The Berlin Wall in Zell

I think we mentioned it before: the little town of Zell is proud 'owner' of five coherent blocks of the Berlin wall, according to wikipedia the largest existing cohesive group of blocks outside of Berlin (although we tend to not fully trust that information).

We do not know exactly how the five blocks ended up here, but it must have to do with the adjacent art museum that apparently hosts various sculptures from artists from the former GDR; we did not visit the museum yet, but it is on our bucket list. As part of a group of installations on a meadow the previously deadly wall turns into a piece of art, as a reminder that the will of the people cannot be suppressed forever: at one point the pressure will be released. Germany is so, so lucky that this was the most peaceful revolution in the history of man!

Spring! Romans! Blacknecks!

Temperatures in the low to middle twenties (Celsius that is), sun shining, blue skies... More than enough reasons for us to neglect our usual chores and saddle up our donkeys for a little tour through the Rhine valley! First stop was an old Roman village near the little town of Schuttern that was discovered only in the 1970s when somebody spotted some strange rubble from a train riding by.

The old village was actually only a small collection of houses that was used as a station on the road between Mainz and Basel. Most of the houses were made from wood, but the main building was made of stone. There is also a little temple for the Gaulish Goddess Abnoba who was worshipped in the Black Forest area. The round section on the picture above was the bath. On the pictures below our Vespas are parked on the old (re-constructed) Roman road.

Whenever we are in the area we pay a visit to old Father Rhine, and we did so again this time. In this area the river is split into two streams: the bigger one is used for shipping, the smaller one for power generation. So the river is indeed much broader than it appears on the picture below.

But the discovery of the day was a group of beautiful goats, all of them bi-colored, a brownish black on the front half and white on the back. We googled them as Valais Blacknecks, usually found in Switzerland, and at one time with less than 500 animals almost extinct. We have no idea how they ended up in our area, but we are very glad that we have them here!

Find some Colour and Eat it! - A Martha Challenge

Come on, I'm hungry!

Easier said than done... the fridge turned out to be an illuminated emptiness. Nothing edible to be found, but hey, we had an echo. So, we did the smart thing and went out for some authentic Italian food.

Our little Italian place.

Sonja had the Gnocchi in tomato sauce and Roland got a pizza with Parma ham, fresh arugula and shaved Parmesan. Plus we had a nice pitcher of Lambrusco. There you have it, Martha. Thanks for the culinary challenge.

It was delish!

How a few tiny Drops start a Giant Stream

The Danube is Europe's second longest river with a length of 1,785 miles (which is only half the length of the Mississippi river!), and it flows through or touches ten different European countries (among others: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and the Ukraine), including four European capitals (Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade), before it discharges into the Black Sea.

So, when we moved into the Black Forest area it was always on our bucket list to visit the source of that stream, a tiny, tiny creek called Breg, just one hour away from where we live. The weather forecast predicted a beautiful and sunny day, so we saddled our donkeys and headed towards the mountains for a fantastic ride!

At a height of more than 1,000 m above sea level we should not have been surprised to find a few left over snow fields, but we were already so focussed on spring that we for some reason indeed did not expect this. No problem for our Vespas though, and the roads were dry and easy to ride.

The source of the Breg is so small you wouldn't even notice it if it weren't for the plates bearing the inscription that this is indeed the mighty Danube in its humble beginnings.

Unfortunately the nearby restaurant still had closed for the season, but luckily we had had a wonderful coffee break before in the beautiful town center of Wolfach.

Wind generators have become a common sight in Germany in the last few decades, but they look much better with the right accessories in front!

Not far away from the source of the Danube are the medieval gallows of Triberg.

After five and a half hours, and 150 km later we came back home, exhausted, but very, very happy thanks to a perfect ride on a perfect day! We could do that any other day!

The sad Story of Zell's Mammoth Tree

 Source: sagen.at

Roland: The other day at lunch I heard a colleague from another plant ask: "What happened to the tree you used to have in Zell?" When I asked "What tree?" it was explained to me that our little town used to have a well-known landmark, a mammoth tree with a height of 30m or more. For 30 years the tree had hold the record as Germany's tallest Christmas tree.

Source: Badische Zeitung

Unfortunately it was hit by lightning in August 2011 - at the age of 107 years - and lost the top half. Luckily nobody but the tree itself was injured. The sad remains were a 10m something tall trunk that was deemed to dangerous to stay in a populated area.

Source: Powerline Services

So after long and intense discussions it had been decided that the tree needed to be felled. A 'funeral' was arranged by the town's people, and after saying their Goodbyes, the former landmark was felled and transported away. What stayed is a stump smack in the middle of our smalltown, reminding the locals of a good friend lost.

Google Map bird eye view - A mighty shadow!

A formerly moated Castle and the Dutch Mountains

Sonja: We had spent a long weekend in in the Rhineland, for Roland to visit a concert in Cologne, and for both of us to spend some time with our friends and family.

