In a week of nothing but cold days, yesterday was supposed to be the least cold one.
So I left home, early enough to catch the rising sun behind the forest, for my weekly walking ritual.
From Oberstenfeld, I climbed up the hill to Lichtenberg Castle, got lost in the forest, found Feuersee (Fire Lake) and finally reached Marbach via its gallows hill, where a beautiful cat joined me to watch the sunset.
Having spent winters in Lithuania and in Canada, I don’t even need a hat or gloves when it’s only zero degrees. For me, this is sitting-outside-with-a-book weather.
Links:
- The plume of smoke behind the castle comes from this nuclear power plant.
- More beautiful photos.
- More from Germany.
- And more hikes.
The Happy Hermit 
Beautiful, atmospheric photos.
Thank you!
I liked those spooky dwellings by the lake, almost expecting somebody to shoot at me as I approached.
Happy to know (virtually, anyway) another hardy soul. Americans are incredibly wimpy about winter. I think we should still be able to have drinks on restaurant patios – especially with COVID – but I don’t know anyone who would go even if it was an option. In my limited experience, Europe is much better at it. That’s what fires and fuzzy blankets are for! I recently returned to full time work after a few years of early semi-retirement, but I can’t wait to early retire for real. I’ll have to live vicariously through you for a few more years. Don’t let me down! :D
Okay, I will work hard, trying not to disappoint you! :-)
I could imagine that people in Minnesota or so are quite tough, too, though.
And in Europe, there are also quite some regional differences. I spent a winter in Sicily, for example, which for me was still warm/mild, but locals were wearing winter jackets. In Sweden last summer, on the other hand, I was the one wearing a winter jacket in August, when locals were going outside in T-shirts.
Gorgeous! Thank you. I like to look at snowy landscapes… in pictures. Or drive an hour to “visit” snow, then come back to my snow-free house.😁
I’m too spoiled! I start complaining when it dips below 15° in the daytime😲 We’ve actually had quite a few mornings when it was 1° or 2° (I’m using C because I don’t expect the rest of the world to use F°😉) I had to wear Two hoodies while waiting for the school bus with my grandson. 🥶
I actually find the cold in the morning refreshing. It helps me to wake up, it even kind of energizes me. (Although it’s nice when the temperature then rises in the course of the day.)
apparently also that cat likes to be outside in such cold weather ahah I would be freezing… but your photos are simply amazing!!! well done Andreas!!! PedroL
Thank you very much!
The trick is to leave the house very early, in sub-zero temperatures. Then, as the sun comes out and it goes up to 5 degrees, you feel comparatively warm. :-)
eheh it makes sense Andres :) PedroL
Oh, I would trade my Toronto snow days for your beautiful winter days anytime! Such stunning countryside and views. There’s a mystical and meditative quality to the light in your photos that just draws me in. Soulfully beautiful!
Only after traveling around the world, including Canada, did I notice that Germany is indeed quite good for long walks:
It’s hilly, but not too much. You can walk for hours and feel like in nature, yet if you want, you can also find a village with a bakery or a small shop, so you don’t need to carry any supplies (although the opening hours are limited). There are castles and towers and historical remnants everywhere. And – an advantage I never realized until I got to Alberta and saw the opposite – almost nothing is fenced in or off limits. Even private forests or meadows are completely open and accessible. There is no worry about trespassers. I sometimes sit down in front of a cabin by a lake or on the edge of a forest, and when the owner happens to show up, I ask them if I am disturbing, offering to leave. They always say: “Oh no, just stay! It’s a nice view, isn’t it?” That feels much better than all the “Trespassers will be shot” signs in North America.
It is usually after travelling outside one’s country that you can really appreciate (see) the beauty found within your own country. I experience this often and I’m always torn by how I take delight in the places I visit and then also realize that I take delight in where I live and want to be in both places at the same time! The world is simply beautiful and no one place is superior to another but as the famous line in the Wizard of Oz goes, “There is no place like home.”
You haven’t seen winter in Dubai, 20 degrees C outside and people walking around in boots and thick jackets and asking me if I am not cold for being dressed in half sleeves.
Haha! I had a similar experience in winter in Sicily. I even went into the sea, while Sicilians thought it’s impossible to do so.