Tag: Odenwald

Six Dragon Flies

· Leave a comment ·

Yes, there are actually six of them in this picture. Looks a bit messy, I know, so I am going to balance that with a very clear, down-to-earth shot:

The valley to the east from here is known as the six mill valley because there are six mills (suprise!). They are not in operation anymore and function as small museums, an upscale restaurant or have been transformed into places of residence. There are a lot more mills further along the small river called Weschnitz, to be sure, but these are the ones within the scope of a comfortable Sunday stroll.

The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Six

Einhard’s Basilica in Steinbach

· 2 Comments ·

There are not many buildings left from the Carolingian area in Germany. The most famous is the Lorsch Abbey near Worms in the Rhine Valley, a UNESCO world heritage site. The basilica of Einhard, about 40km to the east, is less well-known. This is a model on the site.

Einhard, who was amongst many other functions at the court the biographer of Charlemagne, had the basilica built in the early part of the 9th century and endowed it with relics, probably in order to make it into a centre of pilgrimage. His plans did not come to fruition and the relics were removed to Seligenstadt in the North. Other clerical buildings of the time were renovated and modernised throughout the century whereas this basilica was left mostly in its original state.

Imagine approaching this building at a time when most buildings were hardly higher than a man!

More information on the Einhard’s basilica can be found on this blog, called English Speaking Odenwald written by an American expat living in the area.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Buildings of the Past

More Precious than Gold and Silver

· 6 Comments ·

“Jeder grüne Baum ist trotz allem wertvoller als einem (sic) der aus Gold und Silber wäre.”

Martin Luther

“For all that every green tree is more precious than one that were made of gold and silver.”

Living on the slopes of the Odenwald, and looking across the Rhine Valley to the Pfälzer Wald (“Wald” meaning forest in German), woods are close to my heart.

The Odenwald consists of mixed forests but beech is predominant in our area. And it is glorious at this time of year, the leaves all new and fresh and bright green.

  • a path leading through new growth
  • long and slender grey stems of beech trees
  • many granite boulders are found in the area
  • a look out on the next hill
The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Arboreal
The city arms of Gersfeld

Braving the Sea

· 8 Comments ·

The Sea of Stones is a natural phenomenon in the Odenwald. You can take a stroll on the pathways or you can make an expedition of it and dive in.

For more information have look here on the site of this fellow blooger, who is an American living in the area; Deena.

For some reason I am not able to give a proper ping back, so here is her site: http://englishspeakingodenwald.blogspot.com/2017/08/felsenmeer-odenwalds-sea-of-stones.html

The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Expedition

Melibokus

· 2 Comments ·

Not a high mountain but definitely not a hill as it is well over the 1000 foot mark, provided that is really the magical threshold which turns a (mole)hill into a mountain. It is called Melibokus and it is the highest mountain of the Odenwald on the side where it drops off to the Upper Rhine Valley in Central Germany. The climb from the town of Zwingenberg at its foot to its peak of 517 metres plus the elevation of the lookout tower and a US Army radio mast is quite steep and although no alpine feat also not for those faint of heart and sore of foot.

I chose this photo for the Friendly Friday Challenge where Amanda has asked for Mountain tops

because I passed the location today and used the camera of my new phone for the first time. The photos are definitely a lot better than what my previous phone could do but I already know that I won’t take pictures with it often. I use my phone for a lot but it just doesn’t feel right for my hands and fingers when I take snaps.

Anyway, here is a long shot from close to the autobahn looking towards the Melibokus. I even managed to include my shadow – not by design.

Purple Sunsets

· 13 Comments ·

They look altered but these sunsets looked like that in real life. Particularly the sky looking towards the west from castle Breuberg in the Odenwald was amazing. I took the photos in December.

These are the water slides of the local water park. I can’t remember whether they look that appealing on the inside.

My second purple offering for Life in Colour.