We drove a short distance to one of the lakes. Our friends, who spend a lot of time in this region, told us how during the summer it is impossible to find a space for the car on the big parking lot, and equally difficult to find a spot near the lake where to spread a blanket and enjoy the sun and maybe a picnic, for the crowds of people.
That day, there were some cars and small groups of people walking, but of course there was nobody on or in the water except for the ducks and other waterfowl you'd expect to see in this kind of enviroment.
Many becks and rivulets come down from the surrounding mountains and feed the lakes:
That's Hector, one of the best behaved dogs I've ever met, and that's not because he's been brutally disciplined. His people are very kind gentlemen who take their responsibility as dog owners seriously.
Wide open spaces!
A beekeeper's hut. Of course, no bees were out in this weather.
More wide open spaces, and some mountain views:
Getting closer to the lake:
To walk back, we took a slightly different route, closer to the woods. We came through a tiny village with old farm houses, a small chapel and a friendly cat:
Another cat, but this one was not interested in talking to strangers:
Back along the woods:
A last view of the the valley, before we took our muddy walking shoes back to the car and started the 2 1/2 hour drive home.
It was a great way to start into 2016 - lots of fresh (really fresh!) air, beautiful landscape, and friends.
So lovely and peaceful looking...just my kind of area. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderfully quiet, too, with no busy roads too close by.
DeleteThank you for your photos of that beautiful landscape. I can just imagine how fresh and clear the air is there, it must be very good for you. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is like drinking pure, fresh water directly from a well, Gillian. The air in the woods (where we walked the day before) smells wonderfully rich, and around the lake it has a unique smell, too.
DeleteBeautiful countryside, I can just imagine the fresh, clean air! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was fresh and clean indeed, felt very good to breathe.
DeleteLovely scenery and you have reminded me that I have decided to do more local walking this year.
ReplyDeleteLocal walks are great; I love to just pull the front door shut behind me and start walking, even though it always means at least 10-15 minutes in town before I reach open countryside.
DeleteLove the sound of that really fresh air! More than anything, I would love to walk and then to see that lovely chapel, that would make my day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a place that looked "lived in", if you know what I mean, like a real center for the little community of that small village.
DeleteThat fresh air is all the more welcome to us as we live in such a highly industrial area, the area where Mercedes and Porsche come from.
Hey! I just did a post and did a link to your post about your Mum's Christmas Eve kiss! Hope that is okay with you! :-)
DeleteAbsolutely, Kay - I feel honoured! Just saw your post :-)
DeleteMy favourite picture is the one of the bee keeper's hut. I would like to sit in there and be a bee keeper for a day or two. I would wear a black and amber horizontally striped sweater and I would be very careful and patient with my bees.
ReplyDeleteI doubt I'd be patient enough to be a bee keeper. Also, I am always a bit uneasy around flying things that can sting or bite me if they decide to do so, or if I do something they interpret as aggressive. So you are welcome to be the bee keeper in your striped sweater for a day, while I go for a nice long walk around the lake.
DeleteA beautiful day! And it feels very January to me, gray and dampish and very fresh feeling....Myself, I like immensely the lovely little country chapel, so well kept and with such warm colors.
ReplyDeleteAnd how did you know it was a beekeepers hut? Is it labeled somehow? I have friends who are beekeepers, but they do not stay in a hut.
I doubt anyone stays in that hut, Kristi, it just looks like a place where the beekeeper (or bee keeper? which is the correct spelling?) keeps his or her tools and things.
DeleteThe boxes next to the shed are bee hives, that's why I call the shed a beekeeper's hut.
Yes, it felt very fresh and January-like on that first day of 2016!
Regarding the bee keeper's hut, you should have been a detective Meike! Your powers of deduction are quite outstanding! Kristi should consider a different occupation. If the bee keeper's wife (or husband) nagged him (her), I think he (she) might choose to sleep in the hut some nights and read magazines about bee keeping such as "Buzz" and "Bee Times".
DeleteWhat a beautiful walk Meike, thanks for sharing. I loved the little beekeepers hut and that beautiful chapel. Happy New Year to you~
ReplyDeleteIt was beautiful and a great start to the new year. Happy New Year to you, too, even though it is already 5 days "old" :-)
DeleteI can imagine it being a popular spot in summer! Cute little church/chapel - and nice that it was open so that you could look inside! (Here, in the countryside, that would probably not be the case nowadays - especially not in winter - unless there was a church service going on.)
ReplyDeleteHere in Germany, most Catholic churches are usually open, and that chapel was in Bavaria, where the majority are Catholic. Proetstant churches here are normally closed, and open only for services, concerts and so on.
DeleteWhat a lovely place to take a walk! Just found your lovely blog! Wishing you a happy and peaceful new year!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and welcome to my Mental Library! I'll go and have a look at your blog now.
DeleteWhat a beautiful landscape. The lake, the mountains...it's all breathtaking!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite photo is the one of the grasses. I'm not sure why.
I liked those grasses (reeds) a lot, too: the shapes and colours have something about them... I'm not sure why, either!
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