A few weeks ago, a squad of loggers thinned out the woods below a landmark of Blaubeuren: The Schillerstein-monument above Gerhausen. For the first time in decades, as a neighbour told me, the specific rock ("Hörnle"), on which the Schillerstein was built a 100+ years ago, is visible again from the valley. And even better, the view from up there is not disturbed by tall trees anymore!
What a weird winter this season! It's already the second week of February and the snow and the cold are back again. One week ago, we were strolling in the sun, enjoying the first breeze of spring...
After three years of renovation, the "Rusenschloss" above Blaubeuren was finally reopened in October 2020. Originally, it was built in the 11th century, extended, later torn off and partly rebuilt in the 1970s. Although the castle itself is only a ruin nowadays, it is still impressing. And the view is amazing, even in the winter fog!
Out of nowhere - and actually for the first time since we're living here - a stone marten appeared on our street and in our garden.
For the second time within a few weeks we experienced a fascinating stone landscape in Blaubeuren-Gerhausen. 14 days after visiting the "Jurassic Alb" within the old abandonded quarry of our village, we went to see an art exhibition in the "new" quarry (- the one which is still in use). The exhibition took place the third time since 2010 and was featured throughout the local media as a "high-caliber project under the open sky". Decide for yourself!
Adventures, right on your doorstep (II): Two years ago, an abandoned old quarry near Gerhausen was transformed into a sort of private wildlife reservation. It hosts wild horses and wild cattle, both species new cultivars of extinguished savage animals. The parc is a state-wide model project, with the concept of species conservation by grazing and well supervised by nature conservation authorities. It's not open to the public, but since we know one of the owners, he took us for a private tour across the area and within three hours showed us almost every corner of the 75 hectares (185 acres) large property. We were just stunned: We'd never assumed so much beauty of animals and landscapes alike!
Adventures right on your doorstep: Used the weekend for a lovely canoe trip on the Blau river, through the beautiful reed landscape of Blaubeuren. Almost two hours of relaxing paddling and silent bird watching. Found a shopping trolley in the water, starled a pair of little grebes (in German: "Zwergtaucher") and their hatchlings and, finally, avoided the attack of a swan family (of eight!).
In 1911, the year it was invented in Ulm, the Patenter-sled was specificated as a steerable toboggan with flexible runners, which front can be bend lateraly while steering it. 100 years later, the Patenter-sled is still famous around Gerhausen, where it was manufactured until the sixties. Once a year, the historical sledge is celebrated with a unique race, 200 meters downhill on an icy forest trail.
Best time so far through out the years is around 17 seconds; the average speed of the two-seaters is close to 40 km/h (24 mph). But even more spectacular are the crashes...
Thaw, sun and 15° (C) last sunday - snow, high clouds and frost one week later. To breathe some fresh air instead of staying indoors all day long, the kids and I decide to climb up the hill to the ruins of ancient Rusenschloss. Up there, the vista of the valley is wonderful, despite the overcast sky. (Blaubeuren, January 23rd, 2011).
Strange. Right behind our house we found another small animal we never saw before. There were just no amphibians in the streets of Stuttgart (population 590.000) where we used to live for the last couple of years... Well, I had to lock it up and according to wikipedia, what we found was a young newt, an eft. Very cute, very cool - literally - and after a few minutes (and pictures) we let it free again. So don't worry. (2009 October 8th)
