On Bike Paths Around Jestetten, Germany

Beside the bike path a chapel provides passersby with an opportunity to pause and reflect;

cornfields promise bounteous yields;

a surprised biker meets a horsedrawn carriage;

and sunflowers, heavy with seed, no longer lift their heads to follow the sun's passage. 

Munich, Germany

Here in this city of contrasts, the visitor will find:

the  Nymphenburg Palace -- a humble summer palace for the Wittelsbachs (where princes still reside in one of the wings);

the BMW Museum ("I'll take this one and that cute red one in the corner.");

a state building with a World War II memorial honoring the fallen soldiers from Bavaria;

and the beautifully landscaped Hofgarten where a cellist played in this "Renaissance" temple as we ate ham-and-rye sandwiches.

 

While Munich advertises beer halls, opera, and 50 theaters, its story also includes the political rise of Adolph Hitler. This city was the headquarters for the Nazi Party. The building that once served as Hitler's Administrative Offices in Bavaria now houses a music school. The empire he envisioned lasting 1,000 years, existed for 12. In Munich people's capacity for good and evil are revealed.

Two Religious Mysteries

These paintings grace the walls of a causeway between a chapel and a residence for seniors including retired nuns. This painting depicts the twelve disciples, including Judas Iscariot, but the square featuring birds and plants appears new. What images do you imagine were covered here?

The wall with these paintings portray the life of Christ. In this one the artist concentrates on the Crucifixion. What is the significance of the eye in the triangle in the tent? Note also the Star of David above the eye in the black triangle.

I'm eager to hear your interpretations.

In the Woods

Leading out of Jestetten, Germany, are numerous bike trails. Some are paved and others graveled. Vegetation, including stinging nettles, keep the bicycler alert and balanced.

If the amount of firewood is an accurate forecaster of winter temperatures, we're in for a very chilly time here.

Scattered through the woods are huts available to hunters, hikers, and those who planned to camped but forgot some essential. "Becky, you forgot the matches AND the marshmallows? No s'mores for you."

And here is a modern hut. We felt welcomed -- even though the door was padlocked -- because someone had tacked to the door words from Acts 16:31 -- "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

In Singen, Germany, the doors of St. Anna's remained closed to the curious, but

we picnicked beside the Romanesque cathedral.

During a post-lunch stroll we chanced upon the city park and studied

garden designs we would love to transfer home but won't.

Beneath the old castle fortress, modern art invites the curious

to explore. And how can one refuse when the colors are orange and black?

Go Beavers!

Art can change the way we look at the world.