felling marks.
i stayed at my parent's for one more day after easter before i headed back to wiesbaden. we did a little walk in a forest area near erfurt - the steigerwald.
it was only a short walk, but it was a very interesting one, because we explored a place that was once military ground when my father was in the army. nowadays the terrain is not used by the military anymore and the old barracks are mostly renovated and are likely living quarters now. you can still find the military sports field and vehicle halls in close vicinity and it was interesting to listen to some of my dad's memories that are still tied to that area.
sometimes i really would like to go back in time and see for myself how my parents lives were and what they did and felt and went through. also especially because they lived within the narrow borders of the german democratic republic - a state that probably created lots of interesting family histories, good and bad, horrific and jubilant.
in the past i often interrogated my parents about our family history, if they ever encountered the stasi, if they were spied on, if they had any desire to flee. but they could never offer such a big story - because they were normal people living a normal life and their life wasn't really in jeopardy because they always were preoccupied with making a living for their family. i have stories of my teenage mom rebelling against the FDJ - in a rather hazard-free way, by sneaking out of the activities with her best friend and smoking in some corners. that was probably the most rebellious thing my mom ever did in that time - i feel like it's still something i want her to ask about again.
my dad never had any of these memories to share, but he was in the work force really early, i think by the age of 16. and by 19 he was already a father and married to his first wife. they suspected what was going on behind the facade of the state and that if you weren't careful you could be arrested & put on trial or go into interrogations led by members of the ministry for state security. but they always told that to me like this: that it was just what you can still experience today when you commit a crime and have to atone for your wrongdoings...
i don't think they ever thought about ( or experienced anything in that realm ) that you could be caught even for less than a crime - just by believing into personal freedom and a free world or by the open expression of the mere thought: there's so much more on the other side of the border. my parents were born into it, they had never known anything different. they lived a relatively hazzle-free life inside the compounds of the GDR - no traumas happened to them, at least none that would affect our family history immensely.
still, i am super interested in what once was and what their lives were like. i love visiting places that spark the coming up of memories and then listening to the stories. there's so much to find in recounting old tales and i always hope there is a message hidden inside that can help us to be more good and decent human beings.
in the woods nearby the barracks you could find some felled trees that had strange marks on them. my dad explained that they were the remnants of a machine that will leave those patterns in the bark, probably while towing them out of the woods.
concrete pillars left from those times when the area was military zone.
the vehicle halls from afar. these halls are often used as garages now for common people, but back then there were tanks and other massive military vehicles in there.
the grounds surrounding the halls were quite bare and wasteful, but that brought with it a different kind of beauty.
more of the vehicle hall structures. my dad told me funny stories about things he and his best friend did while serving. like his friend was so tall he didn't even fit into the tank they had to drive. i know that friend myself and i chuckled quite a bit, imagining his tall & strange body inside the too small and narrow tank.
a-lines.
this special hall brought us a surprise.
this triangle mural - which kind of framed a human silhouette in the middle. this little pop of colour made the old structure shine in a completely new way. it looks a little unfinished to me, i don't know if it was made like this intentionally or not. but i quite like it, especially because it leaves open who the silhouette is. i see it as a ghost or a celestial being. what do you see?
close-up. i love geometrical art a lot, so i guess i was also naturally drawn to it.
on the bare grounds you could occassionally find these little yellow sunshine-y flowers: coltsfoot.
they like dry and warm soil, especially near streets, or wastelands. i really like the thought of them wanting to enrich a rather bleak environment with their sunny disposition.
my camera gave up on me after that picture and even my mobile phone acted up ( which consequently lead me to having to buy a new one ) - so here ends our little trip to the past. we found more of the former military area and explored seemingly abandonded structures - you have to believe me, 'cause i have no proof ;) after our stroll we also made a stop at a little medieval market where storytellers told the story of snow white and we got to eat delicious streetfood. and then, of course, i had to leave my parents and go back to wiesbaden.
and back in wiesbaden i continued to do my city strolls, especially because spring was finally beginning to accelerate with its blooming splendor.
i found this interesting plant inside the staircase of a brutalist building, and it absolutely made my aesthetic sensors peak up wildly. plants & brutalist concrete buildings? it's such a good combination. the plant is a super huge heliconia ( also known as lobster claws )! it must be a very old plant, never seen such a big one before.
this is the inner courtyard of the aforementioned brutalist building. it is definitely a looker, right? i LOVE this building. the only bummer is: there are not enough plants here! the architect of this is helmut wilke, but i don't know when he built it. my best guest is somewhere between the late 70ies & early 80ies. i also found out that this architect is responsible for a lot of post-modern architecture in the city, some of them residential houses that were built as terraces. i often pass by these buildings in the nerotal area and they are supercool and always make me wish i'd own one of the appartments. apparently they are super expensive, though.
light & shadow. i kinda like the atmosphere of this shot.
i moved on toward warmer damm park, a park that's very close to where i live and that offers lots of spring blooms! a magnolia bud, about to crack open.
right next to the wilhelmstraße these cherry trees are serious eye-catchers.
such pastel-coloured softness! these blossoms are the epitome of innocence.
i can't quite get enough of these fluff balls.
amongst all the glories-of-snow i detected a moorhen hiding from the hustle & bustle of the nearby street. she was an absolutely precious sight amidst all these tiny flowers ❤
here you can see how well hidden she was 😘
a sea of daffodils.
they looked so pretty on the park lawn.
and it was awesome how plentiful they were!
i'm not sure, but i don't think these blossoms were cherry blossoms. could be plum or peach as well. i have a hard time distinguishing these pink blossoms from each other, haha 😅
cute as can be: primroses.
even when the surroundings are bleak, a few dots of spring flowers can enhance everything for the better!
complementary contrasts.
by now you noticed i left the warmer damm park and explored more of the less frequented streets of wiesbaden. it's such a sight when all the streets blaze in this blossom glory!
found some post-modern goodies as well.
the upper appartment was most interesting to me, because it had these huge ass windows. probably a really nice place to live in, with all the sun & light getting the chance to get in.
easter decorations were still up in this house.
i love the steep stairways in the north-east part of town.
my last picture of that day was of this dude, quietly contemplating something. you can find it near the entrance to the nerotalpark.
spring is such a lovely season, always. so much awakening happening everywhere.
what season do you prefer and why? do you feel some sort of awakening when it comes around?
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