bare parental garden.
the region i originally grew up in - the thuringian basin - rarely has snow days to offer, even though in the past few years there has been an increase of snowfall and it's generally a lot colder than where i live now. i always look forward to visiting my parents in winter because the chances are so much higher to experience a real nice frosty wonderland, where the landscape glistens like crystallized sugar. if there's no snow on the ground though there is one more place you can head to if you crave a good portion of it. for that you have to jump into the car & drive about 45 minutes to the south - towards the thuringian forest - a mountain range well known for being a winter eldorado. whenever i'm in thuringia in winter time, my parents and me make sure to visit the thuringian forest at least once - and purely for the snow. one of the cities we always end up in is the city of oberhof, a small town noted for everything winter sports related - from biathlon to bob sledding to cross-country skiing, there's a wide variety of activities you can choose from if your heart desires some sporty actions. when we were kids my family always visited oberhof to go sledding, sometimes we also went skiing - which was fairly rare, though. most of the times we just went on super long walks - my family is not that big on being super dedicated to sport-related activities - even though there's an interest in following up on several sports and even visiting competitions & contests. especially my dad and my brother were always super interested in sports, whereas me and my mom are more into art & music. i was never good in any sport discipline, in fact i was overwhelmingly bad in most of them. running, distance throwing, ball games, long jumps, sprints & jogging - these were all disciplines i regularly failed at. in general i'm not at all a competitive person, which probably explains my bad relationship to sports. if i engage in any activity it's mainly for leisure and pleasure, not to stay fit or partake in competitions. it just doesn't appeal to me that way. hiking, swimming or cycling are sporty activities i can totally get behind, because it kinda involves a form of locomotion that can bring you to places & involves discoveries - it kind of satisfies my lust for travel. but i'm not really adamant about it, like... i don't want it to feel like an obligation, a forced thing, because it takes the fun out of it. i like to leisurely explore my surroundings, in a slower motion - not having to work hard for it. which is probably a bad way to live a life - at least according to all dedicated & ambitious people out there who want to reach a goal ;)
aaaanyway. back to oberhof and back to snow & frost. here are some pictures of a beautiful clear-sky day wandering around the city and the woods of oberhof. a day that was clearly full of magical light and loooots of snow.
before we drove to oberhof i shot a few pictures of the frosty grass in my parent's garden.
and some leaves that were beautifully patterned - due to the crystallization of dewdrops.
the little stream behind my parent's garden.
and some more frosted plants.
we then finally made our way to oberhof.
the parking lot we parked in. those garages are so typical in east germany, i've never quite encountered them in the west as much.
catholic church st. josef - a cute little modernist church from the mid-90ies. architect: werner glasebach.
glistening icicles 💙
spa garden complex. it's fairly new, it was completed in 2015. i like the clear lines and openness about it. ( architects: hks architekten )
i love me a good concrete wall.
view towards 'haus des gastes' - a venue for all kinds of cultural happenings.
railing shadows.
some sparkling snow! it's a visual delight i absolutely adore about winter.
moving on towards the woods.
passing by good slate facaded houses.
love this stag detail!
caught a great tit while it was feasting on delicious snacks. ( why does the english translation of this bird ( kohlmeise in german ) cause me such uncomfortableness? ;P why would anyone want to call this bird a tit? questions upon questions... )
icing sugared trees and woods.
so. freaking. satisfying.
wandering through the bergerlebnispark ( mountain adventure park). it's a lot more on the natural side than the spa gardens. quite a romantic park i'd reckon :)
lovely untouched & virgin snow mantle ❤ you better don't destroy such a beauty.
a super old announcement that the highly commendable public is advised to close the gates of the game fence whenever they enter and leave the ducal forestries, to keep away the abundance of wild game from roaming around the city.
mom putting her walking sticks to the test. she often forgets to take them with her, even though she is determined to use them.
bright sunny day in the woods, is a good day, right?
little streamlet fighting its way through the snow.
even though it was only a small streamlet, it was still a magical place. the surroundings here were so quiet, not a single soul could be heard. we didn't see a lot of people on this path in general. perfect!
scattered throughout the park you can find these wooden animal sculptures. this owl's so freaking cute with her little hat & scarf :3
also found a bat! it was a little blind whatsoever...
another owl well-positioned on the mountainous grounds.
insect hotel. pretty empty at this time of the year, i suppose ;)
ah, the purity of snow.
finally reached the old ski jumps of the wadeberg mountain. okay, on this picture there's no jump ( i think they tore it down to build up a new jump eventually ). but you can still see the stairs leading up to the initial starting point. there are two more jumps in the immediate surroundings, they're still used as jumps for the youth.
random trailer hanging around in the woods.
hidden hut.
a snow machine and a forlorn winner's podium were part of the scenery, too!
someone made a snow angel ( it wasn't me for once ;P )
i love finding those little hidden huts!
children's training jump. it was perfect for me!
proof that i 'jumped' 😂
the other youth jumps for the more advanced kids.
cute wooden construction. i think it's where the judges sit to measure the jumping range.
tiny mom & tiny dad. i shot this while i was up on the children's jump.
this is so very typical GDR architecture - especially the facade claddings! it's also typical for the thuringian forest region... i can only guess it's the club house of the local ski jumpers.
behind the house there was a tiny waterfall. the eimersbach streamlet is channeling through the grounds here.
eimersbach on the left, strange water construction on the right.
moved on towards the bob sledding site! this is a super old bob sled. ( looking quite nice, though :) )
my dad had a blast taking weird photographs of me, lol 🙈
nice modern club building.
the view down the bobsleigh run. it's always fun to watch the sleighers speeding down! i've been to a few events in the past and always am quite mesmerized by the speed those bob sleighs can reach.
entry building to the bobsleigh area. super old and super nostalgic. they haven't torn it down since i was a kid!
welcome to oberhof. this sign is actually outside of oberhof, near the DKB ski arena. we walked to the biathlon area and spent a little while watching some amateur and hobby biathlon athletes doing their rounds. i have to say, watching them is a lot more satisfying to me, than being part of the game, lol!
for the aesthetics: some more snow covered grounds and little bushes sticking out of it!
again, isn't this sight so majestic?
couldn't stop myself from taking a few snow closeups.
snow's such a wondrous element!
crystalline! reminds me of the very beautiful & enigmatic björk song.
the tiny scales of the waldschlösschen facade and its wooden reliefs in the window areas is something i can never quite get enough of.
the traditional houses up here in the mountains do have a special place in my heart.
we made our way back to the city and passed by this lovely deer sculpture ❤
before driving back home to the flatlands, this red bush caught my eye, and what can i say? who can resist the combination of red & white? such a satisfactory contrast!
visiting oberhof ( or rather the thuringian forest ) is always so good, especially because it's so different from the place i grew up in. it always offers small & big surprises! and forest mountains in general do have a soft spot in my heart. total escapism in its purest form!
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