▷ Time for a dip before lunch. No, I am not on holiday. I hop onto the bicycle and ride through the woods for 20mins. They are just opening the gates of the Langener Waldsee. It’s just past 10am and only a few nudists are heading for their section of the beach. I am alone with some Brent geese and a huge expanse of water. It’s a good feeling ☺️
ランゲン：森の中の湖
▷ Tell me. Do you actually feel like cooking during this hot European summer?
What have I in the kitchen?….well…there’s some tomatoes, some carrots, some paprika, some cranberries….
クランベリー
some walnuts…..
クルミ
parsley, basil……
バジル
Fennel……
フェンネル
Sesame oil…..
…half a humble apple….
りんご
…….all are tossed into couscous. Result….
その結果、クスクスサラダができあがりました。
Not bad Nigel 😋
▷ At last the intense heatwave seems to be over – at least in Germany. So I was able to go on a hike last weekend. For me these hikes often start by boarding a train at Frankfurt station….resplendent in all its stodgy Prussian hubris. The forecourt of this station has always seemed a mess to me. Trams, taxis, prostitutes, drug-dealers, “normal people”, tourists and the homeless all jostle for attention. But now it seems a re-furbishment is underway….
先週、ハイキングのためにフランクフルト駅で列車に乗りました。
The train is only 10 mins late in departing. Quite a feat these days. The hike is nothing very dramatic, but just right for high summer. It’s a 14km walk through the shady woods east of Darmstadt. Our guide Mehdi has planned some strategic stops along the way……..like this shady hut by a stream to have a snack…
メディサンは、ダルムシュタットの森を抜ける怪しげな散策を企画していた。
And later, a welcome cup of coffee under a sun shade at the farm café Hofgut Oberfeld. This is just over the fields behind the Mathildenhöhe, that curious Jugendstil housing project….It merits another visit... I took these pictures in 2024…..…
私たちはダルムシュタットの有名なマティルデヘーエの近くにいました。
click or swipe…↔️
▷ I always find it interesting meeting new people on these hikes. This time I found myself in the company of an Iranian economist studying in Darmstadt. I realized just how ignorant I was about her country, so she kindly sent me this youtube link which I will share with you here….
Our book group has been running for over 20 years. For most of this time, Allison has been a reliable, valuable member, providing interesting book suggestions, organizing us and keeping a tally of all the books which we had read. Here she is (at the front right) three years ago at a meeting we had in a café in Darmstadt. Summer 2023. She was the youngest member of our group.
She succumbed to lung cancer last month.
Most of us were able to attend her farewell at the Waldfriedhof (a beautiful natural burial ground in the woods near Traisa, Darmstadt).
It was a dignified and simple ceremony. Knowing her interest in literature, I chose the one writer whose prose I knew would rise to the occasion: William Shakespeare……
ウィリアム・シェイクスピア
So, under the towering beech trees, Bye bye Allison. Your death is shocking. It pulls us all up short to make the most of life now.
…..to hear a song recital. Family business. I picked up the my car at Langen station, put some of those deadful hydrocarbons into the tank and set off.
💨 I was relaxed, cruising at 100km/hour 🚘… Nearing Zwingenberg on the Bergstrasse A5 motorway I stopped briefly to have a swig of tea. Then off I went again. But my gentle cruising was to get a rude interruption……
💨 What’s this? a series of very loud clanks 😕 and alarming breaking noises 💥from under the bonnet (hood in American English). I just managed to steer the car into the Seitenstreifen (the hard shoulder). Had I lost a wheel? I managed to get out via the passenger door. A merciless sun beat down, making thinking hard work. All 4 wheels were still there. The outside temperature was a grilling 35°c.
The air conditioning had stopped.
私たちは猛烈な熱波のさなかにいました。
💨 I had to act calmly. As lorries thundered by, I groped into my wallet for the ADAC* emergency service. That insurance service that I have so diligently paid every year to help me in exactly such a situation. I gave my location, the make of car etc…..all the while sweating buckets in the torrid heat 💦 (35°c…I repeat). In this picturesque scene you can just make out my car parked on the side of the motorway…..
*ADAC = Allgemeine Deutsch Automobile Club e.V. (Amen)
高速道路で車が故障しました。
The ADAC man on the phone was charming.
“What? you have left a trail of oil behind you? I cannot help you until you ring the Police and the Fire Service. Then I am allowed to pick you up!!!!” You know , this is German Gesetz (law). It is your Pflicht (duty) to ring the police!!!!!”
(Hello, I am sitting in a field next to a busy motorway with a broken – down car. The ground is hard and uncomfortable. There are insects crawling over my legs and sweat is pouring down my face. The noise is incredible. It is now 38°c. For what have I paid for in all these past years?…and do I need a lecture on German law at this moment? )
💨 I realized with distaste that I had one of them on the end of the phone. The petty, unimaginative little people who pedantically follow rules and almost any leader. He was treating me like an ignorant Ausländer (foreigner). I could feel the bile of anger rising in my throat. Unfortunately you meet this mindset in most cultures. And the three cultures I write about in this blog are no exception……….
💨 I got him off the phone as quickly as possible and rang the police 🚓 They drew up at the side of the motorway 15 mins later. Calm. Friendly. Air-conditioned.
“Qwatch” (rubbish) they said. “Tell the ADAC that Regional Officer Müller tells them to pick up this man’s car immediately! Have a nice day” 👋🏼
The man who actually came in his truck to pick up my car was sympathetic but worn out.
“I’ve been driving since 5am” he said.
Just leave me at the next station I said.
“Have a nice day”
💨 I mentioned air-conditioning. Apparently in France this is a hugely divisive issue. And in Germany? This is my living room. Never in my life have I experienced this heat indoors.
家の中でこれほどの暑さを経験したことはありません。
I, for one, thought that a mobile air-conditioning unit would be the answer. But when I tried it out, with all its tubes and ducts….and loud noise….
エアコンがあれば解決すると思ったのですが、役に立ちませんでした。
….I realised what my Japanese friends were all laughing about 😅
“What is this funny thing that you have bought, Nigel san?”
💨 In Japan, all those messy tubes and ducts are hidden away- built into every house from the word go. But in an old German house? No way! Wake up Europe! This will not be the last hot summer 🥵
I very soon returned this ridiculus contraption and bought a really fine ventilator instead. It is wonderful, and even has a quiet “sleep” mode to run during the night…..
その代わりに、良い扇風機を買いました。
…..and can send a nice breeze into the workshop…..
ワークショップに心地よい風
💨 Do you ever see these things on social media and think …oh..I must try that! Well I did try it, and its not bad, except the cardboard wilts under the condensation…..
