Winter in Herrenberg

Originally posted on 26 January, 2013, while we were still living in Herrenberg (near Stuttgart), Germany.

In the dead of winter during the weeks before Fasching (a German regional version of Carnival), Herrenberg is often really cold.   This small city on the outskirts of Stuttgart is usually covered with a moderate blanket of snow from December until February, so that the fields surrounding the town are frozen, much to the delight of cross country skiers and children who take to their sleds.

On a typical late January morning,  snow and ice cover the streets, sidewalks, and fields of Herrenberg while birds swoop down from trees to peck at frozen apples that have been left in the crusty snow.  Walking along paths or cobblestone streets can be quite treacherous on these mornings. 

                                        

Herrenberg In Winter

A Definition of the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages conveys images of heavily armed knights jousting, minstrels playing instruments in a noble court, tall castles with thick walls, Gothic cathedrals with lofty ceilings soaring high above the nave, peaceful monasteries echoing with polyphonic chant, wheat fields attended by poorly clad peasants armed with scythes, and crowded city streets where narrow timber framed buildings almost lean against each other.  Important rituals involved visual, audible and olfactory elements, like the mass with colorful vestments, ringing bells, plainchant, and incense. 

Herr Kristan von Hamle is raised by his lover (Codex Manesse, Early 14th Century, Heidelberg)