Blog Archives

Visit to Germany

19/2/2023

When in Germany it is compulsory to eat cake!

Over a long weekend in mid-February Paul and I visited Germany again,

We spent time with our friends [who we met in Adelaide on our fourth day of moving to Australia in 2010] who moved back to Germany in 2019, having been in Oz for over twenty years. They recently moved (again) from Bonn to a small town outside Frankfurt called Koenigstein | City of Königstein .

Check out the Spa and Tourism tab for details on this website to discover why it has been a popular destination for quite a few years, and also why it is home to a number of wealthy people. It has the reputation as a retreat for ‘health and wellness’ but it is for the restorative quality of the air as opposed to – as we are used to in the Cotswolds – for waters. See: Healing Climate . The town is well established and boats its own castle (in ruins) – legends from 466AD and documentary evidence from 1215, with the he granting of town rights in 1313. See: History of Konigstein

The name 'Königstein' means 'King stone'. Local legend is that King Chlodwig (466-511), founded the town after building a castle on a hill as well as a chapel.

Other than eating and drinking and chatting we did manage one ‘touristy’ visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, specifically Kastell Saalburg (translated as Castle Saalburg). Kastell Saalburg is considered the best-researched and most completely reconstructed fort of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes and defines part of the “frontiers of the Roman Empire”.

Just as GB has Hadrian’s Wall “the Germanic Limes was a line of frontier fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes from the years 110 (under Trajan) to about AD 260.

The Upper German-Raetian Limes extends to a length of 550km between the Rhine in the north-west and the Danube in the south-east. It consisted of about 900 watchtowers, numerous small forts and over 60 large forts. More a guarded border line than a military defence system, the Limes enabled traffic to be managed, movement of people to be controlled and goods to be traded and taxed”.

1 Comment

Tick!

14/2/2023

1 Comment

We wrote the "to do" list in September, but I started planting the seeds of an idea about replacing the upstairs carpet at least three years ago! I knew it would take a while but, after all, these things are never at the top of our priorities - although the fact that it was put in by a tenant whilst we were in Oz and it was an 'oatmeal' colour - but in my opinion, on the wrong side of the yellow spectrum.

So, instead, we have opted for a refreshing take on 'mint'!!

And here's some basic history and psychology related to colour: Green has been used to symbolise regeneration, good health and rebirth, mainly because of its natural association with vegetation, vigour and growth. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, green represented a person’s social rank and profession, and could only be worn by the gentry. The first recorded use of mint as a colour name in English was in 1920 – at the beginning of the Art Deco period.

Green apparently contributes to feeling of rest and security. Apparently, the name attributed to the “green room” within theatres is because a green shade would help performers relax before going on stage. According to colour psychology, green’s calming effects may be due to its associations with natural world. Mint is a crisp, cool hue – a bright, cheerful colour that evokes creativity, freshness, and lightness. Just like me!

Below - boxes of books brought down from the greenhouse to be sorted.... so, eventually, we ended up with two boxes destined for the charity shop, one box to my Mum, two boxes back to the garden for storage and a selection of books for the shelving in greenhouse No.1. The rest have made it into the new book 'cubes' in the newly carpeted and decorated bedroom. Very grown-up for us!

1 Comment

Family

11/2/2023

0 Comments

Just a couple of group photos from the recent birthday lunch.

0 Comments