エアコン（廉価版）
💨 Wisdom I have gleaned from friends and family……
Put your pillows in the freezer
put frozen bottles in front of your fan
hang a damp towel around your neck
don’t get irritated by little people from the ADAC
don’t even try working
ring your neighbours doorbell to check she is still alive
If you are learning Japanese, learn the vocab for heatwave (熱波- neppa)
If you are talking to somebody in Japan, tell them they are lucky just to have a few typhoons and the occasional earthquake….
Check out the cool spots in town. For me this includes…Bockenheimer Warte Metro station. Not only is it cool and spacious, but has nice pictures on the walls….
フランクフルトのこの地下鉄駅は、爽やかな涼しさです。素敵な写真があります。
💨 Is it not art and culture that helps us in times like this 🎭? True, the `cellos are taking a rest from the heat at the moment….
💨 But ｗe are learning a new a Cappella programme in our choir. When I saw this song, though, I thought………now that would sound good on the `cello…..
..as indeed it does…..
…..and who can sing Poulenc’s “Un Soir du Neige” without dreaming of some nice cold snow ❄️ and how about those Flower Songs by Benjamin Britten?
私たちの合唱団アカペラプログラムの一部です。プーランク、ブリテン、フォーレ
Flowers indeed! Here is a random selection from Langen…..not exclusively flowers either……(swipe or click on the arrows)…….
Flowers emerge in other strange constellations…..Our house entrance has a weird example…….
……as does a tomb in Chichester Cathedral…..
Photo> Vivien R. (edited)
…and not forgetting the rain – drenched perlargoniums at the Darmstadt Fischerhütte…..
💨 But let’s get up to date. Before bowing down to the holy German Rite of Sommerferien (Summer holidays), you might consider hearing some imaginative young musicians in Frankfurt. They call themselves the BaroqueLAB, and are flexible enough to play at some unusual venues whilst the rest of the Hessen is sitting in a Stau (traffic jam) on the Autobahn.
Screenshot
Take note and have fun.
As always, thank you for your interest, and if you know anyone who might be interested in this blog then do forward it on.
Wie immer vielen Dank für euer Interesse. Wenn ihr jemanden kennt, der an diesem Blog interessiert sein könnte, schickt ihn gerne weiter.
(* no relation to composer Benedetto Marcello 1686-1739 😄)
I start this post with an issue which has puzzled me for a long time.
💥 First, three examples:
1. When we used to go camping as a family in the south of France we would enjoy a bottle or two of the local red vino One year, in my enthusiasm, I brought a bottle back home to Germany. But when I poured a glass out of it here it tasted only like some cheap plonk. What was so special about this wine ?
2.Years ago, on a hot summers’ day in Dublin, Ireland, I sought refuge in a pub and ordered a glass of draught Guinness. It was heaven ☘️ But drink a Guinness here in Germany? No. It simply does not compete with a good Pils.
3. A friend of mine recently came to stay, cooking the most delicious meals 🍜 with the simplest of ingredients – even buying the veg from the local REWE supermarket
誰か他の人が作った料理は、なぜ味が違って感じられるのでしょうか？
After she had returned to Tokyo I tried to use the ingredients which she had left behind for me. It just didn’t taste the same. 😕 So what is this phenomena? Do you know it yourself? Does it have a name?
The wordtransubstantiation comes to mind, but the theologians have already commandeered this word. Any suggestions? Was it the climate of the south of France? Was it the atmosphere of the Dublin pub? Was it whocooked the Japanese meal? There is something metaphysical going on here beyond rational comprehension.
💥 This is my ‘cello.
これは私のチェロです。
It’s a ‘cello I have never sold. Why’s that? : because I was never satisfied with the sound. I built it in Wiesbaden in 1993…seems ages ago now, but instruments have long lives….like a good wine…..
I had found a huge slab of poplar at a wood dealer in Bavaria…..
バイエルン州の木材店で、ポプラの巨大な木材を見つけました。
💥 Now I have tried everything to improve the sound – putting in a new bassbar, altering the angle of the neck etc. etc.
Recently, getting back to playing chamber music again, I needed a ‘cello. How ironic, an instrument maker without his own ‘cello! My eye fell on this instrument, languishing in the corner of the workshop feeling rather sorrow with itself. I dusted it off and tried new strings. I was still not satisfied 😕
Then one day my cello mentor Liudmila said to me – have you tried this endpin?
Sceptically, I inserted it into the bottom of the ‘cello. It was very heavy, with its titanium core and brass sheath…..
新しい日本製のエンドピンです。アキさん、トモコさん、ありがとうございます。
💥 It was if I had put a rocket underneath the instrument 🚀 Wow! Suddenly the sound became focused and soloistic.
I must buy one I thought! but hello: – 580€? 💶 Come on! You must be joking! It was then that I noticed where it was made. Yes, you guessed it – Japan. How convenient that I was expecting a visitor from the land of the rising sun soon. A quick call to a ‘cellist friend in Chiba and the order to a firm in Osaka followed…….. and two weeks later my visitor arrived with it in her suitcase (with a sensible price tag attached!)
💥 Now I am a happy man 😊 playing with violin or piano whenever the opportunity arises…..(although there have been anxious moments with Japanese buses!)
日本のバスは、外国人にとって難しい場合があります。
My violinist has a curious tuning app…..
私のヴァイオリニストは、変わったチューナーアプリを使っています。
Sometimes we have an audience…..(It has to be mentioned that poorSchmoozy is half deaf)
時には観客がいることもあります。
Dreieich-Sprendlingen.….15 minutes on the OF 99 bus to Seligenstadt. (`cello free of charge)
シュプレンドリンゲン：OF99番のバスで20分。（チェロの持ち込みは無料😄 ）
Sagamihara shi…..15 hours with SAS to Haneda airport,Tokyo..(‘cello not included in the ticket….)
💥Are you an amateur violinist (living in the Frankfurt area!) interested in playing chamber music? Do get in contact. Whether it be duets, piano trios or whatever. Tel: 06103 4877885 or nigelwruddock@gmail.comI would be happy to hear from you
💥 one of the advantages of being an amateur player is that you don’t have to worry about your reputation……for this clipped (!) version of On Wings of Song you just have to imagine a rippling piano accompaniment, that’s all 🎹……(professional musicians are allowed to scroll on at this point…)
メンデルスゾーン「歌の翼に」
💥 Part of the fun of being a violinmaker is getting whacky requests. A pick up? Oh you want a strong cup of coffee do you?…nooooo…”I’m playing at the Mousonturm next week on stage….”
