The first thing I always pack for a trip is my knitting. Do you do that too? During the last meeting of my knitting group, I discovered that most of my knitting friends do. At home, I made a small start on my knitting project for our holiday in Germany, a smaller version of my Seventh Heaven Scarf, to make sure that the yarn would work and the needles were the right size.
Arriving at our cottage on a farm in the Mosel region, we felt very welcome straightaway.
We didn’t visit any yarn shops or textile exhibitions this time, but if you keep your eyes open, there is always something knitting or textiles-related to be seen. A yarn-bombed drainpipe…
… a tiny spindle whorl no bigger than the thimble next to it…
… and a saint holding a weaving shuttle. The patron saint of weavers, I thought, but it turned out to be Saint Severus, who was a wool weaver during his lifetime.
Beside the church to which Saint Severus gave his name was a fountain with a fun owl chair next to it. At least that’s what I thought at first, but looking again, no, not an owl…
Everywhere we went, my knitting went too and I photographed it here and there along the way.
It was fun to see the colours develop and the scarf grow.
This slightly macabre picture was taken in the incredibly picturesque town of Bernkastel-Kues, with its beautiful Fachwerkhäuser and narrow alleyways.
Only a few days after our visit, after huge downpours, the centre of this little town as well as many others was flooded. In some places people had to be evacuated and there was huge damage. It was frightening to see how quickly the water rose and how fast the river flowed, now brown with silt. Viewed from above, submerged trees in what is normally a park:
Our cottage was about 150 metres above river level, and our only worry was whether my brother and German sister-in-law would be able to visit us (or we’d have to eat all the cakes ourselves). With some detours they reached us, and my animal-loving SIL immediately bonded with a cow.
A couple of days later the roads along the river were passable again and we drove to Cochem for some shopping. The water level in the river had subsided considerably, but we thought we’d better not park here just yet:
Fortunately no lives were lost this time, but it was a disaster for many of those with homes, shops, campsites or restaurants along the river.
During the rest of our holiday, we avoided the area that was hit and stayed up in the mountains. I knit some more.
And we walked in the beautiful countryside, enjoying the views…
… photographing flowers and insects in the amazing flower meadows…
… seeing fox cubs play…
… and almost stepping on a fire salamander – the first time ever we’ve seen one.
At the end of our stay, my scarf had grown quite a bit,
but it wasn’t finished yet. When it’s finished and if I’m happy with it, I’ll add the details to the Seventh Heaven scarf pattern and I’ll also tell you more about the yarn etc. The knitting is almost done now, but writing everything up may take a while, so please be patient. Meanwhile there will always be something else to write about and I hope to see you here again next week. Bye!
Wat een fijne blog om te lezen, Marijke.
Een verslag van jullie Duits verblijf.
Wat een water! Spannend hoor.
Liefs!
Och, och wat een overstromingen. En daarna nog een keer verder naar het zuiden, in Beieren. Heel erg voor de mensen daar. Ondanks dat hadden wij een heerlijke vakantie. Fijn dat je even “meereisde””.
I absolutely love following your travels, your beautiful photos, your commentary on knitting and all manner of other things. And, of course, seeing your knitting, hearing of your plans, projects, yarns and colours. It warms my heart, perks up my knitting instincts and makes me feel as always like I’ve had a good visit with a lovely friend. Thank you, as always.
It works the other way around as well. Receiving comments like yours also feels as if a friend has come to visit. It’s so very nice to hear that you enjoy my writings and pictures – thank you! I do not travel very much, but there is always knitting to talk about. I have so many plans for the coming months! Knitting projects, and also a few outings, books, embroidery…
I loved seeing all the pictures. The first picture with the commercial truck in it made me immediately wonder if it was a DAF? Then I remembered that you were in Germany, but it’s possible that DAF trucks would be seen there as well. I am sure that I told you long ago that a friend of mine worked in the hierarchy of DAF here in the US so anytime I am in Europe I am always looking to see if the truck is a DAF. Crazy, I know – but I notice things like that.
What a mess the torrential rains caused. I hope that it was only one day of rain. So glad that your brother and sister in law were able to make their way to see you all.
I loved the pictures of the countryside – the yarn bombing – and your scarf.
The chair – I was looking at it trying to see an owl and then I read that you discovered that it wasn’t an owl. LOL.
About the truck, I don’t know but it could very well be a DAF. It’s a truck with a Dutch number plate and We have a DAF production location in the Netherlands. There are probably loads of them here and in Germany. Thank you for reading – I’m glad you enjoyed it.