Franconian Switzerland in the Heart of Germany

Franconian Switzerland, located in northern Bavaria, can be reached by car from Frankfurt in three hours. In the summer, I imagine, it is overrun by tour buses, but we went there in late November, which made it perfect for us: few people, quiet, and no lines anywhere.

When you first enter the small town of Gössweinstein, you see its castle on top of the hill. The same castle, Burg Gößweinstein, is said to have possibly been the inspiration for Richard Wagner’s opera, Parsifal.

Gößweinstein Castle

We were there in late November, and it was quite foggy at times.

November fog in Franconian Switzerland

But nature also displayed its colors.

November Nature

This shepherd and his herd were a rare sight to see.

A shepherd and his flock

We also visited the town of Pottenstein.

Pottenstein

We spent most of our first day in Pottenstein, and the first sight next to the church was the Scharfrichter Museum (Executioner Museum). I was tempted to pay it a visit, but my husband didn’t want to. Instead, he dragged me to an antique shop across the road.

In Pottenstein, we also had lunch at a place we will never forget. I will not mention its name, though.

The restaurant floor was dirty, and the waitress immediately told us of her chore of sharpening the knives in the kitchen. She had just previously bought a Wetzstein (whetstone) on sale, and it was not working properly for her… She was going on and on about these dull knives, and how the owner could not dispose of them, because they had belonged to his dead wife. There were moments I thought either we are on Candid Camera, or next time the waitress comes out of the kitchen, she will appear as the witch from Hansel & Gretel.

Of course, I imagined another scenery too, from having read so many mystery and crime novels.

She was also the cook with black dirt under each fingernail. She talked to herself, or the knives, loudly in the kitchen. I really had doubts what kind of food we would get, but I did not mention this to my husband (he told me afterwards he had thought the same).

We promised each other not to leave one sitting alone at the table, not even for going to the loo. We ate very quickly, and agreed, that if that ever happened again, we would pay for our meal WITHOUT touching any of it. And we would leave immediately.

We finished our meal (decent actually, and we detected no other flavor…), and paid right away. The waitress kept talking and talking on our way out, and my husband just closed the door behind us in her mid-sentence.

We both took a deep breath when we stepped outside. This lunch-scare is starting to become a family joke, such as when the question comes up, where we should go for dinner next… 🙂

Advice to Writers of Any Age

Many years ago in my early days of blogging, while out on a walk with my son, he made a comment at that time which left a big imprint. It was quite a learning experience, not only for me as a parent, but for my writing as well.

Now more than ten years later, he works as a professional writer in London, and he sent me this.

Years ago as a young man my mother asked me to help her with an entry for her blog by taking photos. Though I don’t remember it well, I for whatever reason was annoyed enough by her request to say ‘Das liest doch eh keiner’ (German for ‘nobody will read that anyways’). As callous as the statement was in hindsight, my mother later told me that my bit of blunt honesty made her less self-conscious and restrained when expressing herself online.

Given how much of our communication online these days is scrutinized and policed by other users, the unintended impact my words had are perhaps more relevant than ever. Too often are we afraid to express our true selves for fear of repercussion. Too often are we worried about what other people will think or say.

If we don’t express ourselves as we are, though, then how can we really hope to ‘know ourselves’ as old adage from the oracle at Delphi goes? The more our lips are sealed, the heavier the burden of truth lays on our shoulders. The truth shall set you free.

Write, then, as if nobody will read it.

Speak, then, as if nobody will listen.

Express yourself.

Notes from London on an April Day in 2020

This guest post is written by Thomas Shipley, who is riding out the time of COVID-19 in London.

A fog shrouds the world outside my window. There is no one outside and all is quiet except for the chirping of the birds. Inside, I find myself in a haze of unreality. I am not in a Stephen King novel. I am not in a Quentin Tarantino film. I am in the year 2020. Wildfires ravaged the Australian bush, Trump almost started World War III, and now humanity is facing a global pandemic. Worldwide shutdowns of travel and business. London is under lockdown. I am, though, allowed to leave the house to go grocery shopping.

I step outside into the cool British spring. As I breath uneasily under my face mask, the condensation causes my glasses to repeatedly fog up. I am in the heart of London – a city of millions – and it is eerily still except for the occasional passerby. I get to the local supermarket. I see a frail old woman in an aisle that was once was fully stocked with items such as laundry detergent. The store clerk sadly tells her there is none. Panic buying. We are scared, so we forage like squirrels do acorns in order to survive the winter. No toilet paper or hand sanitizer anywhere to be seen. Many basic necessities lacking. Is it selfishness? Perhaps. Yet, it is hard to undo thousands of years of human evolution. The pandemic eats away at the polite façade of our social order. I discover that crises such as this bring out the worst and best in people.

Staying inside for days on end, I lose my sense of place and time. I catch up with old friends that I haven’t spoken to in a long time. We have long conversations and we laugh. We talk about the virus. It infects our conversations. I wonder how long the pandemic’s grip on our daily lives will last. How long it will be until I am again able to hug my family and friends, dance, commute, and travel. I scroll through my social media feeds. Everyone is posting memes to relieve themselves of the anxieties that we feel in these unprecedented times. And yet – they are not so unprecedented. I remind myself that such plagues have regularly upended our sense of normality for thousands of years. The Antonine plague in ancient Rome killed many around the stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius, and yet he persevered. None of this is new. This too, shall pass.

I am grateful that I have the luxury to remain inside and isolate. Grateful, that I live in a developed country with a robust health system. Grateful for each day that I get to experience on this earth. I do not wish for easy times, but that I am strong enough to brave them. This pandemic has exposed our vulnerabilities. We had forgotten how fragile our existence is. We must learn from this and prevent it from happening again.

Sun setting in London on 03 April 2020

A Good Reason to Travel

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. –

Bantry Bay, Ireland

Bantry Bay, Ireland

Cork Screws and 3 Things You Can Only Find in a French Supermarket

On the last evening of our three-day stay in Riquewihr, we had dinner at the Au Tire Bouchon restaurant. True to its namesake, it had an innovative display of old cork screws on the wall, mounted to an old Badminton board. And yes, dinner and service were good.

The cork screw industry must be doing well in France. There is a lot more wear and tear. Proof of this you see in the supermarket aisles. 🙂

cork screws

On the way back to Germany, we stopped in the French town of Wintzenheim at the Simply Market supermarket. I loved the aisles (yes, aisles) of red wine on display.

red wine

As we were passing the produce section, a blast of steam came out right from the shelving unit. I’d suppose this is to keep the produce fresh and moist. I’ve never seen this in a German supermarket.

keep veggies fresh

My daughter likes to eat walnuts, but all we get at our very big supermarket in Oberursel is prepackaged ones. I was surprised to see so many nuts for sale.

nuts

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