💥 Enter singer/songwriter Momo. She needs a pick up fitted to her violin, but also, as it turns out, a strong coffee. Listen, I’m a violinmaker. I don’t do all that electronic stuff do I?
Anyway, I get the job done……
一風変わった仕事……
Now I’m curious to hear the result. So off I go to the Nippon Connection film festival to check out the band.
💥Ohho. I was so glad I went. Momo and her group _Mo_xSHIKI had the audience in the palm of their hands. It was a sell out. No middle-of-the road band this. Uncompromisingly innovative, (…and slightly weird ) songs backed up by Silas (‘cello) Marko (guitar) Lorenzo (piano) and Naomi (vocals), with guest rapper Gocchanko. What a line up. The audience loved it. I think they, like myself, they had never heard anything quite like it before
👉🏼 More on social media at 0ii_moh_ii0 (type a zero and not an O)
poster> Naomi
Well, that’s all for now. I was walking in the Rheingau on Saturday, so I’ll leave you with a image from the cherry plantations of Walluf…..mmm lecker…….美味し…….delicious 😋
So I check out the music. The only trouble is that…well….the pigeons are also interested……
鳩たちは、聞きたがっている……
Well, he is very interested…..
I shoo them away. Swoosh !….off they go, “…..On Wings of Song……”
🎵 I have been singing a lot of songs recently. Like in Haydn’s The Four Seasons . He put an awful lot of them into this work…….the score is as thick as a Bible……
先日、フランクフルトで大きなコンサートに出演し、歌いました。
…and as solid as the concert venue……The Alte Oper, Frankfurt….
🎵 But of course I was singing with others…..that is, the combined forces of four Frankfurt concert choirs…120 singers in all….but you need that to fill the Alte Oper…..that was already obvious at the dress rehearsal…….
….with the Opern und Museumsorchester under Thomas Guggeis…..crackling with energy….🎇
a view from the Parkett – The Stalls……
🎵 But however impressive four choirs are, it’s nice to experience something at the other end of the scale……so here we are in Schwetzingen one week later. It’s a small town somewhere between Mannheim and Heidelberg, and it boasts an impressive castle and gardens……
一週間後、私は音楽祭のためにシュヴェツィンゲンにいた。
– a suitable setting for the Schwetzingen Music Festival. The audience seems different from Frankfurt…..is that John Cleese on the left?
We sit on original Rococco seats in the little castle theatre
……in colourful company….(what flavour is that hat?)
実に多彩な観客たち――フランクフルトとはひと味違う。PHOTO : TOMOKO
……listening to a Lute player and his merry band….
🎵 It’s the Jupiter Ensemble, led by Thomas Dunsford (lute) and Lea Desandre (soprano). Wonderful….
リュート奏者とソプラノ歌手が率いるバロック・アンサンブル
And what a little gem the theatre is!
…..set in the grounds of the vast palace and gardens……especially interesting for my visitor from Japan….
日本から来客があり、その方は宮殿と庭園をとても気に入ってくださいました。
Schwetzingen is not that far from Karlsruhe, where we rendezvous with a certain bass………..
家族に会いに、カールスルーエへ行きました。
🎵…………..
🎵 The clean modern lines of the Wolfgang Rihm Saal contrast with the baroque fantasies of the nearby Schloss…..lots of buttocks on display here…..
カールスルーエの宮殿庭園
But it’s a pleasure garden isn’t it? built for Duke Karl himself. No modesty here….This is power and order…
But it’s fun walking around. A weird tree….
and clean lines under a blue sky…..
……we spotted this elderly Karlsruhe citizen patiently waiting for the bus. He has bought some flowers……..for his home? for his wife?
ある老人が、妻のために花を買った……あるいは、自宅のためにだろうか？
Water dribbles from the Marktplatz fountain…
🎵.. and an odd Engländerappears in the lights of the metro station…..
🎵 And on Friday 5th June as part of the famous Nippon Connection Film festival in Frankfurt, there is an interesting live event that you should not miss! Here’s the link….book your tickets now. And I mean that, because the Studio 1 in the Mousonturm gets rapidly booked out ……..https://db.nipponconnection.com/en/event/2073/nippon-live-on-stage-moh-x-shiki
🎵 The extraordinary violinist/guitarist/song writerMoh (aka Momo Yamamato) has put together an eclectic group of young musicians to perform a weird and wonderful programme threaded with Japanese texts and instrumental improvisation.
I don’t know how to translate this title into Japanese, except maybe simply to use the term Wabi Sabi – 侘び寂び.…..the beauty of imperfection and impermanence
May 6th 2026年5月6日
▷ Hello again, and greetings from The Towers…..
タワーからのご挨拶
▷ Now what’s this guy doing? Are they filming a new Anatefka , in which the fiddler drops his violin over the other side of the roof?
屋根の上のバイオリン弾き
▷ Every day I am woken up to the sound of some new machine being delivered outside. (last week it was a massive cement machine that made instant Estrichbeton (floor cement)…they just pumped it straight into the house). Then there was the man and his fork lift truck……
配達
Hello. The electricians and plasterers have arrived….all at once…..
Where do all the materials come from, and how are they transported?……
建築資材はどのようにして入手されるのか
▷ I know a house in the Odenwald that could use a few plasterers and electricians. It’s owned by the Erbach-Fürstenau family, and the’ve lived there quite along time – since 1717 to be precise. Schloss Fürstenau has been converted neither into a wellness hotel nor a conference centre, and you can’t even visit the interior. In fact most visitors to the area miss it completely because they are all agog with famed Michelstadt, which is on the other side of the river.
▷ Acting on a hunch, and deviating from my planned komoot hike , I follow a path through dense woodland. Then unexpectedly I come across a charming old bridge and a Rennaissance-looking building.
オーデンヴァルトで城を見つけた… L. Schloss Fürstenau Bridge 1850 R. Today
Some defunct looking sluices and a weir suggested a mill of sorts – which indeed it is, built in 18thc.
The Mümling river still flows past its walls…….
水車小屋
▷ And on the other side of the bridge a rather out-of-place looking baroque house nestles amonst the trees…
廷臣たちの家
▷ This is the Cavalier house built in the 18thc…for the members of the court.
The court? Yes, cross the bridge and enter through the gateway to reveal…….Low and behold!……… A crumbling medieval castle adorned with a huge Rennaisance arch….
Bearing in mind John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers , I instantly gave it a name: Crumble Castle. It is indeed badly in need of maintenance, and crumbling……..
崩れかけた城
▷ Random ladies and gentleman, some with very few clothes on, seem to have been lounging about here for some time….
They don’t look very happy. Maybe because of all this modern stuff over on the other side of the courtyard…..
