february: in the land of vines.

on most of my sundays i decide to take walks or hikes all around the area, because when do i get to do this other than on lazy sundays? in my work week i rarely have the time nor desire to do so, and since i rarely have things planned on sundays, it's the perfect moment to break out of my routines. i love rewiring my brain this way, as nature and fresh air are important components of my well-being. if i am stuck too long in the city, i kind of get crazy.

there's a curious friendship going on in the parks of wiesbaden - that of two egyptian geese & a mandarin duck. the geese protect the duck and the duck is always happily waddling alongside them. whenever a passerby walks towards them the geese start to chatter really loudly, until the intruder is shooed away from them and their little friend.

whenever i see them i'm totally in awe of such a strange companionship.

so... on a sunday in late february i decided to drive to rauenthal, a district of eltville city. i read that there might be some nice hiking trails - one of which led to a hill called bubenhäuser höhe. it was a really chilly and windy day, but that never prevents me from walking. you never know what you may encounter, especially on days were close to no people are around, because, yeah, human beings dislike the cold! i am always very glad for that fact. and because of that i mostly have nature for myself and can better concentrate on my surroundings.

i started at an ever present vine yard ( we're in a vine region after all! ) with a small view onto the rhine river.

the dark woods of the pre-taunus mountain range.

i love it when skeleton-like trees are emerging out of a uniform looking wood section.

i met a shetland pony withstanding the bad weather.

i love the looming darkness at around this time of the year. even if its bright outside, it still really isn't.

mossy rocks! i think i'll never tire of rocks and cliffs.

the path was quite beautiful.

and right next to it you could easily fall into some kind of abyss.

encountered a little chapel. it wasn't open.

high seat views. yeah, i climbed into one, and no, i haven't seen any wildlife.

after approximately 2 hours of walking i got back to my initial starting point. but that wasn't the final. i still wanted to have the great view onto the river.

so on i walked.

and was indeed was gratified with a beautiful view onto the rhine.

and the first signs of spring greeted me! snowdrops everywhere.

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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