returning with a photo dump and very little words.
i moved to a tiny place in the taunus mountains - strinz-trinitatis.
i like living outside the city and connecting with nature more. i don't even miss the city much.
i do yearn for easy living, simple living and being away from what feels like a rotten society. i know you can't flee it entirely ever, but maybe having to move out of the city was the first step towards that. when i was young i dreamt of living in the mountains, having a little house to tend to, gathering herbs and flowers, talking to the animals, working in the garden, creating art, living with the seasons.
while i know now that i am maybe even too simple to be creative either, i still like the thought of it.
i like a quiet life. in these hard times even more. but quiet also means being invisible. which is something i still struggle with in addition to too much visibility.
that's some weird dilemma, isn't it?
maybe it's better to not discuss it too deep.
before i start entangling myself in too many words... let's just enjoy theses images of my first winter in a new place.
climbing one of the many hills that surround the village.
out of the shadows - into the sunlight.
a little panorama on strinz-trinitatis. on the left the modern part of the village, on the right the ancient part with the highest point being the church tower.
the church dates back to the 11th century but started out as a defense tower. this tower was later turned into the church tower and over time the nave and the choir was attached. it's my village's most prominent building and greets people approaching the village from all sides from afar.
somebody drew hearts into the snow - a cute little surprise.
the old core of the village in the front and way in the back the neighboring village limbach.
on the top of the basbacher berg, which is the highest hill of the village ( 360 meters above sea level ).
you have a fantastic view on the surrounding hills and strinz-trinitatis and limbach from here.
i love to see the pure whiteness of snow covering the grounds. i feel like white is such a peaceful and soothing colour.
entering a tiny patch of woods into the direction of another neighboring village, strinz-margarethä. i haven't made the trek to this village yet, but it's on my hiking list. my plan on this day was to walk to hennethal, also a village close nearby.
this long road is straight forward and directly leads you into the village of hennethal.
loved the mood in the woods...
hennethal is nestled into a little remote valley they call scheidertal. two little streams have formed this valley, the fischbach ( coming from strinz-trinitatis ) which then drains into the aubach.
if you are the owner of this property you are definitely having a gorgeous view onto the village.
a little closer look at the village. you can see the small evangelical church, which was built in 1789 on the remains of another little chapel.
exploring the streets of little hennethal. the village is super cute actually. i liked how nestled it was into the valley. hennethal only has 381 inhabitants.
always a sucker for decorational elements made out of natural materials.
some of the houses were super charming. many local old houses are called hofreite. it's a special type of farmstead where the buildings are arranged around a mostly rectangular courtyard ( in other places it's also called dreiseithof or vierseithof - it is referring to the number of wings the farmstead has ).
this farmstead has been altered in a way that lets you have an insight into the courtyard - it used to have a proper yardgate.
this building from 1927 is the local gym, where several group meetings take place and inhabitants can do sports.
the newer part of hennethal, the so-called neubaugebiet ( development area - probably developed from 1950ies to 1980ies ), was built on a terrace above the original village. supposedly from there you have a nice view over the village and the surrounding hillsides.
continuing to explore the lower village.
the village is a very sleepy one with many hofreiten.
always love me some cracked house facades and decaying patina.
this farmstead was gorgeous and in the middle of renovation. it was built around 1800.
i loved the colourful paints on the yardgate! the whole building had several elements painted in these colors.
this tiny cute house was part of a bigger ensemble as well. a dreiseithof often has a 'move-out' building - it was supposed to be a dwelling for the elderly of the homestead, namely the farmer's parents. it would always be situated directly opposite the main house.
another hofreite from 1800 - this time the barn is the building opposite the main house instead of the move-out house.
the evangelical church. it's a late baroque hall church.
on the village limits a sneaky cat sculpture welcomes you to the scene. or waves you goodbye, as i was leaving hennethal again.
bearberry cotoneaster brightly illuminated in the winter sun. the plant is native to china, but has been naturalized in europe. it's a really nice ornamental shrub!
the road leading out of hennethal was as slippery as it looks!
i liked this little woodyard and the cabin above it! the cabin looked to me like it was inhabited and i got very jealous 😅
beautiful views onto meadows and woods.
frosty roads and icy air ❄
eventually i would make out the church tower of strinz-trinitatis again ❤
passing by some feeding cows was another tiny highlight of my walk.
i tried to do some 'kulning' to make them come closer, but only one checked out the weird singing lady 😂
some bad weather clouds were coming in from the aartaunus.
in the other direction the sky was still clear, though! this plateau is called wetzelsberg and seems a little like a plain.
the moon just rose above the eastern taunus mountains - big and round! my photo does not do it justice.
shadows getting longer.
as the sun faded, the mood of the day turned into an atmospheric ice blue.
lonely road leading through a barren landscape.
and above all this, the moon was my companion.
view on strinz-trinitatis, with eichelberg on the left and basbacher berg on the right.
the last rays of sunlight got slowly overtaken by the big clouds coming from the higher mountains.
this light was simply magical!
a nice contrast in all the white and blue - a red dot of human being.
on the left you can see the birkenhof - a resettlement farm. such farms were built when a farmer didn't have enough room on his original farmstead anymore ( which ususally resided in the village ) or when they wanted to maximize their productivity. usually they were erected after world war 2, from the 1950ies to the 1970ies.
a web of twigs and branches.
one last glance at the moon, and then i returned home.
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