…..or because their owners are parking right in front of them….?
城は改修が必要だ
▷ Now, have you ever thought about that stereotypical medieval castle 🏰 in children’s books ?….pennants fluttering from round towers, knights on horseback and ladies with tall conical hats….?
Well here you have it. Right here In the middle of the Odenwald. This is a view which a resident must have taken, for I found no way to access this angle…..
L. Schloss F[rstenau by Christian Kehrer 1800. R. Foto by Graf
▷ It is extraordinary.There are no signposts and no admission fee, no café and no souvenir shop. You are requested politely to respect the privacy of the place, and are allowed to wander around the courtyard.
The inner courtyard is a eclectic mixture of medieval, rennaissance and classical buildings…
…with views out to the meadows….
…and some shiny art……
Would you ring this doorbell?
…….bits and pieces litter the place……
…I even discovered a nice scroll…..
▷ Apparently the original castle was built in the 14thc. to “protect” the nearby Steinbach Abbey. What is left of this abbey today is the church. But not any old church. It was built by Einhard, advisor to Charlemagne (Karls des Großen). Charlemagne? yes, the emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire. He united most of Western and Central Europe in the 9thc. and was the first recognised emperor to rule from the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire approximately three centuries earlier. Not a bad CV.
▷ It is incredible to think that this church – a Roman basilica in fact, has been tucked away in this corner of the Odenwald since the 9th century.
In fact it only survived because it was used to store hunting equipment and timber. Timber has to be stored in a dry place. Hence the roof was always kept in good condition.
▷ Only about 100 years earlier, in the north of England (the Anglian Kingdom of Northumberland at that time, now County Durham) …..
…..the little church of Escomb was built. It also still stands today.
イングランドのエスコム教会は、エーベルハルトのバシリカより100年前に建てられた。
▷ And I still remember my teacher, Prof. Rosemary Cramp, telling us students to look at this building from the outside first, before entering. To build Escombe, they had to pillage a nearby Roman fort for the stone. Whilst here, in the Odenwald, there was excellent sandstone in abundance.
▷ I had been here before with some hiker friends, in 2013. It was a hot summer, and we were grateful for the cool interior of the basilica…..
ハイキンググループと一緒 2023
The main doorway….
The interior….
But this time it was not too hot.
▷ It was May 1st 2026, and I kept on encountering groups of merry men (and women), pulling carts of beer through the forest. None to be seen here however. Time for a hard-boiled egg……….(thank you Phe for this idea)
森の中のひととき
▷ Sophia’s temple would have also been a spot to linger, but it had already been requisitioned by a homeless man. I left him in peace….
18世紀の「寺院」
▷ On descending back down the hill to the town of Erbach my eye was caught by this monster on the hill. No need for plasterers or electricians here. The’ve got it sorted……I named it The Paperclip.
私はこの家を「ペーパークリップ」と名付けた。
▷ And as if all historical eras had not already been covered on this hike, I bumped into this relic from the 1940s near Michelstadt station…..
1940年代の古いトラック
▷ So there we are. My train took me back to Frankfurt via Hanau,
▷……..and then over the Deutchherren Brücke (passing the European Central Bank and the former Market hall) to Frankfurt Süd.
フランクフルトへの帰路
As always, thank you for your interest, and if you know anyone who might be interested in this blog then do forward it on.
Wie immer vielen Dank für euer Interesse. Wenn ihr jemanden kennt, der an diesem Blog interessiert sein könnte, schickt ihn gerne weiter.
📌 By the way, if you subscribe (scroll right down to the very end to find the link) to this blog, you can not only comment on it, but get it automatically when published.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The UK has got the Lake District, Japan has the Kamikochi Highlands (上高地) or the lakes of Yamanashi, and Germany has the Rheingau. (gau is an old word for district or area by the way)
▷ I have been here countless times. Showing visitors the vineyards of Schloss Johannisberg, or the chair lifts at Rüdesheim and Assmanshausen. And of course going on many a wonderful hike.
私はライン川沿いのロルヒ村 (Lorch) からハイキングを始めます。
▷ But when you live in the Rhein-Main area you tend to get a bit blasé about it. Seen that. Done that etc.etc. But, depending on the season, it’s always different there. As I discovered last weekend.
▷ I took the train to Lorch. But when I got out at that picturesque little village…..
私はライン川沿いには行かず、木々に覆われた谷を登っていった。
……..I did not take the high walk above the river Rhein. Instead I headed up the leafy Sauerthal valley on a route that was called, charmingly, the Riesling Schleifen (the Riesling “bow”). I had just finished a nice bottle of Riesling back at home so this was most apt.
私は左側の道を進みました。その道は有名なリースリングワインにちなんで名付けられていました。
My boots crunched satisfyingly along the winding route……
….sometimes with too much crunch. Pause needed….
片方の足がつった！
Fresh April green was everywhere,
新緑
…..with flowers sprinkled around like magic charms to please the appreciative hiker…..
やせいの花
▷ At some random road crossing I stumble across this devotional chapel – Der Heilig Kreuz Kapelle. Of course it’s locked, but you can peep inside…..
古い礼拝堂を見つけた…。
…………………
“…contributions to the upkeep….”
Further along the trail I cross a stream….
それから私は小川を渡る…
And for some reason someone has chosen this spot to park tractors…..
何らかの理由でトラクターがここに駐車されている
That’s quite a tyre…………..
▷ This is the moment. Take a selfie trying to look like a Real Man……Keep an eye on your local cinema for the new film: Tractor Man….starring you know who…..😆
新作映画のポスター…「トラクターマン」😂
Further up the valley the local inhabitants come out to see who is passing by….
こんにちは !
▷ But really, is a puddle in a track (left from a tractor tyre of course) a good place to plant future generations?
The plants sway lightly in the breeze, shaking their heads….
▷ Eventually I reach the ruins of a small castle …Kleine Waldeck. It is a lonely outpost with views across the valley. But hello, a surprise……
I bend down to take this photo and at once notice something on the horizon. What’s that? a castle I never knew existed? And it’s in the wrong direction, ie away from the Rhein.
地平線に見えるあれは何だ…城か？
▷ It looks like the Wartburg castle in Eisenach (where Luther translated the New Testament into German). A later Google search revealed this…The Sauerburg. Certainly off the beaten track….it’s even on Booking.com!
The path seems to climb forever. There are views far and near….
Up and up….until eventually a skyline of trees reveals glimpses of Vater Rhein down below…..
ハイキングの終点から眺めるライン川
…and my starting point several hours earlier….The village of Lorch…..
