I have often mentioned that Germany is a land that does not have open spaces as in the USA. There is no remaining land that is not owned or belonging to a city or town. That being said, I can take a short walk from my apartment and within a few minutes see such sights as an early summer harvest as shown in the picture. I often take this route as it is a circle from apartment and back along the fields and a tree alley (Trees lining the road on both sides) which takes about 40 minutes. The advantage is I get my exercise and clear my head as well enjoying the familiar route while observing the changes of the seasons. I have photographed this area many times...
Today I read in the local paper that for every euro in Germany, 53 percent goes to the State and 47 percent for the individual who possesses it. The 53 percent is taxes, retirement, health insurance, church ( if you are a declared Lutheran or Catholic) added value tax, or whatever they figure they can take from that euro. Nevertheless, Germany is still the 3rd or 4th richest nation in the world.
Today was also a visit to my local dentist for a filling and on the wall of the office was this picture which was painted by a friend of the dentist. It depicts a land or large island in the shape of a tooth and all the landmarks have to do with aspects of dentistry. The Land is called "Dental Land". The two dentists names are shown as towns or areas and all the assistants are on the map. There are the molar islands to the right, and nerve rivers etc. My phone camera was used to take the picture and therefore it is too fuzzy to see the names. I will say that in between getting your teeth taken care of it is an interesting object similar to a Tolkien novel with its map to take your mind of that dreaded drill.
The picture of the beer garden and lake was taken a few weeks ago as I made an evening bicycle trip stopping off at one of my favorite "Watering" holes for a Bratwurst in a roll and naturally a "made in Hof" beer.
