Don't worry, I am not going to bore you to death with even more pictures of trees and leaves and paths, just this one because I found it so impressive:
After another hour or so of walking, we arrived at the "Bärenschlössle", "Bear Palace". It does not really have anything to do with bears, but takes its name from "bear creek", a small river that used to flow nearby. In 1768 - 200 years before I was born - the then Duke of Wuerttemberg wanted yet another special place for his beloved hunting parties, dances and other festivities. He loved Venice and had an artificial lake created where original Venetian gondolas carried him and his guests across the water. The lake is still there, called Bärensee (bear lake), but the original building was demolished some years after his death.
In 1817, the King of Wuerttemberg had a new building erected. It was badly damaged in WWII, re-erected, and burned down completely in 1994. Since then, it has been rebuilt close to what it looked like in 1817.
Today, it serves as a restaurant and can be rented as a location for private and corporate events.
It is very popular with walkers and cyclists who come to this part of the woods and stop here for a meal. We were lucky to find a table on the gallery, with a good view of the lake. Coffee and cake were most welcome!
Afterwards, we walked on, crossed the Bärensee on this dam and walked along it until our route led us across a busy road and into another bit of woodland adjacent to Stuttgart's university area.
Wildflowers along the way. The camera does not do justice to the brilliancy of their colours.
Last bit of wood - I promise!
Between the students' dorms and university buildings, the whole campus area is rather green. We spotted a heron on the roof of one of the dorms (overlooking a pond with huge carp in it), and this bird circling above. I know it was not a buzzard, but I am not sure what it really was. It was very difficult to take a decent picture, I wished Graham was there with his camera!
The campus train station was where we were headed. It had been a very good walk and the perfect route for a day like this.
More lovely views! Must have been quite a long walk. (I get a little bit envious - I can't manage that nowadays.)
ReplyDeleteLet me think... we left from home around lunch time and were back in the late afternoon/early evening. I think we were out for maybe 4-5 hours altogether, including getting there and back.
DeleteThere's nothing like a woods for a serene walk.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Nonnie!
DeleteVery beautiful! I love the pictures of the woods, trees, flowers and greenery! The bird is very interesting! My dad is a very avid bird watcher these days since he's retired. I wonder if he would be able to determine what it was based on the picture you have here. This makes me want to venture out and see what we can find around our little area!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do, Mel (venture out and see what you can find around your area) - it is so rewarding, and your kids will love it!
DeleteOf course, you know I would enjoy this walk! I love wildflowers, trees, the river...it's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI have read that the tuition at German universities are FREE! That's incredible.
I do wonder about that bird, I just typed in "birds in Germany" and there is a long list of eagles and hawks, I think that bird might be one of those!
Does Germany have a national bird? Ours is the Bald Eagle, of course. They just voted for one in England...it is the robin!
German unis are not free anymore. In 2002, a law about tuition fees was introduced, sparking much protest because of the "right to education".
DeleteI have a few "suspects" as for the bird and will ask my Dad, he is very knowledgeable about birds.
The German national bird is an eagle. It used to be on our Deutsche Mark coins, it is on the national coat of arms, and there is a huge representation of an eagle on the wall in our parliament (Bundestag). For Wuerttemberg, the animal is not just one, but three: Lions (3 of them!), a stag and a fantasy animal that looks like the gryphons from Harry Potter.
What a lovely walk........When we lived in Germany we were in Dachswald, a small "suburb" of Vaihingen which is a small (but bigger) "suburb" of Stuttgart...It was near at least part of the university. Paul worked in the Institute fur Luft und Raumfahrt Constructionen. I can't even find anything about it on the internet, but once it was there, more than 40 years ago. I was trying to figure out whether you were anywhere near there....Some of the dorms were in Pfaffenwald...There are so many beautiful places to walk.....Our apartment overlooked a small valley which was full of fruit trees that bloomed beautifully in the spring. And of course we were still in our twenties. Such memories!
ReplyDeleteGlad to have triggered those lovely memories with my post, Kristi!
DeleteI think the very last bit of woods before arriving on campus was part of Pfaffenwald. Vaihingen is where I get off the train when I go to RJ's place, and you are right, the university grounds are not too far from there.
Maybe this is what you were looking for: http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10176
Thank you, Meike! A lot does change in 42 years!
ReplyDeleteI rather wish I had been there too Meike. I'd certainly have enjoyed the coffee stop! I think that the bird might be a kite.
ReplyDeleteYou know you would have been welcome to join us Graham.
DeleteBy "kite", do you mean a man-made kite that looks like a bird, or is there actually a bird named kite?
Meike it's a bird. Both the red and black kites (Milvus miles and Milvus migrants) are common in Germany. It's the tail that is the clue.
DeleteOh and thank you.
DeleteI am now very proud of myself - my first guess, that it is what in German is called a Milan, was right! Thanks to my Dad; he is the one who taught me everything I know about birds. I didn't know they are called kites in English.
DeleteYou are welcome, Graham.