Kühl ist der Wald

John and I have been enjoying our hikes immensely.  It's been cold, and layering has been tricky, but it makes for such an invigorating hike through old trails throughout the mountainside.

Most of the panoramic pictures of mine lately have been foggy and hazy.  As a matter of fact. we have had rain, drizzle, or just straight cloud for about a week straight.  Perhaps that is the hazard of being at 1200 ft in elevation.

Perhaps my favorite part of the German countryside thus far is the amount of mushrooms that are rampant in the undergrowth.  Not only do I think they are really cute, but they make excellent photo subjects as well.  Thankfully John is patient enough with me as I run off the trail and bend low to the ground to photograph these beauties.  Also, I am taking full advantage of my new found Adobe Photoshop skills in collage making. I hope it looks a bit more professional, as that may end up being the eventual goal.  Who knows?

I love these.

And in other news, I'm singing again.  I have had two short coachings in the past four days, which is more coaching than I have had in about a year and a half.  It takes so much bravery on my part to admit that I had quit for awhile.  It takes even more bravery, I think, to coach with one of the best the first time out of the gate here.  Either way, I'm in a better place.  And the beer is good too!

Rothenburg ob die Tauber

We had John's mother and sister with us for a week and a half over here in Germany.  It was a good excuse to do all of the tourist-y things that John and I might not otherwise have gotten to do.  Armed with a black Opel car with suicide doors, we braved the autobahn for a trip down "Castle Road" to the Medieval city of Rothenburg.

It was much more tourist laden than I would have thought.  Tourism here increases your chances of English speaking, so we found communication a little easier than in our tiny mountain village.

Their regional specialty pastry is called the Schneeball, or snowball.  It consists of pastry strips rolled up into the shape of a ball around a chocolate mousse, then covered in a flavored frosting.  We found it hard, and therefore, not that great.  But whatever floats their boat.

We stumbles upon a fabulous Christmas Shoppe full of so many wonders.  It was so big it even had it's own museum (which we did not warrant paying admission for more shopping).  I'm talking about a multi-layered, jaw-dropping, maze-like display of the finest craftsmanship of the area.  It was really quite mesmerizing, making you feel like a kid all over again.

As beautiful as it was, Rothenburg is definitely just a day trip.  So we got our Schneeballs and drove on back to the Rhön.

Fall in Thüringen, Germany

Taken in Meiningen, Thüringen, Deutschland.

Signs for the senses

Lots of effort have gone into signage over here in Europe.  This pleases me.  Not only does it help me to figure out what they actually do in a foreign language, but it also speaks to their craft and dedication as a culture.  My mind wanders immediately to Salzburg's Getreidegase, which is, perhaps, the best example of this.  Every storefront on that historic street is required to have a hanging sign that signifies what they offer.  It makes for a wonderful scene!

I've compiled a few of my favorite signs in my first week here in Germany.  I hope you enjoy them as I do!

I look forward to compiling more!

Panoramic Germany

I've been having fun with the Stitch assist function on my camera.  I've never had so many opportunities to take fabulous shots like this.  We have been fortunate to have wonderful weather so far since we've been here.  However, the forecast is for snow by this weekend.  We have also been doing so much hiking, which has been awesome for my body.  John and I are both so pleasantly surprised when we look in the mirror now.  If we can just find a good ratio of beer drinking to hiking, we'll be quite buff by the time we get back to the states.

Our daily routine seems to be taking the hiking trail from our small town of Oberweissenbrunn through the town of Frankenheim, until we reach a slightly bigger town of Bischofsheim.  There we can go to the market and buy food and beer.  We have a smaller bakery and tiny market here, but they keep odd hours, and we often miss them.  But what else have we got to do besides walk around and take in the sights?

One moment please: The Barcarolle, "Belle Nuit, o nuit d'amore" from Les Contes d'Hoffmann, just came on my itunes.  Brings back memories from when I sang that duet with another Nicole.  : )

Tomorrow we go back to Meiningen, which is a larger city with an opera house, and more specifically, with John's vocal coach, Barbara.  We're trying to get her back to the States with us for a bit, but for now we will soak up as much of her as we can.

Please click on these to see them bigger.  They are worth it.

Deutschland

Ich bin im Deutschland!

After a very trying travel (think 2 planes, 2 trains, and 2 buses), John and I are in our rented flat in Germany. It is quite chilly here, as expected, but gorgeous.  The country is in the heart of Fall, or herbst, and the colors are gorgeous!  We are located in the Rhön region of Germany, which is nestled in a valley among the mountains, in the small town of Oberweissbrun.

We took a walking path to the nearby town of Bischofsheim, which is where we get our groceries.  This seems an older town, as the architecture is distinctly German, and old.  I'm a sucker for traditional architecture.

More soon!

Kitty of the Wild

This guy greeted me on the way to the car this morning.  For once, it seemed, I had my camera in my hands and ready.  Love when that happens.

In more important news, John and I leave for Germany this month.  So hard to believe it has finally come down to a couple weeks.  I bought a proper jacket for cold weather and snow.  Being from Florida, it's never been a big deal to not have one.  I have a feeling that will be a well spent $170.
So many little details to worry about now and getting things set.

John's voice is really sounding great, and I look forward to his success in auditions.  That is the whole reason we are going, after all.  I miss singing sometimes.