ilsenhöhle.

and that was when the next cats had their appearance. two black friends.

watching out for its companion.

there he is. they seemed very close.

salutatory kisses.

torture methods.

castle kitchen.

the view was incredible.

the small town ranis.

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november: kickelhahn, himmelblau & weimar cemetery.

i had a week off in november and visited my parents ( as i often do on my vacations ). on a sunday morning we headed to the thuringian forest to climb onto the peak of the kickelhahn mountain. the kickelhahn mountain is the landmark mountain of the city of ilmenau . johann wolfgang von goethe , the famous writer & philosopher, often visited ilmenau and also climbed the kickelhahn. oftentimes he stopped at a little hut in the woods to relax for a while and on one of these stops he wrote one of his most known poems. our little adventure didn't last the whole day, though, as we had a little date with the weimar cemetery to look after the grave of my grandparents and then to visit my cousin and his family. tiny peek onto the kickelhahn tower. thuringian woods - deep dark green. at the goethe hut. this plate shows the german version of the poem goethe wrote here. inside the hut. and here's the english translation. i love this poem so much, as ...

in the forests.

it's that time of the year again.

july '20: lake petersdorf discoveries and a plea against genocide.

the green wild meadows of malchow's sandfeld. in the west of malchow there is a big chunk of forest that spans towards plauer see, a widely 'uncultivated' area these days, but it hasn't always been this way. in my last post i mentioned the nazi munition factory that had been built in these woods, away from prying eyes of their enemies and where they also built an external subcamp for the concentration camp ravensbrück. exactly these woods we explored on a pretty sunny day, betraying the darkness that happened around these parts. isn't it weird that there are places in this world that were built or used by dark forces and horrible regimes and you vist them 80 years later and they are the most peaceful places you can imagine? sometimes my brain can't cope with the contrast of knowing what was in the past and what the present looks and feels like. it definitely leaves me with a strange impression often, kind of like a little sting in my heart and brain that is not ...

ghost of nature.

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