10C/50F isn't warm, but of course we had not only brought shorts and t-shirts for hiking but also outfits suitable for this kind of temperature.
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| As usual, the first picture of the day was from our patio. |
Soon after breakfast, we set off directly from our door, as before.
This time, from a booklet with local walks and hikes, we chose one that was called "Wildromantische Tobeltour". Part of that tour we'd already done in 2023, but that one was shorter (around 9 km as opposed to 13.7 km this time) and lead through some hamlets that weren't part of this year's hike.
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| The signposts started near Limpach's church and vicarage. No horses there today, and Sunday's festive decorations were all gone. |
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| Looking back towards Limpach after descending the hill leading down from the village towards the first Tobel. |
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| This was my favourite part - a flowering meadow, sheltered among gentle wooded hills. |
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| Old barn at Benistobel - I took a picture of that in 2023 as well. |
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| This is the view you'd have if you lived at Benistobel. |
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| Benistobel consists of the large old barn (in the foreground), a few other farm buildings and three or four houses, two of which are holiday lets - ideal for families with small children. |
It was very, very quiet; over the entire distance we only met a handful of people, two of them on bikes. Birdsong and our occasional conversation were the only sound, along with the wind in the trees, which was rather blustery at times.
When I come across such remote places like the lone farms dotted in the various tobels (a Tobel is a narrow valley), I always wonder what it must be like to live there all the time, with no noisy neighbours and no heavy road traffic, but also with no shops, no school where children can easily walk to, no restaurants and other amenities.
The peace and quiet is very appealing, but the impracticality of it all would make things too inconvenient for me - you can't just pop down the road to the bakery when you have forgotten to buy bread, for instance, and how long would it take for an ambulance to arrive in case of an emergency? But I guess that those who live so remotely would go nuts in a town or city, if given the choice.
Anyway, we greatly enjoyed the hike, and returning to the flat, donned our bathrobes and crossed the lane between our building and the hotel where we relaxed in the spa until it was time to get dressed for dinner.
It looks beautiful. But, like you, I wonder about how quickly an ambulance would get there in an emergency, or if you needed a doctor or dentist, or a loaf of bread. Lovely for a holiday though and to commune with nature.
ReplyDeleteYou might have guessed it's Addy! Schon wieder falsch gedrückt.
DeleteI did think "is this Addy?", thank you for confirming it :-)
DeleteYes, lovely for a holiday but not ideal for permanent living.
It is so tranquil. Some of the skies looked a little threatening, but those dark clouds often pass over quickly. I know I could not live permanently in such a remote area.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the strong wind, the sky kept changing from one moment to the next, and clouds that looked threatening moved on before they could decide on shedding their load.
DeleteBeautiful as the landscape is, I can't (and never really could) see myself living in such a remote location either. Especially not in winter...
ReplyDeleteMe neither, Monica. I imagine long, dark, cold days with a lot of rain or snow... but probably those who have lived in such places all their lives are used to it, and find many ways to pass the time - and work on a farm never really stops anyway, especially if they keep animals.
DeleteLovely skies and a good temperature for hiking. A nice peaceful hike with lots of natural beauty to enjoy. You and O.K. picked the perfect place for your honeymoon.
ReplyDeleteWe did, didn't we! It was very peaceful.
DeleteBirdsong and the wind in the trees sounds heavenly to me. Your photos are so pretty.A tobel is a narrow valley, learned something new! Teehee, spell check changed "tobel" to "towel", had to fix it. Funny because of what I packaged up and sent to you!😅
ReplyDeleteBirdsong and the wind in the trees is all I want to hear in the woods; I don't get it that so many people prefer putting earplugs in or wearing headphones, listening to music or a podcast when they're walking or running outdoors. Apart from missing out on the natural "soundtrack", I would feel unsafe, not hearing other people, cars or bikes approaching.
DeleteYou ought to walk here in Georgia! Look up "The Beltline" in Atlanta. That trail looks awful to me, so many people and they are all blabbing or on their headphones. Many of them have their so-called music blaring too. Recently a woman was stabbed in broad daylight. Sounds rough but it's the truth.
DeleteOh dear, that doesn't sound good! The road along the river Neckar here is beautiful, but on weekends it is so busy with cyclists and walkers, entire families walking side by side so that nobody can get around them, and it's really no fun for anyone. The only times I walk there nowadays are when I have been working in Marbach and the weather is good enough to walk home; on a weekday afternoon I have the lane almost all to myself.
DeleteI did enjoy looking at your 2023 post - the weather that day was more like Scotland.
ReplyDeleteA narrow valley like a small Scottish glen is thrilling when you have it all to yourselves.
2023 photo captioned Beautiful Benistobel is inviting even (or especially) on a dull day.
And the Old Barn and 13th Century St Georg's : I never feel alone in empty churches.
The Horses were a gift : After Temple Grandin I'm reading Desmond Morris on horses.
An Oxbridge zoologist by training Morris investigated how long horses sleep.
Horse rest perfectly well standing ; no need to lie down to sleep like homo sapiens.
Stallions are awake for 19 hours in the day, drowsy for 2 hours, 2 hours light sleep.
And in deep sleep for no more than 45 minutes !
A beautiful Scottish novel about a glen : *News of the Dead* by James Robertson.
The writer lives with his wife in rural Newtyle about 10 miles north of Dundee.
The novel features a European WWII refugee who has no memory of her childhood.
She lives alone in the glen, content, with friends, knowing she'll never ever leave it.
I felt as if I had met a real person : the best tribute one can make to any story.
The novel "News of the Dead" sounds like something I would enjoy. Maybe it is available for Kindle; I'll have a look.
DeleteI didn't know that horses need so little sleep; I knew that they sleep standing. Animals like giraffes and antilopes who roam the vast grasslands of Africa and are constantly under threat of predators sleep very little, too; theirs is called "micro sleep" because they often just sleep a minute or two at a time.
Those wildflower meadows look truly enchanting. I imagine they would have been humming with pollinators and I would have been waylaid at every step!
ReplyDeleteThe meadows were so beautiful, and I was really glad that the mowing had not yet started! Last time we'd been there (in May 2023), the farmers began to mow on our very last day.
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