Our last night in Bavaria

A few other odds and ends from our time in Bavaria...

Our day trips have included a lot of time driving on small country lanes in the rural parts of Bavaria. A few days ago we started to notice large piles of what looked like rocks from the distance, but up close, in fact, turn out to be large piles of swedes. These are apparently used as livestock feed during the winter.

There are also a LOT of solar panels covering the rooves of farmhouses and sheds in this part of the world. There are also a lot of wind turbines. We have passed one in particular most days as we head out on our day trip. It has been having problems, so a technician has been in attendance most mornings. All working when we came home last night. Finn wants a picture with it, as they are quite impressive.

We have also noticed a number of house doors in the villages have chalk writing on the tops of them. They will say things like 20*C+M+B+17. This is taken from a website:

The letters are an abbreviation of the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “*” represents the star of Bethlehem. The “+” signs represent the cross, and the “20” at the beginning and the “16” at the end mark the year in question. Taken together, this inscription is performed as a request that Christ bless the homes so marked and those who live there. The chalking of doors is a popular tradition on Epiphany or Dreikönigstag in southern Germany.

Craig has been convinced the bells outside our bedroom ring all night. I've thought they stopped at midnight and recommenced at 6am. Last night he recorded them at 3am, 4am and 5am. They go all night! Crazy.Read more