The hills are alive

OK, not with the sound of music, but they are looking their very finest since I arrived here. Now, I promised myself when starting this blog that I would not get carried away and blurb on about nature. Anyone who knows me will testify to the fact that I am very keen on the great outdoors, which is just as well really since we've been living in the sticks for the last 8 years or so. I am someone who derives true pleasure from beautiful surroundings. However, I am not blind to the fact that describing scenery to people is on a par with describing one's dreams.... we all know people who love to do that, don't we? And how dull is it, unless you yourself feature in the dream - and even then it can be boring to hear the rest?? I remember when I was at school reading Thomas Hardy novels. That guy spent whole chapters depicting bucolic scenes in ye olde Wessex. Luckily, you could tell from the first page that the rest of the chapter would be in the same vein, so you just skipped to the next one. I doubt that Mr Hardy intended his readers to do this, though.

So, after all this, I will just tell you that on days like today, here in Bavaria, when I am out in the mountain air and can see for miles and miles and there are birds and flowers and cows and snowy mountains and rivers and cute little onion-tower churches... I feel at peace.