As usual in these offbeat areas, there are few trains back to Frankfurt. I could get the next one, but I dream of an ice cream somewhere. After all, it’s now approaching 20°c…..
▷ In the end, for lack of an ice cream café, (it is a rather small place) I opt for that bulwark of German tradition : K&K…otherwise known as Kaffee und Kuchen. Just what is needed….and what a cake! The lady serving me asks rather shyly what I think of it (hat’s geschmeckt?). Turns out she is the Konditotorin (pastry cook) who made it…..motto: always eat local produce…😉
アイスクリーム屋さんがないので、コーヒーとケーキをいただきます。いかにもドイツの伝統ですね！
So, thank you for your reading this, even though you may not have such a delicious cake in front of you. If you know anyone who might be interested in this blog then do forward it on.
Wie immer vielen Dank für euer Interesse. Wenn ihr jemanden kennt, der an diesem Blog interessiert sein könnte, schickt ihn gerne weiter.
I’m singing in this concert and am bold enough to say that it will be good ! The address is not on the poster, but it’s just north of hr Radio, at Kaiser-Sigmund-Str.47, Frankfurt. The Haus der Chöre is an excellent purpose-built rehearsal space for choirs in Frankfurt. And what is also not obvious from the poster is that James Guey, our incredible Korrepetitionist (accompanist) will also be playing solo on the new Flügel (grand piano).
What? You don’t still use a cable to listen to music do you?
え？まさかまだケーブルを使って音楽を聴いてるの？
Yes, in fact I do, and I’m glad I have an older iphone that still has the socket. According to a recent reputablenewspaper, (one which is not beholden to shareholders) people are getting fed up with Bluetooth, on top of losing their airpods or buds, either because they are so loseable, or because they don’ t fit into your ears. As for myself, I can hardly open this smooth pebble-shaped container…….
人々はBluetoothに飽き始めている
And even if I succeeded, I would need to carry a pair of tweezers with me to extract the wretched buds Then one would fall on the floor, probably the floor of a train carriage, straight into a pool of fetid beer…….
Airpods….buds…..bluetooth 🔵yellowtooth 🟡blacktooth ⚫……damn them all. Give me a cable anytime. It’s connectivity. And it’s what people are yearning for.
✔️ It’s physical
Ever pulled a pair of trousers 👖 out of the washing machine and discovered something in one of the pockets? Happened to me last week……It’s from the Onsen in Kita Hoshikawa . And because it is a physical photo on a piece of card I can hold it in my hand. I stop and think about sliding into that hot water…..connectivity. So much deeper than an image on my monitor.
ズボンを洗濯したらこれを見つけた。温泉で過ごした素敵な一日を思い出させてくれる、まさに記念品だ。
✔️ Just the ticket.
A friend of mine once showed me a fine dinner jacket which he had inherited from his grandfather. He had found a real tailor in Dublin who adjusted it to his size. And he had discovered something in one of the pockets – a modest little ticket – almost like an old bus ticket 🎟️.
On it ROH was printed in strong capitals. It took me a moment to realize what this meant. His grandfather had been to the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE 🏛️and had left a little momento behind.
Now would you keep the QR code of a concert ticket today ? – no chance, it was on your phone and got deleted soon afterwards.
✔️ Discs
And what’s this? apparently there is a resurgent demand for DVDs 💿 Another backlash it seems. This time against streaming. Is that film on Netflix? or Amazon Prime or where? So you find it eventually. Is your subscription up to date?….Oh, what…I thought I had cancelled that one……
You settle down eventually to your film. In a crucial moment of high drama your internet connection does a wobbly (even though you are paying good money for it) and the film starts buffering……don’t tell me that has never happened to you!
I find there is something very satisfying about picking a DVD or book (not a kindle) off the shelf and settling down at your own pace to enjoy it…..
DVDは実物媒体です。ストリーミング配信はありません。
It’s a physical experience. You are in charge.
✔️ Connecting Cities
After years of under- investment, DB (Deutsche Bahn) are finally getting around to upgrading their tracks and signals etc. But they haven’t got enough people to drive the trains. Isn’t that bizarre? 🧑🏼✈️. So we here in Germany are all trying to be very patient, and hoping that in a few years time things will be better. I saw these two ICE (that means Inter City Express by the way – no relation to Donald’s thugs) pull up in Frankfurt last week. They looked rather impressive. Sadly neither of them stopped in Langen…….(😐)
DB ドイツ鉄道。写真は素敵だけど、私の乗っている列車じゃないな…。
✔️ Hold on to your seats...
……we have a short disconnect…….
少々お待ちください。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。！
✔️ Ah, that’s better.
Now will everyone just slow down for a minute…..? Thank you. She’s just walking. He’s talking on his phone whilst hugging the Bröttchen 🥖 and he’s performing a graceful right swerve….🚴🏼♂️
皆さん、もう少しゆっくりしてください…😆
✔️ Connect a violinmaker with his ‘cello
….. and the musical niveau is of course due to the instrument, not the player….😄
Leise flehen meine Lieder Durch die Nacht zu dir, In den stillen Hain hernieder, Liebchen, komm zu mir
(My songs call out gently Through the night as they beseech you; Come down here into the quiet grove of trees, Beloved, come to me!)
チェロと持ったバイオリン職人
Yes, it’s Schubert’s Serenade isn’t it? Thank you Sabine …😊
✔️ Meditating on the Universe….
…….the Universe being Frankfurt am Main naturally….
フランクフルト
✔️ Time to get the tiles on
…..before the April showers…..🌧️
Such cool nonchalence, standing on a roof 3 floors up and lobbing the things around……
I’m sure I suggested red ones, not black ones. Come on guys…this is after all The View from the Towers ..!..😆
タワーからの眺めが変わりつつある…。
As a consolation, the gods provided some colour around the next corner….
春の色
and elsewhere……
As always, thank you for your interest, and if you know anyone who might be interested in this blog then do forward it on.
Wie immer vielen Dank für euer Interesse. Wenn ihr jemanden kennt, der an diesem Blog interessiert sein könnte, schickt ihn gerne weiter.
Over 40 years ago………It was with a sort of relief, when, on a cold Sussex morning in 1971, I looked at the coloured flyer which had arrived in my parents letter box. Apparently we were changing to decimal currency. It was time to think in tens, so much easier than twelves. But what to do with all this old money, the Farthing; the Half-penny; the Penny, and the Half Crown? I decided there and then that this was a BIG moment, so I put some aside…….
奇妙なコレクション
…and then, as the years went by, my collection gathered…..a Deutchmark here, a French Franc there….even a Reichspfennig which fell out of an old violin case… a weird collection, supplemented by usable Danish Kroner or Japanese Yen.
