Kastl, Bavaria, Germany... where I was living (for over 4 years) and moved from just 4 months ago...

This is a close- up of one of the flowering 'rape fields'... this color of lime/yellow green was always so pretty along my drives home in the late Spring/ early summer time.   The day, that I finally had my camera with me and pulled over to take this photo- I remember 'immediately' hearing all the buzzing bees and seeing fluttering butterflies.  I wasn't prepared for how sweet and fragrant the flowers would be; the smell was so strong that it was almost overpowering.  It was nice and certainly unexpected.  Just out of the view to the far right is that tower that I saw out my upstairs office and bedroom windows.  This is looking West.

This is basically how the sky looked most of the time- except in July, August, and maybe September?   This is on the right side of the highway looking north (no shoulders on highways there) and the road that I drove on everyday to get to work/home.  See that hill?  That is almost to my house- I lived just past that hill and another big curve.

These are 'newish' houses.  You don't see any of the houses with the wooden crossbeams on them in this view.  This is not my town- but, another little village on the way to my town.  However, they were seen all around in this part of Germany.   As an American, it's just hard for me to think of houses being up to 600 years old still being lived in... like you find in Europe and especially in Germany and Italy.

This is a side road and the houses that you see?  That's my town.  You might be able to make out the church tower to the left of the road?  (Click on the photos for a larger view.)  Past this hill is a big valley with more hills like this all around in every direction.  All farm land.   My town had houses; but, no town/ no shops/ nothing.  There was another small town with shops about another 2 miles or so going past my little town.   It was 14 miles one way from work/ the base.

I ran across these photos and realized that I had never shared them on my blog- So, I decided to share them.  (if you've read very much of my blog... you know that the Internet in this tiny town was slow and didn't like to download photos)  This area was beautiful.  I always thought it looked like the photos on the landscape puzzle boxes.

Yep, it's still winter...

Last week, the weather forecast was for a blizzard! And, I did get almost 7 more inches of snow in one night. You know it's not a good sign.. when you open the front door and the winter snowman on the front porch.. looks COLD!

*I did feel so sorry for him.. that I brought him inside to get the snow off of him and to thaw him out.. I realize that he's just a cute little stuffed fabric snowman.. but, he just looked pitiful.


Local winter trees... pretty as long as you don't think about all the snow that you have to shovel.


The view out my living room windows.. about 20 inches or more of snow is on the ground. Nice wintery looking sunset.. rarely happens though- mostly it is just gray and dismal here.. but, I thought that this was a nice view of the pretty side of winter.... of course, enjoyed from the warm comfort of the inside of my house.


A brighter winter sunset.. taken maybe in December?

Ok, you've found the perfect tree

Maybe the tree needed moving because of a new building being built? Or maybe.. you found a nice tree on the side of the road?

No matter where or why the tree was found.. you now have a new tree and of course now you have a problem... how.. to get it home?


If you happen to be in Germany... maybe you suddenly remember that 'cousin Franz' is now working on the road construction crew.. maybe he can help you out? Or maybe COUSIN FRANZ decided to give a new home to a recently uprooted tree?

Anyway... as I approached this slow moving bulldozer... I noticed something a bit unusual about the cargo...


Up ahead I notice a bulldozer and adjust my speed.. I look for on-coming traffic so, that I can pass safely.. I don't notice anything in the opposite lane.. just noticing the early beginnings of spring... trees beginning to bud...



I approach closer to the bulldozer... and realize that the TREE that I thought was just part of the scenery was actually being transported by the bulldozer.

I think that I might have accidently driven to the Czech Republic on my way home yesterday

But, I'm not completely sure... However, I clearly was experiencing a 'Toto, we're not in Kansas moment' so, it is indeed possible that I could have crossed a border or two?

Why you ask? Well, as I was driving home.. There was a detour and being an obedient driver and there was no other option- I followed the detour and eventually found a sign leading to the little 'village' (ok, it is a place with 5 houses) that is less than 2 miles from my house. The detour was some road construction and it looks like they are widening the roads by about 18 inches. That's going to be a pretty narrow shoulder on our 'shoulder-less' roads.

Look you can see how close I was.. that's my town/village to the right. Not a side road to be found either.




Well, my 'self' pat on the back for finding my way home through a detour.. faded quickly as I approached the road .. only 2 miles away from the right turn to my ... there was another 'road detour'.. and I had to turn LEFT away from my home.. I eventually drove around this mountain.. I never saw the name of any town that I recognized.

OF course, all of the towns were little mountain villages... that looked just like those photos that you see on the 1,000 puzzle piece boxes.. maybe even a few looked like some of Heidi's cousins could have herded cattle and sheep in the big grassy fields.

AS in.. on the back and opposite side of this mountain.. and then the detour kept leading me way, way past the mountain to the north. This could be when I entered the Czech Republic by accident.

SEE THIS mountain? I was so far past it to the north (your right as you look at the photo) that the mountain looked so far away...and the side facing you in the photo is where my house is located.
Let's just say this... it took almost an hour and half to get home and it usually takes me 15 minutes to get home.

So, if you don't hear from me for a few days... they might have extended the detour and I really did have to detour all the way to the Czech Republic.

My flowers

See here's proof that spring is on it's way to Bavaria, Germany






I purchased some flowering plants this weekend and I bought some huge bags of potting soil when I got off work yesterday. I put the new flowers in the window boxes. They already look so neat from the inside of the house too- I can see them when I walk by the windows. Here in Germany (and Italy where I lived) they build houses with really wide window sills on the inside and the outside of the house. Big enough to put those long flower boxes on them.

