Good-bye, Sunshine!

This is my fourth and final post about my gloriously sunny and fantabulous holiday in Germany.  Near the end of my time there we spent a long weekend visiting Matthew's cousin and family (which was a good way to avoid his loud living conditions over the weekend.  We came back to a LOT of beer cans in the courtyard, alongside a massive kiddie pool and what I can only guess were mangled slip n' slides.  A good weekend to be out-of-town, methinks!). I got to help make 2 rhabarber (rhubarb) meringe cakes using rhubarb from the back garden, enjoyed an open-air a nap on a picnic blanket, and sampled that most curious of culinary creations: a bretzel sandwich.  Much fun was had by all!

This was my welcome to Mosbach.  Pretty epic! I think I look good in Renaissance. :)

Cousins!

Matthew enjoys a ride on a Viking Longship with his wee cousin.

A particularly charming shot of Mosbach's altstadt.

The whole family!

These crazy kids kept us on the go!

On the way to and from the Altstadt, Matthew & I occasionally walked through this very picturesque graveyard.  I don't know why I find graveyards so calming, but I do, and this one was especially so because there were some very thoughtful touches in evidence.  For example: Most of the graves do not have grass on them, but live flowering bushes and cut flowers in vases all grouped together.  In order to keep all these plants watered, there are stone water troughs and watering cans throughout the graveyard for visitors to use towards grave upkeep.

A particularly beautiful tombstone.

A very nicely arranged grave-bed.

Watering cans for public use.

On my final day in Germany we were back in Tübingen.  We poked around the old Jewish section of the city and went to the Botanic gardens, where we spent most of our time watching frogs and bumble bees.

How amazing is this mural?!

I love this lemon-yellow building!

Can I please have rose trellises bedecking my abode?

This building is massive and architecturally interesting from every angle, but the hovering turret was pretty nifty.

I feel like even the flats in Germany are much lovelier than anywhere else - like they understand people's need for a bit of nature and beauty, even in residences stacked one upon the other.

Also, we met Spiderman in the Jewish quarter.  He was just keeping an eye on things and Matthew decided to lend a hand. "Don't even think about stealing this bicycle!"

After our last ramble around the city centre, it was time for a ramble in the woods!

This miniature residence was off the trail a bit.  I think it is for the faeries.

We saw a LOT of bamboo at the Botanical Gardens, but sadly no accompanying pandas.

These dudes like hanging out.

How many frogs can you spy?

Tree-covered walkways make me smile.

We quite enjoyed these pink-tipped leaves.  To the naked eye, they are a much more vibrant pink than we could capture on camera.

Watching bees collect pollen is quite mesmerising.