Not far from were my mom lives lies castle Lüntenbeck. The castle can be dated back to the early 13th century, and is a former residence of the knights of Berg.

In past times the castle had been moated but the area got drained later, and only a small pond behind the building remained. The manor is in private hands today, and has been carefully restored by the owners.

Main building

Parts on the premises are rented out. Naturally the picturesque venue attracts artists and wellness providers. Also, a restaurant can be found in the main building, offering an eclectic choice of (mostly) vegetarian dishes.

Mill

During Christmas time a handcraft Christmas Market is held in the yard. The market is known for its authenticity and atmosphere, especially since the artisans will be traditionally dressed up in costumes from the middle ages.

The temperatures were mild and we saw definite signs of spring.

Saturday we ventured out towards Aachen to visit friends in the area. We were a bit early and decided to take a detour to the city of Vaals in Holland. The Vaalser Mountain (323m or 1,059 ft) belongs to the foothills of the Ardennes, and marks not only the highest (!) point in the Netherlands, but also the border triangle of Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.

We climbed the watch tower to admire the panorama.

A view towards Germany.

 Now overlooking Belgium.

And a panoramic shot of the famous Dutch "mountain range".

So, we have learned today, that the Netherlands are not completely flat.

Sunday noon we left after a brunch celebration of a family member's birthday and drove 400km south again. It was warm and sunny… and would have been a good day for a ride, too...

72F

Double Feature

Yours truly with the coolest guys you could ever hope to meet: Pete Trewawas, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Roine Stolte

Roland: No idea why these things always come in pairs, but after months of not having any interesting concerts in the calendar there now were two great ones in a row within two days. Last Thursday Transatlantic were playing in Karlsruhe, and just 24 hours later Camel were on stage in Cologne. Obviously this meant a whole lot of traveling, plus we combined it with a weekend with our family.

The Band rocks!!!

Mike Portnoy in a rare moment of stillness

Transatlantic are considered as the Progressive Rock Supergroup, and are consisting of members and Ex-members of Marillion, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard and Flower Kings. Their songs are quite lengthy, usually touching the twenty minutes mark, and their concerts tend to be far over two and a half hours long. I had the chance for a short meet and greet with the band before the set and was rewarded with a photo with the guys. As expected, the concert was fantastic, loud, and very exhausting. Worth every second!

Camel on Stage

The night after I was blessed to see Camel's Andy Latimer one more time, something I actually never expected to happen again since Latimer was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis some ten years ago, but he bravely managed to win this battle.  So, now he put the band back together and celebrated the 1975 Instrumental album "Snow Goose" in remembrance of Camels former member, the late Peter Bardens.

This was another beautiful concert, with far less notes than the night before, but nevertheless touching and charming. After the heavy accustic meal the night before this was like a Digestif for the ears. Here's to another Camel tour in the foreseeable future!

Andy Latimer

Crazy Times or how Germans get the Spring on!

Here is our contribution to Dar's Spring Challenge. It is not as famous as the carnival in Rio de Janeiro but it has very traditional roots that goes many generations back in time: The Fasend (carnival) in Zell. 

Every little town has its very own ritual to awaken the Schalk (or Narro, as they call the joker or fun maker in local lingo).

Sunday at 2PM, the officials called the Narro and ordered him to better wake up, and spread the fun for the next three days until Ash Wednesday. You must know, that the only way Germans can have fun is by dressing up and pretending to be somebody else. Believe us, it has a long tradition, we grew up with it... Hence, we were not surprised to find many locals were in costume.

And to mingle with the crowd we dug out our Calgary Stampede outfit, and we fit right in. Yee-Haw!

It looked like the whole town were on their feet to celebrate carnival. It was a happy and relaxed event for big and small alike.

There were several marching bands, some of the playing traditional music but the younger generations rather preferring jamming to jazzy style rhythms.

Many of the traditional costumes originated in the early industrialisation and its related businesses. The paper joker costume (Bändele) is made completely out of paper and represents its industry.

Same goes for the deck-of-cards (Spielkarten) joker. It's made out of 1800 cards, and about 10kg (22 lbs) heavy.

All costumes are handmade. The snail shell (Schneckenhüsli) costume contents of approximately 2000 shells and weighs roughly 40 kg (88 lbs.). Also, the wooden faces are very special, and have to be made in a certain way that only insiders are made familiar with. It is all about tradition and rules.

Awww!

There was also a marching band from Basel, Switzerland. It is normal, that one "fools guild" visit another.

The reason for these crazy times are of course originated somewhat in the medieval times, when food had become scarce and people were about ready to cut each other's throats after a long and hard winter. These funny times before fasting became an institution for relief. And people still enjoy it even in nower days when lives have become much easier, and cold and hunger are no longer an issue.

Now, there's undeniable proof, we Germans can be funny at times, you know.