The flowers don't look like much now-- but, they should start growing and blooming like crazy soon. I also purchased 2 really, really big (read: heavy) flower pots for the steps going to my house and also for the downstairs patio area. I bought a collection of 'pink/purple' flowers for the downstairs patio area and potted them in one of the big container pots too.

Of course, buying flowers in a German Garden Center.. was a bit of a hit and miss.. I saw quite a few plants that were neat looking-- but, I wasn't familiar with them- so, I didn't know if they'd last all summer or if they'd do well in the full sun (outside balcony off the living room) or in shaded areas.. (downstairs patio area) or mixed sun/shade.. (front of the house) So, I stuck with plants that I recognized.

I also bought some herbs and will plant them this weekend. Yes, I did forget about them and didn't buy them a big flower pot. So, it's another trip to purchase a big flower pot for them.

Oh, a lot of the bulbs that I planted last fall.. have started coming up and even a few are flowering.. but, I apparently have a multitude of those pesky garden snails. It seems that quite a few have been snacking on the growing/flowering newly planted bulbs as a late night dessert snack. I know that these snails do help the soil- but, they went too far when they decided that new bulbs were midnight snack foods. and I bought some stuff that is supposed to get rid of them. I'll only put it in the flower bed areas by the downstairs patio.



AND.. since I haven't posted any knitting in awhile... what do you think that this is going to be?

Shhhuuu WEEE... what's that smell?

It is spring time in Bavaria. Temperatures are warmer... but, just not hot enough to use the AC (Oh boy! I have air conditioning in my car now.. hey, this is a big deal- I haven't had it since 1989 and I've lived in the tropics without AC.. oh yeah.. nothing like having your shirt stick to the leather seats... just adds to the hot leather burns on your bare legs.. So, the working AC is a really big deal for me.)


Anyway, where was I? Oh yes.. telling you about springtime in Bavaria, Germany. It's getting warmer.. farmers are plowing the fields, birds are chirping, grass is turning green... and you see farmers plowing their fields. You noticed that I said that part twice, huh?


Well.. you see.. this being my FIRST SPRING IN GERMANY.. I have learned something new.. the AIR STINKS HERE.. I mean.. gag you with a spoon stink. Let me put it this way.. have you ever been in a barn? In a chicken house? Near a pig sty? Amongst a large group of animals.. then you know how the 'air' can smell of shall we say it.. MANURE? If you have... experienced that 'special smell'....


Then, just imagine farmers.. saving the manure.. drying it out.. later adding water to it.. to make a concentrated stinky liquid. And, then.. one day.. oh, say in the SPRING TIME... and then.. they take this stinky liquid and spray it over the freshly planted seeds... and soon you have not just a smell.. of stinky-ness.. oh no, the entire land, forest, roadsides, (even where there are not any freshly plowed fields) stinks.. stinks.. stinks of manure. I grew up on a farm.. and it's far worse than the 'certain' areas of stinkyness found on a farm.. since, it is EVERYWHERE! You can't escape the stinky air.

At this point, I'm wondering how long it will take to dissipate into the air? I know it's longer than a week- because that is how long I've been smelling the stinky air.

I'm so grateful that the snow is gone and finally we see the sunny skies, the flowers blooming, the clear skies, the budding trees... but as you look out onto the farmland rolling hillsides.. the mountains in the distance.. It's such a beautiful image... except for the STINKY AIR..


Today, while driving home.. I was thinking that the smell should be bottled and dropped down on enemy forces.. maybe even the pirates that have seen too many 'pirate glorifying movies'... I'm sure that the sudden overpowering STINK would at least make their eyes water... and that would surely hinder the success and intensity of their attacks? I mean how tough can crying pirates seem/be?


And truth be told, I feel the need to go out and buy about a 100 of those pine air-freshener trees to hang all over my Jeep. Anyone willing to send me some? I haven't seen them for sale here.

If I could take photos of the stinky smell.. you know I would.

Ok, I've found a castle... now, where is my Prince Charming?

Granted... he'll need to be a Prince Charming familiar with tools and have a large cash flow for Home Depot purchases!

And, bonus... there is already a 'port-a-potty' on location. Do you see the HEART on the door? That ought to send 'some sort' of a message, shouldn't it? Personally, I think that by the time that you hike to the top of this 'mountain' and since, I did hike up to the top of the mountain- I can understand why someone was so happy to find a 'bathroom' at the top of this mountain... that they had an impulse to paint a heart on the 'outhouse' to show their love and appreciation for modern man's invention of the porta-potty and much less THANKS for the 'plan' to haul it all the way up the mountain!

*click on photos for a larger view....






















Now, that you've made it through the photo album... yes, I did take a lot of photos of my first ON SITE castle experience and trust me... "I DID HAVE MORE PHOTOS" that I could have put here-- but, I didn't want to go into 'over kill'...

The castle is very close to where I live and in some of the photos you might NOTICE a large-ish mountain with what looks like a castle tower on it? If not, go back and look again... I'll wait.... *Good for you... you did find the photo/s that I was referring to... if you'll look closely- you might remember a reference and photo of a castle tower that is visible from my 'soon to be new place to live' (if you don't remember or know what I'm talking about, scroll down a few entries to the photos that I posted about the house that I'm going to rent) See it? You can see that same 'tower' castle from this castle ruins.

I wonder if these two castles were around at the same time? I wonder if they were on friendly terms with each other? I wonder if they visited each other's castles for festivals and the such?

Flowers in Germany

All around in this particular area of Germany, (balcony/window flowers like this are also found in northern Italy) you see window boxes or balconies full of flowers. It is going to be hard to decide which type and color of flowers that I'll want for my own house next spring/summer.

Aren't they amazing?