This mural was created by a school class with many refugee students (hence the German is not perfect).
On this part the children wrote their wishes:
“Children should not fight in wars but go to school.” “I don’t like it when children are fighting amongst each other.” “All children should have a home.” “For me it’s most important to play with friends.” ” I wish for all children to be protected.”
at least that’s what it says on the brooch. It is a memento from the 2012 Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim, the largest wine festival in the world (sort of like a huge Oktoberfest with wine instead of beer). The little replica glass is called a Dubbeglas which is typical for the Palatium. They drink their wine in half litre glasses that have grooves so they don’t slip through their fingers when they eat something fatty at the same time.
In 1871 a baron decided that he wanted a forest full of unusual trees so he started to plant trees not native to the area in his backyard. He didn’t just plant one tree of every kind but in groups of hundreds. In ten years he planted (or rather had planted) more than 12,000 trees on the grounds behind his castle in Weinheim an der Bergstraße, 1460 of the trees were sequoias. In 1955 the family sold the area to the State of Baden-Württemberg and the care of the “Exotic Forest” fell to official foresters. Today it is open woodland like any other public forest in Germany. Over the years more and more species were introduced and now more than 130 non-native species can be found species, most of them thriving in large groups.
Although I am most attracted to the sequoias other species have their charm like this American tulip tree. Information boards are displayed next to the paths.
Animals are few and far between because of the many visitors but one can get lucky.
Sometimes it’s hard to cross the path because of the amount of traffic. Heedful snails look left and right before they cross.
Occasionally though, one can meet a more threatening member of the animal population. This one was aggressively lunging at me:
I found these two on a roof in village nearby. To Germans, these two called Max and Moritz signify mischief.
Wilhelm Busch wrote and drew the story om 1865 and it is considered the forerunner of cartoons. In German speaking countries they are referenced often, are still standard fare for children. For more information visit wikipedia or look at the original which is now public domain.
You want all of these:
(Please ignore the Christmas wrappings.)
or
this big one:
“Eat potatoes at your own risk.” They were still selling them. The potato variety is called “Birgit” – grows even in dry spells and make great chip potatoes.
My desk including my keyboard once again occupied.
And here is a picture of my very critical editor if I manage to cram in a few pages despite my handicat.
pictures imperfect blog 