SPRING

 Yeah spring!  After so many gray days sunshine is very welcome.  The first gloriously sunny day we drove out away from town and took a walk in the country.  This is one of the farmsteads called a Dreieck or three corner.  The three buildings include the house and barns and create a Hof or farmyard in the middle.  the word hof is basically 'yard' but is used for train station and farmyard and several other meanings.  I think this city may have gotten the name because in the early middle ages it had a place to stop for pilgrims who were sick.  The oldest buildings outside the city walls were a hospital church.

 The trees are beginning to leaf out.  This view of the center of town is from the opposite end to where we live.  The two towers furthest away are those out our window, the Catholic Church built in the 1700's.  The white tower is the city hall and the other church is the Lutheran church originally built in the 1500's.

 Theresienstein is a palace built on the hillside south of the city center.  We walked around the park on another sunny day and enjoyed the gardens and spring flowers.  My allergies didn't enjoy the pollens, my eyes especially, so this week we are having our first experience visiting a German doctor.

Theresienstein includes a fake fortress ruin built in the 1800's as a monument to a visit from some king.  They are having a middle ages fair there this weekend.

 As you can see the farmers are beginning to work their fields.  Dave calls this vehicle a 'honeydew' wagon.  It is animal waste fertilizer which is hauled to the fields making a springlike aroma not so common in the cities.  We followed this one as we went to Selb to teach our investigator, Mr. Bär.  (pronounced bear)

 Spring also means we had to take the mission vehicle to Schwarzenburg, one of our favorite towns, to have the tires changed.  Several other mission couples were scheduled on the same day so afterwards we all went out to lunch and visited Schwarzenburg Castle and museum.

 May first is a holiday here.  Various small towns have a Maypole and a Hexenfeuer (witch's fire).  We took the young elders with us to Burgk, a castle we wanted to see.  We saw a giant fire pit where the small town had their Hexenfeuer the night before.  Originally the belief was that on the night of April 30 to May first the witches meet with the devil.  So now they have a bonfire, burn a witch effigy, and party all night.  Our apartment building had a barbeque in the garage because (guess what?) it was raining again like it did all week.

Burgk is an old castle originally from the 1100's built on a bluff above the Saale River, which runs through Hof as well. It has been added to over the centuries but still has evidence of the medieval fortifications such as two outer walls, a draw bridge, the original keep, interior wells, gardens and kitchens.  It is off the beaten path so is not invaded by Japanese tourists toting cameras.  We ate in the local restaurant, originally the stables, and enjoyed venison and wild boar steaks.  I love spring!