✔️ A good job done
A lot of my time is spent repairing violins which people bring to me. However, sometimes these innocent looking instruments carry a heavy history with them. Here’s a snapshot of a violin which arrived in my workshop last week
美しい「f/hole」
It has a beautifully cut F-hole, but not a beautiful corner. This is because this violin wasn’t built by one individual Meister in his workshop, but in an instrument factory. It would have been made by several skilled craftsmen, working on a sort of early production line. In fact the factory in question mainly produced brass instruments. But it is where this factory was located which brings the heavy history. Frankfurt. But not Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt an der Oder. Here’s the label inside….
フランクフルト・アン・デア・オーダー製
And when the elderly lady came to pick up her instrument she wanted to tell me the story. The flight to the west in front of the Red Army, the camps, the hunger……the childhood violin teacher who had the wrong religion at the wrong place and time….. I realise that I did not really want to know. The February days are gloomy enough already I thought. I want to enjoy life now, not be reminded of this. But it’s history staring at you in the face.
Now that I have completely overhauled the instrument and given it a new case and a new bow, things are looking up. My customer will play it in a retirement home orchestra in Frankfurt…….am Main.
バイオリンが新たな人生を始める
✔️ The bright lights…..
I always thought that the UK was the awkward one in Europe, driving on the “wrong” side, refusing to join the Euro etc. etc. But really, I’m glad that I have never had to drive in Japan 🚗. It’s those traffic lights. Red for stop, yes? Amber for wait, and Green for go, right?
Actually no. The green can take on a distinctly blue hue in many cases. Why’s that? Well, since the 1930s, when traffic lights were first introduced into Japan, people described the “go” signal as “ao” (あお )- a colour spectrum which covers green and blue.
緑ですか、それとも青ですか?
And when the Vienna Convention in the 1960s tried to standardize the colours, Japan didn’t sign up did they. So now? At some point the government decided that they should use the bluest shade of green possible for the lights. How’s that for a fun fact 🔵😊🟢
But just to add to the fun…..In Japan you drive on the left….like all the countries coloured blue in this map….
✔️ Spontaneous design...
When drivers discover too late that my road is blocked by a building site, they do a 3-point turn. However, I can’t quite work out how cars made this pattern……..🤔
自発的なデザイン…
✔️ The end of winter…………….
The horses are out being exercised…
冬の終わり
Although the countryside is still rather bare there is a new light…here near Idstein
And the Fachwerkhäuser are intact after the long winter
The Viburnam (thank you Adrian for the identification) is flowering in a neighbour’s garden…
….and the moon is full as we move into March….
3月を告げる満月
…with its sharp light……
光は明るく澄んでいる
and strong shadows…..
✔️ Good food and friendly service…
Elementary my dear Watson. Order a plate of Sushi at Higematsu in Frankfurt. The best Izakaya this side of the Sea of Japan🗾 . I would have photographed the Gyozas, but my daughter and myself gobbled them up so quickly there was no time for photography…😄
ひげまつ…日本西部で最高の居酒屋😄
✔️ A good laugh…..
You gotta have a laugh……….😄……Friendly service at Higematsu, yes….but here on Langen station?
ここの英語は私を笑わせる…….
…….and whilst we are talking about a good laugh, I had one in Aldi this morning. The automatic checkout would not accept my Gherkin (Gurke). I called over to the lady at the human check out, waving my Gurke in the air. She laughed.😄 ” Das ist kein Gurke” she said, “das ist ein Zucchini!”…….
これはキュウリですか、それともズッキーニですか
Yes, ok, its a Zucchini.
Actually the thought crossed my mind that it could be some sort of Snozzcumber.….that vegetable immortalized by Roald Dahl in his story The Big Friendly Giant…..
……
ロアルド・ダールが書いた、とても面白い子供向けの本「ビッグ・フレンドリー・ジャイアント」
✔️ Pastime with good company
They may look insignificant, lost in the sweeping fields near Gross Umstadt – but this is the merry group of hikers I joined at the weekend……
良い仲間と過ごす
Even more lively after a bottle of Tequila, which our Mexican friend Laura opened to celebrate her move to North Germany…..
メキシコ人ハイカーのローラに別れを告げる
Gross Umstadt has its own vineyards….🍇 hence not a drop of beer to be seen at our apres-hike….
グロス・ウムシュタットはダルムシュタット近郊の町です。ブドウ園で有名です…
✔️ Simple pleasures
シンプルな喜び
…a pilot enjoys the wind-free blue * over Egelsbach…..(* あお!)
✔️ A good read…..
“I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time.”
Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s gothic mystery, set in a post civil war Barcelona, is rich in characters and plot twists. It is a superb novel…and our book group is repeat- reading it this month…
個性豊かな登場人物と謎に満ちた素晴らしい本……
✔️ Music
Is much more than a simple pleasure….The fools of this world are wary of it and prefer to start wars instead.
Handel knew this language well. In 1711, he wrote an opera called Rinaldo. In it, there is a heartfelt plea for liberty…”Lascia chi’o pianga” (“Let me weep”)………….which has been a hit ever since….
ゲオルク・フリードリヒ・ヘンデル
As always, thank you for your interest, and if you know anyone who might be interested in this blog then do forward it on.
Wie immer vielen Dank für euer Interesse. Wenn ihr jemanden kennt, der an diesem Blog interessiert sein könnte, schickt ihn gerne weiter.
🔴 It’s Spring in Japan and I find myself enrolled for a Suiboku (Ink Wash Painting) lesson in in Tsurumi, Tokyo…
The artist sort of assumed I could speak fluent Japanese, so I probably lost many of the hints he gave. However he was very complimentary about my bamboo drawing….
すいぼくが 水墨画 鶴見
That’s his drawing above, which he knocked off in about a minute. I started practising with just the stems, not the leaves…..
私の最初の試み
With a couple of deft strokes, he “improved” my bamboo. Stuck it up on the whiteboard and photographed it!
At the desk next to me Tomoko is poised to go….
🔴 soon after that I was in another part of Tokyo. A group of musicians (Aki さん – Cello, Takako さん- Flute, Ayakoさん – Mezzo Soprano) were “transcending boundaries” in their experimental Minorite concert in Koto City. They were not painting, oh no, they were tearing!
This piece (by Benjamin Patterson) was all about doing just that – with different sorts of paper. I closed my eyes and let my imagination run riot. The audience loved it.
🎵 The contemporary music scene is alive and well in Tokyo.
🔴 Cakes…..
