bad berka is a tiny spa town which is also known for being a place that the famous writer goethe visited quite often. my mother and i visited this place primarily because of a cute hiking route we discovered upon researching the area. it was all about myths and history and actually made for children, with several activity stops thrown in, but we figured we might like it as well. the city of bad berka is quite charming and the region and its landscape is also really beautiful, with soft hills and the river ilm flowing sleepily through the valley.
the ruins of a moated castle sit next to the river ilm and provides as a setting for ghost sightings.
the hiking trail was really nice, a small pathway in a flourishing spring forest.
ah, the beauty of tree roots. we encountered many of them and it's the most aesthetic thing in nature for me.
also, old wood which has been perforated by wood worms.
oh, and wood in general. what is it about the structure of wood that pleases me so much? this tree stump here is so perfect.
the ilm river is quite small around bad berka, very tame and slumbering.
when certain trees bend in a weird way.
die ilme . johann wolfgang von goethe
big fat oak tree toppled over.
bark structure.
the forest felt a little bit enchanted.
mr. oakman was our tour guide.
coudray building. it was build as a venue for galas, theatre/music performances and social gatherings in 1825.
the goethe fountain.
goethe himself.
right next to the fountain there is a kneipp facility. it's basically a hydrotherapy basin.
the city center. we didn't explore it properly, because we decided to take another hiking route to a tower up in the hills.
someone had serious carving skills here.
we found beautiful remnants of a former castle randomly scattered along the way.
soil exposure.
closeup. i also love the shadow trees.
more tangly tree roots. i was really smitten with all the externalized roots on our walk. the bestbestbest.
a network of life.
the trees had faces.
we climbed up the paulinenturm to get a better overview about bad berka and its surroundings. this is just a detail shot of the tower. unfortunately, i kind of of forgot to take a photo of the tower as well, so please take a look at it here. you can even see the cross detail on that picture :)
bad berka and its surroundings.
thank you, bad berka, for this wonderful day and showing me that there are still places left in my home state that are worth to explore. especially in such remote and gratifying landscapes.
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