St. John's Eve
St. John’s Eve
Germany joins with several other countries in celebrating the Summer Solstice, June 23. According to the International Herald Tribune, the pagan holiday became Christian when the Church decided to replace the pagan emphasis by designating June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist (the precursor of Jesus Christ who came during the Winter Solstice), so the eve of the feastday was celebrated with fires. People celebrate the sun being at the highest point and take us back to ancient rituals. It’s cloudy out, but I see four fires on the mountain already, and they look like huge candles from here. I believe if it were clearer, we would see more on the other mountains. The hotel celebrated with an outdoor grill and buffet, and we were seated with other guests, very nice, but only one of them spoke a little English. We really do need to get some German lessons!
Today we hiked for four hours, a hike of 1650 meters. We began our trip at 10:30 a.m. in the Kreuzeck gondola which took us to the top of the mountain. Mark planned the hike so that it wouldn’t be too steep, so we hiked down the gravel road through fields and valleys where flowers greeted us at every turn. At 12:30, we stopped for lunch at a picnic table near one of the many huts we ran into along the way. After another two hours, we stopped at another hut to have something to drink, then back to the room. An excellent hike!!
We began the day at the Friday market where we bought the juiciest nectarines I have tasted in a long while, a pint of strawberries to take for our lunch, and two desserts, a walnut and hazelnut torte for our midafternoon snack on our room balcony. An interesting coincidence occurred at the market: I observed three Native American Indians playing the woodpipes and selling CDs. Two years ago at Hillbilly Days in Pikeville, a similar group of Native Americans were playing the woodpipes and selling CDs. The music is soothing, and I have one of their CDs.
Later I negotiated getting my glasses adjusted, buying two hard cases for those reading glasses and for my sunglasses which so easily get smashed. Then I went to the drugstore for some items, and I ended up at the shoe store where yesterday I purchases hiking socks; I bought Mark a pair for his hiking boots. He was at the city pool doing his swim.
Today is day 6 of the trip, and everything is going so well, we cannot believe it.
Germany joins with several other countries in celebrating the Summer Solstice, June 23. According to the International Herald Tribune, the pagan holiday became Christian when the Church decided to replace the pagan emphasis by designating June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist (the precursor of Jesus Christ who came during the Winter Solstice), so the eve of the feastday was celebrated with fires. People celebrate the sun being at the highest point and take us back to ancient rituals. It’s cloudy out, but I see four fires on the mountain already, and they look like huge candles from here. I believe if it were clearer, we would see more on the other mountains. The hotel celebrated with an outdoor grill and buffet, and we were seated with other guests, very nice, but only one of them spoke a little English. We really do need to get some German lessons!
Today we hiked for four hours, a hike of 1650 meters. We began our trip at 10:30 a.m. in the Kreuzeck gondola which took us to the top of the mountain. Mark planned the hike so that it wouldn’t be too steep, so we hiked down the gravel road through fields and valleys where flowers greeted us at every turn. At 12:30, we stopped for lunch at a picnic table near one of the many huts we ran into along the way. After another two hours, we stopped at another hut to have something to drink, then back to the room. An excellent hike!!
We began the day at the Friday market where we bought the juiciest nectarines I have tasted in a long while, a pint of strawberries to take for our lunch, and two desserts, a walnut and hazelnut torte for our midafternoon snack on our room balcony. An interesting coincidence occurred at the market: I observed three Native American Indians playing the woodpipes and selling CDs. Two years ago at Hillbilly Days in Pikeville, a similar group of Native Americans were playing the woodpipes and selling CDs. The music is soothing, and I have one of their CDs.
Later I negotiated getting my glasses adjusted, buying two hard cases for those reading glasses and for my sunglasses which so easily get smashed. Then I went to the drugstore for some items, and I ended up at the shoe store where yesterday I purchases hiking socks; I bought Mark a pair for his hiking boots. He was at the city pool doing his swim.
Today is day 6 of the trip, and everything is going so well, we cannot believe it.
posted by Kathy Sohn | 4:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home