Are always nicely presented here……..This Yokohama cheesecake is made after a recipe from the wife of well-known Yokohama author Osaragi Jiro……
おいしいチーズケーキ
🔴 I love going to the wilder parts of the coast. The sand can be quite dark, due to its volcanic origin. It’s soft underfoot….
砂は柔らかい
🔴 As for flowers, the first European botanists must have been astounded when they reached the shores of Japan. I was lucky to witness the cherry blossoms…..in town…
in the countryside……
at temples……
or just about anywhere in fact……
Then came the camelias. The pinkish-red flowers adorn the forests. You walk through carpets of spent blooms on the ground…..
Then it was the peonies turn…….
…..and in my last week as I walked in the park at Motomachi, Yokohama, these irises were on every corner – in all colours…..
….and walking around the football stadium in Hodogaya there were whole banks of Azalias…
…and if you are crazy enough to go to the Ashikaga Flower Park (Tochigi) in the first holiday of Golden Week……..Wisteria
あしかがフラワーパーク
Anyone for Wisteria Ice Cream?
藤のアイスクリームを食べませんか？ツトムさん、ありがとう!
🔴 What’s this? In 2019 a typhoon ripped up a tree on the “bluff” in Yokohama. Underneath was a very un-Japanese foundation. The local council decided to leave it there as a memorial, as it was evidently a western-style house which had been destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake.
The calm after the storm: Yokohama 1923
1923 年の地震後
🔴 History is everywhere here. Just south of Yokohama is Yokosuka, where the American Admiral Perry landed in 1853. Lucky he didn’t arrive 50 years later, or he would have been met by this: The warship Mikasa. It was built in 1902 and brought from Vickers of Barrow-in-Furness in the UK for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It sunk a few Russian ships in its time.
1902年に建造された軍艦三笠
In the event, Perry passed by Sarushima Island, and arrogantly re-named it “Perry Island”.
Not well received. It had been a gun battery for the Tokugawa Shogunate.
猿島
🔴 Meanwhile the old undisturbed Japan was going about its feudal ways in the hills of Gifu and Nagano. A house on the Nakasendo way…..
中山道
…and the burial sites of the prehistoric Jomon culture were yet to be excavated.
縄文文化
🔴 It is much harder to find the past in the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo. I took this picture from near the Tokyo Skytree. It shows Sumida Ward with the Sumida river: well known to KatsushikaHokusai ( 葛飾 北斎 ) the famous Ukiyo-e artist.
Tokyo throbs. It buzzes. It works.
隅田川の眺め
🔴 Back to Yokohama.
Along with Kobe, it was one of the first ports to open up to western traffic. But these first westerners were not artists or idealists. They were businessmen (“Merchants”). And there were lots of sailors who had been cooped up in steam ships for too long ⚓. Two cultures clashed. It was a chaotic and tense period. The British and American governments asked the Japanese authorities to build a “pleasure zone”, which acted as a buffer between the port and the town. Nowadays tourists arrive on cruise ships….
…..or by train🚅
The buffer zone (aka red light district) has since disappeared, in part due to the earthquake and the subsequent fire bombing in WWII twenty year later. Yokohama has been through a lot.
A Norwegian cruise ship docked at the Osambashi pier
大さん橋埠頭に停泊中のノルウェーのクルーズ船
🔴 An unusual memorial in Yamashita Park – the park itself being created on the waterfront with rubble from the 1923 destruction
…….
インディアン記念碑の天井
🔴 People…….have to work. Although distance working (Zaitaku Kinmu 在宅勤務 ) has become much more common after Covid.
人々は働かなければならない
Peoples’ needs…….a vending machine, a postbox, and a launderette (“coin laundry”) . What more do you need?
このコインランドリーが必要な人もいる
🔴 Every year children have a special day :”Kodomo no hi” on May 5th. But the carp streamers (Koinobori) are already flying here in Nagoya. Originally Tango no Sekku, the day has been celebrated since the Kamakura period in the 12thc. The black carp (Magoi) represents the father, the red one (Higoi) the mother. All the others are the children…..
子供の日 (Nagoya)
But the children are not always happy……
Kotaro-chan : “what’s up big sister?”
「お姉ちゃん、どうしたの？」
Meiko-chan: “I want my violin!”…….
“ah…..that’s more like it…….👍”
「バイオリンが欲しい！」……「あぁ……それもいいな……」
People are helpful. Here a shop owner helps us find the way back to our hiking trail in Miyagi….
店主が道案内をしてくれた
🔴 Furry friends. “I will sleep where I will. For I am a cat”
吾輩は猫である (Wagahai wa Neko de Aru ) 🙄
“I will reign from here…..for I am the queen……”
ごろちゃん
🔴 Foreigners photograph the oddest things…….Behind the Tsunami wall on the Miyagiolle trail….A harbour no more….
The Anglican – Episcopal church in Yokohama. Apparently only 1.5% of the Japanese population profess to be Christian…….
横浜のキリスト教会
🔴 Buddhism: Jizo are the guardian deities for children and travellers. They are properly called “Jizo Bosatsu”, originating in ancient India where in Sanskrit they are called Ksitigarbha , which means earth womb…..bet you didn’t know that….
なぎそ 【南木曾】
Buddhism has many interpretations and factions… here at the Rinnjo Buddhist temple in Sendai. A Zen stone garden.
“………..Religion in Japan is manifested primarily in Shinto and in Buddhism, the two main faiths, which Japanese people often practice simultaneously. According to estimates, as many as 70% of the populace follow Shinto rituals to some degree, worshiping ancestors and spirits at domestic altars and public shrines. An almost equally high number is reported as Buddhist…..” (Wiki)
The entrance to the Aoba Shinto shrine in Sendai – tucked between the houses like a jewel in a nondescript urban landscape…..
仙台の青葉神社
🔴 Fuji-san 🗻 is certainly regarded as sacred. I go for a walk behind my house and there it is on the horizon. But the iphone camera with its wide angle lens does not do it justice. On another day I catch a surprising glimpse of it from the carpark.
富士山
It is so much bigger than anything else on the landscape, appearing like the backdrop to a stage. It is an awe-inspiring sight. And then it disappears again. Like some magnificent but fickle god.
🔴 I’ve been recording these manholes for a palaeographer at Göttingen University. However they are hardly phD material. They are what is called fun…..not often seen in the corridors of town councils…
Japan’s history is one of wooden buildings – 🪵 So it’s no surprise that fire-fighting has a long history. And how typical to use a cartoon-like figure to convey an important message. A nice thing to have in the pavement! (it’s a fire hydrant). I must suggest this to the Langen Bürgermeister……
🔴 And technology. Pride in the old…Another view of that pre-Dreadnought battleship Mikasa…
三笠 (戦艦)
and in the new….the monorail in Tachikawa, Saitama.
