Corrie was afraid she would not be walking tomorrow because it will be raining all day, so she crawled out of bed and up the swiss hill with me for a second time. Set atop this hill is Wartburg

Castle where the founder of the Lutheran Church – Martin Luther was exiled, and I imagine if I was to be exiled in a castle, this would be the chosen one. Then we wandered off on a wanderweg, what a good name for what in english is a walking trail. 

Through the exquisite Thuringian Forest which spans many kms in central Germany, we walked, and we loved it. Soft round hills and mountains with elegant trees, as though landscaped, with the very steep hillside gullies carpeted with leaves were the features of this spectacular forest. We got lost in its invitation to experience the beauty that filled its vast neighbourhood. The downside is the lack of birds. The forest appears to have less than two birds that are not seen, only the owl is heard.

It was a long walk today but unnoticeable because our minds were busy settling in to this great silent movie. An occupied mind can save a multitude of ‘brain cells’ I thought, as we climbed over the rolling hills and eventually zig zagged our way down to home. We had lunch and I decided to return to our hill because that’s where many wanderwegs stemmed from. It was strange without Corrie but it gave me full concentration on what was to be seen including two small lakes embedded into the forest, and a few small colourful huts. I was getting used to the rain clouds not following the weather forecast, but not enough to avoid yet another cloud burst or three on the way home.

A bit of Bach to finish off with (not trivia). The composer Bach lived here until he was 10. The only reason he left was because his parents tragically left him and died when he was that age. He then moved to live with his brother who started him on his brilliant career.