February Outings

View on Schönau

Whenever we got a window with the slightest promise of fair weather we stepped out of our den and went hiking with Hilda. Sometimes we still got rained or snowed on, but the white stuff didn't stick.

We ventured out to the southwesterly part of the Rhineland-Palatinate region adjacent of the French border and marvelled at the mystic sandstone formations carved by weather and time or man.

View on Fischbach

Once upon a time, from stone age over Celts to the middle ages people built their homes on and into those rocks.

Castle Wasigenstein

And then we time-travelled from the dark ages to another dark chapter in contemporary times: The Cold War. Nearby Fischbach lies Area 1, a former NATO Cold War special weapons depot, once housing nuclear and other weapons. It was heavily fortified in the 1970s-80s, stored various arms, and was part of the Fischbach Ordnance Depot. After the Cold War, weapons were moved to Ramstein, the site was handed back to Germany in the mid-1990s, and extensive demolition and reforestation followed. Today, only relics remain and the area is partly protected as a historic site.

January Impressions

We welcomed the New Year in the land of windmills, cheese and wooden shoes, and got a mixed bag of weather with fairly mild temperatures given the time of the year.

Our four-legged companion had a lot of fun in the sand and by the water and it was hilarious to watch the elderly lady (10 dog years = 60+ human years) being so playful.

The ocean was calm one day, and wild on another, as if something had angered it. We liked it both ways.

Another visit of Veere, a medieval fishing village.

Back home we got a wee bit of snow, while the rest of Germany was and partly still is buried under the white stuff.

Hilda  doesn't mind snow on the ground but she does not appreciate getting it on her fur.

Mid January we still got mulled wine and eggnog to go at the beach bar at the river.

There were some light hikes in the books to rebuild fitness after a not so funny bronchitis.

And for the first time in a long time we preplanned our vacation time. There will be local trips as well as some sojourns in France, Spain and Austria. We are looking forward to enjoying all these dog-friendly venues.