The Schönbuch Tower near Herrenberg is worth a visit. Free of charge, it’s a little walk from the parking lot, and affords a grand panorama of the surrounding country. Der Schönbuchturm bei Herrenberg ist einen Besuch wert. Er befindet sich einen kurzen Fußweg vom Parkplatz, der Zutritt ist kostenlos, und man hat eine tollen Panoramablick über das umliegende Land.
Right on the outskirts of the Black Forest lies the little town of Sasbach/Sasbachwalden, which is very much worth a visit as well. It’s got beautifully half-timbered houses, and we came across this fun tree house at a restaurant on the edge of town. Direkt am Rande des Scchwarzwalds liegt der Ort Sasbach/Sasbachwalden, der einen Besuch wert ist. Da gibt es hübsche Fachwerkhäuser und sogar ein Baumhaus, das zu einem Restaurant am Ortsrand gehört, das sehr sehenswert ist.
Niece No. 1 still has no work because of the lockdown, so we decided to make a big tour to the concentration camp in Dachau. Thankfully the memorial is still open to the public, and we’re able to take a tour of the facilities and learn much about the atrocities committed here by regime of the 3. Reich. Nichte Nr. 1 hat immer noch keine Arbeit wegen des Lockdowns, so haben wir uns zu einer großen Tour ins Konzentrationslager Dachau entschieden.Zum Glück ist die Gedenkstätte noch geöffnet und wir können durch die Anlage gehen und viel von den Verbrechen des Naziregimes lernen. Afterward we make a detour to Castle Schleißheim, before we make our way home again. Anschließend machen wir noch einen kurzen Abstecher zum Schloss Schleißheim, bevor es dann wieder nach Hause geht.
Not far from Rastatt at the edge of the Black Forest is Castle Favorite. It’s a beautiful castle surrounded by a generous park and garden, which are open to the public. The place is worth even a short visit. Nicht weit von Rastatt am Rande des Schwarzwalds liegt das Schloss Favorite. Es ist ein hübsches Schloss, in einer schönen Garten- und Parkanlage gelegen. Selbst für einen kurzen Abstecher dorthin lohnt es sich.
With a bunch of friends we went on a little adventure: One weekend in Xi’An. We took an overnight train there, and with such a merry band of people there was little sleep even for the other poor passengers in the car. Once at our destination, we moved into our accommodations, then headed out to visit the terra-cotta army. By the time we got back, it was rather late. The next day, we visited one of the towers in the city, then did a bike ride around the city wall. The evening we spent at a night market, sampling lots of different foods. The next day after a bit of sightseeing, we took the fast train back, a weekend full of fun memories in our pockets. Mit ein paar Freunden gings auf ein Abenteuer: Ein Wochenende in Xi’An. Wir nahmen den Nachtzug, und mit so einer fröhlichen Runde kam weder von uns noch den anderen Passagieren kaum einer zum Schlafen. Am Ziel angelangt, bezogen wir erst unser Quartier und dann ging’s zur Terra-cotta Armee. Am …
13 – 2 + 5 1/2 = Eine muntere Gesellschaft So, we’re on holiday, right? And one of my students had asked me, if I would like to go hiking with her. I thought that might be a good idea and began asking around to find more people who’d be interested to join. Quite a number of people (both students and colleagues) expressed an interest, so that by yesterday (Sunday) I thought it might be a good idea to start looking for transportation. We had enough people at this time to be needing a second van. Problem #1: It’s the holiday. One of the biggest holidays of the year, at that. Well, the holiday itself isn’t actually really the problem. We like holidays. It’s just that the problem with holidays here is that half the nation tends to be traveling and is in need of transportation, which leads us to Problem #2: All vans are booked. At least by the time I started to think about calling various drivers, none of them was available …
Es ist mal wieder Zeit zum Spielen It was game time, once more. Except, this time I didn’t get to play with my university students, this time, I got to play with those who are a head (or a couple of heads shorter). We spent a lovely hour with the kids from one of the orphanages around here, and I guess, they were happy about our visit, and so were we … Es hieß mal wieder “Spielzeit.” Nur, dieses Mal hab ich mal nicht mit meinen Universitätsstudenten “gespielt,” diesmal durfte ich mal mit denen spielen, die einen Kopf (oder mehrere Köpfe) kleiner sind. Und wir verbrachten eine nette Stunde mit den Kindern von einem der Waisenhäuser in der Gegend, und ich nehme an, sie haben sich mindestens genauso über unseren Besuch gefreut wie wir …
It’s a tradition already. Every year, I take students and friends on a little bike trip to the airport. Of course, I have to explain to them – as none of them has ever traveled by plane – that going to the airport building (otherwise known as terminal) is far from exciting, and that the real adventure waits out there on one of the fields at the end of the runway. Unquestionably, they enjoy the little excursion immensely, and I? I get to have a sunburn (on a not sunny day – or does it look like the sun is out on the pictures?) and a lot of extra exercise. (And I had the benefit of getting my bike cleaned, after it had collected dust for several months over the winter). Starting out from the school gate. We’ve arrived. First glimpses. Waiting for the planes to come in. And there is one!
I’ve been out and about again. This time we went to share a fun afternoon with kids, playing with them, and doing arts and crafts. They had so much fun drawing their hands and tracing leaves – something they had never done before – that it was a great pleasure to watch them and be with them.
