Together with friends from Ulm I payed a visit to the old homeland Stuttgart. We took part in the annual wine tour of Untertuerkheim (www.weintour.org) around the vineyard Moenchberg, enjoying the sun, the walk, the landscape with the nearby funerary chapel ("Grabkapelle auf dem Wuerttemberg") and, of course, some splendid wine.
It took us two years of - more or less intense - search to find another poppy field in our district. Finally we detected the meadow of blooming corn poppy literally right on our doorstep, just two kilometers away, near the railway station of Blaubeuren.
It is considered to be one of the eldest and one of the most picturesque farms in South Tyrol: the Plattner Bienenhof in Wolfsgruben, Oberbozen. Today, it is a museum for historical apiculture on the one side; on the other side, the living quarters of the farm have been restored to their original form. The place is really worth a visit, plus: they sell excellent honey in different varieties! You're allowed to taste all 15 sorts of honey before you put your money on the table. What a feast for the kids!
It`s said to be the most beautiful viewpoint on the southern side of the Alps, giving an overlook of an amazing landscape: the Rittner Horn, elevation 2260 meters, backyard mountain of Bolzano, capital of the autonomous region of South Tyrol, northern Italy. I tried to keep the camera as smooth as possible while filming the panorama.
The next travel destination after Cyprus was another Unesco World Heritage: the Dolomites in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Just above its capital Bolzano, on a height of roundabout 1100 meters, rises the sunny plateau of Renon (German: "Der Ritten"). Wonderful views, easy walks through woods and meadows, mild climate and tasty local food - we had some perfect days of recreation and relaxation!
The name of one of Paphos' World Heritage Sites is a lie - kings were never buried here. Instead, rich citizens and high ranked officials during the Hellenistic and Ptolemaic periods found their resting places on this compound. The whole area is a big, ancient graveyard, full of crypts and undercrofts. No, bones I didn't see. And ist only due to their monumental character, the old tombs are described as "royal".
Not only is Paphos an old city at the south-western coast of Cyprus; bithplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty; part of the UNESCO's treasures of world's heritage and home to approximately 30.000 people. It is also full of British tourists. That's probably because the Cypriots drive as crazy as the English themeselves, namely on the wrong side of the road. The left-hand traffic is a heritage of the fact that Cyprus until 1960 was part of the British Empire. We flew to Paphos with a low-budget airline, found an affordable hotel and enjoyed three days of mediterrean sun. Actually the long weekend seemed like a whole week. Instead of driving by ourselves, we took a taxi - it felt crazy enough just to be the front-seat passenger.
Dark sky, heavy winds: A violent storm was brewing above our valley. Amazingly enough, it didn't hit us, but opened a magic hole in the sky, through which a golden fire fell to burn the last light of the day.
High peal of bells behind the house. A shepherd leads his flock of sheep towards the woods. For little Sophia this is an absolut sensation: So many cuddly toys! And her father learns, that there is more than just old white sheep and young black baby lamb: In fact, there are brown sheep; black and white sheep, that look like cows; grey sheep with dark heads; white sheep with brown spots; and even beige sheep with green dots. Sophia was right: This is, as a matter of fact, sensationell!
Not quite often, but usually at the end of the season of the German Bundesliga, we tend to watch the VfB Stuttgart in his soccer bowl, the Mercedes-Benz-Arena (formerly known as Daimlerstadion, formerly known as Neckarstadion) in Stuttgart. Since we used to live in the district of Untertürkheim, right in the stadium's shadow, for us it's still a kind of neighborhood thing, somehow...
This year, the last game of the season was against VfL Wolfsburg. Finally, after a 0:2-deficit, our home team won the dramatic game by 3:2. Before kickoff, Stuttgart's avid fans presented an impressing choreography that, since I had my camera with me, was just to good not be filed and featured here.
