We made use of the good weather with several walks during the past few weekends. Here is my collection of pictures taken through the end of September up until last Sunday.
Monday, the 16th of September, saw our departure from Austria. This photo shows the view from our hotel room at around 8:00 in the morning. What you see is not a lake, but the morning mist in the valley:
An hour or so later, it looked like this:
Back at work the following week, my colleagues and I went for an after-work drink at the hotel bar next door:
Sunset on the 29th of September, as seen on my way into town to meet a group of former school mates for drinks and a meal:
The 3rd of October is a national holiday in Germany, to remember the re-union of the two Germanies (East and West). O.K. and I went for an afternoon walk from his village to the next:
Sunrise on the 11th of October, as seen from my kitchen window:
Walking in the vineyards not far from O.K.'s village last Sunday:
Beautiful scenes, and such lovely bright blue sky! We have had so much rain here, I am quite envious.
ReplyDeleteWe have had some rain, but ground water levels have not yet recovered from last year's extremely dry and hot summer; this year was only slightly better (in terms of water).
DeleteI never tire of looking at pictures of your beautiful homeland, Meike. And those apples! We have no apple orchards here. (Too hot).
ReplyDeleteIn that area, a lot of fruit is grown. Apples are big, as are cherries, plums, strawberries and others. They are not only sold 'as is', but also widely used for making schnaps and liqueur. There are distilleries in every village, often more than one.
DeleteLove the vineyard pictures (especially)!
ReplyDeleteI love this particular walk, we've done it earlier this year, too, and a few times in the 3 1/2 years we've known each other. On the way back, as you can see the light was even more beautiful.
DeleteThe countryside where you are seems such a peaceful place to walk.
ReplyDeleteIt is, and even on a beautiful Sunday there are never too many people about to get on my nerves. Many only walk short stretches from a parking space to the nearest place serving food and drink; sometimes we walk for a mile or two without seeing anyone. Not so on Saturdays, when people work in their orchards, vineyards and fields; then you get the noise from their tractors.
DeleteThose vineyards! So, THAT is where my German white wine comes from? Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the photos that you have shown us, the one that looks like a lake and then, it is gone! And is that a church steeple in that photo? I loved your photos from your trip!
Yes, Kay, it is the same church steeple that you can see in the post about our previous day of the trip, St. Daniel's.
DeleteI wonder what it says on the bottles of your German white wine. There are several famous wine regions in this country, and the Ortenau is just one of them. Many wines are exported from the Mosel region.
Glad you liked my photos!
Such a beautiful area where you live, and also where OK lives. Well, this part of Germany is altogether beautiful in my opinion. There is a lot of variety in the natural features and then the effect of centuries of people's efforts improving things.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi!
DeleteWhen it comes to beautiful countryside, O.K.'s area is hard to top - there is everything from the majestic Rhine to the beautiful vineyards and orchards to the awe-inspiring Black Forest. My area is heavily industrialised and has few green patches left in between.
We too are just starting to see the leaves turn in London. I was even saying on Saturday that it still looked and felt like summer. Should perhaps have kept my mouth shut, it has rained and been cold ever since!
ReplyDeleteThere were a few showers yesterday, but sunny patches in between, and although it was not as warm as Sunday (25 Celsius!), it was still mild enough to keep the windows open for most of the time and not getting cold.
DeleteI notice you spotted a mushroom on one of your autumn walks. These mysterious life forms are such an interesting feature of autumn. I often think that some of your pictures deserve to be published in "X-Large" form to be properly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThere were many many mushrooms along the way, both in the vineyards and the woods, but that one was particularly impressive, standing so tall on its own. Yes, they are fascinating, aren't they.
DeleteWhen I put together photos for my posts, I sort through them in full screen mode. I almost always click to enlarge when I visit other blogs, such as yours.
Crisp, clear days and some wonderful skies - what a lovely set of photos. (But what was the strange-looking green drink you were downing while out with your colleagues - a healthy smoothie?)
ReplyDeleteThat drink is a "Manrique Spezial"! Manrique is the name of the Filipino bartender at that hotel, and he makes this cocktail for me every time I meet up there with my colleagues, about three times a year. It is vodka based and contains cream liqueur; the bright aquamarine colour comes from a hint of Blue Curacao.
DeleteI always love the look of vine leaves in autumn, such an amazing colour.
ReplyDeleteThe variety amazes me most - from the palest yellow to almost black, with many shades of orange and red in between.
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