立川市 モノレール
Yamaha Music Store, Yokohama. Sound experiences……🎵
A synthesis of philosophy, art and sport: Archery 🏹.
弓
🔴 The tilting vessel: an illustration of one of Confucius’s principles where a bucket is suspended from two chains and needs to be filled with exactly 80% of its capacity in water to come to perfect balance — this is where the Japanese expression “hara hachibu” or “eat until you’re 80% full” comes from……..I took this picture at Ashikaga Gakko in Tochigi – Japan’s oldest university, which was founded in 832 using a Confucian syllabus.
Ashikaga Gakko 傾く器：孔子の原則の一つを示す例 . 友子さんありがとう。
That’s it from Japan. I hope you have enjoyed reading these blogs.
As always, thank you for your interest, and if you know anyone who might be interested in this blog then do send it on.
Das war’s aus Japan. Ich hoffe, euch hat das Lesen dieser Blogs gefallen.
Wie immer vielen Dank für euer Interesse. Wenn ihr jemanden kennt, der an diesem Blog interessiert sein könnte, schickt ihn gerne weiter.
🔵 Do you like Monday mornings? I found the last one difficult. Getting going was like starting a cold diesel motor on a winter`s day.
Well it is winter isn’t it.🥶
But all the positive experiences of the past week sort of carried me over the threshold of Monday morning.
🔵 For example, We actually saw some sunshine……
月曜日の朝は好きですか？月曜日の朝を過ごすのに役立った経験をいくつかご紹介します。
All rather pretty really, as long as you didn’t have to go anywhere…..
Indeed, this reminded me of the German “Baumkuchen” although I don’t think the real thing has that icing on top….
🔵 And then there was this picture of my two little friends in Sagamihara…..Big sister explains to little brother ….
私の小さな友達
Nice red piano 😅
🔵 For one of those real black one’s I look forward to Liudmila’s ‘cello recital in Kassel…..
Programme looks interesting….
チェロのリサイタルを楽しみにしています
🔵 Also this week I had practised a duet for 2 cellos and piano, which made me feel good. Although I will feel even better when I have another ‘cellist to play with…
チェロのデュエットの練習
🔵 ………..I interspered the work with a sugar kick from the local bakery….”Guten Tag” I say,” Ich brauche etwas Süßes ” (I need something sweet)….“gerne” (gladly, with pleasure)….replies the friendly Polish lady. So I return with some Frankurter Schnitte..….whatever that is…..
コーヒーとケーキとともに……
🔵 Of course there were struggles in the week…like this Beethoven (Beethoven is always a struggle….he was always so stressed …😅).
ベートーベンはいつも苦労しているようです!
See that 3rd note for the ´cello ? That’s an important F sharp, and it’s right on the G string where you will often find a “wolf” note on a ‘cello. If you’ve got a wolf note there then you can forget Beethovens’ A major sonata. Or play the note on the D string. But that’s not the same 👎
🔵 What other good things happened this week? Well, there was that challenging but hugely enjoyable evening with the “Broken Frames Syndicate”. This is an interesting group of musicians who use music and prose to focus on the climate crisis.
素晴らしい現代音楽コンサート
Electric performances of Messiaen…… improvisations…all in the slightly weird venue of a Jugendstile church in slightly run-down Offenbach……
オフェンバッハの教会で
🔵 As I am concentrating on positive experiences I will not dwell on the fact that DB left me stranded on the rather bleak platform of Offenbach Station after this concert. But I did have a merry conversation with a Turkish taxi driver on the way home.
帰りの電車が運休になった（ここは日本じゃない！）
🔵 We all have to go shopping don’t we. I’m taking no chances here, wearing my yellow flourescent band. It really works. Cars slow down and respect you.
買い物に行く
Nothing but the heaviest lock of course…
🔵 The supermarket offers a haven of warmth and brightly packaged food….and wine…..It says “welcome”, but hits you in the face at the same time…..for a native English speaker this is a truly dreadful logo….
HIT という単語はイギリス人にとっては奇妙です…
Got to get the priorities right. First a bottle of Italian Primitivo, then the milk and eggs etc……
最初に買うのはイタリア産の赤ワイン1本です。
🔵 The biggest plus of the week. A day out hiking, starting at Bad Kreuznach and coming back over the red cliffs of Bad Münster.
The day starts for me at Langen station, where reminders of the original Main-Neckar Railway can be seen – freshly painted. Built in 1846, the railway operated as a joint state railway company, known as a condominium railway (Kondominalbahn), by the Free City of Frankfurt, The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Grand Duchy of Baden.
So now you know.
今週最高の体験。ハイキング
🔵 The Rotenfels (Red Cliffs) is great walking territory, even on a grey day….
Photo: Soren (edited)
…..and the town of Bad Münster itself is a curious old place
バート・ミュンスター
……. drawing patients to the salty air of the Gradierwerke, where highly charged natural mineral water if left to trickle down huge wooden constructions, evaporating and bathing the passers-by in a saline atmosphere…
Photo: Soren (edited)
🔵 People come and stay here for that most German of German institutions……the Kur…….the nearest word I know in English is “taking the waters”. This is the Kurhaus…..
🔵 Above the town it’s a stiff climb…..
…………but nobody complains, for we are a merry band of hikers…..
……. on the VITAL route…..
🔵 Like a Fata Morgana, or mirage…the image of an Italian restaurant keeps us going…….A restaurant which later provides good food and drink for all…..
Violins can be pretty mischievous sometimes. I pick this one up to tune it……… But on its own accord, it seems to have landed on a chord which needs resolving……
バイオリンがちょっとしたトリックを演奏する
It seems to want to shift to D major. Naughty violin….
🔵 Before I end this week’s post I must mention this:
I walk out of my house and my attention is immediately drawn skywards. Something big is happening up there. It’s the geese. They are all squawking and circling….a hundred I would say. It is an awe-inspiring sight. Every year they do it, flying thousands of miles over Europe. Always the same routes. Often the same resting posts – in this case the lakes around Langen and Darmstadt. But you never know when they will do it…..such a mystery….
渡り鳥が家の上空を飛ぶ。不思議で畏敬の念を抱かせる光景だ
Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.
🔵 p.s. On a friend’s recommendation I went to see a film last week. Hugely enjoyable. Funny, sad, thought – provoking. Half in English, half in Japanese.
In the huge city of Tokyo, you can rent almost anything…a man for your wedding, a father for your daughter, a journalist to interview your father….It sounds weird to us, I know. But it is not without it’s benefits..RENTAL FAMILY…..
The View from the Towers 塔からの眺め 