Hohenschäftlarn is a small village 20km south of
Munich – so it´s bang in the middle of Europe! What a
wonderful position for travelling around. The nearest ski-ing
area in the Alps is Garmisch-Partenkirchen, just 80km away, and over
the Alps is Italy with Venice and the Mediterranean with all of its
summer warmth. France, Switzerland and Austria are only a few
driving hours away. Just down the hill is Kloster Schäftlarn
which dates back to the year 762 and the River Isar which flows
through Munich on its way to the Danube.
The winter of 2005-2006 was the longest on record. It
started snowing here on 18th Nov. and the lawn was still white at
the end of March!
|
Here I am on
6th March 2006 standing in 70cms of the white stuff in the
middle of our lawn
|
What a joke – January / February this year (2007) were the
warmest since records started in 1781!
|
A
picturesque May Day photo of the village with its old
buildings, church and Maypole
|
The church, St. Georg, was built 1729, but the first written
reference to a church in the village is dated 778. A Maypole
is put up in local villages every five years on Mayday. It´s
a big event with lots of celebration and dancing!
|
A typical
summer photo of one of the oldest houses in the village
|
The owners are proud of decorating their houses with flower boxes
and there is a competition every year for the best.
|
The village
museum, with its own mini Maypole and the church in the
background
|
The museum, originally a farmhouse, dates back to 1492.
After the last owner died, it was renovated and is now maintained by
seven volunteers, each retired but a specialist in his own trade.
I moved to the Munich area in 1973 and met my wife Chris, a
Brummie girl, two years later at a party, only five kilometres away
from here.
Since living in the village, we have joined many local clubs.
We are members of the museum club, the gardening club and the local
choir. Being a hobby photographer, I get asked to record many
events, and I am known as the "village photographer".
It´s been fun writing to you.
Hohenschäftlarn,
Bavaria,
Germany
|
