Ring, ring, ring … Tolkien calling. Of course, I’m thinking of Lord of the Rings with this prompt. While out and about somewhere between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden I came about this incredible structure. The viewing tower in the regional park. Ragtag Daily Prompt: Ring
This is the Hexenturm, the witches’ tower, in our town. Today it’s surrounded by residential buildings. People assume it was a prison for witches, possibly before they were burned at the stake.
The facts: This was never a prison. It was part of the town wall. We do have another tower which actually was used as a prison but there are no records of any witches ever burned or even imprisoned in our town. It is just a name and nobody really knows where it came from.
Trucks larger than 7.5 t are not allowed to drive on roads on Sundays and public holidays in Germany (with very few exceptions). Which is great for congestions particularly on the autobahn but it creates difficulties for truck drivers and parking areas. Many parking spaces along the autobahn have been upgraded but are still full on weekends (the actual hours are between midnight Saturday to Sunday until 10pm on Sunday). Truck drivers are also not allowed to drive more than 8 hours per day (48 hours per week) and the trucks are fitted with tachographs which are controlled by police.
Surrounded by a circle of pines this pyramid looks like the place has mystical or possibly religious significance. It’s on the path surrounding the local lake and the pyramid shows the four compass points, each side facing due North, East, South, and West.
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss educational reformer. His name is well known in Switzerland and Germany and other countries – not least because most towns have a Pestalozzi Street and many have a Pestalozzi school. Without a doubt he had a great direct influence … Continue reading A Formative Experience
Obviously these honeycomb structures are some kind of greenhouse. I don’t know how they work since they are open on the ground and open to the top. I also don’t know for what kind of crop. The bad news is: it is a kind of synthetic material or plastic. The good news is: the material is usually rolled up when no longer needed and brought out again the year after.
“Wanderlust” is originally a German word and the meaning is slightly different in the German language: it includes the yearning to go and see foreign lands but has more to do with “itchy feet” – because “wandern” means “hiking” in the sense of “on shanks’ mare”. Germans used to go hiking into the big wide world and sang while doing it.
Probably the most well-known song of this genre is: “Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust” (hiking is the miller’s delight). Most Germans will think it is a folk song and describes a miller by profession hence it is mostly illustrated with windmills and watermills. In truth, it was written in 1820 by Wilhelm Müller (that would be William Miller), a German author.
What’s that young stag doing in his forest? Is he jealous of the younger possibly fitter young buck? Or is the younger one jealous of the herd of deer over which the older one lords? Let’s find out. Sizinge each other up. First contact. In … Continue reading The Story of the Forest